The Moonstone ~ Wilkie Collins

(4)  narrated by Peter Jeffrey  

One of my literary goals is to read certain classics, and two titles by Wilkie Collins featured in there.  After completing this book, Collins can now be ticked off my list.  

Like  The Woman in White, The Moonstone is, most definitely, a narrative drive novel, and though this book is good too I enjoyed The Woman in White more.

  

I thought Collins’ satire in the guise of the piously, hypocritical Miss Clack and her manic religious-tract giving was very humorous:

Here was a golden opportunity! I seized it on the spot. In other words, I instantly opened my bag, and took out the top publication. It proved to be an early edition—only the twenty-fifth—of the famous anonymous work (believed to be by precious Miss Bellows), entitled The Serpent at Home. The design of the book—with which the worldly reader may not be acquainted—is to show how the Evil One lies in wait for us in all the most apparently innocent actions of our daily lives. The chapters best adapted to female perusal are “Satan in the Hair Brush;” “Satan behind the Looking Glass;” “Satan under the Tea Table;” “Satan out of the Window”—and many others.

“Give your attention, dear aunt, to this precious book—and you will give me all I ask.” With those words, I handed it to her open, at a marked passage—one continuous burst of burning eloquence! Subject: Satan among the Sofa Cushions.

LOL. What an awful woman, such perfect reading to gift to dying aunt ;)

Betteredge, the butler, much to my delight, constantly refers to Robinson Crusoe ,

"I am not superstitious; I have read a heap of books in my time; I am a scholar in my own way. Though turned seventy, I possess an active memory, and legs to correspond. You are not to take it, if you please, as the saying of an ignorant man, when I express my opinion that such a book as Robinson Crusoe never was written, and never will be written again. I have tried that book for years—generally in combination with a pipe of tobacco—and I have found it my friend in need in all the necessities of this mortal life. When my spirits are bad—Robinson Crusoe. When I want advice—Robinson Crusoe. In past times when my wife plagued me; in present times when I have had a drop too much—Robinson Crusoe. I have worn out six stout Robinson Crusoes with hard work in my service. On my lady’s last birthday she gave me a seventh. I took a drop too much on the strength of it; and Robinson Crusoe put me right again. Price four shillings and sixpence, bound in blue, with a picture into the bargain."

“The man who doesn’t believe in Robinson Crusoe, after that [a quote from Crusoe], is a man with a screw loose in his understanding, or a man lost in the mist of his own self-conceit! Argument is thrown away upon him; and pity is better reserved for some person with a livelier faith.”

During the writing of this book, Collin’s seems to be using Ezra Jennings as the voice to document his own pain driven addiction to opium – opium taking pops up everywhere –

Back again, this morning, to the old routine! Back again, tonight, to the dreadful alternative between the opium and the pain! 

I liked Ezra and thought his personal ‘ending’ was rather sad.

Adding here for others that get overcome with the urge to toss this book and read something faster paced or shorter:  About a third of the way through the book I was wondering if I wanted to keep investing in this "taking forever" serial styled story  - I’d figured out who the thief was, but not how the young couple got back together again – time to read a quick summary and see where the story was going.  I’m glad I did, as it gave me the impetus to keep listening to Peter Jeffrey's excellent narration of this work.  

A.D. 33: A.D. Series, Bk2 ~ Ted Dekker

narrated by Ellen Archer  11hrs 30m  (3)

Synopsis: 

   They call her the Queen of the Outcasts. Maviah, a woman whose fate was sealed on her birth by this world - unwanted, illegitimate, female, a slave - subject to the whims of all. But then she met a man named Yeshua who opened her eyes. She found strength in his words, peace from the brutal world around her. Because of what he taught her, she has gathered her own travelling kingdom of outcasts deep in the desert, wielding an authority few have seen. But when her growing power threatens the rulers around her, they set out to crush all she loves, leaving her reeling as a slave once more. She must find Yeshua to save her people, but when she does, she will be horrified to discover that he faces his own death.

   Enter a story full of intrigue, heart-wrenching defeat, uncompromising love, and staggering victory - one that reexamines everything you thought you knew about the heart of Jesus' stunning message and the power that follows for those who follow his easily forgotten way.

My review contains spoilers....

The story was interesting enough to keep me listening, Ellen Archer is a great narrator, and I was keen to see how contact with Yeshua played out in the lives of the central characters from book one.   

