M. S. Cohen

The writing is too pretentious to be able to be fixed. And the author puts out streams of made-up nonsense that he thinks is based on facts, but is actually just made up out of whole cloth.

His chapter on stopping drinking and fixing anorexia is a good example.

Honestly, he could have written something more like his earlier books. And not this stuff.

He has such a grating voice and only wearing a muffler might have helped.

I was annoyed by what he was saying and how he was saying it.

All the terrific anecdotes about how the Americans interact with the Europeans. And the hilarious problems with language and guides.

How they would rename all their guides to "Fergusen"

Hadn't heard him before but he was wonderful.

Not really.

For anyone who thinks Mark Twain is just Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, they should listen to this book. It is just wonderful. And tells you a lot about life in the 19th Century.

Probably not. It was a little long

Finding out the hidden workings of the CIA.

His energy.

I was happy at the end that the hostages got out.

I read the book first. Then saw the movie. I was very angry at the changes Affleck made in the story. The true story was suspenseful. Affleck didn't need to screw around with the actual events.

Again and again! It is wonderful. I particularly liked the way the main character explained his fantasies of getting back to his wife.
And I liked the way what he did to go to the hospital came out in bits and pieces.

Nothing really comes to mind.

The main character. But I didn't like the way he performed the mother. That voice was silly.

I practically did listen all at once. But when it was over I was sad. I wanted more.

There are some very important plot changes between this and the movie that came from it.
Try not to compare or be upset that things were changed by Hollywood. The plot points in the book actually make for a more nuanced, interesting story.

No.

I can't tell if the book is supposed to be a non-fiction examination of things or a novel. It's just the author talking about meeting a few people. But not really looking at the entire "industry" of doctors, drug companies, hospitals, and prisons that may or may not treat "mad" people.
And the "test" that the author examines is either useful or quackery. And the author doesn't say which.

The scenes with the Scientologists are fascinating.

I looked up the actual test online and critiques of the doctor who created it.

Thank God I'm not a psychopath.

It was very well spent till the final 30 minutes. Then it descended into a very sad and depressing plot.
I'll try not to give away the ending, but the end of the earth comes without violence but just a loss of its most precious people and then the slow death and destruction of others.
The other beings that have taken over earth are never truly explained and we really don't care about them.
The book covers 100 years So characters that are developed in early chapters just disappear as the book jumps forward in time.
The author had so many places he could have gone, but chose a monumental ending. I'm sure he thought he was moving mankind over to a metamorphic change. But I was so sad to see my race end.

Not science fiction. I will always love it. But I probably will not listen to any other Arthur C. Clarke. I hadn't ever read his books and now don't want to risk others.

Hadn't listened to others.

As I said before, the start was great. The end depressed me. I was sad it happened.

From T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" poem:

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

I'd listen to it over and over. Penny Marshall gives a terrific performance with nuances for off-hand comments like "Huh?" or "You know."
You feel like she's talking just with you, not reading a book.
But the part that touched me so greatly was when she talked about the end of her mother's life. You could hear the pain in her voice. So sweet. So real.

It's an autobiography like most others. Starts when she's young and moves on from there. But with her reading it, it soars to be much more.

Never heard any of her other performances, but I'll definitely look them up to get them.

I listen to the book on my iPhone using the Audible application. I set it for 3X speed because I don't like to wade through books so slowly.
But for this book I lowered the speed. It's a book I wish wouldn't end.

I'd recommend it certainly. Anyone who's familiar with Star Trek TV or Battlestar Gallactica or other TV Scifi will get a kick out of it. And hearing Will Wheaton is a real treat. But...

The front of the book is padded. It takes too long to get to the gist of the story. And there is much too much padding at the end with a strange "coda."
The book isn't so much a novel as a novella. And would have been only around 5 hours without the padding.

Dahl

TV or Reality TV?

The interaction between Bryson and Katz reminds me of Jerome K Jerome's Three Men in a Boat.

The times the two hikers screw up or can't walk as far as they had planned.

Inflection. When he reads what he actually said you get a real feeling of how it sounded.

Not really

I have almost all of Bryson's books and enjoy them very much.

I like many of the points that the author makes.

But I would have liked a more detailed critique of what passes for conservatism today.

For instance, exactly what did the conservatives say regarding the GM bailout.

But I totally agree with what the author says. And I consider myself a die-hard liberal!