Tag Archive | non-US author

Sherlock Holmes… and his sister? Most mysterious audiobooks!

Jul17

The great sleuth himself and his younger sister Enola (what? You thought that Mycroft was Sherlock Holmes’ only sibling?) are featured in this week’s pair of audiobooks, free for you to download so you can read with your ears!

Click on each title to open the SYNC download site in a new window. Snatch up either or both of this mysterious cases from today (July 17) through Wednesday; you have free use of them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device.

So hurry now, the game is afoot!

CD cover of Case of the Cryptic Crinoline By Nancy Springer Read by Katherine Kellgren Published by Recorded BooksThe Case of the Cryptic Crinoline
By Nancy Springer
Read by Katherine Kellgren
Published by Recorded Books

When her much-beloved landlady is kidnapped, Enola Holmes (yes, Sherlock’s sister) is on the case.

 

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes IICD cover of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes II By Arthur Conan Doyle Read by David Timson Published by Naxos AudioBooks
By Arthur Conan Doyle
Read by David Timson
Published by Naxos AudioBooks

A missing racehorse, masked royalty visiting 221B Baker Street, and two other famous cases, as reported by faithful friend Dr. Watson: The Engineer’s Thumb,  The Silver Band,  A Scandal in Bohemia,  and The Five Orange Pips.

What’s your favorite Holmes’ case>
**kmm

Let freedom ring with free SYNC audiobooks!

Jul3

If it’s Thursday, that means two new free audiobooks from SYNC for your summertime listening enjoyment!

Be sure to download these free complete audiobooks by Wednesday, July 9th.

CD cover of Torn From Troy By Patrick Bowman Read by Gerard Doyle Published by Post Hypnotic Press Torn From Troy (download here)
By Patrick Bowman
Read by Gerard Doyle
Published by Post Hypnotic Press

Homer’s Odyssey  as seen through the eyes of 15 year old Trojan orphan Alexi, enslaved by Odysseus himself.

 

CD cover of Peter and the Starcatchers By Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson Read by Jim Dale Published by Brilliance Audio
Peter and the Starcatchers (download here)
[not available in UK or British Commonwealth]
By Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson
Read by Jim Dale
Published by Brilliance Audio

This prequel to J.M. Barrie’s classic Peter Pan  sees the orphan boy and friend Molly facing pirates who want to steal the magic dust hidden aboard Peter’s ship.

Enjoy these different takes on familiar tales and characters as you read with your ears this weekend (remember that you can listen to SYNC downloads for as long as you keep them on your device or computer).

Read on and travel the world – with your ears!
**kmm

The Jedi Doth Return! by Ian Doescher (book review) – Shakespeare parses the Force, dark and light

Jul1

book cover of William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return by Ian Doescher published by Quirk BooksRescuer disguised, a comrade to free,
Jabba of the Hutt wouldst kill them all!
Luke will not from his Force-dark’nd father flee,
but seeks to free him from th’Emperor’s thrall.

O, rebel band, stay strong and share the Force
with Ewoks small, yet mighty in the fray!
A second Death Star bids to blast their world
and hidden base where freedom fighters stay.

Today marks the natal day of this final tale in Shakespeare’s Star Wars saga – seek for it at thine local library or a-favored independent bookstore.

Certes, thou hast already perused William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope (in discussion here) and well as The Empire Striketh Back (more here) – such classic stories from a galaxy far, far away…

**kmm

Book info: William Shakespeare’s The Jedi Doth Return (Star Wars Part the Sixth) / Ian Doescher; inspired by the work of George Lucas and William Shakespeare. Quirk Books, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Amid daring rescues, new allies, and the dark Emperor himself targeting attacks on the Rebellion, the Jedi Doth Return  to win Star Wars in the Bard’s own style or perish forever!

Evil Jabba of the Hutt will soon regret his refusal to release carbonite-encased Han Solo to Luke Skywalker as this iambic pentametered tale begins on  desert Tatooine.

Luke, Han, and Leia’s stealth mission on Endor’s forest moon may gain the Ewoks as new allies, but may also imperil the Rebellion’s fight against the dark Empire, as Darth Vader uses the Force to sense his son’s whereabouts.

Will Luke be swayed to the dark side of the Force by Vader’s soliloquies?
Shall Lando of Calrissian join the Rebels or stand aside?
And what of the past shared by Luke and Leia?

Do read aloud the Ewoks’ speeches and you’ll hear the almost-English of the middle 2 lines of their AABA-rhymed communications.

