[Audiobook]
By: AJ Pearce
Narrated by: Anna Popplewell
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Dates Listened: March 4-10
Length: 9hrs 48 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
This one just looked interesting at a glance. Plus I was down for listening to a British accent.
Dear Mrs. Bird follows Emmy in the midst of World War II. Emmy volunteers as a telephone operator for the Auxiliary Fire Services, taking calls during the many bombings over the city of London. She dreams of being a war correspondent and takes an interview with a London newspaper. It isn't until she accepts the job that she realizes it is actually a job as a typist for the editor of a women's magazine.
Her new boss, Mrs. Bird, has an advice column; however, she is very picky about the letters she responds to. Nothing containing any "unpleasantness" is to be make it into the magazine - this is most letters by Mrs. Bird's standards. Emmy finds it upsetting that Mrs. Bird leaves so many women with real problems unhelped because they're problems are there own silly fault. So Emmy decides to take their problems into her own hands, under Mrs. Bird's name, and responds to them herself.
This book does one of my favourite things, it laces fiction into history. Some big events of these books include real events that happened in London during WWII. I even Googled a few places and events to see if they had happened - they did. This was a very clever and funny book. The whole thing is quite lighthearted and charming. While it carries some of the realities of the London Blitz, it is not overbearing or gruesome.
The narrator was perfection. I will gladly look up and listen to other things she has done.
Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: I would recommend this to just about anyone. It was a really nice read and I would read it again.
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Friday, May 22, 2020
Dirty Work: My Gruelling, Glorious, Life-Changing Summer in the Wilderness
[Audiobook]
By: Anna Maxymiw
Narrated by: Anna Maxymiw
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Dates Listened: February 27-March 3
Length: 8hrs 29 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
I chose this one because I have also had gruelling, glorious, life-changing summers in the wilderness and thought it would be nice to hear about someone elses gruelling, glorious, life-changing summer in the wilderness.
Dirty Work is a memoir about the summer Maxymiw spent working as a housekeeper at a fishing lodge in Northern Ontario. While in her early 20s she took a job during her masters to stretch herself and grow somewhere she never thought she'd be.
I would like to tell you what happens during her summer at the lodge, but nothing really does happen. She works the bar serving stinky men who had been fishing. She cleans poop out of a shower. She sees a bear. Wow.
When a book title says "life-changing summer" I expect to hear about how the summer changed your life. It was just a bunch of stories about random stuff that happened that didn't seem to actually change her. At the end she just leaves on a boat and that's it, we are just supposed to think that her life changed with no discussion about it.
What scares me the most about this book is that she was studying for her masters in creative writing. The stories were all disjointed and random and it seemed like she just threw in big words to make herself seem impressive. I also usually like when people read their own memoirs, but this is one where someone else could have done it better.
Rating: 1/5
Honestly, it's harsh, but finishing this book was a torture. Yeah, I said it.
Recommendation: Don't read this. I think the only people who could possibly like this are people who actually worked at the Kesagami Wilderness Lodge (and still no promises there).
By: Anna Maxymiw
Narrated by: Anna Maxymiw
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Dates Listened: February 27-March 3
Length: 8hrs 29 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
I chose this one because I have also had gruelling, glorious, life-changing summers in the wilderness and thought it would be nice to hear about someone elses gruelling, glorious, life-changing summer in the wilderness.
Dirty Work is a memoir about the summer Maxymiw spent working as a housekeeper at a fishing lodge in Northern Ontario. While in her early 20s she took a job during her masters to stretch herself and grow somewhere she never thought she'd be.
I would like to tell you what happens during her summer at the lodge, but nothing really does happen. She works the bar serving stinky men who had been fishing. She cleans poop out of a shower. She sees a bear. Wow.
When a book title says "life-changing summer" I expect to hear about how the summer changed your life. It was just a bunch of stories about random stuff that happened that didn't seem to actually change her. At the end she just leaves on a boat and that's it, we are just supposed to think that her life changed with no discussion about it.
What scares me the most about this book is that she was studying for her masters in creative writing. The stories were all disjointed and random and it seemed like she just threw in big words to make herself seem impressive. I also usually like when people read their own memoirs, but this is one where someone else could have done it better.
Rating: 1/5
Honestly, it's harsh, but finishing this book was a torture. Yeah, I said it.
Recommendation: Don't read this. I think the only people who could possibly like this are people who actually worked at the Kesagami Wilderness Lodge (and still no promises there).
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Any Dream Will Do
[Audiobook]
By: Debbi Macomber
Narrated by: Laurel Rankin and Mark Deakins
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Dates Listened: February 23-27
Length: 9 hrs 17 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
Did I choose this one because it shares its title with one of my favourite musical theatre songs? Yes. Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of my favourite musical theatre songs.
Shay has found herself in trouble after her brother convinces her to commit fraud for him before disappearing. After she is released from prison she finds herself sitting inside a church to get out of the cold. This is where she meets Pastor Drew. Pastor Drew is a widower with two kids and he helps her get back on her feet. The two become friends and I think you can see where the rest of this goes.
