Friday, July 2, 2010

June Overview

Posted by Simcha 2:45 AM, under | 1 comment

Here is an overview of all the posts and book reviews that I had put up in June in case you somehow missed one of them (I imagine it happens occasionally) or if you are new to my blog and want some help catching up with all the June awesomeness that took place here.

Books Reviewed:


Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The City & the City by China Mieville
Magic bleeds by Ilona Andrews
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde


(Semi) Regular Blog Features:

Friday Quotes June 18
Friday Quotes June 4th
Favorite Fictional Character: Alanna
Favorite Fictional Character: John Casey

New Scifi and Fantasy Releases:

Week of June 27th
Week of June 20th
Week of June 13th
Week of June 6th

Discussion Posts:


A Post Father's Day post: Where Have All the Father's Gone?
Childhood Books Revisited

Other Random (often unrelated) Posts:

Funny Customer Service Moments
Harry Potter Song Parody
Israeli Spy Shop
Fun Web Discoveries

It's Friday so Follow and Hop

Posted by Simcha 1:22 AM, under | 8 comments


Last week's Follow Friday was pretty fun and I came across some great new blogs so I thought I would give it another go. This time I added Crazy for Book's Blog Hop as well as the Follow Friday feature hosted by Parajunkee's View


This week, Jennifer at Crazy for Books asks that participants talk about why they started blogging, so here is my answer:



My name is Simcha and I started blogging about a year ago
after I began an online scifi and fantasy bookstore. The blog was only intended to help drive traffic to the website but I got so caught up in blogging and in the wonderful book blogging community that I now spend more time working on my blog then on my website, which really isn't very good. Oh well, what can I say. If you are a blogger then you don't need me telling you how addictive blogging can be. And I really am so glad that I discovered the joys of book blogging because it really is a lot of fun.

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you let me know that you were here I will makes sure to come visit you as well.

I also just put up an overview of all the posts that I written in June, so you can take a look at that here to get an idea of what my blog is all about.

Have a great weekend!





Thursday, July 1, 2010

Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones

Posted by Simcha 6:41 PM, under ,, | 2 comments

Conrad’s Fate is the only one of the Chrestomanci books that I had never before read and since it includes my favorite character in the series, Christopher Chant, I was really excited to finally read it.

Conrad Tesdinic lives in the mountain village of Stallchester, in the English Alps, along with his mother, uncle and sister. Ever since he was a young child Conrad has been warned by his uncle that he possesses bad karma, from an important deed left undone in a previous life, and this is the reason for any unpleasantness in his life. After graduating from school Conrad is eager to continue his education at Stall High with his friends, but his uncle puts an abrupt halt to Conrad’s plans by insisting that instead his goes to work as a servant at the Stallery Mansion.

According to Conrad’s uncle, the person responsible for his bad karma resides at Stallery and if Conrad does not eliminate them by the end of the year, he will die.
Frightened into compliance, Conrad makes his way to Stallery to apply for a position there. Upon arrival he makes the acquaintance of another boy, Christopher, who arrives at the mansion in a gypsy caravan, impeccably dressed and fully determined to be hired on as a footman at the Mansion.

Thrown together as trainees for the same job position, Conrad and Christopher quickly become friends. And soon they each discover that the other is there under false pretenses. Each of them has a mission to accomplish at Stallery and it’s only with each others help that they may succeed.

Conrad’s Fate is a cute book which includes many of those themes that readers of Jones’s books will recognize, including negligent parents, scheming adults and a boy ignorant of his own magical talent. But even though many of the books by Diana Wynne Jones do have certain reoccurring themes, she somehow manages to make the central character in each of them completely unique and memorable.

Conrad is a very appealing protagonist and the fact this his story is told in the first person makes it particularly easy to empathize with him. Though what I especially enjoyed was getting to know Christopher Chant, the future Chrestomanci, as a fifteen year old boy and viewing him from Conrad’s prospective. Conrad’s irritation at Christopher’s superior manner is amusing, and one of my favorite parts is when he and Millie are gossiping together about how annoying Christopher can be.

He would keep calling me Grant in that superior way, and there were times when I wanted to hit him for it, or shout that it was only my alias, or—anyway, he really annoyed me. Then he would say something that doubled me up with laughter, and I discovered I liked him again. It was truly confusing.