The concluding volume of Doescher’s epically Shakespearean take on George Lucas’ classic space opera can stand alone (especially for hardcore Star Wars devotees), but is even more enjoyable after reading William Shakespeare’s Verily, a New Hope  (Star Wars Part the Fourth) and The Empire Striketh Back  (Part the Fifth). May the verse be with you!  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Twelve Minutes to Midnight, by Christopher Edge (book review) – visions of future – lunacy or conspiracy?

Jun29

book cover of Twelve Minutes to Midnight by Christopher Edge published by Albert WhitmanWriting, scrawling, jotting,
visions of the future, horrifying and violent,
every lunatic in Bedlam writing down their dreams,
every
single
one.

As writer of eerie tales Penelope investigates the startling claim that every inmate in Bedlam is dreaming of future events, the teen must be accompanied by the actor she’s been forced to hire for public appearances of Montgomery Flinch, her nom de plume.

A big thank you to publisher Albert Whitman for bringing this popular British series to the States – next is Shadows of the Silver Screen,  wherein Penny and Monty face danger from a producer of those newfangled moving pictures.

**kmm

Book info:  Twelve Minutes to Midnight (Penelope Tredwell series, book 1) / Christopher Edge. Albert Whitman & Company, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: In 1899 London, Penelope writes eerie stories to keep her late father’s newspaper alive, while all of Bedlam’s lunatics suddenly dream of the future. The thirteen year old investigates the Midnight Writings, placing her chaperone and The Penny Dreadful  in terrible danger!

Only with the actor she’s hired to portray her pen name in public can Penny go to Bedlam after reports that all inmates begin writing down their dreams at precisely 12 minutes before midnight. As the young lady and Montgomery Flinch view astounding visions of the future written on cell walls, clothing, and even the inmates’ own skin, they realize that some outside force is causing this.

As 1899 draws to a close, Penny and Monty hear that widowed Lady Cambridge may have clues to this mystery. Of course, the writer of London’s most hair-raising adventures must interview the reclusive widow (with Monty as chaperone).

The Midnight Papers disappear from a locked room in Bedlam, strange boxes vanish from the Natural History Museum, and a rival newspaper’s reporter is suspicious of Monty’s actual writing talents while a poisonous danger is luring Penny into its web!

First in the Penelope Tredwell series, Twelve Minutes to Midnight  is followed by Shadows of the Silver Screen.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

 

 

 

Brave girls in unexpected situations – free SYNC audiobooks this week!

Jun19

A teenage spy falling in love!
An orphaned girl sent to do a boy’s farm job!
Two great stories to read with your ears this week, courtesy of AudioSYNC!

You can download either or both free audiobooks beginning today through Wednesday 25 June 2014 at the SYNC site. Then you can listen to them any time that you like,  as long as you keep those files on your computer or electronic device.

CD cover of I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You By Ally Carter Read by Renée Raudman Published by Brillance AudioI’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You (download here – USA & Canada only)
By Ally Carter
Read by Renée Raudman
Published by Brillance Audio

Enrolled in spy school for teen girls, Cammie faces her toughest challenge yet when she falls for a regular teenage guy. (read chapter 1 here free)

 

Anne of Green Gables (download here)CD cover of Anne of Green Gables By L.M. Montgomery Read by Colleen Winton Published by Post Hypnotic Press
By L.M. Montgomery
Read by Colleen Winton
Published by Post Hypnotic Press

A plucky orphan girl brings new life to the rural Nova Scotia farm where she is mistakenly sent; the first book in the classic series (read here free).

 

Can you identify with what Cammie and Anne are facing in their new situations?
**kmm

Brave women of WWII in free SYNC audiobooks

Jun12

This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC feature women who risked everything to save others from Nazi brutality and the horrors of World War II.

Download these free full-length audiobooks before Wednesday June 18, and you can listen to them for as long as you have them on your computer or electronic device.

CD cover of Code Name Verity By Elizabeth Wein Read by Morven Christie & Lucy Gaskell Published by Bolinda AudioCode Name Verity  (download here)
By Elizabeth Wein
Read by Morven Christie & Lucy Gaskell
Published by Bolinda Audio

Captured by the Gestapo when their  plane crashes in occupied France, young British spy Queenie survives her friend Maddie, but for how long?

CD cover of The Hiding Place By Corrie ten Boom, John Sherrill & Elizabeth Sherrill Read by Bernadette Dunne Published by Christian Audio
The Hiding Place (download here)
By Corrie ten Boom, John Sherrill & Elizabeth Sherrill
Read by Bernadette Dunne
Published by Christian Audio

The memoir of Dutch Resistance heroine who helped many Jews escape from the Nazis and later became a noted evangelist.

Such tales of bravery against terrible odds! Which one will you download first?
**kmm

Expiration Day, by William Campbell Powell (book review) – created or birthed, what makes human?

