Justin

i was so excited to "hear" a book that was read by the author - being relatively new to audiobooks - i thought it would really add something to the experience - but i could not have been more wrong! mary karr's reading was completely monotone and there's some serious issues tackled here that i'm sure - had i been reading the book instead of listening - i would have been more "moved" by... i purchased her newest memoir "lit" and am looking forward to reading her work rather than listening to her.

there is so much i could say about Maine - but you just have to listen to it! the story is spot-on! the narrator's performance is so amazing that even before i was finished listening to Maine - i looked up other books w/ her reading... it is just great!

the story follows four boston irish catholic women throughout generations and both the writing and the narration actually bring this terrific story to life...

my *only* single complaint would be - occasionally there seems to be a lot of "catherine said, then maggie said, then catherine said, then alice said, then ann marie said..." at multiple points throughout the book. i don't know if it is the writing or the narrating that makes it so noticeable??? but it *really* stood out at times for me during my listen - and that is a first for me w/ an audiobook... usually i can listen w/out really hearing all the "he said, she said" stuff... but with this book, it made an impact.

but honestly - it was a fantastic book! i have recommended it to my family and friends w/ audiobooks accounts or i have purchased it for the family members who don't have one...

if you enjoy a good family drama told from a variety of points of view over an extended period of time - then you definitely need to get this book *now*!

I try not to read too much about the books that I purchase because I enjoy learning about them as I go... So when The Good Squad ended up being a collection of short stories, I was pleasantly surprised!

I usually like to actually read short stories instead of listen to them - so had I known the book was short stories - I normally wouldn't have purchased it to listen. But I'm really glad I didn't know and that I did get a chance to listen to this interesting group of characters.

The book was a lot of fun to listen to and Jennifer Egan finds a way to connect all of the characters involved - so you get to see them in different chapters and at different time periods of their lives and interacting with the other characters - which was very interesting!

I purchased this book because it won the Pulitzer and now it's being turned into a TV show on HBO, which I think will be very cool! I had just gotten finished listening to Freedom by Franzen and I wanted something different and stumbled onto this...

I enjoyed Ortega's reading and take on the characters... the story moved quickly and it was neat to see how all of the characters intersected at different points. I think I would have liked to actually see and read the power point chapter... but Ortega did a good job of narrating something written entirely in power point.

I would definitely recommend this selection for anyone who likes really well-written short stories and likes narratives that shift in time.

I try not to read too much about the books I listen to before I purchase them - so often times I end up having no idea what the book is actually about going into it... This has lead me into TWO "dracula" books this past year! The first one was Justin Cronin's The Passage - OMG! Run - don't walk - to get that book! I'm so excited because that is scheduled to be a trilogy! But I digress...

The Historian was also a "dracula" book that I didn't know about before listening to it. Not as good as The Passage - but delicious in and of itself... The book was a little long and it did take me a while to get through it... But I enjoyed the ride.

I always try to buy the longest books with my credits - so I get those for less - and then I purchase the shorter titles I want at the discounted cost. I got The Historian because it was so long - but it wasn't one that I couldn't stop listening to - like previous titles. So it took me some time to get through it and I had to keep coming back to it in between actually reading two other books (of which one was - The Hunger Games - which was utterly amazing!)

But the actors were very delightful and kept me interested. The book was bogged down in a ton of history - hence the historian - I suppose - so if you don't enjoy a lot of facts and lessons then this book is not for you.

The story was good and the ending wasn't a let-down (as I find most good books' endings are)... so I would recommend it... with the caveat that it is long and sometimes difficult to stay with - but totally worth the time investment.

Wil Wheaton was amazing! Stand By Me remains my favorite movie of all time - so I guess it's no surprise that I completely adored Wil Wheatons' reading of Ready Player One... but he truly was amazing and so was the book! Wonderful characters! Great pacing! And fantastic story! Also, as a child of the 80's, I loved all of the pop culture references. This book was great fun and I highly recommend it for anyone (not just us 80's babies). My only criticisms are I couldn't stop listening and it went entirely too fast! Found myself wishing for more when it ended.

second part of the book is actually pretty good - that is, if you can make it through the first part - which is pretty horrible and boring... wasn't invested in the characters initially - but refused to give up on the book. and i was pleasantly surprised to find part 2 quite enjoyable.

i *loved* this audiobook! it's hard to imagine that even after 37 hours of listening i was still sad when it was over and was left wanting more... i hope justin cronin does make this book into a trilogy because it was a fantastic book and i loved every minute of it!

this audiobook was my first audible purchase that i really didn't *love* - the narration switches back and forth from a teenage girl (as ava) and an older man narrating brother kiwi's part of the book. i had read the *rave* reviews in entertainment weekly about this book - so i decided to download it and it just did not keep my interest. the family dynamic is well-written but just was not that great to keep my interest. sad that this was my first audiobook purchase that i didn't absolutely adore. usually i can't *wait* to get back to listening to my audiobooks and this one took me a long time to get through just because it wasn't that good.