This series of books highlight songs that you are all probably very familiar with. The title of each book indicates the main track on the CD and also is the song which the book illustrates. For example, in Ten in the Bed we are given a book to read along with as the story is first read and then sung. We watch as ten little bears take their turn rolling over and falling out until the last little one has the bed all to herself and says, “Goodnight!” There are twelve songs total on this disc and you can also print off the lyrics from the CD if you would like to do so. These books really have it all. Ten in the Bed includes well known tunes such as This Old Man, THe Muffin Man and (every mother’s favorite) One Hundred Bottles of Pop. (I used to love to sing that song when I was younger!)

There are a variety of titles to choose from in this series. The nice thing is they are also extremely affordable at only $4.99 a title! That’s not a bad price at all and makes for a great little Christmas or Birthday gift! It’s also a fun baby shower gift to throw in along with a new little outfit. I am so pleased that Twin Sisters made such an affordable gift that is fun to kids and parents alike as they familiarize themselves with new songs and enjoy some old favorites.

Last year I was looking high and low for a good children’s CD which would include the song The Twelve Days of Christmas so I was delighted to see the Twin Sisters book by that title! I’ve excitedly tucked this one away, waiting to pull it out this holiday season. The book illustrates the song nicely, in a cute but simplistic way so that the children can hear what the individual gifts are as well as see them for themselves. I like that the illustrations focus on the gifts only and do not try to put them into any particular setting. This is a really fun song but for a little kid who is trying to learn it, the gifts can run together so that it makes it hard to catch on. I think this particular Twelve Days of Christmas book/CD set is fantastic! Another great Christmas title from this series is Down Through the Chimney which includes such songs as Up on the Housetop, Five Little carolers, and Here We Come A-Caroling.

As I mentioned, there are quite a few titles in this series and not at all hard to find one that would suit the little one in your life. You might check out B-I-N-G-O, Old Macdonald Had a Farm or The Wheels on the Bus (Read & Sing Along) Book & CD Set for every day fun. They also have faith titles such as Jesus Loves the Little Children. Twin Sisters does produce some quality children’s music (and now books!) for little children and I think you’d find these enjoyable. I know we have.

Thanks, Twin Sisters, for allowing us to test out some of your new Read and Sing Along Books! We appreciate your willingness to allow us to give them a listen!

Carrie enjoys singing familiar songs with her two sons. She blogs about a variety of children’s books that she and her children have enjoyed over on her book blog, Reading to Know.

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson is about Lennie’s journey as she is learning to cope with the unexpected and sudden loss of her sister. It leads her to make unwise choices in matters of the heart, as she struggles with her attraction to her sister’s boyfriend Toby. Complicating matters is the introduction of Joe Fontaine on the scene – the new boy, who only knows Lennie “after” – after the death of sister, not as one of two, the sisters who were as close as best friends, yet different as night and day.

Any good coming-of-age story, which this is, must put the teen through a crisis, and grief is the crisis that helps Lennie discover who she really is and who she is choosing to be. It’s sad, but all teens (all of any of us for that matter) experience sadness, whether it’s due to divorce, death, the end of a relationship, or even disappointment over a lost opportunity. I think that’s why this story seems so wonderfully ordinary and relatable.

I found this sullen, morose teen character to be strangely lovable. I understood her bad choices, and I ached with her when they caused her the trouble she deserved. I wished that I could have given her and her friends the wisdom that comes with many years of life, but I couldn’t. When you are a teen, you think that you know it all. You think that your few years of life give you all you need to make decisions and to judge another’s actions, but they don’t.

Eventually Lennie and the others around her figure this out, as Lennie figures out who she is – both with and without her sister and her mother.

The Sky is Everywhere is the story of things that all teenage girls face. We see Lennie deal with her fears, her emotions, her attraction to boys (two different boys), her talent, her friends, her desires for her future.

