Ready Player One

By Ernest Cline

I will start this review by saying, this is a very rare time when I will say- Watch The Movie First. I don't think that I've ever said that about a Movie or Book. In this case, if you listen to the book first, the movie won't be great. If you watch the movie first, and liked it, you can go back and learn a ton more about the story. You can learn the original Cannon after having enjoyed the movie. If you have the movie, you probably won't enjoy the audiobook. Honestly I felt like the movie would have been better served as a one season Netflix series. 

Oh you aren't here for a commentary on the movie? Just the audiobook? Okay! Well, it's fricking amazing! Of all the audiobooks I've ever listened to, this is Top 10. 

The story takes place about 30 years in the future and follows a young man named Wade. Wade has a pretty rough futuristic life, he is very poor, living out of a van at a junkyard and his aunt's home with her dick boyfriend. Wade basically collects computer parts he finds in the trash and is able to sign into the Oasis. A Virtual Reality world what was built by a eccentric and deceased Tech Guru. 

There has been a contest going on inside the Oasis for like 5 years, but no one had made any progress, the virtual score board remains nameless.

The audiobook is all able hidden Easter Eggs. If you are unfamiliar with an Easter Egg, they are all over the web today, Hidden things that the creator stashes around to "leave their mark" or entertain themselves to see if anyone will ever notice.

Whoever could complete the contest would win all of the eccentric billionaires fortune. The jest of rest of the story should be pretty obvious.

One more thing about the movie, the biggest thing that was far superior in my opinion. The movie did not have the pointless anti-religion rants that the author put into the book for no reason. There are a few random tangents that is the author speaking more than the protagonist. Even if his listeners agree, I think they would also agree, they don't add Wade's story in the least.

I totally recommend this book. It lives up to the hype. I just read that a sequel is in the works :) My favorite part of the book (a thing that the movie hugely lacks) is all of the 80s throwback nostalgia. If you are a fan of the 80's you will like the book even more!

Overall Rating ★★★★★

Audiobook Length - 15 hours and 46 minutes

Appropriate for ages 16 and Up.

Genre: SyFy, Science Fiction,  LitRPG, Utopian & Dystopian Fiction,  High Tech, Adventure

Modern Romance: An Investigation

By Aziz Ansari

Let me start off by saying of all the comedian written books, this audiobook is head and shoulders above the rest. This book felt like - and was researched & written over the period more than a year.

This is a very researched and factual book about Romance in our current time period, from the comedic perspective of Mr Treat-Yo-Self Ansari. You learn and laugh, it doesn't get a lot better than that. It's actually a bit of a self help book as well as an entertaining listen or read. 

The audiobook is read by Aziz, himself who will often remind you how lazy you are for listening to the audiobook instead of reading the book, and on top of that you are making him read it after he spent all the time writing it for you.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is old enough to notice another human in a romantic way. It is written mainly for the perspective of heterosexuals since a complete spectrum would be a total and complete rabbit hole.

This is an audiobook that you could easily consume in a single day, a great change of pace book while you are trying to grind through a long book series.

★★★★☆ 4/5 Stars

Run time: 6 hours and 14 minutes

Ages 17-69 

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Audiobook, Comedy, Psychology, Family, Relationships, Autobiography

Disc World

By Terry Pratchett

Okay so, if you've ever read any of my other reviews you know I pretty much always wait until a series is totally consumed before I chew on it awhile and spit it out at you, as it were.

Well there are 47 Disc World installments. I want you to know about these excellent books long before I finish them all years from now. One word to describe them: "whimsical" one book to describe them: "Hitchhikers Guide.."

They reminded me a lot of Hitchhikers Guide, but I might like Disc World just a little more.

I don't think these books could be taken in all back to back to back, so I listen to them in between other series or books within a series. These books are very different than most other pop series books that I try to keep up with, so its kind of a pallet re-setter.

The Photo at the bottom explains it all. The world is on the back of elephants who are on the back of a great turtle. This book series lets you get to know a wide cast of great characters from the brilliant mind of Terry Prachett, God rest his soul. In this series you will follow many characters on adventures all over the disc. Characters will run into each other from time to time from book to book. Disc World would be a great Netflix Original.

I totally recommend this series. Give it 2-3 books for your brain to properly lubricate and get on the same level as Disc World. This is one of those series that if you go in with no or low expectations, you will be blown away.

★★★★☆ 4/5 Stars

Run time: ∞

Ages 14-62

American Gods

By Neil Gaiman

With a Star's television series on our doorstep, American Gods seemed like a must-listen for me. Throughout the entire book start to finish, I was never sure what was happening or what was going to happen. That was a good thing and a bad thing.

Here is what wikipedia had to stay as far as the synopsis:

"American Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel by English author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shadow" I could not have summed it up any better.

So yeah, Shadow is the main character, he gets out of prison and gets deeper and deeper in with some very strange people who turn out to be much more than just a person.

What really drew me in was the fantasy side, but more so that it begins where I grew up in the "Northwoods" of Northern Wisconsin, Rhinelander to be very specific, then surprisingly ends where I live now in Chattanooga, TN.

