Diana from Schulenberg, TX
Sue from Pittsburgh, PA
Marilyn
The Whole Enchilada by Diane Mott Davidson
Narrator Name: Barbara Rosenblat
Rating the Audio Performance
Although this book is formulaic, I enjoy each of them, the family interactions and the clues dropped along the way. Barbara's voice is easy to listen to and she does a good job with inflection in changing which character is speaking. I love it when she reads Tom's conversations with Ms. G. She makes him sound so gentle, yet firm when he must convince Goldie to take care of herself.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
As I said, the style is formulaic, but fun. This particular book seemed to have more repetitive lines than I recall in others, but still pleasurable. I usually listen while driving so the repetition actually helps me stay on track. There are enough red herrings to keep me guessing.
Linda
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore
Narrator Name: Angela Brazil
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent job.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Incredibly well-researched book of another of our history's embarrassing situations. In the 1920s, young women were hired to paint watch faces with a radium-based paint so the watch could be read in the dark. Part of the painting process involved putting the brush from the paint into the painter's mouth to make the hairs of the brush as slim as possible. The result was beautiful watch faces and very sick employees AND a company who denied any liability. When will we learn? This type of situation still occurs today, almost 100 years later.
Marsha
The Bone Tree by Greg Iles
Narrator Name: Scott Brick
Rating the Audio Performance
Scott Brick is one of the best, if not the best!
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Very suspenseful.
Kelly
Al Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken
Narrator Name: Al Franken
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent narration by Al Franken! Enjoyed all of his story and felt hopeful about Washington again. It is definitely worth listening to him.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Very interesting and even uplifting.
Donna
Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
Narrator Name: Barbara Rosanblat
Rating the Audio Performance
I listened to many audios compliments of B. R. and I'm never happy. You hear every intake of breath, every lip smack, every opening of the mouth with tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. Ick!!!!! Makes me think she is a smoker or has a lung disorder. I absolutely hate the sounds her mouth makes, buther voice is okay. It's the unnecessary extraneous noises that bother me.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Not as good as I had hoped, but I would try another in the series to see if her writing/editing improves with time.
Ellen
Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton
Narrator Name: Judy Kaye
Rating the Audio Performance
Judy Kaye did a wonderful job of delivering the story. Her voice is very similar to the voice I imagined for Kinsey all these years. She distinguished the other characters well. I chose this title for a lengthy car trip so it had to work for both my husband and me, and our tastes are quite different. At over 17 hours it is a long read. I'd probably have preferred to read it for that reason.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Sue Grafton is masterful at staying inside Kinsey's world. Having read the series beginning back when A IS FOR ALIBI first appeared, Kinsey is an old friend who has aged far more slowly than I. She brings in the neighborhood so deftly that this book could stand alone but is richer for knowing all her friends. The plot line for Y IS FOR YESTERDAY is rich and the flashbacks are clear and easy to differentiate from the present. Definitely a strong addition.
Judith
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Narrator Name: George Newbern
Rating the Audio Performance
This is the second book that I listened to with this narrator and I was very impressed both times.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This book took me a little bit to get into, but once I did I couldn't stop listening. I laughed and I cried. Just the perfect length to say what had to be said without all the extra that authors are adding now. Loved it!
Deborah
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Narrator Name: Martin Ireland
Rating the Audio Performance
Well done audio - did not distract from the story or over dramatize the dialog.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This has just moved to my favorite book of the year. I loved Backman's A MAN CALLED OVE but was not as enamored with BRITT MARIE WAS HERE. BEARTOWN was a sensation. The depth of the character development causes the story to leap off the page. They will stay with me for a very long time.
Donna
They May Not Mean to But They Do by Cathleen Schine
Narrator Name: Cynthia Darlow
Rating the Audio Performance
Enjoyed the audio very much, pleasant voice and kept me interested.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The book's content was very much true-to-life as I'm middle-aged.
Tessa B C
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert
Narrator Name: C. S. E. Cooney
Rating the Audio Performance
C. S. E. Cooney does a fine job narrating the audio version of this contemporary romance.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
What a deliciously delightful foodie romance! I liked the characters, and was invested in their story from beginning to end. The food descriptions made me hungry, and I loved the way Reichert described the joys of Milwaukee (my home town).
