My Reading Month: June
This month I haven’t actually read all that much. However, I have been listening to some amazing audio-books! I also completed a book written by a Lopez island native that was a story I heard as a child, and was such a fun return to childhood.
Audio-book Sequels
My favorite audio-books are those that take a while to get through and do an amazing job of creating atmosphere, especially when a book is set somewhere else in the world and the accent of the narrator is able to place a story in a specific place. This month, my audio-books have also both been amazing sequels as well.
Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves, narrated by Kenny Blyth
This was the first audio-book I finished. Wild Fire was the finale book to the amazing Shetland series by Ann Cleeves, which is also a great TV show. This series is a mystery series set in the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland. The islands themselves have always been as much a character in these books as any of the people, and this wasn’t any different in this book. I have so loved these books from their descriptions of white, foggy midsummer nights to the awkward, quiet, dedicated, sweater wearing main detective, Jimmy Perez, and while I am sad to see this series end, I really enjoyed this final chapter.
The narrator of this book is great, and while I don’t know how accurately he manages accents, it certainly feels like he does a great job of capturing the regional accents described in this book.
Tiamat’s Wrath by James S. A. Corey, narrated by Jefferson Mays
The second audio-book I finished, Tiamat’s Wrath, could not have been more different in subject or tone. This is the latest installment in The Expanse series (which is also a great TV show), and while it was definitely flawed, the combination of character growth, world development and plot shenanigans mad this my favorite book yet. This series is a space opera of sorts, with one of the most gritty, realistic and interesting visions of humanity in space that I have ever read. One of the things I love about this series is the fact that it takes place in realistically long periods of time, and that characters are allowed to grow, change and develop. The characters are decades older than they were at the start of the series and while they are still the same people, they have also changed and grown up in ways that make sense.
The narrator of these books is great, and does a fun job of managing the different ways that people from different regions of space talk.
Old Friends
The Secret of Crow Island by Sorrel North
I also took a wonderful book called The Secret of Crow Island on our annual backpacking trip, and really enjoyed it! Written by a childhood friend’s mother, I had heard this story almost 20 years ago, and so it was fun to revisit it in novel form. Set in a version of the San Juan Islands, where I grew up, it is a sweet Young Adult coming of age novel that integrates a story about magic into a wonderful story about a summer spent sailing and enjoying the natural world.
It is not currently available for sale, but if you are interested, leave a comment, and I will send you contact info to request it!
