The Tristan Betrayal, by Robert Ludlum

Having found myself on the verge of a nervous breakdown because of the very long daily commute to work and back (I'd say it's an average of 65-70 minutes each way, enough to drive you insane with road rage), I decided to follow a friend's suggestion and try listening to audio books.

I was earnestly hoping that they'd take my mind off the road enough to reduce the incredible amount of stress that built inside of me with every trip, while at the same time allowing me to concentrate on driving, so as to avoid getting into a car accident.

Well, I can honestly say that audio books were my salvation. From the very first trip, the stress was completely gone. I got to work calm and rested, and I actually found myself eagerly awaiting the next trip, just so that I could go on "reading" my book.

Since audio books are prohibitively expensive, I didn't want to just go out and buy one, because I didn't want to end up still being stressed by the commute and upset for having spent all that money on something that didn't work.

Luckily, Ray's dad had received one as a gift in the past, so I was able to borrow it for my little experiment. The book was The Tristan Betrayal by Robert Ludlum, and I loved every minute of it.

Not knowing the writer at all, I had no idea what kind of book this was going to be. It turns out, it's a thriller about espionage in two key moments of the 20^th century, World War II and the crumbling of the Soviet Union. The story is very interesting and wonderfully written, full of twists and loaded in suspense.

At first I was taken aback by the fact that only one person, Paul Michael, read the whole book, performing both male and female characters, but the feeling vanished quickly, especially since he's VERY good at what he does, and there's never any doubt about who's saying or doing what.

I wholeheartedly recommend audio books to anyone forced into a long commute. I already bought a few on eBay for very little money and will also borrow them from the library, and I don't think I'll ever give them up, given the immense physical and mental benefits I enjoy by listening to them.

Anyway, I'm currently "reading" The Da Vinci Code, and I love it (Paul Michael reads this one too). The movie came out last Friday, and I've been struggling to avoid reading or seeing anything about it (thanks in big part to Ray too) in order not to spoil the unfolding of the story in the book, and it's very hard.

Obviously, I can't wait to finish the book so that I (we, Ray read it before me. Yes, he's hooked too!!) can go see the movie.

Grade: 8.5