Jeff

Out of all of the non-fiction books I've listened to, this ranks as the best one yet. This is the second book by Dawkins that I've listened to. I am fascinated by evolutionary biology so I have a natural bias to this book and probably any book on the subject. While some parts of this book are dry, they are necessary for giving a complete picture to what is being discussed.

I enjoyed the discussion on the cumulative selection early in the book. It is a very important concept that helps explain Darwinian evolution.

Dawkins is often viewed as an atheist paragon seeking to always tear down religion but this book does not do that. His focus is on evolution and why it properly describes how we as humans came to be rather than just attacking opposing views.

I really enjoyed learning a little more about who Pendergast is and where he came from. His origins are still mysterious and I'm guessing more will be revealed over time. I found there was a nice balance of a focus on the individual story as well as some development of Pendergast as a character.

My favorite was O'Shannessy. Although he was somehow the only NYPD officer who had some common sense, I enjoyed his quick retorts and sense of humor. He was probably the only NYPD character that you could really like so perhaps I was cornered into it but gladly so.

I'm not sure what it was, but I wasn't a huge fan. He was not bad by any means, but he wasn't amazing. Books like these need a strong narrator, which the first two in the series had. This performance on it's own is good but compared to the first two it feel short.

A few others mentioned it but thought I would too. The editing in this book is poor. There were at least 5 occasions were a line was repeated. It often came at times where there was a long character narrative which really threw me off. I can forgive one or two, but it is a little frustrating to have half a dozen in there.

Honestly this was the best fiction audiobook I have listened to. The story was incredible and the narration was perfect.

There are plenty of twists, turns, and "I can't believe that just happened" moments in this book. Masterfully written, this book is the beefy one of the series. I've listened to it twice now and enjoyed both thoroughly. The second time around you catch many of the nuances and minute details that truly make this book so incredible.

No one can narrate this series like Roy Dotrice. It is easy to lose yourself in the book as no characters feel forced and the voices for each are so unique that you know which character is speaking without the book having to reference it. At times it is hard to believe it is a single man doing the narration.

For those that have listened to or read the books, there are a few key events that I had to actually stop listening and take a few breaths! Intense and anxious moments abound here.

I did not really like the way the book was broken up. Chapters ending halfway through the audio "chapter" is a very annoying way to do it. I liked to listen to a chapter or two at night and the way the chapters were broken up made the End of Chapter sleep timer completely useless.

This is an incredibly biased review and rating. I enjoy all of the books Dawkins have written and am fascinated by evolutionary biology. This book was a no-brainer for me. If you like Dawkins and Darwin, it will be a no-brainer for you too!

Science of Dogs

I liked taking this book on in small chunks. The chapters were long, around an hour each, so I tended to listen to one chapter at a time and then sit back and think about each one.

This is a good book for dog owners and dog lovers. It starts with a nice summary of the evolution of the dog and some of the science behind it. The book then shifts toward dog behavior and some of the very common misconceptions humans have about dogs. I can imagine some dog owners and self-proclaimed experts will disagree with much of what is brought up although I found this very refreshing. It is important to question dearly held beliefs and be open to a new way of thinking. This book made me think more about my own dog and how I handle the way he behaves and I feel I understand the way a dog thinks and behaves better.

I would obviously have to compare it to Relic, the first book in this series. While Reliquary was good, I don't think it could really stand on it's own as it relied pretty heavily on the first book in terms of character development and the general story. That being said, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who also enjoyed Relic. It was a nice follow on with the same characters you grew to love (and maybe hate!).

Good narration in a mystery book can add greatly to the experience and Dick Hill did well. He brought to life the fear and anxiety of the characters. At times he sounded overly whiny with the female characters but in general he did a nice job of bringing the characters to life.

The Big Apple has an evil underground core.

I bought this book because of a $4.95 sale and could not have been happier with the result. I've listened to a couple other Preston and Child books and enjoyed them so I figured their series was worth a try. It was exciting, funny, suspenseful, dramatic, and kept me coming back for more! I liked the quick pace of the story and never found myself trying to force my way through a slow or boring part. But what I loved best here was the narration! David Colacci created a believable world and characters that truly brought this story to life.

Seeing as this was the first book in the Pendergast series, I was expecting Pendergast to take the front seat. However I was surprised at how balanced the attention to characters was. The different perspectives of all of the characters gave some nice depth and helped build the suspense.

His narration gave life to the characters. It was easy to forget that it was a single man narrating this story, not a team of narrators.

In a word, yes!

Only paid $4.95, but well worth a credit!

Born in Africa provides an overview of our human ancestors along with those responsible for the discoveries. I thought it was a nice balance between evolutionary science and simply telling the story of the individuals and what they faced. Martin Meredith did not shy away from pointing out the competing groups, as well as some of the politics and even supposed back-stabbing that happened between prominent paleoanthropologists. If you are looking for something that gets in to the down and dirty of human ancestry, look elsewhere. However I think this is must read for any anthropology student or anyone looking for a foundation in the history of human ancestry.

Some of the readings in this book came right from George's stand-up but that is perfectly fine with me! Full of short stories, thoughtful sentences, and vulgar comments, this audiobook is definitely for the George Carlin Fan.

As I expected, I enjoyed some stories and did not care much for others. This is an anthology of work by George R.R. Martin covering a good portion of his career. I really enjoyed that each "section" of the book began with the author providing some background on the works about to be read, telling the personal side of the stories. I thought these were at times more entertaining than the stories themselves.

While some were not thrilling or unpredictable, it does not detract from the quality of writing I find with much of Martin's works. Dreamsongs does not disappoint, especially for fans of George R.R. Martin's style of writing.

Being fascinated by evolution and actively studying it, Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection is simply a must-listen. Remind yourself of the time at which Darwin published this book and it becomes even more astounding. I would not recommend this book for anyone who is curious about evolution and natural selection as this can get very dry, very quickly. I would try an abridged version if you don't want to hear every little detail about the book.

The narrator left a lot to be desired and seemed to have to force his way through the book and did not at least sound like there was an interest on his part in the subject matter.