Tag: 2024 audiobook challenge

Book Review | Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Posted August 14, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake is at once an unforgettable love story and a compelling vision of the future. Snowman, known as Jimmy before mankind was overwhelmed by a plague, is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the last human, and mourning the loss of his best friend, Crake, and the beautiful and elusive Oryx whom they both loved. In search of answers, Snowman embarks on a journey–with the help of the green-eyed Children of Crake–through the lush wilderness that was so recently a great city, until powerful corporations took mankind on an uncontrolled genetic engineering ride. Margaret Atwood projects us into a near future that is both all too familiar and beyond our imagining.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #17: Nominated for The Booker Prize )
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

A book buddy of mine has been singing the praises of this book and its series. I was going to read it eventually but I moved it up the timeline because of her. And also because it fit a prompt for a book challenge!

The Quotes

“After everything that’s happened, how can the world still be so beautiful? Because it is.”

“They spent the first three years of school getting you to pretend stuff and then the rest of it marking you down if you did the same thing.”

“All it takes,” said Crake, “is the elimination of one generation. One generation of anything. Beetles, trees, microbes, scientists, speakers of French, whatever. Break the link in time between one generation and the next, and it’s game over forever.”

The Narrator(s)

Campbell Scott. He did a great job, but I think it was just hard to understand on audio because of the story itself.

My Thoughts

I think in general scifi and fantasy on audio can be hard to follow especially if they have a lot of made-up names and terms. I was confused for a long time in the beginning and it took me a while to even realize Jimmy/Snowman was talking about Oryx and Crake even though those names are on the title. I thought he was talking about a friend named Craig and a girl named Aurix (some variation of Aura/Aurora?). Still, it was pretty engrossing and I wanted to know more.

One of the things that stood out most to me was Oryx’s backstory because child trafficking happens a lot in the world where I grew up, and it was interesting to see her POV about her childhood. There’s a lot to think about with this book, for a lot of reasons, and I think that’s the genius of the author. Atwood is so good at writing dystopian worlds and getting us to think about all the what-ifs. I am excited to read the next books in the series and find out more about this world.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Women by Kristin Hannah

Posted August 14, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

The Women by Kristin Hannah

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over- whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #37: Palindrome on the cover )
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

I love Kristin Hannah’s books and I love Julia Whelan’s narration. I also needed a book with a palindrome on the cover.

The Quotes

“The women had a story to tell, even if the world wasn’t quite yet ready to hear it, and their story began with three simple words. We were there.”

“Women can be heroes.”

“The old white men who run this country are scared. And people do stupid, ugly things when they’re scared.” She leaned close. “But they’re counting on their power and our fear.”

“Maybe that was why people built walls: to look away, to ignore anything they didn’t want to see.”

The Narrator(s)

Julia Whelan. It’s no secret I love Julia’s narration in anything! This one was another beautiful one.

My Thoughts

This book pulls you in and doesn’t let go. I had so many feelings as I was reading it, mostly anger, and fury, and sadness, but also hope. So much hope. I hate that the women were treated so unfairly, I hate that there were so many scummy men, I hate that it was so difficult to find mental health help in the days where it was so important to get that help. With every page, it just got more and more heartbreaking to read and I was sure it wouldn’t end well. But it ended the way it should, and I’m happy with that.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Posted August 14, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

In a house full of sadness and secrets, can young, orphaned Mary find happiness?

Mary Lennox, a spoiled, ill-tempered, and unhealthy child, comes to live with her reclusive uncle in Misselthwaite Manor on England’s Yorkshire moors after the death of her parents. There she meets a hearty housekeeper and her spirited brother, a dour gardener, a cheerful robin, and her wilful, hysterical, and sickly cousin, Master Colin, whose wails she hears echoing through the house at night.

