On Animals by Susan Orlean (Narrator)

I really enjoyed The Library Book by Susan Orlean. She has a very good narrative non-fiction style. I heard this mentioned briefly on one of my favourite podcasts. It’s a collection of Orlean’s essays on animals. It had fascinating stories about the people involved with animal lives and also some memoirs about her own relationships with animals such as her farm life. It was informative and easy to listen to.

1.5x. August 8-12, 2025.

I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend by Martin Short (Narrator)

My husband and I are fans of Martin Short. We like “Only Murders in the Building”. I watched and liked him “Captain Ron” growing up. We listened to this audiobook together. Short narrated it and does various impressions and characters throughout the book. As a result, I listened to this at 1.0x speed which I would not do with any other audiobook. It also took a long time since I could only listen to it when my husband there, mostly while making lunch. I got very impatient to finish it which proved again how I like to finish books in short amount of time. It was great fun and touching too.

1.0x. July 22-Aug 16, 2025.

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin, Narrated by cast

Audiobook for first 21%. Literary, queer, contemporary novel about an affair. I went into this with few expectations and quite enjoyed myself. I think it’s because I like litfic with realistic women at the centre and I think I enjoy reading messy affairs. Affairs are similar to mysteries because I wonder while reading how they will end. They always end and what will be the climatic and often violent catalyst? There’s usually a lot of psychological tension in affairs not being discovered but due to the characters. Everyone knows it is wrong and are driven to it by many factors. Lust is usually involved but that’s banal and simplistic. It’s often rooted in self-destruction or self-discovery. Character development was good in that they were realistically chaotic but no one radically changed by the end of it. Well written. As with most litfic, not for everyone.

1.5x. Aug 13-17, 2025.