My One-Year Bender ... On Audible
Probably everyone knows books are a great way to escape without going anywhere. And these days, you don’t have to stay anchored to a chunky hard copy book or plant yourself in the recliner with a Kindle to take your mind some place else.
Since closing EnviroMedia October 1, 2018, I’ve added 41 books to my library on Audible. That means I’ve listened to more books in the past year than I’ve read in the past decade.
My essential AirPods are still in after a run, as I show off my Rails-to-Trails T-shirt that had just come in the mail.
In the process, I’ve also gotten a hell of a lot done. I’ve listened to these books while running and biking, commuting to meetings in Austin, grocery shopping, scrubbing the toilet (not advisable though; AirPod dropped in), doing laundry, sweeping the floor, watering the plants, making the bed, emptying the dishwasher, and—my absolute favorite–working on 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles while sipping wine and nibbling on spicy peanuts called Cantineros. If I could take my AirPods into the shower or swimming pool I probably would.
I’ve listened to books that have come out as major motion pictures (Where’d You Go Bernadette, Crazy Rich Asians), and found myself drawn the most to memoirs by people I’ve never heard of (From Scratch, Save Me the Plums, Educated, The Lie, The Light Years, Bettyville).
I stumbled upon Where the Crawdads Sing before it got so damn popular (thank you Reese’s Book Club), and listened to pop biographies on a handful of people who are no longer alive (Rock Hudson, Lucille Ball, Julia Child, and Lou Reed). I was in awe of Phil Knight’s autobiography on how he founded Nike (Shoe Dog), and wide-eyed at the scandals of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes (Bad Blood) and businessman Jho Low (Billion Dollar Whale).
In between, I escaped with some excellent fiction, including my top-of-the-stack favorites: Pulitzer-winner Less, Daisy Jones & The Six, City of Girls, Biloxi, and The Great Believers.
The ones I couldn’t finish? I had to put down: Casting Lacey (lesbian pulp fiction), The Most Fun We Ever Had (annoying family), The Elegance of the Hedgehog (precocious girl in a dark story), This is How It Always Is (moms nagging kids) and Lou Reed (good but too long).
As an “enviro,” I figured I had to finally read Walden, but I have to admit it, I put it down–temporarily. Let’s face it, I got sidetracked by juicier stuff but will get back into it, maybe a little at a time. I loved Showtime’s Loudest Voice in the Room TV series (blown away by Russell Crow’s portrayal of Roger Ailes), so bought the Audible book.
The three books I want to finish before volunteering at the Texas Book Festival (October 26-27) are The Secrets We Kept, Heavy and The Yellow House (all three authors will be there). Yellow House is only available in hardback, but speaking of, I also read Michelle Obama’s Becoming in hardback this past year. I bought her book in the Brownsville, Texas, airport because I forgot my AirPods and couldn’t listen to Audible, which, did I say, I’ve become addicted to? Becoming is one compelling memoir from someone the entire world has heard of, and boy have I missed her.
So, What Exactly Have I Been Reading?
Below I present 41 books from my Audible Library, starting with what I’m listening to now and going back to September 2018. (For comparison, I listened to 14 other Audible books between September 2017 and August 2018. Member since September 20, 2017.)
I’ve sprinkled in a few comments for flavor and gave each one a grade. If you’re a fellow Audible fan and something piques your interest, just click the link and add to your Wish List. I love getting recommendations, so email me here if you think I might like something you’ve “read” on Audible.
For the record, I prefer a length of not less than eight hours and not more than 14 hours. Too long, and I might not finish it. Too short, and it doesn’t seem worth spending the $12-ish credit.
