Druids are sexy

Sometime last year I stumbled across an audiobook called Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles.

I am an unabashed fantasy geek and once upon a time wished with all my tweenager heart that I could be Druid. Travel the lands adventuring while weilding a magical staff and save the world from evil dominion. And of course talk to trees and earth elementals. Pure escapism fiction. Bring it on.

So this looked right up my alley. I am also a sucker for covers, because sometimes you can totally judge a book by its cover.
Here let me show you:

Cover courtesy of Kevin Hearne's website. I think you should buy his books.

See? Cute guy weilding big sword amidst misty backdrop...I had no chance.

Plus there's this:
Atticus O’Sullivan has been running for two thousand years and he’s a bit tired of it. After he stole a magical sword from the Tuatha Dé Danann (those who became the Sidhe or the Fae) in a first century battle, some of them were furious and gave chase, and some were secretly amused that a Druid had the cheek to defy them. As the centuries passed and Atticus remained an annoyingly long-lived fugitive, those who were furious only grew more so, while others began to aid him in secret. Now he’s living in Tempe, Arizona, the very last of the Druids, far from where the Fae can easily find him. It’s a place where many paranormals have decided to hide from the troubles of the Old World—from an Icelandic vampire holding a grudge against Thor to a coven of Polish witches who ran from the German BlitzkriegUnfortunately, the very angry Celtic god who wants that sword has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power, plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good, old-fashioned luck of the Irish to kick some arse and deliver himself from evil.

Atticus is a smart long-lived Druid making his way in today's world. He loves his rare book/tea shop and his dog Oberon, who has a smart mouth and a liking for French Poodles and sausage. Atticus has a fondness for his whiskey tibbling senior neighbor whom he looks after to keep safe.

Mr. Hearne has crafted a fun series with likeable characters, entertaining adventures, interesting conflicts and fast paced action. I immediately went out and got the next three audiobooks in the series. I passed these onto my son because I knew he would enjoy Atticus and friends. He devoured the stories and we're both waiting impatiently for book five, Trapped, to arrive.

The Iron Druid Chronicle books - Hounded, Hexed, Hammered, Tricked - are sit back and enjoy romps. Mr. Hearne tells a great story and makes me wish that I could sit and have a few beers with Atticus to hear his tales. And of course bring some sausage for Oberon. 

We've since introduced these books to a number of Ace's friends and I think they're currently making their rounds on the Rowan Univeristy campus since one of his friends took the books with him to college.

After passing my audiobooks onto my sister, she would randomly text me quotes  she found particularly amusing. Most of the them were from Oberon but she's partial to big goofy dogs.

the frustration game

As parents we’re pretty vigilant that our kids do their homework, give more than their best to their school work, keep their grades up and reach for more than just getting by.

We’re probably more attentive to our son’s educational career than our daughters right now for many reasons, all of which are wrapped up tight with the dyslexia bow tie.

Ace is a smart kid with above average intelligence yet his test grades give the impression that he doesn’t study, that he doesn’t put in any effort and that he doesn’t care.

This is a frustrating issue for him. When he sees test after test come back with less than stellar grades, he gets annoyed and frustrated that no matter how hard he studies, how many times he stays after school for extra help, he’ll never achieve the grades that seem to come so easy to his sister. This frustration then dampens his enthusiasm for school and the class, or classes, he struggles with the most.

What’s frustrating for us, as parents, is seeing this in our son, despite knowing what he can accomplish and searching for ways to help him over look test scores and focus on putting in effort, giving that extra above your best. Not to mention the constant pitched battle of getting an active teenage boy to spend more hours studying, despite the success he has had in other classes after extra study time.

We have high expectations of our kids when it comes to school. We expect them to put in more than the average effort and time, demand that their homework be done before entertainment and that if grades fall extra –curricular activities such as sports, video game time and friend time, will be limited. It’s what parents should be doing. Isn’t this part of the job description?

The frustrating reality is that in high school, test grades do matter, especially when it comes to getting into college.

As Ace got headed into freshman year, we pushed him harder to overcome some of his biggest challenges. As a kid with Dyslexia, literacy has always been the hardest subject; all the reading, summarizing, writing and analysis is a daunting prospect. Over the teacher’s objections and the administrations hesitancy, Ace took an Honors English class as a high school freshman. The teacher was informed of Ace’s Dyslexia and, after voicing her concerns about him being placed in her class, agreed to see how he progressed. To help him with the reading assignments, we made sure he had the Audiobook version of all his books as well, so he could listen to the cadence of the book, reinforce the rhythm of the language and further absorb the content of the book, all of which can be very difficult for him when he reads. He spent time after school with the teacher, he wrote and rewrote and rewrote essays before the final version made it to the teacher. He didn’t do all that well on his tests, but at the end of the class he got a B and the teacher’s opinion had done a complete reversal. She complimented him on his work ethic, on how involved he was in class, she told him, and us, that she wished she could have given him more one on one time because he was clearly a good student and wanted to learn. All of this positive reinforcement, recognition of the effort and what he learned in that class uplifted him. He read more after being in that class, dove into new books, and felt that he could master his dyslexia. This was a huge success for him.

He had the same experience in an Honors History class his first semester as a sophomore. The teacher worked with him, understood some of the struggles Ace encountered and made sure to give him the opportunities he needed to succeed, but didn’t go out of his way to make it easy for Ace. The expectations were the same, read the material, do the homework, participate in class. There were no allowances made, just an understanding of the issues and the offer of time and assistance when needed. Ace did well in the class, he learned the material, he liked and trusted the teacher, but again his test scores weren’t great. He would come home with a C on a test, pissed off because he’d spent hours studying his history book, reviewing his class notes (not without considerable nagging from us that he study more because hey, Teenage Boy here who wants to eat and be out with his friends.) but he sees these grades as failures of effort. We try to remind him that these are far from failures. If a kid with an auditory processing disorder and dyslexia can get B’s in an honors class, well, I’d say he’s doing more than okay. He’s having trouble acknowledging that fact.

We try to reinforce the positive, to keep his eye on the successes, to remember that the classes he’s taking are harder, demand more of his him and effort. Not an easy thing to get from him because he’s an active kid who would rather be out playing baseball or playing Xbox.

And then there was Honors Geometry this semester.

Once again, the teacher was clear that she didn’t think Ace’s grades were strong enough to be in her class. As Ace began the semester, he immediately struggled. The material was hard and new, the class moved fast and there was little time to absorb unfamiliar material. Ace was frustrated and began to pull back on his efforts to work more. He didn’t want to stay after with the teacher, was quietly resistant to getting extra help and was clearly unhappy. The teacher suggested to him that he transfer out of Honors Geometry.

This path of frustration, of low homework grades continued and then he did poorly on another test. This time the teacher wrote on his test that maybe he should transfer out of Honors Geometry.

He was angry, sad and hurt. He asked if we would transfer him out so he didn’t fail this class.

Sometimes it’s better to step back and reevaluate. That very day he was transferred to another Geometry class.

There was fault on both sides, a circular failing that went round and round for a few weeks.

The teacher didn’t want Ace in her class and Ace knew that. When he didn’t do well, the teacher wouldn’t help him beyond the basics. When further help was not forthcoming and grades dipped, Ace didn’t dig in and put more effort into succeeding, he pulled back and took the “why bother” approach. The teacher viewed this as another reason he did not belong in her class.

Maybe, if the teacher had given him a little support, more help and been open, Ace might have responded and put more effort into the material, because when he wants to learn something, nothing stops him.

This was a missed opportunity for both teacher and student. Who knows, maybe if they had given each other more of a chance, they would have found the key to the problem, but instead, they both gave up.

I’m a little disappointed in my son, and told him the reasons why I feel that way, but having seen him succeed in similar situations, I know what he is capable of, and frankly this will be a blip on the trajectory of the person he’s becoming.


I’m more disappointed in the teacher, because it’s her job to lift up students like my son, to nurture the curious minds that might struggle, but instead she chose to push him out and focus on the students that she felt deserved her attention.

I sometimes wonder if we’re pushing too hard, urging him to reach for more with Honors classes. Maybe we should just let him take the standard grade appropriate classes and get good solid grades. But, as I even think that, I know as he gets older, goes to college and enters the workforce, he’s going to need to work just a little harder, put in a little more effort, in areas of life that his dyslexia impacts. Isn’t teaching him now that the extra effort is worth the reward preparing him for that life? Isn’t that what parents are supposed to do? Wouldn’t it be failing my son if I let him coast and expect that he’ll just get by?

BOOK EARS Bookish Holiday Gift Guide

First ever Book Ears Holiday Gift Guide for the young adult and middle grade readers in your life!

