Podcasts

Recently I have found myself with a lack of interest in listening to both new or old audiobooks (audiobooks I've already adventured through). I have a lot of friends and co-workers who listen to-- or exclusively listen to weekly and bi-weekly podcasts, and I'm just now beginning to understand why. This post will be an effort to not stray from my original intentions, please check back often, and bookmark "Audiobooks at Work"

I will list the most interesting audiobooks that I have really caught-onto recently. The main goal of my blog/site is to help readers entertain themselves at work or in the downtimes. I don't get much feedback from you all, I would love to hear from you all on your audiobook and podcast recommendations. I have written a few podcast recommendations in the past, but will make this thread my main resource for Podcasts that I find outstanding.

Serial-  I reviewed this blog in an earlier post, please read it. I wrote it long before season 2 was released. I found it extraordinary. Season 2 on the other hand was interesting by no where near the level of intrigue as the original series. Season 1 is about Adnan Sayed, did he or didn't he kill his X-Gf while they were in High School? Season 2 is about Beau Bergdahl is he or isn't he guilty? Should he or shouldn't he be punished more, for leaving his Military post?

Lore- When I tell my friends about how great Lore is, it isn't easy to convey how great it is.. It just sounds like every other "ghost story" There is something about this podcast that goes beyond the status quo. The narrator and author is great, as well as the background music. Lore is a series of different mythical/Lore stories from around the world. For example: Goblin Lore from Ireland, Ghost Stories from Massachusetts , Vampire Stories from Romania, etc. These stories are fascinating. It is a mix of History, Fiction, Truth, and Lore, what the people of various countries believe. Often time Lore from around the world is all somewhat connected. I love this series!

Explained- This series is a pleasant "rip-off" of Lore, even though I don't really care to research and find out which podcast was started first. Explained is basically the British version of Lore, I don't think its quite as good, but very close.

The Magicians

By Lev Grossman

   The Magicians Trilogy is American Harry Potter goes to Narnia and does drugs and women. I wanted very badly to like this series because it was recommended to me by a friend whose taste I respect. I listened to the series in its entirety with an open mind and when I was done, seriously don't know if it was good or not. This review is one of the hardest I've ever had to write. The good: It wasn't the worst series I've listened to and it had some unique aspects that I enjoyed. The Bad: The author isn't a great writer. The story line feels very scattered at times and I just wondered "WHY" with some of this side story choices.

   I would recommend trying out the first book and see if you want to go any farther. I also want to see what other people think of the series. I made the mistake of watching a couple of episodes of the TV show. It kind of tainted my feelings of the books.

   What more than I say about the book without spoiling it.. Its a guy who has magical potential and gets a somewhat mysterious invitation to a school called Brakebills, they help him develop his skills, with many misfortunes and poor choices along the way. He graduates before the end of the first book, if memory serves, then is out on his own making more bad choices. He ends up discovering Narnia (basically) and becomes an important part of said "Narnia". I can't say much more.

   I cannot recommend this book, but can recommend trying out the first book to see if it piques your intestest enough to continue to books two and three. Would I listen to a 4th book if one comes out? Probably, only because I've invested this  much time.

★★☆☆☆ 2/5 Stars

Audiobook Length Apprx: 48 hours

Suitable for Ages 17-35

As You Wish

By: Cary Elwes

The Princess Bride is one of the greatest stories of all time, as well as one of the greatest movies. It has romance, action, fantasy, comedy, and lots of adventure. This book entitled "As You Wish" written by Cary Elwes aka Farm Boy aka Westley aka Dread Pirate Roberts is the story behind the story. It is a lovingly written memoir from the making of the movie and the amazing people involved.

Elwes tells all in a behind the scenes sneak peak on how cast came together, stats performed, misfortunes, successes, friendships and much more. There is a lot that you didn't know about Andre the Giant, Inigo Montoya, Princess Buttercup, Vizzini, and the actors stories behind the characters. 

This book was amazing. If you have a love for the movie you will love this fun look behind the scenes. If you haven't seen the movie there is something wrong with you, if you don't like the movie.. you should see it again, or a doctor.