** spoiler 1:  My hunch about Judah not being the best match for Maviah paid off - life circumstances became a 'rip off' for him :-(  and his character didn't grow in strength but into bitterness and revenge. 

** spoiler 2:  Dekker leads us straight to the beginning, at the end of the book, of the era of Christian martyrs.  I thought the author was setting us up, and, was resigned to the thought that he was going to have Talya, Saba, or Maviah give their life in that arena.  

I think what let the story part down for me were the preaching chapters towards the end of the book (I enjoy a good sermon - just not inside my historical fiction read where the author has tried to disguise their lengthy sermonising into the guise of supposed storytelling dialogue between the characters).  Added to that, Dekkers portrayal of how he thought Christ acted after his resurrection was a bit of stretch for me.  One example is where the author had him winking at people -  like in scriptures where he that "winketh with his eye/s" is a seriously bad action. 

PS: I wonder if Dekker's editor noticed the overuse of the word thundering?

Cranford ~ Elizabeth Gaskell

narrated by Nadia May  (4.5)  Classic. 

Lovely book.  It took me some dogged attempts to stay with this book initially.  I’m glad I did as it evolved into a story I really came to enjoy.  Miss Matty is a gentle-spirited darling and Gaskell gifted her with a character that was easy to love – the happy ending in this read surrounds others love for her and not because of any direct event that happens to her or others.  
If you like clean, gentle reads and haven’t read this charming, gentle, domestic tale yet, which showcases life in a small village for some “ageing” women and their associates,  I recommend you do.

Two Owls at Eaton ~ Jonathan Franklin (narrated by the author)

(4.5)  N/F Memoir  pub 1960

A charming memoir about  Jonathan’s life with two rescued owls, Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee.  I love real life stories about owls and this one strikes all the right notes;  it’s an informative read about two engaging birds and their often humorous interactions with humans.  My family would have loved this as a read aloud during the children’s younger years especially since Owls in the Family ~ Farley Mowat became such an enjoyed read.

http://www.jonathanfranklin.name/two_owls_at_eton.htm

Irena’s Children ~ Tilar J. Mazzeo

narrated by Amanda Carlin   

(5)  pub 2016  N/F      Mazzeo does not try to paint Irena as a spotless saint but shows her as a woman with very real faults and foibles raising to the challenge and choosing to act with courage and focus, despite the great risk to herself,  to save lives in Warsaw during WWII.  With her husband taken by the Nazi war machine Irena  "lives in adultery" with her, also married, Jewish lover, Adam.  The fact that she is not married to Adam saves her from being sent to the ghetto and he is a deciding factor that initially draws her there.  

So many seemingly ordinary Jewish and Polish people acted with absolute bravery to effect rescues of Jews and Poles during this dark portion of history.  
I’ve seen the movie, The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, but appreciated this audio so much more once I got past the first few chapters and became used to the narrator – she’s actually very good.  

This no holds barred biography is rich with good storytelling detail and is one I’d totally recommend to my IRL associates who also ‘like’ reading WWII non-fiction.

The Mission Walker ~ Edie Littlefield Sundby

narrated by Jaimee Paul  (3.5) 

(epukapuka) Non Fiction / Memoir / Christian / Inspirational 

Whew!  The first quarter was an emotive listen: swallow, blink hard, and continue tomorrow….  I need the map to able to appreciate the actual 'walk portion' of the story - the chapters detailing Edie's walk tapered off into interesting, not riveting. Once Edie got to Sierra Vista I was back to fully engaged, for a while…..   the walk is interesting but I was so glad, yes glad!, when Edie hopped in the vehicle and was driven towards the border and her husband Dale.  I was ready for the narrator to be done and for Edie to go home and spend Christmas with her family too.    

I greatly admire this woman, and her inspiring journey of faith - my rating is for the audiobook, not Edie as a person: she's a solid 5*.

I appreciate the wise insights she sprinkled throughout her book.

Here are a few I jotted down:

“Probabilities are just numbers, whereas possibilities are endless.”

“Acceptance of death and cancer did not mean I intended to give up, just the opposite. I was prepared to fight cancer not out of fear of dying, but out of joy of living.” 

“I thank God every day for this life, and I want there to be more, though that’s not known. What is known is that I’m alive today, this minute. And that’s pretty much what we all have – this day, this moment.” 

