A. M. Dalessandro

Would Have Made An Interesting Magazine Article

Revisado: 01-02-20

The story seemed interesting enough, and I did not necessarily except the book to resemble the movie (which it doesn't), but after about three hours I was ready to put it down. I did listen to the end, but it was a grind. I listen to most of my audiobook books while doing my daily gym workouts, so I stayed with it with the same determination I use in doing 40 minutes of hard cardio. This would have made an interesting magazine article, but in the end, it was just too much detail, too much of the author's internal monologue, and too much about his wife's illness and death.

I understand that his wife's untimely death from cancer was unfortunately intertwined with the purchase of the zoo, but I felt they just seemed to be two different stories. Some people might enjoy his frank and open discussion of her illness, the effect of it on their family, and his emotions during her illness and after her death. For me, to listen to all of that in connection with his family's decision to buy a zoo seemed terribly self-indulgent -- just not my thing perhaps.

I was also caught off guard by his salty language, and I would rate the overall narration was adequate. I also found his condescending comments about several of his staff members to be quite off-putting. A couple of staffers decided to leave when the business hit a rough patch during the first year, fearing they might end up jobless. He considered this a lack of loyalty. I have to wonder how long he would have continued to pay their salaries if the rough patch had continued. I realize this was a labor of love and a chosen way of life for him, but it was a job to them. By then I had been listening to this book for too long anyway. For me, it was worth neither the time nor the money.

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Not Really A Book, Just a Collection of Speeches

Revisado: 02-17-19

I suppose professors all over the country could do what Mr. Antonopoulos and his publishers have done here. Rather than actually write and publish a real book, they have taken bits and pieces of dozens of his speeches and cobbled them together to a collection of sorts. He says the same thing over and over again. I can't tell you how many times he called Bitcoin a "distruptive" technology and compared critics of the technology with those who laughed at the automobile as a potential replacement for the horse in the early 1900s.

He also likes to compare Bitcoin with the Internet, and mentions that now anyone can publish, not just a large newspaper with a huge printing press, like The New York Times. Of course the difference between the NYT and a guy writing on his computer in his bedroom or basement is that the NYT hires highly-skilled, highly-educated reporters, editors, photographers, analysts, programmers, and writers who comb the globe to determine what's happening in the world and why it matters. Perhaps it's great that some of this power is decentralized, but organizations like the NYT, The Economist, the BBC, and PBS are still the go-to media when you really want to know the news. They are just on the Internet now. I don't need Mr. Antonopoulos to explain this to me.

The first few chapters of the book are a review of the history of money and exchange that I got in middle school social studies class. I can't believe I paid money for this.

His entire method of trying to explain Bitcoin is to use analogies. I thought after listening to his book that I might better understand this technology, but I don't.

As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Antonopoulos could be described as the P.T. Barnum of Bitcoin, but that would be a disservice to Mr. Barnum, who, for all his showmanship and hyperbole, actually had something of value to sell.

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A True Tour de Force Satire of Higher Education

Revisado: 02-14-18

Wolfe is in total control of his craft in "I Am Charlotte Simmons," in which he skewers the hot air of much of 21st century university life. Few aspects of today's American undergraduate education experience escape Wolfe's penetrating analysis and lively prose. The fraternities, awash in beer and testosterone, the big business of college athletics, with its fat-cat enablers and overpaid head coaches, the high-minded but mostly ignored faculty, the truth-seeking, though also fame-seeking student journalists, the spoiled sorority girls in their tight designer jeans, and the hypocritical president, who long ago cut his deal in choosing a cozy and comfortable lifestyle over the life the mind, all are held accountable for spending so much money, effort, and time on so much of little importance.

Dylan Baker's inspired performance of more than a dozen unique major and minor characters, along with numerous bit players, is perhaps the best I've ever heard among the some 100 or more audio books I've listen to during the past 20 years. How he managed to keep all the male and female characters of various ages, races, education levels, socio-economic levels, and regions of origin, straight over the course of 31 hours of reading is mind boggling.