Patti
Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah
Narrator Name: Susan Ericksen
Rating the Audio Performance
Two estranged sisters come home when their father falls ill and dies. Learning from their mother's tales and finding out secrets of her past, it changes them when the mother's past is revealed.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Very effective reading.
Sandi
Milk Glass Moon by Adriana Trigiani
Narrator Name: Adriana Trigiani
Rating the Audio Performance
Author as narrator is wonderful. She knows exactly where intonations are needed and the quality of her voice puts you right into the story.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I love this Big Moon Gap series. It is a family saga, facing all the challenges and crisis of a middle-aged marriage, close intercultural flavor, trying to raise a family, with all the interference that society can throw at it. Change, growth and even romance sends this story along on such a human and realistic path that you cannot help but cheer on its small home-town inhabitants. This episode covers Etta, Ave Maria and Jack MacChesney's daughter from her preteen years to the start of her young adult life. Surprises abound.
Angie
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Narrator Name: Marin Ireland
Rating the Audio Performance
Marin did a fantastic job with this narration. She made you feel every emotion with her tone and perfect pauses. I would definitely look for books specifically narrated by her. Even though the bulk of the characters were males she handled their different voices perfectly.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Great story. The first half of the book was specifically about hockey and building a championship team, but it was absolutely essential to the second half to understand the devastation the town, the team, and how the victims felt when accusations of rape were made.
Linda
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson
Narrator Name: Edward Herrmann
Rating the Audio Performance
How lovely to hear Edward Herrmann's voice again. Made me nostalgic for him.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Einstein had quite a few discordant relationships in his life, with wives, parent, children and sometimes other scientists whose concepts differed from Einstein's. Wish this wasn't an abridged book that I listened to.
Eileen
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance
Narrator Name: J. D. Vance
Rating the Audio Performance
Memoir read by the author very well and told with feeling and emotion. He speaks eloquently of his family, his life, schooling, military experience..
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Very thoughtful insight into growing up in Kentucky and moving to the Appalachia region of Ohio.
Family trying to survive with abuse, alcohol and poverty.
Sandi
Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar
Narrator Name: Maggie Siff
Rating the Audio Performance
Good voice. Easy to listen to, easy to follow. Clear strong enunciation.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
At twleve years old, Gwendy Peterson meets a stranger at the top of the suicide stairs in Castle Rock. He gives her possession of the Button Box. As Gwendy ages the Button Box becomes her "monkeys paw". Once out of college she sees her stranger, Mr. Ferris, again, as he comes to retrieve the Button Box. What exactly did the Button Box do while in her possession? Was it the source of all her pain and misery? Or was it the source of all that went right in her life? Nice little novella.
Rachelle
Without Mercy by Lisa Jackson
Narrator Name: Angela Dawe
Rating the Audio Performance
Narrator is very skillful in changing voice and inflection for different characters.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Great suspense thriller whodunit. Did not figure out mystery until the last disc.
Missie
The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler
Narrator Name: Mark Bramhall
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent, I loved the accent! He did a great job adding the perfect atmospheric nuances. He has a pleasant voice with the right amount of gruffness. He did not have any annoying habits such as clicking his teeth or breathing deeply at the beginning of a sentence.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The violence is graphic and brutal right out of the box with a truly horrific murder scene. The characters are vivid, each one is believable and interesting. The storyline is complex and has several mini plots that seem to really add to bulk of the book, not necessarily the storyline. It is a long book, 22 hours I believe, but worth every well read word. I tried to buy this book in several formats, Kindle or hard copy, and when I was able to purchase it through Audible I jumped on it. It is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Swedish literature.
Rebecca
Brave Companions: Portraits in History by David McCullough
Narrator Name: David McCullough
Rating the Audio Performance
Read by the author himself...how could it be better than that!
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
It was very revealing to hear of many in history who are very little known and who have contributed to history.
Tessa B C
West With the Night by Beryl Markham
Narrator Name: Julie Harris
Rating the Audio Performance
Julie Harris is a fine actress and has good pacing. But the production of this audio left a bit to be desired. Her breaths, swallows, and an occasional “page turning” noise detracted from the audio experience.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Markham was an independent woman who lived life to the fullest, and on her own terms. While there has been significant controversy over whether she actually wrote this memoir (vs. her third husband ghost-writing it for her), I still highly recommend it! Full of vivid imagery and really gives a sense of what life was like for the colonialists in Kenya in the early part of the 20th century.