Got book?

http://bookears.blogspot.com/2010/12/bookish-things-for-christmas-gifting.html

stealing the romance

It’s no big secret that I’ll read just about anything printed that passes in front of my eyes or that catches my interest. Oh Hey, Words! On Paper! Gimme.

The other morning I started reading the newest Cornelia Funke book, Reckless. The first chapter caught me pretty quick with a missing father, a mirror to a secret room and a spidery fanged man that fell from the ceiling. Yeah, tell me you could walk away from that opening?

I do have a predilection for romance novels, though. I bet you’re thinking, Really? Romance? Please.

Yes. Romances. Those character driven tales of the struggle to find love & happily ever after. Real life is often full of stress, frustration, chaos and other types of mind numbing bullshit like dusting and laundry, why shouldn’t people steal some happiness by indulging themselves in books filled with fun dialogue, hot sex and the ultimate ending of everlasting love? Do you know how many romance novels sell every year? A MOUNTAIN. I’m not going to bore you with details just know that people need their mind candy.

Now I have a confession. I stole my very first romance novel.

Right out of my sister’s bedroom. The room I was never, ever, under penalty of severe sibling torture, supposed to step foot into without an explicit invitation. Which of course, I did. *waving at my sister, who will call me shortly to discuss my routine transgression of personal boundaries.*

She had a subscription to the monthly Silhouette line and I was fascinated by those skinny little books, a full box of them, delivered to our doorstep, addressed directly to her. That box was like a treasure chest as far as I was concerned and I was not allowed to touch it. That right there? BIG RED FLAG.

So one day while she was out, I snuck in, riffled through a pile of them and quickly dashed back into my room and closed the door.

Oh, do I remember the thrill of those moments! Forbidden books, successful thievery, secret pages full of romance and seduction. It was so freaking awesome.

Imprinted in my brain, for all eternity, is the very first one I devoured behind the closed door of my bedroom, gulping down the words and story, because my sister was bound to notice my trespassing and come reclaim her books after doling out a little sibling justice. I have no idea who wrote it, or what the title is, but I would love to get my hands on a copy to reread it.

Please, if you will, our Heroine: Julia, the selfless young woman off to confront the wicked casino owner who is holding her reckless sister’s debts over her head. Our Hero: Rome, the wicked sexy casino owner, takes one look at the delicately beautiful young woman, nose turned up at his debauchery, and decides he will forgive all her sister’s debts if he can have her for one night. Young martyr that she is, she hands herself over. Soon, after weeks of remembering those hours in the hated, but oh so sexy, hero’s arms, our young heroine discovers she is pregnant from her one night of sacrifice and after confronting our hero with this news, he marries her, purely for the heir she carries, which upon delivery he will keep and they will go their separate ways. Yet, secretly, love builds between them as they navigate this time together. When she goes into labor, almost losing the baby, he proclaims his depthless love for her. She too announces she would give her life so this man can have the child he so desperately wants and if she cannot have him then, really, life is totally not worth living. And they all survive and live happily ever after.

See???? This stuff is so much better than sparkly vampire lust when you’re an eleven year old girl, whose room is filled with Unicorns and Rainbows and Flying Horses. Because it can so totally happen!

This began my proclivity for stealing romances from my sister, which ended when she got married and moved out and I began spending all my allowance money to buy my own.

Last week I listened to an older Nora Roberts romance, one from the early 90’s, Captivated. It’s the first in a four book series, The Donovan Legacy. I really enjoyed the story when it first came out; finding these older category romances in audio book form is really fun. It’s like meeting old friends for a drink.

The basics: Morgana Donovan, proud confident shopkeeper witch meets Nash Kirkland, cynical carefree horror screenwriter. Sparks fly, views clash, friendship and love evolve. The past rears its ugly head, reminding Nash why he’s cynical and carefree, Morgana wants to be wanted for who she is and there is conflict. When the dust settles, Nash realizes he’s been a jerk and chases the love of his life to her Ireland refuge, Castle Donovan. They kiss, make up, after he’s apologized properly for being an ass. Happily Ever After ensues.

When I read a book, it’s like theater in my head. I see it and hear it; the voices, the colors, the scenery. I reread the books in this series too many times to count years ago. Yes, I am that much a book geek. This makes approaching books that I’ve already read as audio an interesting event. I didn’t know the narrator of this book, how her interpretation of the characters would carry, would the telling, as it were, match my vision.

