May 1, 2017 - June 1, 2017
Cassandra from Fort Myers, FL
Laurie from Leominster, MA
Tessa B C
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Narrator Name: Steve West
Rating the Audio Performance
The audio edition I listened to was narrated by Steve West. He did a fine job. He has good pacing, and enough skill as a voice artist to differentiate the various characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is a wonderful classic that explores the difference in class in 16th century England and the ways that appearance effects how one is treated. Both boys learn much from their experience as “the other.” It’s a wonderful lesson in “walking in the other person’s shoes.” Twain’s use of 16th-century English may be a little off-putting to today’s readers; I recommend listening to the audio.
Pauline Turk
There Was a Little Girl by Brooke Shields
Narrator Name: Brooke Shields
Rating the Audio Performance
Performance was good and with feeling. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Story relates to Brooke's upbringing with an alcoholic mother, and her devotion to her until Teri's death in 2012.
Kelly
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Narrator Name: Marin Ireland
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent narrator. Really captured the characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I had been looking forward to this latest book from Fredrik Backman and was not disappointed. Couldn't stop listening! He developed the characters so that I really cared, and the story was very well done.
Lonnie
The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
Narrator Name: Cady McClain and Grace Experience
Rating the Audio Performance
It was good to have two narrators to distinguish which of characters was speaking. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I enjoyed it immensely. The ending surprised me. The topic intrigued me. I may do a little research into sleepwalking!
Julie
The American Spirit by David McCullough
Narrator Name: David McCullough
Rating the Audio Performance
McCullough reads his own book to great effect. I could listen to him read the phone book! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is a collection of speeches that McCullough has made over the past 25 years. He is a master storyteller and brings our country's history to life. It is full of good quotes and all kinds of interesting information. It should be read or listened to by our whole country - it makes us appreciate where we came from, how we can learn from the past and how we need to safe guard the principles that the country was founded on for future generations. I couldn't recommend it more!
Brenda
Down Among the Dead Men by Peter Lovesey
Narrator Name: Simon Prebble
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator did a good job. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond investigation. A petty thief buys a computer gizmo to let him steal fancy cars. With the first car he is stopped for a traffic stop when a body is found in the trunk. The chief is involved years later when the thief tries to prove he is not a murderer. Several people are missing. One is a young girl Chief met at the police station when she inquired about her missing art teacher. To where could so many bodies have disappeared?
BK
Another One Goes Tonight by Peter Lovesey
Narrator Name: Simon Prebble
Rating the Audio Performance
He did a good job. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A Chief Superintendent Peter Diamond investigation. The Chief is called on to investigate a car crash of two fellow officers. The original call out was for a man walking nude. hen he arrives at the scene, he finds a victim tossed to the roadside who had been riding an adult tricycle. One is dead and two are unconscious with no way to help Chief find out what happened.
BK
The Twenty-Three by Linwood Barclay
Narrator Name: Richard Poe and Brian O’Neill
Rating the Audio Performance
Both narrators were good. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is the finale in the Promise Falls Trilogy. The author does a good job of reminding the listener of the characters and plots in the first two books. In this book, hundreds of people in the small town are stricken and are hospitalized or dead. In addition, three young women have been murdered. Was it a mass poisoning? Was it a serial killer? The narrators did an excellent job of narrating the book.
BK
Flight Patterns by Karen White
Narrator Name: Susan Bennett, Amanda Leigh Cobb, and Melissa Hurst
Rating the Audio Performance
All narrators did a very good job. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A Florida-born woman abandoned her family and her past when she moved away ten years earlier. Stuck in a vintage way of life, she becomes an expert on fine china which leads her back to her hometown in pursuit of a missing piece of a set of china to be appraised for an estate sale. The client returns with her, and they find out things about her family’s dark past and current entanglements. The narrators did a very good job.
