Kathy

I loved this book! There is a reason I'm not a terrific ice hockey player (other than I can barely stand up on skates). I was born in the wrong month. Who knew? I was hooked from the first sentence to the last. It is very reassuring to know that people who have changed the world we live in are maybe not that different from any of us, but were instead at the right place at the right time. This book will make us all want to go out and change our educational system, look at what country the pilot of our plane grew up in and marvel that our Scottish ancestors took time out from their violent inclinations to have kids. Malcolm Gladwell has a gift for taking on topics that I have not found that interesting and turning them into mind twisters that delight. If he will now explain our economy we would all be better of for it!

I found listening to this book while Congress debates emigration reform an interesting experience. Roth's concept of segregating population by personality tendencies translates well into our history of religious intolerance, racial prejudice, gay bashing and emigration "self-deportation". The story moves quickly enough to keep one engaged and slowly enough to fuel thinking on all of the above mentioned real-time issues facing us. It is a story that walks the line between the fantasy of the future and our prejudicial history and is incredibly entertaining while doing it. More than once I sat in my garage, unwilling to stop the audio long enough to walk in the house and stick the ipod in the Bose! It also made me wish we had politicians with even a particle of the humanity and bravery of 16 year old Triss.

I have listened to several of books Emma has read, and she is great. I have to say this is my favorite however. Emma is capable of portraying hostility and tenderness or anger and fear all in the same scene, and be believable portraying them all.

Sure...only it is never a possibility, but waiting for the next "listen" is part of the fun.

I imagine this book is written for the same age group as Hunger Games...but I left that age so long ago, I only vaguely remember it (!)...but loved the book and am excited to read the next one. I hope someone is writing the screen play.

I have read reviews of this book voicing disappointment in the ending. I think they miss the point. My husband says three things motivate politicians???fear, greed and fear. This final book supports this theory. There is a lesson to be learned about a society that functions this way. We all pay a price. When one looks at the level of violence of the first two books how did anyone think the pain of it all could be alleviated in the final chapters of the series. Emotional trauma inflicts pain as real as physical injury, unintended consequences can be as destructive planned outcomes, and love doesn???t concur all. The book ends as it should. I don???t think it gives away anything to say that in fiction as in reality, time does heal most things and we all need to learn how to be resilient. It is what will make survivors of us all.

I loved Three Seconds. The book is good from beginning to end and more than once I found myself sitting in a parking lot, unwilling to stop listening. It is a little difficult to deal with the addresses and character names, but if you have made it through the Larsson books you will do so here as well. The story line covers an area I have been curious about. How do those working under cover for law enforcement live???what motivates them, do they have families, what do the families know. This is a book that had me from beginning to end, and left me, long after I finished , wondering what I would be willing to give up to improve the world I live in.

I loved this book. For once it didn't make people who live in rural America appear to be dolts! Walt is smart, compassionate, sexy and tough...and I could also add spiritual. There is plenty of action but it is the humor that I loved. He is surrounded by witty characters who made me LOL as I listened.

The title The Help can be taken a lot of ways and when referencing this book they are all good. I grew up in the safety of the northwest during the 60's so when I remember the civil rights movement it is from newspapers and television. I met my first African American person when I went to college out of state. I intellectually understood the movement and was emotionally impacted by the injustice of segregation. I have thought of myself as a well informed and empathetic white person toward the cause of racial equality. But I knew almost nothing about segregation. The Help provided me a window into the fear the "help" had in letting their employers know their feelings, their potential, and their knowledge. For eighteen hours I got to experience being constantly on guard for how someone might misread a glance or take offence at one's presents in any random public place. I got to listen to Aibileen "help" a little girl gain the foundation to become a self-confident woman in spite of being raised by a mother who didn't have the strength or awareness to do it for her daughter. I listened as Skeeter slowly unlocked the shackles of prejudices of her home and her community. And I most related to Minny. Her rage and her toughness made me love her and ultimately her understanding of human nature made her my hero. The real meaning of the title is how this book "helped" me.

I am as bummed as a person can get! I have finished The Girl Who Played with Fire. It is 18 hours long and I could have listened for another 18 easily. Lizbeth is smart, savvy, tough and cool and I would give my iPhone and all the apps to be like her! She is a computer genius and math wiz and the author, Stieg Larsson, must have been as well, because I envision a wall full of character equations to keep track of everyone and all of the plot twists and turns. If you haven't listened to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I envy you because you have it to look forward to and I have in my past, but listen to it first or you will be lost by all of the characters. In Played with Fire, the author will keep you absolutely tuned in because it feels like if you miss a name, or location, or computer file title you may miss a major story line. I found myself skipping back to catch details because I didn't want to miss anything. I can't wait till the next book comes out but then I will go into mourning because it is the last from this author. It is a loss.

Mariah could give us all hope that we can be stronger than we think, wiser than might have been expected and more generous than is deserved. As the leading character in Keeping Faith, I found her to be interesting and learning more about her and her daughter Faith kept me listening. Religion has always been a bit of a mystery to me and listening to how miracles might be examined from a number of different perspectives was an interesting thought examination. I enjoyed the book very much and will probably listen to the author again.

This was my second Greg Iles "listen" and I loved it. The story is about an artist who is apparently murdering his subjects and not only did I get all wrapped up in the story but my imagination went wild trying to invision the paintings that were the "evidence" in the murder cases. Listening to Mr. Iles's books can cause you problems however...you will end up listening when you should be doing many other things.

I made it half way through this audio book and simply couldn't keep going. The storyline is an interesting one but the author's over indulgence in using as many words possible in every description of every setting, character response and character insight eventually bogged me down to the point that I began to hate my ipod. I'm such a cheapskate...I was determined to finish the book so to not have wasted my money...but finally decided my sanity must be worth more! Call me shallow but I am now ready for some mindless mystery.