FanB14

No, my friends don't read YA. However, I would recommend it to an Audible fan of John Green. I enjoyed the explanation for paper towns and the road trip.

I enjoyed the main character the best. I identified with his longing and unrequited love (or obsession).

I thought his best was a little over-the-top obnoxious and I didn't care for Margot Roth Spiegelman. I found her selfish.

Faulkner is a bit intimidating and difficult to process. I read several of his books in school, but somehow missed this novel. "Light in August" is undoubtedly the easiest to enjoy.

In the fictional town of Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, the time period is just after the Civil War during a time of extreme racism while rebuilding. This theme is carried out by the main character, Joe Christmas, an angry man of mixed ethnic origin who doesn't know who his parents are and who rebels against prejudice, embarking on a murderous rampage as a cry for help. He's trying to find his way in the face of cruelty; committing unthinkable atrocities. The themes of violence, perseverance, and hope walk you through the story without judgment by Faulkner. You draw your own conclusions and are free to interpret as you wish. He is truly the voice of Southern literature.

Fitzgerald's classic written in simple prose tells the story of the upper crust's frivolity from the point of view of an outsider looking in. You relive the pretense, wastefulness, desire to fit in and aching loneliness lurking within all.

Gyllenhaal embodies Nick so well, you see him as the mild wallflower character instead of the handsome, charming actor. Well read.

For $5 and 2.5 hours of time (on 2X speed) this is a great way to revisit a classic or prep for the movie.

When I discovered David Sedaris I was elated, devouring everything he'd written, preferably in audio format so I could enjoy his delivery. He is a witty genius exploring life experiences for humorous, thought provoking, and snarky effect.

This book however produced fewer laugh-out-loud moments instead turning out the occasional chuckle and a few smiles. Listening is like visiting an old friend who doesn't have much new to share; maybe the well is dry for now. A full length book should have been replaced with an article or two in the New Yorker.

The transition music was long and eerie, not in keeping with the tone for the content. Also, his delivery wasn't as fervent and immediate as in earlier performances.

Still love David, and am not frustrated I used my credit. My advice to those who enter is this...don't expect the same initial high from his earlier work and enjoy the nostalgia. His body of work is phenomenal and am hopeful for future writings.

Tully and Katie are best friends from teen years through adulthood. This is an easy listen, you can multi-talk without missing much. The story and characters are predictable and tedious.

Only listened to this because a great friend asked me to read the book and discuss. I detest this type of writing and could barely make it through. It was easier to listen than muddle through the actual book.

Hesitate to write this because lovers of this genre will click the "no" button numerous times, but just felt the need to share my opinion. My expectations were low and this was worse than I imagined.

During WWII, Liesel is sent to live with a verbally abusive foster mother; loving, accordion playing foster dad; and a Jewish fist-fighter hiding in the basement. At the start of her journey, the actual character, Death, comes for her brother and is astounded by and follows her. Liesel's thievery begins when she swipes "The Grave Digger's Handbook" and continues stealing into a neighbor's extensive library to wile away the endless hours.

Beautifully written tale of a little girl's search for friendship, love, belonging, and the hunt for great literature.

The narrator is distracting and sounds like Vincent Price; sample before purchasing. Also, as this is my second time reading/listening to the book, prepare yourself for about 100 pages of repetition. In the print form, you can skim, but not as easy with an audio book. Also, don't like how author begins a chapter by telling you what is going to happen; ruins the element of surprise. Overall, a solid read and good choice for tweens, teens, and adults.

Pat has returned home after spending time in a "bad place" with no recollection of the last 4 years. His mother, brother, best friend, and new therapist provide support and are all avid Eagles fans. Pat works out incessantly, reads good works of literature, and tries to be nicer in hopes of finding his way back to his estranged wife Nikki. Photos of the two are gone from the family home and Pat doesn't understand why no one will tell him what happened. He believes if he transforms, she will take him back.

Enter the clinically depressed sister-in-law of his best friend as a blind date and the story takes shape. She is real and visceral and they see each other through the myriad medications and mental road blocks.

Pat speaks to the reader in a straightforward dialogue, often addressing you personally. He refuses to give up or give in to pessimism, believing every cloud has a silver lining. This is a bittersweet love story and with equal parts humor and sorrow. Finishing the book left me with the idea, the only way to move on is to simply let go.

Entertainment Weekly recommends this book highly, and I recommend as a good read; not outstanding.

Suspended and deceased good girl, Amelia narrates the preceeding events to her alleged suicide. Loving, work-a-holic mom pieces together clues from texts, visits to friends' houses, and examines her own past to determine if her daughter really jumped. Gossip Girl themes run rampant, with secret clubs and hazing, but McCreight is a better writer than Cecily Von Ziegesar.

Interesting listen and worth my credit, but a little hokey at times.

I am probably one of the last people to read and review this book because I tend to shy away from most Oprah selections. Yes, Oprah has inspired thousands to pick up a book who otherwise might not have and catapulted authors into super stardom and for that I applaud her and am thankful. I just tend to stray from over-hyped books at first. There, I said it; please don't hate me.

This selection was wonderful and here is why I enjoyed it. At 26, Cheryl was divorced from a man she loved; lost her supportive mother to cancer; abusive father left around age 6; disconnected from siblings; and was pulling out of a previous spiral into the world of heroin. Finding herself in a dark place, she turned to the guide for hiking the Pacific Coast Trail as many people turn to the Bible or any other source of enlightenment to find themselves.

Strayed shares abundant, almost copious details from her 2 months journey, laying out all the ugly and pretty inbetween with a raw, soul-searching style. You embark on the ill-planned journey of her life in addition to the hiking trip and travel not only through the rough terrain and mishaps, but deep into her soul searching. I don't find her self-involved or Godless, merely honest and I enjoyed each and every step.

Some reviewers disliked the narrator and I admit I wasn't crazy about her voice at first. If Cheryl was 26, I was thrown how the narrator's gravely older voice didn't match. However after the first 30 minutes, was hooked. Grew to think of her as the present day Cheryl recounting the past.

If you read and enjoy this title, download or pick up a copy of Mary Karr's, "Lit."

Lina is a 15 year old Lithunian girl who is transported with her family and other intellectuals like cattle on a train to Siberia. The beginning starts like many of the heart-wrenching novels about the atrocities of Hitler during WWII, however, veers on a diferent course of the untold horrors of what happened when Stalin's Russia marched in. Lina and family fight to stay alive in the biting cold, working on a beet farm berated by soldiers and treated like trash.

Despite the unbearable conditions, Lina finds strength and draws and documents the events and details of their condition in secret; manages to make a friend in Andress; and fights each day to save her family and persevere. This is a tale of the determination of the human spirit as told through the eyes of a young girl.

Ruta Sepetys delved into her own Lithuanian roots and discovered much of what she uses in this work of historical fiction. Truly breathtaking and frighteningly real, this novel transcends the bounds of your typical YA novel. Just when you thought you knew everything about 1941, a story like this sweeps in to shed light on another untold tale. Be sure to keep listening to the prologue and interview with the author; simply amazing.

Beautifully written classic tale of Charlie Gordon, a man with mental retardation who undergoes an experimental surgical procedure to cure his “condition.” Charlie is mentally and physically abused by his mother and teased for the entirety of his 32 years. He enters into therapy, and an accelerated learning program, attending classes and racing mazes with the first subject, Algernon the mouse. Keeping a diary, Charlie tracks his current progress and remembers the painful details of his previous memories with new clarity.

The story questions the attitudes and sickening treatment of people with special needs and the isolation felt from being on the outside looking in. I’m reminded of George Bernard Shaw’s, “Pygmalion.” Eliza Doolittle, like Charlie, becomes a subject in a test to prove those believed inferior can transform to the norms of society. The question ignored is when emotional immaturity doesn’t catch up quickly enough with newfound intelligence and the pitfalls therein. The human being is ignored for the advancement of science. Charlie also struggles to find meaning and purpose. All of these themes are explored in depth by Keyes and the narrator is phenomenal; moving back and forth with spot on cadence and dialect, perfectly emoting the evolution and regression of Charlie.

Outstanding novel.