Something for everyone

I finished the audio version of Doomsday Book last night, and I did end up sitting in the driveway. Actually, I drove around the block twice and thought, well, I'll just hear the end in the morning, but it ended right after I pulled up in front of the garage. What a great book! I read some of the reviews at Amazon, and it just points up the fact that everyone has different tastes and opinions.

Some people said they thought it was great (and it won several awards, including the Hugo, I believe, so mine isn't an isolated opinion), but there were a few reviewers that complained that it was awful, too long, too slow, nothing happened, the recurring themes occurred too often, etc., etc., etc.

I loved the fact that it was a huge book -- I enjoy being able to really get into a story, to live in it, as it were. I love a book that takes me weeks to read. There wasn't a lot of action, no. No swordfights or anything like that. But there was a lot of suspense, I thought. And I loved the recurring bits, the bells that rang throughout the book--the mechanical bells in the present day and the belltower bells in the medieval times, and the American bellringers visiting Oxford who got caught in the epidemic, and had to practice their Christmas program in the cafeteria.

There were also a few reviewers who mentioned what they felt were mistakes or problems in the book, such as the fact that during the epidemic, the phone system became overloaded and shut down, and everyone was always waiting to get a phone line, or waiting for a phone call, and no one had mobile phones, and that the hospital didn't seem to be very well equipped or modern.

I noticed those things, too, but I liked them. Willis's "future" isn't very futuristis, it's true. I envision that world maybe something like Brazil, or other of Terry Gilliam's movies. A slightly dark, grim future, where things are pretty much like they are now, but just a little skewed.

In any event, I always think it's interesting to read other people's opinions of things and be reminded again that not everyone likes the same things. It would be a pretty boring world if that weren't true.

I just got a notice from the library that the audio version of To Say Nothing of the Dog is ready for me to pick up. Unfortunately, the library is closed today for Veteran's Day, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow, and they close early on Fridays, so they'll probably be closed by the time I get there tomorrow night, and I'll have to wait 'til Saturday. It's another time travel book by Connie Willis, but much lighter, more of a "madcap comedy," as some reviewers have said.

A couple of people wrote and asked me about where I got audio books for the iPod. iTunes has a category for audio books, and you can buy them and download them just like you do musical albums or single songs.

There's also a site called Audible.com that sells downloadable audio books, and if you have iTunes and an iPod (or another type of portable ditigal music player), you can buy audio books and sync them with your iPod, which is what I've been doing, and which is where I got The Stupidest Angel. If you follow that link above, you can get a free audio book when you join. You can also buy books individually without joining a plan, but the plans are a really good deal -- $19.95/month, which allows you to get two audio books, some of which cost as much as $35 individually.