Benoibe

*** 3.55 Stars ;) ***
Disclaimer: Linda Howard is my favorite author. I'm definitely biased, but surprisingly, it's not always positive bias. I hold her to higher standards because I know how talented she is. So here's my quick review a few weeks after listening to Open Season:
Open Season wasn't a memorable "best-of" Linda Howard book for me. But most fans really enjoy this book. So because it's a well-produced audiobook, I recommend it to Linda Howard fans. I do think it was a fun read. I also loved the Narrator.

Below is my enthusiastic and thorough review from the day I read it, which I erroneously submitted to the abridged version:
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"God I love Linda Howard! She has written many of my all time favorite books. Unfortunately she's written some duds as well.

Luckily, this is a satisfying story with a fantastic performance by narrator Kate Forbes.

Daisy lives in a small town. She is a 34 year-old librarian, in need of a total life make-over. She has few friends, no men in her life, no style, and she still lives with her mother. With the help of her mother, her aunt and a gay friend named Todd, Daisy moves into her own place and invests her time and money into a full makeover.

Now she's ready to meet new people. For Daisy, meeting new people is code for "husband-hunting". I'm not into books involving desperate women searching for husbands, but LH works her magic and the story is well-written. You'll be sucked in by the 2nd chapter.

So fear of being an "old maid" pushes Daisy to find her inner beauty and bring it out, while also becoming more social. Meanwhile, surrounding towns are having trouble with GHB- a date rape drug that can be lethal in one dose. The new Chief of Police- Jack Russo is asked to assist the nearby city with its GHB problem. So while Daisy is trying to catch a husband at bars, Chief Russo is trying to find clues and info about GHB. Needless to say, worrying for her safety, he watches out for her.
That's as much as I can say without spoilers.

The story is very fun, sexy, and entertaining. The romance is wonderfully written. At times it's funny (there's a hysterically funny condom-buying scene that is unforgettable), then all of a sudden LH takes your breath away. Linda Howard can make more magic with a simple kiss and a slight caress than many authors achieve with a full-out sex scene. The characters are likeable and drive the book a great deal. The suspense plot is not forced, instead LH has woven it into the story slowly.

**** The downside : My issue in recommending this book is the somewhat degrading, possibly-offensive tone of the book at times. I assume this is a older book. I can't imagine she'd write such things today. But be prepared for condescending "jokes" about homosexuals, women and the south. Also a bit annoying: Daisy, the heroine, was explained as extremely intelligent. However, she acts without common sense and is ridiculously naive. Im sure the author intended her behavior to show her "innocence", but what it demonstrates to me is an obvious unintended contradiction in the character's personality. Daisy seems far more like an airhead, than a bright woman of 34. She is still very likeable; I'm only dissapointed LH didn't realize her mistake.

That being said, this is still a good listen. Howard fans will like it. ***If you haven't read Linda Howard before, please download Dreamman, Mr Perfect and/or After the Night . Those are some of her A+ books, and they'll give a better example of her work for a first-time reader/listener.

For Howard fans, this won't disappoint, bearing in mind that is has a dated, slightly offensive tone.
Also narrator deserves kudos for her performance. Very well done."

What an exceptional story!! So well-written and perfectly performed.

Accessible from the first sentence. I was hooked from the first paragraph. I love this book!!!

Told from the perspective of Wilson, the young, shy, kind-hearted lady's maid of the crippled and depressed Elizabeth Barrett. Eventually known famously as Elizabeth Barrett Browning... This tells the story of her mistress and her relationship with Robert Browning. In the mysterious spirit of Jane Eyre and Northanger Abbey, the narrative flows and sucks you in! Historical Fiction at its very best!!

Don't miss this story. The narrator is a perfect match.

Highly recommended.

I've listened to multiple books about Scott's last expedition. Notably, Cherry-Garrard's book combines many journals to tell the full story of the entire expedition. I was disappointed with CG's account. It's very long and barely discusses the death of Scott's summit/pole team. So I found myself going straight to the source.

