NPR DRIVEWAY MOMENTS: MORE about ANIMALS: RADIO STORIES that WON'T LET YOU GO

Published in 2015 by HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books.
Multicast performance
Duration: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Unabridged

In a lot of ways the first story in this 30 story collection typifies the entire collection. It is called "Grizzly Encounters" and is an almost 6 minute long recounting of three different encounters with Grizzly Bears. We were on a long family trip and you could almost sense the family settling in for what was sure to be an interesting story. But, after we had listened to each of them sort of peter out to a "that's it?" moment I stopped the CD and asked if I was the only one that was disappointed in that story. Everyone, even the nine year old, thought the story was a disappointment.

So, on to the next story - a story about bats in a mine that I remember most for telling me this was the sound of the bats that they had been hunting (and me thinking that this would sound great in the awesome speakers of the rental SUV) only to have it last for about 5 seconds. 0 for 2 so far.

The next four stories were better, the best being a story about tool-using animals, although the story of dolphins recognizing the calls of other dolphins that they hadn't seen for years was certainly heart-warming.

The rest of the collection is mostly like that. A lot of ho-hum stories with the theme of animals with the occasional good story. The story of a Florida sea turtle who was accidentally carried across the Atlantic by a ship was cute and ended well but hardly memorable. A song written for Lonesome George, a last-of-his-kind tortoise was cute at first but I was so glad when it ended.

Really, we got an F?

I have listened to at least seven of the audiobooks in this series and they all suffer from the up-and-down quality but these just seemed to be almost universally so-so. Perhaps the best story was an interview with one of the creators of the humor blog "Animal Review" in which the authors grade animal species from F- to A+. They give Pandas an F for a variety of reasons that make sense once you read them and the octopus gets an A because it's like a "superhero". Unfortunately, the interviewer doesn't go along with the joke very well and drags it down. I felt like she was just getting in the way of a good joke. Surely, NPR must have someone with a sense of humor, right?

So, for a variety of reasons I just have to give this collection 3 stars out of 5.

This collection can be found on Amazon here: 
NPR Driveway Moments: More about Animals: Radio Stories That Won't Let You Go

BRIMSTONE(Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch #3) (audiobook) by Robert B. Parker

Published by Random House in 2009
Read by Titus Welliver
Duration: 5 hours, 7 minutes
Unabridged

In the third book in this series, Brimstone, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch do a lot, but at the same time I felt like this book went nowhere and made a lot of noise doing it.

In short, Cole and Hitch begin the story looking for Cole's ex-girlfriend Allie French. You have to have read the first two books to even begin to wonder why Cole wants to find this woman again. They find her in the worst brothel in the worst part of town and rescue her and a fight ensues.

They all leave town and eventually find a town that needs two deputies and they take the jobs. In the town there are multiple saloons, including one led by a former army officer who was cashiered from the service because he led his men on an attack on an Indian village and killed old people, women and children but no warriors. 

There is also a church in town with a curious brand of Christianity led by a megalomaniac who believes he is communing with God and arms his deacons and practices a "muscular Christianity". Allie is drawn to the church, the church sets out to close the saloons and there are multiple murders by a rogue Indian on the fringes of town.

Virgil and Everett have their work cut out for them.

I have listened to the first three books in this series in the last month and perhaps I have listened to too many to fast. This book just did not have the punch of the last two. In fact, this book just seemed like a lot of half-developed themes thrown into a big pot and stirred around. The first book, Appaloosa, was a tight drama that built along two themes - the friendship of Cole and Hitch and Allie's need to be with the biggest dog in the pack. The second book was all about Cole working out how he can be an enforcer of the law even though he has broken the law.

The only consistent theme in this book was the redemption of Allie, and that was not done particularly well. There was an undeveloped anti-religious message (actually two themes - is religion real and are religious leaders to be trusted), there was a look at the raw deal that a lot of Indians got and then there was just your typical western shoot 'em up stuff. Plus, even though there was a lot of shooting, kidnapping, and general mayhem, it seemed like there was an incessant amount of talking in this book. The same conversations that were held in the last three books in this series plus in most of the Spenser books. Maybe if I had spaced out my listening a little bit it wouldn't have been so obvious.

Once again, Hollywood actor Titus Welliver read this book, as he did for the other two. Once again, he did a good, solid job. I think he voices Everett Hitch especially well.

This audiobook can be found here on Amazon: Brimstone.

I rate this audiobook 3 stars out of 5.

FOOD: A LOVE STORY (audiobook) by Jim Gaffigan

Published in October of 2014 by Random House Audio
Read by the author, Jim Gaffigan
Duration: 7 hours, 17 minutes
Unabridged

My wife and two kids and I listened to Food: A Love Story as we drove on our family trip this summer. We are fans of Jim Gaffigan (I really appreciate the fact that our children can listen and he rarely uses an inappropriate word, let alone vulgar commentary or topics.)

