The Horse and His Boy

by C. S. Lewis, Focus on the Family Staff

Narnia...where horses talk and hermits like company, where evil men turn into donkeys, where boys go into battle...and where the adventure begins.

During the Golden Age of Narnia, when Peter is High King, a boy named Shasta discovers he is not the son of Arsheesh, the Calormene fisherman, and decides to run far away to the North--to Narnia. When he is mistaken for another runaway, Shasta is led to discover who he really is and even finds his real father.

I almost forgot to note this "book" in my log. It is an audio book - technically the radio adaption by Focus on the Family. I certainly understand why FotF is not everyone's favorite, but these dramatizations are excellent - and you'd be missing a good bet if you avoided them! Extremely faithful, and introduced by Lewis's stepson, Douglas Gresham, I can't praise them enough - highly recommended!

[Note: Aslan is played wonderfully in these by... David Suchet! Best known to many as Hercule Poirot, you'd never guess it was the same actor!]

1634: The Galileo Affair

by Eric Flint, Andrew Dennis

Great fun! More twists and turns as our heroes from Grantville bring the American revolution to the 1600's!

The Phantom Menace - by Terry Brooks.

Ah - okay, now not only have I seen the movie (more than once, yes) AND read the book (before I saw the movie, I'll note) I've listened to the audio book.

And... it was very good. The book, and the audio definitely go a long way to redeeming the movie. For one the "Japanese" accents are missing from the Trade Federation. Plus you get a richer sense of detail on the story. Obviously, not for everyone, but it was nicely done - a good reader, and a subtle mix of sound effects to good use.