Gather 'Round the Sound

Book 75 is Gather 'Round the Sound by Audible.

With the byline "Holiday Stories from Beloved Authors and Great Performers Across the Globe" and a price tag of free, this was an enjoyable listen of just over an hour.

My favourites were An Aussie Night Before Christmas read by Magda Szubanski and The Signal-man by Charles Dickens.

If you have the time then do listen to this.

4 improv carols out of 5.

Should I read this? Read it just for the two I mentioned and everything else is a bonus.
What did I learn? Charles Dickens was scary.

Daughters of Dragons

Book 41 of 2017 is Daughter of Dragons from The Legacy of Dragons series by Jack Campbell.

Consumed this as an audio book, read by the always enjoyable MacLeod Andrews. Yes, I'm now following him on Instagram. Must be something to do with being read to bed each night.

Didn't realise that this was about the daughter of the protagonist from The Dragons of Dorcastle which I read in mid-2015 and didn't love. This is about her whiny daughter who I can compliment on growing up faster than her mother did.

The one reason I like this more is the Earth connection. It's like reading a meta version of the previous series.

Don't go out of your way for this but if you like Young Adult novels, you may enjoy it.

3.5 stamp collections out of 5.

Should I read this? Maybe if you like young adult lit and dragons.
What did I learn? Writers have a voice and accent.

The Butterfly Effect

Book 40 of 2017 is The Butterfly Effect by Jon Ronson.

Still working on my audio book journey. I usually get distracted while doing other things and have to keep going back to listen multiple times. This book kept me interested through the whole three hours.

Something that I thought would be seedy and one-sided took a path of discovery and naturally resulted in no conclusion other than that tech changed the world.

This is very much worth the listen. Seven seasons in the style of Serial, executed with respect.

5 stamp collections out of 5.

Should I read this? Absolutely.
What did I learn? You may change the world and never realise how much is beyond just making money.

The Fold

Book 31 of 2015 is The Fold by Peter Clines.

This one was an audio book and was narrated by a gentleman called Ray Porter, who has changed my mind about audio books which I am not a huge fan of. He read this so well that I know I would have found it different if I had read it myself. Different and not as good.

Since getting back in to science fiction, I am wondering why I haven't spent more of my life reading it when I obviously love sci-fi TV and movies. This is another one of those books that makes me slap myself for not reading more. This is good on almost every level. There is mystery, science, fantastical creatures and great suspense wrapped in action.

4 space time continua out of 5.


Should I read this? If you like sci-fi then yes.
What did I learn? Sometimes everyone just feels a little out of place in their lives and maybe there is a reason for that.

The Snow Queen

Woo hoo! I have reached my goal of 26 books for the year. Of those 26 books, 12 were audio books. Audio books have been a new experience for me and one that I've had to adapt to because your brain works completely differently when you read a book to when you listen to one. It has given my eyes a break and allowed me to hear stories I already knew through someone else's reading. It is true that I mainly used audio books to re-read some of my favourite books.

Book 26 of 2014 is a free audio book as a Christmas present from Audible. I recommend Audible US because it has many more titles than the Aussie site. Shoosh, don't tell them I live here.

The book was The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson, read by Julia Whelan who was Audible's narrator of the year.

This a story I know very well from my childhood and has been one of the reasons I have avoided Disney's version - Frozen. They never tell a story the way it was written and tend to make the women weak and the animals sing.

This is worth the read or the listen. I'd recommend that if you read it in Darwin that you do so with the air conditioner on full.

4 evil shards of glass out of 5.

Should I read this? Yes. It is delightful.
What did I learn? People are not evil. They just have shards of evil glass in them.