Audiobook: London's No.1 Dog Walking Agency, Kate MacDougall

Such a sweet book of Kate MacDougall, one of the first (and of course best) dogwalkers in London, and all her interactions with different dogs and dog owners.

The book is read by: Anna Popplewell who was superb.

4/5

Audiobook: The Midnight Man: A Slayton Thriller, Caroline Mitchell

Read by: Emma Gregory and Elliot Fitzpatrick

Oe, this was a good one!

I was gripped right from the Prologue! Totally understand why it was an ‘Audie Awards 2022 Finalist in the Mystery category.”

The reader, Emma Gregory, is just brilliant.

Every time I thought that I had figured it out, there was a twist.

5/5

Audiobook: The Yellow House, Emily O'Grady

 

I haven’t read / listened to many Australian books before. This one was compelling right from the beginning. It’s from the perspective of ten / eleven-year-old girl, ‘Cub’. It is incredibly beautifully written, absolutely loved the metaphors and similes used throughout. There is an underlying shadow of what her grandfather did, which has ostracised the family from the small town that they live in. Very well written, I totally understand why it has won a literary award. 

BUT, As much as I enjoyed it, the ending was a let down. I felt that everything needed a bit more unpacking. I immediately Googled in the hope to see if there is a sequel; sadly none that I can see. 

Book: Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen

Such a lovely written book. But, I must admit that I felt incredibly stressed throughout the book. I had not seen the movie as I am not a fan of traditional circuses, especially animal circuses. But, the book came highly recommended so I decided to give it a shot. I think I had wanted to enjoy it more than I did. The animal cruelty is horrific. I do however find it fascinating that the book is (loosely) based on true events, and some of these events are shared at the end of the book; and, real photos are peppered throughout the book. 

3/5

Audiobook: Silent Sisters ~ A True Story, Joanne Lee with Ann and Joe Cusack

A very disturbing read. It’s incredibly tragic that it is indeed a true story. Very gripping though, which meant that I listened to it every chance I got and worked through it quite quickly.

It is rather shocking that child services were never called or involved while Joanne was growing up. I do find it rather hard to believe that at the age of ten that she was pretty much running the household; that teachers / neighbours / friends didn’t jump in and report her horrendous homelife and social services didn’t do anything, I find this very very odd and troubling.

Personally, I felt that the book got a bit long once the court case and judgement was discussed, I felt that it should have ended there, the additional narrative would have made for a good second book. BUT, it does all tie very well together at the end. So, if you are getting a bit bored, hang in there.

3/5

Audiobook: Tidy the f*ck up. The American art of organising your sh*t, Messie Condo

Hi, my name is Regine le Roux and I am messy. 

I sometimes feel like the Peanuts character, Pig-Pen, he doesn't do anything and still manages to become dirty. I feel like that about my clutter. I take ages to sort a space out, promise myself to keep it that way, and before I know it, I’m surrounded by clutter again.

 

I’m currently in a massive spring clean phase. This audiobook has some good tips. There is a lot of swearing, which is to be expected by the title, but it does get a bit much. I am also not a fan of the narrators condescending tone. 

But, here are a few good tips:

Books: Don’t hang on to books that you know you are never going to read again. If you are not willing to take it with you to a desert island for company, don’t keep it. 

Clothing: When you clear out, you normally have a couple of piles of clothes: keep / donate / throw out / not sure… For the ‘not sure’ pile, look at the items and ask yourself whether you would pay $40 (+R720) for a new similar garment. If the answer is no, then you’ve just bought it because it was most likely a charity shop buy / bargain, so get rid of it.

 

Stop buying stuff.  You regret the things that you buy, much more than the things that you don’t buy (just look at all the stuff that you throw out when you declutter). 

Clear things out for better things to take its place. 

Clean up stuff the night before you go to bed, just in case you get an unexpected visitor; you don’t want them to walk into a mess or trip over your clutter. 

3/5

Book: Something in the water, Catherine Steadman

The book started off very strong, with the narrator digging a grave and comparing it to running a marathon. I was intrigued! It started off with so much potential. I usually really like Reece Witherspoon’s book club picks.

I decided to just listen to this book during my runs. In the last week I actually found myself going for a run just so that I could finish the book. Not because I was enjoying the book, but because the story was just so unrealistic and stupid; I had so hoped that things would improve. It didn’t.

Every time I listened to it, I found myself rolling my eyes at how stupid the main characters were. But then had to remind myself, it’s a story. The main character irritated me more and more with her stupid decisions and actions. Long and the short of it, the couple should have gone to the police the minute a weird bag crossed their path. Everything that happened after that just verged on absolutely ridiculous. 

I got the distinct feeling that the author rushed to finish the book, maybe she also got bored with the absudity of it all. 

2/5