Goodbye Lolita, hello Dragonfly

As it turns out, Reading Lolita in Tehran...not such a fun audiobook. I need pages for that one. Just couldn't get into it in the audio format. So this morning I stopped at the library and picked up one of my favorite novels, which ironically, has been narrated by Davina Porter. Happily, her performance is much better in this one, though I doubt even a shoddy narration could inflict harm on Diana Gabaldon's Dragonfly in Amber, or any of her novels for that matter. It had been five years since I last read Dragonfly yet it came rushing back over me like a sweet, forgotten dream. Gabaldon knows how to write, it's exquisite. It took five minutes and a chapter change before I could convince myself to get out of my parked car. I would sit there all day and listen. The only irritating part is that I know what happens and I want to get to that first thrilling part and it's killing me.

Perhaps, for the sake of my sanity it would be best if I gave up all fiction (both writing and reading) until the semester's end. The struggle between my love for reading and my need to pass statistics is colossal. It seems silly, true, but oh, Diana Gabaldon has mad skills.

Snobbery With Violence

With British cozies being a weakness of mine, it is to be expected that Marion Chesney would be one of my absolute favorite writers. Such fun are the Victorian murder mysteries with all their lace and finery! This week I listened to BBC Audiobooks' version of Snobbery With Violence. Davina Porter's performance was a bit disappointing, the voices she chose being inconsistent both within the performance and within my own imagination. I felt she poorly chose the voices for the characters. It was distracting. Anyway, the story's the thing. I had read this one before and was excited for the chance to listen to it. Aside from Porter's performance, it was great fun. I fell in love with the brooding and handsome Captain Harry Cathcart all over again as he tolerated Miss Rose and saved all the aristocracy from their dirty little secrets. It's definitely one to buy for the Ipod and listen to over and over.
Next week's listening? Reading Lolita in Tehran.