There is some sexual content and cursing, so it’s definitely a novel for teens (or for adults who enjoy Young Adult novels). I think that most parents of high schoolers would not object to the content, but I would say it’s definitely not for tween YA readers (at least not my tween YA reader). As always if you have any specific questions about content in any of our reviews, just send us an email or leave a comment and we’ll gladly give you more specific information.

The descriptive evocative language reminds me what it is I love about middle grade and young adult writing. I also love the honest true contemporary teen voice, and for that reason, I am giving it the 5 Star Read label.

Audiobook review: The narrator Julia Whelan’s understated straightforward reading is perfect to tell this story of a 17-year-old girl grappling with grief and moral dilemmas and the general angst of being a 17-year-old girl. The end and beginning of each CD also had a slight overlap (a sentence or two), which I really liked, for confirming that was indeed where I left off. Clarinet music, appropriate to the plot, was used as a transition at the beginning and end of each CD.

Jennifer Donovan has a fantasy-loving 11-year-old daughter (who will not be reading this book for a couple of years), and a non-fiction reading 6-year-old son. She blogs about their life in Connecticut at Snapshot.

Immediately, I was pulled in by Colum McCann’s writing and characters. However in books like this, regardless of how good the writing is and how compelling the characters are, if something doesn’t pull the vignettes together, it doesn’t stand up as a novel to me. Colum McCann did this masterfully. He pulled these characters together in ways that were not at all predictable, and the theme of the world turning in the midst of everyone’s separate lives runs through it completely.

I was intrigued by his ability to write in the voice of such a wide variety of people — a working class middle-aged black woman, an upper crust middle-aged white woman, an Irish immigrant priest, a mother-daughter pair of prostitutes (this is the NYC of old — gritty!), an artist couple who are trying to escape the lure of the New York partying life. Yes — all of those characters are written with such a true and natural voice, and it was amazing to read.

The real-life event that this novel centers on is the basis of Philippe Petit’s book Man on Wire, which I have not read. However, I was so captivated by this time period as McCann created it, and the event that he uses to anchor the stories together, that I rented the Man on Wire Documentary that has received much acclaim.

This movie is told in interviews from him and those who helped him over 30 years ago. It was interesting to watch, because if you are like me, you always wonder, “Why do people do things like that?” And after reading the novel, I definitely wondered “How in the world did he do that? And why??“. Except for a few drug references (referring unfavorably to someone who was high much of the time), and an odd quick scene right at the end of the movie that contains some nudity, this would be a great movie to watch with your older kids (and certainly teens could watch the whole thing).

Whether on screen or in the pages, managing editor Jennifer Donovan enjoys a great story.

So how do I find time to read? I guess my love of reading means I make the time. When I get to work in the morning and turn my laptop on, I pull out my book. It takes a good 10 minutes for the laptop to boot up to the point where I can start working. At lunchtime, I eat at my desk while reading, and then read for another 30 minutes or so (sometimes a little longer if it’s a really good book or I’m close to the end). And I read before bed, though often it’s only a few pages before I turn out the light.

Some weekends I find more time to read than others. Last Sunday when I woke up the kids were watching TV downstairs. I made myself a coffee, grabbed my book, and sat outside for 15 minutes. Often the kids will be off playing somewhere in the neighborhood, so I’ll grab a lawn chair and read a few pages. I admit there’s often a struggle – should I clean the bathroom? Or read? And big shocker – reading often wins. If the kids are watching a movie, especially if it’s one I’ve seen, I pull out my book. When the kids are splashing in the bath, I’m sitting in there with them, with my book.

Then of course there’s the audio book, which I’ve written about before. I listen while folding laundry, cleaning those bathrooms, walking the dog. Today I turned my book on while cleaning up the basement. I guess it’s a good thing that I’m more likely to clean if I have a book to keep me company.

I guess what it boils down to is finding the time – squeezing in those few moments here and there whenever I can.

How do you find time to read?

Guest poster Nancy Talan recently moved her family from New Jersey to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. She blogs about adjusting to life at 5,000 feet, her two boys and her love of books at Life With My Boys.