I said... “He’s far too fond of his own way. And the way he makes superior jokes all the time—I want to hit him!”
“Oh, doesn’t he just!” Millie said.
After that…we both tore Christopher’s character to shreds. It was wonderful fun.


And while many of Jones’s fans will probably be picking up this book largely because it features Christopher Chant, they will find that Conrad himself is an interesting, well-drawn character worthy of standing on his own.

I do have to admit though that the story itself didn’t engage me as much as those told in the other books in the series. I just didn’t find it to be as interesting. I also think that if I had read this book when I was younger I would have found all the talk about alternate probabilities to be very confusing. But ultimately I was satisfied with the book since it gave me the chance to spend more time with Christopher Chant and Millie, and also introduced some new interesting characters. And unlike in many of the other books in the series, I felt like the events here were tied up neatly in the end, giving readers the satisfaction of knowing where the characters eventually end up.

If you have already read and enjoyed the other books in the Chrestomanci series then you will most likely want to read Conrad’s Fate as well. But if you are new to these books then this would not be the best place to start reading and I suggest you pick up Charmed Life first.


Friday Quotes: It's all DWJ this week

Posted by Simcha 5:50 PM, under , | 3 comments

Since this week I had focused on reading books by Diana Wynne Jones I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate this week's page of quotes to her.

I really had so much fun immersing myself in Jones's world of the Chrestomanci and I even managed to fit in Howl's Moving Castle, which I loved and will review next week.
I still have many more of her books that I intend to read and I will be trying to fit them in between my other readings whenever I have the chance.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy these quotes as well as the reviews I have put up so far and that some of them may have inspired you to try her books, if you never had before.
*******************************************************************************

Diana Wynne Jones Quotes:


  • Fantasy for me as a kid was real, and I had a fantasy about what life was, whether it was sort of wicked and dire, or wholly normal, or whatever. Anything really close to home is not, it seems to me, what a good book should be about.

  • This does make me very very careful, particularly in the second draft, to get it right, because you do feel that somebody in the future who may be extremely important for everybody, is going to have me behind them, and this is a responsibility, a huge one.

  • If you think you're a genius at something, what you achieve is very much according to your expectations; if you think you're no good, you're not going to get anywhere. If you think you're moderate, you're only going to get halfway to moderate, because you get half-way to where you're aiming every time, really.

  • I was shaken completely to my socks about 5 years ago now; I went to a fantasy convention and I was suddenly accosted by this very interesting Canadian writer whose things I'd admired. His name's Charles de Lint, and he said he wanted to tell me that he wouldn't be writing now as he does had he not read my books when he was a teenager. He said they completely revolutionized his way of thinking. And indeed, I could see why I liked his things so much, because, probably, it was the sorts of things he'd got from me.

Quotes from Diana Wynne Jones Books

  • "I am a believer in free will. If my dog chooses to hate the whole human race except myself, it must be free to do so." (Castle in the Air)

  • "If I give you a hint and tell you it's a hint, it will be information." (Howl's Moving Castle)

  • "I can't abide people who go soft over animals and then cheat every human they come across!" (Castle in the Air)

  • She's not stupid, she just never lets her mind out. (House of Many Ways)

  • He left the room like a very long procession of one person (regarding the Chrestomanci)

  • It is quite a risk to spank a wizard for getting hysterical about his hair. (Howl's Moving Castle)

  • Fellow Travellers: These are people who join the Tour for a short while and then leave or get killed. If they have names and characters, then you will be sorry to lose them. Otherwise, not. (The Tough Guide to Fantasy Land)

  • Great numbers of Elves have become so wearied with the old golden ways that they have all departed, departed into the West. This is correct, provided that you take it with the understanding that Elves do not say anything quite straight. Many Elves have indeed gone west, to Minnesota and thence to California, and finally to Arizona, where they have great fun wearing punk clothes and riding motorbikes." (The Tough Guide to Fantasy Land)
  • "Eternal Quest: see Quest, Eternal."
    "Quest, Eternal: see Eternal Quest."
    (The Tough Guide to Fantasyland)


Neil Gaiman's Ode to Diana Wynne Jones:

There's a kitten curled up in Kilkenny was given a perfect pot of cream,
And a princess asleep in a thornwrapped castle who's dreaming a perfect dream,
There's a dog in Alaska who danced with delight on a pile of mastodon bones,
But I got a copy of Hexwood (dedicated to me) by Diana Wynne Jones.

There's an actress who clutches her oscar (and sobs, with proper impromptu joy),
There's a machievellian villain who's hit on a wonderf'lly evil ploy,
There's wizards in crystal castles and kings on their golden thrones,
But I got a copy of Hexwood -- dedicated -- to me! -- by Diana Wynne Jones

There are fishermen out on the sea today who just caught the perfect fish,
There's a child in Luton who opened a genie-filled bottle, and got a wish,
There are people who live in glass houses have managed to outlaw stones --
But I've got a copy of Hexwood, dedicated to me by Diana Wynne Jones

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Funny customer service moments

Posted by Simcha 12:42 PM, under | 11 comments

This is a bit off topic but I couldn't resist sharing this really funny site that I came across today called The Customer is not Always Right where employees from around the world share their humorous experiences in customer service.

These are a few of my favorites:

Not So Beautiful Mind
Bookstore | Alberta, Canada

Customer: “Hi, I’m looking for a book based off a movie. Life is Beautiful, I think?”

Me: “I don’t believe Life is Beautiful” was originally a book. Are you perhaps thinking of A Beautiful Mind?”

Customer: “Yes! Yes that’s the one! Get me that one! It’s the one about World War II. And the guy is burned. And there’s a French Nurse. That’s the book I want!”

Me: “That actually sounds like The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. I can grab a copy of that for you!”

Customer: “Yes! The English Patient. That sounds right. But Michael Ondaatje, that sounds like a foreign name. No, The English Patient wasn’t written by a foreigner. Do you have a copy that wasn’t written by Ondaatje? I want that story, but I want it written by a Canadian.”

Me: “So you want a copy of The English Patient that is not written by Michael Ondaatje?”

Customer: “Yes! That’s what I want. Do you have any copies of that story written by Margaret Atwood? I do like her.”

Me: “No. I really don’t think we do.”

Customer: “Oh. Do you think any of your other stores might?”

Me: “I doubt it, ma’am.”




Early Bird-Brained
Supermarket | New Zealand

(I am at work doing a before-opening clean of the trolley handles and checkout counters.)

Customer: “Excuse me, I’d like to buy these now please.”

Me: “Um, ma’am, I’m not a checkout operator.”

Customer: “Yes, but I’m here now and I’m running late, so can you just run these through the scanner for me?”

Me: “Ma’am, it’s five thirty. There are no checkout operators as we don’t open for another hour and a half.”

Customer: “Oh, I was wondering why there wasn’t anyone in the Deli, but that’s okay because I went back behind the counter and got the ham out the freezer.”

Me: “Ma’am, you’re not allowed to do that. How did you get in? The doors are locked until the security guard gets here.”

Customer: “Oh, I broke the window because I thought your door wasn’t working. Can you run these through for me now?”


Fish Trek 2: It All Goes Downstream From Here
Bookstore | Colorado, USAColorado, USA

Customer: “This book looks interesting. How do I watch it?”

Me: “Watch it?”

Customer: “Yes, where can I find the movie?”

Me: “I don’t think this book has been adapted into a movie.”

Customer: “What do you mean? Where can I go to watch it? I want to know what happens in the book!”

Me: “Forgive me for asking, but if you want to know what happens, why not just read it?”

Customer: “Read? How stupid! Where’s the movie! All books are made into movies so that we don’t have to read them!”

Me: “I am sorry, I can’t help you. This is a bookstore. Only popular books–usually adventure stories–are adapted into movies. I am quite sure that this book hasn’t been made into a movie.”

Customer: “Why not?!”

Me: “Because it’s a fishing manual.”


The Point Of No Return
Video Rental | Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Me: “Thank you for calling. How can I help you?”

Customer: “You charged my credit card forty five dollars. Can I get a refund?”

(I pull up his account.)

Me: “Okay. I see that you rented two movies that were never returned and you were charged the sale price of the movies.”

Customer: “Well, I was on vacation and I forgot to return them on time.”

Me:“Let me go check the shelves for them; it’s possible that they didn’t get checked in properly. If I find them I can put a credit on your account that you can use whenever you’re in the store next.”

