Lauren

I was very intrigued by this first of Zola's novels, having read Nana in a college class on belle epoque European cities (including Paris). This one was much more narrow in scope, with the focus on the murderous/traitorous couple that bring about the death of Therese's husband. I thought the first half was much more interesting and better paced than the last half, which seemed to just drag on too long (though I understand the beauty of Zola's dissection of the couple's lives post-murder). Definitely worth listening with Kate Winslet narrating (5 stars for that part :)).

Her voice is so wonderful, and I thought she did pretty well with the different male and female characters. I would listen again just to hear her speak for 8 hours :).

I really liked Sophie, as well as Howl and the witch. No favorites, this was a fun fantasy read that I'd never heard of, so thanks Audible for the recommendation.

YES. The characters are amazingly real and Kate Rudd did a fantastic job narrating. I was listening to this as I went for a long run (bad idea to some extent, it's hard to cry and breathe at the same time!!!). Totally a keeper, I highly recommend!

BOTH, it's wonderful and it doesn't feel like "young adult"- it's just real teenagers going through tough times.

The dog's perspective and personality are so great and realistic, I laughed and cried.

You feel Bailey/Ellie/Buddy's emotions so thoroughly while you're hearing him/her think, it's just a very emotional experience of reading it.

Thoroughly enjoyable and readable bio of George Washington. I learned so much about him, his ambitions, quirks and personality, and this depiction of his life renewed my interest in the Revolutionary period of American history. I listened to this book via audible.com, and felt that the reader had an oddly dry and overly affected voice, which did diminish my enjoyment to some extent. My only other criticism would be that the author made too much of an effort to unearth, portray and tie together themes about Washington's personality and the way he conducted his military and political careers. The stories and information about him are enough on their own, and though the themes about his personality are interesting, they are not necessary to enjoying learning about him.

I'm around a 3.5 on this one. The audio version was great, Rosalyn Landor has such a soothing and wonderful voice. I really enjoyed learning more about Elizabeth II as a person, and particularly liked the earlier stories about her childhood and first years of her marriage and reign. I felt that the middle sort of all ran together with different official engagements and traveling, and that it got too much into Prince Charles, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge toward the end, rather than end by summarizing the impact and important of Elizabeth II, though much of the book had taken the time to explain her role in the governing of England and the larger Commonwealth. I do wonder whether the royal family had any real part in this biography, whether some of the more endearing stories are accurate, but all in all I thought that the author did a good job of trying to portray Elizabeth as a woman, a husband, mother and friend.

This was fun and unexpected, I thought some parts dragged but in general I loved hearing almost stream of consciousness history and jumping around to explain some small aspect of life and how it came to be. Not for everyone, bu I enjoyed it!!

I liked this much better than her full-length novel, and now am willing to give her another try. She's smart and I like the honest way that she writes.