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for fans of Angela Carter, Grimms tales, etc.

Revisado: 04-22-21

Block creates engaging worlds revolving around her own thematic points of interest- beauty as symmetry, Jewishness, 70s pop culture. The tales draw you in but some end suddenly. Really enjoyed the last two which have some kind of ending.

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Beavis & Butthead talk about college

Revisado: 02-16-21

They don’t like it.
Oh, and one is a YouTuber.
Plus they like games.
Hyuck hyuck

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Gripping, well researched

Revisado: 09-16-20

America’s opioid crises was not driven by a random rise in demand, it was driven by pharmaceutical companies pumping millions of doses into depressed communities. This book tells the heartbreaking story of one affected state, West Virginia.

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Making human beings should not be a business

Revisado: 09-06-20

Well produced, well researched and well told, the episodes were divided in just the right way to support the unfolding of the story. Dov does a great job of bringing his own experiences into the narrative without letting them take over.
Now to the content: this story brings up many issues about medical and
pseudo medical businesses. Americans don’t realize how under regulated some of our businesses are until we compare the laws to those on other developed countries. With no oversight or vetting in place, it is no surprise that a person who is compensated for providing genetic material would misrepresent the quality of that product.
While I don’t wish to disparage the dreams of those who wish to have a biological child, they might consider that there are many ways short of artificial insemination to have a family.

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Perfect for what it was

Revisado: 02-06-20

Pollan leverages his connections and knowledge of plants to create some perspective on a drug that is completely socially acceptable. Interesting insights on addiction. Well read by the author.

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Binge- listened

Revisado: 07-16-19

What drives an artist to create? Like the work of her characters, Hand creates memorable images that straddle the analog and digital worlds.

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Transporting, richly woven

Revisado: 09-30-15

I listened to this book again after finishing the third book in the Ibis trilogy. Ghosh is an extremely erudite author who weaves his knowledge of history, culture, botany and human nature into his tales, and creates believable, fully wrought characters to carry this freight.

From the first, I found the book enchanting, a portal to another world. For all of his other shortcomings, the narrator did a good job of creating a unique voice for each character. I also thought that he handled women's voices fairly well. Unfortunately there were some inconsistencies in his performance that diminished the effect of his good intentions.

Listening for a second time, I enjoyed the book on a different level, but I did have the dawning realization that a narrator with more knowledge of the dialects involved might have been a better choice. I have zero knowledge of Bengali, Hindi, Pidgen or Mandarin, so the mispronunciations of those words were lost on me. However, the accents of certain characters were inconsistent, and the narrator's characterization of a gay character was simply irritating. Nobody talks like that. The narrator's style was also extremely high energy, as one reviewer mentioned, more suited to a two-minute movie trailer than a multi-hour novel.

This series of books has really aroused my interest in 19th century sailing ships and the nautical life, as well as the history of the East India Company, the first modern multi-national company. It is filled with the details of life on a trading vessel, life in Canton, China, and life in Bengali India. The discussion of botany and the flower trade was also a high point.

I like it that one of the main characters is from Baltimore and stands on the edge of the color line. His character sounded to me like a Charleston, SC butler, but I guess it's hard to know what a "octoroon" carpenter from Baltimore in the 1840's might sound like.

The subsequent narrators in the Ibis trilogy series are, overall, an improvement, although I'm not able to assess the verity of their pronunciations of the different languages/patois.

As a producer, I realize how much research and talent would go into creating a faithful rendition of American, British, Hindi, Parsi, French & Chinese accents, as well as the associated Pidgen combinations of these tongues. You'd have to start with a narrator who was already strong in at least two (say, British English and Hindi) and deeply research and/or find coaches for the rest. It might be helpful to have the author review the dailies.

I'm happy to have been able to overlook the narrator's deficiencies enough to enjoy this book immensely. Yes, the ending is abrupt. Apros pos of that, I would request Audible.com to leave a beat or two of silence before inserting their tag ("THIS IS AUDIBLE!") at the end. Let the listener process for a moment!

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Excellent

Revisado: 09-15-15

Author Barbara Kingsolver trained as a biologist,and she brings a trove of scientific knowledge and a researcher's perspective to her novels.

Which is great, but not even the best part. Her love of the Appalachian mountains, the people who live in them and the language they use, infuses the narrative. Phrases like "great day in the morning!" and "a lick and a promise" turn up in Kingsolver's books like precious gems unearthed and displayed in just the right setting.

She weaves her stories through the experiences of a variety of characters, young & old, city and country. It's wonderful to watch these characters grow as they persist & interact.

I absolutely love the authors reading of the book. She does a great job creating different character voices, and of course in rendering the nuances of Appalachian, her mother tongue.

Listening to this novel has helped me clarify and to articulate some long-held feelings about our relationship with the land.

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Love these characters

Revisado: 02-09-15

Explores the possibilities created in the first two novels of the series. Stories and stories within stories provide the narrative.
Circle of life/ regeneration are the themes .

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The Flash Goes Marching On

Revisado: 08-02-12

The irascible character of Harry "Flash" Flashman is compelled by various forces to join the John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. Along the way, Flash encounters many characters who sport a variety of accents- Upper Crusty English, Scottish, American Southern, to name a few. This narrator does a good job with the British accents, and handles John Brown himself with aplomb. The whining, keening tone of Brown's rhetoric still resonates in my head. What the narrator does best is take certain phrases and make them immensely humorous. I laughed outloud at some of the well-timed comments.

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