The Secrets We Kept: Only on Chapter 6 with eight hours to go in this Cold War novel about two secretaries smuggling Doctor Zhivago (the book, not the man) into the USSR, but already love the writing. Author Lara Prescott is a fellow Austinite who will appear at the Texas Book Festival. Discovered her and this book in a recent feature in the Austin American-Statesman. By the way, I just noticed Reese is reading this too. Grade: I for Incomplete, but can’t wait to see what happens next
The Loudest Voice in the Room, How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News–and Divided a Country: Eighteen hours long but I finished it anyway. Favorite quote: when the author describes Roger Ailes’s father Robert Ailes, a lifetime factory worker in Warren, Ohio: “His conservatism was a reaction against those who got breaks he never did and his resentments consumed him.” Grade: B (TV series was better, and far juicier)
The Lie: A Memoir of Two Marriages, Catfishing & Coming Out: Compelling story of a gay man coming out of the closet after two daughters and 20 years of marriage to a woman. Everyone should listen to this to the end to see what the real “lie” is. Hint: it’s not his being gay. Grade: A
Casting Lacey: The lesbian pulp fiction book I mentioned above. Wildly successful TV actor wants to come out and her publicist talks her into talking a struggling “out” actor into pretending she’s her girlfriend. They’re both beautiful, so heck, why not? Hmmm, do you think they start to fall in love for reals? Another hint: opposites attract. Chocked full of clichés. Said “she smiled from ear to ear” three times before I quit listening with six and a half hours to go. Grade: Incomplete
When Katie Met Cassidy: More lesbian pulp fiction, but I finished it. Successful straight-lady lawyer finds herself drawn to butch, successful opposing counsel, and together they spend way too much time in a bar called The Met. As far as novels featuring lesbians are concerned, it’s no Ruby Fruit Jungle, Fried Green Tomatoes, or The Color Purple, but it serves a purpose for fans of LGBTQ fiction. Narration over-the-top. Grade: C (maybe I’d give it a better grade if I read the hard copy book)
Park Avenue Summer: Historical fiction about working for Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown in New York City in the ‘60s as she turned the magazine around. Loved it. Grade: A
The Most Fun We Ever Had: About an irritating family in the ‘70s. Confusing plot. Very popular book, but I quit with 14 hours and 34 minutes to go. Grade: Incomplete
The Light Years, A Memoir: Holy cow! How is Chris Rush still alive after all those drugs, starting at age 11? Brilliantly told. Glad to see he’s now a sober and successful artist living outside of Tucson, where much of his harrowing and yet impressive real-life journey takes place. Grade: A
Bettyville: A memoir from accomplished book editor George Hodgman, about returning to the Midwest to take care of his ailing mom Betty. Reflections on coming out in the ‘70s in Paris, Missouri, and his mental health issues. Hilarious and sad at the same time. Tragically, Mr. Hodgman committed suicide at his Manhattan home at age 60 this past summer. Get me a Kleenex, will ya? Grade: A
Normal People: Set in Ireland, popular teen boy meets awkward, rich teen girl (his mom cleans her house). They sleep together but don’t tell anyone they like each other. They split up, and when they reconnect in college she’s blossomed with lots of friends. I really enjoyed this. One of those “what if” books. Grade: A
Educated: Tara Westover’s account of growing up in an ultra-conservative Mormon family in unbelievably suffocating conditions in rural Idaho. It’s called “Educated” because one of the many things she’s not allowed to do is go to school. It’s not a spoiler to say Ms. Westover eventually gets an education, because she’s written this New York Times bestseller memoir. Grade: A
Summer of ’69: Aptly named, enjoyable brain candy about a Brady-Bunch-style family (siblings with different parents) spending the summer of ’69 in Nantucket. Published 50 years after the moon landing not by accident. Grade: A
The Great Believers: I came of age in the early ‘80s, with my friends and I struggling to come out as the AIDS crisis ravaged the gay community and killed many others. The Great Believers, a Pulitzer finalist in fiction, is about a circle of gay friends who hung out in Chicago in the mid-‘80s—some with HIV diagnoses and others living in fear of getting one. The story centers around Yale, a young development director for a university art gallery as he strives to land a prestigious collection, and his deceased friend’s sister Fiona. Grade: A
Save Me the Plums: Memoir by the feisty Ruth Reichl about her evolution from food critic to running Gourmet magazine for a decade until it folded in 2009. Funny, and of course well-written, but I wish there were more mouth-watering food references. Grade: A
Mrs. Everything: I love sweeping novels covering generations of family (see Thorn Birds) and this one’s about two sisters and their relationship from the 1950s to present day. You’ll find out at the very end why it’s called “Mrs. Everything.” Grade: A
The Elegance of the Hedgehog: I really thought I’d love this one about a middle-age concierge in a high-end Parisian apartment building and her 12-year-old neighbor. I didn’t enjoy the narration, and come to find out the girl is planning suicide. Too disturbing to finish, and I like dark humor. Grade: Incomplete
Biloxi: One of my favorites of the year, about a 60-something-year-old man who has retired, divorced and adopted a dog named Layla (as in the Eric Clapton song, which I also love). Louis is crotchety, diabetic, and leads a very unhealthy lifestyle of greasy junk food, lots of booze and little exercise (except maybe walking Layla). He’s full of flaws but there’s something about Louis (and the author’s dialog) that I adored so much I bought the book for my mom. I’m sure the Audible version is superior though because the narration of this Southern fiction makes it even funnier. Just added author Mary Miller’s highly rated The Last Days of California to my Wish List. Grade: A
