A Natural Woman

A Memoir

By: Carole King

Narrated by: Carole King

Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Listen to the New York Times best-selling memoir that is "revealing, humble, and cool-aunt chatty" about the incredible life that inspired the hit Broadway musical Beautiful (Rolling Stone). Carole King takes us from her early beginnings in Brooklyn, to her remarkable success as one of the world's most acclaimed songwriting and performing talents of all time. A Natural Woman chronicles King's extraordinary life, drawing listeners into her musical world, including her phenomenally successful number one album Tapestry, and into her journey as a performer, mother, wife and present-day activist. Deeply personal, King's long-awaited memoir offers listeners a front-row seat to the woman behind the legend. The audiobook will include dozens of photos from King's childhood, her own family, and behind-the-scenes images from her performances.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2012 Carole King (P)2012 Hachette Audio

I Like Her EVEN more now !

Would you consider the audio edition of A Natural Woman to be better than the print version?

It is wonderful to hear Carole King tell her own story with her wonderful rhythms and accent.

Any additional comments?

Carole's honesty and openness is brave and refreshing and her unique perspective as a woman who lived through the 50's and 60's music scenes and then, wrote the book on the 70's makes for a fascinating story. Her life story includes her struggles with her desire to stay true to herself and those she loves - she keeps it real - and that is an inspiration as well. Music history buffs will learn stuff, too!

Had higher expectations

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to see "Beautiful - the Carole King story". If it was not the best musical I have ever seen, then it was up at the top. In the lobby they were selling this book. Unfortunately, the book does not live up to the greatness of the musical. The musical was just the beginning portion of her life. I grew up with her music, and the play brought me to tears. Altho Carole does sing a line or two here and there in the book, the quality wasn't there. I was disappointed.

Carole's heartfelt words come to life in this inspiring memoir.

preface - I enjoy listening to audiobooks because they allow me to multitask (driving, exercising, cleaning etc.) BUT I normally feel that I would have got more out of the book if I just read it.

This is the ONLY book where I felt that listening to it was more fulfilling than reading it. Because Carole reads it her self, it has a wonderfully intimate feel.

This is a MUST listen book that profiles one of the most talented, intelligent and caring woman of her generation.

Loved it!

Would you consider the audio edition of A Natural Woman to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I chose this audiobook because I wanted to hear her story, and she did not disappoint! I first saw Carole perform live in the early 1970's when she came to my town. I had attended the event to see my favorite performer who was James Taylor. I had never heard of Carole King. I was bowled over by her performance that night. I purchased the Tapestry album and listened over and over and over again--I loved it! To this day, her music moves me. Her songs, especially the ones co-written with her first husband in the 60's, have stood the test of time.

Which character – as performed by Carole King – was your favorite?

Carole

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Bravo!!!

Very interesting, thoroughly enjoyed.

It offers much insight to an artist and many of her contemporaries from the 70's that I have listened to for decades.

So Real! Love this lady!

A good read from beginning to end. Carole is not only talented, she’s likeable, honest, an all around beautiful human being,

I wish there was more about the songwriter & songs

Would you try another book from Carole King and/or Carole King?

It took me several tries to mine through this one. The book seems like it was written as a memoir for Carole's future great great grandchildren. For example, she spends pages explaining what a 45 rpm record is compared to other formats and how things have changed thanks to iTunes. Frankly, I found passages like this utterly bewildering. I was hoping that she would spend more time talking about the fantastic songs that she wrote. If you want to get to know Carole the songwriter, look elsewhere. If you want a very basic outline of what she has been doing, who she has worked with and where she has been, this book may appeal.

Would you ever listen to anything by Carole King again?

If she wrote a book about songwriting? Yes. Another memoir? No.

What does Carole King bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Carole's narration is very good and has a sweetness that no one else could match.

Insight into a legendary performer

What did you love best about A Natural Woman?

I would not have bought the book or enjoyed it as much if it was not read by Carole King herself, I loved her delivery and occasional signing. She has led a full and interesting life. I recently saw the Broadway show, Beautiful, about her life, and I bought the book to listen to prior to attending the show so that I would know the complete story. It enhanced the show for me. There are a few slow parts, but overall a great listen.

Surprisingly boring

Carole King seems like a very sweet person and it was great hearing her narrate. However, it seems that she did not want to share much of her personal life. I found about 20% of this interesting and the rest seemed like “filler” (how to record an album, history of 45s, LPs, etc, ).

Hearing it is even better than reading it!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! I've already read the book, but after hearing Carole King read parts of it I decided that I wanted to hear her read the whole book. I'm so glad I did. She reads beautifully, sings bits of songs, imitates voices. Highly recommended.