At first, not so much, but it didn’t take me long to make the adjustment. The voice wasn’t as strong as I thought it should be. The female character, per my memory, needed a huskier voice and the change in pitch for the male seemed a little off. It was fun, as it was the first time I read it, to have the story read aloud and revisit the characters I enjoyed so much once before.

I just want it on record that I’ve made up for the romance thievery. I share all of my romance novels with my sister now. And just about everything else I read. Or listen to. Because I am awesome like that.

get caught listening

June is Audio Book Month! Yippee!

The Audio Publishers Association has deemed it so and I whole-heartedly agree.

Last week I signed up to the Audiobook Community and it's a cool place to play.

Maybe I've mentioned my audiobook obsession once or twice, or every chance I get, but let me lead you gently toward a new discovery - Audiobook's are our friends. Someone reads me a story on my commute, every day. Given that I spend just shy of 2 hours on the the road each day for the paying job, I get to "read" for those two hours.

These are precious hours, people! Where in the crazy schedule of life does two hours open themselves up to reading, every day? Maybe if I spend it locked in the bathroom, which sometimes is the only escape, but even the dog shoves open the door and demands my attention. It is very unsettling when the dog watches me wipe my butt. We've agreed she'll leave when its time to tidy the privates, because that is when I give her a solid nudge with my toe toward the door. Some things just can't be shared. Ever.

My MP3 player has more audiobooks on it than music. This just reinforces my nerdhood, but I'm okay with this. I was the kid that hid her latest paperback in the textbook I was supposed to be reading in history class. Oh how I wish MP3 players had been around then. Sony Walkman's were so not subtle!

Audiobooks are everywhere, you can get them at your library, from any retailer like Audiobookstand, Audible, and Barnes & Noble to name a few, plus others. A quick Google search will produce a treasure trove of resources.

Tell me what you like to listen to and we can compare notes on narrators and authors and recommendations. I'm always on the lookout for a new author to try.

And maybe get to the bottom of whether it's cheating or not if you listen to the audiobook for a book club. Because I hear that is a hotly debated topic.

Currently streaming through my car stereo is A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire, an urban fantasy. I'd give more details, but I just start listening and prefer to hear a book through before sharing what I feel about it.

I've been in a fantasy mood for a while, so my listening queue is fantasy heavy right now. Who knows, next month it might be non-fiction.


*None of the sites listed, or books mentioned, are sponsored. I just like to share my obsessions.

wide eyed, along for the ride

When I find an author I like to read, I will systematically get every title they have written until I catch up. I'm weird like that. This strategy usually keeps my Need-to-Read list quite full, usually overflowing with possibilities.

I'm listening to The Plantation by Chris Kuzneski right now and so far it delivers on the promise his other books did for me. Action right from the start by way of a night time forest chase followed by a sinister abduction of a pregnant woman as she leaves her doctor's office. Enter Jonathan Payne and David Jones, friends, wise asses and ex-military powerhouses. Another woman abducted turns out to be the girlfriend of Jonathan Payne, and he's not one to let the bad guys get pull that kind of crap.

Payne and Jones share a strong friendship through the bond of shared military experience, by way of the elite M.A.N.I.A.C. team, their dialogue it full of zings at each other with sarcasm to spare for anyone who gets in the way of their latest escapade. The action is constant and the plots twist and turn back on each other until the very end and I'm usually surprised by how it all wraps up.

For me, the best elements of a Chris Kuzneski book, beside the snappy dialogue between Payne and Jones, are the facts and historical tidbits that infuse the story. There is always something fascinating to be gleaned from the entertaining tale, as you are hauled, wide eyed, along for the adventure.

I've listened to each and every one of Mr. Kuzneski's books, so far all have been narrated by Dick Hill, who is one of the best audio book narrators by far.

***cross posted over at Book Ears, the audio book recommendation site I put together to share my thoughts on what I listen to on my commute. These are not compensated reviews.***

randomly mental

There is no such thing as comfortable heels. I don’t care what anyone says. We are not supposed to walk on the balls of our feet. I don’t know what I was thinking.

Is it possible to stunt your children’s growth when exposed to prolonged fart stench?