City of Girls: Juicy! Like Best of Everything (which turned the heads of prudes when published in 1958) but set in the ‘40s and much racier. Man, does this young lady get around! Told from the perspective of Vivian, in her old age. She is feisty to the finish. Made my favorites list. Grade: A
From Scratch, A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home: Written and narrated beautifully by actor Tembi Locke, about returning to her late husband’s hometown in Italy (he was a chef) with her young daughter after he’s died from cancer. Grade: A
The Breakdown: Pretty good brain candy about a young married woman living in rural England. One night, as she drove through a “forest” (we say “woods” don’t we?), she witnesses a car stalled in a rainstorm, doesn’t stop to render aid and later learns the driver was found dead. Then she thinks the killer is stalking her … Grade: B
Pachinko: Learned a lot about the relationship between Koreans and the Japanese in this novel spanning decades from the early 1900s, through World War II and beyond. The family matriarch is Sunja, who as a young Korean falls in love with a wealthy fish broker and goes on to raise a family in Osaka, Japan. It’s fiction but the history isn’t. Pretty profound, especially about the brutalities of survival during World War II. Grade: A
Love and Ruin: I love historical fiction (Loving Frank about renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s longtime affair with Mamah Borthwick Cheney is probably my all-time favorite of this genre), and this book is about the relationship between Ernest Hemmingway and fellow author Martha Gellhorn (who becomes his third of four wives). They meet in Key West, set up home at their now famous “finca” in Cuba, and become alarmingly competitive with each other as writers and war correspondents. She was a successful author in her own right, and, though this was only briefly alluded to in the book, Gellhorn was the writer who worked with iconic photographer Dorothea Lange documenting the Great Depression. Grade: A
Where The Crawdads Sing: Yeah, like the rest of the world, I really enjoyed this piece of Southern fiction about a smart, poverty-stricken girl abandoned by her father at their remote cabin home in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This one might be better enjoyed as a hard-copy book as I thought the Southern drawl narration on Audible was a little much. Grade: Still an A though
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: Fun fiction about an aging iconic Hollywood star who taps an unknown writer to pen her biography. Like City of Girls, it’s an epic story with many sordid details told to a young protégé from the perspective of a feisty former bombshell. Grade: A
Daisy Jones & The Six: If you’re a Fleetwood Mac fan and familiar with all the drama that went down behind the scenes as they produced their smash hit Rumors album, you’ll really enjoy this Audible book. One of my favorite features is the narration and characters being brought to life by several different voice actors (pretty rare; most books have the same narrators altering their voices for various characters). Actor Jennifer Beals had to be totaling channeling Stevie Nicks when she read as Daisy. Benjamin Bratt voices the part of rocker Graham Dunne. Grade: A
Less and Daisy Jones were two of my top favorites of 2018-19.
Less: Probably my #1 of the past 12 months. I had no idea when I made this purchase that: 1. Less is a 2018 Pulitzer Prize winner, and 2. The main character Arthur Less (as in Less, the book title) is gay. The story follows Arthur (an author) as he travels around the world–all to avoid having to attend the wedding of his ex. Grade: A+
Billion Dollar Whale: OMG. This really happened, and where is the fugitive Jho Low now? The nonfiction account of the young Malaysian billionaire, whose Madoff-level scams via “1MDB” finally catch up with him. Along the way, he throws the most epic parties, lives large and eventually disappears. Grade: A
Love, Lucy: I do love Lucy, and what makes this Audible recording special is: 1. It’s poignantly and sometimes hilariously narrated by Lucille Ball’s famous daughter Lucie Arnaz, and 2. As you’ll learn in the preface from Lucie, her mom’s autobiography was discovered in rough form after the iconic comedian’s death, and was published post-mortem. Grade: A
This Is How It Always Is: Eureka! Writing this long-ass blog about a few books I’ve listened to has paid off. I forgot to finish this novel about a family with five boys–one of whom is transgender. I will get back to this soon. Anyhow Reese says it’s great, but girl, give us a few more deets in your video review! Grade: TBD
All That Heaven Allows: I’ve read another biography about Rock Hudson (His Story), so I wondered what more this new one could tell me. Well, Rock co-wrote His Story with his good friend Sara Davidson. In Heaven, author Mark Griffin not only sheds bright light on the Hollywood heartthrob’s gay lifestyle and prolific sex life, but he also details the star’s denial of having AIDS (“it’s cancer”). Interestingly, First Lady Nancy Reagan may have been one of the first people to suspect Rock Hudson had AIDS. Rock had attended a White House party, and Nancy sent him a note with a glossy photo, pointing out a spot on the actor’s neck. “You might want to get that checked,” she wrote. Grade: A
Dearie, The Remarkable Life of Julia Child: I broke my 18-hour rule with Dearie. This 25-hour biography on the famous chef who introduced French cooking to American households was so delightful I almost didn’t want it to end. Grade: 3 Michelin Stars
