Kathryn

A little disappointed..I didn't find too much to smile at with this book. Chock full of brandname-dropping (product placement $$$ were palpable), the story was a tad silly, I thought, especially the attempt to evoke some sympathy for a multi-gazillionaire 20-something who needed a village of volunteers to raise a baby. I've liked Weiner's other books, but this one seemed to be all about the money--both the storyline and the pandering to the consumer choices of the rich and famous.

Fine plot but I was ready to wring Jake's neck by the end. How many times can one man's heart explode/stop/crumble/shatter/etc., for Pete's sake!! This is the first book I have ever listened to on "2x" because I was interested enough in the plot to want to get to the end...as soon as possible!

On the whole, I prefer the Myron Bolitar series to anything else Mr. Coben has written.

Bertie is back in great form, and romance is blooming among the elderly. Just when you think 44 Scotland Streeet couldn't get any better, any funnier or any sweeter, it has. You'll be cheering for Bertie's dad, feeling anxious about Matthew's impending parenthood and getting weepy when Angus finally makes his move. Enjoy!

Très bien! Louise Penny is back in top form with a wonderful story, beautifully told in the confines of a single location. As usual, there is much to think about as the beautiful mystery unfolds. The narration is terrific; Ralph Cosham is irreplaceable. And as the last chapters played out, I was mesmerized...with whispers of "mon dieu" and "mais non!" escaping my lips. Enjoy!

Another wonderful installment in this series, full of whimsical--but somehow totally believable--stories winding their way out of Corduroy Mansions and back in again. Delightful, funny, and a fabulous example of prose beautifully read that is much more than it seems.

I loved this book, despite my general avoidance of stories featuring this much violence. But the viiolence is so embedded in the context of the times that it seems, if not okay, at least understandable. This is a perfect Coen brothers story--I would love to see it filmed. The dialogue is pitch perfect and the narration is sensational. I truly could not stop listening--got lots of extra exercise in just to have an excuse to keep listening. Enjoy!

I couldn't stop listening...but I really didn't buy the villains' level of hatred/revenge. I know they were psychopaths but even psychopaths need to have twisted logic that hangs together.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

I loved Border Songs. It is unusual, and it is delightfully so. The "hero" is truly heroic. If you are a birdwatcher, you will chirp with delight. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Jim Lynch has a special voice as a writer, and the narrator captured it very well. Please do give this book a listen. I'm looking forward to Lynch's third novel, due out soon.

In general, authors should resist reading their own work. A top-notch narrator would have enhanced the novel, especially since the story jumped around a lot between past and present, and a professional could have helped the listener make those leaps with him.

One reviewer compared this novel to leafing through a scrapbook. I think that's apt; it's an experience where each new remembered picture or bit of memorabilia prompted an anecdote, a memory, a small revelation about being 11 once and being 11 no longer.

As always with the poet Ondaatje, the language is beautiful, the descriptions breathtaking, the rhythm of each sentence perfectly set against the plot. I would certainly recommend it.

Gorgeous language, an inventive plot, and a believable mystery. Better writing than In the Woods and a much better character study of the five friends than the trite dysfunctional family of Faithful Place. The other books are very good--this one is sensational!

I love this series and adore the narrator. All of the Inspector Gamache novels have a touch of the fabulous (in all three senses of the word: extraordinary, amazingly good, and mythical) but this particular novel strained credulity in a different--and not so wonderful--way.

It was Gamache's nearly total ignorance of the way Alcoholics Anonymous works that bothered me the most. I find it hard to believe that a career policeman would not have had multiple contacts with AA. I rather felt like the author had just discovered AA and wanted to make sure we readers learned all about it. It made me impatient.

I believe I would have preferred an approach such as this: "Gamache was well aware of the challenges facing AA members, having tried and failed many years ago to persuade a friend and colleague to attend one of the many meetings held weekly in Quebec. His failure pained him deeply, as his friend's impaired judgment had fatal consequences one frigid night after the two policemen had left a local bistro where much too much whiskey had been consumed."

Then we could have got on with the story, knowing that Gamache and the readers were on the same page. Occasional references to AA policies and procedures could then be sprinkled in without the pedantic and somewhat tedious recitations that slowed the story considerably.

But! I love this series and adore the narrator! I can hardly wait for the next book!