Because I still get comments on those first two posts, I know that this series is attracting new and devoted followers all the time. I will say that although I’ve enjoyed exploring this very teen-oriented series, especially on audiobook, the third book in the series left me feeling a little concerned about the direction of the last half of the series.

I realize that it’s hard to keep the same characters fresh — to give them new ways to interact, and new things to experience. Dark Flame does this for sure. It’s a strong book, and adds new and completely believable obstacles and conflict into all the character’s lives that give them a bit of needed depth.

We have a set of the first four books in the Immortals series (thus far) in audiobook format from MacMillan Audio to give to one of you. If the series is new to you, this is a great way to “read” it (as I have been doing). If you’ve already read the first three, I think that you are going to love the audiobook version as another way to experience a series you like.

Please leave a comment (U.S. addresses only) if you’d like to win. We’ll announce the winner on June 30.

I was also excited to find out that Alyson Noel has a new series featuring Riley, Ever’s sister, and her life in Summerland. It’s called Radiance and the book and audiobook will be out 8/31.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Jennifer Donovan enjoys dipping into the teen mind in books, and especially audiobooks, which sometimes feel a little like eavesdropping. She blogs at Snapshot.

I didn’t even know that there was another book about this crisis, but I heard that a third book was being published this Spring, so I went back and read The Dead and the Gone. It was harder for me to get into, because I felt like it was the same story, second verse. It takes us to New York City, where 17-year-old Alex and his two sisters are left to fend for themselves after the disaster, not knowing where their parents are. At first, I missed the novelty and originality of Pfeffer’s vision as it played out in the first novel. But once I got into it, I enjoyed this installment and just as much as the first. As opposed to the small town that Miranda lived in, living in New York City did create different obstacles for Alex and his family.

This World We Live In (April 2010) brings together the characters we know from the first two books. Life goes on but is still far from normal. The story continues to progress with original thought-provoking occurrences. I’m assuming that it’s the last, but the story could definitely continue on with these characters, so I’m not sure. Sometimes in a series, the characters grow stale, acting only in ways you would predict. But in a year’s time, Pfeffer manages to create real growth and tension and a wonderful story arc.

If you (or your tween or teen) like dystopian literature such as The Hunger Games, then I can highly recommend this series.

Jennifer Donovan lives in Connecticut where she can count on having electricity 24-hours-a-day, and doesn’t have to worry about food shortages. She blogs at Snapshot.

Actually, since I don’t just read many random novels for pleasure (choosing instead to see what I discover as it is offered to me by publishers and authors), my favorite way to experience Jodi Picoult is via audiobook. I’ve probably read two or three of her novels, and listened to at least that many on audiobook. Recorded books does an excellent job with her novels, employing a different actor for each of the characters that is used as a chapter narrator.

Last year I listened to (and loved) My Sister’s Keeper. I loved the story of a family dynamic complicated by a chronically sick child, I loved the mysteriously enigmatic supporting characters (most notably Julia and Campbell), and the suspenseful dramatic tension, and the lack of absolutes (most of those things are true about most of her novels).

When the movie came out, I wanted to see it, but life got in the way. However, I recently watched My Sister’s Keeper on DVD.

People who read the book complained about the ending of the movie. It was different (and I think that the book’s is better), but it’s a fine ending. The way the story is told on screen is very similar to the way that the book read (or in my case, “sounded”). There is a feel of the voices of the different characters as narrators.

Again in the interest of time, much of Campbell’s storyline that I loved was cut, but still Alec Baldwin was well-cast. The character of Julia is completely lost, and mother Sara’s sister’s role is pumped up (obviously to give her a female foil). The very interesting subplot involving the brother Jesse is also missing from the movie.

Cameron Diaz plays mother Sara well. I had never seen her as a mom, and wasn’t sure if it would work, but it did. She was that mama-bear watching out for her bear cub that is the driving force of all of her decisions.

Bottom Line: If you enjoyed the book, and can give the movie a little leeway, you might enjoy it. If you just want to see the story played out and you haven’t read the book, I think it’s still an enjoyable family drama. But honestly — read the book (or better yet — try out the audio version. My library carries many of Picoult’s books on the Playaway, preloaded MP3 player). Whether you’ve read Picoult or not, this is a book that I can recommend.

Jennifer Donovan enjoys a story of any kind, especially when it involves character drama, whether on the page or on the big or small screen. She blogs at Snapshot.

In addition to reading on her own, and having me read to her, she likes audiobooks, and frequently they are books she’s read before. And I get that.

Especially if it’s a great production, the audiobook is an entirely different experience. That’s one reason I enjoy audiobooks — the dramatic tension created as the story plays out — but there are other reasons, the same reason that kids, even tweens like my daughter Amanda, like being read to:

• Storytime evokes love — love that someone is willing to entertain you, even if it’s a voice coming from the earbuds into my head. I know without a doubt that me reading aloud to Amanda shows her that I still care about being involved in her life. It shows her that I am willing to put my time aside to share a book with her. For me to be able to enjoy a book without the complete focus that reading a book takes is a gift.
• Unlike reading a book with your eyes, if you are enjoying an audibook you can multi-task. I listen to audiobooks in the car while driving, but most often while I’m at home, doing housework or preparing meals. Amanda loves to multi-task by either having me read to her or her listening to an audiobook while she cleans her room, eats breakfast (a big read aloud time for us), unloads the dishwasher, or even does her homework (!?!).

If Nancy and I (I’ve written about audiobooks before) haven’t convinced you that you should give audiobooks a try, perhaps winning a free one will.

My Macmillan audio rep contacted me offering to give away a copy of the Fireworks over Toccoa audiobook when she saw that we were hosting the bookclub. I think that this would be a lovely story to be told — to listen to and absorb in that way. Click the link to listen to an excerpt, and leave a comment if you’d like to win a copy (U.S. addresses only). We’ll announce the winner on April 14.

**Carrie is giving away the entire set of 3 Mysterious Benedict Society novels at Reading to Know, so if you don’t own them you must check it out.

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Jennifer Donovan loves getting lost in a good book, whether she’s reading aloud to her kids, holding a book in hand, or listening to a professional recording. She blogs at Snapshot.

The first book I ever listened to was Jane Eyre, selected by browsing the small selection of books available on CD – back then most books were on tape. Then I started to make my way through Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books. I learned some narrators are better than others – I remember being annoyed at the way the reader of the Plum books would pause between sentences, or the way she pronounced Trenton – making it obvious she was not from New Jersey (the proper pronunciation is more like “tre-en” – hard to describe in print. Basically you kind of skip over the “nt”. Anyone who says Tren-ton is not from New Jersey). I started to request books on CD through the library system, often listening to a book simply because it was available on audio.

I like to listen to series, or books by the same author, or even by the same reader. If I listen to the first book by a new author, I tend to listen to others by that same author. On occasion I’ve found a narrator I recognize – Alice in Wonderland is read by the same person who read em>Outlander, which I read 2 years ago, yet I recognized her voice. When I listened to Rebecca Wells’s most recent book, The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder, I found I remembered the reader’s voice from Ya-Yas in Bloom, which I read back in 2005. Often an author’s books have the same narrator – Jonathan Safran Foer, for example, has used the same person for all of his books. This is more
common with a series but also happens with books that are unrelated. Anne of Green Gables, the Chronicles of Narnia, all of the Stephanie Plum books – all of these I listened to on audio. The Anne books have been recorded several times so I make sure I listen to the same narrator each time. When I’ve listened to one book in a series and then read the printed copy of another, I’ve found I heard the voice of the reader in my head.

Sometimes a book is even read by the author, though this seems to be more common with memoirs. David Sedaris reads his own books and hearing the stories in his voice really makes them come to life. His books also include live readings of some of the stories and hearing the audience’s reactions is so much fun. I have read a few fiction novels narrated by the author though – Khaled Hosseini narrated The Kite Runner, and Neil Gaiman read The Graveyard Book.

