At the start of the year, I started listening to audiobooks. I always wanted to be a reader but couldn't/wouldn't make the time, so audiobooks were a way around it. I could be busy doing something while still listening to a book. Anyway, I thought I would share what I have been listening too. All of my audiobooks come from my local library through the app BorrowBox. I know lots of what I listen to might be considered old but they are all new to me!
This is what I listened to in March:
A strange virus is sweeping the globe. Humans have become allergic to one another. Simply standing next to somebody could be a death sentence. A kiss could be fatal. Angela is a woman trying to get by in this bewildering new world. Though she still lives with her husband and children, they lead separate lives. Confined to their rooms, they communicate via their computers and phones. In some ways, very little has changed. That is, until she spots a mysterious stranger walking through town without even a face mask for protection. A man, it seems, immune to this disease. A man unlike anyone else she knows. A man it might just be safe to touch...
Reading Skin by Liam Brown felt a little too close to home at times. After everything we’ve all been through in recent years, the idea of a world where you can’t touch anyone any more didn’t feel that far fetched at all. That’s what kept me hooked. I needed to know where it was going and how it was all going to make sense but when I reached the end and I was left wanting more. After all that build-up, I expected answers or at least some kind of proper conclusion. Instead, it felt quite open and unfinished. I don’t mind a book that makes me think but I do like a bit of clarity after investing my time in it. It wasn't a bad book, it was just the ending which let it down as it felt quite rushed!
Eve is a successful novelist who wakes up one day in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. Her husband, never far from her side, explains that she has had an operation to remove the large, malignant tumour growing in her brain. As Eve learns to walk, talk and write again and as she wrestles with her diagnosis and how and when to explain it to her beloved children she begins to recall what’s most important to her: long walks with her husband’s hand clasped firmly around her own, family game nights and always buying that dress when she sees it.
I am not an expert when it comes to books but from Sophie Kineslla you expect funny, the main character getting herself into awkward situations and lots of chaos but this isn’t that. This was such a raw, beautiful, powerful story and this being Sophie Kineslla's last book, is so heart breaking! I found it so brave of Sophie Kinsella to write something so personal and to find humour in the hardest moments. I finished it in a couple of hours.
When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change. The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren't always what she imagined they'd be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger. Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?
I think we've all had those moments in our lives when we've wondered what if? What if we took a different job, moved somewhere else or said yes to something we turned down? I know I have had lots of those moments and this book takes that feeling and turns it into an interesting story. Some of the lives Nora tried were amazing but they weren’t always what she expected. It made me think that even in a life we imagine being perfect, there are still things which are not so perfect. The book deals with some heavy topics, like suicide but it's also quite hopeful. It's a nice reminder that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful.
Abby wants a baby more than anything. But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that fall through, it seems like motherhood may never happen for her. Everything changes when her personal assistant, Monica, offers to be her surrogate an offer that feels like a miracle and a chance to finally have the family Abby has always dreamed of. But soon, strange things begin happening. Monica isn’t who she claims to be, and the woman carrying Abby’s child is hiding a dark secret. As the truth slowly unravels, Abby realises she may have trusted the wrong person and Monica will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
This was one of those books where I kept telling myself just one more chapter and then I'd stop and then suddenly it was an hour later. It pulls you in really quickly and before you know it you’re completely caught up in the story. I kept changing my mind about what I thought was going on and who I trusted, which is always a good thing with a thriller. Every time I thought I’d worked it out something else would happen that made me question everything again. The whole idea behind the story is tense, as trusting someone else to carry your baby is such a huge thing. I don't think I could do it and after listening to this, definitely not. The chapters are quite short, so it’s very easy to keep going. It was a twisty thriller which kept me guessing right until the end.
Lexi is looking for no-strings-attached fun. Zeke is looking for love. Neither of them were looking for a one-night stand to become their one and only lifeline. But when they wake up after an unforgettable night together, the houseboat they stayed on has been swept out to sea. There's no signal, no steering and no sign of rescue. And as the waves pick up and supplies run low, Zeke and Lexi realise there's much more on the line than their new relationship.
I started listening to this feeling pretty excited, especially because I really enjoyed The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary but I came out of it with mixed feelings. I didn't hate this book but I didn't love it either. It was easy to listen to but it just seemed to go on and on and I liked the characters but I didn’t feel connected to them. I could have easily given up on it halfway through but I am not a quitter and I carried on and I am glad I did as the ending was quite good.
What have you been reading or listening to lately?
