Linda

He killed the book right in front of my ears. I couldn't even get through the first paragraph. Normally, I give a book or movie 20 minutes, but the fake Southern accent was so far off the mark that I knew the publisher didn't care too much about this one. I only gave it average marks on the "Overall" and "Story" in order to warn others who are particular about their dialects. Perhaps some day when I'm taking more prozac or drinking more, I can revisit it and put aside my disdain for the reader's lack of prep on that one voicing.

I enjoy Sedaris' descriptive phrases, his offbeat sense of humor, and his unexpected candor about his own shortcomings as a human.

The only way and the best way this collection of essays could have been more enjoyable would be to excise the obsessive sexual references. They're not funny, clever, or quirky. They're just token and out of place, as if put there to show he's still virile - as if any of us need to be reminded that all men, whether they are straight, gay, bi, young or old, are usually thinking about sex - or perhaps to sell the book to the masses who care nothing for his prose or his velvety-smooth delivery in this audio book.

I did not spew coffee on my Mac this time, even when he spoke of Amy's gift of the crocheted owl mask. But it is comparable in pithiness and humor to Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Children etc.

Some Owls and Turtles, But Mostly Sex

Had to stop listening at the sixth story because the multiple sexual references became so tiresome his prose wasn't worth the slog through the sex.

I enjoyed seeing the change in Mrs. Budley from dependent and shy to strong and assertive.

I had not really thought much about the character of Mrs. Budley in Books 1 and 2. As usual, though, I liked the male aristocrastic leads best, even though they're basically the same character.

She does a great job distinguishing the various characters with subtle differences in dialect and tone.

I was able to do it in two "sittings" while driving.

I would if they cared more for plot than character

Something set in the 19th century

Hard-edged but loose

Yes; I believe I will stick with lighter fare like Janet Evanovich and Lisa Lutz

I had to quit listening because I couldn't believe she had sex with someone she thought might be dangerous. Idiot.

I have gone back and forth between the audio and Kindle versions of this book. They are both excellent in their own way. However, I already thought Wil Wheaton was just as cute as a button, and his performance was absolutely stellar.

Usually I am attracted to the characters in novels more than the plots. However, this plot intrigued me and sucked me in from the beginning. I wasn't as fascinated with the character at first since I have almost nothing in common with him. However, Cline made him so authentic that I couldn't help liking him. Both of my sons are geeks, so I guess I sort of saw him as a child figure. But it was the story and the action that usually kept me going.

As I said before, Wade Watts reminds me of my boys, so he was my favorite.

I laughed out loud a lot and got weird looks from people in my neighborhood while I was listening and walking my dog at the same time.

You do not have to be a geek to enjoy this book. The good guys win. I HATE stories that end badly, especially sci-fi.


Plus, the guy gets the girl and vice-versa. I'm a hopeless romantic.

Even I could follow every move on every video game. Maybe hard-core video game players might find it pedantic, but the story should keep them entertained even if the video game sequences and/or 80s trivia references bore them.

There's a lot of language from which I would probably shield elementary kids and most middle schoolers, but most high schoolers will have matured to the point at which a few blue words are not going to ruin their character.

PG13.

First of all, Colin Firth. His name should be a verb. I listened to the sample and immediately purchased the book despite the fact that I had no credits left. My fangirl status completely overwhelms any academic critique I might begin on his performance, so I must move on to Mr. Greene.

I am unfamiliar with any of Greene's other work, but when the book came out to great praise, I remember thinking,Well, there's one I'll never read. First of all, I had young children at the time. Any smidgen of time I could carve out for anything beyond Caldecott and Newbery award winners was spent on sleep. How a) depressing and b) overdone is a novel about some wronged lover's introspective interactions with his ex-girlfriend and her husband. Yawn to the tenth power. I still have very little time to read, so I choose carefully. I am grateful to Audible for this delivery system which gives me fewer excuses to eschew good literature.

I am so sorry I did not have the time for this novel sooner in my life. The rainy night, the beginning in the middle, the conscious effort of the protagonist to explain himself to himself and, even in the midst of planning something that would hurt all of them, to step back and judge himself as he thought God might judge him - this reminded me so much of the beginning of Crime and Punishment. I am intrigued. It's not what one would call a gripping plot, since that's not the point. I will have to be in a good mood when I listen since it's pretty dark. Mr. Firth will help me overcome any other excuses.

I have not even listened to a complete hour of this book, but I needed to get that down immediately, in case I forget.

Monty Python of the New Millenium? Not really. Instead of doing sketches, these guys ramble and discuss random facts and events in an effort to draw out the complete moronic genius of Karl Pilkington. I love Monty, but I also love Gervais, Pilkington, and Merchant. I gave it 3 stars for story since there's not really a story. But that is of no consequence.

Lutz never disappoints and she's done it again. Get ready for a Rae that can drive, a David that doesn't patronize or judge, and parents who still have a few secrets. Lutz is often described as a West-coast Janet Evanovich, but these characters are fleshier and more unpredictable.

I am so partial to the original narrator of the Mrs. Pollifax series that it takes me a couple of chapters to settle in. I had to listen to the first two chapters twice because I was so distracted by the narrator. Also, my Nano seems to be on amphetamines, so this adds to the problem.

As always, though, I thoroughly enjoy Mrs. Pollifax and Farrell together again, but I STILL haven't found the book in which she and Cyrus meet in Zambia. Still looking...

I think perhaps there is a chapter or two missing in Part 1. There are 10 years between the chapters, which was foreshadowed at the end of Chapter 6. However, the listener is plopped down into Maisie's new life with no introduction. Had this been a feature of the previous chapters, it might be plausible, but up until Chapter 7, we've been introduced to everyone and everything quite regularly. Perhaps the disorientation is a literary device meant to show how everyone felt after The Great War - they just wanted it over with ASAP - and that's why WWII happened because they didn't clean up their mess with the Treaty of Versailles.

Anyway, I'm wondering who these people are and why, if she's a nurse, Maisie is speaking with them.

More later.