You no longer follow Claudia

You will no longer see updates from this user when they write new reviews, or suggestions based on their library or recommendations.

You can re-follow a user if you change your mind.

OK

You now follow Claudia

You will receive updates from this user when they write new reviews, or suggestions based on their library or recommendations.

You can unfollow a user if you change your mind.

OK

Claudia

cloudbusiness

Aspen, CO, United States | Member Since 2005

23
HELPFUL VOTES
  • 14 reviews
  • 29 ratings
  • 0 titles in library
  • 55 purchased in 2013
FOLLOWING
2
FOLLOWERS
1

  • Bared to You: A Crossfire Novel, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 32 mins)
    • By Sylvia Day
    • Narrated By Jill Redfield
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (2478)
    Performance
    (2220)
    Story
    (2212)

    "Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness… He was beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I’d never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily…Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other’s most private wounds…and desires."

    CAROLYN says: "TOUCHING & EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER OF PASSION"
    "Egads!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

    No. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone except maybe an unsophisticated 21 year old girl.


    Has Bared to You turned you off from other books in this genre?

    Yes. Silly book. Could have been spicy and empowering but it isn't - it is just plain sophomoric.


    What do you think the narrator could have done better?

    Too chirpy.


    What would have made this romance irresistible?

    Better writing.


    Any additional comments?

    What a fun idea with flacid execution.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

    • UNABRIDGED (6 hrs and 27 mins)
    • By Sheryl Sandberg
    • Narrated By Elisa Donovan
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (418)
    Performance
    (368)
    Story
    (361)

    Sheryl Sandberg - Facebook COO, ranked eighth on Fortune's list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business - has become one of America's most galvanizing leaders, and an icon for millions of women juggling work and family. In Lean In, she urges women to take risks and seek new challenges, to find work that they love, and to remain passionately engaged with it at the highest levels throughout their lives.

    Cynthia says: "Lean In, Lead On"
    "Make your life count - no matter what you do"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

    I write this review as a way to invite EVERYONE to read this book.


    Who was your favorite character and why?

    The only character is my favorite - the woman who cares to make her life engaging and important to herself and those around her.

    This is a book written as a manifesto and manual for changing the way women behave and are regarded. How you regard yourself and how our culture regards you.


    What aspect of Elisa Donovan’s performance would you have changed?

    I became accustomed to the narrator but would have preferred a more mature and mellifluous voice. I think the more mature voice might have also had more credibility.

    For me, there is a nasal edge that grates ever so slightly the entire book.

    All I could think was "Ms. Sandberg must have been mentoring or sponsoring this person".


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

    No. In fact, this book is to be really listened to - the more attention paid, the better the results.

    Also, there is a companion website that is spectacularly effective and interesting for building skills.

    I might actually purchase the book as well as having listened to it. There are sections I will want to read again and again.


    10 of 10 people found this review helpful
  • The Book of Night Women

    • UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 47 mins)
    • By Marlon James
    • Narrated By Robin Miles
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (357)
    Performance
    (130)
    Story
    (131)

    The story of Lilith, born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the 18th century. Even at her birth, the slave women around her recognize a dark power that they - and she - will come to both revere and fear. The Night Women, as they call themselves, have long been plotting a slave revolt, and as Lilith comes of age and reveals the extent of her power, they see her as the key to their plans.

    Emily says: "read now to understand the past"
    "Spectacular narration makes a book compelling"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Where does The Book of Night Women rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

    In the top ten


    What other book might you compare The Book of Night Women to and why?

    Reminds me vaguely of caribbean version of Jane Austen's books and completely different. A compelling historical novel - one of the best. Written by a man?? If so, remarkable sensitive storytelling.


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

    Robin Miles MAKES the book. I don't think it would be the same book if I had read it instead of listening. Her accents are spot on, brilliant. Pauses and inflections, subtle timing shows a master at work.


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

    Yes. I was not able to. However, it allowed me to accomlish a lot of organizing in my life as I would listen and work!


    Any additional comments?

    This book underlines the importance of a talented narrator. It should be nominated for some prize at Audible.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 44 mins)
    • By Stephen Greenblatt
    • Narrated By Edoardo Ballerini
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (498)
    Performance
    (418)
    Story
    (415)

    Nearly six hundred years ago, a short, genial, cannily alert man in his late 30s took a very old manuscript off a library shelf, saw with excitement what he had discovered, and ordered that it be copied. That book was the last surviving manuscript of an ancient Roman philosophical epic by Lucretius—a beautiful poem containing the most dangerous ideas: that the universe functioned without the aid of gods, that religious fear was damaging to human life, and that matter was made up of very small particles.

    Ethan M. says: "Very compelling history, a less compelling thesis"
    "compulsively "readable""
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    What made the experience of listening to The Swerve the most enjoyable?

    hard to stop listening to this one.


    What other book might you compare The Swerve to and why?

    actually, faintly reminiscent of "The Hare with the Amber Eyes" as it was a wonderful narration by same talented individual and a story of broad implications made personal by telling an individual's story.

    I was happy to have it on Audible as I might have been frozen in time reading a book I found hard to "put down".


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

    This narrator is magically adept at bringing the author's personal touches to life in this book as well as in "The Hare with the Amber Eyes" . Both of these books as well as Hillary Mantel's transcendental novels literally left a void in my life at the end of each book.

    Brilliant, talented writers and narrators bringing these works of art to life.


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

    The road to modernity


    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • The Chaperone

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 18 mins)
    • By Laura Moriarty
    • Narrated By Elizabeth McGovern
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1543)
    Performance
    (1342)
    Story
    (1333)

    >The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922, and the summer that would change them both. Only a few years before becoming a famous actress and an icon for her generation, a 15-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita to make it big in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle is a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip.

    Amanda says: "Perfection."
    "Nice yarn, excellent narration or rather acting."
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    What made the experience of listening to The Chaperone the most enjoyable?

    The narrator. Pitch perfect.


    What other book might you compare The Chaperone to and why?

    This summer - "Beautiful Ruins" as it is a memoir involving real people from a specific time and place as well.


    What about Elizabeth McGovern’s performance did you like?

    Everything. She was perfectly suited to the part. She gets the priggishness, the hilarity, the self discovery tucked into her tone of voice and pronunciation (sic?)...she's great.


    If you could rename The Chaperone, what would you call it?

    Summer with Louise


    1 of 2 people found this review helpful
  • Beautiful Ruins

    • UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 53 mins)
    • By Jess Walter
    • Narrated By Edoardo Ballerini
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (3815)
    Performance
    (3283)
    Story
    (3263)

    The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying. And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot - searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier.

    Cindy says: "Best Mistake I Ever Made On Audible..."
    "Sweet not exceptional summer read"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    If you could sum up Beautiful Ruins in three words, what would they be?

    Sweet summer read


    How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

    More complex and layered ending..ends were tied up a bit too conveniently.


    Have you listened to any of Edoardo Ballerini’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

    The reason I picked this book is the narrator. I am listening to another OK read "Speaks the Nightbird" because of his narration. Absolutely makes a book come to life.


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

    Italian summer memories..


    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
  • Wolf Hall

    • UNABRIDGED (24 hrs and 19 mins)
    • By Hilary Mantel
    • Narrated By Simon Slater
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1387)
    Performance
    (724)
    Story
    (721)

    Winner of the prestigious Man Booker prize for fiction. In the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII's court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king's favor and ascend to the heights of political powerEngland in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn.

    S. Marie says: "A unique perspective of history"
    "Booker prize indeed!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    What made the experience of listening to Wolf Hall the most enjoyable?

    The clarity of the writing and the complexity of the plot.


    What was one of the most memorable moments of Wolf Hall?

    There are many. From the opening sentence.