BK
Plain Heathen Mischief by Martin Clark
Narrator Name: David Aaron Baker
Rating the Audio Performance
Very good reader. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Joel King is a Baptist preacher in Roanoke who falls into a tangled web beginning with a teenage parishioner and loses everything. As he tries to find his way back to a normal life, he gets involved in a high dollar insurance scam. I enjoyed this Southern Voices novel that I could not predict right up to the end. It is worthy of comparison to the movie "The Sting" in the clever scams it creates for Joel. The narrator is a Broadway actor who is an excellent reader.
Jeane
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Narrator Name: Edward Herrmann
Rating the Audio Performance
Clear and smooth. Almost forgot this was not a novel but a story of a man's true resilience and determination to survive. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Parts where he was a prisoner were hard. Had to get past those. Made me go look up Louis Zamperini and see if what I was reading was in fact the truth.
Nicolette
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Narrator Name: Nick Podehl
Rating the Audio Performance
Mr. Podehl has the perfect voice for a story as epic as this. I would definitely look into more books he's narrated! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
An epic storyline that sucks you in and doesn't let you go! A very vivid world is built right before your eyes with characters that become friends.
Marion
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith
Narrator Name: Edoardo Bellerini
Rating the Audio Performance
Very good reader. Perhaps a bit too fast occasionally, but as I grew up a "radio kid" in the days
when radio performers were usually trained actors, I'm critical about timing, and about giving the listener opportunity to hear and then absorb the lines. Edoardo managed the Dutch accents well. I plan to recommend this book to two friends who are professional artists, and want to hear their
opinions. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Going back and forth --- Amsterdam in 1631 when Sara becomes a master painter in a male-dominated profession; New York City in 1957 when Ellie forges Sara's best work; Sydney,
Australia in 2000 when Ellie, now a respected art historian, realizes that both the original and the copy are coming to her museum for an exhibition --- this is a fascinating story! The insight into the female characters and their struggles to achieve their goals are well delineated; they both have tragedy in their lives but show tremendous spirit and hope. The details about their painting and artistic endeavor are made understandable to a layman, which I really appreciated. I listened to this book twice (eight discs), and wouldn't mind hearing it again.
Ricki
The Living by Matt de la Pena
Narrator Name: Henry Leyva
Rating the Audio Performance
Leyva was clear and easy to understand, but he was just too excited in his delivery; reminded me of a recreational sports coach talking to his team. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Not a big fan of natural disaster novels, especially lost at sea ones, but this has some great parts that do not involve being lost at sea. I am curious to see where this goes in the next installment.
peggy
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
Narrator Name: Christopher Timothy
Rating the Audio Performance
Timothy did a wonderful job of all the characters, which wasn't easy considering this was in England and had quite the different dialects. As always, it is a little harder for a man to do the women's voices but he did a remarkable job of it! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I read this in junior high and decided it was time to revisit it. The content was good enough to keep you engaged without struggling to follow the storyline and was a "light" listen, just perfect for listening to while driving. I plan on listening to the rest of the series.
Phyllis
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Narrator Name: Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, Carrie Brownstein, Miranda July, Lena Dunham and a full cast
Rating the Audio Performance
With so many voices and characters I could not keep track of them. A most unusual rendering of a most unusual story! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The novel is set in a Washington D.C. cemetery before and after the death of Willie Lincoln. A "bardo" is the intermediary state of the body after death, so we witness Abraham Lincoln's grief and feelings toward his 11-year-old son, as well as all the other "bodies" buried there. Most unusual and not very uplifting!
Linda
Right Behind You by Lisa Gardner
Narrator Name: Luke Daniels and Teri Schnaubelt
Rating the Audio Performance
Considering there were only two narrators voicing all the characters, pretty good. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Suspenseful with a surprise ending.
