AudiobooksNow Blog

There Must be a Pony Here Somewhere, “A Lucky Life Interrupted”, by Tom Brokaw

Tom Brokaw, the former news anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News has written a new book, A Lucky Life Interrupted: A Memoir of Hope, in which he reflects back on his life and considers what he would still like to achieve. He was 75 years old and had extreme back pain due to his multiple myeloma. Every day that he went outside his Manhattan apartment, he was smacked in the face by a huge billboard of a young, healthy Tom Brady starring back at him. He admitted to Tom Brady the first time they met, that he therapeutically cursed that billboard every time he saw it. He told Brady that his cursing him got him through cancer treatment. The story gave the New England Patriots quarterback a good laugh.
Brokaw was very touched by all those who reached out to him with support during his battle with cancer. Among them were the current President, President George W. Bush, Charles Barkley, and many more, including David Letterman, who was very kind in checking on him and inviting him to dinner. It was immensely helpful to him to have such considerate people caring about him.
In the book, he considers his bucket list: ● Learn to sail solo ● Learn to play chess ● Get a short story published ● Spend more mornings by the sea, with his wife, Meredith, a copy of The New Yorker, and plenty of black coffee ●Fish more river and saltwater flats
Brokaw insists he is an eternal optimist, even through the difficult journey of having multiple myeloma. A great story he used as illustrating that optimism was when Ronald Reagan used the great line “about a child comes down in the morning, and beneath the Christmas tree there is just an enormous pile of horse dung. And he starts thinking, ‘there must be a pony here somewhere’. That is kind of my attitude about life.”

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Audiobook vs Audio Book

Question Marks When you type the word audiobook, do you use “audiobook” or “audio book“? You can tell by my first sentence I use audiobook. It is clear the industry standard is “audiobook”, not “audio book”. The Audio Publishers Association (APA) and AudioFile Magazine both use the word audiobook. Even all the audiobook publishers spell it as one word on their website. So why do I still see it spelled “audio book”?

There are some spell checkers that underline “audiobooks” in red and suggest spelling it “audio books”, even when I type the word audiobooks on my Android phone it automatically breaks it into two separate words. You can even look up the word audiobook in an online dictionary and it will break it up into two separate words and say “Also, audiobook”. I even see it in auto suggest drop downs when typing it into a search like in Apple’s App Store on my iPad mini. I start typing the word audiobooks and it automatically shows me the words “audio books” in the drop down.

June is National Audiobook Month and everywhere I see it advertised it is spelled as one word “Audiobook”. This is what actually prompted me to write this post, given that today is June 3rd and I have been seeing lots of ads about National Audiobook Month. I have never seen it spelled as two words in any of the ads I have seen for National Audiobook Month.

Why does this even matter you ask. Who cares how you spell it, right, wrong. In today’s search boxes are everywhere society, you get different results when you enter it “audiobooks” vs “audio books” in a search box. This is the main reason there should be a standard way of spelling the word audiobooks and it should clearly be “audiobooks”, not “audio books” in my opinion. What do you think?

Deceit, Debt and Lies…”The Liar”, by Nora Roberts

“The Liar”, is another extraordinary novel by Nora Roberts. Roberts has a special way of writing about subject that may actually happen in real life, but includes many twists and turns making it unusual. Her main character, Shelby Foxworth, is found suffering over the loss of her husband. Little did she know there would be much more to be lost.

Shelby’s husband was lost in a boating accident which opened her eyes to the many I.D.’s he had in his past, and the deceit and debt he left behind. Appalled and embarrassed, she took her three year old daughter and traveled back to her roots in the Smokey Mountains. She is prepared to concentrate on building a new life for herself and her daughter, but does not expect evil to follow her home. She must use all of her strength and ability to get through the challenges that followed her to the mountains. In an intense, complex mystery, happiness can be found when there is a special man who enters her life and has the patience to wait for her to overcome all the lies perpetrated by “The Liar”.

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Broken Flocks Are Roaming In…”Maximum Ride Forever”, by James Patterson

Maximum Ride Forever is the ninth and ultimate novel in the Maximum Ride series by author, James Patterson. Those who are Patterson “Max” fans will not experience any disappointment with this encore “Max” episode……..all remaining questions will be answered.
It is a post-apocalyptic world where Maximum Ride and her broken Flock are roaming. The world has evolved by this time that only mutants can survive. The Flock with their avian characteristics and their gills are able to cope with everything that has taken place, but they are constantly pursued by those who belong to The School, who have no good intentions of handling The Flock, if they are re-captured. Readers have given mixed reviews of this installment, perhaps final installment, of the “Max series. It is said to contain conflicting answers to questions that remained after the previous novel. It appears to be at the discretion of the readers as to how their queries into the happenings of “Max” and the Flock are finally answered. To be sure, the twists and turns will keep the reader on their toes.

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The True Meaning of What It Is To Be A…”Legend”, by Eric Blehm

Eric Blehm, a best-selling author, uses the Vietnam War as a backdrop for his novel, Legend. It is seen through a mission that occurred on May 2, 1968. U.S. forces were forbidden to operate in the neutral Cambodian jungle, but a 12-man Special Forces team was covertly placed there to prove that the North Vietnamese Army was using the neutral zone as a means to traffic supplies to the south through the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The mission turned very sour when they discovered that they had infiltrated a section of jungle that concealed a major enemy installation. They were immediately surrounded by North Vietnamese Army, under attack, and low on ammunition.

