Farewell, Kate!

I was a bit under the weather this weekend and I have been madly rereading and fact-checking my Sibert nominees, so I’ve not read a lot that I can post about.  I did learn that one of my favorite audiobook narrators, Katherine Kellgren, passed away earlier this month. She is the sort of narrator that brings a book to life. If she reads it, I would check it out. I would even search the libraries audiobooks using her name as my search term!

Her are some of my favorites, narrated by Katherine.

First, she narrated all twelve books in the Bloody Jack series, by L. A. Meyer.

She narrated two very funny books  My Lady Jane, for teens, and Ms. Rapscott’s Girls for elementary-aged readers.

She also read a number of picture books and adult fiction, from adventure and mystery to romance.

The next time you are looking for a great audiobook, see what you can find that is read by Katherine Kellgren.

 

This week’s book talks 11/29-12/2

A four-day week, so four book talks…and I can only remember three titles. I should write the titles down before I leave each Friday. Sigh. There was no theme, but I notice now that every book title begins with a “B”. Maybe that’s why I can’t remember the fourth book. It doesn;t follow the pattern.

First up was Bloody Jack, the first book in L. A. Meyer’s excellent series.

I’ve written about this series before. In my book talk, I told my students that I listened to the whole series n audiobook and highly recommend the narrator, Katherine Kellgren.

Wednesday seems to be a blur because I can’t remember what book I talked about.

Thursday was Beetle Boy by M. G. Leonard.

In talking about this book, I let the kids know that I shelved it in the Magical Animals tub, but it could just as easily have gone into the Humor or Mystery and Adventure tubs. That seemed to appeal to several boys, who I say writing down the title on their “Read Next”page.

A lot of kids added Friday’s title, Brambleheart by Henry Cole, to their “Read Next”page.

There was an audible response when I told them that this was by the author of A Nest for Celeste.  Most of them were familiar with that book because it was an elementary OBOB book several years ago. I told them that, although it was written for an audience younger than they were, it is sometimes once to curl up with a book that feels familiar on a cold rainy day.

I hope you were able to curl up with something good this weekend.

The end of the line

And so, I have come to the end of an era. I just finished listening to the last audiobook in Gail Carriger’s Finishing School  series. Melancholy sigh.

Yes, the steampunk adventures of Miss Sophronia  Temminnick are over. I will admit that the dramatic finale is most satisfying. All four books were narrated by read by Moira Quirk and her performance was equally as engaging as Katherine Kellgren’s narration of the Jacky Farber series, which I adored. In both cases, I listened to all the books on audiobook because their narration was so spectacular I felt that my silent reading of the books would pale in comparison.

Publisher’s Summary: If one must flirt…flirt with danger.

Lessons in the art of espionage aboard Mademoiselle Geraldine’s floating dirigible have become tedious without Sophronia’s sweet sootie Soap nearby. She would much rather be using her skills to thwart the dastardly Picklemen, yet her concerns about their wicked intentions are ignored, and now she’s not sure whom to trust. What does the brusque werewolf dewan know? On whose side is the ever-stylish vampire Lord Akeldama? Only one thing is certain: a large-scale plot is under way, and when it comes to fruition, Sophronia must be ready to save her friends, her school, and all of London from disaster–in decidedly dramatic fashion, of course.

Fortunately, Ms Carriger has more books of a similar ilk and I have already placed Soulless

the first book in the Parasol Protectorate  series on hold. I opted again for the audiobook. Although not narrated by Ms Quick, I have read that the narrator of this series, Emily Grey, is worthy of the task. We shall see.

Progress on my summer reading goal

One of my summer reading goals was to work my way through the “Jacky Faber” audiobooks. I’m not as far along as I’d like to be. There are 11 books so far.

• Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary Jacky Faber, Ship’s Boy (2002)
• The Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady (2004)
• Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber (2005)
• In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Being an Account of a Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky Faber (2006)
• Mississippi Jack: Being an Account of the Further Waterborne Adventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman, Fine Lady, and the Lily of the West (2007)
• My Bonny Light Horseman: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, in Love and War (2008)
• Rapture of the Deep: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Soldier, Sailor, Mermaid, Spy (2009)
• The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Adventures of Jacky Faber, on her Way to Botany Bay (2010)
• The Mark of the Golden Dragon: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Jewel of the East, Vexation of the West, and Pearl of the South China Sea (2011)
• Viva Jacquelina! Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber Over the Hills and Far Away (2012)
• Boston Jacky: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Taking Care of Business (2013)

 

 

“Wild Rover No More: Being the Last Recorded Account of the Life & Times of Jacky Faber”  will be release in November 2014. I already have it on hold at the library and it is a bittersweet prospect because the author vows this will be the last Jacky Faber book. . I have some work to do because yesterday, I finished #3. I read # 10 for the HUB reading Challenge, which is the event that precipitated my summer reading goal. I like Viva Jacquelina so much, I needed to know the back story. Today, I will start #4, which I have downloaded to my computer.

