January 2025 Books

Amoralman ¹ by Derek DelGaudio - The bits about his life were really good but I did not realise how this book was essentially all about cards. Card games, dealing, cheating, et cetera. But I got through it and DelGaudio was a good narrator.

* The Clue in the Crumbling Wall by Carolyn Keene - I'm coming to the end of my Nancy Drew series. At least the ones written by Mildred Wirt Benson. This one was good, with good twists and an old sailor who helped out Nancy, Bess, and George while they worked on yet another mystery.

♥ Elevation ¹ by Stephen King - I first read this in book form back in May of 2019. Bishop's husband loaned me his copy and it was my first Stephen King book! Such a sweet story. King's narration was perfection.

* Meetings with Remarkable Animals ¹ by Martin Clunes - Oh my gosh, Martin Clunes can do no wrong! This book, about wonderful animals who have helped change people's lives, was just plain beautiful. I was a bucket of tears more than once and I'm glad I bought this and can listen to it as often as I want. Hearing Clunes narrate was the absolute best. It's been so many years but I still utterly adore this man.

* The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Science ¹ by Kate McKinnon - This book was a bit all over the place at times but McKinnon's sensational narration held it all together. I think maybe I'll give it another listen, maybe with Lucy or Jax, and really focus on imagining it all as if it were a movie, which I really think it could be! Or better yet, a series. Maybe even animated! 

* Autobiography of a Face ¹ by Lucy Grealy - I first heard of Ms. Grealy in 2020 when I listened to Ann Patchett's memoir Truth and Beauty, where she discussed her friendship with fellow writer and pal, Grealy. I honestly did not even remember reading this/listening to this before. My memory is an exploded minefield of giant gaps and holes. This time around the part that really only resonated with me was once Lucy became a teenager and her face and its disfigurement really shaped who she became. 

The Only One Left ¹ by Riley Sanger - I had an hour and six minutes left in the book and returned it to the library via Libby. It was intriguing at first, but then once I learned of the ending, it was too absurd for words. I went to Wikipedia, read what would happen in the last hour and decided it wasn't worth my time any more. Sadly the book kidnapped 11 hours and 26 minutes of my life that I won't get back. I should have known, never judge a book by its cover. This one gave off promises of mystery and intrigue and 100% did not deliver.

♥ Esio Trot ¹ by Roald Dahl - After the previous book of garbage, I needed a sure thing to lift my spirits. Geoffrey Palmer reading this wonderfully witty and heartwarming story was just what I needed.

¹ - audiobook

² - abridged version
* - liked
♥ - loved
Any unmarked titles were, in my opinion, so-so.