“I came to realize we are held in the arms of God and are utterly completely safe - in life and in death; whether walking alone or with others.” 

“Through the Grace of God and His medicine I am healed,” became my constant prayer. The prayer awakened with me each day, coming on the wings of the morning. It followed in my heart through the day, and was on my lips as I drifted to sleep at night.” 

“When I put down Lance Armstrong’s book, I understood something profoundly. Edie, if you can move, you’re not sick. I decided right then and there that no matter what cancer did to me I would continue to move. Movement was what the physical body was designed to do; it was how it coped and functioned. Movement was vitality. It was life. I would move. Always. No matter what. Until my last breath, I would move.”

“Sometimes we have to move others out of our lives, so we can move on.”

The Mill on the Floss ~ George Elliot (spoiler alert)

(excellently) narrated by Laura Paton  (2) 

(p579 chunkster)  Classic Brit Trip Location Lincolnshire 

If you "love" Mill on the Floss don't read any further  ;-)

"We judge others according to results, how else, not knowing the process by which results are arrived at."

(Spoiler)  

After dragging me through nearly 500p, and hoping I now care what happens to Maggie, Elliot decides the best way to wind up this story is to destroy her physically: she packs Maggie off to heaven with her brother via a "nice" drowning. Such a lovely ending. 

Nice set of male characters for Maggie to love too: Her father became deformed by bitter revenge, Tom became emotionally deformed thanks to his father's bequest, Stephen was cast as being morally deformed - given to passion over duty - and, Philip was physically deformed and given to being melancholy and bitter because of it. I should have realised once Elliot started quoting, earlier in the book, about denying oneself, selflessness, and sacrifice that that was the hook Elliot was going to hang Maggie out to dry on.
Sorry George Elliot, I’ve judged and reviewed this book according to the results at the end; the ending is the kind I loathe in works of fiction, it negates any fine writing that may have preceded it. 

This book should be retitled Drowned in the Floss.

The Autobiography of George Muller ~ George Muller

narrated by Derick Perkins (3.5)

Brit Trip Locations London/ Devon/ Bristol/ Wiltshire.

  

Diaried books, or those with constant ledger tallying – so dry!! , are never favourite reads, so those factors definitely affected my rating of this book.  A good indication of how much I’m appreciating a book is how often I plague my family with details from it – this book got some mentioning, but not lots.  I did find it an encouragement to be more given to prayer.

Miss Silver Mystery Books ~ Patricia Wentworth

Miss Silver, the series, narrated by Diana Bishop

I'll list the books in the order that I've read them, which may help others to see how I've ended up rating each next story I've listened through.
During 2020 I'm endeavouring to go through the books in series order, and,  in 2021 to read the books that are currently not available at Audible.

09/15   The Key Bk8  (3.5)

02/20  Repeat. Late-night listen.

08/17   Pilgrim's Rest Bk10 (2.5)  the perpetrator of the crimes is a psychopath … I think that aspect ruined the story for me

08/17   The Case of William Smith Bk13  (3)

04/20  (4) Repeat. Late-night listen.     I really like the young couple in this story.

09/17   Eternity Ring Bk14  (2.5)  one of the key characters is a spoilt brat.  Ho-hum story

09/17   Spotlight [Wicked Uncle] Bk12  (2)   I'm not sure why I gave this 2 stars the first listen through....   

04/20  (4) A really good Golden-era whodunnit set in a country house with a blackmailing villian, lots of red herrings, gentle -in the background - romance happening; and, Miss Silver comes to stay to help solve the back-to-back murders.

02/18   The Alington Inheritance Bk31  (3)  After 4 or 5 drop and restarts, and then not until Jenny ran away did I feel any real interest in this story.  I won't be listening to this one again, even though it eneded up at 3 stars.

02/18   Anna, Where Are You? Bk20  (3)
06/20 3+  This book is not a favourite Wentworth for me, yet I liked it a bit more than the last time I listened through it.  I’d forgotten who the baddy was, which is always a bonus on a relisten, but it helped that I knew what was going to happen with the ‘psychologically damaged’ friend, and, the children and wife of the abusive scammer.

04/18   Miss Silver Comes to Stay Bk16  (4)

05/20  (Good collection of red herrings which ensured I couldn't easily recall whodunnit from my last listen through two years ago.)

