deborah

I enjoyed listening once because it brought back memories from my college days. It reminded me of the love and learning as well as the conflicts we had. I guess they were not so unique and rather universal in nature. It is a good single listen but not a classic book.

I liked the development of the three characters and the trajectories that Eugenides traced. The use of 3 different voices was compelling and added depth.

He did a good job even with the women he portrayed.

I wanted to drag this listen out because it over along like a good conversation with a friend and I didn't want it to end.

If you went to college in the late 70's and early 80's this will have many reference points and memories of the times. I almost forgot about Semiotics. Oh my how could that be. Also he did a good job portraying Bipolar Disorder, especially the struggle between stability and the serious side effects of medications.

Grover Gardner provided an intimate narration of Robert Caro's book The Passage of Power. I knew little of the transition from Kennedy to Johnson and the truly remarkable job Johnson did with it. In fact it seemed almost too smooth. It seems obvious if it were not for Johnson's consummate knowledge of the how to pass legislation and how to work people to his advantage, the civil right's legislation of 1964 and 1965 would never have made it through with Kennedy.

This was a book I could not put down and it made me want to read the preceding books on Johnson and the next one to come.

You will be surprised and will perhaps wonder how Johnson managed all he did that first year. It is a bit eerie too thinking about the possibilities of conspiracy. None which seem to amount to anything.

The story brought the reader back and forth between alternate universes. The sense of time shifting kept me engaged and curious about how they tied together. It was like switching from one language to another for a new speaker of a language.

I was intrigued by the Christian themes of rebirth, immaculate conception and naive faith. I remain curious about these aspects of the book and continue to mull them over in my mind well after reading the book. I find it odd for Murakami and I am intrigued by it.

At first the narrators drove me nuts but they became endearing to me as I became pulled further and further into their lives.

I would find it difficult to eat with any of them for fear of being swept away into another reality.

Be patient as it takes a bit to get pulled into this book but once the magnet gets you it is difficult to let go.

Captivating, Ambiguous, Touching

Each story was both specific to being Jewish and universal in the tale it had to tell. Although the characters were strangers I was sure I had met them somewhere in life.

In the first story the four characters get drunk and high together in a very unexpected situation. It felt very real to me and I had to play it over because I laughed so hard in parts.

The book made me laugh and cry. It was moving and sad in many parts. The story The Reader left me feeling empty and longing for the past.

This book moves at rapid pace and each story is just the right length for a workout or a car ride home. You will not want to stop listening even if your workout is over or if you have arched your destination.

CIA messed up even after 911

It read like a thriller: John le Carre novel or a Daniel Silva novel

The CIA was incredibly naive and the making of a terrorist is complex and simple in its equation

I was driving across the country for a vacation and I didn't want to stop because I was enjoying the book so much. Very easy to listen to and is a page turner.

The Night Circus grabs the reader fast and does not let up. Jim Dale, the reader, has a hypnotic magical voice that fits well with this genre. The story is both a coming of age story and a taste of the magic of circus life. The deeper darker aspects of both living in a circus and the pain of living in a world that exploits its talent are both currents and under currents of the story. I often run when I listen to books and I must say I sometimes went on extra long runs just so I could keep listening to this compelling magical story and to Jim Dale's hypnotic voice. Between late night listens, because this book is really good to listen to at night, and long runs I did little else until I finished it.