Even more fun is when a famous actor is the narrator. The Narnia books were read by well-known Brits – Patrick Stewart and Kenneth Branagh among them. Cell, by Stephen King, was read by Campbell Scott. The version of The Great Gatsby I listened to was read by Tim Robbins. And then there are the books read by a whole cast – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society had 5 different narrators. Stories told by more than one character often have multiple readers, one for each character. This makes the book feel more like a production rather than just a guy with a mic, reading a
book. I like when a foreign book is read by someone from that country – The Kite Runner wouldn’t have been the same if read by a New Yorker.

Listening to audio books has actually improved my language skills – I’ve found that words I’ve only seen in print are pronounced differently from what I say in my head. On occasion I’ve both listened to a book and read the print version – I did this with The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier, which I read for my library book group. I would listen in the car, then pick up where I left off in the book. There were a lot of words I wasn’t familiar with and it was nice to both hear them read aloud and to see them in print. Of course I often get things wrong, especially character names. Once I even found the print copy of a book I was listening to so I could see the names written out.

Listening to a book does have disadvantages. Drawings obviously are a big one that’s missed – I wouldn’t want to listen to a book like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, as there are drawings and pictures that are part of the story. Or The Book Thief, where a whole section is written in graphic novel format – how would that translate to audio? And then there’s the fact that it takes a lot longer to get through a book when someone else is reading it. You can’t just skip over parts. But you also can’t skip to the end, so it adds an air of accountability if you just can’t help yourself. But
one book where this got frustrating was Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella. If you’ve read any of the Shopaholic books you know that there are letters throughout the book, usually to the main character from her bank, and vice versa. Which meant every time the narrator came to a letter, she read the entire heading – name, date, address. The kinds of things you would normally skim, if not skip entirely, when reading the book.

5 years ago, I chose books on CD off the shelf, which was slim pickings at the time, or requested them through the library system.

Over time the library’s selection grew and started to include Playaways, portable devices that require headphones or an aux jack. The Playaways weren’t my favorite since you had no idea how far you
were into a book. When NetLibrary was launched I downloaded a few books, but at the time they couldn’t be played on an iPod, and I found I couldn’t really listen to a book on the computer – if I tried to
listen while working I’d either not get much work done, or lose my place in the book. Carrying a laptop around with me wasn’t really an appealing idea.

So until recently I only listened to books in the car. But when I got my new Blackberry Storm a few months ago, one of the first things I did was figure out how to listen to books on it. I finally found an app that would do what I wanted. Podtrapper shows how far along in the book I am (it shows both the time passed and time to go, the total length of the book and the percentage listened), lets me rewind or fast forward, and saves my place when the Blackberry is rebooted or if I switch to another book. Well worth the $10 as you’d be surprised how important these features are. The one negative, of course, is I can’t play protected WMA files, which is how NetLibrary stores most of its books. So I’m limited to the few MP3s that are available. But my library’s selection of books on NetLibrary is supposed to be largely increasing in March and I’ll be looking forward to seeing what I can get.

In addition to filling the time while I’m driving to and from work, audio books have allowed me to read a whole lot more books. Since Jane Eyre back in 2005, I’ve listened to 84 books on CD, Playaway or Blackberry. Except for a 6 month break in 2007, which I don’t really remember why I didn’t listen to any books then, although some of that time was maternity leave after having my youngest son, I’ve listened to one book after another. In 2008, I read a total of 39 books – 19 of those were on audio. Half the books I read were consumed by my ears instead of my eyes.

If you haven’t listened to audio books yet, give it a try. You just might grow to love it as much as I do.

Nancy Talan recently moved her family from New Jersey to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. She blogs about adjusting to life at 5,000 feet, her two boys and her love of books at Life With My Boys.

This is what happened with Aaron and Moireen Ruotsala found out that their 3 year old son Cole had a very serious cancer. In his book Cole…I love You to the Moon and Back, Aaron looks back on those months before the illness and wonders, “Why were we always waiting for the next big thing? Why couldn’t we just enjoy each day for what it was?” And in listening to his story, those of us who haven’t faced the devastating crisis of a serious childhood illness, are reminded of that for ourselves. We should live each day to the fullest and enjoy it for exactly what it is.