With the help of the robin, Mary finds the door to a secret garden, neglected and hidden for years. When she decides to restore the garden in secret, the story becomes a charming journey into the places of the heart, where faith restores health, flowers refresh the spirit, and the magic of the garden, coming to life anew, brings health to Colin and happiness to Mary.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #48: The word “secret” in the title )
2024 Audiobook Challenge
The Classics Club

The Reason

It was available on audiobook and I needed a book with the word “secret” in the title. I thought this would do.

The Quotes

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”

“At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done–then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.”

“Of course there must be lots of Magic in the world,” he said wisely one day, “but people don’t know what it is like or how to make it. Perhaps the beginning is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen.”

“Two worst things as can happen to a child is never to have his own way – or always to have it.”

The Narrator(s)

Carrie Hope Fletcher. It was so lovely to listen to. I really enjoyed her narration.

My Thoughts

This was never one of my favorite childhood books. I read it as a child, I liked it, but I never loved it or thought about it much. I didn’t dislike it, to be clear, it just wasn’t on my favorites list. I decided to reread it recently because it was convenient and it fit a reading prompt I needed to finish, and I am so glad I did! I found that I love this book a lot more now as an adult than as a child.

There were many things about the book I didn’t understand as a child. Mary being neglected and left alone, the fact that not many adults in her life cared for her and she wasn’t parented well. And Colin too. I feel for them a lot more now instead of thinking they were nothing but brats in the beginning. I mean, they were, but it’s not their fault.

I love the transformation of their attitudes and personalities as the garden is also transformed. I love how this book presents the law of attraction in action. I love how the book started so bleak and sad, but ended so hopeful and happy. I love this book so much more now as an adult.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Posted August 13, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learning to give our own gifts in return.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #46: Featuring Indigenous culture )
2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge
2024 Diversity Reading Challenge
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

This has been on my shelf for ages. I heard so much praise for it and I finally decided to read it.

The Quotes

“In some Native languages the term for plants translates to “those who take care of us.”

“Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”

“We need acts of restoration, not only for polluted waters and degraded lands, but also for our relationship to the world. We need to restore honor to the way we live, so that when we walk through the world we don’t have to avert our eyes with shame, so that we can hold our heads up high and receive the respectful acknowledgment of the rest of the earth’s beings.”

The Narrator(s)

Robin Wall Kimmerer. Her voice is so gentle and soothing, I absolutely loved listening to her. She made me feel so connected to her, to the earth, to the stories she was telling.

My Thoughts

This book was longer than I expected, but it was such a beautiful meandering journey. It was really soothing to listen to and I felt like I was in another dreamy and idealistic world. I felt really connected to the earth and nature listening to it, but there were also parts that made me sad and angry about the state of the world now because we don’t honor and appreciate the earth the way we should be. I loved the journey and one day I’ll take it again.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown

Posted August 13, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown

In April of 1846, twenty-one-year-old Sarah Graves, intent on a better future, set out west from Illinois with her new husband, her parents, and eight siblings. Seven months later, after joining a party of emigrants led by George Donner, they reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains as the first heavy snows of the season closed the pass ahead of them. In early December, starving and desperate, Sarah and fourteen others set out for California on snowshoes and, over the next thirty-two days, endured almost unfathomable hardships and horrors.

In this gripping narrative, Daniel James Brown sheds new light on one of the most infamous events in American history. Following every painful footstep of Sarah’s journey with the Donner Party, Brown produces a tale both spellbinding and richly informative.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Reading Challenge

The Reason

I’ve been curious about the Donner Party for a while, but I recently listened to The Last Podcast on the Left’s episodes on the Donner Party and that made me even more interested in reading more.

The Narrator(s)

Michael Prichard. His narration was clear and easy to listen to, it was good.

My Thoughts

I never knew their ordeal lasted so long! Things just kept getting worse and worse and they never got a reprieve. A lot of it happened because of bad decisions made by stubborn and egotistical men, but there was also so much bad luck involved that made bad situations worse. I’m also aware of the Andes plane crash incident and the cannibalism that happened due to desperation, but it felt so much worse here with the Donner Party, probably because their ordeal lasted a lot longer, but some of it was just cruelty and depravity. It is absolutely horrifying to read about.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown

Posted August 13, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown

In Atlas of the Heart, Brown takes us on a journey through eighty-seven of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. As she maps the necessary skills and an actionable framework for meaningful connection, she gives us the language and tools to access a universe of new choices and second chances—a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.

