I first discovered audiobooks around 1985. I was living in Washington, DC and working as a consultant. One of my first assignments was to travel to Norfolk, VA every week to work at Tidewater Regional Transit. Ironically I had just moved from the Norfolk area to DC but that's another story.
At that time audiobooks came from a company called Books on Tape and they were on cassette. I looked forward to my long drive every Monday and Friday so that I could listen to my latest book. I listened to all of W. Somerset Maugham during those drives.
It wasn't long before I got a Sony Walkman and I was able to take my books on the Metro to work and then to listen to while I sewed. Since then audio has moved from cassette to CD and now to digital download and my Walkman is a tiny MP3 player or my Driod phone. How awesome is that?
After about 10 years I started accidentally getting duplicate books because I'd forget that I had read something already. Of course the answer to that is a spreadsheet! Since then I have logged every book I've "read" and even included a review of the reader and the story. The spreadsheet currently has 764 items.
I would probably best be described as an eclectic reader. I'll read almost anything except fantasy, science fiction and romance. They bore me. I find them very formulaic and dull plots and ridiculous characters. They aren't bad books. They are great for people who like escapism. They just aren't for me. I love history, historical novels, crime and intrigue, science, biographies and just about everything else. I also don't necessarily read the current popular books. I'm just now getting around to reading The Blind Side.
I've been thinking about including some book reviews on the blog and then Audible sent me a little something to give away and that was all the prodding I needed to get on with the book reviews. Here's my first review and at the end you'll find a little extra something.
The Kitchen House
by Kathleen Grisson
The Kitchen House opens in 1791 on a Virginia tobacco plantation. Lavinia, an Irish orphan, has been brought here as a indentured servant. She is put under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate slave daughter, to work in the kitchen house.
The story hooks you quickly as you follow Lavinia, Belle and the other plantation residents through the decades. I very much appreciated that the author stayed away from imposing modern morals on the subject of slavery. Every modern reader knows that it was wrong but we can't erase that it happened. This book seems to do a great job of telling a story of the time very similar to the way that Gone With the Wind is told. As with GWTW, slavery is a part of the story, it is not the whole story.
The book is narrated by Orlagh Cassidy and Bahni Turpin. I am usually not a fan of multiple narrators but they did a masterful job on this one. The book runs almost 13 hours and I could have listened to Belle and Lavinia's story for 13 more.
Now for the giveaway
Audible has given me 3 3-month memberships to give away. Most of my friends already use Audible so I though I'd give them away here. I believe that with the membership you get 3 free book downloads. It's a great way to try out audiobooks if you've never tried them before.
If you are not already a member and would like to give audiobooks a try, just leave a comment below. I will draw and announce the winners New Year's Day.