You no longer follow Beverly

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.

You now follow Beverly

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.

Beverly

springfield, VA, United States | Member Since 2005

HELPFUL VOTES

9 reviews
90 ratings
0 titles in library
22 purchased in 2013

FOLLOWING

FOLLOWERS

Feed: The Newsflesh Trilogy, Book 1

UNABRIDGED
- by Mira Grant
- Narrated by Paula Christensen , Jesse Bernstein
Feed: The Newsflesh Trilogy, Book 1

UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 10 mins)

By Mira Grant

Narrated By Paula Christensen, Jesse Bernstein

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(592)
Performance
(419)
Story
(413)

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beat the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.
Beverly says: "Surprisingly Good"
"Surprisingly Good"

Overall
Performance
Story

I only listened because of the Hugo nomination. I, for one, resent our new zombie overlords. But this really wasn't a zombie book, more of a "humans can adapt to anything, and still be bastards" kind of book. Fun to read, thought-provoking, and, to my surprise, with an emotional punch that had me mourning at one point in the book, really grieving for a character. Impressive.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful
Leviathan Wakes

UNABRIDGED
- by James S.A. Corey
- Narrated by Jefferson Mays
Leviathan Wakes

UNABRIDGED (19 hrs and 9 mins)

By James S.A. Corey

Narrated By Jefferson Mays

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(850)
Performance
(738)
Story
(735)

James S.A. Corey delivers compelling SF that ranks with the best in the field. In Leviathan Wakes, ice miner Jim Holden is making a haul from the rings of Saturn when he and his crew encounter an abandoned ship, the Scopuli. Uncovering a terrifying secret, Jim bears the weight of impending catastrophe. At the same time, a detective has been hired by well-heeled parents to find a missing girl, and the investigator’s search leads him right to the Scopuli.
Ethan M. says: "Fun hard SF action with a blue collar bent"
"Wide Scope and a Great Listen"

Overall
Performance
Story

If I were reading, I'd call it a page turner. This one has everything for classic space adventure -- an interplanetary war, Belters-Mars-Earth tensions, space battles, gritty space lines, and eventually the unlikely aliens that change everything. Well worth the time, the characters are interesting enough, but this is mainly about the plot, the action, and the mystery of where it is going. The obsessiveness of the detective -- one of the two focus characters -- was a bit hard to swallow at first, but proves meaningful to the plot. Glad it was nominated for the Hugo so I would read it.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
The New York Times Audio Digest

NONE
The New York Times Audio Digest

NONE (51 mins)

Overall
(238)
Performance
(154)
Story
(141)
Townsend says: "Nominee for worst performance by a narrator"
"The perfect commute listen"

Overall
Performance
Story

I love this feature. It is worth the entire $15/month membership just to get the NYT. This is a great selection of the NYT. I find that when people at work and my wife tell me about what they read in the Times, I've always heard it on this. Listening to this on the way in is so much better than talk radio or news radio -- thoughtful stories about things that will be discussed during the day. It is great!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
The Moon Maze Game: A Dream Park Novel

UNABRIDGED
- by Larry Niven , Steven Barnes
- Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki
The Moon Maze Game: A Dream Park Novel

UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 14 mins)

By Larry Niven, Steven Barnes

Narrated By Stefan Rudnicki

Overall
(87)
Performance
(76)
Story
(77)

The Year: 2085. Humanity has spread throughout the solar system. A stable lunar colony is agitating for independence. Lunar tourism is on the rise.... Against this background, professional Close Protection specialist Scotty Griffin, fresh off a disastrous assignment, is offered the opportunity of a lifetime: to shepherd the teenaged heir to the Republic of Kikaya on a fabulous vacation.
Beverly says: "Good read, quick read, glad I did"
"Good read, quick read, glad I did"

Overall
Performance
Story

It's been 20 years since I last read a Dream Park novel, and I was glad to see a new take on the ideas of the original books. And I think it is the best one since the first one. The idea of doing a Game on the Moon makes a lot of sense (loonies would need the recreation). It was more of a techno-thriller than deep SF, but I liked it a lot. I've been needing some easy "SF Adventure" to take my mind off a lot of things, and this was just right.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Reamde

UNABRIDGED
- by Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner
Reamde

UNABRIDGED (38 hrs and 34 mins)

By Neal Stephenson

Narrated By Malcolm Hillgartner

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(2704)
Performance
(2359)
Story
(2389)