Richard N B
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
Narrator Name: Colette Whitaker
Rating the Audio Performance
Colette Whitaker does a very good job of voicing the audio. She has good pacing and a fluid delivery. While I was sometimes lost, that was more the result of Marra’s skipping around in time and changing points of view than any fault of Whitaker’s. If I were to read this again, I would stick with the text rather than the audio. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I had considerable difficulty getting into this novel. Perhaps it was because I was listening rather than reading, but Marra’s moving back and forth in time, and changing points of view, just confused me. I did not connect to the characters at first and didn’t understand their relationships and connections. But that, I suppose, is Marra’s intention. We do not often know why someone crosses our path, what connections she or he brings, what influence he or she will have on our future. We do not know when hope and grace, courage and dignity may find their way into our lives. We can only pray that they do.
sandy
The Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer
Narrator Name: Karen White
Rating the Audio Performance
She was able to differentiate between the characters just by inflection -- mostly. Every so often it did get confusing but not for long! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The three Fox sisters get together at their Nantucket home: Lily, the youngest, sends Abby, the oldest, a frantic email saying that middle sister Emma was curled up in bad, devastated because of the loss of her job and fiancé, plus all her money that had been invested in high risk stocks lost in the financial crisis. Lily is also deeply worried that Marina, the beautiful, enigmatic woman renting their guesthouse, has set her sights on the sisters' widowed father, Jim.
Diane
Caraval by Stephanie Graber
Narrator Name: Rebecca Soler
Rating the Audio Performance
She has a way of involving you deeply. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Interesting fantasy, great storyline, bit heavy on the romance.
Prudence
Paul Newman: A Life by Shawn Levy
Narrator Name: Marc Cashman
Rating the Audio Performance
Cashman does an excellent job narrating the story of this handsome movie star. He has a pleasing, resonant voice and his articulation is perfect. Just took off one star as he is not as good as some British narrators. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Very thorough, but lacking in some drama, or riveting story points. To be fair, this is because although he is a talented man and was an excellent actor and race car driver, his life was fairly stable. I did learn a lot about the man who shares my birthday though. Class act. The audiobook is abridged, however, which also may add to the lackluster storyline.
Sandi
The Dry by Jane Harper
Narrator Name: Steve Shanahan
Rating the Audio Performance
Great strength of voice, showing rich exaggeration when needed. Shanahan knew when a sullen silence was needed and then his voice would raise like the the slow grip of a vice segueing into something more. Great masterly of the voice accent, with individual intonation of various characters.
I will look for his narrations in the future. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I liked this book from page one. It kept me interested and wanting to turn the page. Twists and turns of all dimensions kept closing in on the truth. Good writing, well-planned story, and the beginning of a series. A strange note to Federal Agent Aaron Falk takes him back to his home town, one he left twenty years prior on a bad note. His childhood best friend, Luke Hadler, along with Luke's wife and son were murdered. The town wants to write it off as a murder/suicide due to the effects of the drought and appalling conditions the town has weathered in the last few years. The Hadlers are not so sure. Aaron sets off to investigate this tragic situation. But in doing so, it brings back all the memories that Aaron has run from.
Betsy
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Narrator Name: Jenna Lamia and Adepero Oduye
Rating the Audio Performance
My book group is reading this. I am listening to it, and it's wonderful. The two narrators are excellent, and the book jumps back and forth by chapters between the two lives, Sarah Grimke and Handful, the slave she grew up with in Charleston. Their reading brings out Kidd's beautiful prose. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A superb glimpse of antebellum U.S. and insight into the issues of slavery, abolition and women's suffrage. I wouldn't call this historical fiction exactly, but we meet the Grimke sisters, Denmark Vesey, Lucretia Mott and others.
Frankie Edenzon
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Narrator Name: Cassandra Campbell, Kathleen Gati, Kathrin Kana and Martha Hall Kelly
Rating the Audio Performance
Since this book is told from different character's points of view it was especially nice to have different voices to distinguish between the characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Excellent book. Though it is fiction, it is a remarkable story based on real people. Having read many books centered on World War II, I had never read any centered on Ravensbruck. It was an enlightening read that inspired more research. Thank you Martha Hall Kelly for bringing us this worthwhile novel.
Eve Phipps
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
Narrator Name: Will Patton
Rating the Audio Performance
Patton is superb and does justice to this convoluted sequel to THE SHINING. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
No one tells a story like Stephen King. My husband and I listened to this on a trip and wanted to keep driving all the time just to listen.
