Michele

I'm finding it hard to get through this book. It starts out funny, but in her effort to jump into the "whodunnit" genre, Weiner loses much of her charm. Part of me is mildly curious about how the story ends, but the other part thinks, "who cares?" and "don't I have more important and more interesting things to do, like watching paint dry?"

I was disappointed with this book, but probably only because I had just listened to Gone Girl, which is one of the best audio books I've heard in a long time. Looking for more of Gillian Flynn, I found Dark Places. It's an interesting novel, but doesn't have the same level of darkness or the twists and turns of Gone Girl. I think it's worth a listen, as long as you're not expecting another Gone Girl.

I listened to this audio book on a trip; it was a light, pleasant story. The characters were engaging for the most part, and although the motives of the hoarder are over-simplified, the theme of hoarding--things and people--is interesting. As others have noted, the narrator was distracting and annoying, although she didn't bother me enough to keep me from finishing the book. I would recommend this book if you aren't easily annoyed or distracted by narrators, and if you want something that doesn't require much thought but is somewhat entertaining.

I'll admit up front I'm not a huge Chiaverini fan. I am a quilter, though, and I think she's the best "quilt writer" out there, so I've listened to quite a few of her audio books. I wish I had skipped this one. As far as I can tell, this is simply a rehashing of other books and other stories, with a little padding to fill in some of the characters' backgrounds. There's no discernible plot, and I was left wondering what in the world happened to the story in this novel.

One of the best audio books I've heard in a long, long while. The story line is great, and the narrator is very good. This is more a story about Cora than about Louise, and as we go through life with Cora, we also catch a glimpse of some of the major historical events of the 20th century. I would definitely recommend this book!

Let me start with the narrator: she has an awful fake Southern accent that grated on my nerves terribly. Eventually I got somewhat used to it, so if the story had been good, I might have been able to overlook the narrator.

Unfortunately, the story was fairly awful, as well. Gilmore is a good writer, but the story is simple, sappy, and, ultimately, boring. We've heard all this before, and the platitudes are so overdone I'm embarrassed that I wasted my credit on this selection.

I really, really enjoyed the narrator of this audio book and, for a while, I really enjoyed the story. Perotta is a talented writer, and his writing flows wonderfully. But Perotta's tale never really stops its descent into darkness, and after a while it all becomes too much. I hoped for some redemption, some shred of hope, some sense of movement for these characters, but it never came.

I thoroughly enjoyed this frank look at Hamilton's life, which I found fascinating. I also enjoyed her narration of the book, which was real and honest and engaging. She's a great writer and I'm hoping she has another book in her.

I've always liked Tina Fey, and now I know why. She's very funny and an excellent reader. Listening to this book made me want to watch 30 Rock (which I had never gotten into the past), so I spent several enjoyable weekends watching episode after episode of the show. My only complaint about the book was that it's too short! I could have listened to her stories for several more hours without getting bored.

This book was so disappointing. Having recently been laid off from my job, I was looking forward to a story about someone in my own shoes, and how she handled this experience. I guess I was looking in the wrong place. This book focuses more on Browning's long-time relationship with her commitment-phobic boyfriend than it does her career. At one point Browning describes herself as a "feminist" who never had to have a man in her life for it to be complete; ironically, the bulk of her story revolves around a man. There are moments of insight and wisdom in this book, but they are few and far between.