One reason I am a little behind is that I’ve been listening to them in the car and I don’t drive as much in summer. In fact, I impose “no driving days” on myself. These are days when I can leave the house to walk the dogs or do errands on foot, but I only go as far as I can by foot. It certainly changes the pace of a day.

Why I like this series: It is fun, historical fiction. Jacky Faber is the Forrest Gump of the Napoleonic Wars. Jacky is charming and funny, musically talented and adventurous. She does have a naughty and risqué side, but she is just naughty and risqué enough to make me smile.

Why I like this audiobooks: Two words: Katherine Kellgren. WOW! She totally captures Jacky’s spirit and has a beautiful singing voice. She has won several awards for her reading of the Jacky books and she is the reason why I choose to listen to the books rather than read them on the more traditional manner.

If you live locally, the Multnomah County Library has all the audiobooks, so you can get started on this wonderful series.

Summer Reading Goal #1

Only 3 more days of school. I can hardly wait. It has been a really good year bit I am ready for a little down time and Lots of reading & knitting. I have stacks of books and piles of yarn just waiting for summer holidays to begin. This week, my goal is to share some of my summer reading plans. Here is my first goal: The Jacky Faber series by L. A. Meyer.

I read my first Jacky Faber book, Viva Jacquelina! as part of this year’s HUB Reading challenge. It was book 10 in the series and I listened to the audio version, read by Katherine Kellgren, who is fantastic. This Spring I listened to the first two books and I am about to listen to the third.

Jacky is a 12-year-old girl when she joins the Dolphin as a ship’s boy. The adventures roll in, one after another,  like the waves on the seashore. She is a sort of 19th century Forest Gump, meeting famous people and getting into situations most people couldn’t even imagine. As the second book ended, Jacky had signed on to the Pequod,  and you know what that means. She is as impulsive as a puppy and as good a friend as anyone has ever written. The books are light and funny and just a rollicking good time.

I highly recommend this series, either in print or audio. I think you will enjoy them as much as I do.

 

2014 Hub Reading Challenge check-in #4

I’m in a bit of a pickle. Today I begin my first Slice of Life Story Challenge, (SOLSC) which means I will be writing a Slice of Life Story daily in March. Either I write only for the SOLSC, or I write two posts some days. I will probably opt for the latter and double up on the books I mention in each books related post. Let’s see if I can pull this off.

I managed 4 books again, this week for the HUB Challenge.Here’s the list:

22. Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac

23. Viva Jacquelina! Being an Account of the Further Adventuresof Jacky Faber, Over the Hills and Far Away by L. A. Meyer

24. The Adventurees of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks

25. Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen and Faith Erin Hicks

Twenty-five is the goal, so technically, I have finished. The Challenge, however,  continues into June, so I’m going to keep reading things I haven’t read from the list.

My favorite this week was the audiobook of Viva Jacquelina! Being an Account of the Further Adventuresof Jacky Faber, Over the Hills and Far Away by L. A. Meyer. Olé.

What a romp!!!

When the audio first started playing, I thought the cockney accent of the narrator, Katherine Kellgren, might be too much. But she nails Jacky. She has found the exact voice, tone and pacing for her. Our heroine, Jacky Faber, is sent to Spain by British Intelligence to spy for the Crown during the early days of the Peninsular War. She works on Wellington’s staff,  finds herself in the company of guerilla freedom fighters, poses for the famous artist Goya, runs with the bulls, is kidnapped by the Spanish Inquisition, and travels with a caravan of gypsies…all while hoping to one day reunite with her beloved Jaimy Fletcher. It’s like Forest Gump, but better!

This is book 10 in the series, and the first of the series I have read. I have already put the first audiobook on hold at the library. I want to get to know Jacky’s past, and I want to hear it in Katherine Kellgren’s voice.