Title: The Testament of Jessie Lamb

Author: Jane Rogers

Publication Year: 2012

Pages: 256

Genre: Fiction, Dystopian

Source: Review copy from the publisher through NetGalley

From the cover:

A rogue virus that kills pregnant women has been let loose in the world, and nothing less than the survival of the human race is at stake.

Some blame the scientists, others see the hand of God, and still others claim that human arrogance and destructiveness are reaping the punishment they deserve. Jessie Lamb is an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl living in extraordinary times. As her world collapses, her idealism and courage drive her toward the ultimate act of heroism. She wants her life to make a difference. But is Jessie heroic? Or is she, as her scientist father fears, impressionable, innocent, and incapable of understanding where her actions will lead?

Set in a world irreparably altered by an act of biological terrorism, The Testament of Jessie Lamb explores a young woman’s struggle to become independent of her parents. As the certainties of her childhood are ripped apart, Jessie begins to question her parents’ attitudes, their behavior, and the very world they have bequeathed her.

I first picked up this book because I found the premise interesting. A virus that kills pregnant women? Definitely up my alley. What I didn’t understand, though, was that the virus kills them as their pregnancy progresses, and that they can still get pregnant – there’s nothing stopping that from happening to begin with. For some reason, I had been under the impression that this meant that all currently pregnant women were dying, and that that would be the end of reproduction because no one would get pregnant after that, not because they would die from doing so.

So anyways, after that part was revealed, the real strength of Rogers’ book really became clear: the moral dilemmas that everyone – from parents to teenagers, from scientists to religious leaders – has to wrestle with. There are so many questions that need answering, and no clear answers. How will the human race survive? Are the lives of babies more important than the lives of the girls who are luckily (or unluckily) young enough to be able to survive the ordeal? How far can medical science go before it’s too far?

What I found most interesting about The Testament of Jessie Lamb was the dance that each character had to do in order to navigate the fine line between right and wrong … if there even is one. Most dystopias that I’ve read in the past have a very clearly defined cause for the way things have become; in this book, nobody knows where the virus really came from, and are instead left to deal with the aftermath without any preconceived ideas about who’s to blame. (Or, at least, none that are definitely true.) I loved the moral ambiguity of Jessie Lamb: no one is definitely right or wrong, and everyone is left to make their own decisions about what is ethical for them.

I was drawn into this story by the premise, but I kept reading because of the characters. The ways in which their lives, beliefs, and actions overlapped was fascinating. Jessie, as the narrator, came across as both an intelligent and intriguing teenager trying hard to reconcile her values with what is happening in the world around her, and a self-centered girl who doesn’t care about the way her actions will affect those around her. And the other characters, her friends and family in particular, had their own contradictions and complications.

If you’re a fan of dystopias, or you want to read a book that will really make you think, The Testament of Jessie Lamb is a great choice.

Rating:

The Testament of Jessie Lamb (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: Stories I Only Tell My Friends

Author/Narrator: Rob Lowe

Publication Year: 2011

Pages: 320 (audio length: 9 hours 11 minutes)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoirs

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

A wryly funny and surprisingly moving account of an extraordinary life lived almost entirely in the public eye. A teen idol at 15, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at 20, and one of Hollywood’s top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio who was uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-70s Malibu, where he embarked on his unrelenting pursuit of a career in Hollywood. The Outsiders placed Lowe at the birth of the modern youth movement in the entertainment industry. During his time on The West Wing, he witnessed the surreal nexus of show business and politics, both on the set and in the actual White House. And in between are deft and humorous stories of the wild excesses that marked the 80s, leading to his quest for family and sobriety.

Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last 25 years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.

Nominated in category: "Narration by the Author or Authors"

When I was a teenager, there was a period where I tried to watch The West Wing, but it didn’t last very long. I watched a few episodes, and while I really enjoyed it, I never really got into it as a regular thing. When I picked up this audiobook for the Armchair Audies, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. What else had Rob Lowe done besides The West Wing?