The book is very slow, but does get better overtime. I am not sure what other book I could compare this to. The narrator was excellent and maybe the saving grace of the book. The Dresden Files is a much better version of this book, I suppose. I am however, still looking forward to the tv series.

If nothing I have said to this point was piqued your interested then listen no farther. Go check out one of my other reviews and see if there is something more interesting. Come back to this one later on when you run out of ideas, or I have nothing left to suggest. 

Leave a comment and let me know what you thought of the audiobook.

"Way over rated"

★★☆☆☆ 2/5 Stars

Play time apprx 19.5 hours
Suitable for Ages 17-35

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

To Kill a Mockingbird

By: Harper Lee

I listened to this audiobook years after reading it in High School. It is unfortunate that schools require this book because it ruins it for kids who hate homework and only skim in order to write the required paper. This book is outstanding, even though this book was written in 1960, it still stands out in the 2010s. If you are sensitive to use of the N word more recent audiobook editions have eliminated the majority of the word. This was a partially true story written by Harper Lee, who won a Pulitzer. The story is largely about Scout Finch, daughter to Atticus Finch and sister to Jem Finch. The two children are growing up and learning to see the world through the eyes of an adult and in the shoes of other people, as they see how poorly African Americans were treated, as they continually and innocently spy on mysterious neighbor Boo Radley, Run from dangerous local men, and learn from the random interesting people who live in their town.I recommend this book very much. It is funny at times and ultra serious at times. It’s a good little historical piece as well as a terrific piece of American literature

★★★★☆ 4/5 Stars
Runtime Approximately 12 hours
For ages 10-100
Genre: Fiction, Bildungsroman, Thriller, Southern Gothic

Holes

By Lois Sachar

Holes is a win. It’s a short book that holds your interest from beginning to end. The basic plot is Stanley Yelnats gets falsely inprisoned at Camp Green Lake where he and other troubled boys are forced to dig holes all day to build character. He makes friends along the way that he is more deeply connected to that he first realizes. All along the story of Stanley, there is a back story to his “No-good-pig-stealing-uncle” , a gipsey curse, and an outlaw named Kissin' Kate Barlow. This audiobook is really easy to follow, and very easy to listen to awhile you’re trying to get other things done. It is geared towards a younger crowd, but is a fun story for any age. I recommend that you add this story to your “to-listen” list.

★★★★☆ 4/5 Stars

Run time 4 hours 23 minutes

Genre: Humor, Fiction, Suspense

Book to Movie Rating: A

Orange is the New Black

By Piper Kerman

The story of a girl who falls for another girl, the second girl being a drug mule who convinces the first girl to occasionally mule too. Ten years pass; prison, while engaged to a nice understanding young man. OITNB is the story of the adventures and misadventures of the author Piper Kerman, in and out of a womens prison.

I enjoyed the tv show, while feeling it was pretty sensationalized and unbelievable. I decided to try out the audiobook just for fun and found it to be pretty entertaining. It’s very similar the the television series but gives you the feeling that it could actually be plausible.

It was an interesting audiobook and I would recommend it to you especially if you like true stories about yuppie women going to prison and the kindly people you meet within. 

★★★☆☆ 3/5 Stars

Approximate Length:  11 hours and 14 minutes

Suited for ages 17 and up.

Genre: Biography, Memoir, True-Story

Gone Girl

By Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl was about a three day listen for me, the first day it was long but not terrible, the second day I started loving the audiobook, then the third day I was hooked all the way up to the end. The end of the audiobook felt really rushed. The first half of the book was really drawn out then the end was too quick, a lot developed in way too short a time. The actual ending of the book was very unsatisifying. I read a couple of blogs about the ending to see where other people were at, and it seemed that no one really liked the ending, but someone liked it enough to make an Affleck movie out of it. 

Now, what’s the book about? Basically a murder mystery, Nick the main character’s wife disappears and the entire world is looking at him as the main suspect. Did he do it? Is he innocent? You’ll have to listen and see. There is blood, a destroyed living room, a secret lover, a treasure hunt, rapists, stalkers! There are some cool parts where there are kind of puzzles to figure out, and there are some twisted scenarios. Give Gone Girl a try, but put the audiobook towards the middle or bottom of your list.

★★☆☆☆ 2/5 Stars 

Length 18 hours 11 minutes.

Audience: Ages 17 & up.

Genre: Thriller, Drama, Mystery

World War Z

By Max Brooks

WWZ was a good short little listen. It kind of starts towards the beginning of the epidemic and kind of ends towards the end of it. The book is a series of people’s stories as they are interviewed by a reporter (of sorts). There’s some interesting originality in some of the very basic plot line. The plot being that there is an out break of, well the dead becoming reanimated. The stories are of survival for the most part. The book is fairly fast paced and easy to listen to, even if you are at work and keep getting interrupted by client emails. There's not a lot more to say about this audiobook. If you like zombie stories, this one is pretty entertaining for about the day and a half that it lasts. I enjoyed it, my two work days went a little fast with World War Z.

Length: 14 hours 3 minutes.

★★★★☆ 4/5 Stars

Audience: 17 and up

Genre: Action, Horror, Drama, Thriller, Science Fiction, Adventure

Book to Movie Rating: A