Briar Patch Books

Category: Audio Books

  • Obama, commander in chief

    By Paul T. O’Connor CONFRONT AND CONCEAL: OBAMA’S SECRET WARS AND SURPRISING USE OF AMERICAN POWER.  By David E. Sanger. Read by Robertson Dean. Random House Audio. 13 CDs, 15 hours. $50. Also available in hardback from Crown. Given the way President Barack Obama has used the American military, whether in the Afghanistan surge, the…

  • To laugh or not to laugh

    Jesse Kellerman may know the business of writing best-selling novels as well as anyone. For him, it’s a family business; he is a son of Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, both highly successful crime writers. And he’s followed in the family tradition admirably with four novels: The Executor, The Genius, Trouble and Sunstroke. Sometimes, after a…

  • Let’s mess with Texas

    On part of his cross-country drive this summer, Paul O’Connor was accompanied by Gail Collins, a well-known New York Times political columnist. Well, Gail wasn’t really in the car with Paul, but her voice was, reading her latest book on CD. Its subject is a big one: Texas, and its influence on American politics. And…

  • Life, love and respectability

    When I was in school, my history classes rarely made it beyond the first few years of the 20th century. I learned about the Great Depression, World War II and the other formative events of my parents’ generation mostly by hearing their conversations and stories. Maybe that’s why I’m fascinated by recent historical fiction that…

  • Different worlds

    Some time back I enjoyed listening to A Cup of Friendship, Deborah Rodriguez’ novel centered on a coffee shop in Kabul, since reissued as The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul. Part of the pleasure stemmed from the good story, well presented, but another important factor was the glimpse into life in a world about which…

  • A lot of fun, with fringe benefits

    Paul O’Connor reports that while the temperatures have been up around 103 degrees in North Carolina, the highs have been in the low 70s in Portland, Ore., where he’s visiting. Maybe that’s why he has energetically written another book review, putting me to shame. I’ve been reading and listening, but not doing much writing. I’m…

  • Have we come to this?

    Every summer, Paul O’Connor sets out driving across the country, writing vignettes along the way. This year, he took a supply of audio books with him. Many he has liked, some not so much. I must say after reading this review that I think Paul enjoys panning a book more than he enjoys praising one.…

  • At home in America

    Got a long driving trip ahead of you? Just like to relax and let somebody tell you stories? Briar Patch Books looks at an audio book that’s a marvelous, poignant family saga that will tug at your emotions and enrich your life. By Linda C. Brinson A GOOD AMERICAN. By Alex George. Read by Gibson…

  • Batter up

    I don’t like to watch baseball on TV, and baseball was not a favorite youth sport of either of my sons, though each tried it at least briefly.  But oh, how I love to go to a Major League Baseball game in summer. My favorite team is the Baltimore Orioles, because my husband and I…

  • Plum good, again

    My growing fondness for (OK, addiction to) audio books has been educational in more ways than one. I had been aware of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novel series for years. How could I not? Her new books regularly land on The New York Times best-seller list. But did I read them? Oh, no. Not me.…