This book is a wild, funny, insightful, and often uncomfortable ride through a broken institution that follows the search for money, entertainment, and sex a lot more than it follows the search for anything related to truth. There's a lot of drinking, swearing, hooking up, and looking the other way as the nation's finest young adults, along with their wiser though thoroughly compromised elders, navigate their way through two semesters at one of the nation's finest institutions of higher learning. It's "Animal House" on steroids.

I can't imagine another living American writer who could render this sad tale more thoroughly and enjoyably than Tom Wolfe, Ph.D.

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Excellent Historical Mystery Triller

Revisado: 01-16-18

I really enjoyed this book, the first I've listened to by Thomas Mullen and the first one I've heard performed by Andre Holland. I found the story both enjoyable and disturbing, but in either case it kept me interested throughout. I really enjoyed Holland's performance of the book. How he effectively voiced so many interesting characters is a wonder to me. I'll be looking for more books by this author and this reader.

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A Fun Listen, and Lots of Information About Wine

Revisado: 09-09-17

I enjoyed Bianca Bosker's story and narration of her year-long journey with wine and sommeliers. She somewhat demystifies the process of choosing a wine and communicating with a server. Overall its a fun listen, though it runs a bit long I think. There's a lot of detail I could have done without, and I certainly would have preferred fewer f-bombs. Seriously, after enduring about a dozen during two of the latter chapters I was considering deleting the book from my ipod. It's not as if the word has never left my lips, but it was a bit much considering the topic. Some people in this book take their wine way, way too seriously.

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A Very Fun Listen

Revisado: 07-05-17

Would you consider the audio edition of Agent to the Stars to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the book.

What did you like best about this story?

The irreverent attitude was fun, and much of the story kept me guessing what would happen next. Even when it was predictable, the author's perspective kept me smiling.

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

The reader has a great voice and seems to capture the attitude of a young, ambitious Hollywood agent perfectly.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

And you think your clients are difficult? This one is out of this world crazy!

Any additional comments?

This was my first book by John Scalzi, and my first listen to Wil Wheaton's reading. I'll definitely be looking for other books written by Scalzi and read by Wheaton. I think I would enjoy the combination again as well.

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A Fun Ride Through the Multiverse

Revisado: 02-06-17

Where does Dark Matter rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really enjoyed this book. Though it's a work of science fiction, it's really a book about the choices we make in life and how we deal with them. I also enjoyed Jon Lindstrom's performance of the book.

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Compelling Human Interest Story

Revisado: 05-23-16

Would you listen to The Johnstown Flood again? Why?

I grew up near Johnstown and saw the storm that caused the 1977 flood from high ground in Somerset. I had heard of the 1889 flood, but never read anything, so McCullough's book was my first introduction to the details of that tragic event. The author brings the story down to human scale, so we can understand why the flood occurred and whom it affected. Herrmann's reading is straightforward and objective, betraying just a hint of emotion where appropriate.

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The Great American Novel

Revisado: 11-03-15

What did you love best about All the Pretty Horses?

Epic in scope, beautifully written, wonderfully performed. An amazing listen from the first few sentences to its surprising ending.

What other book might you compare All the Pretty Horses to and why?

Moby Dick

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The Great American Novel of the 1980s

Revisado: 06-25-11

Wolfe's journalistic eye for detail is fully on display in this brilliant novel. While the writing is admittedly long-winded at times, the patient listener is led on a fascinating journey through high society and the American judicial system. All of the social interactions so deftly described provide illumination into the motivations of the major characters in the novel, which fully brings to life the blazing bonfire of vanities, of so many people's vanities, in the novel's stunning finale. While the novel is set in the New York of the early to mid-1980s, I'm afraid it could easily describe the New York of today. In fact, Wolfe's New York might be a bit tame and naive by today's standards. The reading is equally brilliant. I enjoyed every minute, and I'm looking forward to reading (or listening to) another Wolfe novel soon.

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