05/18   The Case Is Closed Bk2  (4) 

Repeat.  Late-night listens:

04/19  I found this listen through a tougher challenge - the abusive, psychotic, spouse seemed worse this time.  Time to use the skip forward button.

02/21   As I’m au fait with the storyline, and whodunnit, Hillary and Henry’s story captured my attention totally this time through and I flat out enjoyed my repeat listen through this audiobook.

Both of those characters have character faults.... temper outbursts for one, and, an autocratic know-it-all for the other.

05/18   The Silent Pool Bk24  (3)  Herefordshire     Extra content others may like to know about:  Wentworth gifted the murderer with a borderline personality.  Adultery (emotional and physical). 

07/20   Repeat.  Late-night listen (4)

06/18   The Fingerprint Bk30   (3.5)   Deeping, Lincolnshire    The author intentionally injects shades of Cinderella-with-a-twist into this story – the put upon orphan in this tale is not very likeable, and, has tangled herself up with a manipulative, abusive, thug.  Miss Silver saves the day, so all ends well.  I was in the frame of mind to enjoy a cosy mystery, so this scored well ;)     Content extras: there are a few kissing episodes in this book, though Wentworth doesn’t give it ‘sensual’ legs to run on – she’s rather matter of fact. 

Can be read, free, online here: http://www.gutenberg.ca/ebooks/wentworthp-fingerprint/wentworthp-fingerprint-00-h.html 

Coleridge —

“For to be wroth with one we love

Doth work like madness on the brain.”

11/20  (4)  The audiobook read by Diana Bishop made for a no-effort-required escapist listen'  I dislike Mirrie, even more, this round through, and I had forgotten what a psycho manipulator Sid is.

06/18   The Watersplash Bk21   (3.5)  (Faux English Village) I can’t read these back to back as many of them are rather similar in tone, missing wills, country homes, a pretty ‘longsuffering’ girl, and, a moody young man.  Extra: drunken,  domestic violence is included in this story.

07/20  Repeat. Late-night listen,  still 3.5*

Repeat listen.  Small village whodunit come complete with a range of personalities to like and dislike: one of those village dwellers is a psychopath, and the murderer ….  

I think I enjoyed this story more this listen through as I knew where the plot was going, and the portion in the book where "what the young nurse said to Edward"  - it gets repeated over and over - was easy to skip past, knowing that I hadn't missed a thing.

06/18   The Clock Strikes Twelve Bk7  (4)  (faux English village)   Extra: One of the characters in this story, a mother by adoption, could be a real a challenge for an IRL associate to read about. 
01/20 (4+)   Late-night repeat listen.  Re-read for a GR's 2020 Retro Reads Challenge.
As it's summertime and I'm in the frame of mind to enjoy lighter listening this book garnered itself a plus ...... winter time listens have to work harder for bonus points :)   
That mother by adoption sure is a piece of work and Wentworth has crafted her to be despised she is possessive, jealous, manipulative, and a class act narcissist.   That portion of the story reminds me of the surrogate mother in  Nemesis by Agatha Christie, this listen through especially,  and I could clearly see the opening for Wentworth to have the scenario of  ‘love killed her’ brought about (not going to say more and generate a spoiler in either book.)

I prefer to listen to Wentworth’s stories narrated by Diana Bishop as opposed to reading them and I think this audiobook makes for a great retro/vintage era whodunit; but, it could easily offend those who imagine that a retro read is going to reflect or uphold many of the (Western Cultures) social norms of today.  

06/18   The Benevent Treasure Bk26  (4+)   Dorset (?)  If I’d known Wentworth was going to have people skulking around the house after dark I may not have listened to this at bed time (;-D). 

Gothic-styled read. Wentworth really sets the reader up to dislike the abusive old lady - she thinks nothing of viciously slapping family/servants across the face if they cross her.  There is a clever twist at the very end of the story with the money.

10/20  (4)   Repeat. Late-night listen. 

06/18   The Chinese Shawl Bk5  (3+)   faux country village/ London  The usual range of Wentworth characters, many with major character defects, and one who goes from being someone with a boarder-line personality disorder to becoming a murderous psychopath.

09/20  (3)  Repeat. Late-night listen.

