Outliers!

I just finished the first disc of OUTLIERS, and I am so psyched to hear the rest. The idea of the only way to become a genius athlete/scientist/musician/etc is to have 10,000 hours of practice under your belt is really interesting. On the one hand, it shows how in control each individual is of his or her own destiny: in a study Gladwell cites, it was consistently those who didn't practice enough who were amateur pianists, and those who were virtuosos were always those who practiced more hours.

On the other hand, Gladwell speaks at great depth about how to an equal extent our fates are determined by our pasts, even down to details like our birthdays. I'll weigh in further as I listen to more, but it's incredibly compelling. I especially like that Gladwell reads himself, since his way of thinking and pulling together information is so unique. He has a reassuring, mild voice, nice to listen to!

What's coming up

Okay, first I need to mention two productions that I'm so excited about, but that you won't be able to listen to for a few months. One is BEAT THE REAPER, which I'm going to try to post a clip of here (we'll see if my technical acumen and Blogger's template aloows for this), and the other is UNDRESS ME IN THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN, which I'm reading an advance copy of now. Look for more info about these two soon! I hope to listen to the entirety of BEAT THE REAPER before the end of the month, but it's an early audio release - it won't be available for purchase until January!

I don't know about you, but I was totally convinced by the last two reviews. Both HERETIC'S DAUGHTER and MIKE'S ELECTION GUIDE are going on my iPod, stat. Thanks, Amber and Anthony!

And I almost wish I had a long road trip coming up, because ROADS TO QUOZ by William Least-Heat moon seems like a dreamy companion.

Mike's Election Guide by Michael Moore

Please America, I plead with you to listen to this audiobook written and read by Michael Moore!It's a quick listen at 3 hours, and love him or hate him, he raises many valid and interesting points. Entertaining and educational, the MIKE'S ELECTION GUIDE audio is worth your every minute.

If you ever wondered what Jesus had to say about abortion, or gay rights...Why the French pay more taxes than the US, but don't complain...or How we can solve the Social Security woes of all future genrations of Americans with the strike of a pen...Mike's audiobook is for you.

There still time left to make a difference! OneLove. -AG

OFF SEASON

So, I promised a review of OFF SEASON and got a little sidetracked! I can't believe a whole week has passed since I finished listening. We've been busy planning Spring 09 and working on the catalog for that, so I've been living in the future a little bit. Let me tell you, it's a season to look forward to for more than warm weather! A lot of really exciting first-time authors in addition to our wonderful standards who return.

Anyway, OFF SEASON draws the listener in with a really great story. I'm watching MAD MEN right now, and a lot of the same 1960s issues are brought up in Siddons' audiobook, although in a completely different way. The main story is of a complex woman and her family, of her coming of age in a well-off family that experiences several tragedies, and of her growing up and her relationship with her adult daughters, but along the way it also addresses antisemitism, racism, and the changing roles of women in American society. Parent-child and husband-wife relationships are examined in unflinching ways without the audiobook ever becoming either maudlin or cynical, which I really appreciated.
There are almost two books in this one, including the flashbacks of Lilly's childhood and then her present-day reality of her coping with widowhood.
Jane Alexander does a truly amazing job voicing both the young Lilly and her mature self. She keeps the character consistent, but a listener can absolutely tell when Lilly is a child and when she is a woman, without it ever seeming forced or false.A very skillful narration job, and I look forward to listening to other books narrated by her.

Still to come: Anthony's take on MIKE'S ELECTION GUIDE, and perhaps a weigh-in from Jon Klemm on the same title. They both enjoyed it, so I don't think we'll exactly have a point/counterpoint here, but I think they had slightly different reaction to aspects, so we'll see if we can stir up some controversy here.