Richard Forthrast created T’Rain, a multibillion-dollar, massively multiplayer online role-playing game. But T’Rain’s success has also made it a target. Hackers have struck gold by unleashing REAMDE, a virus that encrypts all of a player’s electronic files and holds them for ransom. They have also unwittingly triggered a deadly war beyond the boundaries of the game’s virtual universe - and Richard is at ground zero.
ShySusan says: "Not perfect, but worth a listen."
"Good, but not typical Stephenson"

Overall
Performance
Story

As a Clancy-style techno-thriller, this is a very good book. As usual, with Stephenson, the characters are unique but believable in the "real people are weird" view of the world. I enjoyed the flow of the book, the writing approach with its "okay, now I'll give you the backstory you need to understand what just happened," and the story itself.

My only real disappointment is that I expected something sci-fi or fantastic to happen, and it never did. In my mind, this is not a typical Stephenson book for that reason. Not that he always writes in genre, but it is what I expected. After ANATHEM, I was prepared for another "this book should win the Hugo" experience. So don't expect that, and you'll probably be pretty pleased.

Treating it as a techno-thriller, I think it is the most fun I've had with a book like that since HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Connie Willis and Carrie Vaughn: A Conversation

ORIGINAL
- by Connie Willis , Carrie Vaughn
Connie Willis and Carrie Vaughn: A Conversation

ORIGINAL (36 mins)

By Connie Willis, Carrie Vaughn

Overall
(295)
Performance
(110)
Story
(108)

Connie Willis, the multiple Hugo Award-winning author of Blackout, and Carrie Vaughn, the author of the Kitty Norville paranormal fantasy series, discuss speculative fiction and the art of writing.
Heather says: "these authors made me want to hear their work"
"Fascinating Discussion & Writing Perspecives"

Overall
Performance
Story

Two very smart, interesting writers discussing how they got that way, what they do now, and what they might did differently. Interesting discussion from start to finish.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful
3: 10 to Yuma

UNABRIDGED
- by Elmore Leonard
- Narrated by Henry Rollins
3: 10 to Yuma

UNABRIDGED (33 mins)

By Elmore Leonard

Narrated By Henry Rollins

Overall
(87)
Performance
(20)
Story
(21)

Best-selling author Elmore Leonard launched his career as a writer of Westerns. This classic story is the basis for the 1957 film starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, and the 2007 film starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.
Robert J. Voelker Morris says: "Enjoyed a lot"
"Understand why it is a classic"

Overall
Performance
Story

This reminded me of how powerful a good short story can be. The story has been made into movies twice, and neither have the power that this did. The story is told with an economy of words, but it had me from the opening.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

UNABRIDGED
- by James W. Loewen
- Narrated by Brian Keeler
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 21 mins)

By James W. Loewen

Narrated By Brian Keeler

Overall
(692)
Performance
(261)
Story
(265)

This national best seller is an entertaining, informative, and sometimes shocking expose of the way history is taught to American students. Lies My Teacher Told Me won the American Book Award and the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship.
Timothy says: "Of course he has an agenda. He wrote a book!"
"Helping me find some idea of truth"

Overall
Performance
Story

It is rare to see a grant study turn into such a readable book. Making clear what the problems are with treatment of native Americans, Reconstruction, the causes of the Civil War in a very readable style, the book kept me focused and interested throughout. Well worth the time. While the book is criticized as either "politically correct" history or as focusing too much on what is left out, I think the author does a good job of arguing that he is talking about the major issues of history as understood at the time, even if it is now hidden (in many cases by outdated perceptions of the early 20th century). I was less interested in his discussion of why textbooks are like this, but inspired by his call for people of all ages to simply do American history locally.

4 of 11 people found this review helpful
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

ABRIDGED
- by Barack Obama
- Narrated by Barack Obama
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

ABRIDGED (6 hrs and 10 mins)

By Barack Obama

Narrated By Barack Obama

Overall
(2265)
Performance
(341)
Story
(339)

In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. Now, in The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics: a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the "endless clash of armies" we see in Congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of "our improbable experiment in democracy".
Ronald says: "Barack Obama is an inspirng speaker"
"Much Better than Expected"

Overall
Performance
Story

I really expected more of a political polemic, but I found this very thoughtful. Not a campaign book, but more of a book to rally the liberal cause. the policy sections are different from the normal bipolar positions, the discussion of the way politics works is very thoughtful (as though Obama were an observer, not a participant), and the biographical sketches are interesting. I listened to this twice.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful