Karen's Book Nook

I wanted to read The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger before seeing the movie as I always prefer to do it that way. This one was no different.

About the book:

This bestselling and innovative debut novel from Audrey Niffenegger explores the perfect marriage, one that is tested by challenges the couple can neither control nor predict. An imaginative extension of everyday life, the story asks: What if two people who loved each other deeply, married, and faced a life in which one person remained constant while the other slipped fluidly in and out of time?

A modern love story with a twist that invites us to linger over questions of how life and love change over time.

My thoughts: I listened to the unabridged version via audiobook. While I was a bit confused at first and had a little bit of a hard time following it initially, once I got into the groove and had some good chunks of time to listen, as opposed to a few minutes here and there, I found that I was unable to tear myself away. This is one of those books that I often thought of when I wasn’t reading it and couldn’t wait to get back to. That to me is a sign of a good book on my scale.

Rating 4.5/5

Counts towards: Library Challenge, 100 Book Challenge, Audio Book Challenge,

My new audio book is The Host by Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Series. I’m just about to start it and I’m not sure if I’ll be as hooked as I was on Twilight but we’ll see. I have lots of yard work ahead of me and audio books fit the bill.

The Host (from her website)
Stephenie Meyer. Little, Brown, $25.99 (640p) ISBN 978-0-316-06804-8 In this tantalizing SF thriller, planet-hopping parasites are inserting their silvery centipede selves into human brains, curing cancer, eliminating war and turning Earth into paradise. But some people want Earth back, warts and all, especially Melanie Stryder, who refuses to surrender, even after being captured in Chicago and becoming a host for a “soul” called Wanderer. The straightforward narrative… shines with romantic intrigue.

I just finished the audio book, Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry and discovered that although I can’t transfer the audio to an Apple product, I can transfer to my iriver. (Unfortunately, the iriver is stuck in record mode and will need to be replaced before training camp, but I did find an old Sandisk mp3 player in a drawer that works fine for this purpose.) So, I won’t be limited to listen on my desktop pc but can take it with me. After all.. that IS the purpose of an audio book, IMO. (Looks like my podcast queue will grow even larger and I’ll get further behind but I’m in the mood to read so it’s fine with me.

I just downloaded the third book in the trio, Messenger and expect that it’ll be just as good as The Giver and Gathering Blue. Anyone who has not tried good children’s literature should give it a whirl. Some of my favorite books have been Newbery Medal Winners that I’ve read as an adult.

I downloaded the audio book Gathering Blue from my local library. This is a sequel to Lois Lowry’s The Giver, perhaps the most read book among teacher candidates while in college taking reading methods. I’ll listen between podcasts and everything else I’m reading/listening to. (Unfortunately, it can only be downloaded to PC not Mac so I have to listen on my desktop computer and can’t transfer to my iPod.)