Sharon
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
Narrator Name: Jeannette Walls
Rating the Audio Performance
The authors reads the book in a clear and lively voice.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is a very interesting and engaging true life story of the amazing life of the author's grandmother.
Diane
God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
Narrator Name: Toni Morrison
Rating the Audio Performance
Very nice to have the author herself reading.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Compelling story that draws you into its world.
Donna
Games of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Narrator Name: Roy Dotrice
Rating the Audio Performance
Amazing! So many different voices.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Love it! Hooked from the first moment.
Shelley
Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink
Narrator Name: Kirsten Potter
Rating the Audio Performance
Compelling.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Compelling.
Gerry
The Mothers by Britt Bennett
Narrator Name: Adenrele Ojo
Rating the Audio Performance
Fabulous!
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
"We see the span of her life unspoolin' in colorful threads and we chase it, wrappin' it around our hands as more tumbles out." The Mothers are the matrons of an African American church, and a Greek chorus narrating this tale of Nadia, a young woman traumatized by the suicide of her own mother, as she grows through adolescence and into adulthood in this well written and very engaging novel.
Gerry
Morningstar: Growing Up With Books by Ann Hood
Narrator Name: Donna Postel
Rating the Audio Performance
Clear and engaging.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
2-1/2 stars. It was interesting but not special. Many of the books that made an impression on Ann Hood were books I also read. Like her, I was most powerfully impacted by JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN. Nothing in her comments about the handful I have not read inspired me to go look for them.
Gerry
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
Narrator Name: Elan Mastai
Rating the Audio Performance
I love it when an author reads his/her own audiobooks!
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Interesting tale of a time traveler, exploring the life he "should" have had and faced with a decision whether or not to "fix" the past. Not surprising to see that the author of this debut novel was first a screenwriter, as it often read more like a screenplay.
Diana
The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis
Narrator Name: Tavia Gilbert
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent performance and very well read.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Set in New York City and alternating between the 1920s and present time. The old Barbizon Hotel was called the Dollhouse in its heyday. It was strictly for career women and housed models and secretarial students during the jazz age and prohibition. The present time is about a female journalist seeking to uncover a mysterious death that took place there in the 20s. The story is very effectively told in this manner and provides a good look at two different women in two different eras. A very good read!
KC
Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
Narrator Name: Cassandra Campbell
Rating the Audio Performance
I loved the smooth voice of Cassandra Campbell. She told the story so effortlessly and her voices were spot-on.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I enjoyed this story. It was well paced and never too busy with too many characters or their storylines. I was entertained by the fact that Sarafina was only 12 but was wise beyond her years.
Robin
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Narrator Name: Trevor Noah
Rating the Audio Performance
WOW! I am not really a fan of Trevor Noah's, per se, but I read that this book was an excellent audio so I got it and both my husband and I listened to it. He has a compelling story and does it so well.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Memoirs are among my favorites and when the writer reads his book, it's even better. Frankly I can't imagine reading this because I wouldn't be able to figure out the pronunciation of the names! An amazing, true story.
Madeleine
The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
Narrator Name: Robin Sachs
Rating the Audio Performance
Very authentic sounding Norwegian pronunciation.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Kept me guessing.
Linda
The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
Narrator Name: Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
Rating the Audio Performance
The author is the narrator. Since she IS part of the story, she did an excellent job of telling the story.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The murder of a young boy by a pedophile brings back memories to the author of her own sexual abuse by her grandfather when she was young.
Linda
The Awakening of H.K. Derryberry: My Unlikely Friendship with the Boy Who Remembers Everything by Jim Bradford with Andy Hardin
Narrator Name: Milton Bagby
Rating the Audio Performance
Stalwart.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A feel good story of an older man who befriends a young boy with cerebral palsy and blindness. Their friendship enriches each other in ways that neither would have suspected.
Barbara
Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford
Narrator Name: Emily Woo Zeller
Rating the Audio Performance
Perfect voice for the subject!
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Fascinating to hear of these difficult times in our past.