I very much recommend this book to all lovers of The Princess Bride. Give it a listen.

Princess Bride Book is authored by William Goldman

★★★★☆ 4/5 Stars

Audiobook Length Apprx: 8.5 hours

Suitable for All ages

Book to Movie Rating: A+

Game of Thrones

By George RR Martin

You’ve heard of game of thrones, all your friends watch it, you either are avoiding it because it sounds lame, or you’ve watched them all and can’t wait for new episodes. I land somewhere in-between. I started the series but got disconnected along the way. Some of the television choices were a little much for me. Since I sit at a computer all day, I decided to give The Game of Thrones audiobooks a try. Each book was about 30 hours so that is why Audiobooks at Work has been suffering a bit in recent months.

Game of Thrones the books were actually pretty good. They are less extreme than the tv show, and I found this to be a good thing. The TV series tries to hit too many demographics and tries to make it very, well immoral, to capture the minds of our blood and sex thirsty generation. The books however were written on a slightly more even keel, while still entertaining George Martin’s perverted mind.

All that being said, Game of Thrones is about Kings, Queens, Dragons, Knights, Pacts, Betrayal, Deceit, and everything else a good medieval style book is expected to have. Each book is several stories inside of  one great bit story, with lots of characters to love and to hate. For my own personal tastes, the only book that feel short of interesting was A Feast of Crows, I kind of felt like nothing happened. It’s when the chapters and stories switch up because it’s a different story tied into the bigger story. You can forget about some story lines then be reminded of them several chapters later.

I would recommend these books to Medieval Fantasy lovers, or someone looking for a long entertaining book series. If you can listen to the audiobooks before watching the series it will be even better for you.

★★★☆☆ 3/5 Stars

Approximate Length:  14+ Days

Suited for ages 16 and up.

Book Listing:

A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings

A Storm of Swords

A Feast of Crows

A Dance with Dragons

Dresden Files

By: Jim Butcher, Read by James Marsters

You may have noticed that it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, we it’s partially due to the holidays and largely to do with how long and entertaining this series was. I started listening to this about a year ago and would bounce between the Dresden Files, Disc World, and various other shorter audiobooks that would capture my attention. As the Dresden Files series went on it began to grab me more and more. Most recently I have dropped all other audiobooks and have listened straight through to the end. If you have read any of my other audiobooks reviews you may have noticed that I basically listen to an entire series rather than give you my thoughts book-by-book.

Dresden Files is the Story of Harry Dresden, his father was a Vegas-style magician with little skill and his mother who died when he was very young was a powerful Wizard. Harry inherited his mothers skills and used them to keep the streets of Chicago clean of super natural forces, listing himself in the Chicago Phonebook as “Harry Dresden- Wizard” Most took him as a joke, but when certain things just cannot be explained, people find themselves dropping by his office. This series, like most good series follows Harry as he defeats the bad guys and gains more and more power along the way.

I have not watched the Dresden Files tv show, I hear it was pretty bad then immediately cancelled. I think with the right director this series could make a great trilogy. The writer, Jim Butcher is pretty imaginative, throwing out many fun, immature, dry humor jokes and dropping lines from other famous fantasy series’ via Harry such as Lord of the Rings, Disc World, and many others.

I suggest this series to you. It had a little bot of a slow start, but the story gets more interesting as you grow with both Harry Dresden and Jim Butcher. I would recommend making sure you have the audiobooks all read by James Marsters. There are other versions that can really throw you off. Check it out, don’t give up too early. This series will get you through a good month or two of boring work hours.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5 Stars

Length: Over 180 hours.

Recommended Ages: 16-35

Genre: Detective Fiction, Urban Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction

Dresden Files Books Listing

Storm Front

Fool Moom

Grave Peril

Summer Knight

Death Masks

Blood Rites

Dead Beat

Proven Guilty

White Night

Small Favor

Turn Coat

Changes

Ghost Story

Cold Days

Skin Game