L. Mansfield

The writing is astonishingly bad

Revisado: 12-20-22

Mixed tenses, Lazy reliance on cliches and tropes instead of actual characters. An almost laughable deployment of outdated and offensive stereotypes. No narrative flow. Stilted, ridiculous dialogue. A primary narrative perspective that was just unpleasant.

This read like a bad satire a sophomore frat boy made up for his buddies. It was one long, flat joke - the kind that usually ends with “I guess you just had to be there.”

I’m writing this review because for some inexplicable reason, this book had a 5-star rating on Audible and I don’t want anyone else to waste their time or money.

I stopped after about 5 hours of listening because there was no conceivable conclusion that would be worth spending any more time on this. Maybe it got like super awesome in the last 3 hours.

But probably not.

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Exercise Care

Revisado: 08-04-19

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS). I have such mixed feelings about this book. In some respects, it's truly helpful and encouraging, and offers some practical tools. But it also walks a razor's edge of possibly tossing you down the ravine into a destructive thought process.

There is no doubt that David Goggins is an impressive human being. The challenges he overcame were monumental, and the extent to which he's pushed his body and mind are epic. His achievements are exceptional, and so is he. I'm a marathon runner, and reading his story has challenged me to take the next step and sign up for my first ultra. HIs message of being able to tap into the unharnessed power in your mind in order to realize heights you never dreamed possible is real, immediate, and actionable. I agree with him that you have to lean into suffering, that pain is inevitable, but you get to control your response to it.

But.

I think there's significant danger here as well. Yes, some people are soft. Some people have to learn how to push through the pain and get their mind right before they can take it to the next level. Some people seek comfort over excellence, and are content with mediocrity. But realistically, those people are unlikely to pick up this book in the first place. What thematically emerges time and time again through this book is Goggins' inability to enjoy any victory, be content with any accomplishment, relish any high point. He's always looking for the next thing. In his own mind, he's never good enough. And that "never good enough" mentality toys with self-destruction. Your boss doesn't appreciate you? Work around the clock, Goggins says. Be the first one there and the last one to leave. Having trouble fitting in your workout? Start at 4 am - forget sleep. Stop wasting time; be productive every minute. In a culture that borders on encouraging death by overwork, in which family is seldom a priority and relationships are relegated to secondary importance, I worry that this advocacy feeds the (wrong) beast.

Brene Brown's research into wholehearted living unequivocally shows that in order to live a whole, fulfilling life, you need to learn to cultivate play - not just work. You need to seek for joy. You need to relish beautiful moments. Most of all, you need to accept that you are enough - not enough next year when you finally set a record on your race finish. Not next week when you get that promotion you worked so hard for. You are enough right now. I suspect that a big part of the reason people are "soft" is not because they're not pushing themselves hard enough, it's because they feel broken and inadequate. That's not something you overcome by telling yourself you're not good enough.

Goggins' dream was to become the "hardest" man on earth. But I'm left wondering, what did he give up, what meaning and beauty did he sacrifice, to get there? If you are the hardest, where's the room for weeping with your kid when they suffer a huge setback, or even a minor heartbreak? How do you hold space for your best friend when they're going through a divorce? Being "hard" is a great approach when you have to find the power in yourself when you hit the wall at mile 18, but much less helpful in being there for your spouse when they get laid off.

Goggins talks about being uncommon even in a field of uncommon people - high achievers - but I can't help but feel that the definition of being uncommon is extremely limited. Being the "hardest" may be uncommon, but is it really desirable? I can't help but think of Kelly Catlin, the Olympic cyclist who committed suicide while at graduate school at Stanford. She held herself to absolutely impossible standards, shut herself off from the "weakness" of relying on other human beings, and this isolation from love killed her.

Ultimately, I'm going to use several of the tools Goggins recommends: the AAR, the cookie jar for pushing yourself when the going gets tough, especially as I continue my life as an endurance athlete and complete graduate school for the second time. However, I think fully embracing the notion of mental callousness might leave me too calloused to fully appreciate the beauty and necessity of vulnerability, openness, and self-acceptance that are all crucial components to living a whole-hearted life. And I worry that this book might give someone who is already a perfectionist, already bordering on self-loathing, already contemplating self-harm through overwork or overtraining, the mechanism that they need to cause irreparable damage. You are not your achievements, but this book comes dangerously close to suggesting that you are.

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This was 42 hours of placeholder.

Revisado: 04-14-17

Rothfuss can build worlds, I will give him that. And Kvothe's hero's journey is more interesting than a lot of those available in three fantasy genre.

However, there were hours during which I was bored almost to tears. If he had spent one more chapter in the world of Fairy learning to be the world's bestest lover I might have given up. I care about Kvothe. I want him to win.

But I would also like some effing plot, please. And maybe some female characters who aren't two-dimensional.

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Outstanding book - Funny and Thought-Provoking

Revisado: 06-04-15

Jon Ronson is probably my favorite non-fiction author - he manages to tackle interesting topics in a unique and hilarious way. I've never once given any thought to the question of public shaming, and I got this book entirely because I love Jon Ronson. It was an incredible listen. Ronson reads well, and the way that he emphasizes (or leaves very understated) key interactions adds to their absurdity or hilarity.

He also succeeded in bringing to my attention the very recent, very widespread, very brutal phenomenon of public shaming through social media. After listening to stories of people whose lives were literally dismantled and destroyed because they exercised poor judgement and were pilloried worldwide by people who would never have to look them in the face, I've become even more cautious about whom I condemn and what sorts of things I post about myself.

This book succeeds as a cautionary tale, an appeal to our collective humanity, and an occasionally hilarious recounting of situations that all too often tread the razor's edge between the absurd and the tragic.

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Where is Greg Iles' Editor?

Revisado: 06-04-15

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I wish I could recommend this book to a friend, but I just couldn't. The actual content in this book could have been condensed to a 250-page short novel, but Iles isn't that kind to his readers. It takes overwrought civil rights material that's been treated with more complexity and depth by other authors and drags it out into a mammoth "crime" story where the big reveals aren't at all big and it all boils down to, "Some horrible people are really, really racist and do horrible things."

If you’ve listened to books by Greg Iles before, how does this one compare?

This is the weakest Iles book I've ever read. I've read almost all of his books because I've always been a fan, but the descriptions and conversations are SO LONG and redundant. Something happens, and then you have to listen to 5 conversations in which the characters recount what happened ad infinitum, ad nauseum. The villains are very very villainous, and the heroes are very very heroic. Which works if you're writing a shoot-'em-up western or spy thriller, but does NOT work in a novel that is endeavoring to achieve literary status.

What about David Ledoux’s performance did you like?

The material was very well performed, and Mr. Ledoux did his darnedest to make the characters interesting and compelling, which they weren't.

Was Natchez Burning worth the listening time?

It was NOT worth the listening time. Which is too bad, because I've devoured so many of Greg Iles' other novels. Is Mr. Iles perhaps in single-minded pursuit of some sort of literary award? Has he become "too big" for an editor? Because this book needed an editor but good.

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Not with a bang, but a whimper . . .

Revisado: 05-30-13

The best part of this book, by far, is Johanna Parker's narration. Ms. Parker's charming characterization makes the Sookie Stackhouse finale easy to listen to, although this book lacked much in the way of plot and I found Sookie far less interesting than in the previous novels.

I could understand Sookie's basic lack of ambition - and even her complete absence of hobbies or interests (apart from sunbathing) - in the first couple of books, as she was trying to find her way as a telepath in a world noisy with thoughts. But she more or less figured out how to cope with that several books ago, and still the only things she really has going for her is an unusually active dating life and a strong sense of Southern hospitality. Ultimately, I found myself caring very little whom Sookie ended up with, and even who was trying to kill her this time around. I felt like the book wasn't even sure where it was going, as various characters from previous books wandered in, had long conversations, and wandered back out.

