Talking About June, July & August Audio Books

I previously shared all the books I read through the summer. And I promised to write a separate post about all the audio books. Well, here we are, lets talk. about audiobooks.

We are all so good at smiling by Amber McBride | ★★★★☆

Goodreads says: Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones. And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.
They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane.
The Forest whispers to Whimsy. The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing. They discover the Forest holds monsters, fairy tales, and pain that they have both been running from for 11 years.
What I thought: This is one of those rare finds that leave you with a bit of shattered heart and lots of questions. I had no idea what the book was about when I started listening to it. It is a delicate story about clinical depression wrapped around in some sort of fairy tale survival. A friendship, memory loss, belonging and lots of struggle. While you could feel the darkness below the surface it was hopeful. I very much enjoyed it and believe it would have gotten 5 stars if I had read it and picked up on all the layers. this is a contender for a re-read and bought book. It feels like this belongs on my shelf. Also look at the gorgeous cover.
As mentioned it refers to fairy tale like folklore which I am not familiar with. It felt at times a bit like red riding hood but something was off. The word Hoodoo was mentioned and I first thought it was voodoo but apparently it is something else. I am always excited when I learn something new and looking things up unknown to me get me deeper in a topic. And how perfectly it fits to may word of the year MAGIC.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: English
Publications: no translations so far
Recommend to: Everyone. Alright, everyone enjoying magical stories, folklore and is not afraid of reading about mental illness.

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reed | ★★★★☆

Goodreads says: In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure. On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.
Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness. That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiance, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants while trying to protect the ones she loves. But who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?
What I thought: This was a wonderful book for summer. Diving into a love story that is not too cheesy but hits all the marks a romance novel needs. I enjoyed that love was not portrayed as black and white but that there are nuances. That some things are tough even when you moved on. I personally loved the ending and felt it was authentic and true.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: English
Publications: German title “Emmas Herz”
Recommend to: Everyone liking romance novels and alternate storylines and grown up love.

The Riddle of the Shaman by Harald Meller & Kai Michel | ★★★★☆

Goodreads says: A woman, a child, circumstances of death unexplained. Discovered by the Nazis and misused for their own purposes, the 9,000-year-old grave sank into oblivion. Now the cold case is being solved with the help of modern science. The results make the Shaman of Bad Dürrenberg one of the most exciting archaeological finds in Europe.
What I thought: Wow, just mind-blowing on so many levels.
I first off had no idea such an interesting find has been made just a couple hundred kilometers from where I live. I had no idea Nazis whitewashed this find to use in their narrative of the original powerful “Aryan” ancestors: A white-skinned, blue-eyed, blond-haired man.  When now – and even back then – science puts it to a dark-skinned woman. I love how the definition of shamanism is looked at as well and I learned that again this is a word conquerors gave – as in so many other cases. Learning about this opened up a new understanding how history is made by the people who conquer, define and work in science. Everything needs to be looked at with a grain of salt. And we can only do as good as we do with the available knowledge.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: German “Das Rätsel der Schamanin”
Publications: no translation but the museum has some info online and here is a feature of the case
Recommend to: Everyone interested in history, how history can be bend for narrative reasons and just enjoys science and archeology.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld | ★★★★☆

Goodreads says: Sally Milz is a sketch writer for The Night Owls, the late-night live comedy show that airs each Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life.
But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actor who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show—and in society at large—who’ve gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch called the “Danny Horst Rule,” poking fun at this phenomenon while underscoring how unlikely it is that the reverse would ever happen for a woman
Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. 
What I thought: Summer reading seems to be romance reading for me. So here is another one – and we are just getting started. Again this was read/listened to due to the book club where we talked about all Curtis Sittenfeld books. Compared to her other ones, this was my favorite. I enjoyed the witty conversations. I liked that the characters had layered and grew and were self reflecting. I enjoyed the email conversation in the middle and it was one of the first books that had the Covid pandemic as part of the storyline. Overall it was entertaining and enjoyable.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: English
Publications: no translation as of now.
Recommend to: Everyone loving a fun romance novel, set around comedy and famous people without being too cheesy.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry | ★★★✶☆

Goodreads says: Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
What I thought: This was a fun little romance novel and I personally think it was one of the better ones I have read. Let’s be honest most of them are all rather similar. I liked this one because it was set in and around the book world. I liked that it played with the cliché tropes in form of a list that needed to be checked. And I liked that a strong sister relationship was part of the book. But that was also my main issue. It was at times rather unrealistic. Does a pregnant woman goes off for four weeks with her sister and not really talking to her husband? I also really didn’t enjoy the overprotectiveness from Nora towards her sister. It was mentioned a few times too much.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: English
Publications: German title “Book Lovers – Die Liebe steckt zwischen den Zeilen”
Recommend to: Everyone loving a romance novel set in a bookstore and book talk, strong sisterhood bond and some witty talks.

