Love those audio books!

I haven't posted to my book blog for quite some time, but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading & listening like crazy for the months since I last posted. My Shelfari site has a list of many of the books I've read in the interim.

One of the things I like about audio books is that I can listen to them on my way to and from work, while I'm doing laundry, cleaning house, shoveling the driveway (thanks to our very snowy winter here in Minnesota), and painting. It took me many years to figure out that I could still "read" and get things done. I am a huge fan of audio books!

Here's a list of some of the audio books I've enjoyed listening to during the past few months.

From Dakota County Library's Net Library (downloadable onto certain mp3 players)

• Jaguar by Roland Smith (endangered animals, father/son relationships)
  
• Airhead by Meg Cabot (plain to pretty in one step)
  
• Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry (fairytale)
  

From my Audible account:

• A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck (historical fiction, characters with personality!)
  
• Airman by Eoin Colfer (injustice, engineering, prison)
  
• The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby (orphans, automatons)
  
• DragonQuest by Donita K. Paul (fantasy, dragon keeper)
  
• Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry (contemporary realistic fiction; dad in Afghanistan war)
  
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (folktales)
  

The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood

This is an older book (1998), but it was on several "best book" lists, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did. It's a great historical fiction book about an orphan, Widge, who tries to steal the script for Hamlet from Shakespeare's theater company. There are plenty of surprises awaiting the reader as well as glimpses into the world of England in the late 1500s. I especially enjoyed the parts surrounding the actors and theater world.

This is book 1 in a series of 3.

Topics: Elizabethan England, Shakespeare, shorthand, publishing plays, acting, actors, orphans

Genre: historical fiction

Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 4 of 5

Amazon reviews

The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner

Book 1: The Thief (Newbery honor book)
Book 2: The Queen of Attolia
Book 3: The King of Attolia
Book 4: A Conspiracy of Kings

I found myself engrossed in these stories. I can't exactly explain why. At times I found parts of them confusing, but man, were they compelling. I had a hard time putting them down. Lots of political intrigue, suspicion, spying, thievery, romance, battle scenes, gods and goddesses, unexpected twists, etc.

Genre: fantasy (light)

Recommended audience: gr 7 and up

Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 3.5 of 5

Note: does contain some harsh language and some graphic descriptions of wounds

Amazon Reviews:
The Thief
The Queen of Attolia
The King of Attolia
A Conspiracy of Kings

Nation by Terry Pratchett

It's been a long time since I've read a middle school/young adult book that I've wanted to re-read right after I'd read it the first time. This is definitely a "thinking" book. There are so many levels to its sophistication. I think it'd be a great book for discussion in the area of science, faith, and imperialism/racial superiority.

As a former science teacher, I enjoyed the many references, both obvious and subtle, to scientific topics. As a Christian, I was okay with the questions of faith. Some books blatantly bash Christianity, but this one was different. It was questioning any religious beliefs...not saying religion/faith wasn't important or real, rather questioning why you believe what you believe. Are your beliefs based on things you've always assumed are true or on what you know to be true?

The other strand in the book I found fascinating was that of racial superiority and the imperialistic actions of many countries in the past. Why is it that many European countries and the U.S. think/thought they were superior to third-world countries, for instance? What makes one country/people "better" than another? Are they really "better"?

I would love to work with a group of students discussing this book. Very thought provoking. An important read, I believe.

Genre: fantasy (but not fantastical...more like fantasy "light")

Topics: tidal wave, astronomy, imperialism, survival, religion, faith, scientific inquiry, superiority of one over another, dolphins, shipwreck

Audience: 8th graders (or kids who like to think/ponder)

Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 5 of 5

Amazon reviews

Rescuing Seneca Crane by Susan Runholt

Rescuing Seneca Crane is the second book in the Kari and Lucas Mysteries. The first was The Mystery of the Third Lucretia.