    Which character – as performed by Simon Slater – was your favorite?

    Not one character - all the characters. So rarely does each character in a book remain compelling but this book accomplished that for me. Cromwell, Henry and Anne Boleyn but so does the minor character of Henry's daughter, Mary and the Boleyn relatives who step in and out of the spotlight. They all have their time in the sun and there are no wasted words.


    If you could rename Wolf Hall, what would you call it?

    Not important.


    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 42 mins)
    • By Edmund de Waal
    • Narrated By Michael Maloney
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (210)
    Performance
    (170)
    Story
    (163)

    The Ephrussis were a grand banking family, as rich and respected as the Rothschilds, who “burned like a comet” in 19th-century Paris and Vienna society. Yet by the end of World War II, almost the only thing remaining of their vast empire was a collection of 264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox. The renowned ceramicist Edmund de Waal became the fifth generation to inherit this small and exquisite collection of netsuke. Entranced by their beauty and mystery, he determined to trace the story of his family through the story of the collection.

    Susan says: "A vagabond through history, clutching a tiny carvi"
    "Exquisite, Unexpectedly Intimate"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Where does The Hare with Amber Eyes rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

    One of the finest books I have listened to as a devoted audiobook listener. ````


    What did you like best about this story?

    the lure of modern history intertwined with a family's poignant story


    Which scene was your favorite?

    The entire book, from start to finish, commanded my attention. But the clarity given to the disintegration of cultured, empowered Jewish life in Vienna was heartrending. I realize now I did not comprehend the rapid descent into chaos. And this book speaks to the time with utter clarity and calm.


    Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

    This book is the only audio book that has moved me to tears. The author has given me a window into my mother and grandmother's lives who, although not Viennese, survived Cristalnacht to escape Germany into Italy shortly thereafter. And maybe to empathize with my angry, unknowable mother.


    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • The Dervish House

    • UNABRIDGED (21 hrs and 25 mins)
    • By Ian McDonald
    • Narrated By Jonathan Davis
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (99)
    Performance
    (75)
    Story
    (75)

    It begins with an explosion. Another day, another bus bomb. Everyone, it seems, is after a piece of Turkey. But the shockwaves from this random act of 21st century pandemic terrorism will ripple further and resonate louder than just Enginsoy Square. Welcome to the world of The Dervish House; the great, ancient, paradoxical city of Istanbul, divided like a human brain, in the great, ancient, equally paradoxical nation of Turkey. The year is 2027....

    Karen says: "Listen, but then read"
    "Memorable"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Where does The Dervish House rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

    Interesting concept...ranks as a story line that sticks with you.

    A book that sneaks up on you. Easy listening and engaging. But what has stayed with me is the visual quality of the book. It should, most definitely, be made into a motion picture.


    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • The Magician King: A Novel

    • UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 48 mins)
    • By Lev Grossman
    • Narrated By Mark Bramhall
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1162)
    Performance
    (996)
    Story
    (989)

    Quentin and his friends are now the kings and queens of Fillory, but the days and nights of royal luxury are starting to pall. After a morning hunt takes a sinister turn, Quentin and his old friend Julia charter a magical sailing ship and set out on an errand to the wild outer reaches of their kingdom. Their pleasure cruise becomes an adventure when the two are unceremoniously dumped back into the last place Quentin ever wants to see: his parent's house in Chesterton, Massachusetts.

    Douglas says: "King Grossman the Magician"
    "A great series"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story
    Would you consider the audio edition of The Magician King to be better than the print version?

    Because of the narrator, Mark Bramhall, I have recommended listening to the book and NOT reading it. Mr. Bramhall gives the book extra dimension and allows the subtlety to shine through.


    What was one of the most memorable moments of The Magician King?

    There are so many memorable moments it will just have to suffice when I say...read the book or rather LISTEN to this book. Can't say I have enjoyed a series like this as much since The Golden Compass.


    1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Report Inappropriate Content

If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

CANCEL

Thank You

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.