Over the past two decades, Brown’s extensive research into the experiences that make us who we are has shaped the cultural conversation and helped define what it means to be courageous with our lives. Atlas of the Heart draws on this research, as well as on Brown’s singular skills as a storyteller, to show us how accurately naming an experience doesn’t give the experience more power, it gives us the power of understanding, meaning, and choice.

Brown shares, “I want this book to be an atlas for all of us, because I believe that, with an adventurous heart and the right maps, we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves.”

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Reading Challenge

The Reason

I love all of Brene Brown’s works, and I’ve had this book on my shelf for ages.

The Quotes

“Science is not the truth. Science is finding the truth. When science changes its opinion, it didn’t lie to you. It learned more.”

“Choosing to be curious is choosing to be vulnerable because it requires us to surender to uncertainty. We have to ask questions, admit to not knowing, risk being told that we shouldn’t be asking, and, sometimes, make discoveries that lead to discomfort.”

“In fact, research shows that the process of labeling emotional experience is related to greater emotion regulation and psychosocial well-being.”

The Narrator(s)

Brene Brown. I love listening to her reading her own books. She’s so warm and genuine and you really feel like she’s talking directly to you.

My Thoughts

So I actually started reading the physical book a long time ago but I kept getting stalled because there were so many parts that hit me in the gut and I just had to stop and think about them. I finally finished this book because I got it on audiobook and decided I was going to listen all the way through. There were still many parts that hit me in the gut and made me want to stop and think about them, but it was also much easier to let the audiobook keep playing, so I did.

My Feels

Gut punch after gut punch after gut punch. It’s so interesting how putting our feelings into words can help so much. I still feel like I need to come back to this book over and over again and really think about all these emotions and their definitions and all the times I’ve felt them. It’s incredible.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Clocktaur War Series by T. Kingfisher

Posted August 6, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Clocktaur War Series : Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine

A paladin, an assassin, a forger, and a scholar ride out of town. It’s not the start of a joke, but rather an espionage mission with deadly serious stakes. T. Kingfisher’s new novel begins the tale of a murderous band of criminals (and a scholar), thrown together in an attempt to unravel the secret of the Clockwork Boys, mechanical soldiers from a neighboring kingdom that promise ruin to the Dowager’s city.

If they succeed, rewards and pardons await, but that requires a long journey through enemy territory, directly into the capital. It also requires them to refrain from killing each other along the way! At turns darkly comic and touching, Clockwork Boys puts together a broken group of people trying to make the most of the rest of their lives as they drive forward on their suicide mission.

Pull three people out of prison–a disgraced paladin, a convicted forger, and a heartless assassin. Give them weapons, carnivorous tattoos, and each other. Point them at the enemy.

What could possibly go wrong?

In the sequel to CLOCKWORK BOYS, Slate, Brenner, Caliban and Learned Edmund have arrived in Anuket City, the source of the mysterious Clockwork Boys. But the secrets they’re keeping could well destroy them, before the city even gets the chance…

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

I’m a fan of T. Kingfisher and I’m making my way through her books. I got these on audio s

The Narrator(s)

Khristine Hvam. I enjoyed her narration.

My Thoughts

It was just what I needed. I enjoyed the story; I love when we see different people who otherwise wouldn’t be friends come together for a specific reason, because the story is as much their relationship dynamics as well as what happens in the plot. Caliban and Slate reminds me a little of Joscelin and Phedre in Kushiel’s Dart, and the whole band reminds me of Bayaz’s band in Before We Are Hanged. I also really enjoyed the element of Slate’s allergies/powers, I thought that was hilarious and interesting.

