Book Nerds Across America: Simon and schuster audio

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Audiobook review: Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Book Summary
What if damnation is the price of true love?

Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the blight that is destroying the race of warlocks.

Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

Flo's Review
It is finally finished. All 900+ pages, 30+ plus hours. It's a 5 out of 5 star book, and I wasn't expecting anything less. I swear, no other book series takes me through the entire gamut of emotions that Shadowhunter novels do. It was long, but I intensely enjoyed every single minute of it.

James Marsters read the audiobook, and he did a PHENOMENAL job. His voice inflection is everything. I swear, listening to him read this heightened the experience for me so much. He slows down his reading to add dramatic emphasis, and lowers his voice to an almost-whisper in all the right places. I would get chills listening.

I immediately loved The Dark Artifices with Lady Midnight. Cassie brought it from the very beginning of book one and never let up. I just love the way she does her characters. She describes them so well and so intimately -- their every little quirk and all their secrets. She introduces them to you entirely, and I felt like I came to know them like close friends.

I will look forward to seeing these characters again. I'm definitely happy that we are so close to Red Scrolls of Magic. If you've read the other two books in their series, get a hold of this one, take a deep breath, and then go diving in head first. And if you haven't read any of The Dark Artifices? Get on that!

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Audiobook review -- Note to Self: Inspiring Figures Write to the Young People they Once Were by Gayle King

Book Summary
Gayle King shares her favorite inspiring letters from the popular CBS This Morning segment Note to Self, in which twenty-first century luminaries pen advice and encouragement to the young people they once were.

What do Congressman John Lewis, Dr. Ruth, Kesha, and Kermit the Frog wish they could tell their younger selves? What about a gay NFL player or the most successful female racecar driver? In Note to Self, CBS This Morning cohost Gayle King shares some of the most memorable letters from the broadcast’s popular segment of the same name. With essays from such varied figures as Oprah, Vice President Joe Biden, Chelsea Handler, and Maya Angelou—as well as poignant words from a Newtown father and a military widow—Note to Self is a lovely reflection on the joys and challenges of growing up and a perfect gift for any occasion.

Flo's Review
This audiobook right here was a conglomeration of so many of my favorite things about books and audiobooks. I love audiobooks. I love autobiographies read by the author. I love the whole 'letter to my younger self' trope. (I'm calling this a trope, because I've seen it done at least two other times that I can think of. What do you think? Do you consider it a trope?)

Anyway, this audiobook takes all of those things and ups the game by about 50. Because this is a combination of a whole bunch of amazing people reading their letters to their younger selves. I love that we get to hear them all. The letters were all fantastic. I was literally teary eyed listening to most of them. So many were sad but also hopeful. So many stories of overcoming. A lot of people with strong faith. These letters, all together, display what it mean to be human -- to doubt, to love, to challenge yourself, to overcome, to learn, to grow.

The only bad thing about listening to the audiobook as opposed to reading it was that there were so many great quotes that I would have loved to flag, underline, highlight.

At the end of the book, Gayle King encourages the reader to write her own letter to self. It's a great exercise. I did one for my review of Dear Teen Me and really enjoyed it.

All the hearts and stars for Note to Self!