07/18   The Latter End Bk11 (4+) Wildcard “Rayle” faux English village Lincolnshire/ London  (Anthony travels to Oxfordshire)

Paintings mentioned gracing Miss Silver’s walls as prints:

 The Black Brunswicker ,

 The Monarch of the Glen 

 Hope,   

The Soul’s Awakening,

and The Huguenot    (close up)

The author tends to wallow in Freudian rhetoric a wee bit much in this book.   I really enjoyed the twist Wentworth gave to this who-dunnit, I didn’t see that coming at all.

Available as a  free ebook  too.

04/20  (3)  Repeat. Late-night listen.

08/18   Miss Silver Intervenes Bk 6  (3) Gifting this with a 3 since some of the supporting stories were interesting – the mystery wasn’t that good.

09/20  (3)  Repeat. Late-night listen.

08/18   Poison in the Pen Bk29  (4  ) I was in the frame of mind to enjoy a Wentworth styled mystery, so I did; and,  she gave enough clues early on the books so I could work out “who’d dunnit”. 

08/20  Repeat listen, nearly two years to the date later.  Listening in series order this round through.  Thanks to lots of red herrings I could not immediately recall who'd dunnit; and, as I was just listening for enjoyment's sake, not to work out the mystery, as I was doing last time, I still really liked the mystery in 'Poison in the Pen' this time as well.

Extra detail: showcases adultery and a pending divorce. Lots of village gossiping/backstabbing in this one.

09/18   The Gazebo Bk27   (4) Grovehill, Hertfordshire/ North Yorkshire/ London 

Wentworth sets the reader up to start thinking “that’ mother deserves to be done in – manipulator to the extreme – it was teeth gritting to read about the sugar-coated abuse she heaped on her daughter.  The baddies are all bad, which includes a brassy, avaricious, man chaser,  and the murder was easy to solve.  (I would not recommend this to those that have/are living thru issues with a manipulator  or narcissist. )

08/20  (3*)  Even though the mystery in this is very good the abusive relationships this read through seemed worse (so it lost a star).  2020 feels like a hard year to read 'abuse happening' content.   I prefer to listen to Diana Bishop narrating Miss Silver mysteries, as opposed to reading them myself and tried, not very successfully to skip past 'that' content.       Extra: narcissistic mother, abusive husband (to the max), abusive wife.

10/18   Lonesome Road: Miss Silver Bk3  (4+ ) “Ledlington” wildcard

I wonder what deathbed promises Wentworth had witnessed that caused her to hit out so hard against others being forced to honour those wishes.  This book had many of the usual collection of characters Wentworth uses in her stories, but amazingly not one manipulative (living, breathing) narcissistic. Miss Silver turns up early in the story and there are no policemen or Scotland Yard ‘tecs helping to solve the mystery; just Miss Silver and a few key characters are hard at work to expose and capture the potential murderer.

11/18    The Ivory Dagger: Miss Silver Bk18  (4-) Emsworth, Hampshire 

( free ebook collection https://www.fadedpage.com/sc/wentworth.php  )

This is the second book I’ve been through this year that has focused on Sir Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammimoor, I have it on my to-be- read list so I’m going to try and make a push to read it next year. 

I rather enjoyed this Miss Silver Mystery, in spite of Lila; she is the sort of piteous, weak spirited,  girl that makes me wish the author had injected some grit into her diet.  Ray is such a refreshing counterpart to her and I’m pleased she ended up with her young man
05/20 (4) Repeat. Late-night listen.

11/18   Out of the Past: Miss Silver Bk 23  (4) wildcard.  The murder victim certainly set himself up to be dun-in and it was good to see that Carmona dodged a bullet when he ditched her at the altar all those years ago.  Lots of red-herrings, but Wentworth gave me just enough clues to be able to work out who the murderer was before Miss Silver started to clue drop.

07/20   (3+)  I liked the story less this time than my first listen through, I guess because the murderer was as selfish, ruthless, and, manipulative underneath as Alan Field blatantly was.

01/19   The Catherine Wheel: Miss Silver Bk15  (4-)  pub 1949  Some clever red-herrings in this one; however, if you've already read a few Miss Silver mysteries you'll see through those and guess who was 'dunning them in' like I did.

I enjoyed this as my first mystery challenge read for 2019 and appreciate the way Patricia Wentworth takes the last few chapters to tuck away any loose ends.
Extra: abused wives, predatory male - no graphic details,  they are included as part of the background story.