Yes, yes, I know … there’s more to Rob Lowe than this television show. But I didn’t really know that until I listened to this book! Maybe it’s a generational thing, or because I just never happened to see anything else with him in it, but that’s pretty much where my knowledge ended.

Anyways, even without knowing much about his work, I found it interesting listening to Stories I Only Tell My Friends. It was like stepping into the world of Hollywood actors and actresses for a few hours, listening in on their reminiscences from auditions, work, and random encounters. Most of the time, it was just interesting reading about things that went on behind the scenes, but from time to time, it was also amusing or poignant.

Having said that, I also found the way that people were mentioned to be a bit like name-dropping. Maybe that really is how things go in the kind of circles that Lowe was in even from a young age, but it just seemed too convenient at times. And even when it was stories from when he was older and more established, and thus more realistic, it sometimes still felt gratuitous. Yes, the stories were interesting, but does Lowe really not have much to say about other people in his life who aren’t famous? Or did he just not think those stories would be as interesting?

In the end, this was an interesting read and Lowe’s narration was good: well-paced and with a great voice. But it’s probably only going to be interesting for you if you’re interested in Hollywood or a behind-the-scenes look at the life of an actor (Rob Lowe in particular). If that strikes your fancy, go for it! Stories I Only Tell My Friends isn’t a literary masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s well-written and gives readers a glimpse of a life they will likely never know.

Rating:

Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks: And Other Complaints from an Angry Middle-Aged White Guy

Author/Narrator: Adam Carolla

Publication Year: 2011

Pages: 272 (audio length: 6 hours 42 minutes)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Humour

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

“A couple years back, I was at the Phoenix airport bar. It was empty except for one heavy-set, gray bearded, grizzled guy who looked like he just rode his donkey into town after a long day of panning for silver in them thar hills. He ordered a Jack Daniels straight up, and that’s when I overheard the young guy with the earring behind the bar asking him if he had ID. At first the old sea captain just laughed. But the guy with the twinkle in his ear asked again. At this point it became apparent that he was serious. Dan Haggerty’s dad fired back, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me, son.’ The bartender replied, ‘New policy. Everyone has to show their ID.’ Then I watched Burl Ives reluctantly reach into his dungarees and pull out his military identification card from World War II.”

It’s a sad and eerie harbinger of our times that the Oprah-watching, crystal-rubbing, Whole Foods-shopping moms and their whipped attorney husbands have taken the ability to reason away from the poor schlub who makes the Bloody Marys. What we used to settle with common sense or a fist, we now settle with hand sanitizer and lawyers. Adam Carolla has had enough of this insanity and he’s here to help us get our collective balls back.

In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks is Adam’s comedic gospel of modern America. He rips into the absurdity of the culture that demonized the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, turned the nation’s bathrooms into a lawless free-for-all of urine and fecal matter, and put its citizens at the mercy of a bunch of minimum wagers with axes to grind. Peppered between complaints, Carolla shares candid anecdotes from his day to day life as well as his past Sunday football at Jimmy Kimmel’s house, his attempts to raise his kids in a society that he mostly disagrees with, his big showbiz break, and much, much more. Brilliantly showcasing Adam’s spot-on sense of humor, this book cements his status as a cultural commentator/comedian/complainer extraordinaire.

Nominated in category: "Humor"

This is one of the books that I only heard about this year because of the Audies; sadly, I did not enjoy it as much as the others. In fact, “dislike” is too mild of a word. I downright hated almost the entire experience of listening to it.

First, I’ll give you something good to start with: Carolla’s narration is punchy and entertaining. And once in a while, from time to time, he said something that legitimately made me laugh, without also cringing at the inanity (or offensiveness). But for most of the book, the cringing wasn’t even accompanied by a giggle.

For starters, within the first couple minutes – or possibly only one – of the audiobook, Carolla refers to the “pussification of America”. It only goes downhill from there.