The book is obviously about food and Jim rarely deviates from it. He is not a "foodie". He is not driving out of his way to get something new. He is not traveling with the intent to try exotic twists on old flavors. Nope, he is an every man talking about regular every day food - burgers, fries, hot dogs, ice cream, cupcakes, pancakes, etc. He gets his tips on where to go by tweeting to his followers that he is in a certain city and where should he go. He rarely gets a bad recommendation.

He includes an overview of the country with regional specialties, including a long and hilarious explanation of why he hates seafood of all sorts (me too, Jim!). He also talks about his all-time favorites, where to get some of those. My wife and I were delighted to hear him rave about Schoop's in northern Indiana and the Coney Island Weiner Stand in Fort Wayne. 

He also talks about why steak is amazing, vegetables are not and the country's obsession with certain foods as a health craze (right now it is kale). I especially enjoyed his review of famous food chains by genre (burger places, taco places, breakfast places) even if I disagreed with him on a lot of them. It seemed appropriate as we were ticking off the miles and driving past all of the exits with the omni-present McDonald's, Subways and Waffle Houses.

This is not an audiobook that I could just sit and listen to at long stretches. I could only take about 1 CD at a time (about an hour and 10 minutes) and then I just got tired of hearing Jim talk about food. But, at lunchtime stop at the McDonald's we'd talk about what he said about this place and that place as we passed their billboards and my youngest daughter would proudly proclaim that she had found the "bonus fry" in the bottom of the bag. Then, I'd pop him back in again and we would laugh some more at his observations about bacon or Dunkin Donuts or Hot Pockets.

He brings it all together with a fairly profound commentary on food and family and our short time on this world. Here's an excerpt: "My advice to you, dear reader, is to eat well and frequently. Our time here is pretty short. It's filled with disappointments and drama, and food can make it better." He recommends more cheeseburgers and you certainly can't disagree with an expert who has written a book on the topic, can you? 

I definitely recommend this for a family trip.

The book is read by Jim Gaffigan and here's all I can say about it - it couldn't have been read better if it were wrapped in bacon. Well, that make's no sense if you haven't read the book, but if you have you know exactly what I mean.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. This book can be found here: Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan.

MARVEL'S AVENGERS: THE AGE of ULTRON: THE JUNIOR NOVELIZATION (audiobook) by Chris "Doc" Wyatt

Published by Marvel Press and Blackstone Audio on April 10 of 2015.
Read by Tom Taylorson
Duration: 1 hour, 34 minutes.
Unabridged.

Marvel's Avengers: The Age of Ultron: The Junior Novelization is my third audiobook of a junior novelization of a movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They adhere closely to the movies, have all been well-read, easy to listen to and, on the whole, quite enjoyable. 

But, this one is troubling because it only covers half of the movie. Literally, this audiobook is about half of the length of the other audiobooks as well. If you have seen the movie, it only goes to the fight scene in the ship that is being harvested for scrap metal and it alludes to the Iron Man/Hulk fight scene. That's it. 

Ultron

Up to that point, it's an enjoyable audiobook. Reader Tom Taylorson does a very good job with the different voices of the Avengers, especially Thor. He also does an especially good job with the voice of Ultron - sometimes he sounds exactly like James Spader who voices him in the movie.

The problem is that this is only half of the movie is in this audiobook.

It probably stems from the fact that this book was published a week before the movie was premiered in Los Angeles and about 3 weeks before it was released across the United States on May 1, 2015. To me, this seems like a promotional gimmick - a way to gin up interest before the movie came out. The problem is, we are stuck with just having half of a story long after the movie has been released.

I rate this audiobook 2 stars out of 5. What is there is excellent - but it's only half of the story.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon here: Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron: The Junior Novel.

Note: I was sent a copy of this audiobook by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

MARVEL'S AVENGERS PHASE ONE: THE INCREDIBLE HULK (Marvel Cinematic Universe) (audiobook) by Marvel Press

Published in 2015 by Blackstone Audio
Read by Jim Meskimen
Duration: 2 hours, 52 minutes
Unabridged

Marvel Press has released a series of junior novelizations of their Avenger and Avenger-related movies. The term "Phase One" in the title means that this is a pre-Avengers book that serves to introduce an Avenger. The publisher recommends them for ages 8-12 but my wife and I listened along with the kids in the car and we enjoyed it as well. My wife was really got into it. I was the only one in the car that had actually seen the The Incredible Hulk  movie.

Marvel's Avengers Phase One: The Incredible Hulk is a faithful re-telling of the movie. Unlike some novelizations, this one does not really expand past what the movie reviewer would have seen in the movie. No new secrets revealed or anything.

The book starts with Bruce Banner already having been exposed to gamma radiation and having already changed into the Incredible Hulk. In fact, the real plot gets going five years after his exposure.

Banner is on the run, the target of a secret military program that is trying to re-create the Super Soldier program that produced Captain America. He is hiding out in Brazil while trying to find a cure and working at a soda pop factory. But, he makes one tiny mistake - just one little mistake and soon special forces units are flying to Brazil to try to round up Banner without making him angry...