The remainder of the story is carried out by the 20th Assault Helicopter Company, and principally Master Sergeant Ray Benavidez. His heroic actions were so impressive that he received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Awarded the medal for his service with Detachment B-56, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, Republic of Vietnam. Even though severely injured himself, he saved numerous lives during that 1968 Vietnam Mission. The story exemplifies the complete title: Legend: A Harrowing Story from the Vietnam War of One Green Beret’s Heroic Mission to Rescue a Special Forces Team Caught Behind Enemy Lines.

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Support Iconic Legends or Debunk the Myths…”Bill O’Reilly’s Legends and Lies”, by Bill O’Reilly and David Fisher

Legends and Lies: The Real West is a book by authors Bill O’Reilly and David Fisher, that serves to provide evidence that either supports iconic legends of the Old West, or debunks myths that have taken hold for readers over the years. If the reader has ever wondered about Black Bart, the “gentleman bandit” or Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, then this book is for them. Generations of Americans have grown up hearing about these Western legends in books, movies, and television.

The book is so new that many opinions have yet to be expressed, but the concensus of the opinions given seem to agree that Legends and Lies: The Real West, is a straightforward historical account describing many of the biggest characters of the Old West. O’Reilly’s Killing series of books often raised more controversial questions, but his latest work is a much less complicated explanation of what really happened when the West was won.

Legends and Lies: The Real West debuted on April 7, 2015, and is considered an essential companion for those who plan to watch the historical series (by the same name) which premiered on April 12, 2015. The historical episodic specials will be televised for 10 weeks on the Fox News Channel. The series will include the stories that readers think they already know, as well as others that may be surprising and astonishing.

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“Becoming Steve Jobs”, by Brent Schlender & Rick Tetzeli

Newly published book, Becoming Steve Jobs (March 2015) by authors Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli, is an unauthorized biography about legendary C.E.O. Steve Jobs, who died from complicated liver failure. The sub-title of the book: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart Into a Visionary Leader, gives the reader immediate insight as to the tone of the book. Jobs was known by his fellow executives as a skilled manipulator of many people, and favored those who stayed closest to his way of thinking.

The book strives to more sympathetically picture Jobs as a man misunderstood due to his early explosive years. However, critics seem to agree that this new book does not do much to help Job’s posthumous reputation. But, at least the last chapters show how he cared for his colleagues. In his final days, he especially became more melancholy. For example, just before Jobs was to be announced as a new Board Member of Pixar, he pulled aside Disney C.E.O. Bob Iger to let him know that his cancer had returned and gave him the chance to back out of the deal. Of course, he did not change the agreement and they became friends and had a productive alliance.

A film is due in October 2015 based on Walter Isaacson’s biography, Steve Jobs. The director is Danny Boyle with Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. Jobs will be played by Michael Fassbender.

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Overcoming Discovered Knowledge…”One Wish”, by Robyn Carr

Robyn Carr, delivers another smart, funny and emotional novel about the small Oregon town of Thunder Point. Her main characters, Grace Dillon and Troy Headly, find each other and decide to get to know each other better. Complications from the past make themselves known. They try to overcome the discovered knowledge. Troy tries to help Grace find the life she has always wished for.

Grace was a champion figure skater, but chose to escape to Thunder Point to escape the hectic world of being in the limelight. She found Troy as a friend with benefits, but also as an advocate, who stepped up as a friend first, and then as a lover. Carr’s stories are like “comfort food for the soul”.

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Moraltiy or Survival?….”All the Light We Cannot See”, by Anthony Doerr

Author, Anthony Doerr, wrote a novel about World War II that proved to be very beautiful and very inventive. There have been so many books written about WW II, but this author chooses to base his novel more on the inside lives of the two main characters, and use the war as a backdrop for their story. This book is not read for plot or characters, even though both are beautifully executed. This novel is most appreciated because of the beauty with which Doerr writes.

The two characters who are followed throughout the book are Marie – Louise, a blind girl who resides in France, and a German, Werner, whose skills lead him to be a participant in the most brutal Hitler’s Youth. Their paths cross when they each end up in the coastal city of Saint-Malo. But, they are there for totally opposite reasons. Doerr writes with such an unusual understanding of “the magical obsessions of childhood”.

Werner and Marie – Louise are never considered quaint or sweet, but instead, are powerful examples of average people who are surviving in trying times. “They must decide daily between morality and survival.”

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Who Is She??? Who Is She Not???….”The Girl on the Train”, by Paula Hawkins

New author, Paula Hawkins, has transitioned from her beginnings as a journalist to her debut novel, The Girl on the Train. She has written an intense psychological thriller that follows the engrossing tale of strangers crossing paths with others and the eventual intimate betrayals. It has been likened to Alfred Hitchcock’s, Rear Window, as being that story for a new generation. Another fictional story, Gone Girl, has also been used as a comparison.

The actual girl on the train is Rachel, who commutes from her home to London and back every day. From her window, she has taken interest in a couple along the way in their backyard. She has made up names for the couple, calling them Jess and Jason. One day she sees Jess kissing another man. The next day, Jess is missing. Rachel is so obsessed with what she thought to be the idyllic life of these two people, that it lures her into an investigation of Jess’s disappearance. During the investigation, Rachel comes closer to a better understanding of herself…….who she really is, and is not.

Paula Hawkins debut novel has all the elements of a perfect psychological thriller: lives that are not what they seem, jealousy, betrayal, wounded hearts, obsession, and a haunting unease.

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