In the Woods by Tana French

 In the Woods  Author: Tana French  Reader: Steven Crossley Short Review: This Edgar Award winning novel traces a murder in Ireland, following the detectives investigating the case and flashing back to an earlier, similar unsolved case. It is a good novel beautifully read by Crossley, but the novel itself annoys me in a few spots […]

The Young Wan by Brendan O’Carroll

 The Young Wan  Author: Brendan O’Carroll  Reader: Donada Peters  Short Review: A sweet, funny prequel to O’Carroll’s earlier trilogy about Agnes Brown, read with great energy, humor, and personality by the incomparable Donada Peters.  Long Review: The Young Wan tells the story of Agnes Browne’s early life and her parents’ romance and marriage. Set in […]

Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney

 Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney  Translator: Seamus Heaney  Reader: George Guidall  Short Review: Heaney’s excellent translation read well, though not perfectly, by Guidall.  Long Review: You know already whether or not you want to listed to Beowulf as an audiobook. There are those of us who perk right up at the thought of listening to […]

Four Souls by Louise Erdrich

 Four Souls  Author: Louise Erdrich  Reader: Anna Fields  Short Review: Four Souls is a belated sequel to Tracks, and thus the continuation of the story of Fleur Pillager—one of the recurrent characters in Erdrich’s series of novels that follow an Ojibwe tribe. Read starkly and beautifully by Anna Fields, the plot is intricate and engrossing, […]

Fragile Things: Stories Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman

Read by: Neil Gaiman

Short Review: A solid book of short stories read beautifully by the author.

Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood

Reader: Barbara Caruso

Short Review: Atwood’s Governor General’s Award-winning bildungsroman about girls’ cruelty to other girls, art, childhood, and memory; read crisply by Barbara Caruso. The book follows Elaine Risley, an artist, as she remembers her youth in Canada while preparing for a retrospective of her artwork. It is heartbreaking and beautiful, which makes it hard to listen to at times. Pain is perhaps more real when it’s expressed out loud–this isn’t a fun listen, but it’s a very good one.

Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori, Book 1) Author: Lian Hearn Readers: Kevin Gray and Aiko Nakasone Short Review: Look Mom—I’m panning a well-loved book! A fantasy/faux history of feudal Japan read by two readers—one of whom can’t be bothered to pronounce the name of a main character correctly. The characters aren’t particularly […]

My Dream of You by Nuala O’Faolain

 My Dream Of You  Author: Nuala O’Faolain  Reader: Dearbhla Molloy  Short Review: A beautiful first novel from one of Ireland’s best memoir and non-fiction writers, gorgeously read by Dublin’s excellent Dearbhla Molloy with just the right accent and diction. The novel interlaces a story of a woman approaching menopause while re-awakening her sense of romance, […]

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

The Killer Angels Available from Audible.com Author: Michael Shaara Reader: Stephen Hoye Short Review: Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize winning masterwork about the Battle of Gettysburg, well-read and voiced by Stephen Hoye. One of the best pieces of historical fiction ever written, Shaara’s story alternates from North to South, depicting the mistakes of some leaders and […]

Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle

Paula Spencer Author: Roddy Doyle Reader: Ger Ryan Short Review: A novel featuring the engaging lead character from Doyle’s The Woman Who Walked Into Doors gloriously read in the perfect Dublin accent by Ger Ryan. Long Review: Paula Spencer is a recovering alcoholic, recovering longtime victim of domestic violence, widow, house-cleaner, and mother weighed down […]

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: A Novel Author: Susanna Clarke Reader: Simon Prebble Short Review: A gorgeously read version of a Hugo Award winning modern epic I absolutely love. Clarke’s novel is part Harry Potter, part Tolkein, part comedy of manners, and part historical fiction of the Napoleonic Wars. It’s long, detailed, engaging, and by […]

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

Brokeback Mountain

Author: Annie Proulx

Reader: Campbell Scott

Short Review: A ground-breaking story about the nature of love and sexuality, beautifully-read by one of my favorite audio book narrators.