Best Book I've Read In Years: The Martian

[PonoBill]

I learned to read from my sister reading to me and pointing at the words. For me it's a vice. My kindle library is only about 500 books. The dead tree library I gifted when I sold our big house was close to 7K books. We only kept a few hundred and they're STILL a pain in the ass. I didn't read all 7K, but I read a lot of them. My wife and I are both voracious readers and used to routinely visit Powell's bookstore in Portland and leave with stacks of books. With my ridiculous ADD issue I would not only forget to read some of the stuff I'd bought, I would also buy books I already owned. I miss the sense of discovery in a bookstore, but I don't miss the bulk and it's very nice having Amazon occasionally tell me "you already own that book, idiot".

People wonder how I find the time to read so much--I've read 89 books since I got to Maui in November. That's actually a bit on the low side for me. I'm indiscriminate--half of that number was crap that I blew through in an hour or two, a quarter was good, and the rest technical. I'm currently re-reading Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle--it's a freebie on Amazon Unlimited. I suspect it will lead me to re-read all his books. I spend a lot of time re-reading stuff I really love. I've read Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series at least eight times and listened to the audiobook version twice. I re-read Feynman's Lectures in Physics every few years. And then I forget it all, which proves I never really understand it. I read the Martian twice, and enjoyed it more the second time. My wife got it on audiobooks, so I'll probably listen to it as soon as I take a long drive--maybe to the BOP, or one of the car racing trips this year.

My wife and I read everywhere. When we go to a nice restaurant we bring books. People consider that unromantic, but we were both in relationships before where that was unthinkable, and it's a characteristic of our relationship that we both enjoy. I don't watch television except for an occasional binge of watching a whole dramatic series in a day or two. Diane and I are blowing through "House of Cards" on Flicker now. Other than that, I just can't watch TV. Frees up a lot of time.

Amazon Unlimited will keep the number of books in my Kindle collection manageable. With that service you "borrow" up to ten books at a time, and when you borrow another you give one back. Less megabytes in my cloud will keep it tidier. 

[standuped]

I have a few long drives coming up and thought I would give audio books a try.  Yes, I've never used books on tape before.   So I thought I would try The Martian  Just could not click with the reader. Not the tone that I had imagined at all. I was really looking forward to books on tape but it was just unbearable. Tried a few others Gone Girl   Same result, impossible to listen to. Any one else get the same impression.  The app is free at amazon and the trails are free.  Give a listen and see if it works for you.

[PonoBill]

Damn, you're right. Nice voice, but not the right tone. Audiobooks are ALL about the reader. The Patrick O'Brian books are read by a couple of different people, but they're all salty brits. I don't necessarily understand every word, but the overall experience is great. Another surprisingly fine reader is Burt Reynolds, even though his pronunciation of some words runs me up a wall. It's LibRary Burt, not lieberry.  The reader for the Martian is tolerable at least, and I'll probably listen to it without much pain. It's not as bad as the Janet Evanovich book I picked up on the road once. The woman reader's voice was so horrific I tossed the CDs into the trash at a rest stop after snapping each one in half--a humanitarian act that may have saved some scavengers eardrums.

[pdxmike]

I've been getting audiobooks for long drives lately.  They've been almost all non-fiction, except for a few political autobiographies.   Especially with autobiographical-type books, it's a different situation than with fiction. It just doesn't work for me to have a narrator reading those, no matter how good.   Something is lost when the actual author/subject isn't telling their own story in their own voice.  Luckily, the last few have been people like Tina Fey, George Carlin, and Dick Cavett, who are as good at talking/delivery as anyone could be.  But I also just finished one by Amanda Knox.  She was a fine narrator, but even if she hadn't been, hearing her story from a narrator wouldn't have had the same impact. 

[BigSlaveDave]

thanks bill.....sounds good....is it actually printed in a book?

[standuped]

I've been getting audiobooks for long drives lately.  They've been almost all non-fiction, except for a few political autobiographies.   Especially with autobiographical-type books, it's a different situation than with fiction. It just doesn't work for me to have a narrator reading those, no matter how good.   Something is lost when the actual author/subject isn't telling their own story in their own voice.  Luckily, the last few have been people like Tina Fey, George Carlin, and Dick Cavett, who are as good at talking/delivery as anyone could be.  But I also just finished one by Amanda Knox.  She was a fine narrator, but even if she hadn't been, hearing her story from a narrator wouldn't have had the same impact.

Ah ha!  Non fiction that should be the ticket.  Amanda Knox... she's a FINE narrator.  Worth a try just from that.  Dick Cavett straight up rocks gotta do that.  great suggestion.

[standuped]

Another surprisingly fine reader is Burt Reynolds, even though his pronunciation of some words runs me up a wall. It's LibRary Burt, not lieberry.

That is some funny....  I always got unscrewed when Telly Savalas would say "CarAhbeean" in those old Players Club commercials.  It was like he unleashed a virus that caused an entire generation to mispronounce..... I'd always sigh and say "there are two b's...BUT NO middle A in Caribbean !  "  It was an area named after the fierce Carib  peoples.  F the French version

[headmount]

I thought the narrator for the audible "The Unbroken" was very good.  Clear and in the feeling. 

Tried another called "Cloudstreet" (a two family saga from the 940s to 1960s in Perth WA).  The narrator was the actor Peter Hosking who does a good Australian accent.... too good.  It gets grating after awhile.  There's a lilting  Australian and a grating one.  So I dropped the audible and read it instead.  Got hooked by the title but the tale had little to do with soaring.  Still a wild family drama.

[WhatsSUP]

My wife and I just both finished Headmount's book and I told my wife about this book based on comments from this forum.  Lo and behold it was in the bookstore at the airport yesterday and she picked it up for the cross country flight back home.  She showed me the very first line in the book as we pushed back from the gate and I said "yep, that pretty much says it all......second sentence could be "the end!".  I look forward to reading it when she finishes!

[juandoe]

https://play.google.com/store/recommended?sp=CAUwAFopCiNwcm9tb3Rpb25fMTAwMWE3YV9hdWd1c3RfZmxhc2hfc2FsZRAHGAE%3D%3AS%3AANO1ljIqQjE&c=books&hl=en

On google for 1.99 now.