Same time next summer by Annabel Monaghan | ★★★☆☆

Goodreads says: Sam’s life is on track. She has the perfect doctor fiancé, Jack (his strict routines are a good thing, really), a great job in Manhattan (unless they fire her), and is about to tour a wedding venue near her family’s Long Island beach house. Everything should go to plan, yet the minute she arrives, Sam senses something is off. Wyatt is here. Her Wyatt. But there’s no reason for a thirty-year-old engaged woman to feel panicked around the guy who broke her heart when she was seventeen. Right?
What I thought: Cute little romance novel. I didn’t like Jack very much. I didn’t really care for the parents – so demanding and patronizing. And unfortunately – as you may remember – I am not really into the falling-in-love-with-a-famous-person trope. This one was okayish. Am I the only one who is not really hooked by that? Must be a market. Wonderful summer beach read, easy, breezy, lovely and then you can move on. Overall this was ok, but Monaghans “Nora ges off script” was much better.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: English
Publications: no translations as of now
Recommend to: Everyone needing a summer read, loves music and old lovers reunite stories.

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub | ★★★☆☆

Goodreads says: On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday. But it isn’t just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush, it’s her dad: the vital, charming, 40-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?
What I thought: Honestly, right now I am having a hard time recollecting what happened in the book. I only remember the feeling that it was a cute story but apparently it didn’t really stick with me much. I do like the time travel trope and I liked the father daughter relationship and seeing the relationship through the adult daughters eye. But other than that the story doesn’t seem to have done much more for me. Have you read it? How did you like it?
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: English
Publications: German title “Wir sehen uns gestern”
Recommend to: Everyone loving time travel, taking a new perspective and father daughter relationship.

A woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter | ★★★☆☆

Goodreads says: “The Arctic is the zone of the world where heaven touches earth. Not everyone can bear the great light, not everyone the darkness, not everyone the great loneliness. I had the great grace, right at the beginning of my adventure, and this alone, to be thrown right into the middle of the relentlessness of wild nature and received my baptism of fire.”
In icy Spitsbergen, many hundreds of kilometres from the nearest settlement and without the technical aids of modern Arctic expeditions, Christiane Ritter and her husband fulfilled a dream. They lived together with a fur hunter in a primitive hut for a year in 1934. Christiane Ritter’s account of her experience gives an idea of the enigmatic fascination of the Arctic.
What I thought: I love travel logs and especially when we visit the wild north. I enjoyed this account from a woman’s point of view. Of course we are thrown back a 100 years and life was much different then. At times that allowed Christiane more freedom as she would have had in Germany at the time but she also was somewhat depended on her husband and the hunter friend. I found it interesting to learn about their year in Spitsbergen.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: German “Eine Frau erlebt die Polarnacht”
Publications: English “A woman in the Polar Night” as well as a multitude of other translations
Recommend to: Everyone enjoying travel logs, a glimpse into life at different times and cultures.

Kommst du mit nach draußen? by Peter Wohlleben | ★★★☆☆

Goodreads says: ature is everywhere! Even in your city! Moles, kestrels, mice, rabbits and even raccoons are your neighbours. Lichens, mosses and flowers find their habitat even in the tiniest crevices and asphalt cracks. And there is so much to discover and try out! Maybe you’d like to grow your own plants on your balcony or in your garden? Build a compass or even sleep outdoors for a night? Peter Wohlleben explains how to do it and tells you exciting things about the many little wonders and mysteries right on your doorstep.
What I thought: This was a fun little audiobook going children to discover the outdoors, some exploration prompts, how to stay save when getting outdoors but most of all characteristics of many wild life animals that can be found also in cities. I personally didn’t learn a lot of new things but I can see that it is a great way to get kids interested in exploring the town or city they live in.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: German
Publications: no translations yet
Recommend to: All children who want to explore the outdoors.

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt | ★★★☆☆

Goodreads says: When Jack meets his new foster brother, he already knows three things about him:
Joseph almost killed a teacher.
He was incarcerated at a place called Stone Mountain
He has a daughter. Her name is Jupiter. And he has never seen her.
What Jack doesn’t know, at first, is how desperate Joseph is to find his baby girl.
Or how urgently he, Jack, will want to help.
But the past can’t be shaken off. Even as new bonds form, old wounds reopen. The search for Jupiter demands more from Jack than he can imagine.
What I thought: Someone on instagram recommended this book for fall. And I happened to find it at library for immediate loaning. So I did. It was a peculiar and different story. Sad. Thought provoking. About teenage pregnancy, love, grief, friendship and determination. I liked it.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: English
Publications: French and Spanish, German apparently not but it seems to be a English curriculum book with vocabulary guides and prompts for discussion
Recommend to: Everyone wanting to read about an uncommon boy friendship, determination and how to handle grief.

How to keep house while drowning by K.C. Davis | ★★★☆☆

Goodreads says: If you’re struggling to stay on top of your to-do list, you probably have a good reason: anxiety, fatigue, depression, ADHD, or lack of support. For therapist KC Davis, the birth of her second child triggered a stress-mess cycle. The more behind she felt, the less motivated she was to start. She didn’t fold a single piece of laundry for seven months. One life-changing realization restored her sanity—and the functionality of her home: You don’t work for your home; your home works for you.
What I thought: his was an okayish book. I had hoped for some new elevation in doing house chores while doing chores. Overall it was lots of common sense, a bit of a different approach and mainly a mindset shift. My main issue with the book was the ignorance of sustainability. Washing just one piece of laundry because you want it. Or using paper plates to not have to do dishes is just an approach I can agree on. Sure it may be helpful but if that is the solution then it is not a solution but creating a bigger problem.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: English
Publications: German title “Kopf über Wasser im Alltagschaos: Wie du mit deinem Haushalt und dir selbst Frieden schließt”
Recommend to: If you need some motivation go ahead but don’t take everything by face value.

Jana, 39, ungeküsst by Jana Crämer | ★★✶☆☆

Goodreads says: This is a true story!!!
Jana Crämer is 39 years old. Smart, likeable, humorous and professionally successful. But something sets her apart from most women her age: Jana has never kissed a man in her life. Not even held hands. And although falling in love is her big, unfulfilled dream, she has not broken it in all these years.
In a world where we often feel out of place, where we are mercilessly judged by people who make us feel we are not slim, pretty, rich or happy enough, Jana has, against all odds, overcome her greatest adversary: herself.
What I thought: I always listen/read those influencer memories or what ever they are called – always hoping they are exciting and give me some crazy insight. I don’t get this genre. I am glad some people can get some wisdom here but for me it is all just some sort of self-therapy and babbling. I don’t find it empowering. I don’t find it fascinating. And I always wonder why I finish. That said, I can see why people with this medical condition Jana has find comfort here. Bu the title is very misleading. We don’t really hear that story. And honestly, I do not really believe it is the truth that Jana is happy. She may be happier and more in balance now than previously in her life but to me it feels like she is saying it many times to herself to convince herself.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: German
Publications: no translations
Recommend to: I don’t know. Figure it out yourself I guess.

Wie uns die Liebe fand by Claire Stihlé | ★★✶☆☆

Goodreads says: Bois-des-Val at the foot of the Sonnenberg in Madame Nanon, 92 years old and affectionately called Madame Nan by everyone, has experienced many things in the small village with the good air. France, Germany, France – her region has always been the plaything of political interests and power claims. Then peace finally returns – until Madame Nan’s eldest daughter Marie suddenly comes along with an invention that brings the family not only prestige and money, but also a great deal of love for the villagers. Happiness would seem to be perfect if it weren’t for the story of her neighbour Monsieur Boberschram, with whom Madame Nan falls in love without knowing that they have a common past that is anything but united.
What I thought: I liked that the book was written from the view of an old lady in her 90ties. Something you really read. Or at least I had. It started out good but lost momentum and then just gotten a little boring. I wanted to. listen to something that took place France when I was there for that cruise job but the story didn’t really grab my attention.
Medium: audiobook
Original Language and Title: German
Publications: no translations
Recommend to: Not sure I would. It is one of those books that. do not leave a mark so suggest get a better book.

As you see this summer was full of audio books. And if you look closely there is a pattern. Lots of romance. So I wonder: Do you listen to audio books? And if so, do you tend to listen different type of books/genres than you read? Is there an audio book I should check out? How about the narrators voices – do they make or break an audiobook for you?