I am, however, feeling excellent about listening to audiobooks on my commute to and from work. Here's what I've been listening to:
The Amulet of Samarkand by Stroud. At first, my reaction to listening to this book was, "Yikes, it's Arthur Dent pretending to be a genie!" But that was quickly lost in appreciation for Simon Jones' excellent narration. The book is hilarious. I immediately put the second book in the trilogy on hold at the library.
The Thief Lord by Funke. I can't believe it's taken me this long to get around to reading Funke's first novel for children! I am swooning with joy for her character development. Yay, three-dimensional characters! Yay, unusual turns of phrase! Yay, unpredictable plot! Plus, Simon Jones again. Excellent.
Strawberry Hill by Hoberman. Okay, excellent book, but this is where audiobooks can sometimes get in their own way, because I was just wondering if the narrator could be any more annoying? It made an already precious book a little over the top. I would have appreciated this one more in text form, I think.
Walk Two Moons by Creech. I've been wondering about Creech's recent works, because they haven't quite lived up to my memory of the quality of her Newbery winner. I'm happy to say it's just as good as it was fourteen years ago. The narrator was very funny, too.
The Not-Just-Anybody Family by Byars. Last year I read a bunch of Byars' junior fiction and was hooked, so I thought I'd try this old series about the Blossoms. I think it's stood up well over 47 years. The new covers will give it some life to new readers, I think.
Ivy and Bean by Barrows and Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Schlitz are next.
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