lisa

Why even write this?

Revisado: 12-13-13

What disappointed you about The Dinner?

The underlying message here was just too depressing and demoralizing. There was *nothing* redeeming about this story. Ugh. I have no idea what the hype is all about... why even spend the time writing such a tale?

What do you think your next listen will be?

Don't know yet... I do appreciate dark stories and the like, but this was just too much. There is absolutely no up-side to this story.

What about Clive Mantle’s performance did you like?

Excellent performance! Clive Mantle did a fabulous job narrating and was the only reason I listened to the whole book.

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Bitter Girl Bitches Loud and Hard!

Revisado: 11-04-13

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

At the beginning I thought I would, and I enjoyed myself until about chapter 5 or 6. After that point, I realized that Julie Klausner would be A LOT funnier and her stories would be much more compelling if she weren't such a one-way BITCH! No, I would not recommend this book to my friends because it was a tiresome account of what was wrong with everyone JK dated (or tried to date) with very little, if any, empathy for these characters; A woe-is-me type tale of all the ways she is smarter than and better than the men she sets herself up for. This, of course, being her one downfall. POOOOR Julie! Uggghhh.

Would you ever listen to anything by Julie Klausner again?

She read well, but I was so irritated by her superiority complex only loosely masked by the theme of "oh, look what losers I choose" that I could barely finish this one.

Could you see I Don’t Care about Your Band being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No!

Any additional comments?

JK is obviously bright and some of these stories *might* be funny if told differently. They are not really that crazy and none of them are that raunchy except for her language choices. (which don't offend me by any means- it's just funny to see what she says to get a reaction from readers/listeners). She has to try pretty hard to make most of the stories interesting, honestly. I know a ton of women who have much funnier, more interesting, dirtier dating stories... whatever you want. These stories just don't go anywhere!!! She dates boring or "loser-ish" guys and by and large, most of them don't like her that much. The problem is that she is so unbelievably mean, rude and unsympathetic to the characters she describes in her re-telling of the events. Who wants to hear 6 hours of a bitch fest from a girl that needs to do some soul searching before she does more writing? Please, Julie... If you can't have more empathy with your characters before you write about them... let alone (fuck) them or (blow) them, then think about how your poor parents must feel listening to this.

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Meh... very so-so

Revisado: 07-31-12

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would make it funnier!!! Laurie is waaaay too whiny and complains waaay too much to listen to for very long!

Would you recommend We Thought You Would be Prettier to your friends? Why or why not?

Nope... It's just not very funny and it get's irritating quickly. There are some funny moments- but few and far between.

Did Hillary Huber do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

She was fine. Good whiny New York mom accent, for sure.

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Great way to Spend the Afternoon!

Revisado: 07-31-12

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

Absolutely! I loved this book and laughed out loud many different times!! I was not familiar with jen's work before listening to this book and look forward to listening to more of her work in the near future!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Jeneration X?

Oh my gosh... hard to choose! She is so honest and straight forward- that is what love most! But I guess if I had to pick a moment, one of my favorites would have been the little letter she wrote to curry... or when she got her hair done in texas... or when she talked about fletch re-doing her dresser... or...

Any additional comments?

i've noticed that she doesn't always read her own work... bummer!! she was a fantastic narrator and i really enjoyed listening to her tell all of her own stories!

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Completely Enchanting!

Revisado: 07-31-12

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

I would absolutely recommend this audiobook to a friend- or to anyone. The story -stories, I should say- are very original and well developed. They have a wonderful sense of place and time and really make you feel like you know the characters. I love the interplay of real people and fictional characters, too. It is very well done.

What other book might you compare Beautiful Ruins to and why?

No books come to mind, but it did make me think of the movie "Il Postino" all the way through! Both the fact that it took place largely on a small Italian island and also because of the interlacing of a real person (in the movie it was the play write, Pablo Neruda) and a fictional characters.

What about Edoardo Ballerini’s performance did you like?

He was fantastic in every way! His accents were perfect, his italian was perfect, he did women's voices as well as men's... just a pleasure to listen to.

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Laugh out loud funny!

Revisado: 07-25-12

Would you consider the audio edition of Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) to be better than the print version?

Since I haven't read the hard copy I'm not sure, but I will say that listening to Jenny read it did add a lot to the story that I really enjoyed!

What did you like best about this story?

Jenny is just hilarious... it is very hard to choose. But listening to her talk about her dad and all of his animals... dead and alive, was pretty darn funny. but then again, so were about 100 other parts of the book. Very hard to say!

Which character – as performed by Jenny Lawson – was your favorite?

just can't choose. that girl is hilarious!!!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the story about her dog was very sad... at the same time that it was also (here's the word again) hilarious! don't want to spoil it by saying more...

Any additional comments?

she made me want to read her blog and keep following her. great, great book!

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Fantastic Listen

Revisado: 07-25-12

Where does Too Fat to Fish rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This absolutely ranks waaaaay at the top of the autobiographies I've listened too. Artie is so honest and has really lived life. He pulls no punches, doesn't sugar coat it and he is truthful about himself which most people aren't. This story is hilarious, sad, poignant... absolutely worth your time!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Too Fat to Fish?

My favorite story was about Artie and his Dad going to the world series. Absolutely made me cry and gives me goosebumps now remembering it.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Artie Lange?

Absolutely... and he should have read the entire thing!!!!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I DID listen to this all in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

I am not a howard stern fan- don't even listen to his show... so that is not why I got this book. Artie Lang is a talented man.

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Like a made for TV movie

Revisado: 07-25-12

Would you try another book from Claire Fontaine and Mia Fontaine and/or Terra Deva and Anne Twomey ?

I might consider another book from the Fontaines. This story definitely had its ups and downs... I just found the naivete of the mother to be so annoying that it was often very hard to sympathize with her plight at all! This is not really a book for people who have "been around the block" shall we say.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked Mia's relationship with her therapist towards the end of the story, as well as some of her time spent away at the school.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator of the mother was cloying and insipid. I found her extremely 'voice over' type sound really difficult to listen to, especially in this type of story. It would have been significantly better to hear this from Claire and Mia themselves,

Could you see Come Back being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

uggh. It was already like a made for tv movie.

Any additional comments?

i found it reprehensible that they did not bother to mention what the stepfather was doing at the end of the story!!!!! (when they gave up-dates about all the relevant people's lives.)

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Long But Good

Revisado: 08-28-11

I do not at all agree w/ the reviewers that claim this is a "must listen!" This is a very particular type of story and certainly not for everyone. That being said, it was a very entertaining story and I did find myself drawn in by the story and many of the characters; I grew up in New England not long after this story though, and partially I think that accounts for much of my interest. I would say that the major draw-back is John Irving's overly, overly long digressions abut political info. or books the characters are reading that have no bearing on the main story whatsoever. several hours of this boring stuff could have been lopped off and the story wouldn't have changed one bit. otherwise, a totally original and very interesting read.

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Painfully Disappointing!!

Revisado: 08-28-11

I found myself alternating between several emotions while I listened to this terrible John Irving novel... primarily I was disappointed that Mr. Irving could even write such insipidness, then I was angry that I was wasting my time on it, every once in awhile I was vaguely drawn in by short passages...and then I would return to disappointment. Yes, the characters were very well developed -as one would expect in an Irving novel- but beyond that I do not know what happened!! The obnoxious, totally over-done breast fixation (and I mean over-done!!), the tedious books w/in the book, the very hard to believe plot lines in the second half of the story... PUH_LEASE!! I cannot believe I actually finished this book- and up until now, I would have called myself a John Irving Fan!

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