Kareena Arthy

Funny and Erudite Dinghy Voyage

Revisado: 09-19-24

Narrated by the author, and first published in 2009, "The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow" tells the unlikely but true story of a drama teacher rowing and sailing in a very small Mirror dinghy all the way from the UK to the Black Sea. MacKinnon's repeated reliance on the kindness of strangers will restore your faith in humanity, his writing will have you laughing out loud in parts, and his survival will have you wondering if divine protection is a real thing. I'll admit that some of his literary references had me reaching for a search engine, but that process just added to my reading list. Recommended. For the full effect, get the ebook as well, so you'll have access to his hand drawn maps and illustrations.

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A collection of NYT failings, imperfectly read.

Revisado: 09-20-23

By now you've probably read the many reviews that praise the book highly but blast the narrator strongly. I'd like to suggest that both these views are unfair.

Yes, the narration is imperfect but overall is fine (a lovely voice let down by a few mispronunciations, some minor retakes left in the edit, and the occasional strange reading of sentences).

However the book itself is not without issues (some chapters read like stand alone articles, summarising in detail other chapters we've just read, and the author is sometimes overly harsh in assessing the NYT's motives).

But it's definitely worth reading/listening to. If you're after a well written survey of the NYT's most high profile failings over the 20th and 21st Centuries, this is the book you're looking for.

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An entertaining review of Hitler conspiracies.

Revisado: 08-25-23

A perfectly read version of Richard J Evans' "The Hitler Conspiracies". If you're looking for a single volume that neatly outlines the cases for the most common Hitler conspiracies, then dismantles those cases quickly and effectively, this is the book you're looking for.

This is a book that will, obviously, be a good read/listen for anyone who has an interest in the Third Reich and/or Hitler, but it will also be valuable to anyone with a wider interest in conspiracy theories, critical thinking, and cognitive biases.

The patterns found in Hitler conspiracies are distressingly common in other conspiracies as well. Evans does a great job in both summarising the specific errors of each Hitler conspiracy, but he also draws out more general insights into the conspiratorial mindsets.

My one niggling minor negative comment is that even though Evans rightly critiques those that attack a claim by attacking the claimant via "guilt by association", he nevertheless comes pretty close to doing the same thing himself at times, often conflating conspiracies about Hitler with admiration for Hitler. He does make a distinction on this topic, once or twice, but I think he could have made it much clearer. Yes, a lot of Hitler conspiracies are clearly pro-Hitler, or at least they have lazy romantic notions about the Nazi leader, but I think there are plenty of Hitler conspiracies out there that are not in any way based on admiration for the man. They're still nonsense, but they aren't pro-Hitler nonsense.

But that's a very minor complaint about an excellent book. Give it a read/listen, it's entertaining and would be a great starting point if you have someone in your life that is considering or flirting with believing in any of these debunked Hitler conspiracies.

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The classic TV series expanded and read well.

Revisado: 03-21-22

An enjoyable novelisation of the classic TV series. The novel provides extra insight to the characters while remaining consistent with the original show.

Gareth Thomas's reading is excellent, which shouldn't be surprising as he played the lead character in the original TV series (thirty eight years before recording the book!). Although recorded only two or three years before his death, he gives a performance that is full of life and variety.

Thomas's reading of the character Hendrick is particularly good, as he gives us a very good imitation of the actor Iain Cuthbertson, who played the role in the TV series. I'm guessing, since they had worked together more than once over the years, that Thomas had learned the cadences of Cuthbertson's voice, and he used that knowledge to great effect in this audio book.

The novel itself is fine, written with a good pace and suitable for all ages. It's somehow less spooky than the TV series, though that might be because it lacks the series' unique choral music. The novel also contains some of the same plot problems as the original series (for example, the idea of the time loop comes out of nowhere and is never adequately explained), but it's still an engaging and entertaining read.

Overall, if you're a fan of the series you'll be a fan of the book, especially the audio book. If you've never seen the show, the novel stands on its own, but I would still recommend tracking down and watching the series first of you can (it's on YouTube, but be sure to watch the individual episodes, not the cobbled together version).

I'm fact I enjoyed this novel so much in going to read the sequel, despite its mixed reviews.

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A well paced overview of conspiracy theories

Revisado: 04-14-21

More a series of lectures than an audio book, Shermer gives a well paced, well read overview of conspiracy theories and theorists, from the old school ones to the next generation. A great place to start exploring the topic, or a great refresher.

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Interesting premise, well performed.

Revisado: 11-01-20

The premise was as interesting as the first book in the series, just further extended this time, and Quinto's performance was also very good. If you enjoyed the first one, you'll enjoy this one.

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A brief entertaining overview

Revisado: 04-14-20

Written and performed engagingly by Michael Pollan, I learned many new things about coffee and caffeine from this fairly short Audible Original. The book is structured around Pollan"s attempt to wean himself off coffee for most of the period he was writing it, and perhaps not everyone will approve of the way this inserts the author into the story. Personally I thought this approach worked, as it allowed the book to tie personal anecdote to broader research.

In a way, the short, concise, information-packed chapters are perfect to listen to over a coffee!

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A fun reading of classic Wodehouse.

Revisado: 04-02-20

A perfectly theatrical reading of Wodehouse, complete with clear characterisations and accents. The whole thing is great fun. A few minor audio editing mistakes, and randomly placed chapter breaks, do not detract from the overall experience.

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The harrowing but balanced story of Dresden

Revisado: 02-21-20

The author balances detail with broad overview, and tells the story of the bombing of Dresden through the eyes and experiences of many of its citizens. The audio book is read clearly and well.

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Interesting story performed well

Revisado: 05-01-19

The story has an interesting premise - What if, one day, people who die start coming back to life, appearing instantly back in their home and restored to the condition they were in a few hours before their death? What if this happens to everyone, but only if they are murdered? Natural deaths, accidents, and suicides don't work, only murder victims. How would society change? What new profession would emerge?

I won't spoil the rest for you, but if you can accept the basic premise, you'll probably enjoy this story a lot, as it takes a mostly realistic approach to what such a strange change would mean. You'll definitely enjoy Zachary Quinto's performance, his ability to distinguish between characters using his voice makes this an easy listen. Three enjoyable hours of speculative fiction - go download it!

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