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Diane

Seattle, WA, United States | Member Since 2004

11
HELPFUL VOTES
  • 7 reviews
  • 32 ratings
  • 0 titles in library
  • 44 purchased in 2013
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  • My Beloved World

    • UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 27 mins)
    • By Sonia Sotomayor
    • Narrated By Rita Moreno
    Overall
    (181)
    Performance
    (148)
    Story
    (147)

    The first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has become an instant American icon. Now, with a candor and intimacy never undertaken by a sitting Justice, she recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.

    Mrs. Pearle G. Mintz says: "A book so wonderful I can't wait until I share it"
    "I'm really glad she's on the bench!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I really liked getting to know Justice Sotomayor a little. Her life is, and has been, very interesting. She managed to overcome a lot of obstacles a lesser person might have collapsed under. She is tremendously hard working and learned early to recognize her shortcomings and limitations and figure out a way to overcome them. Unlike many very successful people, she doesn't seem invested in being right all the time and therefore she sees what needs to be fixed and usually finds out a way to fix it.

    The only reason I gave the performance a four star review instead of five is because I really liked hearing Justice Sotomayor's New York accent when she read the prologue. It sounded so earthy and real. Rita Moreno was good, but I wish she had used that New York accent instead of a neutral American accent.

    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
  • Me Before You: A Novel

    • UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 40 mins)
    • By Jojo Moyes
    • Narrated By Susan Lyons
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (400)
    Performance
    (354)
    Story
    (350)

    Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life - steady boyfriend, close family - who has never been farther afield than her tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life - big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel - and now he's pretty sure he cannot live the way he is. Will is acerbic, moody, bossy - but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected.

    glamazon says: "A Journey Into the Unknown"
    ""Death is the mother of beauty""
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Powerful, thought provoking, and beautifully performed. You would have to be made of stone not to be moved by this book.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • The Secret Garden

    • UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 26 mins)
    • By Frances Hodgson Burnett
    • Narrated By Vanessa Maroney
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (196)
    Performance
    (75)
    Story
    (78)

    This is the story of Mary and her friends and a garden which had been locked away for 10 years.

    Penny says: "Magical Storytelling"
    "Terrific authentic accents"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I received a copy of this book from my maiden great-aunt when I was 11. My aunt had bought it new in 1917. I loved it then, and I still do. The narrator, Venessa Maroney, has the various Yorkshire accents down perfectly. It was like time traveling back to Yorkshire a hundred years ago.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Middlemarch

    • UNABRIDGED (35 hrs and 40 mins)
    • By George Eliot
    • Narrated By Juliet Stevenson
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (293)
    Performance
    (233)
    Story
    (224)

    Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.

    Marina says: "I will listen to anything Juliet Stevenson reads"
    "19th century masterpiece read by a superb actress"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I read Middlemarch for the first time twenty-five years ago. I remember the first 100 pages were a bit of a slog, but after that I was hooked. Since then I have read it again twice and listened to it twice. Juliet Stevenson is the only reader I have ever heard whose performance adds, rather than takes away from, the profound insights expressed by the omnipotent narrator into the minds of her characters and the vivid portrayal of time and place, (1830's England). To quote Virginia Woolf, Middlemarch is "the magnificent book that, with all its imperfections, is one of the few English novels written for grown-up people."

    4 of 4 people found this review helpful
  • Emma

    • UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 55 mins)
    • By Jane Austen
    • Narrated By Prunella Scales
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (139)
    Performance
    (27)
    Story
    (30)

    Emma, originally published in 1815 and deemed Jane Austen's best novel, is a witty satire of English society set within the customary plot: young ladies finding proper husbands. It can be heard as a charming love story, a detective story, and a comically lively picture of English life 200 years ago. Prunella Scales' delightful reading reveals Austen's mastery of dialogue and character.

    Laura says: "Best Narrator"
    "Prunella, you are the best narrator of Emma."
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I love Juliet Stevenson's readings of Austen, George Elliot, and Charlotte Bronte, however I think Prunella Scales is the best by a nose as regards to "Emma". I listen to it about once every year or two, and always get something new out of it, in addition to the frequent laughs it provokes.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • The Barbarian Nurseries

    • UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 58 mins)
    • By Héctor Tobar
    • Narrated By Frankie J. Alvarez
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (71)
    Performance
    (62)
    Story
    (61)

    With The Barbarian Nurseries, Héctor Tobar gives our most misunderstood metropolis its great contemporary novel, taking us beyond the glimmer of Hollywood and deeper than camera-ready crime stories to reveal Southern California life as it really is, across its vast, sunshiny sprawl of classes, languages, dreams, and ambitions.

    Jodi says: "Loved this book!"
    "What a perfect audible book!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    The story, the characters, (including the overall geographic character, L.A. County), and the issues are all important enough to engage your mind as well as your emotions. It's a funny satire, but unusually for that genre, it is warm and real and sympathetic. The performance by Frankie J. Alvarez was terrific. The book is written in English, but with a lot of Spanish, not all of it translated in the text. Nevertheless, Alverez is such a good voice actor that he communicates very well even if you don't understand and Spanish. I will look for him again the next time I'm looking for another Audible book.

    5 of 6 people found this review helpful
  • Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 14 mins)
    • By Michael Lewis
    • Narrated By Dylan Baker
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1465)
    Performance
    (1211)
    Story
    (1223)

    The tsunami of cheap credit that rolled across the planet between 2002 and 2008 was more than a simple financial phenomenon: it was temptation, offering entire societies the chance to reveal aspects of their characters they could not normally afford to indulge. The Greeks wanted to turn their country into a pinata stuffed with cash and allow as many citizens as possible to take a whack at it. The Germans wanted to be even more German; the Irish wanted to stop being Irish.

    Andy says: "we may not be the most stupid kids on the planet"
    "Dylan Baker is the perfect reader for this book."
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I really have enjoyed all of Michael Lewis's books and this one is no exception. Dylan Baker has a voice perfect for reading satirical books. His voice is perfect for encouraging you to laugh at the follies of humankind, including your own.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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