Random House Audio

Library Bookwatch, Feb, 2005

Random House Audio

1745 Broadway, 8th floor, NY, NY 10019

1-800-726-0600 randomhouse.com/audio

Random House pairs gripping classics in both fiction and nonfiction with readers with the power to attract attention. Most highly recommended from their recent titles are Jonathan Kellerman's Twisted (07-39313959, $44.95), narrated by Lindsay Crouse who offers up a virtual tension-filled reading appropriate for capturing Kellerman's tale of an unidentified drive--by shooting victim's mystery. Mark Winegardner's The Godfather Returns (07393-14424, $54.95) receives Scott Brick's fine dramatic style capturing the new novel based on the original Godfather Corleone family characters created originally by Mario Puzo. Add an interview with the author to supplement the story set in 1995 and revolving around an attempt to consolidate family power and you have a sweeping epic. Sandra Brown's Demon Rumm (0739318233, $29.95) showcases Staci Snell's excellent quiet drama as it explores a publicity stunt gone awry and a woman's romance with a puzzling pretender. Random doesn't lack for nonfiction winners, either. Clay Aiken's Learning To Sing (0739318955, $21.95) is read by the author himself and tells how to hear music and sing. It's part autobiography, speaking of his childhood and his lessons learned from music, and part inspirational, telling of the highs and lows of embarking on a singing career. Patti Davis' The Long Goodbye (0739318355, $20.00) is narrated by Davis herself and describes the process of losing her father Ronald Reagan to Alzheimer's Disease. Fans of Reagan and his family as well as those involved with Alzheimer's will find her personal memoir poignant and gripping. Edward Hallowell and John Ratey, MDs' Delivered From Distraction (0739317628, $22.95) discusses attention deficit disorder, surveying the latest drug therapies to treat the disorder and discussing aspects of the condition from diagnosis to treatment options. Nancy Thayer's Hot Flash Club Strikes Again (0739317903, $27.50) pairs Wendy Dillon's smooth and dramatic voice with the new novel telling of four women who each struggle with dreams and realities, from being the perfect mother to a career woman who finds new romance. Friendship ties the four and all their struggles. Dean Koontz's Life Expectancy (073931-5536, $44.95) receives John Bedford Lloyd's dramatic film background and tells of one Jimmy Tock, whose dying grandfather predicts dangerous days ahead for his grandson. Four predicted crisis points prove chillingly true and portend an evil which may place the world in jeopardy. Mireille Guiliano's French Women Don't Get Fat (0739316567, $22.00) receives Guiliano's own warm rendition as it tells the secret of how to eat for real pleasure rather than habit. Guiliano was a slender French girl when she came to America as an exchange student--and went back home fat. French Women Don't Get Fat comes from the heart--and offers strategies against weight gain. Fans of Westerns will relish Louis L'Amour's Son Of A Wanted Man (073931730X, $14.99), a gripping saga which enjoys a fine audio dramatization as it tells of a secret outlaw kingdom where one Ben Curry has ruled for fifteen years. The aging outlaw wants to turn his legacy over to his adopted sun--but though Mike has the skills, he's never broken the law.