Has my 11 year old daughter been irrevocably scarred by watching Me, Myself & Irene? Some of those scenes have burned themselves into my brain and I may never recover. Funny as all hell, but the image some guy with a chicken stuffed up his ass may be way too much for her young psyche. Throughout the movie she resembled the Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil monkeys and would spontaneously cover her face with the blanket. At the least she’ll have one more instance of parental fuckupitude to share with a therapist someday. Might as well get her money’s worth.

*I want it on record here that I was the lone dissenter when picking that movie. I said, No, let’s watch Lara Croft, but THEY all said No! This one. It’s all on their heads.

I get this weird stray hair on my belly that gets really long and it got stuck in my zipper this morning and it hurt like crazy when I yanked it out. Is this the onset of advanced age random hair growth? Will stray facial hairs begin popping out unexpectedly, like in the middle of a meeting and then people will be staring at the odd wiry growth sprouting from my forehead?

The speakers on my office computer make everything sound like it’s bouncing off metal walls. It’s really fucking annoying.

Just because I don’t call someone back, does not mean I’m being a bitch. It just means I am BUSY. There is shit to do. I’ll get to you. At some point. Maybe. Or not. Bitch might not be that far off the mark after all.

My daughter had to do a biography report for school that included making a puppet representing the person she chose. She opted to go full out and make a polymer clay puppet with a movable mouth, arms and legs, almost like a ventriloquist dummy. Some days I am equally gut-busting proud and intimidated by her level of artistic creativity. I’m not certain Drew Barrymore would appreciate the likeness but it’s the interpretations that counts, isn’t it?

When we got home from vacation Ace was suddenly as tall as I am. My days of using the height intimidation factor to get him to do his chores just evaporated. I’ll have to settle for verbal domination. And Xbox time leverage. Ah, the power of holding Xbox time hostage. It is a glorious thing, plus I outweigh him.

I’m listening to this new Audio book titled Name of the Wind. The words are music and magic all rolled into one. If you like epic fantasy crafted in such a way that you feel you are there, in the story, then go read or listen. I kind’ve want to smother the author, Patrick Rothfuss, with sloppy tongue kisses in gratitude, but it’s probable he’d have me arrested. And how would that look?

After years of feeling all smug and superior about not getting sucked into the American Idol whirlpool, SuperHubby and I have succumbed to its inexorable grasp. Even as we sit and dissect the episode in front of us, part of my brain is bitch slapping me for being a tool.

I have a bazillion great pictures of New Orleans (Men in Dresses, plastic boobs, drunk Saints fans) and Mayan Ruins (ancient buildings, cenotes, feet nibbling fish) that I want to plaster all over these pages but can’t get my procrastinating ass in gear to sit and just do it.

Our friendly Home Depot deliverymen delivered our shiny new GE Profile Dryer and I can’t wait to load it up with wet clothes. So I can have clean underwear. Going commando at work just feels weird sometimes.

engaging the boy brain

It’s been mentioned on this very blog that Ace, my 14 year old son, is dyslexic and prefers to do just about anything, including fold laundry, to reading a physical book. We adapt to this particular challenge by feeding him audiobooks that keep his brain interested in stories and words and imagery that are not a direct feed from the Xbox, Playstation or NitroCircus. No easy task, that. 14 year old boy, remember? Sometimes we hide the controllers. Just for fun.

He listens to an audiobook (why does spellcheck suggest audiobook as two words, but accepts audiobooks as one word?) every night, as his choice of bedtime accompaniment, rather than music. With any luck, what he listens too does not have subliminal messages that are rewiring his brain to be serial killer. Only time will tell, I suppose.

Last week I handed over a new audio book for him called Carter Finally Gets It.

It’s about a 14 year old high school freshman, which Hey! So is Ace. I figured he might relate and enjoy the story. He took it dubiously, read the back of the box, grunted in that noncommittal teenage way and said he’d see. I found the box on the end table the next day and thought there would be no meeting of Boy and Book here.

Two days later I found him reclined on the couch, headphones in his ears, staring into the ether. Attention focused inward as he listened to whatever was in the CD player.

Turns out it was Carter Finally Gets It. Ace decided to give it a chance and was hooked. That kid listened to this book at every opportunity he could find. While mowing the lawn. During dinner, in which he ignored everyone, just listening while inhaling a mountain of food. 14 year old boy, remember?