05/20:  (4) Repeat. Late-night listen.  I still appreciate the way Patricia Wentworth takes the last few chapters to tuck away all the loose ends.

03/19  The Girl in the Cellar: Miss Silver Bk32  (3) I thought this story was a little lacking in the middle,  it felt like Wentworth was putting in filler. Added to that I found Anne and Jim were just ‘okay’ as the central couple.  Miss Silver didn’t feature as the wise case cracker, as she does in some of the other books.  This would still be a good listen for Wentworth fans, it’s just not one I’d recommend to anyone who isn’t … yet ;-)

04/19 Grey Mask: Miss Silver Bk1 (3-)  The rating is for the audiobook which Diana Bishop narrates very well.  Since I've run out of Miss Silver books to listen to I caved in and purchased the least liked book - which is also the first - in the series to listen to.  I  agree with other Wentworth appreciators,  I wouldn’t recommend* Grey Mask as the first book to read in the series either as Wentworth is definitely finding her way with Miss Silver as a character and the mystery is rather weak.  The writing feels the most choppy out of the twenty-four Miss Silver books I’ve listened to so far and the author seems to spend too long fleshing out less relevant moments in the story.  In addition, the heiress is an (annoying) silly, dippy eighteen-year old which fortunately is balanced out by a few more likeable characters.  For others that get irked by authors doing this, Wentworth does underpin this mystery with a lack of communication /broken engagement issue.
*Recommend as a first Miss Silver audiobook, in place of this one:   The Latter End Bk11,  The Benevent Treasure Bk26

07/20  The Listening Eye Bk28 (3)  (ebook)   I think I prefer having these read to me,  by Diana Bishop, as opposed to reading them myself via ebook.  The mystery was just okay and it was pretty easy to figure out early in the book who was involved in the murder.

08/20  The Danger Point Bk4  (4)  (ebook) (I wanted to read this especially after a BaW mum read and enjoyed it.  Currently not available via audible so I may have to read it. )  I enjoyed reading this vintage era whodunnit: Miss Silver didn't feature that much, which I was okay with, in this story.  Lots (!) of red herrings with the criminal being a thoroughly charming and toxic baddy.  Lisle is definitely lacking in gumption.

Extra: an extra-marital affair, catty women by the shovel load, manipulative spouse.  (London/Faux English Village/ Devonshire)

09/20  She Came Back [The Traveller Returns] Bk9  (4)  (ebook)  The wife presumed dead turns back up 3 years later; but,  is it the wife or an imposter?

I enjoyed reading this vintage era whodunnit.  I usually listen to the audiobooks narrated by Diana Bishop - easy listening but this book in the series is not available where I live in audio format.

09/20  Mr. Brading's Collection Bk17  (3)  (ebook)

Reading this was the only available and,  worked out to be, the best option for me.

I skipped over all the repeat details about Miss Silver and did not have to dwell on a few retro sayings/the authors opinions (on an adopted child) and the heavy hands of the ex.husband.    I enjoyed the vintage mystery aspect of this book, baddies n all.

09/20   Through the Wall Bk19  (3)  (ebook)  Read this one as it's currently not available on audiobook.  I enjoyed the mystery part of it - I thought it was a spanking good read.   So nice to see this one has one of Wentworth’s characters, Marian, that has some gumption her sister, however, is weak, needy, pretty shallow and has accrued a loser for a spouse.

(Some of the content is definitely yesteryear viewpoints and attitudes.)

02/21  Ladies' Bane Bk22 (3-) (ebook) I know I keep saying it but it's true: I much prefer to listen to Miss Silver mysteries narrated by Diana Bishop over reading them, as the written version seems to detract from my enjoyment of them.  

Miss Silver is in this story helping gather clues to solve the crime/s, but she is not leading right front and centre in the final solving of the case.

Extra detail:  Domestic abuse.  Drug addiction.  Female predator.

Still to read:

Vanishing Point Bk25

Tallgrass ~ Sandra Dallas

narrated by Lorelei King  (epukapuka audiobook) (5) 

I think Lorelei King's talented narration made this book - not sure I would have appreciated it this much in the written format - and I know this is one of those stories that is going to stay with me for a long time. Tallgrass covers a dark WWII era in American history - a US portion of history I haven't read much about  - our country had it's own WWII internment camps for German, Italian and Japanese civilians.   This story is about a family that live and farm near a Japanese internment camp.  I loved the character of the mum, dad, and, youngest daughter; and their interactions with the Japenese sent to their district.  
This is NOT a lite, fluffy read, Dallas covers really gritty, hard topics:  blatant racism, 3 accounts of rape, 2 murders - one of a young teen, spousal abuse.  The interview with Dallas at the end gives the story another layer.  
I  handed this to my husband to listen to, and he's appreciating it also.