Here’s a brief list of the things that bothered me enough to write them down as I was listening:

• While talking about how men bother him when they say that their wives are their best friends, he says: “Your best friend is supposed to be the guy you go to to bitch about your wife getting fat.”
• He constantly refers to people as “douchebags”.
• When talking about homosexuals (not for the first time, I might add), he says that there are “two kinds of gays”: “there’s the ‘I love to chug cock’ gay and then there’s the ‘I’m not gonna help you move’ gay.”
• At one point he says, “So let’s quickly review the retarded society we’ve crafted.”
• He actually states: “My editor wants to rape me with a mop handle every time I call this a book on cassette.”
• He tells a story about the difference between toilets for men and women, and in referencing the complaint that women have about men not putting the seat down and then them “almost” falling in at night when it’s dark, he congratulations women who do fall in for “not being fat”, and says that the actors in Precious will never have that problem.
• He says: “I get labelled a misogynist all the time, but I’m simply pointing out that men and women are different – or at least they used to be.” He then goes on to elaborate on this, and finishes the section with a few absolutely ridiculous remarks, including telling women: “you’re worse people than we are, but you live five years longer”.
• When talking about people complaining about a method of torture that involves shooting a gun in the next room and then the interrogator claiming they have show your partner, he says: “Are we turning into such cock-chugging homos in this country that we’re really upset about this?”
• When talking about the disposable ketchup packets that you get at fast food restaurants, he then segues into: “And don’t get me started on soy sauce! That’s an even bigger abortion!”
• Near the end of the book, he actually utters the words: “I’m into gun safety as much as the next white supremacist…”, and then goes on to say that “the best form of home security is a confederate flag”, because then it implies to people that you’re a gun nut and that you’re a dangerous person to try to rob. Then he continues with “if this feels too racist for you, the next best thing is a ‘don’t tread on me’ flag”, which apparently has something to do with the NRA?

Yeah … and that’s only the stuff that I bothered to keep track of, and that was short enough to include concisely.

Seriously.

Need I say more?

Rating:

In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks: And Other Complaints from an Angry Middle-Aged White Guy (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: Shatner Rules: Your Key to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large

Authors: William Shatner, Chris Regan

Narrator: William Shatner

Publication Year: 2011

Pages: 272 (audio length: 4 hours 27 minutes)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Humour

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

You love William Shatner.

You admire his many and varied talents.

You appreciate his creativity and willingness to take risks.

You want to learn his master negotiation techniques.

You wish you could hang out with him.

Admit it. You want to BE William Shatner.

And now…you can (almost).

This collection of rules, illustrated with stories from Bill’s illustrious life and career, will show you how Bill became WILLIAM SHATNER, larger than life and bigger than any role he ever played. Shatner Rules is your guide to becoming William Shatner. Or more accurately, beautifully Shatneresque.

Because let’s face it…Shatner does rule, doesn’t he?

Nominated in category: "Humor"

If you have even the smallest bit of a soft spot for William Shatner, this will be one of the most fun books you’ll read (or, even better, listen to!), all year. I hadn’t even realized this book had come out until it was on the nomination list for the Audies, but now I’m really glad I did.

Shatner Rules is basically where Shatner lays out his collected wisdom and experiences for the reader to examine. It’s basically formatted like a rule book or maybe a guide book: the audiobook is punctuated by the sound of one of those bells you ring on a desk, and Shatner saying “rule!” and then stating the next point he’s going to address. I loved it in audiobook format – it just made everything so clearcut, especially in Shatner’s own voice – but I’m sure it would have a similar effect in written text.

Interspersed among the “rules” are Shatner’s observations on his own life, particularly in the more recent past. There are stories about sci fi conventions, the shows that Shatner has been in after Star Trek, his relationships with other actors, and some of his life as a family man. Most are funny, but some are more touching and poignant than you might expect. And all are told with typical Shatner charm.

I enjoyed every minute listening to Shatner Rules. It was amusing and enlightening, with lots of life lessons to be had. Definitely pick up a copy to read or listen to, if you haven’t already.