Customer: “I didn’t return them.”

(It’s been over two months since the movies were originally due.)

Me:“You didn’t return them?”

Customer: “Nope.”

Me:“Sir, you would like me to pay you for renting movies and never bringing them back?”

Customer: “Uh huh.”

Me: “I’m not going to do that.”

Customer: “Okay…I just thought I’d ask.”


Twilight Vs Holy Light
Bookstore | Chicago, IL, USA

(A young woman, about 20 years old, comes up to the counter holding a copy of The Bible.)

Me: “Hi, did you find everything you needed today?”

Customer: “Yeah, hey, can you tell me what this is about?”

Me: “The Bible?”

Customer: “Yeah, what’s it about?”

Me: “The Bible has two parts, the Old Testament which is scriptures and the New Testament, which contains the story of Jesus’ life and works as told through the gospels, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.”

Customer: “Huh. Is it any good?”

Me: “It’s pretty popular.”

Customer: “Nah, I’ll just get this one instead.” *puts a copy of Twilight on the counter*


You can check out this site for yourself at http://notalwaysright.com, though I warn you that it's very addictive.

The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones

Most people die only once, but Christopher Chant can die again and again, or at least nine times. And at the rate that he is currently going, those nine lives won’t last very long.

Raised in a London mansion by a bevy of nurses and governesses, young Christopher lives a privileged but lonely existence, largely ignored by his flighty mother and distant father. But each night he escapes from the nursery into the Place Between from where he can enter into other worlds and where he befriends some of the interesting people that populate them.

But everything changes the day that Christopher's uncle shows up at his home, determined to take charge of the family’s failing finances and of Christopher’s future. There is even talk of going to school, which Christopher is quite excited about. Christopher is enchanted by this charismatic uncle who is the first adult to actually take a personal interest in him, and so when he requests that Christopher assist him with some experiments involving his cross-world visitations, Christopher eagerly complies.

At first the experiments are fun, and they lead Christopher to make new friends and discover new worlds. But after he gets stabbed in the chest by a spear and then burned to a crisp by a dragon, the excitement begins to wear off. Once at school Christopher becomes occupied with his new school friends and an obsession with cricket, and he no longer has time to go trekking in other worlds, to his uncle's dismay. Though Christopher's school days are short-lived as his father has other plans for him.

After being killed, once again, Christopher is pulled out of school by his father and presented to the
Chrestomanci in the belief that Christopher is really a nine-lived enchanter.
Furious at having his nephew whisked away from him, Christopher's uncle executes his revenge against the Chrestomanci and that is when Christopher discovers the truth about his family and his own unknowing participation in this sinister plot.

The Lives of Christopher Chant tells the story of the Chrestomanci as a child and is a prequel to Charmed Life, and the rest of the Chrestomanci books. If you are as a big of a Chrestomanci fan as I am, then you will be just as delighted to get to know him in his younger days, before he became the powerful enchanter of the first three books in the series.

The Lives of Christopher Chant is a wonderfully entertaining and intelligent story, making it a book that readers of any age can enjoy. The story is full of action, adventure and magic and the characters are likable and sympathetic. Christopher is wholly believable as a self absorbed young man who is much more interested in playing cricket than in becoming an enchanter. He can be pushy, arrogant and rude though he also has a strong sense of honor and loyalty and a streak of mischievous, all of which combine to make a compelling character that readers will come to care for. There is also the pleasure of discovering the surprising truth about Millie's origins, and getting to know her as a young girl.

I also really enjoyed finding out more about the different alternate world, which Jones’ had touched upon in Charmed Life, as well as reading about the development of another young nine-lived enchanter as he navigates the discovery of his own magical abilities and potential.

The story also includes those themes common in Jones’s books, of unreliable adults, distrustful children and the betrayal of those close to them. While these are all pretty heavy subjects, Jones works them in subtly so that they give the story depth while keeping it light enough for young readers to easily enjoy.

I highly recommend The Lives of Christopher Chant to readers of all ages, particularly those who are just begin to develop an interest in fantasy. Though I do suggest you read Charmed Life first because it will give you a better appreciation of the of the story’s characters .