Lori
Karolina's Twins by Ronald H. Balson
Narrator Name: Gabra Zackman
Rating the Audio Performance
Ms. Zackman did a fabulous job narrating this audiobook. The way she changed her voice and used different accents really held my attention. I have a 40-minute commute to and from work, and listening to this book made me actually look forward to my ride. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I always enjoy historical fiction, therefore, I preferred the historical storyline better than the current day storyline. I didn't find the ending very believable. However, I did enjoy the ending.
Simonne
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Narrator Name: Bernadette Dunne
Rating the Audio Performance
Just FABULOUS! Ms. Dunne captures all the emotions perfectly. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Remarkable story of a young woman's tremendous grief and sinking lower than low, and the cleansing of her mind and body and tremendous uplifting triumph.
Priscilla
Heartbreak Hotel by Jonathan Kellerman
Narrator Name: John Rubinstein
Rating the Audio Performance
Great narrator, which makes the book. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I love listening to books on tape rather than the radio. This book is about the murder of an octogenarian at a hotel that has one long-term resident. It begins with a body's discovery and murder and then proceeds from there. Sometimes you are backtracking in the victims life other times clues are being discovered. Love listening to good mysteries while driving. Takes the boredom away.
Winnie
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Narrator Name: Francois Chau
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator's performance was top-notch. His clear and carefully enunciated French accent was perfect for this story. He clearly floated between accents:Vietnamese, French, American, southern Californian and deep south. Each voice so believable and germane to the characters, to the story. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
What an incredible story of Vietnamese refugees in the early 1970s in their first days in American as they struggled with a democratic society vs the war-torn lifestyle they had recently left. The author depicted the plight of the refugee caught between two lands and two cultures with such empathy and raw emotion.
Patricia
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Narrator Name: John Woodman
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent performance of each character. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This book is a well written page-turner.
Kristen
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Narrator Name: Danny Campbell, Will Patton, and Ann Marie Lee
Rating the Audio Performance
The male readers were stronger in general and made that part of the story more compelling. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Really interesting and riveting reading.
Jan
If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins
Narrator Name: Xe Sands and Amy Rubinate
Rating the Audio Performance
Both women played their roles to perfection audio at its finest! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A great story told with wit, charm, and humor, while dealing with troubling issues in the lives of two sisters. This a novel about relationships: husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, sister to sister, mother/daughter. I would categorize it as women's fiction, not chick lit. I liked that the ending was heartwarming without being predictable. There were alternating POVs between two sisters and in this book it works quite well. Though they are very different, I enjoyed both sisters' perspectives.
Jan
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
Narrator Name: Ruthie Ann Miles, Kimiko Glenn, Alexandra Allwine, Gabra Zackman, Jeremy Bobb, Joy Osmanski, Emily Walton, and Erin Wilhelmi
Rating the Audio Performance
I wasn't a huge fan of the main narrator's slow carefully enunciated delivery. I understand why she did it that way but it became tiresome to listen to. The narration for the teenage character sounded a bit like Alvin the Chipmunk. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
3.5 stars. I was completely captivated by Li-yan's story and the strict, often brutal, customs and practices of the Akha tribe in China, whose primary occupation is the growing and harvesting of tea. We follow Li-yan for several decades as she grows up, and eventually leaves her village for the modern world. She has a tough life and heartbreaking choices have to be made. Juxtaposed against the often harsh village life are the Chinese babies, all girls, who are abandoned and adopted to American families and their struggles with identity and discrimination. My only complaint is I thought the story bogged down in the last half by so much detail about tea.
Veronica
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
Narrator Name: Kevin Kenerly
Rating the Audio Performance
Great story, great voice separation between characters by single narrator. Very well done. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Interesting , atmospheric and absorbing.
