Ryan F

Lacks excitement

Revisado: 02-28-17

I've read two other Lucino Star Wars books and enjoyed them tremendously. He's once of my fav SW authors. The story in book proceeds nicely and I enjoyed getting to know the characters outside of the movie, but on the grand scale of SW books (I've read 30 plus) I'd have to say this is perhaps the least exciting of the bunch.

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Not top of my list

Revisado: 04-17-16

So at one point during the listen Mr. Burchard lets on that his coaching fee for a one year period is $250,000. So when I heard this, I said this is gonna be fantastic. Rather it was just meh. I’ve listened to several personal development books and while he had several good ideas and recommendations, I did not find his system particularly compelling, nor in many instances practical. There are better listens out there. It could be that his program resonates with hyper successful people but it didn’t resonate with me and he didn’t seem overly genuine. He narrated his own book, which I felt took away from his message as I didn't find him particularly enjoyable to listen to.

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esto le resultó útil a 13 personas

Best book I've listened to in 2016!

Revisado: 04-17-16

Best book I’ve listened to in some time.

A great listen and highly recommend.

Dan Harris is one ABC’s lead reporters. As I haven’t seriously watched network TV in about 20 years I had no idea who he was, but I grew up watching Peter Jennings (ABC Nightly News) and the first quarter of the book is his own personal history starting as a cub reporter through to covering several US wars and then getting stuck with reporting on religion in the US (Jennings is his boss throughout this period).

That’s where Harris begins to explore Buddhism and mediation and then accounts for his journey toward trying to figure out how employ mindfulness without having to embrace in what he calls all the “woo woo”. Harris is hilarious and is clearly very bright. His writing style, pace and narration (he does his own) had me laughing throughout.

But here’s the best part. I really appreciated the critical eye that he placed on religion, meditation, and mindfulness. If you’re not spiritual or even if you are, he asks all the questions that you yourself may have at the front of your mind when you contemplate these things.

His conclusion – mediation can make you 10% happier. It’s not a panacea, but it’s a really helpful tool in your toolbox to manage today’s stresses. It’s a great listen and would strongly recommend if you have any interest in this topic and/or you want to know how journalism works at the highest level – the walk through he does of his own career is fascinating and funny stuff.

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Solid for newbie leaders or vets

Revisado: 04-17-16

Picked this up on sale. I was interested in it both for my own leadership development but also to get a sense of the challenges or recommendations that are being given to new leaders who are Millennials. It’s a good book, worth listening to. The book isn’t meant to get in depth on every leadership topic but it does do a good job of touching on the key areas at the surface level. Importantly, she explicitly lets you know where to get more information should want you want more detail. In fact, at the beginning of the book, she lists the top 15 or so business/leadership books of all time (in her opinion) and she makes reference to these books or concepts throughout. I found this very helpful.

I would recommend for new leaders and more seasoned alike.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Info decent...

Revisado: 04-17-16

Got this because it was on sale and it was a very brief 59 minutes and it’s something I was interested in knowing more about (tell: I also wanted assess myself to better gauge my own passive aggressive tendencies). The info in the book is helpful and helps you understand what passive aggressive behaviour is, how to mitigate it or manage it (yours or someone else’s). That said, the narration is by someone who is a complete amateur and there is very little editing. The reading is so poor compared to professionally read books, it's actually kinda cute. The young man is clearly trying his best and the book is less than 60 minutes so it's manageable. Not sure I could have went one minute longer though.

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Challenging for the layman

Revisado: 11-06-15

This is a very interesting book. It is an exploration of super intelligence, which I came to find out is not just about machine intelligence. It's one part science, one part philosophy. While interesting the amount of detail in the book and the lengths of exploration that the author undertakes makes if quite daunting. I listened to the first third but ended up skipping parts and then whole chapters as it moved along as I just didn't have the intellectual firepower/stamina. That said, at a high level and in some areas, the ideas and concepts are fascinating and I ended up learning a great deal. This book could be exceptional if it were bumped up one or two levels on accessibility scale and was cut down by 3 or 4 hours. Nevertheless, clearly the author is a very smart man and this book is a credit to him trying to write something that is for the general population. Not easy, but enough of it works and therefore deserves props for the effort. As an aside, if your a sci-fi fan of any kind there a cornucopia of ideas in here that you will reflected in movies or books you've seen or read. That's actually pretty cool.