To Destroy You is No Loss ~ Joan Criddle, Teeda Butt Mam

 narrated by Christina Moore   (5) Biographical

This was a recommended homeschool history book that I never got to read with the children.   A sober, harrowing, and gritty listen. The love, care and respect this family have for one is heartening – along with their deeply held Buddhist faith – they seem to undergird the incredible resilience these people required to endure each next heartache and hardship.  The fact that all, bar one member of their family group make it through that holocaust seems miraculous.  Although the writing may not rank as the very best in literary terms, I felt compelled to keep reading.  This is a story that stays with you, long after the last word is read.       

Extra: while the author/s detail the atrocities of a despotic, genocidal, regime it is done in a more sobering, factual tone without “glorifying” the very real horror or the gore of the events taking place.  Beheadings, mass murders, the horrors of slavery, an account of gang rape, the desperation and vulnerability of fleeing refugees.

The Woman in White ~ Wilkie Collins

narrated by Simon Prebble & Josephine Bailey (5)

Audible Audio, &, Free kindle   

By purchasing the free kindle first, you can then procure the audio for $1.14 USD      
Brit Trip Locations: Lancashire, Cumbria, London, Hampshire

The Woman in White was a recommended read.  So pleased I followed through on it as I enjoyed this Gothic mystery story right from the beginning.  Such an engaging read.  Reparaphrasing what two other readers (mumto2, and aggieamy  of TWTM Book a Week thread) said, “Don’t start this unless you have time to be sucked right into the intrigue Wilkie Collins has crafted in the White Woman: you’ll get to the point where you must keep listening to find out what happens”.  I came away liking the strength of character Collins gifted to the ‘plain’ sister, Marion, so much more than his delicate Victorian flower, Laura.

The female narrator, Josephine Bailey, wasn’t as enjoyable for me to listen to as Simon Prebble was.

Favourite quote from the book:

“Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service.”   Wilkie Collins

Evelina ~ Francis Burney

Narrated by Dame Judi Dench, Finty Williams, Geoffrey Palmer  (4)

 (pub. 1778  p.455)   Classic    (Dorset/ London/ Bristol)

I don’t usually like epistolary novels, but I appreciated this one as it is so well read and the language usage is a delight to listen to.  Though it reads as satire, it’s rather interesting to be dropped down amongst the strictures and customs of the early 18^th century.  Anyone that struggles with period pieces where young women are not emancipated nor empowered should sidestep this book.  The audiobook is long, at 16 and ½  hours, and the story becomes slightly convoluted before Francis Burney manages to get all her characters lined up to enjoy an anticipated ending.

Evelina is like reading an earlier times, slightly rough around the edges, Jane Austen.  I’ll be handing this to my Pride and Prejudice appreciating daughter to enjoy. 

North and South ~ Elizabeth Gaskell

Juliet Stevenson’s narration is a work of art.  (5) (Classic) 

I switched between audio & e.book. 

By purchasing the $0.00 kindle edition I ended up with a 'price reduced' selection of audiobook options to chose from.  For Lower North Island New Zealanders, epukapuka has the audiobook narrated by Clare Wille available for loan.

This book was a restart read for me, I had laid it aside for other reading in 2016,  and I’m so glad I picked it back up to re-wrestle with this year.   The first portion of the book tends to drag and so I had to just knuckle down and navigate through the first four chapters.
It feels rather satisfying to have completed this particular sip read which I ended up enjoying as the themes in North & South seem to be similar to those found in Pride and Prejudice… though Thornton ‘voices’ his feelings for Margaret with panting passion - something Darcy would never do ;)

It was nice to find the same portion from one of Michael Drayton’s sonnet, Idea 61: [Since There’s No Help] that I’d first encountered in a Georgette Heyer book, she gifted it to Lord Damarel to quote in Venetia, and Elizabeth Gaskell used in part 3 of North & South: 

Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part.

Nay, I have done, you get no more of me;