May I share a little story that A, shows that I am a doofus, and B, has changed my life, at least my bookish life? (Thanks to anyone who caught my little play on words). Anyway, back in January, I did the responsible start-of-the-year thing. I went through my subscriptions, my streaming accounts, etcetera, etcetera. Was I getting the best deal? Was my On Star in fact working? (I had never used it. Thankfully.) Was everything on the right card? Had I doubled up on anything? Was there anything out there that I had completely forgotten about that I was still paying for? That’s not the doofus part. The doofus part is when in the process of checking my Spotify (do all of my family members actually use the family plan I pay for?), I realized that all this time, ALL THIS TIME, I could have been listening to audiobooks for free on Spotify. Obviously, it’s not free because I pay for Spotify. But you know what I mean. It’s actually 15 hours of audiobook listening per month, but that’s at least one free book per month, maybe two. I listen to music and podcasts on Spotify. Why did I ignore the audiobooks tab? I don’t know. I can’t explain it, except … doofus.
So here are some of my Spotify audiobooks:
I started with “How to Read a Book” by Monica Wood. I was hesitant about this book club pick. It starts off in a prison and is the story of the unlikely relationship between a young woman released after serving a sentence for manslaughter, the woman who leads the prison book group, and the handyman at her local bookshop - who just happens to be the husband of the woman who was killed. This could have turned hokey quickly. Instead, this was an exceptionally well-crafted story. The young woman in question obviously had emotional trauma well before the accident that sent her to prison. However, the author doesn’t delve into it; actually she doesn’t even mention it. It’s there for the discerning reader, or listener, to consider and maybe discuss with your book club.
Next, I listened to “The Time of the Child,” by Niall Williams. Continuing with the story of the Irish village of Faha begun in “This Is Happiness,” this book, like its predecessor, should only be enjoyed as an audiobook, in my opinion. “The Time of the Child” tells the story of a baby found in the village churchyard at Christmastime. If that’s not enough of a Christmas miracle, maybe there’s more - like a man coming to understand the difference between being apart and being a part. Don’t wait until Christmas for this one.
Following that I listened to a murder mystery by Laura Dave, “The Night We Lost Him.” You may recognize Dave as the author of the 2021 bestselling mystery-thriller, “The Last Thing He Told Me,” which was adapted for AppleTV in 2023. There are supposed to be both a book sequel and a second season. So high expectations. I liked it. The plot is well-paced. The author gives you enough information to let you think you have figured it out, then, she casually drops another clue that explodes your theory. It’s fun.
Lastly, there’s “Sandwich” by Catherine Newman. This book was published last summer and has been in the back of my mind to read, but then I would look at my TBR stack and shake my head. So, when I realized that I had free audiobooks … I understood this book to be both funny and poignant. It’s the story of a 54-year-old menopausal woman who is spending her vacation “sandwiched” between her grown children and her elderly parents. What’s the Taylor Swift lyric? “Hey. Hi. I’m the problem. It’s me.” Well, it’s definitely, probably me, I’m sure I’m the problem. I never found the funny or the poignant in the story. (Well, at the end of the vacation the kids said to just throw away the remaining eggs, rather than make egg salad for sandwiches, and I thought to myself, “If they only knew…” That was pretty funny. Other than that, I was just annoyed and angry the entire time I listened to this book. However, I can admit that I just didn’t appreciate having some of my own particular mirrors held up to me. Merrile Stroud also read it and she loved it. So, read it (or listen to it) and decide for yourself.
Happy Reading and Listening! Be sure to check the audiobooks on your Spotify account.
So here are some of my Spotify audiobooks:
I started with “How to Read a Book” by Monica Wood. I was hesitant about this book club pick. It starts off in a prison and is the story of the unlikely relationship between a young woman released after serving a sentence for manslaughter, the woman who leads the prison book group, and the handyman at her local bookshop - who just happens to be the husband of the woman who was killed. This could have turned hokey quickly. Instead, this was an exceptionally well-crafted story. The young woman in question obviously had emotional trauma well before the accident that sent her to prison. However, the author doesn’t delve into it; actually she doesn’t even mention it. It’s there for the discerning reader, or listener, to consider and maybe discuss with your book club.
Next, I listened to “The Time of the Child,” by Niall Williams. Continuing with the story of the Irish village of Faha begun in “This Is Happiness,” this book, like its predecessor, should only be enjoyed as an audiobook, in my opinion. “The Time of the Child” tells the story of a baby found in the village churchyard at Christmastime. If that’s not enough of a Christmas miracle, maybe there’s more - like a man coming to understand the difference between being apart and being a part. Don’t wait until Christmas for this one.
Following that I listened to a murder mystery by Laura Dave, “The Night We Lost Him.” You may recognize Dave as the author of the 2021 bestselling mystery-thriller, “The Last Thing He Told Me,” which was adapted for AppleTV in 2023. There are supposed to be both a book sequel and a second season. So high expectations. I liked it. The plot is well-paced. The author gives you enough information to let you think you have figured it out, then, she casually drops another clue that explodes your theory. It’s fun.
Lastly, there’s “Sandwich” by Catherine Newman. This book was published last summer and has been in the back of my mind to read, but then I would look at my TBR stack and shake my head. So, when I realized that I had free audiobooks … I understood this book to be both funny and poignant. It’s the story of a 54-year-old menopausal woman who is spending her vacation “sandwiched” between her grown children and her elderly parents. What’s the Taylor Swift lyric? “Hey. Hi. I’m the problem. It’s me.” Well, it’s definitely, probably me, I’m sure I’m the problem. I never found the funny or the poignant in the story. (Well, at the end of the vacation the kids said to just throw away the remaining eggs, rather than make egg salad for sandwiches, and I thought to myself, “If they only knew…” That was pretty funny. Other than that, I was just annoyed and angry the entire time I listened to this book. However, I can admit that I just didn’t appreciate having some of my own particular mirrors held up to me. Merrile Stroud also read it and she loved it. So, read it (or listen to it) and decide for yourself.
Happy Reading and Listening! Be sure to check the audiobooks on your Spotify account.
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