On the way to baseball practice, on the way home from baseball games, walking in the supermarket, in the bathroom, he tuned to the audiobook again and again. Until it was over. Then he said he wished the book had been longer and asked if there were any more by the author he could get.

During the rare break he took fro mlistening, he kept telling me the book was really good. It was like life at his school. He thought the author really “got” teenagers, boys in particular. Ace said he felt he was listening to someone who had taken notes on what goes on in school and with the kids, then wrote a book about them. It was funny, he said. Carter was a great character. That was Ace's take on the story.

My take, without listening to it, is this is a book about a boy trying to find his place. While doing so, he thinks about and confronts the typical teenage issues: fitting in, sex, relationships, finding the inner voice and overcoming teenage angst.

It’s a book like this that makes me grateful. Sometimes it is one book, one story that inspires a lifetime love of reading. Maybe Carter Finally Gets It will be that book for Ace. Maybe not. But my kid loved it, plans to listen to it again and is so enthused by it that he’s told his friends how much he liked it. He even told his literacy teacher it should be part of their required reading. I’m thinking she prefers keeping Shakespeare on the list.

Maybe a reader here will pick it up for their kid, and another reader will be inspired.

P.S. This was not a sponsored review. I have no affiliation with the author or the publisher. If sharing my son’s enthusiasm for a new book brings the same pleasure to another reader, I’ll gladly write a glowing endorsement of my own free will.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!!

Audiobooks are the most wondrous of things.

Eons ago, when I worked in the retail bookstore I did not have the proper appreciation for audiobooks that I do now. A couple of key factors contributed to my change of position. My commute to work got a little longer and the radio got boring. So I started by listening to JD Robb and Nora Roberts books on cassette. I found that I loved to listen while driving. It soothed frustrating traffic snarls and made the hour in the car fly by. It was a way to read without holding a book and I soon found more and more titles that interested me.

Then we discovered our son was dyslexic and while he loved stories, he didn’t like to read. It was difficult to read and due to the dyslexia, reading was a chore. He was reading word by word and would loose the context of a story a few paragraphs in. It was painful to watch this very bright boy struggle to read and give up over the difficulty. He was in school reading enrichment programs to help with his dyslexia and there was progress as well.

When Ace was 5 years old, we started listening to The Hobbit when commuting to his Nana’s house for childcare. He loved it. Begged for more of the story and wanted to listen to it even when he was in the house. We put a small portable stereo in his room and played stories at night. By the time he was seven, he could almost recite The Hobbit in its entirety, that’s how many times he played those tapes over and over.

We began with short kid friendly stories that he listened to when lying in bed. His favorites were Arthur stories and Franklin and Little Bear, and of course The Hobbit. As he grew, the stories grew longer and they would carry over from night to night. He listened to The Magic Tree House books and Charlotte’s Web. He willingly went to bed as he looked forward to listening to the next installment of whatever story had lulled him to sleep the previous night.

He soon progressed to Shiloh and Where the Red Fern Grows. He loved to listen to stories with animals, specifically animals and boys. We discovered something else while he listened to bedtime stories; his reading comprehension grew at school. We began to combine his reading assignments with the audiotape where we could. It helped him tremendously to hear the cadence of the language and words. He recently had to read Where the Red Fern Grows for school. He did read the book but he also listened the audiobook again to refresh his memory. Now he likes to listen to typical kid fiction. Recent favorites are the Pendragon Series and Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie.

Traveling with the kids on vacation, we declined the in-car portable DVD players and movies and listened to the Harry Potter series and Peter & the Star Catchers instead. We talked about the stories and characters in between CD’s and pit stops. We carted the portable stereo with us so the kids could have their nighttime audiobooks even away from home. It was a great way to unwind from the excitement of vacation activities.

Our daughter also began to listen to audiobooks as well. She enjoys Ramona, Junie B. Jones and Amber Brown. Can't forget the Pendragon Series, too. They might very well be some of the most well read kids in their age groups that don’t like to read.

I continue to listen to some audiobook everyday. There's always the next one waiting to be slipped into the CD console. My sister and I share the audiobooks and discuss our likes and dislikes. It's fun to hear the different narrators and how they interpret the character's voices. There are favorite narrators and every so often I really disagree with the choice of a reader for a particular book. With MP3 players everywhere I turn, the title selection has increased dramatically which creates a deep well of listening material to be tapped.

I'm currently listening to this: Reliquary

Try some, you'll like it. I promise.