Cris Tortolano

Beyond expectations

Revisado: 02-16-22

I am not a Nirvana fan…I just didn’t get it. I did like other 90’s Seattle bands, but I just didn’t understand the hubbub over Nirvana. When Dave Grohl “reinvented” himself and emerged from behind the drum kit as the frontman for Foo Fighters, I was impressed, both with his songwriting and musicianship. Because of that admiration, I knew I would enjoy “reading” his book and hearing his story. Turns out he’s got a lot of stories and they are joyful, funny (I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud), relatable, self-effacing and at times heartbreaking. Listening to him tell these stories makes me really like and appreciate his journey even more!

I recommend this book to anyone who has ever known a struggling musician, who has ever been to a rock concert, or anyone who has known the sacrifices of a parent for a child…👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

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Joanne Froggatt!

Revisado: 12-19-21

I have never read any of Lisa Jewell books before, but when I saw who was reading this audio version, I immediately purchased it. Joanne Froggatt’s performance of this work really brought it to life! Her use of various British dialects made each character distinct and fully rounded. I absolutely loved listening to her tell this tale. I will definitely look up Ms Jewel’s earlier works and absolutely seek out anything Ms. Froggatt has performed.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

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Tragic and inspiring

Revisado: 04-30-21

I never knew all of the details of the many truly tragic events that happened to this remarkable family. I knew I liked and respected the man who would become our 46th President, but I wanted to know the truth about the target of so many baseless horrible accusations by the 45th and his cronies. I am sad to find out how that truth can be twisted and used to hurt good people when politics are involved, especially when one of those hurling the accusations is a reality TV star who only cares about gotcha moments and his ratings.

This book is so brutally raw and tells everyone exactly who and where Hunter Biden has been. It isn’t pretty but it’s honest…another word that 45 or his children don’t know the meaning of. Listening to him read his story, you can feel all the emotions (love, anger, pain, disillusion, shame, joy and pride). The words on the page are powerful, but to hear those words in the voice of the person that lived them is even more impactful.

On this, the 101st day of his father’s Presidency, I am so happy that Hunter Biden knows exactly who and where he is. He is with all the Beautiful Things.

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If you build it…he will come. If you write it…they will read – or in this case, listen.

Revisado: 02-12-21

A memoir of the making of “Field of Dreams” would be in itself a gift to read, but Dwier Brown’s tome includes confessions from fans who have felt compelled to share their stories of their fathers with Mr. Brown when they recognize him from his role in the iconic film. These confessions add another layer of pathos that a straight retelling of on-set stories might not. I have long said that the audio versions of memoirs and autobiographies read by the author are so much more powerful than just visually reading their words. Hearing these stories read in Mr. Brown’s Mid-Western/Protestant voice, and then switch to his impersonation of Burt Lancaster, or a spot-on Dorchester/Bostonian accent would be great moments missed if I had not listened to this audiobook.

In the words of his acting coach, “Acting isn’t lying, acting is telling the truth.” Thank you, Mr. Brown for sharing the truth of your life experiences in Hollywood, on the farm, and in the field of corn.

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What just happened?!

Revisado: 07-08-19

This had to be the oddest audiobook I've ever listened to! I enjoyed listening to the first two chapters with Johnny Depp, but then suddenly and inexplicably Johnny is gone and someone else is now reading and doing a very bad Keith Richards impersonation at that! Then, just as I'm getting used to the bad Keith impersonation, Johnny is back again for a chapter and a half before he turns it over to Keith himself!?! The stories were great and insightful if you can believe that he actually remembers them in that much detail. But my disappointment was in the production of the audiobook specifically.

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Why?!

Revisado: 05-20-19

I read this book because a friend literally raved about it. He said the stories got better and better. For me, the stories got more and more confusing because there were so many characters with such similar stories/names. There was a difference, he read the physical book and I listened to the audio book. Mr. Orange introduces us to so many characters and at first you don’t realize how they may be connected but then you start to piece it together and realize that they will all end up at The Big Oakland Powwow.

I still don’t know what happens to some of these characters because the book literally just ends. Do they live, do they die, are they related, do they ever find out they are related before they die...? We will never know. Do 3D printers really exist and can they mass produce guns that are capable of being undetected by metal detectors and if they do, should we be exploiting that knowledge as entrainment in books about mass killings? Isn’t there enough of that happening in our schools, churches, synagogues, mosques and movie theatres? For him to just end the book without some kind of point or resolution? If he had Dene Oxendene’s camera capture how the shooting started and what happened to the shooters would have made some sense and given the readers some closure. Without it, there’s no point to this book other than to glorify massacres and when I started reading the book, I thought this book’s message about Native People would be different. I guess in the end the point is that the Native People always get slaughtered...

This book really upset me - I have never had a book upset me as much as this one has. 😠

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Loved it, but...

Revisado: 04-15-19

I work with a band and have been working in and around the music industry for a pretty long time, but not in the '70s. I've always wondered what it would have been like to be immersed in that world during that time, and this book helped accomplish that! I was so engrossed by the story of Daisy Jones & The Six, that I was actually pissed off that I can't download Aurora and hear all of those amazing songs! Then to be teased that there was a bonus track of Honeycomb at the end of the audiobook, only to find that it was instrumental only...really?! I guess I need to wait for the TV adaptation that Reese Witherspoon is working on.

That aside, I still really enjoyed this book and already recommended (and gifted) it to the lead singer of the band that I work with!

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Wow!

Revisado: 01-24-19

Wow...just wow! There is a reason Michelle Obama was such a beloved Frist Lady...and that was when she was still living in the White House! If you did not already think highly of her, when compared to her successor, she becomes the stuff of legends! For me, her relatability was what drew me in. She is only a couple years older than me, but her wisdom makes her seem older than her years. Hearing about her childhood and family life humanized her even more. But the sad part is hearing her first-hand account of all the good that she and her amazing husband worked to achieve and knowing that one by one all that good is being undermined. The book is simply great, but listening to the audio version in her voice makes it even more impactful. 3 Thumbs way-way up!

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Such a sad, sad story...

Revisado: 01-24-19

I have now completed three books about the tragic life of Aaron Hernandez. I started with the James Patterson book - which reminded me of the entire case history. Next was the book by his brother Jonathan (DJ) Hernandez - this book gave insight to his childhood and discussed head injuries as a child that neither of the other books mentioned. I finished with this book, which I think was the best of the three. I’m very glad I read them in the order that I did. Mr. Baez’s insight into the legal process, especially in such a high profile case, was fascinating and well told. He retold the story in a conversational manner as if he was speaking to you as a friend or trusted colleague. I gained a new respect for defense attorneys.

Aaron’s story is tragic and knowing that his CTE was so advanced, it had to have affected his actions. The evidence of CTE in football is real. We will continue to hear about more and more players and former players suffering from this condition. Anyone who allows their child to participate in tackle football needs to know the facts.

I hope that when she is old enough to understand, that Aaron’s daughter will find some comfort in the knowledge that her father loved her and was not a monster. Really such a sad sad story.

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