Here is the actual journal of Robert Scott. It is so nonchalant about the deaths of the members that you can easily miss the extreme danger these men were in. But Scott was more honest in his journal, than other journals I've read about the expedition. When a man was slowing them down or becoming weak, he is quick to notice. He doesn't fake a pleasant demeanor; he is the leader of the huge team and is responsible for life and death decisions. Scott was very ambitious and competitive, as the leader of such an adventure would be. His writing may not demonstrate the ruthlessness of his mission, but it definitely brings my understanding full circle. Scott cut a team of men at the start of the summit/pole run for underperforming. (Perhaps he should have kept them longer.) His statements at the end of the failing mission while the men were dying, show that he expected his team to be healthy and self-reliant.

In trying to figure out "what went wrong", obviously the weather was beyond their endurance or control! And I believe the race to the pole was physically far more taxing than anyone anticipated. I will never understand why he didn't have a rescue mission ready just in case. I just don't know what could have spared their lives.

Speaking earlier of Scott's ambition and extreme competitiveness, I must point out that Scott writes, "The worst has happened!" when he sees evidence of that the Norway team beat him by nearly two months. He adjusts his statement, "well, almost the worst thing". Obviously, in his eyes at that moment, the only thing worse was death, or was it?

I believe that his will to survive the terrible march back to the ship was greatly impacted by losing his race to the pole. From the moment he saw that Norway had beaten him, I believe his inner fight was greatly diminished. His life's ambition and dream was gone. For me this explains the ease with which he gave in to death. Losing the lives of his team for a forlorn mission of his own making was too much to bear on his shoulders. So it's sort of like he went down with his ship... Like a good captain.

It is very sad, but told with utmost bravery.
The narrator was great, but a pace too slow. I listened to this on 1.25x speed and it sounded perfect. Thus making it a quick but important ending to the mystery of Scott's last expedition!

Cherry-Garrard's account is long and thorough. From what I read in the summary and the start of the book, it purported to be a combination of Garrard's own journal and those of the other members of the ill-fated arctic expedition of Scott. Thus combining many stories to explain what happened to Scott and his team.

However, the journey to which Cherry-Garrard refers is not Scott's last expedition, but a side project Garrard worked on.
The story of the race to the South Pole was just a little part of the book. A very little part. The acceptance of the death of the men going to the pole happened quickly and with little emotion. Nothing could have been more anticlimactic than the way this book was written.

I felt like this was a terrible waste of time, and animal lovers will not like the killing of the horses and teams of dogs (This was preplanned, and not done in peril. The horses were used up, killed and fed to the dogs. The dogs were used up, killed by the masters and eaten by the men, not out of necessity but per their plan from the outset.)

Great narration. But content of the book and emotions of the men did not match the grim circumstances of their fellow team members, nor the horrible circumstances of the animals used and discarded.

I wasn't blown away with this book. The source information on which it is based is questionable. Called a "secret history", every time the narrator refers to the elusive manuscript, it undermines the veracity and validity of the events.

Great version of the Essex story encompassing all versions of the events from the survivors. Detailing not only the tragic events at sea, but the reactions of the community the men were from. (Nantucket Island)
This story is the impetus of Herman Melville's Moby Dick.

This book shocked me. Carolyn Jessop is truly an extraordinary woman. Brave and intelligent and a loving mother. Her story is shocking and compelling. America must act to stop polygamy in our states. The lifestyle is a terribly destructive cycle, and there are so many children that it astonishes me. Uneducated brainwashed children with no future. It's so disgusting. I can't understand why our government is not more active.

The LDS or mainstream Mormons definitely are marred by the amount of polygamist sects that continue in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, etc. In fact, I have trouble seeing the Mormon religion as anything but a cult. Joseph Smith, founder of Church of Mormons, and Brigham Young, the famous leader who brought them to Salt Lake, absolutely believed in and preached that polygamy was the way to god. Both had polygamous marriages. I'm not sure when Mormons stopped practicing polygamy, but it is a strong value of their scriptures. This is bizarre. FLDS undermines the entire idea of the Mormons as a religion, making the whole thing seem like a creepy cult. As long as this continues, Mormons will always be seen with apprehension. Their common practice of sweeping it under the rug and ignoring the polygamist sects makes it worse, not better.

I hope that women like Carolyn Jessop continue telling their stories. We need to support these women and stop this sick CYCLE of sex, control, manipulation and domination. How on earth is this happening in the US in the 21st century?????