Once again, Kari and Lucas are off adventuring around the world with Kari's mother. This time they travel to Scotland where Kari's mother is interviewing Seneca Crane, a fifteen-year-old piano prodigy. Kari and Lucas develop a friendship with Seneca, so when Seneca disappears, Kari and Lucas head off to try to rescue Seneca. They encounter many adventures/misadventures along the way and meet some cute guys near where they suspect Seneca may be being held.

Some of the elements of the rescue may be a little far-fetched, but hey, this is a book for middle schoolers. It's a great mystery and great fun to read. You won't be disappointed.

Topics: concert pianist, kidnapping, Scotland, fly-fishing casting, greed, step-fathers, managers, ingenuity

Genre: realistic fiction, mystery

Mrs. Beckwith's rating: 4.5 of 5

Amazon Reviews

Much Ado about Grubstake by Jean Ferris

Much Ado about Grubstake is one fun book. It's set in Grubstake, a rundown, dying mining town in the Old West. Arley Pickett is a 16-year-old girl who runs a boarding house for some of the few miners who remain. She, too, owns a mine, left by her father who died in an explosion there, so she doesn't much care for mines anymore.

One day, on the train that comes to Grubstake once a month, a city slicker arrives who offers cash for any of the mines the miners want to sell. Arley is immediately suspicious. Who would want to pay money for mines that were all dried up? That begins her humorous adventures of determining who the bad guys are, what's really going on, and how to save the people she cares for...unusual though they may be. There's Everdene, the saloon owner who's been burned by men; Duncan, the young newspaper owner/journalist; Outdoor John and Prairie Martin, two of Arley's boarders; pretentious Lacey, nasty Charles Randall, and mysterious Morgan to name a few.

If you take this book seriously, you likely won't enjoy it. However, if you read it the way it seems to be intended, it's just plain lighthearted fun. My guess is that is, indeed, the author's intention, because Arley, the main character, likes to read Penny Dreadfuls...and that's what this book seems somewhat reminiscent of.

Topics: mining, boarders, boarding house, troublesome dog, miners, swindlers, power through coercion,

Genre: historical fiction (1888)

Mrs. Beckwith's review: 4 of 5
(I agree with the one Amazon reviewer who has posted at this time....I don't know why the critic from School Library Journal was so harsh with this book. I thought it was a fun read.)

Amazon Reviews

Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes

This was one fun book to read. Bo is a 6th grader in a school full of kids from the local Air Force base families. Bo is also the son of the base commander. He has been known to get into a trouble at school, and his father is hoping 6th grade will be different.

Gari is Bo's cousin from the west coast. Gari's mom is gearing up for deployment to Iraq, so that means Gari will have to go live with her relatives, enter Bo, while her mom is gone. Gari wants to stay where she's at. She's already made plans for the school year. Gari tries to figure out different ways she can make her mom stay home...never mind her mom's orders from the Army!

Miss Loupe is their free spirited 6th grade teacher. Her motto is "Yes and...". I love how she gets her students to think and grow as learners. I wish I could have had a teacher like her! She teaches her students some improv techniques that help many of the students grow and develop in different ways.

The reader is also introduced to the brother of Miss Loupe. He's stationed in Afghanistan. The kids are involved in a project to collect things to send to him to give to kids in Afghanistan, but then the unthinkable happens. He is MIA. This starts another strand of the story...not knowing and everything that follows.

I don't know if it's because I'm the wife of an Army National Guard member or not, but I thought it was a great book. Based on what I've seen of other reviewers, it doesn't matter if you're knowledgeable about the military or not. It's a great story that gives you a little insight into what families of military members experience. It's a story that will have you laughing out loud in parts...thoroughly enjoyable.

Topics: military life, school, family, deployment, improvisation, theater, "yes and", U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan

Recommended audience: best MS fit is 6th grade, maybe 7th, too

Mrs. Beckwith's Rating: 5 of 5


Amazon reviews