Rating:

Shatner Rules: Your Key to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: Bossypants

Author/Narrator: Tina Fey

Publication Year: 2011

Pages: 288 (audio length: 5 hours 35 minutes)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Humour, Memoirs

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

Before Liz Lemon, before “Weekend Update,” before “Sarah Palin,” Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV. She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey’s story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon — from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we’ve all suspected: you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.

Nominated in categories: "Biography/Memoir" and "Audiobook of the Year"

Like probably a lot of other people, I had never heard of Tina Fey until her now-infamous video as Sarah Palin in a bikini. But once I’d heard about her the first time, I remember finding out that she had done all kinds of other awesome stuff, and then … well, I promptly got too busy to follow it up.

Yes. I admit it.

Then a few months ago, Bossypants came out, and it was all over the blogosphere. People loved it. And I remember thinking that perhaps I should give it a go … and then I got too busy to follow it up.

Yes, again.

So now, this month, I downloaded the book to review for the Armchair Audies. And instead of forgetting about it, I actually listened to it. And I was enthralled. It was fantastic, I tell you. So fantastic, in fact, that I then promptly got around to finally watching an episode of 30 Rock to see what all the fuss is about. And I enjoyed it. Not as much as I enjoyed the book, mind you, but it was a single episode. Perhaps the show as a whole will have more of an effect on me later.

And now … back to Bossypants. In this book, Fey does an awesome job of talking about how she became the person she is today – in charge of an awful lot of people who work together to make 30 Rock, not to mention her other “boss”-type jobs in the recent past – and doing it with flair. As someone who had never heard her comedy before, except the specific instance of Palin impersonation, I had a great time. I’m fairly sure I got caught laughing out loud more than once as I listened to the audiobook while driving.

There are lots of interesting parts, but I don’t want to give anything away. So I’m just going to mention that, in addition to all of the other hilarity, Fey mentions one of my favourite things in life: Red Lobster cheddar biscuits. You know, the ones they give you free every time you eat there? Well, she came out with this awesome statement, somewhere smack in the middle of the book when I was least expecting it:

There is no one of woman born who does not like cheddar biscuits. Anyone who claims otherwise is a liar and a socialist.

And let me tell you, she’s right. On this, and on so many other topics that come up in her book.

If you’re interested in comedy, or in hilariously-told life/career stories, or in Tina Fey herself … this is definitely the book for you. Or, well, even if you just want to listen to a great narrator telling funny anecdotes. Or anything. I pretty much can’t think of anyone who couldn’t enjoy Bossypants.

Give it a go. Seriously.

Rating:

Bossypants (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: This Is An Audiobook

Author/Narrator: Demetri Martin

Publication Year: 2011

Pages: 288 (audio length: 4 hours 16 minutes)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Humour

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

Demetri’s first literary foray features longer-form essays and conceptual pieces (such as Protagonists’ Hospital, a melodrama about the clinic doctors who treat only the flesh wounds and minor head scratches of Hollywood action heroes), as well as his trademark charts, doodles, drawings, one-liners, and lists (i.e., the world views of optimists, pessimists and contortionists), Martin’s material is varied, but his unique voice and brilliant mind will keep listeners in stitches from beginning to end.

Nominated in category: "Humor"

This has got to be one of the most random pieces of writing I’ve ever read. I never would’ve heard of it if it hadn’t been for the Armchair Audies. And I loved it.

Martin’s book is a random compilation of pieces of writing, ranging from pseudo-short stories to collections of one-liners. Supposedly in the paper book, there are also drawings and such, but I can’t really speak to those as they aren’t available in the audiobook version. I think that seeing the book visually might have helped some of the sections be even more entertaining – for example, it’s hard to really get the “feel” of a list when it’s being read to you instead of seeing it in list form on the page.

Having said that, I feel like the author’s narration was actually one of the winning points of this audiobook production. Martin narrates with a soft, deadpan – though still highly expressive – voice, which just adds to the humour of each and every piece. There’s a certain level of snark and the feeling of being “in” on an inside joke that you get as a listener to This Is An Audiobook, and I think that affect is largely created by the way in which the author tells the story, both in the actual words and in the delivery.