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones

Posted by Simcha 7:51 PM, under | 4 comments

A couple of weeks ago I had mentioned that in honor of Diana Wynne Jones I would try to read and review as many of her books as I could get a hold of, and since then I hadn't brought it up again. Lest you think that I forgot about my resolution I want to clarify that I certainly have not. In fact, I had jumped into my pile of Jones books with relish, only occasionally coming up for air. And then I suddenly realized that it has been over a week since I last posted a review and so I forced myself to put my book down and to start reviewing.

I decided to start my reading with one of my favorite of Diana Wynne Jones's books, and the first one of hers that I ever read,
Charmed Life.

When Cat and his older sister Gwendolen are orphaned by the tragic death of their parents in a steamer accident, they are sent to live with their neighbor, Mrs. Sharp, who also happens to be a witch. Gwendolyn is delighted by this turn of events since she now has someone supportive of her interest in magic and who recognizers her great potential. Cat, who has no propensity for magic at all, is happy as long as he can cling to Gwendolen’s side, as she his only remaining family member.

Mrs. Sharp quickly realizes the extent of Gwendolyn’s talent for magic and sends her to lessons with the local wizard. But soon Gwendolyn feels that she has surpassed her current teacher and all the other local witches and so she writes to the Chrestomanci, the most powerful wizard of all, to request that he take her in and train her.

To Cat’s surprise, and dismay, the Chrestomanci actually responds to Gwendolen’s request and he and Gwendelyn are invited to come live with the Chrestomanci and his family. But Gwendolen’s pleasure is short-lived when she fails to receive the recognition and respect she has come to expect and is instead treated as a novice and prohibited from using any magic at all. In retaliation, Gwendolen plots a series of pranks to demonstrate to everyone how powerful she really is. When these pranks fail to elicit the desired response, Gwendolen turns to darker magic for the ultimate revenge against the Chrestomanci and all of his supporters, though it will be poor Cat who will get caught in the middle.

It has been over fifteen years since I had last read
Charmed Life and I have no idea why I waited so long to reread it. I suppose I had assumed that as an adult I probably wouldn’t enjoy this YA book as much as I once had, but I was quickly proven wrong. The story, the characters, the humor and the magic are all just as delightful as I remember them to be.

When I had first read
Charmed Life I was pretty new to fantasy and stories about magic and alternate worlds. But even now, as a seasoned fantasy reader I was still intrigued by the story Jones has woven and all the wonderful elements she has incorporated in it. I particularly like the idea of the Chrestomanci, a powerful enchanter with nine lives, unique in that there are no other versions of him in all the other worlds. And in Jones’s books the Chrestomancis always start off as young, naive boys who have no idea of the magic they are capable of, for one reason or another.

Cat Chant is one such boy. He has always assumed that his sister is the only one in the family capable of magic, and he is satisfied with things being that way. But he doesn’t realize where it is that Gwendolen is getting her powers from and that, thanks to her, he has already died several times in his young life.

While Cat at first seems like a rather simple character, naive and overly-eager to please, he evolves throughout the story, becoming more interesting and complex, as he discovers the truth about himself and his sister, and learns to stand up for himself. Though my favorite character is the Chrestomanci, with his penchant for silk robes and his distant and dreamy behavior which so frustrates Gwendolen. Some of my favorite parts of the book are the Chrestomanci’s interactions with Cat and Gwendolen.

    He [Cat]went to the side door and burst into the kitchen with his hatful of apples, shouting, "I say! Look what I've got, Mrs. Sharp!" Mrs. Sharp was not there. Instead, standing in the middle of the kitchen, was a tall and quite extraordinarily well-dressed man.

    Cat stared at him in some dismay. He was clearly a rich new Town Councillor. Nobody but those kind of people wore trousers with such pearly stripes, or coats of such beautiful velvet, or carried : tall hats as shiny as their boots. The man's hair was dark. It was smooth as his hat. Cat had no doubt that this was Gwendolen's Dark Stranger, come to help her start ruling the world. And he should not have been in the kitchen at all. Visitors were always taken straight to the parlor.

    "Oh, how do you do, sir. Will you come this way, sir?" he gasped.

    The Dark Stranger gave him a wondering look. And well he might, Cat thought, looking around distractedly…

    "Who are you?" said the Dark Stranger. "I have a feeling I should know you. What have you got in your hat?"