Francisca
The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne
Narrator Name: Stephen R. Thorne
Rating the Audio Performance
Stephen R. Thorne does a fine job performing the audio version. He has good pacing and I thought the way he portrayed the various people in the book was very believable.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I really enjoyed this memoir of one man’s struggles to come to grips with his Tourette’s, and to find balance in his life, his work, his family and his faith. I loved all the literary references!
Carol
You Belong to Me by Colin Harrison
Narrator Name: Robert Petkoff
Rating the Audio Performance
Pleasing voice, easy to listen to and helped keep the storyline going!
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is the first book of this author that I've read. I enjoyed it very much. A little romance, mystery and intrigue! The depth of the main character grew as the book drew to a close exposing his childhood and explaining much of his personality,
Melinda
The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
Narrator Name: Erin Bennett
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator changes her voice at appropriate times and is easy to listen to. Makes you want to continue listening.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I really enjoy the storyline, however, I do feel that the plot is dragged out and could have been concluded earlier. It did make an okay summer read. Dabney Kimball Beech is the Queen of Nantucket, but is still in love with her first love and must decide what to do with the return of Clendenin Hughes and her husband Box. She takes her matchmaking skills very seriously and no one is exempt from these matchmaking attempts. Elin Hilderbrand can always be relied on for a good story, some better than others.
Carolyn
Moonglow by Michael Chabon
Narrator Name: George Newbern
Rating the Audio Performance
First time I've listened to the narrator, enjoyed his performance.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Strange but wonderful book. Space flight, WWII, families, grandparents. Enjoyed it but weird too.
Karina
The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe
Narrator Name: Mary Alice Monroe
Rating the Audio Performance
Very clear audio.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Enjoyed the book very much.
Judy
The Edible Exile by Carl Hiassen
Narrator Name: Scott Brick
Rating the Audio Performance
Scott Brick--can anyone besides George Guidell top him? Love his voice and the drama.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This was a different read--a short story that left me hoping that Carl Hiassen would have made the book into a novel. I'm glad it was a short story, though, since it allowed me to "read" the book twice and really understand the historical context.
Linda
Defending Jacob by William Landay
Narrator Name: Grover Gardner
Rating the Audio Performance
Narrator's voice and tone were likable and a narration that worked throughout the long audiobook.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Content and suspense was great and kept you guessing throughout the book. I think the last 2 discs were most difficult to get through after you knew how the trial turns out. The end chapters could have been condensed, in my opinion, but great book overall.
Theresa
The General's Women by Susan Wittig Albert
Narrator Name: Christine Williams
Rating the Audio Performance
Very easy to listen to with just the right amount of inflection and expression.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Historical fiction about the love affair between General Eisenhower and his female driver during WWII.
Pat
The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa
Narrator Name: Joy Osmanski
Rating the Audio Performance
Narrator does a wonderful narration in two different voices to share a remarkable story in a very engaging way.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Two narrators, Hannah in Germany in the late 1930s and Anna in the years after September 11, describe their experiences in alternating chapters following their traumatic events. Anna goes on a journey with her mom to discover her deceased dad's family in Cuba. Very compelling story.
Judith
Camino Island by John Grisham
Narrator Name: January LaVoy
Rating the Audio Performance
While I enjoyed her reading voice, I did not like the voices she put to the men. I like to feel that there is no break off and this bothered me when she would change tone. I hope this makes sense.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This to me was a quick read. Not all the storyline was plausible, but it was enjoyable.
Carol R
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
Narrator Name: Will Damron
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent performance of reading text and of the accents of the various characters.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Gives another perspective of WW II. We had just read and discussed THE LILAC GIRLS and now see the war as it was in Italy - with 3 different sides - Nazi, Fascist, and Italian regulars. Showed more cruelty and horrendous treatment.
otto
IT by Stephen King
Narrator Name: Steven Weber
Rating the Audio Performance
Very good. He captures the ambiance of the story perfectly.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is a reread - I read this when I was in high school and wanted to reread it before seeing the new movie. Listening to it in the car and reading it in free time. I really love this one by Stephen.
Sue
Noonday by Pat Barker
Narrator Name: Juliet Stevenson, Stephen Boxer, John Sackville, Anne Reid and Finlay Robertson
Rating the Audio Performance
The selection use of five different narrators was distracting from the basic storyline. The performance of the narrators was uneven.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is the third segment of the Life Class Trilogy, This volume moves into WW II, the author's first writing about that period. Characters develop over time and interest in each continues throughout the three volumes. Incredibly well written and engaging.
