What: Connie Willis Mini Challenge
When: 1 October 2010 – 30 November 2011
Who: Becky (Mini Challenges Hosted by Becky)
Rules: Read two books by the author. Confirmed that audiobooks are allowed.

I listened to:

• Bellwether (AUDIO) { 16 – 19 Nov 10}
• To Say Nothing of the Dog (AUDIO) {15 Feb – 11 Mar 11}

~ & ~

I held off posting this as completed because I had planned on listening to Doomsday Book — and not because I haven’t written a review for the audiobook of To Say Nothing of the Dog (which I absolutely love — in both forms).  I loved the experience of listening to these two books and I will listen to Doomsday Book — and if Passage is available at Audible.com, I will definitely add it to my wishlist.

I haven’t picked up her Blackout and All Clear, and I should probably add them to my wishlist as well.

Note: Due to the excessive amount of spam, I’ve added a password plugin. Please don’t let that discourage you from commenting.

Bellwether (Connie Willis)

Title: Bellwether
Author:  Connie Willis
Narrator:  Kate Reading
Length: Unabridged (6 h, 30 m)
Published: February 2009 (Blackstone Audio, Inc)
Genre(s): Science Fiction, Fiction
Start: 16 November 2010
Finished: 19 November 2010
Source:  Public Library

From Audible.com:  Sandra Foster studies fads and their meanings for the HiTek corporation. Bennett O’Reilly works with monkey group behavior and chaos theory for the same company. When the two are thrust together due to a misdelivered package and a run of seemingly bad luck, they find a joint project in a flock of sheep. But a series of setbacks and disappointments arise before they are able to find answers to their questions – with the unintended help of the errant, forgetful, and careless office assistant Flip.

Why this book?
One of my favorite Connie Willis books. I’ve read it several times, but not in the last four years (due to it being in storage). Also, it was one of the few books I was actually interested in listening to that the local library had in their virtual stacks for download, and it was available — no waiting list. As I stated before, I was looking for books I’d already read and loved, so this was a no-brainer for me.

Narrator: Kate Reading
First off, isn’t that a great last name for someone narrating a book? I enjoyed her narration so much, there were times that I did not want to stop listening. I suppose that’s the audiobook equivalent to “I couldn’t put the book down”. Since I save audiobooks for my commute, I normally stow the iPod and earphones when we get close to my destination. However, once the sheep got loose, I was so into the story that I got off the bus and was nearly home before realization hit me. By that point, the story was almost over anyway, so I finished it.

Ms. Reading (ha!) did an excellent job of giving Sandy’s various co-workers and the people she interacts with their own distinct voices. You could tell the various eye-rolling, sighing-because-you’re-making-me-do-my-job service personal apart, just as you could tell the difference between Sandy’s co-workers — even if you couldn’t remember which one was planning a birthday party and which one was having relationship issues. The book is written in 1st person and the narrator changes her voice slightly so you know when Sandy’s talking to the other characters and when she’s the narrator. Sandy-the-narrator sounds more confident and sarcastic, while Sandy-the-character is more soft spoken and a little hesitant.

I thoroughly enjoyed this adaption of Bellwether and I plan to purchase my own copy so I have it on hand to listen to again.

About the Story:
Bellwether is SF, but not the type most people would describe if asked. It’s about chaos theory and researching trends. It’s about how a misdelivered box can lead to falling in love. It’s about how one person can wreck so much havoc, that things actually work out for the best in the end because of it. There are no spaceships, aliens, or time-travel in this book.

Ratings:
Story: 5 stars
(I’m still working on how to rate the narration)
Overall Reading:  Excellent
Characters: Excellent

=========================================

For 2010 “pages read”: 247 pages (own a paperback copy of book)

What: Connie Willis Mini Challenge
When: 1 October 2010 – 30 November 2011
Who: Becky (Mini Challenges Hosted by Becky)
Rules: Read two books by the author. Confirmed that audiobooks are allowed.

I’m going to overachieve on this one. In fact, I’ve already listened to one book by Ms. Willis (Bellwether) during the month of November, so technically, I’m halfway done and there’s 11 months left in the challenge!

I plan to listen to:

• To Say Nothing of the Dog
• Doomsday Book

There are several other audiobooks of her short stories, plus I have one or two anthologies I could read. As for her newer novels, Blackout and All Clear, based on the reviews, I think I’ll be checking those out of the library (e-book or audio).

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages. How to participate: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading. Don’t forget to include the title and the author so others will what you’re reading. Optional: Share your thoughts about the lines (did you like them?). Post your link on the hostess’s blog.

Bellwether (Audio) (Connie Willis)

It’s almost impossible to pinpoint the beginning of a fad. By the time it starts to look like one, its origins are far in the past, and trying to trace them back is exponentially harder than, say, looking for the source of the Nile. — Bellwether (Connie Willis)

My thoughts: It’s a pretty straight-forward opening. The book blurb informs the reader that the main character is researching fads and the first couple sentences lets the reader know just how hard it is to do.

~ & ~ & ~

Hosted by Freda at Freda’s Voice

Rules:
♥ Grab a book, any book.
♥ Turn to page 56.
♥ Find any sentence that grabs you.
♥ Post it.
♥ Link it here.

I had sat at communal tables a few times when they were first introduced, thinking it was a good way to get exposure to trends in language and thought, but a taste was more than enough. — pg 56, (Bellwether ~ Connie Willis)

The rules are very simple: spotlight a book that begins with the featured letter.

I picked Bellwether by Connie Willis. It’s one of my all-time favorite books, it’s funny, and I’ve re-read it several times, but not since I’ve started blogging so I have no formal review to share at this time.

The main character, Dr. Sandra Foster is a statistician, reaching trends to see if there is a way to predict them, thereby allowing the company to capitalize on them. Dr. Bennett O’Reilly is a chaos theorist working for the same company. When Bennett misses a deadline to file for funding, Sandra proposes combining their two programs, winning over the management by arguing their joint project will increase the probability of the company getting a highly coveted research grant.

It’s a hard book to describe, so I would highly recommend that you check this out of library, if you’ve never read anything by Ms. Willis before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a re-post, due to data loss. (Oct 09)

19 Aug - Vicki – “I haven’t heard of this author before, but this book sounds good, especially if it’s funny!! Thanks for joining A-Z Wednesday!!”
20 Aug 09 – Me – “You’re welcome! Her books are mostly sci-fi — but not necessarily space ships and alternate realities. Some would argue this particular book shouldn’t have been labeled science fiction.”

20 Aug – Beth F – “I loved her To Say Nothing of the Dog and Meghan (Medieval Bookworm) recommends her Doomsday Book. I’ll add this to my list — I haven’t read it yet. (thanks for the mention and link!)”
20 Aug – Me – ” “Dog” is my favorite of her books!! The tone is somewhat similar, so you might like it as well. Doomsday is much darker than To Say Nothing of the Dog, but I still enjoyed it. I also liked Passages, despite the annoying little girl and the ending.”