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For your listening pleasure – Stephanie Plum
I listen to audio books for a lot of reasons. Listening to someone read a book is convenient and entertaining, because I spend a lot of time in the car, driving alone. I find that I’ll listen to serious nonfiction and other heavy-duty books that I might not tackle if I had to sit down…
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Jefferson: No more Mr. Nice Guy
Paul O’Connor takes a look at – and a listen to – the latest re-examination of Thomas Jefferson, one of our greatest presidents (or was he?). By Paul T. O’Connor THOMAS JEFFERSON: THE ART OF POWER. By Jon Meacham. Read by Edward Herrmann. Random House Audio. 15 CDs. 19 hours. $50. Also available in hardback…
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A light antidote for “bah, humbug”
Tired already of hearing “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and other inane Christmas songs on your car radio? Did all the hype about Black Friday shopping leave you with a case of bah-humbug? Here’s a lighthearted Christmas book that might help put you into the real spirit of the season. Load the audio…
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In time for the holidays, a fine new Grisham thriller
Given the season, I’ll note that it’s always an occasion for Thanksgiving when a new legal thriller by John Grisham arrives. By Linda Brinson THE RACKETEER. By John Grisham. Read by J.D. Jackson. Random House Audio. 10 CDs, 13 hours. $45. Also available in print from Doubleday. The Racketeer, with its ingenious plot twists and…
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Suffering and comfort
The Rev. Dr. Charles McGathy, “Chuck” to most who know him, takes a look at an audio book that tackles one of the most difficult books in the Bible – and some of the most difficult questions for struggling human beings. By Charles McGathy THE BOOK OF JOB: When Bad Things Happened to a Good…
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Modern classics for worthwhile listening
By Linda Brinson John le Carre began writing what are loosely classified as spy novels in 1961, long before I was old enough to read or understand his writings. Since then, he’s published more than 20 novels. Now that I’ve discovered them as audiobooks, I can’t wait to listen to all of them. These books…
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They make a case, but it’s hard to listen to it
Paul O’Connor is back in North Carolina, back in the UNC classroom, and back in the midst of the noisy political season. By Paul T. O’Connor IT’S THE MIDDLE CLASS, STUPID. By James Carville and Stan Greenberg. Penguin Audio. 6 CDs. $29.95. Read by the authors but adapted. Also available in hardcover from Blue Rider…
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“The Slaughter You Know Next to Nothing About”
For some reason, I often find myself reading or listening to fiction set around the time of the First World War. This masterpiece of a novel deals with part of that history of which I was only vaguely aware. I highly recommend it. By Linda C. Brinson THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS. By Chris Bohjalian. Random House…
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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…
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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…