Summer
Boys in the Trees by Carly Simon
Narrator Name: Carly Simon
Rating the Audio Performance
Quite wonderful to hear Carly tell her story from her point of view. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Very interesting with tons of twists and turns. Carly is candid, poetic, amusing.
margaret
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Narrator Name: Janet Song
Rating the Audio Performance
Easy to listen to, different characters done well. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Well told story of two Chinese women in the nineteenth century whose difficult lives (foot binding described in agonizing detail) were somewhat eased by the strong bond of female friendship.
Cathey Avery
The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan
Narrator Name: Gabrielle Glaister, Laura Kirman, Imogen Wilde, Adjoa Andoh, Tom Clegg and Mike Grady
Rating the Audio Performance
Very accomplished narrators - they certainly added to the enjoyment of the book. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The delightful story of 1940s England (Kent) - told in epistolary form - I love this form but I know some do not. Reminded me of THE GUERNSEY LITERARY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL SOCIETY, yet different. A beautiful period piece.
Megan Battaglia
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Narrator Name: Amy Poehler
Rating the Audio Performance
I love listening to comedians narrate their own books - it combines performance and literature. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Amy Poehler has a unique, funny and interesting take on her life and the people in it. Enjoyed her story and learning more about her.
Beverlee Abell
The Triumph of Seeds by Thor Hanson
Narrator Name: Marc Vietor
Rating the Audio Performance
I felt like Marc wrote the book - he was so invested in the material and really brought it to life. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
It was the perfect blend of history, science, personal stories and fun facts!! One of my favorite books in a long time!
Kathy
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Narrator Name: Imogen Church
Rating the Audio Performance
Ms. Church really put me into what was happening. She did all the characters and was totally spot-on as either a male or female. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Really kept me guessing. Could there be a sequel?? I hope so.
Diane
Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson
Narrator Name: Roberston Dean
Rating the Audio Performance
Good crisp voice. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Intriguing essays with a futuristic bent.
Francisca E B
Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende
Narrator Name: Blair Brown
Rating the Audio Performance
Blair Brown does a fine job performing the audio version. She has good pacing and enough skill as a voice artist to clearly distinguish the many characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is the third book Allende has written about the Del Valle family, after THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS and DAUGHTER OF FORTUNE. I love Allende’s writing. There is a decidedly Latin beat to the flow of her sentences. And her descriptions are full of sensory highlights. The characters are larger than life and run the gamut from a wealthy Chilean grand dame to a Chinese herbalist to an English butler and a Serbian physician. I think I need to go back to THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS and read it again.
Gina
The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly
Narrator Name: Titus Welilver
Rating the Audio Performance
The range of Mr. Welliver is good, but he is very slow. Usually I can get in sync with a narrator and match their rhythm. I always felt like I was waiting for him to take a breath or finish a sentence. This was especially bothersome in the exciting portions of the book. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Loved it! This was my first Michael Connelly book and it will not be the last. I enjoyed how the investigation/story unfolded. I also enjoyed that there were two storylines to keep everything moving but Mr. Connelly did not scrimp on the details. I appreciated that though I had not read any Harry Bosch books before I did not feel like I was coming in in a middle of a story. I felt like I knew Harry Bosch enough for this book and I would like to learn more about him by reading others.
Karen
The Improper Life of Bezelia Grove by Susan Gregg Gilmore
Narrator Name: Tavia Gilbert
Rating the Audio Performance
I felt like I was listening to a theatre performance rather than a book reading. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
So much to make you think about in this storyline - racism, alcoholism, abusive, neglectful parents. This book would be a wonderful book club selection.
Nancy
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Narrator Name: Trevor Noah
Rating the Audio Performance
Fantastic. Since Trevor speaks multiple languages I can't imagine anyone else narrating the book. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A very personal look at apartheid and the culture of South Africa and the resilience of Trevor's mom and family.
Kristi
Forrest Gump by Winston Groom
Narrator Name: Mark Hammer
Rating the Audio Performance
I dare you to listen to this book without laughing out loud. The movie is a classic of course, but the audiobook is so funny and entertaining and great for all ages. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
One of the best.