I've been finding it less and less probable over the series that an entourage of supernatural heart-throbs would be getting all hot and bothered about a telepath who doesn't so much as crack a novel, follow a TV show or sports team, or crochet pot-holders, and in this book I just didn't buy it at all. Sookie is not a strong female protagonist trying to make her way in the world. She's a waitress with no hobbies who feeds off drama so much that she might deserve a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.

I'm disappointed with how this series ended - I have enjoyed many of the books, and hoped that some character development would take place and that maybe Sookie would evolve somewhat because of the ordeals that she has been through. She hasn't. She has the same fairly limited worldview and approach that we saw in Book One. This book was less a thrilling wrap-up to a beloved series, and more a puttering out of an engine that was out of fuel.

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Flashy is Magnificent, Narration is Superb!

Revisado: 04-23-12

Flashman is a scoundrel, a rogue, a coward, and a philanderer, and I thoroughly adore him! David Case's rendition of this classic heroic villain is simply inspired. The way he renders Flashman's alarmed and yet hilariously sardonic observations in this deadpan voice is just perfect. I found myself laughing out loud at the combination of Fraser's wordcraft and Case's performance in many places.

You'll likely find this story more enjoyable if you are fond of anti-heroes, if you like dry British humor, and you have a yen for adventures. Flashman travels around the globe having wildly improbably adventures (this time in India), having sex with all the women he's physically able to, and being given credit he absolutely does not deserve for heroic feats he did his best to avoid performing.

I love, love, love this book, and all the others in the Flashman series.

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Decent story, unfortunate narrator.

Revisado: 04-23-12

I love this series, and I love audible; but this is the first George R.R. Martin book for which I selected the audio version. While I simply could not put down the paperback books in this series, I could not finish listening to this narration.

I do think that the story itself is a little weaker than the previous three - two of my favorite characters, Arya and Tyrion, fade nearly into oblivion as the action pounds along, and we spend way too much time, in my humble opinion, on plot background and exposition. And why does Daenarys mostly vanish? What happened to her? Seems like she might be important, what with the dragons and all. We spend a tremendous amount of time inside the heads of folks with, from my perspective, less significant insights and back-stories, such as Brienne and random members of the Greyjoy clan.

However, the weakest part of this book is the narration. There is very little vocal differentiation between characters, and his rendering of the female characters is almost impossible to listen to. They sound like crazy old women. I have switched over to the paperback version of this book, which I am enjoying rather more. Although I almost always prefer to listen to audiobooks, and I have a serious audible addiction, this is one series I'll be completing visually instead.

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Great narration . . . but, really, Mr. Stoker?

Revisado: 03-29-12

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I actually liked the way Martin Scorcese ended his film version of

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

However - and this is a big however - the narration is SUPERB. Reading this novel, I would probably have set it down and walked away, but I couldn't stop listening to the intense and evocative reading by this exceptional cast. The performances were tremendous. If you are considering buying this book in paperback, don't bother. The only reason to read it is to hear the phenomenal narration.

Any additional comments?

There are better ways to spend your credits - there are a huge number of truly amazing audiobooks on Audible. But if you're interested in reading the original vampire tale, there is simply no better way of doing it than listening to this audiobook.

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I wish I could give it more stars . . .

Revisado: 12-01-10

I really don't understand how anyone could write this beautifully. This is a traumatic listen in many ways - Courtenay doesn't pull any punches on his disturbing subject matter, all based in the horror of apartheid, from rape to murder to the worst injustices you can imagine. But the incredible transcendent beauty of the story, the vivid, breathing characters, the reality of their struggles and the strength of their passion, make it a book well worth listening to. There were times I felt like I couldn't possibly listen to another word because my heart was breaking, and more than one night when I stayed up way too late listening for what happened next. If you are looking for a light, pleasant read, then get something else. But if you want something that will transport you to another world, and engage your heart and mind for days, weeks and months to come, then don't hesitate - buy.

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