    Cat was too busy staring around to attend properly, but he caught the last question. His pleasure returned. "Apples," he said, showing the Stranger. "Lovely sweet ones. I've been scrumping."

    The Stranger looked grave. "Scrumping," he said, "is a form of stealing."

    Cat knew that as well as he did. He thought it was very joyless, even for a Town Councillor, to point it out. "I know. But I bet you did it when you were my age."

    The Stranger coughed slightly and changed the subject. "You haven't said yet who you are."

    "Sorry. Didn't I?" said Cat. "I'm Eric Chant—only they always call me Cat."

    "Then is Gwendolen Chant your sister?" the Stranger asked. He was looking more and more austere and pitying. Cat suspected that he thought Mrs. Sharp's kitchen was a den of vice.

    "That's right. Won't you come this way?" Cat said, hoping to get the Stranger out of it. "It's neater through here."

    "I had a letter from your sister," the Stranger said, standing where he was. "She gave me the impression you had drowned with your parents."

    "You must have made a mistake," Cat said distractedly. "I didn't drown because I was holding on to Gwendolen, and she's a witch. It's cleaner through here."

    "I see," said the Stranger. "I'm called Chrestomanci, by the way."

    "Oh!" said Cat. This was a real crisis. He put his hat of apples down in the middle of the spell, which he very much hoped would ruin it. "Then you've got to come in the parlor at once."

    "Why?" said Chrestomanci, sounding rather bewildered.

    "Because," said Cat, thoroughly exasperated, "you're far too important to stay here."

    "What makes you think I'm important?" Chrestomanci asked, still bewildered.

    Cat was beginning to want to shake him. "You must be. You're wearing important clothes. And Mrs. Sharp said you were. She said Mr. Nostrum would give his eyes just for your three letters."

    "Has Mr. Nostrum given his eyes for my letters?" asked Chrestomanci. "It hardly seems worth it."

    "No. He just gave Gwendolen lessons for them," said Cat.

    "What? For his eyes? How uncomfortable!" said Chrestomanci.

The story is also spiced up with some villainous characters, from Gwendolen herself, to the sinister Nostrum brothers who sell illegal magical ingredients. Mrs. Sharp is a bit of a borderline character, mostly looking out for her own good but also genuinely affectionate towards Cat. Most of the adult characters in this book are actually pretty untrustworthy, with Millie being the only clearly good soul among them. But such relationships between adults and children are common in Jones’s books.

I was really glad to find that I enjoyed
Charmed Life just as much now as I did the first time, and I even found new nuances to the story which I had not noticed when I was younger. I now can’t wait for my children to be old enough for me to share this book with them.



Monday, June 28, 2010

Missing Harry Potter? Then this song is for you

Posted by Simcha 6:49 PM, under | 6 comments

Thanks to BStearns at Bryan's SFF Hub for introducing me to James at War and his music video parodies.

This is Hey Harry Potter sung to Hey There Delilah

Free audiobooks at Audible.com

Posted by Simcha 5:28 AM, under | 8 comments

Audible.com is currently offering a selection of audio books for free download as a promotion to non-members. A few of the books they are offering are ones that I have been eager to read, so I'm pretty excited about this promotion. But this offer is only good for one download and it ends on July 2nd.


The list of books include:

METAtropolis by Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, Karl Schroeder
The Hunter by L. J. Smith
Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes
That's Life Samara Brooks by Daniel Ehrenhaft
The Hanging Hill by Chris Grabenstein
Yours Truly, Lucy B. Parker, Girl vs. Superstar by Robin Palmer
Fractured by Karin Slaughter
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The Lost Fleet: Dauntless by Jack Campbell
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
On Basilisk Station by David Weber
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason
The Last Surgeon by Michael Palmer
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
I Am Legend: Free Version by Richard Matheson
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Merchant of Death by D. J. MacHale
The Black Echo (Unabridged) by Michael Connelly
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Stiff by Mary Roach
My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler
Little Bee by Chris Cleave

I think I'm going to do with The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold, because I have really been wating to try some of Bujold's scifi books, though I have also been wanting to read Darkly Dreaming Dexter and I am Legend, so I might chose one of those instead.

If you are not a member of Audible.com then you can download your own free book at this link.

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