Jennifer

highly recommend

Revisado: 07-01-24

A review written on a cellphome can't do justice to this book. Wise and profound and relevant . . . lucid writing with not a wasted word. The signified narration was wonderful. I cried at several points. I have recommended this to all my young adult children and wish I had found it sooner.

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o have 15 hours left and I can't bear it

Revisado: 11-01-22

For some unknown reason, the narrator decided to voice Francis in the manner of Christian Bale's Batman. There are inexplicably long pauses between every sentence as though to make all the words more significant. This ponderous and weighty narration is beginning to sorely strain my patience. I am not sure how much more of this I can take. Disappointed.

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Gorgeous, sometimes agonizing sometimes exuberant

Revisado: 06-28-20

Wow! I mean holy shot. It can’t be broken down, the ideas are to swirly for bullet points or punch line oriented lectures. But the lessons you’ve learned by the end, the single unfolding threat and it’s many beads of significant moments strung dazzlingly. Favorite (for now) along side breakfast for champions probably not for long tho still more to read. !!the recording at the end is laughable and meek and rlly a disonent ending. These two dudes who obviously don’t understand vonegutt. Listen to it anyway and draw your own insight from it. Some what not to think and other stuff nice story’s abt Kurt. but rlly fuck those guys there dumb and are just talking to talk when their not just giving valuable facts abt vonegutt.

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Interesting and insightful.

Revisado: 01-24-19

I sought out this book after hearing a TED talk by this author. I listened to the audiobook, however, and I suspect that this book would be better experienced on paper. While Jill Bolte Taylor's story is extraordinary, she is not a professional writer nor narrator and, frankly, it detracts a bit from the information she is communicating. There's a bit of repetition, and that would really be no problem for a reader of the written word, but it becomes more glaring for the listener. Also, I listened to a couple of chapters at a time over a period of about two weeks, but five and half hours straight of her tone and cadence would have been too much for me. Overall I am grateful she has written this book and I heartily recommend it. After hearing it, I went out and purchased paperback versions to give as gifts.

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Nice job by John Malkovich

Revisado: 04-02-17

I had never read Breakfast of Champions and we recently listened to it during a family road trip. (Certain sections disqualify it as a good family book but my kids are older.). Malkovich reads with an offhand style well-suited to the material. The story does no have a tremendous amount of dialogue but he does an amazing job of voicing some of the characters. I usually steer clear of readings by actors, but I recommend this performance.

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Engaging family audiobook

Revisado: 01-06-15

We chose to listen to this book during a family road trip through Washington and Idaho, which was pretty cool because we drove very near the reservations Alexie describes and seeing the actual landscape gave us a different perspective. We did not read the print version so I understand we missed out on the clever illustrations.

My family enjoyed the book very much. It is definitely a YA novel, but the themes he touches on keep it from being overly simplistic. One word of caution, however. The protaganist is a teenage boy and Alexie decided it was best to tackle the subject of masturbation early in the novel. I had read reviews of the printed book so I was prepared for this and hit the fast forward button (my son, who had already listened to the audiobook, knew it was coming and was relieved we skipped it).

Despite this, I recommend the book as a good family listen. Alexie describes his community and its challenges honestly and without sentimentality. His account of his first trying days at the white people's school rings true, as does the hostility of his old friends who feel betrayed. It is a positive story of rising above and coming together.

Alexie narrates the book himself, and that led me to believe it was an autobiography, which it is not, although he did experience many of the events he describes. His distinctive and deep voice made for an engaging listen.

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Well-intentioned but irritating

Revisado: 01-06-15

We listened to this book as a family last year when one of my children (who has dyslexia) was assigned this book over the winter vacation and found it too annoying and boring to read. (This was the only schoolbook he was ever allowed to listen to as an audiobook).

Chances are, if you are thinking of listening to this book, it is because it is assigned for a class. However, the narrator, who has a lovely voice and does a wonderful job, reads very slowly. So unless you have a reading disability as my son did, chances are you would finish reading the book hours before she does.

I am writing this review primarily for the parents who might be tempted to purchase it for a car ride or some family listening. My advice is don't do it. The story of Delia and how she covers up the fact that she can't read is compelling. However, the book is written in simple sentences which are easy for grade school children to read. After ten minutes of listening it becomes grating. All of my kids hated listening to it and started to mimc it.

The dialogue between the kids in the book is just a fantastical concoction of how adults wished children would talk to each other. Also, the resolution of some plot lines seemed far-fetched as well. The transformation of the Tolliver twins was particularly uninspired.

As trite as this sounds, Double Dutch does touch on important social issues. Reading this book might very well prompt a child who has difficulty reading, or one who spends a great deal of time alone, to ask for help. Most of the adults portrayed in this inner city community are caring and supportive, so help is just an ask away.

But I still found it a highly annoying listen. So my advice to any parent whose child needs or wants to listen to this book is to put it on their ipod or mp3 player and give them headphones.

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wonderful audiobook for family road trip

Revisado: 01-06-15

This is the second Terry Pratchett book we have listened to as a family (the first being "Marvelous Maurice and His Educated Rodents," also highly recommended). Mr. Pratchett is an artful writer--clever metaphors, well-crafted sentences and flat out hilarious characters make Going Postal highly entertaining. While Marvelous Maurice was more a story about individuals beginning to organize themselves into a society, "Going Postal" offers a commentary on modern events. Lord Vetinari is a clever autocrat a la Vladimir Putin, the post office is a moribund institution that fell into disuse because of the public's desire for instant communication, and The Grand Trunk Company is any number of gigantic and poorly managed companies that were deemed "too big to fail" in the last financial crisis. In fact, I could not believe the book was written several years before the Lehman Brothers collapse and "too big to fail" became a common phrase here. I have to wonder if it was a popular phrase in Britain or if Pratchett revised the text recently.

Any listener with any experience with Boards of Directors, corporate branding, corporate finance or management, or anyone who reads the business section of the newspaper from time to time, will find the book especially entertaining.

The talented Stephen Briggs does a wonderful job of giving each character a distinctive voice without letting the performance detract from the text. We found his voice added to the listening experience immeasurably.

My only negative observations is that this is a very long audiobook, and there are times it seems to drag and go on tangents. I am not sure that a couple of plot lines were ever resolved. Also, while my two older children enjoyed the book, my 9 year old found it too dry.

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Wonderful as an audiobook

Revisado: 07-09-14

Would you consider the audio edition of Crime and Punishment (Recorded Books Edition) to be better than the print version?

First, thank you to the reviewers who recommended George Guidall's narration. He is a treasure. The tone of his voice is deep and pleasing--no offputting accents--and he uses just enough inflection to differentiate the characters without it becoming distracting. I tend to be an impatient reader and like to read quickly or skip ahead--of course that is not possible with an audiobook, and so I was able to fully experience and appreciate the story. I listened to the book during long car rides--chunks of an hour or more--and it kept me fully engaged and gave me a lot to reflect upon.

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