Monday, January 3, 2022

Book Briefs: Voices From the Pandemic and Five Tuesdays in Winter

Hello, 2022! We are lingering in holiday mode with one NYC daughter and her boyfriend still with us. They are working remotely for another week and plan to fly back next weekend. We've had a wonderful couple of weeks... so many happy memories! 

I plan to compile my year-end stats and favorites list later in the week. For now, I'll tell you about the last two books I read in December.


by Eli Saslow, full cast narration 

When Catherine reviewed this book last fall, I added it to my reading list right away. Last month it appeared on Susie's list of 2021 audio favorites... I knew I had to listen.

Saslow,  a Pulitzer prize winning journalist, spent 2020 interviewing a broad spectrum of Americans about their COVID experience. The result is a brutally honest, well-balanced oral history of pandemic experience. As we all know far too well, public health issues presented by the virus have become politicized. Saslow offers no commentary, but presents a balanced selection of accounts from Americans with a wide range of perspectives. 

It's all here... A nurse-turned-patient at a hospital in upstate NY, an overwhelmed coroner in Louisiana who knows dozens of victims personally, a sixty-something retail clerk in NC expected to enforce the mask mandate, a young physician whose primary role is intubating COVID patients, a grocer who extends credit to his neighbors/customers as they lose their jobs, an Arizona man who organizes groups to enter stores and harass shoppers wearing masks, the man who has lost his family restaurant because of the shutdown...

This was a fascinating, often intense reading/listening experience. I ended up borrowing a print copy from the library just to see the photo at the beginning of each account, but the multi-narrator audio production is not to be missed!





narrated by: Bronson Pinchot, Mark Bramhall, Stacey Glemboski, Cassandra Campbell, Christa Lewis

Writers & Lovers  was a 5-star read/listen for me earlier this year and I was eagerly anticipating King's new short story collection, published in November 2021.  Much to my surprise, Five Tuesdays in Winter    was included in the Audible Plus catalog and available for free download.  I also borrowed a print copy from the library.

A short story collection made for perfect reading during the holiday week. I listened on my walks and sometimes read a story in the evening. As always, King's writing and characters shine. My favorites included Creature, Five Tuesdays in Winter, and When in the Dordogne

19 comments:

  1. Hooray! You're back. You've been missed, my friend. I'm glad you have had a good time with your family.

    I have so many audiobooks in my queue, but I'm going to bump Voices from the Pandemic to the top of the list. Thanks for the review. Thanks also for letting me know that I can download Five Tuesdays in Winter from Audible! Whoohoo. Who doesn't love a free audiobook?

    Enjoy the rest of your time with your visitors. I'm looking forward to seeing your "Best of 2021" list. I'm still working on mine...

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    1. Les - This is the longest I've been away from the blog since the beginning of the pandemic... I've missed all of you!!

      My audio and tbr lists are absolutely out of control too and, for the first time in years, I received several books for Christmas. My reading plans are set for the next couple of months! BUT I do think you should bump up Voices From the Pandemic. It's been years since I cried while listening to an audiobook (This is the Story of a Happy Marriage was the last time), but I cried while listening to Voices. The multi-voice narration was just perfect.

      Even if you can't get to Five Tuesdays in Winter right away, go ahead and download it while it's available... not sure if they can claw it back when the deal is over. It fit my short holiday attention span perfectly. While I enjoyed some of the stories more, there wasn't a bad one in the collection.

      I read so many great books this year and am having a hard time narrowing down my list of favorites. Not a bad problem, I'd say!

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    2. I only received one book (for my birthday), but I gave my mom and Rod a few, so I'll benefit from those gifts in a few months. ;) I've not only added Voices from the Pandemic to my audio queue, but I also downloaded This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. I don't know why I haven't read/listened to it yet! Thanks for the recs. Enjoy your beautiful weather.

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    3. Les - This is the Story of a Happy Marriage was a favorite the year I listened... pretty sure the essay that made me cry was about Patchett's grandmother. I distinctly remember being glad I had sunglasses on while walking the beach so nobody could tell I was crying! Enjoy!

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  2. A Lily King FREE audiobook? yes, please. AND it fits one of the categories for my What's in a Name Challenge. Happy New Year

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    1. Care - Yes!! It's free in the Audible Plus catalog now... download IMMEDIATELY! I still haven't figured out whether those books disappear when they change the catalog, but go get it now!

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  3. Glad things have been going well with family visiting. Yes, I was surprised the Lily King book was free - I also rated it 4 stars and enjoyed it. The pandemic audio is also on my list. Take care and looking forward to seeing your favorites list.

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    1. Diane - We've enjoyed having the whole family around... the first time with both boyfriends, but I doubt it will be the last. It seems like audible doesn't usually have new/popular titles in the Plus catalog, so Five Tuesdays in Winter may be a holiday gift. Voices From the Pandemic was just excellent!

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  4. Vicki - Hope you can get a copy from your library. If they have the audio, I recommend going that route.

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  5. Wonderful to have time with family and a nice holiday! I'm looking forward to seeing your favorites list and happy new year!

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    1. Katherine - There were seven of us in the house for over a week. Crazy, but a lot of fun! I'm starting my year-end post today.

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  6. I loved Writers & Lovers on audio, too, so thank you for mentioning Five Tuesdays in Winter! Putting a hold on it now.
    We have a NYC daughter, too. She was so afraid of getting stuck here having to quarantine in the burbs with us, but she made it back home all right! haha
    Happy New Year!

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    1. Laurie - Short stories were perfect for a crazy holiday week and Lily King can write those, too! All were good, but a few really stood out.

      Our daughter was afraid her flight to NYC would be cancelled last weekend, but luckily they didn't have a problem getting back. The other daughter is hoping to be as lucky this weekend!

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  7. I recently heard about Voices from the Pandemic and would like to listen to that one. Glad that you recommend it as well.

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    1. Athira - Voices From the Pandemic will be on my list of favorites later this week.

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  8. So glad you had a great holiday season with your family!

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    1. Thanks, Angela. Hope 2022 is off to a good start for you and your family!

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  9. The pandemic stories book sounds really intense since we're still in it, but also interesting and poignant. I'll have to look for a copy.

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    1. Helen - I was worried it might be too soon for a book about pandemic experiences, but just couldn't put this down!

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