Lorena
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
Narrator Name: Joan Walker
Rating the Audio Performance
I thought it kept me up to speed and made the story move. I had friends who read the book and said it was very slow - not my audiobook experience. As in other books, however, I would have liked different voices for the different characters. Even though this narrator was pretty good at altering her voice for each character, there were still times I struggled to distinguish between them.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
What can I say? I just love Backman. He has become one of my favorite authors. I was introduced to the "unlikable" character of Britt-Marie in Backman's MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE'S SORRY. Backman has taken her debut role and fleshed her out to an endearing, caring, humorous character in this book. He also, as he's done in his other books, highlights lessons of love and life by carrying us through the shallow and imperfect aspects of people and emphasizing what truly does matter. I listened to this read...laughing, gasping, and smiling throughout.
Linda M
Neither Snow nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service by Devin Leonard
Narrator Name: L. J. Ganser
Rating the Audio Performance
A good voice for this type of book although I question his pronunciation of a couple of words - including Maya Angelou. I've never heard it as Angelow!
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A history of the post office. Really, really interesting tidbits, includes information about the attempts to privatize the formerly government entity.
Judy
The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood
Narrator Name: Ben Sherwood
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent voice performance.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This audiobook, subtitled: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life, was released in 2009. It contains many anecdotes of near-miraculous survival incidents but not much really new or useful info, except maybe the airplane passenger info. It claims that certain types of people react in certain ways and offers an online quiz (which I did not bother with, after reading other reviews that warned people away from Sherwood's website) to determine what kind of responder you are. Do you panic? Freeze? Take charge? What I did take away was that regardless of one's "type" of response, it's always good to take a moment to calm oneself and quickly develop an action plan. Not exactly rocket science.
Linda M.
Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle Kuo
Narrator Name: Michelle Kuo
Rating the Audio Performance
Very stilted presentation. I kept wishing she had not read her own book.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A relationship develops between a young black in a last-chance school and a Taiwanese-American Harvard graduate that lasts through many changes in both of their lives. A side of America many only read about, never experience.
Eleanor
The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
Narrator Name: Alyssa Bresnahan
Rating the Audio Performance
Very well read.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Loved this book.
Karen
The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz
Narrator Name: Elisabeth Rodgers
Rating the Audio Performance
Elisabeth Rodgers uses a calm, low-key voice for Jane Hawk when she is telling the story, but when the action demands it she uses a more forceful voice for Jane. Other characters such as Inga are voiced with voices appropriate to their origins and mindsets. The tone of the narrator's voice and the tempo of her reading add to the excitement of the novel and keep the listener engaged in the story.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
An abnormal number of suspicious suicides, including her husband's, compels FBI Agent Jane Hawk to investigate on her own. Many of the suicide victims attended conferences such as the What If Conference and afterwards experienced migraines or other unusual symptoms. Jane and her son are threatened so she has to find a safe place for her son and go off of the grid to continue her investigation. She discovers that people are injected with implants that allow them to be manipulated by other people. She is targeted by drones and other technological devices, but she uses her training to outsmart them.
Kimiko
The Right Time by Danielle Steel
Narrator Name: Victor Bevine
Rating the Audio Performance
Well done since this is a book about a young woman...from childhood through age 40.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Amazon states: "Filled with heartbreak and betrayal, triumph and fulfillment, THE RIGHT TIME is an intimate, richly rewarding novel about pursuing one’s passion and succeeding beyond one’s wildest dreams." But I didn't find the book quite that dramatic. An interesting read about a young woman's life -- she has many many successes and not that much heartbreak. A book you will read and say "awww" when you finish it.
Barbara
Cross the Line by James Patterson
Narrator Name: Ryan Vincent Anderson and Peter Bradbury
Rating the Audio Performance
Both narrators, Anderson and Bradbury, did a very fine job acting out this story, as they usually do. The voices are clear, resonant, and understandable throughout the CD. I enjoyed this listening experience.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Patterson always does a great job with an Alex Cross story. There is plenty of action, mystery and thrills. The family characters also play a large role in the story, as he describes A. Cross as a family man, first. This story has Bree, his detective wife, and Alex having some conflict as they work to solve the new murders and killing spree in Washington, D.C. Good suspense.
