Audio Books | Book Chatter

Magnificent Vibration (audio)
By Rick Springfield
(Simon & Schuster Audio, Compact Disc, 9781442370494, May 2014)

The Short of It:

A very weird, mixed-up story about a guy’s conversations with God. I think.

The Rest of It:

Where do I start? This is quite possibly the worst audio book I’ve ever listened to. I’m not sure what I expected when I discovered that Rick Springfield had written a novel, but what played out before me was like smoking some bad weed and then being over taken by fumes of an unknown variety. My eyes watered. My ears hurt. I kept telling myself, it’s Rick! It’s got to be good. I mean, I love the guy. I have loved him since the 80’s. I loved him through his stint on General Hospital and I still think he’s right up there musically. But writing? Not his strong suit.

The story is about a guy named Bobby. He steals a self-help book titled Magnificent Vibration. Inside, he finds a 1-800 number and calls it. When the guy on the other end answers and introduces himself as God, an interesting conversation takes place. Bobby then hooks up with a sex-pot named Alice and the two head off on an adventure.

I got through two discs and between those discs, I think the main character mentions masturbation, I don’t know, at least twenty times and Springfield’s use of colorful expressions to represent the act was impressive. But putting all that aside, the story is all over the place. I listened to those two discs uninterrupted and had to go back a few times to figure out what was going on. There is a little bit of humor in between the gritty bits but overall, the story, the reading (slurred words, poor attempt at an accent maybe?) were just too much for me to keep going.

I’ve been told that I have a good sense of humor and can be a little sarcastic at times so I get the sarcasm and the jabs and all that, but the dialogue was really what made this difficult to listen to. Perhaps it plays out better in print, but I doubt it.

If you’ve read the book or listened to the audio, I’d be interested in your opinion on this one.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty
Read By Diane Keaton
(Random House Audio, Compact Disc, 9780804165853, April 2014)

The Short of It:

An observant, witty take on the meaning of beauty.

The Rest of It:

Diane Keaton is a wonderful storyteller. She can literally talk about anything and somehow make it fascinating. I enjoyed Then Again, some years back. That book focused on family and mainly, her relationship to her mother. I loved that book. She seemed so genuine and although she did hold a little back when it came to her many love affairs with some very recognizable names (Pacino, Beatty, Allen), I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

So, when her new book came out, I quickly snatched it up on audio, which is my preferred reading method for her books because they are read by her which makes them irresistible to me. Listening to it, I really got the feeling that she was sitting right next to me and we were having a little chat. Her conversational tone and her willingness to be vulnerable is what stands out to me. In Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty, she focuses on beauty. Primarily, what beauty means to her. Given that she is one of the few actresses in Hollywood that hasn’t had anything done to her face, I have a lot of respect for her.

Sure, she’s a little neurotic and all over the place when she gives interviews but I love her personality. Her favorite feature? Her eyes, but not because of how they look, but because of what they see. This is a theme throughout the entire memoir. Through fashion and architecture, her love for all things beautiful shines through.

As a forty-something woman, I could certainly relate to a lot of what she shares. She doesn’t hold anything back as far as her insecurities about herself, but the book felt abbreviated to me. Maybe, a tad too short, especially for an audio book . It is just five hours long. I could have easily spent a few more hours with her.

Regardless of its length, I loved it for its message and listening to it was a nice way to spend a few hours. I REALLY wanted to see her in person. She had a few events close to me but I just couldn’t make them work.

Have you read her books? What’s your favorite Keaton movie? Everyone loves her more recent stuff but to date, my fave is still Manhattan Murder Mystery.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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