OYENTE

Daniel

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Imaginable Audiolibro Por Jane McGonigal arte de portada

An important book beautifully read by the author

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-01-22

I'd like to start this Audible review by saying that I respectfully disagree with the reviewer here who thought that a voice bot was employed to read the book. For one thing, Audible's policies require that all audiobooks sold here are read by human beings. Secondly, to my knowledge, as sophisticated as digital voice software may be, it's still not quite sophisticated enough to be able to replicate the nuanced inflections that the author of this book consistently bring to many words, phrases, and sentences all throughout. In fact, it's kind of funny because the author's beautiful reading of this audiobook (in my opinion, obviously) is exactly the reason that I wanted to make a point of leaving a separate Audible review even though I've already reviewed the book itself on Amazon, which owns Audible. I guess it just goes to show the subjectivity of personal taste, which is fair enough.

There are some books for which I buy the audiobook version even if I already own the paper or Kindle version. The reasons for this may range from an excellent performance by the narrator/author to a desire on my part to refer to the material in the book frequently at every available opportunity so that I can assimilate and digest its contents fully, whether I'm cooking in the kitchen (audiobook), driving in my car (audiobook), or reading in bed (paper or Kindle). A few books that I’ve read and listened to simultaneously in this way over the past few years include Haven Scott McVarish’s ‘Last Chance to Save American Democracy,’ John Michael Greer’s ‘Dark Age America,’ and former president Barack Obama’s ‘A Promised Land.’ To this list I now add Jane McGonigal’s ‘Imaginable.’

As mentioned, I've already written a review on Amazon for the actual book itself so I won’t repeat here what I wrote over there. But the reason the audiobook version warrants its own separate review is the author’s soulful reading of it. Upon listening to the “Introduction” that opens the book, I was immediately struck by what was, at least to me, McGonigal’s noticeably different approach to reading this book from the way she read the audiobook version of her last book, ‘SuperBetter.’ It’s a subtle difference because her voice is obviously the same, but there’s a more hushed and subdued quality to her reading this time around. By “hushed” I don’t mean that it’s quiet or hard to hear. On the contrary, the audio production is immaculate and McGonigal’s reading is crystal clear. You won’t miss a single word. What I mean by “hushed” is that the author brings a certain austerity to the reading this time around, almost as if in a tacit acknowledgement of the gravity of many of the topics she discusses such as the Covid-19 pandemic and all the many traumas that the entire world has experienced over the course of the last two to three years as a result of it (not to mention all the other stuff that also happened during this time). The delivery fits the content perfectly and results in an intimate listening experience that can stand on its own, if this is your sole copy of the book, or as an auditory complement to the paper version of the book.

-PopMythology.com

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Last Chance to Save American Democracy Audiolibro Por Haven Scott McVarish arte de portada

Terrific reading of a terrific book

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-08-21

I've written many book reviews on Amazon before but this is the first Audible review that I'm writing. This audiobook is that good. I haven't finished listening to the whole thing yet (though I've finished reading the printed version of the book), but I wanted to write a review now before I forgot.

The reason I bought the audio version of this book even though I already have the printed version is so I could listen to it while cooking, cleaning, on the train (yes, of course I wear a mask), etc., to review the parts I've already read so as to better absorb and remember the key points. And wow. Audiobook reader Larry Herron takes Haven Scott McVarish's superb and important book and gives it the performance it deserves. Herron has a naturally pleasing, charismatic voice that's clear and easy to understand. His reading speed and pacing are perfect. Moreover, he gives the text LIFE, which you'd think should be a basic thing for all audiobooks, but some audiobooks I've listened to before sounded like they were read by that boring teacher from the 80s movie 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' ("Anyone, anyone?"). Herron infuses the text with emotion, but without overdoing it, and emphasizes all the key passages and words in just the right way. Seriously, if I ever get an audiobook published I want Herron to read it.

The only other non-fiction audiobook performance I currently love as much as this one is 'A Promised Land' written and read by Barack Obama but I'm not even going to bother writing a review for that guy (like he doesn't already have enough reviews, LOL).

Re: the actual book itself, I've already written a review on Amazon about it so I won't repeat everything, but in a nutshell I think it's one of the most important political books that any engaged American citizen can read right now.

McVarish's words and Herron's voice are the perfect combination. 5 stars all the way.

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