There’s not really a lot that I can say about the content, because it’s so varied. That’s what I found interesting, though: it wasn’t one long story, so the constant changing of the characters, the themes, and even the actual format kept me on my toes and listening for the next New Thing.

Give this one a try, either in paper form (This Is A Book) or audiobook form like me (This Is An Audiobook). Either way, I think you’ll really enjoy yourself. I’m definitely waiting for more from the author after this.

Rating:

This Is An Audiobook (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: Seriously … I’m Kidding

Author/Narrator: Ellen DeGeneres

Publication Year: 2011

Pages: 256 (audio length: 3 hours 7 minutes)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir-ish, Humour

Source: Purchased audiobook version from Audible.com

From the cover:

I’ve experienced a lot the last few years and I have a lot to share. So I hope that you’ll take a moment to sit back, relax and enjoy the words I’ve put together for you in this book. I think you’ll find I’ve left no stone unturned, no door unopened, no window unbroken, no rug unvacuumed, no ivories untickled. What I’m saying is, let us begin, shall we?

Nominated in category: "Narration by the Author or Authors"

A long time ago, I read DeGeneres’ first book, and I remember it being amusing. And then I never realized that she had written a second (or, indeed, a third!) until I saw this book on the list of Audies nominees.

Seriously…I’m Kidding! is the same kind of rambling – but often hilarious – prose that you might expect from a book-length piece by a comedian. There’s no real narrative arc, just a string of anecdotes and random connections. At times, DeGeneres pulls out some rather interesting insights: for example, her bits on Christmas with the family and yoga (separate ideas) made me chuckle, and the section on cellphones and multi-tasking was so spot on that I couldn’t contain myself.

I particularly loved hearing the audiobook in the author’s voice. Yes, it should pretty much be expected that a comedian/talk-show host – especially one as prolific as DeGeneres – should be a great narrator, but I was still pleasantly surprised with the personality that permeated the entire production.

Speaking of the production – most of it was very clear, with no background sounds or effects to distract from the writing and narration itself. However, there were (I think) two chapters with some kind of background effects; one of them, ostensibly a chapter about gambling, had sound effects in the back that were sudden and jarring and really took me by surprise at first. (I’ll admit it – I jumped.) Aside from that, though, the sound was crisp and clear and didn’t detract from the reading at all.

I definitely enjoyed Seriously…I’m Kidding!, and liked it even more than I probably would have in paper form, given its being read by the author. If you’re a fan of Ellen, or just need a light-hearted, silly read, give it a go!

Rating:

Seriously … I’m Kidding (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

From 8am EST (5pm my time) this morning until 8am (5pm my time) tomorrow morning, I’m joining in on the 24 Hour Read-A-Thon! It’s sort of a reading challenge, only everyone participates at the same time. For 24 hours, we read books, post in our blogs about our reading, and visit other readers’ blogs. We also participate in mini-challenges throughout the day.

Welcome to everyone heading over here for a break from the read-a-thon! I hope that you’re enjoying yourself so far, and I’m really happy to have the opportunity to host a mini-challenge on my blog to give you a bit of a break from whatever you’re currently reading.

Something that I’ve definitely gotten more into in the past year is reading books that have been translated into English from their original language. I started out by reading more widely-known, “popular” titles: for example, I read Alaa Al Aswany’s The Yacoubian Building, Rajaa Alsanea’s Girls of Riyadh, and Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, as well as Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. Since then, I have been seeking out more books to read in translation, though I haven’t posted the reviews just yet.

Back in March of this year, I posted about a session I attended called Literature Unleashed! The Power of Translation. This is definitely an area where my interest is growing, and I’d like to spread the love and enjoyment of translated works on to others.

In that vein, this mini-challenge is fairly simple:

• On your blog (could be in your read-a-thon update post, for example):
1. If you could read any book that’s been translated into English in its ORIGINAL language, what would it be?
2. Include the original book’s cover if possible; if you want, also post the English cover for comparison.
3. Optional imaginary bonus points: post a sentence from the book in its original language.

• In the comments for this post, do the following:
1. Do you read books in translation? Simply answer “yes” or “no”.
2. Leave a link to the post on your blog where you participated in the mini-challenge.

Logistics:

• The winner of this mini-challenge will be receiving a translated book of their choice with a value of up to $20 CDN. (Entries are open to people from any country that The Book Depository ships to.)

• You can enter the draw using the Rafflecopter widget below; if you can’t see it, simply state this in your comment and I’ll add you manually.

• This mini-challenge will be open for 4 hours.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by and participating in the Reading in Translation mini-challenge!

24 Hour Read-A-Thon: Reading in Translation (Mini-Challenge) is original content from: Reading Through Life

From 4pm this afternoon until 4pm tomorrow afternoon, I’m joining in on the 24 Hour Read-A-Thon! It’s sort of a reading challenge, only everyone participates at the same time. For 24 hours, we read books, post in our blogs about our reading, and visit other readers’ blogs. We also participate in mini-challenges throughout the day.

This is my fourth time participating in the read-a-thon, and this time, I’m back to a mix of reading and cheerleading (plus I’m hosting a mini-challenge in Hour 2). Also, due to the time difference and the different week structure here (weekends are Friday/Saturday), I’m going to be doing part of the read-a-thon at work!

Because I decided kind of late that I’d be participating in the Armchair Audies, I’ve got an awful lot of audiobooks to read in a very short period of time (aka 11 audiobooks in the next 5 weeks), so they’re probably going to take up the majority of my reading time. However, I am going to try to get some paper books and ebooks into the mix, so we’ll see how things go.

Here’s my tentative list of books that I’ve got ready to choose from:

• This Is An Audiobook by Demetri Martin – (audiobook – already in progress) – finished
• Shatner Rules: Your Key to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large by William Shatner – (audiobook)
• Bossypants by Tina Fey – (audiobook)
• Beauty Queens by Libba Bray – (audiobook)
• Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women edited by Nura Maznavi and Ayesha Mattu – (ebook)
• Hope is Better Than Fear: Paying Jack Layton Forward by various contributors – (ebook) – finished
  
• The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money by Carl Richards – (ebook)
• Off-Balance: Getting Beyond the Work-Life Balance Myth to Personal and Professional Satisfaction by Matthew Kelly – (ebook)
• Shout Her Lovely Name by Natalie Serber – (ebook)
• The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers – (ebook) – finished
• Giving Voices to the Voiceless: Gender-Based Violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories by Jamileh Abu-Duhou

I obviously have other choices available if none of these strike my fancy at the time … but I’m going to try to keep to it as much as possible!

(To try to keep the damage to your feed readers to a minimum, and to stay organized, I’m going to be posting all my read-a-thon updates and mini-challenges below.)

Updates

Hour 1: 4-5pm

Headed out from the Comic Con and towards home. Started participating at 4:15, with This Is An Audiobook.

Hour 2: 5-6pm

Continued listening to This Is An Audiobook until 5:20 when I got home. Started moderating comments on my mini-challenge, Reading In Translation (go join in if you haven’t already!). Now I’m heading over to my kitchen to do some dishes while continuing the audiobook.

• Introductory Questionnaire:

1. What fine part of the world are you reading from today? – I’m reading from Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Though I supposed I started out my drive home in Dubai from the first ever Middle East Film and Comic & Con.
2. Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? – I’m rather looking forward to Love, InshAllah and Hope is Better Than Fear. Though I’m looking forward to the rest as well, these are the two really catching my attention right now.
3. Which snack are you most looking forward to? – To be honest, I actually haven’t gone snack shopping yet! I know, I know, that’s pretty much sacrilege. But I’ll go sometime later on!
4. Tell us a little something about yourself! – I’m from Toronto, but currently living in the UAE teaching English to local high school girls. I’ve taken a lot of time away from blogging this year, but am starting to re-prioritize my time a bit and get more reading done now.
5. If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? – Well, for starters, I’m on my own again this year (no roommate). It’s also a completely different time zone, so I’ll be at work for part of the readathon!

