Carole

I have been a fan of Harry Shearer's comedy for many years, and I was delighted when I saw his radio show available for download. What a disappointment!

Le Show is not comedy. Shearer spends most of the show reading short items from the week's news and ranting about them. He alternates this with music of his choice, admittedly good stuff, but in no way topical. Near the end of the hour, he presents one comedy sketch, which is normally two people talking, voiced by him. All have been political in the three weeks I've listened, and have entirely lacked any interesting commentary on the news.

I will not listen to Le Show any more. It is sad to hear a great comedic talent squandering his potential in a weak attempt to be a shock jock/political commentator. Harry, just because Al Franken can make the jump doesn't mean that you can.

I loved this book and was sorry to see it end. I enjoyed all of the large cast of characters, voiced with great skill and distinction by the narrator. The twists and turns of the story were remarkable! This is a talented author and a talented narrator. I look forward to finding more works by each of them.

I'd heard all the buzz about The Da Vinci Code and I just had to read it. But I didn't have time. On the other hand, I have an hour commute each way, currently 6 days a week. Enter Audible. I signed up for the Basic Listener plan and ordered my first book.

The Da Vinci Code was a satisfying suspense novel. It had a compelling story, at least after the first hour or so, and I began to look forward to my commuting time so I could find out what happened next. Several stories were interwoven throughout the novel, and the author effectively created cliffhangers by cutting from one storyline to another. The effect is very cinematic; I started mentally casting the movie before I was done. (Derek Jacobi has to play Leigh Teabing.)

Now for the negatives: Dan Brown's writing style, while suspenseful, is immature. He uses a great deal of repetition for emphasis. He also overuses the device of a character's thoughts being "heard" by the omniscient narrator, presumably printed in italics. These flaws would probably be less bothersome when reading the printed version, but in the audio version, they can get very, very annoying. The narrator did his best with the material, and I admired his ability to create different character voices, but the characters' frequent inner monologues strained the credibility of the characters he created.

The repetition became especially annoying at times regarding the series of puzzles that drives this story. The first puzzle was repeated dozens of times, and I think I solved it at least 30 minutes before the protagonists did. I wanted to yell at the narrator to just give the answer already, and get on with it.

Despite its flaws, this was a good listen; it definitely made my drive time easier. But I won't be seeking out Dan Brown's other novels. He has some growing up to do as a writer before he'll be one of my favorites.