Tessa B C
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
Narrator Name: Kimberly Farr
Rating the Audio Performance
Kimberly Farr does a superb job of performing the audiobook. Her Lucy comes alive, and I feel as if the character, herself, is telling me about her life.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I love character-driven novels such as this one. Strout writes beautifully, with prose that reveals her characters to the reader with nuance and grace. Lucy’s recollections and probing questions lead her mother to reveal some of the “why” behind how Lucy came to be the woman she is.
Jan
Bag of Bones by Stephen King
Narrator Name: Stephen King
Rating the Audio Performance
I love hearing him read his own book. It is funny, scary, intelligent and he reads with such feeling. I am trying to find other books he has narrated but I'm not having much luck.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Wonderful! Typical Stephen King - intelligent writing, humor, excellent grammar!
Jayne
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
Narrator Name: Grover Gardner
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent character portrayal and heartbreaking emotions as Captain and Johanna learn about each other. I loved this story.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Impressive story of how captivity affects small children and their future lives. Spellbinding factual action and implicit scenes that make the reader a part of what's happening.
Ricki
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Narrator Name: Michael Pritchard
Rating the Audio Performance
All of the narration sounded like a WWII news broadcast.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Interesting story from a historical perspective. Definitely not something that could be written today.
Linda
The Silver Star by Jeanette Walls
Narrator Name: Jeanette Walls
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent job. I had no idea it was the author narrating the book. She could give lessons.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Two young girls move in with their aunt and uncle when their unreliable mother needs a break. The two have issues every place from school, to trying to find a job, to trying to stay in touch with their mother.
Diana
Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue by Stephanie Laurens
Narrator Name: Matthew Brehner
Rating the Audio Performance
He does really well at keeping you in the story, even when switching between male and female point of views.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
It was okay. Unfortunately, all of the books are starting to become alike, someone is kidnapped, get rescued, fall in love and marry the hero. Still not one of my favorites in the Cynster books. Heather reads as very young and naive for her age, even in that era.
Lory
Beartown by Fredrick Backman
Narrator Name: Marin Ireland
Rating the Audio Performance
I felt she did a good job of altering her voice between the characters and emphasizing moments and sounds ("bang, bang, bang") throughout the story. I didn't feel the narrator affected my review of the book's story and premise.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I'm not sure what to say. Although there were moments in which I became very intrigued and engrossed, BEARTOWN never grabbed me. The read was very slow through the majority of the first half and even though I have appreciated Backman's style of introducing a variety of different characters and personalities, it felt that this was too much. I got lost with who was who and how was one experience relevant to another; it also deviated from the plot of the story instead of feeding it. I still experienced momentary "a-has" from Backman's words of wisdom he scatters throughout his writing and did really enjoy the last 25% of the read, when everything came together and started making some sense. This would not be the "Backman" I recommend.
donna
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Narrator Name: Clare Corbett, India Fisher and Louise Brealey
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrators did an excellent job.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I just could not quite get into the storyline. Took me longer than expected to finish.
Diana
A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash
Narrator Name: Nick Sullivan, Lorna Raver and Mark Bramhall
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent with three readers.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Wiley Cash tells a story that makes you feel like you are on the old country porch listening to the old folks spin their tales. The story is told by three different people, a 9-year-old boy, a woman in her 80s and the middle-aged sheriff. Based on a true story in a rural town in the 1980s and their community of believers of healing. It is a story of moral dilemmas, the power of faith, community responsibilities, and family secrets. Cash's use of language and dialect gives his characters authentic voices and helps bring it all to life. This would be a really good book for book club discussions.
Francisca E B
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp For Girls by Anton DiSclafani
Narrator Name: Adina Verson
Rating the Audio Performance
Adina Verson’s performance on the audiobook is good, but she gives Thea such a flat affect that I found it somewhat off-putting. On the other hand, her narration reinforces the way the character is portrayed as somewhat removed and closed-off from what is happening.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The story is told in alternating time frames: the events back home in Florida, and the events at the school during Thea’s year at Yonahlossee. As Thea related what is happening and how she felt, I found myself worried for this emotionally distant girl, who seemed unable to control her impulses or to recognize the potential consequences of her actions.
