I was pretty excited about the chance to listen to audiobooks with Tom. It turned out that Tom, never having listened to an audiobook, was nervous I'd commit us to a 26-hour whale like Middlemarch.
Never fear!
We went with a light mix of nonfiction and classic crime fiction. He loved all of them.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy KalingMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
It might seem odd to choose this book for a cross-country drive with one's husband. But we both really like The Mindy Project so we were prepped for her style. It was like listening to a memoir / stand-up routine / Hollywood behind-the-scenes tale.
It was a tad girly, even for me. But that's Mindy. I came away impressed with her solid common sense, her family, and her humor.
I'd like to buy every young woman I know a copy.
And I'd love to sit on an airplane next to Mindy sometime.
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. LevittMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a huge hit with Tom. It might be called the perfect intro audiobook for someone who doesn't ever read fiction. It was full of ideas that we would we stop the book to discuss. Sometimes we said, "oversimplification!" And then we discussed. The driving time flew by.
My main takeaway was incentive. I have seen so many ways to apply that overall concept even while on vacation and having various conversations.
Maltese Falcon by Dashiell HammettMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
We both loved this book. William Dufris' narration was simply stellar. It was like listening to an all star cast.
This book's classic status is well deserved. We were so interested in the fact that John Huston both wrote and directed the movie that we wanted to see how he handled translating the book to film. No wonder we recognized so many lines from the book. Huston went with the best whenever possible. It still isn't a favorite movie of mine, but it was fascinating to watch with the book so fresh on our minds.
And, again, I must mention that William Dufris' narration makes it. His "fat man" has to be heard to be appreciated.
Maltese Falcon is one of my favorite books and movies. I assigned it to my son in American Literature.
ReplyDeleteLucky duck!
DeleteI think you would have enjoyed the reading he had that year. I tried to make it fun. Lots of standards, like Poe and Twain and Fitzgerald and Hemingway, but also offbeat and genre stuff -- even Tinpan Alley lyrics.
DeleteOh definitively! Although I'd have included some Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Robert Heinlein without which no American education is complete! :-D
DeleteI think you'd especially appreciate the Bradbury since it is so lyrical and almost poetic sometimes.
Oh, he read Bradbury. I don't remember whether it was in the curriculum that year. But Michael's mother makes sure that all her kids read Papa Ray. She wrote him a fan letter, around 1984, and he wrote back, thus winning her undying loyalty.
DeleteThank goodness! And I always heard Bradbury was great about responding to fan mail.
DeleteNow, if he also read "I, Robot" then I'll consider that his most basic SF grounding is covered. :-D
I read Red Harvest and it was easily the best noir novel I've ever read, but I have yet to read The Maltese Falcon. But seeing as it's Hammett, it's probably just as good.
ReplyDeleteRed Harvest is the novel that is always chosen for noir collections, such as the one the Library of America did recently. After reading Falcon, I was thinking I probably need to read Red Harvest and see how it differs.
DeleteRed Harvest has been copied but never really duplicated, in my experience. The unnamed Continental OP that was sent by the 'Old Man' strikes an interesting balance between doing the right thing and becoming like those he despises. Most 'adaptions' ratchet up the violence and depravity but in doing so misses a lot of the character nuance that Hammett created which are all just one push from going over the edge themselves (including the good guys).
DeleteI can see why it has never been made into a movie, because everything on the surface (the slang, the violence, the politics) is not as interesting as the world Hammett explores between their actions.
I dunno, I could be overthinking it. ;P
But it was the first noir novel that really got to me.
My son complained that TMF was full of noir cliches! It's so hard for us to appreciate the pioneers in any genre. Their originality is obscured by their success -- the legion of imitators.
ReplyDeleteThat cracks me up! I guess it can be used as a lesson in how quickly something is adapted and becomes part of the culture.
DeleteTry him on The Big Sleep. I prefer Raymond Chandler's writing to Hammett's, although I prefer Hammett's plotting. (Which made Tom clutch his head and say, "What? I don't know what that means!")
Oh I know what that means exactly. It makes perfect sense. I should pick up The Big Sleep. I've never read it.
DeleteThat is a wonderful novel. I keep meaning to read more of Dashiel Hammett. I think I have that audio version too. But it's been so long since I heard it.
ReplyDelete