This book is told from alternating perspectives. Each chapter goes back and forth between Shay and Drew narrating. You could see where the story was going pretty well the whole time. The writing was subpar. This woman has almost 200 books under her name. So either she is writing each one in a month (which I would believe based on the quality) or other people write under her name for her.
The narrating was fine for both the man and woman. It is kind of nice to listen to these changing narration books. They keep you a little more interested, but it was not enough to boost this book any higher.
Rating: 2/5
Recommendation: My recommendation is to not waste your time. There is far better light reads to fill your time than this.
By: Debbi Macomber
Narrated by: Laurel Rankin and Mark Deakins
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Dates Listened: February 23-27
Length: 9 hrs 17 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
Did I choose this one because it shares its title with one of my favourite musical theatre songs? Yes. Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of my favourite musical theatre songs.
Shay has found herself in trouble after her brother convinces her to commit fraud for him before disappearing. After she is released from prison she finds herself sitting inside a church to get out of the cold. This is where she meets Pastor Drew. Pastor Drew is a widower with two kids and he helps her get back on her feet. The two become friends and I think you can see where the rest of this goes.
This book is told from alternating perspectives. Each chapter goes back and forth between Shay and Drew narrating. You could see where the story was going pretty well the whole time. The writing was subpar. This woman has almost 200 books under her name. So either she is writing each one in a month (which I would believe based on the quality) or other people write under her name for her.
The narrating was fine for both the man and woman. It is kind of nice to listen to these changing narration books. They keep you a little more interested, but it was not enough to boost this book any higher.
Rating: 2/5
Recommendation: My recommendation is to not waste your time. There is far better light reads to fill your time than this.
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
[Audiobook]
By: E.K. Johnston
Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Dates Listened: February 21-22
Length: 6 hrs 27 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
Again, monotonous work at work. I picked it because it was available, had an odd title, and I won't lie I like a good cheerleading story.
According to the internet Exit, Pursued by a Bear in inspired by Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale. I've never read A Winter's Tale so it doesn't help with the plot at all, but it's where the title comes from.
In this book Hermione attends a cheer camp the summer before her senior year. She is co-captain and this camp serves as a sort of training camp before her last year of cheerleading and nationals. One the last night of camp she is drugged and raped and she doesn't know by who. We follow her in the investigation, how she deals with her forgotten trauma, and the road to cheerleading nationals.
This book explores some heavy topics as Hermione has to make some difficult decisions after her rape. While the topics are heavy, it is not graphic. It is an important book for the YA Fiction world. It brings some important topics to light for a younger audience and would serve well as a first dip for teens into some of these topics.
One of my favourite parts of this book is that it takes place in Ontario. Hermione lives about an hour away from my hometown. They make jokes about places in Southern Ontario and choose between Ontarian colleges and universities and it made me feel like I was home. E.K. Johnston is an Ontarian author and she used what she knows!
I will also say that I didn't love the narrator. It is hard to describe what it was. It wasn't a lisp but she talked real slow and there was just something about it that made me glad it was only 6.5 hrs of listening.
Rating: 4/5
Honestly, the end pulls me from a 5 star. They added a bow to tie it up and they really didn't need it. Kind of bugged me.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to pretty well anyone. There are some who may find it triggering, but it is a book worth reading to help open some of those doors to what is happening in the world.
By: E.K. Johnston
Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Dates Listened: February 21-22
Length: 6 hrs 27 mins
Source: Overdrive App
Why did I read it?
Again, monotonous work at work. I picked it because it was available, had an odd title, and I won't lie I like a good cheerleading story.
According to the internet Exit, Pursued by a Bear in inspired by Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale. I've never read A Winter's Tale so it doesn't help with the plot at all, but it's where the title comes from.
In this book Hermione attends a cheer camp the summer before her senior year. She is co-captain and this camp serves as a sort of training camp before her last year of cheerleading and nationals. One the last night of camp she is drugged and raped and she doesn't know by who. We follow her in the investigation, how she deals with her forgotten trauma, and the road to cheerleading nationals.
This book explores some heavy topics as Hermione has to make some difficult decisions after her rape. While the topics are heavy, it is not graphic. It is an important book for the YA Fiction world. It brings some important topics to light for a younger audience and would serve well as a first dip for teens into some of these topics.
One of my favourite parts of this book is that it takes place in Ontario. Hermione lives about an hour away from my hometown. They make jokes about places in Southern Ontario and choose between Ontarian colleges and universities and it made me feel like I was home. E.K. Johnston is an Ontarian author and she used what she knows!
I will also say that I didn't love the narrator. It is hard to describe what it was. It wasn't a lisp but she talked real slow and there was just something about it that made me glad it was only 6.5 hrs of listening.
Rating: 4/5
Honestly, the end pulls me from a 5 star. They added a bow to tie it up and they really didn't need it. Kind of bugged me.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to pretty well anyone. There are some who may find it triggering, but it is a book worth reading to help open some of those doors to what is happening in the world.
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