My Feels

I have a lot of feels about a certain ship with Caliban and Slate. I love how it develops and how they are with each other. I wish I could see more of them and apparently there are more books set in the same world, but they feature different characters and I’m not sure if any of the characters from this series appear again. I may revisit in the future.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. 4 stars for both these books and the series as a whole.

Have you read this series? Would you read this series? Did you like it or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Posted August 6, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 4 Comments

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

I’ve read this book in print but people keep saying how good it is on audio and FOMO got me, so I signed up for Audible just to get the audiobook.

The Quotes

“Human beings have a remarkable ability to accept the abnormal and make it normal.”

“Fist my bump.”

“Grumpy. Angry. Stupid. How long since last sleep, question?”

“Good. Proud. I am scary space monster. You are leaky space blob.”

The Narrator(s)

Ray Porter. He has been praised so much as a narrator and I can certainly see what the fuss is about. He’s great!

My Thoughts

It hasn’t been that long since I read this book the first time, but I am blessed/cursed with a short-term memory when it comes to book details so I had forgotten a lot of what happens and how. I did remember some of the big details though, and as I was reading I kept looking forward to them, and was still very delighted to be reminded of how it all happens.

Since I’ve read this before I’ll also add my initial thoughts here for reference, written July 2021:

I loved this book so much! I loved The Martian, but this one completely surpasses it in so many ways. I feel like I cannot write a review that adequately describes my feelings right now. The Martian was a really smart book, and hilarious, and it appealed to me because of all the problems Mark Watney faced and the innovative solutions he came up with – and Andy Weir is also such a great writer in the way he makes it easy to understand all the science-y stuff.

But this book. This book has got all of that – the science-y stuff, the life-threatening problems, the innovative solutions, the humor… but it has also got feels! So much feels. ALL the feels! How do I even start?

The mystery he woke up with, the confusion of how everything worked, the loneliness, the excitement, the frustration, the friendship, the camaraderie, the anguish, the acceptance, the bittersweetness, the determination, the trust, the betrayal, the love, the fear, the choices… (no spoilers – it’s just how good the book is!)

I love this book so F**KING much!

My Feels

I will never not love Rocky and Ryland’s relationship. I love seeing how their relationship develops, how they learn from each other, how they communicate about cultural stuff, laugh with each other, respect each other.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. Of course 5 stars, and yes, the audiobook was such a great way to experience the book the second time around!

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Posted July 20, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

When Love cast me out, it was Cruelty who took pity on me.

The land of Terre d’Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good…and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.

Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission…and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel’s Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.

Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair…and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.

Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel’s Dart – a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #11: Title starting with the letter “K”)
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

I’ve tried reading this book before but gave up a long time ago. Some book buddies of mine were reading it recently and their discussion piqued my interest and so I decided to try again.

The Quotes

“That which yields is not always weak.”

“It’s funny, how one can look back on a sorrow one thought one might well die of at the time, and know that one had not yet reckoned the tenth part of true grief.”

“It is my observations, though, that happiness limits the amount of suffering one is willing to inflict upon others.”

“If I had to fall from Cassiel’s grace, at least I know it took a courtesan worthy of Kings to do it.”

The Narrator(s)

Anne Flosnik. She did a great job, I have no complaints.

My Thoughts

Funny story; I’d picked this book up so many times before but just couldn’t get into it. I was disappointed because I’d heard so much praise about it and I really wanted to like it, but it felt like such a chore to read it so I finally decided that it was not for me. I marked it as dnf, and not as something I would try again in the future, but something that I had made my peace with never reading again. That was in 2020.

Well… recently a couple of my book buddies decided to read it and I was not interested in reading the book with them, but I was interested in their thoughts about it because I wanted to know what I was missing. I never got past Chapter 5 the last times I read it, but the conversations between my friends got me more and more interested the further they got into the book, and as luck would have it, Kushiel’s Dart (and the other books in Kushiel’s Legacy) are currently free on the Audible Plus catalogue, so I thought I might as well try again.

Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I remembered but I still wasn’t very invested during the first third of the book. I kept on with it because it was easy to keep going on audio, and I did enjoy it but I wasn’t enthralled by it or anything. The second third of the book was amazing though. It was my favorite part of the book; it was thrilling, adventurous, the stakes were high, and I enjoyed seeing Phedre and Joscelin navigate their treacherous circumstances. The final third of the book was also interesting, but not as exciting as the middle, but at that point I had become invested.

And again, to be fair, this last couple of months have been weird for me so I’m not as present as usual with my reading. But I think that this book is a success for me and I’m so glad that I finally read it. I think I might even keep going with the rest of the books!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. I’m only rating it three stars because it was still difficult to get into and even though I loved the middle part of the book, I have to rate it as a whole. Hopefully if I reread in the future when I’m more present, I might end up rating it higher.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

Posted July 19, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

The dinosaurs. Sixty-six million years ago, the Earth’s most fearsome creatures vanished. Today they remain one of our planet’s great mysteries. Now The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs reveals their extraordinary, 200-million-year-long story as never before.

In this captivating narrative (enlivened with more than seventy original illustrations and photographs), Steve Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field—naming fifteen new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies and fieldwork—masterfully tells the complete, surprising, and new history of the dinosaurs, drawing on cutting-edge science to dramatically bring to life their lost world and illuminate their enigmatic origins, spectacular flourishing, astonishing diversity, cataclysmic extinction, and startling living legacy. Captivating and revelatory, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a book for the ages.

Brusatte traces the evolution of dinosaurs from their inauspicious start as small shadow dwellers—themselves the beneficiaries of a mass extinction caused by volcanic eruptions at the beginning of the Triassic period—into the dominant array of species every wide-eyed child memorizes today, T. rex, Triceratops, Brontosaurus, and more. This gifted scientist and writer re-creates the dinosaurs’ peak during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, when thousands of species thrived, and winged and feathered dinosaurs, the prehistoric ancestors of modern birds, emerged. The story continues to the end of the Cretaceous period, when a giant asteroid or comet struck the planet and nearly every dinosaur species (but not all) died out, in the most extraordinary extinction event in earth’s history, one full of lessons for today as we confront a “sixth extinction.”

Brusatte also recalls compelling stories from his globe-trotting expeditions during one of the most exciting eras in dinosaur research—which he calls “a new golden age of discovery”—and offers thrilling accounts of some of the remarkable findings he and his colleagues have made, including primitive human-sized tyrannosaurs; monstrous carnivores even larger than T. rex; and paradigm-shifting feathered raptors from China.

An electrifying scientific history that unearths the dinosaurs’ epic saga, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs will be a definitive and treasured account for decades to come.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

Our in-person bookclub decided we wanted to go on a road trip to the Royal Tyrrell Museum this summer and thought we should read a book that was related to the dinosaurs.

The Quotes

“There is a dinosaur outside my window. I’m watching it as I write this.”

“You could call T. rex the James Dean of dinosaurs: it lived fast and died young.”

“A new species of dinosaur is currently being found, on average, once a week.”

The Narrator(s)

Patrick Lawlor. No complaints, it was great!

My Thoughts

So I had actually bought a physical copy of this book but ended up also borrowing the audiobook through my library. The audiobook went a lot faster and I occasionally refered to the physical book for pictures and illustrations, but I mostly finished it on audio. I thought about writing this review after I reread through the physical book again because I’m not sure I absorbed everything I wanted through audio, but life has been hectic and I don’t think I’ll be able to absorb everything even if I reread in print, so I’m letting it be.

Accepting that, I must say that this was a very interesting book and I really enjoyed listening to it. One of the things that delighted me the most is that I live in Alberta and we have an amazing dinosaur museum and history here that is also referenced in the book.

I’ve actually been to the Royal Tyrrell Museum three times before but the last time was at least five years ago and it’s time to go back and learn more, and hopefully remember more! I do intend to read this book again, eventually, but even if I don’t remember the details, I remember enjoying the process of listening to the book.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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