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Loraine

Laval, QC, Canada

ratings

210

REVIEWS

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HELPFUL VOTES

Everything That Rises Must Converge

UNABRIDGED
- by Flannery O’Connor
- Narrated by Bronson Pinchot , Karen White , Mark Bramhall , Lorna Raver
Everything That Rises Must Converge

UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 5 mins)

By Flannery O’Connor

Narrated By Bronson Pinchot, Karen White, Mark Bramhall, and others

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(170)
Performance
(114)
Story
(118)

This collection of nine short stories by Flannery O'Connor was published posthumously in 1965. The flawed characters of each story are fully revealed in apocalyptic moments of conflict and violence that are presented with comic detachment.
Darwin8u says: "A Painful Grace, A Search for the Holy"
"Better than reading"

Overall
Performance
Story

What did you love best about Everything That Rises Must Converge?

Each short story is memorable. I have read nothing like them before.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I did not like any of the characters but I was made to feel for them just the same. I suppose old Tanner in Judgement Day will be most memorable, or Mary Fortune in A View from the Woods.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I have tried to read O'Connor but just did not get it. These narrators brought the stories to life. Their interpretations are brilliant.

Any additional comments?

This is great writing but magnificent performances. I was never bored.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

UNABRIDGED
- by Steven Pinker
- Narrated by Arthur Morey
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

UNABRIDGED (36 hrs and 43 mins)

By Steven Pinker

Narrated By Arthur Morey

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(706)
Performance
(577)
Story
(567)

We’ve all had the experience of reading about a bloody war or shocking crime and asking, “What is the world coming to?” But we seldom ask, “How bad was the world in the past?” In this startling new book, the best-selling cognitive scientist Steven Pinker shows that the world of the past was much worse. In fact, we may be living in the most peaceable era in our species’ existence.
Franics says: "Violence is decreasing everywhere. Who knew?"
"Satisfying, worth the time invested"

Overall
Performance
Story

Better listened to than read. So, ok, it went over my head at times, and the audio version does not come with the charts and tables, but these are minor and not even annoying. The fact is that it kept me coming back because I always knew there was more that I would find interesting, that would make me glad I stuck with it. There was always another moment when I'd say to myself, yes, this is worth coming back to.
The narration is perfect. I could believe it was the author speaking to me. Without sounding like a Harvard professor, he sounded like someone I can like. It would be all scholarly-like for a while and then I’d hear a quote from Bruce Springsteen, Woody Allen or my personal Woodstock favorites, Country Joe and the Fish. There were also plenty of references to current pop culture but I just don’t remember them as much as those from my boomer culture.
I don’t think I would have appreciated this book in my twenties but after many discussions and disagreements over the question of where our society is headed, are we getting better or worse, I love that Steven Pinker has done the work for me. Because I have always believed it in my heart, I accept his research as the confirmation.
I give the audio version only 4 stars because (1) it lacks a downloadable file for charts and tables. (2) being such a long listen, I often had to switch devices and struggled to find my place more than once because of the different chapter counts between devices, and (3) I would so love an index and table of contents.
I am considering buying a print or eBook version to reread sections that were particularly enlightening. A very satisfying experience, it will not be my last from Steven Pinker.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Free Will

UNABRIDGED
- by Sam Harris
- Narrated by Sam Harris
Free Will

UNABRIDGED (1 hr and 14 mins)

By Sam Harris

Narrated By Sam Harris

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(232)
Performance
(211)
Story
(203)

A belief in free will touches nearly everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality—as well as feelings of remorse or personal achievement—without first imagining that every person is the true source of his or her thoughts and actions. And yet the facts tell us that free will is an illusion.
Ellen says: "LIFE/ WORLD Altering sophisticated thinking!"
"Not for lay people"

Overall
Performance
Story

I thought I would find scholarly ammunition for what I personally am coming to believe about free will. I usually enjoy and understand Sam Harris, in his blog and in other books. But this was too scholarly and did not reach me.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World

UNABRIDGED
- by Michael Lewis
- Narrated by Dylan Baker
Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World

UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 14 mins)

By Michael Lewis

Narrated By Dylan Baker

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(1465)
Performance
(1211)
Story
(1223)

The tsunami of cheap credit that rolled across the planet between 2002 and 2008 was more than a simple financial phenomenon: it was temptation, offering entire societies the chance to reveal aspects of their characters they could not normally afford to indulge. The Greeks wanted to turn their country into a pinata stuffed with cash and allow as many citizens as possible to take a whack at it. The Germans wanted to be even more German; the Irish wanted to stop being Irish.
Andy says: "we may not be the most stupid kids on the planet"
"informative and easy to listen to"

Overall
Performance
Story

I never lost interest. This audiobook kept my attention all the way through. That can only be because both the book and the narration are excellent.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

UNABRIDGED
- by Michael Lewis
- Narrated by Jesse Boggs
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 27 mins)

By Michael Lewis

Narrated By Jesse Boggs

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(3673)
Performance
(1219)
Story
(1225)

Who understood the risk inherent in the assumption of ever-rising real-estate prices, a risk compounded daily by the creation of those arcane, artificial securities loosely based on piles of doubtful mortgages? Michael Lewis turns the inquiry on its head to create a fresh, character-driven narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting sequel to his number-one best-selling Liar’s Poker.
Jay says: "Informative and Engaging"
"What we don't know can hurt us"

Overall
Performance
Story

Amazing. Scary. I recommend this book for anyone who thinks they have the stomach to get all the way through. Up until now I thought I had a clue about what provoked the financial meltdown of 2008 but I did not. What we hear in the media is sanitized for us, the masses. I am completely blown away by this book. Makes me want to know more.
Michael Lewis sets this out very clearly so that even if I don't get all the nuances of the financial world, and I certainly don't, I still come away with a clearer picture of how this all happened. The big lesson I learned is that what I don't know can hurt me.
The narration is a big factor in keeping my interest. It was excellent.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
1Q84

UNABRIDGED
- by Haruki Murakami , Jay Rubin (translator) , Philip Gabriel (translator)
- Narrated by Allison Hiroto , Marc Vietor , Mark Boyett
1Q84

UNABRIDGED (46 hrs and 50 mins)

By Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin (translator), Philip Gabriel (translator)

Narrated By Allison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, Mark Boyett

Overall
(3005)
Performance
(2594)
Story
(2562)

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.
A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - "Q" is for "question mark". A world that bears a question....
Howard says: "Worth the investment."
"You have to enjoy the "getting there""

Overall
Performance
Story

This is much too long for the little substance there is. What kept me listening was the wonderful narration, especially by Allison Hiroto. She made the main character real for me.
There is too much repetition and detail making it about three times longer than necessary. I often found I was no longer listening but did not need to replay as I had missed nothing.
I often thought of abandoning. The story is good but not worth 44 hours. If I had been reading the book I would definitely have given up after a few hundred pages but the fine narration made it always a good listening experience.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
The Kind One

UNABRIDGED
- by Tom Epperson
- Narrated by Scott Brick
The Kind One

UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 50 mins)

By Tom Epperson

Narrated By Scott Brick

Overall
(20)
Performance
(3)
Story
(3)

In 1930s Los Angeles, someone desperately wants to know who Danny Landon is. That someone is Danny himself. Intimate associates call him "Two Gun Danny," but all the young man really knows is that some terrible incident has erased his memory. According to his boss, mobster Bud Seitz - a vicious, sadistic killer ironically nicknamed "The Kind One" - Danny's amnesia is the result of a blow to the head with a lead pipe. But Danny's not sure of anything.
John says: "A classic noir thriller"
"Excellent narration makes a good story even better"

Overall
Performance
Story

I loved this. I kept wanting more. It has to be one of the best narrations I've heard yet, really perfect for this story, for these characters and for the era. There is violence and vulgarity but no more that is necessary to know who we're dealing with. I come away remembering the humour and the warmth more than the violence. This is a really fine escape and I am pleased to recommend it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful