Texas Pages

From staff writer Mary Ellen Botter, here's a look at the audio book version of Steve Martin's memoir:

That wild and crazy guy who broke up audiences as the 1970s’ most successful stand-up comedian shows a side of himself that few imagine. Behind the manic, disjointed routines that made Steve Martin famous is an intellectual, a creative practitioner of language as self-analytical and honest with himself (and us) as many celebs refuse to be.

Tina Brown’s version of the life of the Princess of Wales -- The Diana Chronicles (Random House Audio, abridged, 5 1/2 hours, $29.25) -- seems less gossip than eminently plausible. By marrying Prince Charles, Diana made her long-held fairy tale come true. It took her husband’s unswerving infidelity and the demands of her ceremonial life to wake her from her romantic dream.
Brown, the former editor-in-chief of the English gossip magazine Tatler, plumbs the princess’ psyche and finds a young woman of inadequate education, great emotional complexity and an unnerving brew of sweetness and meanness.
The author doesn’t just repeat the events of Diana's life and death (and in the abridgement, Brown spares us the bloody details of the fatal crash). Instead, she sheds light on what drove the young woman the world envied while Diana herself floundered in unhappiness.
A decade after her death, Diana still fascinates. Brown helps us understand why.

Pardon me if I don’t get up. But “The World Without Us” has heaped so much guilt on me that I can’t.
What begins as a fascinating description of what would happen on Earth if suddenly all humans were gone (water would be the pioneer force that would work with others to bring down buildings, bridges and other constructions) goes on to describe all the ways humans are dreadful for the planet. We despoil, we destroy, we demand.
Many of author Alan Weisman’s examples of environmental havoc are from the U.S. (Add three boatloads of guilt; I live here.) He speaks of human-caused climate change (global warming is assumed) but describes weather cycles and cataclysms that long predated humans. (Subtract one boatload; I wasn’t here then.) Poor Texas! Houston’s Oil Patch gets plenty of attention for sucking resources and polluting the countryside. (Toss on two boatloads; I’m a native Texan.)
Now, I can hug a tree with almost the best of them. I don’t even kill spiders or snakes, though they scare me. And I don’t own cats, which Weisman says are nature’s serial killers. But 10 disks (12 hours, unabridged, Audio Renaissance, $39.95) of hearing how bad I am for Earth got me down, when the recording’s inconsistencies didn’t frustrate me.
I can’t blame reader Adam Grupper, whose solemn tones added appropriately to the gravity of the subject. (And environmental destruction is certainly a terrifying problem.)
I also don’t blame the author for my bleak state. I’m sure he doesn’t drive a car, use electricity, eat food from a grocery store, wear machine-made clothes or have treated water at his house. And I do.
Weisman’s point is important, and I’m happy to know that nature will reclaim the land and sea if we disappear. It couldn’t go to a better tenant.
But now? I need chocolate. Organic, please.

Mabel “Madea” Simmons is not politically correct. She’s a former stripper, an eight-times-married widow (somebody check that sweet potato pie!), a reluctant mother, an impatient guru, a devoted diner on all things bad for you, and a lady (oh my word!) with a mouth on her.
But you can’t help but love this woman, the creation of humorist Tyler Perry. She’s big. She’s black. She’s wily. And beneath her outrageous comments is a loving wisdom that we all can live by.
Madea’s latest sortie into audio, “Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings” is funny and thought-provoking (Penguin Audio, $19.95, 4.5 hours, unabridged). Profane lite, it’s not a CD set for the youngest ears, but teens to the long-retired will be entertained and enlightened.
And Perry’s reading gives Madea all the sass she requires. The print version could never be as much fun.

Parents with sons swap ideas for good books for boys the way other folks trade cherished recipes or gardening tips. So I was all ears when my sister, whose 12-year-old son is the same age as my Jackson, called a few weeks ago to tell me about a book that I might like to read with him. It's called "The Dangerous Book for Boys." While on vacation last week, I met up with my sister, and she was so disappointed that I hadn't gotten the book yet, she went out and bought a copy for me. Later that evening, Jackson was spread out on our hotel bed with his nose buried in the book -- completely ignoring his GameBoy and the cartoons and Animal Planet shows on the television. The book is partly a guide to timeless, boyhood skills, such as how to build the best paper airplane and tree house, how to skim rocks and tie knots. But it's also full of stories about risk-taking. I'm sure some will view this as gender bias and politically incorrect, but it doesn't feeling intentionally stereotypical and certainly doesn't come across as having an agenda. The audio book just came out, so I'm looking forward to learning such things as how to make a great slingshot. After all, my name is David.

The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, lost after a sea battle off Charleston, S.C., is found after 130 years on the ocean floor and resurfaces to challenge undersea archeologists and historians. This amazing story of the Hunley bubbles with mystery sure to excite its target audience of curious young people in grades 6 through 10. Parents listening in will also be enthralled by the recovery project.
Definitions of nautical terms, included in the text, are about all that identify Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley as an audio for young listeners. A wonderful bonus is an enhanced CD playable in your computer that includes a map and photos of the sub’s salvage.
(Author Sally M. Walker, reader J.R. Horne, Listening Library, 2.5 hours unabridged, $27)

Just finished a great audio book -- Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath -- about why some messages get through to folks and others are quickly forgotten. The book draws from examples as diverse as urban legends, proverbs and advertising. Our anti-litter campaign is offered as as a message that stuck.

The authors note that the state first wanted to emphasize the penalties for littering, but that was nixed because the biggest offenders -- men in their 20s and 30s -- had a strong anti-authority streak. A hammer approach would be worthless, the ad men concluded.

Instead the ad played up Texas pride -- and the rest is advertising history. Intrigued, I Googled the slogan and discovered a new book Don't Mess With Texas: The Story Behind the Legend by Tim McClure and Roy Spence, (Idea City Press) was released in September.

Sounds like it's worth a read.

Here's a store that's offering several free audio book downloads -- including stories by Twain, Kafka and Fitzgerald.

I tried it at home and couldn't find a catch, except that the file format won't work with an iPod. But hey, you can't beat the price.

Space walks aren’t cakewalks, and travel to the high heavens is fraught with danger. Too Far From Home, which follows the three astronauts more or less stranded at the International Space Station when the shuttle Columbia was lost in 2003, describes many of these perils. Maybe too many. Author Chris Jones’ numerous digressions slow the audio so much at times that it almost falls from orbit. But not quite. Strap in for the full ride, and you’ll come as close to knowing what an astronaut experiences as any landlubber can. Spin the abridged audio, which cuts to the chase better than a full version of the 304-page book could. (RH Audio, $29.95, abridged, five CDs)

Not too many audio books are so valuable that I buy a hardback copy for my reference library. But For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend is. Animal behaviorist and dog specialist Patricia B. McConnell explains canine feelings — love, happiness, fear, aggression and grief — with clarity and heart. In her hands, science is understandable and usable. We who love dogs and want to understand them (and their expressive faces) can start here. (Tantor Media, $34.99, unabridged, 10 disks)