The cold, raw air of November is blowing in, bringing with it thoughts of Thanksgiving, family get-togethers, and, most importantly, all those things in my life that I am grateful for. That list includes audiobooks. I feel privileged to be living in a time when audiobooks are accessible in an instant and can be listened to on my phone or on my tiny MP3 player.
I am so grateful when a publisher releases the next book in a series that I am totally committed to. This includes the latest addition to Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, BLUE MOON: Book 24. Scott Brick returns to narrate, and once again we find Reacher on a Greyhound bus with no particular destination in mind. Having heard Lee Child speak on several occasions, I know that while he doesn’t spend a lot of time listening to his own audiobooks (not unusual for authors), he does have a strong respect for the tradition of oral storytelling.
My grateful list also includes the latest in the “Girl Who” series. THE GIRL WHO LIVED TWICE is the third book in the series that continues Stieg Larsson’s original Millennium trilogy. David Lagercrantz took over after Larsson passed away. While the authors have changed, the narrator of all the books in the series is Golden Voice Simon Vance. For me, Vance is the voice of Lizbeth Salander, Michal Blomkvist, and all of the returning characters who populate this intense Swedish world of crime and punishment.
I am also grateful for series that I have come to very late. It gives me the opportunity to binge on earlier audiobooks. Having quickly worked through the Hamish Macbeth series on Netflix, I decided to go to the M.C. Beaton books they are based on. I was delighted to dive into the audiobook series, starting with Book 32, DEATH OF A GHOST, narrated by Graeme Malcolm. How fun it is to know I have tons of audiobooks to feast on? M.C. Beaton is also the author of a series featuring Agatha Raisin, which has been turned into a British TV series. I am looking forward to Book 30 in the series, BEATING ABOUT THE BUSH, to be released in December.
Finally, I am grateful for the different and the unexpected. That’s what I found in STEAM, SMOKE & MIRRORS by Colin Edmonds, narrated by Karl Jenkinson. This was my first introduction to “steampunk,” which I learned is a literary subgenre of fiction that incorporates technology inspired by industrial steam-powered machinery invented in the late 19th century. Here is a fast-paced, well-written story blending history, science, murder, and a great sense of humor. Jenkinson performs the many characters with just the right pace and tone to make them all believable.
My best wishes to you for a Thanksgiving filled with gratitude and lots of audiobooks. I know that listening will help get me through washing all those dishes after Thanksgiving dinner.