Julie Bockstiegel
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
Narrator Name: Kathleen Wilhoite
Rating the Audio Performance
This was an excellent choice of narrator for this book. I felt like she did a good job on all of the characters. I'm sure I enjoyed this more as an audio than I would have the book version. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This was a very quirky book, as was Semple's previous book, WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE?
Sandy
Dust by Patricia Cornwell
Narrator Name: Kate Reading
Rating the Audio Performance
Could not get into the story. I don't know if it was her reading or the storyline. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I usually really enjoy the Kay Scarpetta stories. This one never grabbed me. Then it was very disjointed and I had to replay parts because I thought I had missed something. The characters wee all very annoying also. Very disappointing.
Tessa B C
Mrs Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini
Narrator Name: Christina Moore
Rating the Audio Performance
Christina Moore does a fine job narrating the audio version of this book. She has good pacing and a fluid delivery. I was never confused about who was speaking, despite the many female characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This was an interesting look at an era in history that we already know much about. I enjoyed the historical references and Elizabeth’s point of view of many of the events. It was an engaging story that held my interest. But…I wish Chiaverini had given us more of Elizabeth in the novel and less of Mrs. Lincoln.
Robin
See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
Narrator Name: Kivlighan de Montebello, Brittany Pressley, Graham Hallstead, Michael Crouch, and Jason Culp
Rating the Audio Performance
The performance was very good. The book is about an 11-year-old boy, and the main narrator was a young boy, which added such a great realism to the audiobook. And the fact there was a full cast for all the book's characters adds so much depth and enjoyment to the experience. It is like listening to a play and adds so much to your imagining the characters as real people. Very enjoyable. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The storyline for this book and the combination of the audio performance and the way the author used the recording aspect of the story made this one of the best books, audiobooks I have enjoyed for sometime. The unfolding of the story as time progressed and the characters encountered and Alex's experiences all held you and drew you into the story. And the feels were real and comforting in the end.
Sharon
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Narrator Name: Mary Sarah
Rating the Audio Performance
The voice was clear and recorded at the same volume so handy to use in the car with no great increases of volume. She differentiated between the voices of characters. It was very pleasant to listen to. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is a story told from a man's viewpoint in the gilded age of New York City. He marries one woman but falls passionately in love with a cousin of hers. He wants to give up his life and positon in society to live with this other woman. The book tells what happens and his feeling throughout and brings us up-to-date many years later. I really enjoyed the story and characters and although a long book, it went by quickly.
Nicole
Underground Airlines by Ben Winters
Narrator Name: William DeMerrit
Rating the Audio Performance
This book was wonderful, and DeMerrit's voice was perfect for the role! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I absolutely love the re-envisioning of what if slavery never ended...what if the south won...
Cassandra Early
The Night Stalker by James Swain
Narrator Name: Richard Mover
Rating the Audio Performance
Mr. Mover does a great job. But too much gravelly voice on some characters.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Great story. I did not guess who the bad guy was and was really surprised at the last disc.
Donna
The Circle by Dave Eggers
Narrator Name: Dion Graham
Rating the Audio Performance
He does a good job with voice inflection and changing tones for different characters. There are no extra noises while he reads. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
It's supposed to be a techno thriller...I kept waiting to be thrilled or have some suspense. It was predictable from the beginning.
Michele
The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
Narrator Name: Cassandra Campbell and Alison Fraser
Rating the Audio Performance
There were a number of international characters and the accents of the narrator were spot-on. Because of this, I was able to follow along easily. She was also adept at differentiating the men from the women and even the between the women characters. The narrator for the modern-day character had a distinctly different voice, which also made it easy to follow. Both performances were excellent. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The story of the Armenian "genocide" was something I vaguely recalled but the harsh reality of the events chilled me as I was listening. There was so much brutality that the back and forth into present day was a welcoming respite. Initially I was confused that the story was being told by a female because although I had not read any of Bohjalian's books, I thought he was a male. Researching a little online, I found out that he had used women as storytellers before in his novels and I really enjoyed that approach. I came away from the book learning the history of the Armenians, which I did not know much about, while enjoying a tender love story., That is why I love historical fiction.
Laurie
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Narrator Name: Claire Danes
Rating the Audio Performance
Claire Danes reads this book well. I like her style of reading and felt her inflections fit the story well. She reads this book in a very contemporary way, when it was actually published in 1986. It shows the story's staying power!
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
We see our world as calm and secure. But all of that can change all to quickly as Atwood's prose tell us in her beautifully-written story. From the very beginning of the book to the end I was captivated with what would happen next. I have enjoyed many of Atwood's books and find her a extraordinary writer. I wanted to listen to this book before the movie or TV series comes out. I always find it fun to compare the two medias.
Jill
Pastel Orphans by Gemma Liviero
Narrator Name: Whitney Dykhouse, Nick Podehl and Amy McFadden
Rating the Audio Performance
At first I didn't think I was going to like it and then it seemed to get better as it went on. This had three different readers and I did like it. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I said I was not going to read another World War II book, but the title grabbed my attention. I did like the book, however, I felt it was more of a young adult book. I think listening to it was the right choice. Not sure I would have liked reading it. Henrik, is determined to find his sister, Greta, the fair-haired and blue eyed little girl, who was taken from her family by SS officers. Incredible story and hard to believe things like this really did happen.
Tessa B C
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Narrator Name: Jeff Woodman
Rating the Audio Performance
Jeff Woodman does an adequate job on the audio. His pacing is good, but his Southern accents sounded really bad to me. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Berendt was a free-lance journalist when curiosity took him to Savannah and he began to write about the particularly insular culture of that Southern city. Then a murder happened, and his story really took off. I first read this sometime in the mid to late 1990s, and on re-reading it I’m not so keen about it. The murder doesn’t happen until half-way through the book, and that was really the most interesting part. I’m still giving it 4 stars because I believe that was closer to my original reaction to the book.
Gerry
The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman
Narrator Name: Suzanne Toren
Rating the Audio Performance
Easy to listen to, always clear. Her change to a heavy Polish accent when quoting a selection from Antonina's diary was a bit jarring. Still, the reader was better, in my estimation, than the writer. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This was disappointing, but I suspect the movie would be much better. Ackerman's writing reminds me of a term paper, with all-too-frequent interruptions with citations just to prove she's not making it up. She seemed uncertain whether she wanted to focus on the zoo animals and conservation issues, or on the efforts of Jan and Antonina to protect their Jewish friends and neighbors. Perhaps she didn't have enough information on either topic to fill a book, but her constant jumping back and forth between the two main topics, and insertion of "scholarly" facts to back up her statements made the book drag.
Gerry
House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties by Craig Unger
Narrator Name: James Naughton
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent, a very pleasant voice to listen to. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
If only I had enough background knowledge to sort through what's true and what's speculation in this book! From reviews I've read, it seems to be well researched, and certainly paints a compelling portrait of two families who've managed to make a lot of money from their political connections and influence. The accusation that the Bush-Saud connection caused 9/11 strikes me as more conspiracy theory than fact, but the information that connects with facts I do know certainly corroborates my sense that the U.S. has created more problems than we've solved with our "interventions" and constantly changing loyalties in the Middle East.
Jean
You Are a Badass by Jenn Sincero
Narrator Name: Jenn Sincero
Rating the Audio Performance
Loved her voice! Sincero is funny and smart. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Loved it! So much great advice in an easy breezy way.
Wendy
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
Narrator Name: R. H. Thompson
Rating the Audio Performance
R. H. Thompson is a Canadian actor with many theater and screen credits (including Mathew Cuthbert in CBC's recent series based on ANNE OF GREEN GABLES), but this is the first audiobook I have heard him narrate. I hope he does more because he did a wonderful job in this book. He even does several rap pieces, and although I'm no fan of rap music I thought he had the performance down pat. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Atwood takes Shakespeare's The Tempest and retells it in a prison setting. A theater director is unjustly fired just as he was going to mount The Tempest. He hides away for a number of years brooding on this. Then he gets hired to teach literature in a provincial prison to inmates. He has the inmates perform The Tempest and gets his revenge on the people who were responsible for his firing. Witty and clever and pure Atwood gold.
