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By Pat Murphey, read by Johanna Ward

The problem with this book is that Pat Murphey got interested in an idea and then wrote a story around it. Most of the time I find this type of writing fails miserably. This time, however, it just made me want to take a cruise. Which is saying something for the author. I liked her Characters and the romantic sub-plot was sweet. Well written and well read (I wasn’t sure about the female reader at first but she quickly displayed her talent as being worthy of your attention) this book suffers from one thing only: a dispassionate author. Not that she doesn’t care for her characters, but rather that she doesn’t really care too much about the story as long as it illustrates the idea she has been trying to convey. Some characters make out-of-character decisions and the “Bad Grrlz Guide to Physics” sub-story is pretty annoying (only because I think spelling girls “grrlz” is hokey and stupid) On the whole, however, I enjoyed this book and am definitely planning a cruise sometime on the Dawn Princess.

Written by J.K. Rowling

Oh Harry Potter! How we all love you! J.K. Rowling has produced a story that strings all of her other stories together. It’s interesting to note that this book is significantly shorter than the last book (647 pages as opposed to over 800) and yet, she tells so much more in this book that it’s hard not to want to read it again right after you put it down. Also intriguing is the fact that this book is noticeably thin on sub-plots. There are a few telling sub-plots between the main three and assorted side characters but all-in-all not too much to distract from the main plot line. In this book we see our three beloved characters change from what we happily thought of as little kids into what we knew must one day happen: adults. This is not really a kid’s story any more. The situation between Harry and Voldemort has become serious and consequently, so has the story. J.K. Rowling has a uniquely unmatched talent for spinning out a tale. The depth to which this talent plumbs has become more apparent within this book as she subtly weaves threads from past books, threads that you did not know were even loose, together with new-found knowledge to detail a story with adventure, love, loss and tragedy that make you wonder if these things she’s telling you might not really be true. How can they be made-up when they feel so, well, right? I won’t give anything away by telling you that this book makes you feel such profound loss that it’s hard to believe it can happen.

By Jenny Nimmo, narrated by . . . eh, I don’t remember.

The first fifteen minutes on the first CD were not only confusing (who was the main character? I don’t know what’s going on!) – there were sisters named yarnbeam? And a dog named Runner-bean? I don’t like it when the names of characters are very similar – I think it’s poor consideration for readers on the author’s part. Anyway, this was so obviously a knock-off of the Harry Potter series (there’s even a kid with HP glasses on the front cover) that I couldn’t stand to listen to the whole of the first CD. Perhaps it has a different story line but I’m not going to listen to it to find out.

By Christopher Paolini, read by Gerard Doyle

So this is an interesting book. It was written by a 15 year old boy. I say boy because there are a lot of tell-tales in his writing that make you realize he has not yet grown up enough to gather wisdom in his writing. However, it is still disturbing that a 15 year-old can write a book like this and I, at 31, can’t manage to write more than a few paragraphs at a time. I enjoyed this book quite a bit for what it was: a derivative piece of fiction. I believe the author has many more novels to write and he will become more adept at hiding his influences. That said, here are the problems I find with this book: Firstly, the name “Eragon” can you say “Aragorn”? Secondly, by listening to this book you can pick out at least five of the authors favorite stories: Star Wars, The LOTR trilogy, Harry Potter, The Dark Tower series, and I do believe there is a bit of Terry Pratchett in there. His characters make WILDLY out-of-character choices and the cheats that he uses to push the story along are glaringly obvious. The pace of the story doesn’t flow well – half the time it seems to be written with exclamation marks all over the page, and in the middle of all the exclamation marks are clunky, slow pieces that don’t really seem to be necessary. It was interesting noting all this with my critical thinking brain and yet still being deeply and emotionally involved in the story. Because it is a good story. Paolni’s ideas about how magic works and the disposition of dragons are very intriguing. I found them believable, enjoyable and unconventional. All in all, I would recommend this book to a young reader (and probably an older reader with a few disclaimers) What I would love to read is the novel he writes at age 31. By then I think Mr. Paolini’s story-telling will have developed to an incredible level.

By Terry Brooks, narrated by Some Robot Dude 

I could not listen to this past the first chapter. The Landover book series is not “classic Literature” by any stretch of the imagination. The are definitely fun books to read but I do not recommend this audio version. Pairing the simplistic and formulaic plot to a reader with all the personality of a robot and you have nine CD’s worth of nerve-grating drivel. I think the reader was chosen for his ability to characterize voices. Unfortunately he does not enliven the characters in any way. His tone is flat and when not in the voice of one of the characters, his recitation is boring. F-

By Peter Mayle

Peter Mayle is always relaxing to read. His books make you crave good food, good company and great wine. He describes the French people and their culture with fascination, respect and the bewilderment only a transplanted Englishman could experience. A simple story but well worth reading for the description alone. This is his second (?) work of fiction and his writing style is a bit predictable but this is easily forgiven in exchange for the depth to which he immerses you in the Provincal countryside.