Alison

There are some fantastic stories in this selection, and I really love the way they span the decades from the early 1940s to the present day. New York itself is peripheral to some stories but central to others. The stories are often poignant and sometimes funny. The readers are excellent.

One thing that really irked me about the selection, though, is that between stories there is no pause. As soon as the last word of a story is spoken, they are introducing the next one. It happens before I can grab my player and hit pause so that I can savor what I've just heard.

Also, although the book is divided into two parts, there are no electronic stops in between. If you lose your place, it's very hard to scroll through all of that stuff to find where you left off. This is a general criticism of I have of many Audible books, but in this one it's particularly bad because there are so many obivous places that pauses could have been inserted.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend this selection.

This is a riveting novel, with wonderful characters who really come to life as the story unfolds. It also deals with the troubles and horrors of Afghan history since the 1960s. The reading is done by the author himself, a real advantage here because his passion for the material is clear and he gives authentic pronunciations to the Afghan words in the story.

All of the Herriot books are great in audio -- very engaging stories that benefit much from the fine reader's rendering of the accents. This one is no exception. I was really sorry when I finished this series because I know there will be no more books.

This book is funny, but not very well suited to audiobook. The print version has pictures that add to the hilarity. I felt like the audiobook was missing something.

I chose this book because of recommendations on Audible even though I was somewhat taken aback by the subject matter -- architecture and World's Fairs can be kind of dry and serial killers are a bit too sensational for my usual reading tastes. I'm so glad I took a chance on it, though. It's a fascinating book about a fascinating time in American history. While the two lines of the story may seem unrelated, together they give a very provocative picture of late 19th century Chicago society. It's a long book, but I was really sorry when it ended. I wanted the story to go on.

This book completes the story begun in Naipaul's _Half a Life_, and I don't think the book stands very well on its own. It would be best to listen to the first book before tackling this one.

I got interested in chef's memoirs after listenign to Anthony Bourdain's _Kitchen Confidential_. Jacques Pepin's life isn't as racy as Bourdain's, but it's in some ways much more intersting. Even though I've seen him on public television, I never knew about the twists and turns his career took in getting him to that point. The story is told with good humor and an abiding love for family and food. In the process you learn a lot about the history of cuisine in America and Pepin's influence of what you eat every day even now.

The book is read very well, not by Pepin himself but by someone with an accent very much like his. It was great fun to hear it.

I'm not a hardcore Updike fan, but I've enjoyed some of his other books. This one is good and is well-adapted to the audio format. Real Updike fans will probably enjoy it even more because it sheds some light on the situations and characters developed in his other books.

In addition to all the animal stories, this volume of Herriot's books talk about his experiences in the RAF during WWII. It's touching and funny at times. The atmosphere of wartime England is palpable. As with the rest of the Herriot audiobooks, this one is very well-read and engaging.

The James Herriott stories are all great favorites of mine on audiobook. They're extremely well read in this edition, and they are engaging enough for either long or short jaunts in the car. I really enjoy them and will be sad when I finish the series.

George Washington has gotten a bad rap from history, and this book seeks to set the story straight. His life is fascinating and complex. He lived in the much-vaunted "interesting times" and he managed to shape both his own destiny and the destiny of the nation. He is not fully a hero in this book, however. How he chose to "solve" the moral quandary of his own slave-owning, while perhaps advanced for his time, does not put him in history's best light now. All in all, this is a good book, very well read, and worth the time it takes to listen to it. It will give you a new perspective on present-day political partisan battles.