*** REALLY enjoyed the interview with Carolyn at the end of the book. Hearing her own voice made her that much more compelling.

Must read!!!!!!

The problem is that I listened to A Short History of Everything first. That is a hard act to follow!!

However, I think this book is still really well done. The style is novel and highly entertaining. It is a fascinating history that centers around each room of an historic English rectory.

I'm not a fan of authors reading their own books, though Bryson does a fine job. I would have preferred a professional narrator. I know many Bryson fans love his narration, it is just personal preference.

Definitely highly recommended.

If I had to pick one book that every human being should read, this is it!

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is beautifully written. The book isn't centered around Wounded Knee, instead it tells the painful history of the many Native American tribes during our nation's early years.

The author does an OUTSTANDING job of using the words of the native Americans themselves, thus giving them a voice that is seldom heard! I must admit that my pride in my country has been lessened by reading this book. The broken promises, lies and greed of the founders of our nation is devastating. The absurd ideology of Manifest Destiny demonstrates a nation of tremendous greed and unjust entitlement. In the end, our policies and treatment of the native Americans amounted to centuries of persecution and mass ethnic-cleansing,

Please don't let my opinion of the events shade the book itself!! Brown doesn't overdramatize the events and stories in the book. This book isn't an opinion piece or editorial. The writing style is very straightforward and fact-oriented. That is what makes it so powerful and important. The events and stories speak for themselves. There were good and bad on both sides. This book provides historical context and perspective.

Exceptional audio performance. This is an award worthy performance for the great Grover Gardner!

The saddest thing is that it doesn't feel like the policies and treatment of Native Americans have changed much. We fought to the death for the abolition of slavery and civil rights of black Americans and women. Why didn't we fight for Native American rights as well? Why are native Americans treated differently?

I'm very thankful that I listened to this book. I wish there were more books about native Americans and their circumstances up to the present day.

Having read Bryson's The Short History of Nearly Everything and At Home: A History of Private Life, this book was a surprise for me. This book was written well before those two, and was a huge departure from what I expected.

This has a little history and a little science, but it is mostly the story if Bryson and a friend walking Appalachian. While that may not sound very exciting, it is! This story is never boring and will constantly make you laugh. It demonstrates a much different side of Bill Brysonthan I knew.

Highly recommended.

Also, whole many reviewers say they prefer when Bill Bryson reads his own work. I do not agree. At Home was read by Bryson, and it was ok. The narrator for this book is more than ok! He is exceptional and does an amazing job with the character voices. I don't think fans of the author will be disappointed with the narration!!

Upon finishing this book, I couldn't understand why I didn't already know more about this shocking tragedy. I realize that the suicides occurred before I was born (Im 33) , but so did the Charles Manson murders- and I grew up knowing all about that story and its victims. Anyway...

Knowing just a little about this story, I was transfixed with this book. It is so well written and well read! Kudos to the author for the ability to be empathetic, but also straightforward and cutting when necessary. The reader definitely gets to make up his own mind about various individuals involved, i.e. the members who were forced to leave family including their children behind when escaping.

The thing that was most surprising to me is that Jonestown was a movement for socialism, and not actually a religious cult. Jones started as a religious minister, but dropped all pretense of religion after a while. He forbade bibles and told the group that he was god. His message was not religious or spiritual, but economical. They killed themselves for socialism! ?????

I was shocked and disgusted after listening to a book about Scientology recently. Compared to Jonestown, Scientology barely registers on the radar! I have so much trouble understanding individuals who fall prey to men like Jim Jones or L Ron Hubbard. Both men had similar personality types, marked by the ability to charm and move people, and also by a growing and bizarre paranoia and isolation. Though I must add that Jones was just a really bad man, through and through. Why do people get caught up in cults? There was an obvious point where Jones had gone nuts, and yet these people followed him still. For years, the members lived in squalor and starved. Many lived in fear, and rightly so.

The final chapter of the saga, the circumstances before the mass suicide, was the most shocking. I knew about the suicides and forced suicides, but not about the slaughter of nonmembers.

I haven't read a more interesting book in a long time. I will definitely read more by Julia Scheeres. Also the narrator Robin Miles was excellent.