Jun10

book cover of Expiration Day by WIlliam Campbell Powell published by Tor TeenI’m definitely human.
Wait! I’m not?!
But I feel human…

As a rare human child, Tania knows that her humanoid robot classmates will go back to the factory at age 18. Shocked to discover that she too is just a teknoid, she’ll fight to stay alive past her Expiration Day!

Tania addresses her diary (read free excerpt here) to alien Zog, whose observations surprisingly appear among her musings on playing bass guitar and doing a Shakespeare play with nearby boys’ school.

Rather eerie to discuss this book just after a computer passed the Turing Test for the first time, tricking researchers into thinking it was a real 13 year old boy!

**kmm

Book info: Expiration Day / William Campbell Powell. Tor Teen, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk:  In the 2050s when humans so rarely have babies, music-loving Tania suddenly discovers that she’s a robot and decides to fight to stay alive past her mandatory recycling date.

The global fertility crisis couldn’t end adults’ longing to have children to love,  so teknoids were created.Each is reused or reprogrammed by the Oxted factory at age 18.

For Tania, that means no more playing bass with her band, no more Shakespeare performances, no more helping Dad navigate their shared grief over Mum’s recent death…

But she feels so human, with burning philosophical questions in her heart and such a desire to study psychology at university!

Taking Oxted to court to break their “lease” of Tania to Dad is their only option – could their desperate ploy work?  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Books, books, books for 48 hours? Oh, yeah!

Jun8
clipart of guy with cloud of question marks

Question_Guy by Scout (c) Openclipart.org

What did you read on Friday night? Yesterday?
Whatcha reading today?

I’m nearly done with the 48 Hour Book Challenge reading #diversebooks – realistic fiction, graphic novels, historical fiction, fantasy – featuring characters who aren’t white/middleclass/straight. I’ve logged 17.5 hours so far and am trying to get to 20+ before bedtime tonight! [update – did it!! 20.5 hours in 48 hours]

See y’all tomorrow with one of the many great titles that I’ve enjoyed this weekend, thanks to Mother Reader’s hosting of the Challenge, with more to come as future recommendations on BooksYALove.

**kmm

p.s. What *have* you been reading lately?

 

Honor and betrayal in SYNC audiobooks this week

Jun5

If you like stories filled with suspense, betrayal, and tension, then you’ll love this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC!

Free downloads of these complete audiobooks are only available through Wednesday June 11. However they’re yours to listen to as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device.

CD cover of All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill read by Meredith Mitchell published by Tantor AudioAll Our Yesterdays
By Cristin Terrill
Read by Meredith Mitchell
Published by Tantor Audio
(US & Canada only)

Time travel, loyalty, deception, and love – this is a race with dire consequences for the loser.

 

Julius CaesarCD cpver of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare read by Richard Dreyfuss, Kelsey Grammer, Stacy Keach, JoBeth Williams and a Full Cast published by L.A. Theatre Works
By William Shakespeare
Read by Richard Dreyfuss, Kelsey Grammer, Stacy Keach, JoBeth Williams and a Full Cast
Published by L.A. Theatre Works

Betrayal, ambition, and murder in ancient Rome – the Shakespeare classic performed by an all-star cast.

Which perilous tale will you download first?

**kmm

Friends With Boys, by Faith Erin Hicks (book review) – one ghost too many

Jun4

book cover of Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks published by First Second BooksFirst day of public school jitters,
a ghost overstaying her welcome,
Mom gone away suddenly,
everything was so much easier in homeschool!

Canadian artist Faith Erin Hicks melded Nova Scotia’s long seagoing history and her personal experience of being homeschooled with 3 brothers to create this coming-of-age story with a ghostly twist.

Alas, she never saw a ghost in her house like Maggie does…

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Book info: Friends With Boys / Faith Erin Hicks. First Second Books, 2012.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [fan-created book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: The ghost lady may be Maggie’s smallest worry now, as being homeschooled with her three big brothers hasn’t prepared her for the people-part of attending high school.

Mags liked Mom as her teacher, but wanted to play with her brothers instead of do girly stuff with her – maybe that’s why Mom left their small coastal town in the Maritimes.

Her twin brothers fight constantly (as usual), but don’t hang out together (not usual), her oldest brother likes theater, but distrusts Maggie’s new friend Alistair, mohawked senior Alistair decided that not being a jerk to his sister Lucy was more important than being a volleyball jock, so now the team hates him, and Lucy is fascinated by ghosts and their town’s history, which all leads to a teeny-little museum caper… by the way, Dad is the police chief now.

This graphic novel follows Maggie as she tries to find her place in the high school hierarchy and make the ghost go back to the cemetery – is that really so much to ask?  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)