Emma

A juicy, satisfying treat

Revisado: 01-25-20

This was a much better listen than I expected. I'm not usually into books about rich white people problems. But the writing was seductive and captivating and the story actually did end up surprising me on more than one occasion. I was mildly annoyed with the male narrator's confusion about what nationality his accent was supposed to represent, but the story was so entertaining that I totally forgot to care after a while.

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This book would be a lot better with some verbs

Revisado: 07-20-18

Oh my literary God, I just can't.

I really wanted to like this book; the characters are great, the storyline is right up my alley.

But the author's constant use of the "=" sign to replace words like "is", "means", "indicates that", "signals", "shows" etc, is just plain EXHAUSTING.

This isn't a math textbook. I expect any published author to be comfortable using verbs to express herself.

I really tried, but by chapter three, I had already heard the word "equals" about 600 times and I just couldn't bring myself to continue.

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What I already knew, but couldn't name

Revisado: 02-27-18

I really enjoyed this book. It really articulated a lot of concepts that I knew internally but wasn't sure how to express or prove. It was very easy to digest, too!

There really is a lot of hypocrisy and nonsense in modern culture, and a lot of it stems from our outdated assumptions about what money is worth and how it affects us. Our brains are stuck in the financial realities of the early 20th century, but the world and our economy has changed drastically since then.

Highly recommend!

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Not as funny as I expected BUT... still loved it!

Revisado: 01-19-18

I have to be honest; my sense of humor doesn't line up right with the authors. I didn't find myself laughing out loud much. But Phoebe Robinson has a lot of worthwhile things to say and I love her ability to discuss heavy issues with a light-hearted tone.

Took a few chapters to get into it, but overall GREAT LISTEN!

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How Easy the Apocalypse could be - a Mansplanation

Revisado: 11-16-17

-the apocalypse strikes and a magical tribe of men happen to be immune and know how to do everything right
-the one dimensional female characters (of which there are 3) exist only to say "What do we do now, Brad?"
-8 hours in and still nothing had really happened
-gave up (and I am a hardcore fan of this genre)


The writing wasn't terrible, but let's be honest. Women have been surviving childbirth AND men since the dawn of humanity, a fair few of us will likely survive the apocalypse as well.

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LOVE this series, but not the narration

Revisado: 09-25-17

Any additional comments?

I would never discourage anyone from buying this book in any form, it is a favorite of mine and I LOVE to share it with friends.

That being said, I read the paperback twice before listening, and I didn't think the narrator did this story justice.

The book is LONG, I know. And the first 200 pages may make you feel like you don't know wtf is going on. But have faith! After 200 pages you will find yourself suddenly immersed in Kvothe's world and you WILL NOT WANT TO PUT THE BOOK DOWN.

Pre-order the 2nd book when you hit page 500, trust me. You won't want to wait.

This book deserves to be curled up with you in bed on a few stormy nights, but be warned, it will keep you awake into the wee hours.

If you really can't read the paperback, you'll still enjoy the listen, but the narrator's voice makes it too easy to miss some of the author's most beautifully written sentences, and Pat Rothfuss's writing is like poetry. Also, I personally find the narrator's pronunciation of the fantasy words to be grating and awkward.

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Low-key zombie 'thriller'

Revisado: 05-15-17

Any additional comments?

Meh. I listened all the way through because I needed some light-hearted fluff. Generally, though, I'm not looking for fluff when it comes to post-apocalyptic zombie outbreak tales.

To be fair-- I'm obsessed with the genre, and there are a lot of writers out there who have raised the bar very high for zombie media. I just didn't see anything new, unique, or unpredictable in the storyline, and honestly, the character development was too cheesy for a "thriller"-- it totally overshadowed the suspense and action.

I did enjoy the diversity of the characters! But would I read this again? Not until the end of the world.

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This book will totally consume you...

Revisado: 02-13-17

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. If you're nervous about a collection of intellectual essays being boring or too heady, you'll be in for a pleasant surprise.

These essays will take you through plenty of ups and downs; you'll feel viscerally moved to anger, joy, sadness, and there are plenty of moments to make you laugh too.

Roxane Gay is amazing. Even if you don't agree with her, you have to respect her strength and ability to acknowledge her own weaknesses, and the way she can examine complexities with nuance (without being too wordy) and relate big political ideas to pop culture.

This book deals with some really heavy stuff (our issues with fat culture, rape culture, racism, and on and on) but somehow manages to keep the tone mostly light-hearted and full of hope. That is impressive in itself.

Which scene was your favorite?

The literary review passages were all highlights for me, as a writer and avid reader. The chapter on Prince Charming is an all time favorite and I re-listen to it regularly.

There were also passages that moved me to tears,

Any additional comments?

I recommend this audiobook particularly because I tried to read my hard copy and ended up skipping some passages with difficult subjects. It can feel very lonely to read about something like gang rape in silence while your partner sleeps, or on a train car full of strangers, and I (mistakenly) thought I wouldn't lose anything by skipping around to different essays based on their titles.

I was wrong-- it's really best to listen in order, the essays build on each other in a powerful way. Though gang rape is never fun to discuss, listening made it much easier to take in.

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Amazing deal!

Revisado: 12-11-16

Would you listen to The Mists of Avalon again? Why?

Probably, yes! It's a great reimagining of a classic, timeless tale, and the performance is the audio equivalent of snuggling up with a big meaty tome on a snowy grey day by the fire with a cup of tea.

What did you like best about this story?

The depiction of the transition of power from pagan to christian religions throughout the story is expertly done.
Also, the way Bradley puts the reader in Morgaine's POV and makes it impossible not to sympathize with a character that, in most retellings of this story, is seen as a villain-- love it!

What does Davina Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The paperback book is great, but long and HUGE! Actually too heavy to carry around or even hold open sometimes. The audio is read in a way that makes it very easy to follow, even if you tune in and out from time to time.

Any additional comments?

In terms of hours of entertainment per dollar spent, this audio book is an AMAZING deal! I work from home and listen to audiobooks/podcasts all day, so this was a really rewarding buy for me. Kept coming back to it time and time again when other books/genres became tiring, always found it easy to fall right back into the story.

Highly recommend for fans of Game of Thrones books!

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Better to read than listen...

Revisado: 11-28-16

What made the experience of listening to Kindred the most enjoyable?

Excellent story with a very unique perspective, highly recommend.

What did you like best about this story?

This combines two classic stories -- time travel, slave memoir -- so well that it seems almost surreal that there aren't more stories like this out there!

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

This novel is well written, and deals with some complex issues. It is a sophisticated book. The performer reads it like it is a children's story: over-annunciating everything and speaking every line of dialogue with enough melodrama to gag on. It makes it hard to take the story seriously, which is a bummer, because it deserves to be taken as seriously as any literary masterpiece.

Any additional comments?

Octavia E. Butler is a genius.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas