Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney, Aoife McMahon (Narrator)

Oh, Sally Rooney. Conflicted here. After Normal People and this novel why she has so many fans and I think I am a fan too. Her writing was so good that it distracted me from the not good stuff. I did not like most of these characters or care about them. I really disliked Felix whose only decent quality was that he loved his rescued dog. He reminded me too much of an ex and other f*ckbois. Simon was fine but too much of a cipher for most of the book. Alice and Eileen were almost indistinguishable from each other and they wrote too overwrought emails. Nobody has a good relationship with their siblings in the two Rooney novels I’ve read so far. Most of the characters have passive-aggressive or estranged relationships with their parents. In most (all?) of these Irish novels that I’ve read this year, Irish families were dysfunctional and derisive. It felt excessive here though as none of the four characters seem to like their families. Yet, I still really want to read more Sally Rooney. There is something very compelling about her writing from the descriptions to the dialogue. Her prose worked for me even though everything else did not. It is odd but I am really looking forward to the next one.

31% on audiobook. Narrator did a great job here and in Normal People. Oct 25-27, 2025.

24 Hours in Ancient Athens by Philip Matsyzak, Gareth Richards (Narrator), John Telfer (Narrator)

I listened to 85% of this narrated by Gareth Richards but my first copy of the audiobook was incomplete. I was able to find another copy for the remainng 15%. It was narrated by John Telfer though. I actually really like Telfer from listening to his narration of the Sherlock Holmes almost 20 years ago. As the other books, enjoyed myself as these are quick, informative, and sometimes entertaining.

1.5x. Oct 27-Nov 1, 2025.