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Should be mandatory class for all

Revisado: 05-03-15

While basic, this course does a very good job of outlining the basics of personal finances. And while American, the vast majority of the principles and recommendations are universal. If you have a young adult or teen living with you, get them to listen to this book. It should be a mandatory course in all grade 12 students across North America. Narration was solid and there's humour throughout, so it the 6-plus hours goes by quickly. Highly recommend.

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esto le resultó útil a 27 personas

Entertaining listen. Loved the narration.

Revisado: 05-03-15

Loved the length of this book. Nothing was drawn out. Very efficient at making its many important points. And funny! The narrator was perfect for the topic. He did incredulity quite well and at several points I had a good laugh. Highly recommend for anyone.

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Great story. Still resonates!

Revisado: 03-31-15

Despite being written in the late 70's, this story is still very relevant. I mean what's changed since the 70's. The internet and yoga pants. The technologies and social-political issues remain the same but instead of referring to Vietnam, we refer to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The story is great. While I concede that the first third is a tad trying as it sets up characters for the final 2/3rds of apocalyptic-goodness, it's important investment. I loved the science and all the hypotheticals around what would happen if a massive asteroid hit the earth and really enjoyed the pace and atmosphere of the first few days following the strike. Pretty riveting stuff. And all throughout you're having a real debate with yourself regarding whether or not one particular act or decision is what you would have done to survive the end of the world. This is opposed to my usual status of gobsmacked as some idiot main character clearly makes the most stupid decision you've ever read in the history of (zombie apocalypse) literature. I mean ever.

IMO: This story is about 50 times as good as the glut of end of world zombie tripe that is out there right now (then why do you listen to it if it's so bad....don't ask). Granted it's a bit long, but on the whole, it's worth it.

Finally - props to the narrator. A very nice job. Does a good job selling different voices, including the female ones and gets the right tone and deliver throughout.

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Tremendous in every way!

Revisado: 12-06-14

Would you consider the audio edition of War and Remembrance to be better than the print version?

Didn't read the book, but what I can say is that the narrator was superb. As many others have indicated, his accents, the way he did female voices and overall pacing is the simply best I've heard.

What other book might you compare War and Remembrance to and why?

That's tough. I've only read a few stories that are as epic as this one. While it's a different genre, I guess Lord of Rings might qualify due to is expansiveness, its rich character development, the writing (his use of English language is first class) and for its sheer ambition. Whether you're a history buff or have any interest in WW II this book really must be listened to. It is compelling in every way and I came out having learned more about this period of history than all my readings and learning combined. In everyway it's something special.

Which character – as performed by Kevin Pariseau – was your favorite?

He was a perfect match for the book. He nailed all the accents. He did a great job across the board and unlike many narrators, he can portray female voices very well. But if I had to pick, he really hit a home run with the German SS officers, particularly when they were enraged. Gripping really.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I don't think you can listen to this book and not have a strong reaction to the Jews and how they were treated. Wouk does an incredible job of describing all of the sad and very maddening details. Like the allied populations, even now it seems unbelievable that a modern country could collectively enact this despicable program. It explains and informs many of today's world events. Very sad and terribly frustrating stuff.

Any additional comments?

I stumbled across this book. I'd never heard of it and hadn't heard of the author. Perhaps it's because I'm Gen X'er. I'm not an expert, but I feel this book deserves to discussed and talked about by my generation, those younger than me. It's a compelling and approachable story that touches on some truisms and realties that should never be forgotten. I guess its length would be part of the problem, but that aside, it really something more of us should be reading.

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