As I said before, my family and I listened in the car and I polled them afterwards about how they would rate the audiobook and they all said they would give it an A or A-. I liked it as well (I would give it 4 stars) so I am going with the group average and giving it 5 stars out of 5.

Jim Meskimen did a good job of reading this story. With the exception of the English accent of one of the bad guys, he covered a variety of accents well. More importantly, he covered the angst of Banner perfectly.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon here: MARVEL'S AVENGERS PHASE ONE: THE INCREDIBLE HULK (Marvel Cinematic Universe) (audiobook) by Marvel Press.

Note: I was sent a copy of this audiobook by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

MARVEL'S AVENGERS PHASE ONE: CAPTAIN AMERICA, the FIRST AVENGER (Marvel Cinematic Universe) (audiobook) by Marvel Press

Published in 2015 by Blackstone Audio
Read by Tom Taylorson
Duration: 2 hours, 47 minutes
Unabridged

Marvel Press has released a series of junior novelizations of their Avenger and Avenger-related movies. The term "Phase One" in the title means that this is a pre-Avengers book that serves to introduce an Avenger. The publisher recommends them for ages 8-12 but my wife and I listened along with the kids in the car and we enjoyed it as well.

The book follows the movie very closely, detailing how Steve Rogers tried to join the army multiple times during World War II but was always refused because he was too small and too sickly. Finally, he is noticed by a team of scientists and given the opportunity he has always wanted - he can join the army. 

But, there's a catch. 

He will have to be part of a group of men who are competing to see who can qualify to be part of an experiment to create a "Super Soldier" based on research already being done by a secret group in Nazi Germany called Hydra...

This is the place to start this series. In this book, the groundwork for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe is laid out. If you are an avid comics reader, then you probably already know that the movies and the TV shows deviate from some of the established comic book story lines. We meet the Stark family, Agent Carter (the namesake of an ABC television series), learn a little about the Infinity Stones and quite a bit about Hydra. 

Tom Taylorson's narration is quite good. He makes the story seem dramatic without being overly dramatic. My family enjoyed it as we drove along on a family vacation which is quite the compliment since I am the only one of the four of us that has actually seen the movie that this audiobook is based on, Captain America: The First Avenger. 

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5 with the understanding that this is a 5 star rating for an audiobook that is kid friendly. 

This audiobook can be found on Amazon here: Marvel's Avengers Phase One: Captain America, the First Avenger (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

Note: I was sent a copy of this audiobook by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

RESOLUTION (Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch #2) (audiobook) by Robert B. Parker

Published by Random House Audio in 2008
Read by Titus Welliver
Duration: 4 hours, 40 minutes
Unabridged

At the end of Appaloosa, the first book in this series, Hitch and Cole have parted ways. Hitch ends up in the town of Resolution, a mining/lumbering town with some small unsuccessful ranches/farms scattered around.

Hitch is hired by the owner of a local hotel/saloon to keep the peace inside the saloon. Soon enough, Cole shows up. He is on the outs with his girlfriend again. She has issues - she just has to throw herself at the most powerful man in the room and Cole had finally had enough of it and killed a man she was with. For Cole, this is devastating. He has always followed the law, even if it is arbitrary law that he has written himself. Killing this man broke the law and Cole is now a man who cannot follow his own code. So, Cole just hangs out with Hitch and ponders the meaning of laws and rules and the Social Contract for half of the book.

In the meantime, Hitch is offered the chance to switch sides in a range war that is just beginning to start. It will be the miners vs. the lumberjacks vs. the ranchers/farmers vs. the hotel/saloon owners and Hitch has to decide where he is going and Cole has to work his way through his issues before the lead starts to fly...

There are a few common themes that run through most westerns - the stranger(s) that come into town to rescue the heart-of-gold widow with a ranch (like Tom Selleck's Crossfire Trail) and the stranger(s) that come into town to stop the local bad guys (like in The Magnificent Seven ). Parker, if nothing else, was a master of taking the established format of a genre and then tweaking it - the familiar then becomes something different, but still feels like the same old comfortable story.

In this story, the strangers are Hitch and Cole. As the story progresses, Parker mixes the story of the the woman who needs to be rescued with the story of the town being rescued from the local bad guys, with a twist, of course.

The title, Resolution, is interesting because as the book goes along Cole resolves his issues. He reads and discusses John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau and hits on the idea that laws come out of the social contract between the person in power and the people who are under those laws. Basically, Cole cheats the idea a bit to ease his existential crisis and allow him to be Cole again. Parker sure loved all of this deep psychological stuff. I find it amusing to have professional gunslingers sitting on the front steps of a saloon discussing the theory of the Social Contract.

The audiobook is read by the actor Titus Welliver. I like Welliver's work and his voice is smooth and mellow - just about perfect for Hitch, who tells the story.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon here: Resolution