Hour 3: 6-7pm

Put some clothes away while listening to This Is An Audiobook. Chose to skip this hour’s mini-challenge.

Hour 4: 7-8pm

Headed out to get some food. Participated in the Turn to Page… mini-challenge. All while listening to This Is An Audiobook.

Hour 5: 8-9pm

Finished listening to This Is An Audiobook. Skipped the mini-challenge for this hour, since I’m not reading any physical books for this readathon, and they’re required to make the book sentences. Boo. Starting to read Hope is Better Than Fear.

Hour 6: 9-10pm

Chilling in bed reading Hope is Better Than Fear.

Hour 7: 10-11pm

Continuing to chill in bed with Hope is Better Than Fear. Managed to clip my foster cat’s nails quickly when she got close enough on the bed.

Hour 8: 11pm-12am

Finished reading Hope is Better Than Fear. Switching gears into some fiction, I’m picking up The Testament of Jessie Lamb for the rest of the hour.

Hour 9: 12-1am

Continued reading The Testament of Jessie Lamb.

Hour 10: 1-2am

Continued reading The Testament of Jessie Lamb.

Hour 11: 2-3am

Continued reading The Testament of Jessie Lamb. Participated in the e-book survey mini-challenge.

Hour 12: 3-4am

Finished reading The Testament of Jessie Lamb.

Hours 13-14: 4-6am

Headed to sleep for a couple hours before work.

Hour 15: 6-7am

Got ready for work.

Hours 16-23: 7am-3pm

Work, with a little bit of reading Giving Voices to the Voiceless and listening to Bossypants mixed in.

Hour 24: 3-4pm

Last bit of work, listening to Bossypants, then driving home from work and dropping off colleagues. Not the best end to a read-a-thon, but I tried to keep the spirit of the event going!

Read-A-Thon: First time in a whole new time zone! is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: Go the F–k to Sleep

Author: Adam Mansbach

Illustrator: Ricardo Cortes

Narrator: Samuel L. Jackson

Publication Year: 2011

Pages: 36 (audio length: 6 minutes)

Genre: Adult, Humour, Audiobook

Source: Audiobook version, free from Audible.com

From the cover:

Go the F**k to Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don’t always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach’s profane, affectionate, and radically honest verses perfectly capture the familiar – and unspoken – tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. In the process, he opens up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations and laugh at their absurdity

Beautiful, subversive, and pants-wettingly funny, Go the F**k to Sleep is a book for parents new, old, and expectant. Due to its explicit language, you probably should not play it for your children.

Nominated in categories: "Humor" and "Audiobook of the Year"

I read about half of this book at a friend’s house, months back, shortly after it became an internet sensation. Then I saw this audiobook version, free, on Audible, so I downloaded it. Because seriously – Samuel L. Jackson! And then I promptly forgot to actually listen to it.

So now that it’s been nominated for The Audies, and I’m participating in the Armchair Audies, it was time to finally load it up and listen. And now I’m just sad that I hadn’t listened to it earlier.

First of all, the story is hilarious. Epic, in fact. It’s sort of written like a typical children’s book, with cute little animals and rhyming … and yet not. There’s also a mix of adult commentary, ranging from the benign – talking about tucking the child in and reading to them, for example – to the, well, words from the title. And hearing it in Samuel L. Jackson’s voice just made it even better. His narration has this way about it – calm and collected for the most part, with just a hint of exasperation that grows as the story progresses. All with that low-pitched, gravelly sexiness that you’d expect from him.

I don’t have kids of my own, but I still found an awful lot of humour in the story.  I’d imagine that those real, everyday experience trying to get a child (or children) to sleep would find it even more hilarious than I did. It’s just one of those books that hits the right balance of truth and parody to make it memorable.

Definitely give the audio version of Go the F–k to Sleep a shot, even if you’ve already read the print version. You won’t regret it.

Rating:

Go the F–k to Sleep (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life