The Rose Garden

As much as I enjoyed The Winter Sea, I found this book to be much better, both in terms of writing and story content. I absolutely loved this one. I enthusiastically endorse it.

And just in case you think that all I listen to are time-travel love stories, next in my lineup is some nonfiction about which I have heard nothing but rave reviews: The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks.

My small thank you to Steve Jobs and Apple

I admit to being stunned when I heard the news about Steve Jobs's death yesterday. I knew he was not well, but considering it had only been six weeks since he'd retired, well...I was simply taken aback. I've read abundant tributes, many of which simply quoted Jobs's own eloquent sentiments. I never followed him that closely, nor do I know a great deal about him, but I can grasp, at least a little, what a visionary the world has lost.

I'm not an Apple person, per se. I don't run out and buy every single product they put out. I'm typing this on a PC, which in and of itself is proof that I've never been an Apple purist. Actually, Apple desktops and laptops have always been tempting, but I've never quite had the money for them. This is more about the one Apple product I've owned and loved.

Every audiobook I mention on this blog, I've listened to on an iPod. I've owned four of them in the last decade. My first one was a turquoise iPod Mini. Remember the mini? It's funny now to think that's what it was called, because subsequent generations of the ipod were so much slimmer and compact. Even so, I still think it's pretty cute. My next one was the 4th generation Nano, in red. Both of these, I ordered directly from Apple, and they had (and still do, I believe) that great feature where you could get the back of the iPod engraved. My mini bears a quote from T.S. Eliot: "You are the music while the music lasts." The red nano has one from John Milton: "Such sweet compulsion doth in music lie." They are lovely words and I wish I'd known them by heart, but in truth, I simply googled "quotes about music" and found them that way.

Since the nano, I've owned two generations of the iPod Touch. This is probably my favorite, simply because I love the ease of it, and all the apps, and the display, and...everything about it. It's comical, really, to look at the ipod touch and remember how the first iPods had no color or pictures, and had a tiny display screen. I admit, though, that while I love the Touch, I do kind of miss that quiet noise the click wheel made.

The fact that I've owned four of these may make it sound like they don't have any longevity. There may be mp3 players which last longer, but when I say I use the iPod, I don't mean casually. I use the hell out of it. I listen to music, podcasts, and audiobooks for nearly 40 hours a week. This only varies when it's KU basketball season and I have my little radio on for two hours during game nights. The iPod has been a faithful and true companion for me at work for nearly a decade, keeping me conscious (always a plus) and well-entertained on days when the hours seem to drag by. So while I may not be an Apple girl on all fronts, I'm an iPod girl through and through. Thank you, Steve Jobs, for making a product so fine.

The Dresden Files

I recently started listening to Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. My friend at work suggested the first one, and once I started into it, I realized I'd heard of them before. I had a friend several years ago who was a big fan of the books. I very much enjoyed the first one, and the fact that it was narrated by James Marsters. Incidentally, I was a few seasons into Buffy The Vampire Slayer before I discovered that James Marsters was not, in fact, British. So I was excited at the prospect of hearing his real voice narrating these books.

As I said, I liked the first one. The second one, too. The stories are fun, there's some decent humor, and plenty of tension--even though you know that everything should turn out fine in the end. The series consists of 13 books so far, and it's not finished yet.

Now, however, I'm listening to the third book. I like the story arc of this one as well. Unfortunately, I've discovered something that has begun to really get on my nerves, and that is: The character of Harry Dresden exlaims "Hell's bells!" ALL. THE. DAMN. TIME. Once I noticed it, it got under my skin, and now it's almost to the point where it's making me cringe every time I hear it. I don't know if it's a writing crutch of Butcher's, or what the reason for it could be, but it's overused to the point of absurdity. Stephenie Meyer had a similar problem in the Twilight books: "His eyes tightened." Edward's eyes were tightening so often it's a wonder they didn't get stuck that way. And once the overuse of a phrase registers, it's impossible to overlook it. Sort of like when a friend pointed out how hyperactive Emma Watson's eyebrows were in the first few Harry Potter movies. Completely impossible to not see it every time after that.

I do wonder whether it makes a difference that I'm listening to these books and not reading them; that hearing the phrase over and over makes more of an impact than just reading it would. I suspect it might. Also, while I do enjoy Marsters's narration overall, he's one of the more mistake-prone readers I've come across. Twice during my listening at work tonight, he said the phrase, "wrecking havoc." You don't wreck havoc. You  WREAK havoc. I presume that unless Butcher had a shitty editor, "wreak" is what is actually on the page. I know this makes me sound anal, but it's just a small irritant. It takes me out of the story a tiny bit each time.

So do I recommend these books? Sure. They're fun, if you like wizardy, supernatural stories. Are they formulaic? Yep. As good as Harry Potter? Not even close. In fact, I'd recommend Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant series over these--it's funnier and it's got STELLAR narration. But The Dresden Files are thoroughly entertaining, and enjoyable enough that I'm anxious to see how book 3 ends. Not a full-throated endorsement, maybe, but hey...I can't absolutely love everything!