Shoe Dog: Nike founder Phil Night refuses to “say uncle” as his company faces one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after another. Most entrepreneurs would have folded but Phil Night perseveres and of course finally makes it. But who knew the man behind one of the biggest brands ever barely saved the company about a million times? Grade: A
Walden: What kind of an enviro am I if I haven’t read Thoreau’s 1854 classic on his two years living in a cabin he built near Walden Pond in Massachusetts? I’m five hours into this 11-hour book. I will finish though, and hope to eventually draw some parallels and comparisons between what it means to be outside and appreciate nature in the 19th and 21st centuries. Maybe some day I’ll even visit Walden Pond, which is now a part of the National Park Service. Grade: Incomplete (my bad)
Bad Blood, Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup: They say disgraced Theranos founder and one-time billionaire Elizabeth Holmes faked her strangely husky voice (you’ve got to hear it to believe it, here in her TED Talk) and if true, I don’t understand why she’d do that. But wouldn’t it be something if Holmes one day narrates her own side of the story with a memoir on Audible? Probably not. But in the meantime, this carefully researched biography documents the story Pulitzer-Prize-winning investigative reporter John Carreyrou broke via The Wall Street Journal in 2015. I’ll sure be on the lookout for the movie version of Bad Blood, with Jennifer Lawrence playing the black-turtle-neck-wearing Holmes, who was called by Inc. magazine “The Next Steve Jobs.” Grade: A
One Day in December: More brain candy. A 20-something London woman just getting her career started locks eyes with the man of her dreams from a double-deck bus window one snowy December day. She can’t get her mind off him. Eventually her best friend and roomie brings home a new boyfriend, and guess who it is? I know. I need to finish Walden. Grade: B
Lou Reed, A Life: It’s already been six years since Lou Reed died? I’ve always loved him, but the most I knew about this pioneering glam rocker formerly of the Velvet Underground was his mainstream hits like “Walk on the Wild Side” and “Sweet Jane.” I knew about his drug use, that he was gay, and that he also married musician Laurie Anderson. I knew his Wild Side song was about a trans but didn’t know Reed was in love and lived with a trans woman named Rachel. I appreciated all the details behind his early life, album covers and work with David Bowie. However, at 17 hours, this was one that went longer than necessary. There were just too many details about this prolific artist’s library of work. I put it down with four hours left. I might go back to it. Grade: I
Where’d You Go Bernadette: This one’s gone to the big screen since I read it last fall. Still in theaters and starring some of my faves Cate Blanchett and Kristin Wiig, the movie got mediocre reviews while the book was highly regarded. I’m not surprised, as more often than not book-to-movie is a disappointment to readers. The book is pretty epic–taking a girl and her father from the hilly urban neighborhoods of Seattle to track down her mother on a ship to Antarctica. I haven’t seen the movie yet (will wait for small screen) but am skeptical of how well they capture the quirkiness and dark humor in such grand-scale settings that worked so well in the book. Antarctica scenes, by the way, were shot in Greenland. Grade: A Movie: TBD
When Life Gives You Lululemons: Another brain candy book, and who can resist one with the brand name of overpriced yoga pants in the title? High-profile event planner and image consultant Emily, worrying she’s no longer relevant after losing a Justin-Beiber-esque client, travels to posh Greenwich, Connecticut, to visit her best friend, a former New York attorney who’s grown plump and bored from raising kids. While there, Emily takes on a new client, the exotic Karolina, who’s in desperate need of correcting a horrible PR problem centered around her lyin’, cheatin’ politician husband. This listen was as yummy as a fresh box of Dots and glass of Chardonnay. Grade: A
My Year of Rest and Relaxation: It’s almost like a mash-up of One Day In December (single young woman just getting her career going) and Where’d You Go Bernadette (depression-centered dark humor). In My Year of R&R, the unnamed main character has a good job at a Manhattan art gallery, and her salary is supplemented by her inheritance. She becomes so depressed, she decides to sleep for a year and sedates herself into hibernation. She takes almost as many drugs as Chris Rush in The Light Years. But at least her story is fiction. Grade: A
French Exit: A funny, well-written novel about the widowed Manhattan socialite Frances Price, who goes broke and hops an ocean-liner to France with a designer bag of cash, her unambitious son Malcolm and cat, “Small Frank.” The quirkiness continues with adventures centered around their Parisian flat and eccentric friends. Grade: A
Crazy Rich Asians: I read this one just as it hit theaters last September. Everyone knows the plot. Enjoyed both the book and lushly shot movie. For a twist, read this and then real-life Billion Dollar Whale, reviewed above. Grade: A
What’s Next?
Listening to some great books on Audible hasn’t been all I’ve been up to the past 12 months–and it definitely wasn’t “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” (see above). Check out some of my freelance work of the past six months via my Fall 2019 Newsletter here.
You also should know another reason I’ve listened to so many books is not just to escape, but to help me figure out what kind of books I want to write. First up in 2020: Green(ish), A 21st Century Guide to Protecting the Environment Without Hugging a Tree