Ricki
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
Narrator Name: Sasha Pick
Rating the Audio Performance
Pick was clear, but she used British pronunciations for an American character. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I did learn a lot from this work of historical fiction, but it just was not as amazing as the first book in the series, CODE NAME VERITY.
Jan
Fractured by Catherine McKenzie
Narrator Name: Teri Clark Linden, Scott Merriman, Amy McFadden, and James Foster
Rating the Audio Performance
I loved the multiple narrators and each one narrated their part flawlessly, with none overacting their parts. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Julie and her husband move across the country to evade the stalker who had been making her life miserable since the publication of her book, The Murder Game. From the beginning we know all is not as it seems in the new neighborhood and a devastating incident occurs. From there the story is told in alternating chapters between Julie and her neighbor, John, while switching from a year prior to "the event" to the present. We're given the backstory of what led to the current day events until all is revealed in the last chapters. This was a fun, addictive read as loyalties shift, and the reader never quite knows who or what to believe.
Linda
Enemies: A History of the FBI by Tim Weiner
Narrator Name: Stefan Rudnicki
Rating the Audio Performance
Very authoritarian voice. Excellent diction. Perfect for the subject matter. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
History of the FBI that does not sugar coat the foibles of either any FBI director or any president under which the director served. Much I'd heard already, but it did clarify a few things for me.
Richard N B
The Husband by Dean Koontz
Narrator Name: Holter Graham
Rating the Audio Performance
Holter Graham does a fine job narrating the audio version. He has good pacing and I believed in the characters as he voiced them. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Mitch Rafferty runs a two-man landscaping business, so he’s sure there’s a mistake when a kidnapper calls and says that if he “loves his wife enough” he’ll find a way to pay the exorbitant ransom. This is the first book by Koontz that I’ve read. It’s not great literature, but it sure held my attention and I’ll definitely read more from him, especially when I’m in the mood for a fast-paced, entertaining thriller.
Wendy Johnson
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Narrator Name: Bahni Turpin and Robbie Daymond
Rating the Audio Performance
A great job doing multi-character narration. Her Spanish/English accent was spot-on. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This YA novel is now a movie and has an interesting storyline. Looking forward to seeing the movie now!
Elizabeth
The Midnight Watch by David Dyer
Narrator Name: Robert Fass
Rating the Audio Performance
I really enjoyed Robert Fass' voice; very serious, appropriate for the time period, carrying a lot of emotion. The end of the book is a fictional account written by the protagonist, a Boston reporter tasked with finding the "bodies" from the shipwreck of the Titanic. The reading of the story of the fictional family which perishes in the sinking is mesmerizing and tragic, which was conveyed convincingly by Mr. Fass. The voice of the upright and uptight Captain was equally terse and drawn; Mr. Fass did a great job in framing the man with his voice. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
For some reason we are still morbidly fascinated with the story of the Titanic. Just when you thought we had heard everything there was to tell about the tragedy, here is a fictional account of the crew of the Californian, who was closest to the Titanic as it sailed. The captain had gone to bed, and when the watch spotted white rockets on the horizon, (the official sign of distress among ships), the captain was informed, but he chose to turn over to go to sleep. Based on the real hearings after the fact, the story gives another perspective to the unspeakable tragedy and loss of life. I found it a sad but gripping account of apparent negligence, and was teary eyed reading the account of a fictional family on the ship as it sinks.
Lory
Victoria by Daisy Goodwin
Narrator Name: Anna Wilson-Jones
Rating the Audio Performance
I loved the accent, the intonations and speed. It drew me in. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Although I found it interesting, I was disappointed that it covered such a short period of Victoria's reign. I would have liked it to have been more about how she handled political situations and decisions made by the Crown, instead of her despair in deciding whether or not to marry and to whom. 
