24 Hours in Ancient Rome: A Day in the Life of the People Who Lived There by Philip Matyszak

Narrated by John Telfer. This was a good history audiobook. It traces one hour of a Roman day through various characters and some of the stories are interlinked. The people in the book are fictional but based on accounts of real Romans from the time. I was excited to learn that Telfer narrated it. He narrated the complete Sherlock Holmes which I listened to 16 years ago. He did a great job here too. I have all the audiobooks for this history series. The narrators and the authors change, but I do like history through audiobooks so I’ll take my time to enjoy them.

1.25x. July 30-Aug 14, 2024.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori (Translator)

Second for Women in Translation Month. Had this on TBR for awhile since a lot of people had read it. I really liked the beginning and the voice of the neurodivergent protagonist; however, I became very frustrated when they introduced a stalking misogynist. He served a purpose but I had very little patience for misogyny. The ending was fine, but I could not say I enjoyed most of it.

Read on Kindle Keyboard. Aug 13-15, 2024.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, Thomas Teal (Translator)

This was a balm. I know of Tove Jansson but did not read or watch Moomin so this was my first experience with her work. The novel is a series of summer vignettes with a Grandmother and her granddaughter Sophie on island in the Gulf of Finland. It’s lighthearted and a breeze. There was some lovely writing. Wonderful little book. A great one for Women in Translation month.

Read on Kobo Mini. Aug 16-17, 2024.