Following Cole’s death, Aaron and Moireen started C.O.L.E.’s Foundation with the mission statement of Caring Openly, Loving Eternally. Part of the purpose of the book and the blog tour is to increase awareness about pediatric cancer.

Comments are closed here, so please click over to 5 Minutes for Mom to read my full review and find out more about the Ruotsala family. There are two audiobooks up for grabs (U.S. and Canadian readers only).

Also–5 Minutes for Mom has a new look!! You’ve gotta see it.

This post written by 5 Minutes for Books managing editor Jennifer Donovan. If you love books check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

The Immortals series consists of Evermore, Blue Moon, and the recently-released Shadowland (which brings us to the mid-point in the six-book series). These books follow the trend of the paranormal. Though I know that some younger kids try to jump on the bandwagon with some Young Adult offerings, I think that these books are definitely for teens. While there’s nothing overly explicit, there are many mature themes presented including drinking, physical relationships, not to mention some dark magic.

I’ve been taking in the series on audiobook. The excellent narration from Katie Schorr adds to the experience.

I don’t want to give anything away to those who might be just starting on the series, but I love the direction that Shadowland takes. More characters are introduced, including one that may get between Ever and Damen. Like Blue Moon, it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, which will leave teens counting down the days until the next book is released.

While audiobooks are sometimes quite expensive, MacMillian audio has made Shadowland available at a great price, and it even comes with a special commemorative Immortals necklace.

Consider audiobooks for the teen in your life. You could introduce them to a new series or buy the audiobooks of a favorite series to give them an additional way to enjoy one of their favorites.

Jennifer Donovan loves listening the great renditions of books produced as audiobooks. She blogs at Snapshot.

One grand prize winner will receive all three books in the series on audiobook CDs from MacMillan Audio. Three more of you will receive the Shadowland on CD audiobook.

Entries will be closed on December 8, and we will announce the winners on December 9. Please watch your email and check the site for your name, so that we can collect your shipping information and you can get your gift by Christmas.

This giveaway is CLOSED.

Be sure you’ve entered all the giveaways in our 2009 Gift Guide and Giveaway event.

Having grown up with two musically talented parents (who had the nerve to pass down exactly 0% of their talent to me), I have fond memories of singing “Home on the Range” and “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” while my dad strummed on his guitar and my mom’s beautiful voice thankfully drowned out my own off-key intonations. With this fantastic new book and CD, Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary fame, of course) shares with us a lovely collection of songs including those favorites of mine, and others like, “This Little Light of Mine” and “Down by the Riverside,” highlighting some of the best folk songs around. Since it’s Peter Yarrow, you know that you’re guaranteed a voice to rival others, singing in the genre of music that his voice was apparently made for.

To accompany these beloved songs, I found the illustrations to be perfectly fitting in the mood and feeling of the music, with warm colors and soft lines, evoking a feeling of Americana to match the tone of the songs. For those families out there who enjoy belting out a tune together, Peter Yarrow’s Let's Sing Together is the perfect addition to a home library and CD collection.

Even though she can’t carry a note to save her life, Dawn loves to sing as much as she loves to blog at my thoughts exactly.

The children and I recently had the good fortune to receive the CD audiobook Tell Me a Story 3: Women of Wonder, with stories by Amy Friedman and music by Laura Hall. Featuring six folktales from around the world (Great Britain, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Turkey, Siberia, and the US), this collection is filled with adventure, daring characters and important lessons for young listeners, as folktales are known to be. I especially enjoyed the Ethiopian tale, “Whisker of the Lioness,” for the depth of its storyline and beautiful message of love and acceptance in the face of adversity. The kiddos giggled along as Paula Poundstone read the American Tall Tale of “Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind,” which was as boisterous at its title suggests!

In a time when folktales don’t seem to get as much attention as they used to, this audiobook fills that void, offering up a wide variety of settings, cultures and characters. Featuring lovely musical interludes and inviting celebrity narrations, Tell Me a Story 3: Women of Wonder is delightful to listen to, allowing you to take in the stories right alongside your children, while also giving your voice a much deserved rest.

Dawn loves a good tale, tall or not, and has been known to craft her own over at her blog, my thoughts exactly.

The Scrambled States of America audiobook is a perfect way to enjoy this silly, creative, and informative book. There’s a LOT going on on each page, which is exactly the kind of book that both of my kids (ages 5 and 11) enjoy when I read it to them, but it’s also the kind of book that I have to be in the right mood to read aloud.

That’s where the audiobook version is perfect. Readers Lorelei King and Oliver Wyman employ different voices so that each of the states are easily differentiated. If you are familiar with the book, the little postcards at the back flap of the book are even included in this taped version. Because of the style that the book is written, it works best to use the book while following along with the audio.

The page-turns are prompted with a ding, and the first one even gives a reminder with the ding, “Now it’s time to turn the page.” Kyle kept up easily following along on each page (and chuckling aloud frequently).

Three of you can win this book and audiobook (U.S. residents only). Just leave a comment to enter.

This is part of the 2009 Back-to-School Giveaway. We’d love it if you helped spread the word!

1. Leave a comment on this post as your entry.
2. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. One entry per person.
3. New giveaways will be posted through August 26. Winners will be announced August 31.
4. Check out the list of the other giveaways in the 2009 Back-to-School Giveaway at the main post.

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I read Peace a long time ago at the urgent recommendation of a friend. I didn’t like it. I found it slow, and didn’t get all the rich meaning and emotion that others’ ascribed to it. So, when I see that book mentioned I feel left out of a club. Often Gilead is right there on those same lists, which has always linked them in my mind, and caused me to assume that if I didn’t like Peace Like a River, then I wouldn’t like anything by Marilynne Robinson either.

But then MacMillan Audio offered to send me the audiobook version of Home: A Novel, since I’ve enjoyed other books narrated by Maggi-Meg Reed. I started listening to the 10 disc audiobook, and it didn’t take me long to be sucked right into the story of an Glory Boughton, an adult woman returning home to her small-town home to care for her aging father. Things get complicated when her estranged brother Jack shows up as well, after a twenty-year absence.

This is a love story — a love story between a woman scorned and her hometown, a love story between a woman and her brother who she never really knew (and no, not THAT kind of love story) — wrapped up in a cozy blanket that is the sweet, comfortable yet oftentimes unwelcome lure of Home.

I loved the character-driven dramatic tension created as Glory and Jack learn to deal with each other and gradually share their secrets with one another. As the reader (and Glory) get to know Jack better, we find ourselves questioning his motives and his loyalty, which makes for a wonderful bit of page turning (or in my case, disc flipping) suspense.

If you are “one of those” Gilead-lovers, you’ll be glad to know that the novel is set in Gilead, and John Ames appears as a minor character as well. After getting to know him a bit, I’m not sure that I want to revisit his story in more depth. I did not find him likable at all, although I did like his wife. This is not a sequel at all. It’s a parallel story, set at the same time (1956), telling a different story about different characters (who may or may not appear in Gilead briefly — I don’t know since I haven’t read it, but I would assume that the elderly Robert Boughton does appear in the other work as well.

Audiobook review: I love the deep, calm, not overly-expressive voice of Maggi-Meg Reed. She did a wonderful job narrating this book, giving the voices of Jack, the Reverend, and Glory slightly different inflections. Some of the reviews of the book say that it’s overly long and drawn-out, but I enjoyed each of the 12 hours that I listened to the book. In fact, when I’m purchasing audiobooks, I actually prefer to buy longer ones to get more bang for my buck, since the cost is almost always the same, regardless of length. This is the same way I purchased books when I was a child.

If you enjoy audiobooks, Home is a good story to try out in this format.

Whether read with her eyes, or heard in her ears, Jennifer Donovan loves a good book. She also blogs at Snapshot.