-
Dear Bill Bryson
- Footnotes from a Small Island
- Narrated by: Ben Aitken
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
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Dear Bill Bryson
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In the first of three essays included in this audiobook, Bill Bryson decides to move his wife and kids back to his homeland, the United States, after nearly two decades in Britain. But not before taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. The result is a hilarious social commentary.
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Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.”
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The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America - majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaing guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way - and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).
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Informational
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Stuart Maconie is one of the keenest observers of English identity. Who better to take the temperature of the nation at this uncertain waymark on our national journey? Deftly weaving history and politics in engaging, conversational prose, The Full English is a love-letter to England written in Maconie’s inimitable style. As we wend our way through towns and cities, by Megabus and Avanti train, we meet a rich cast of characters and delve into the seldom-explored crevices of our national psyche.
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With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson - the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent - brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience, and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't) to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.
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3 out of 5 stars
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More satire than history
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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,542
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,610
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,619
Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century, 1951, in the middle of the United States, Des Moines, Iowa, in the middle of the largest generation in American history, the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, his is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero.
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Publisher's summary
An irreverent homage to the '95 travel classic, from the author of The Gran Tour.
In 2013, travel writer Ben Aitken decided to follow in the footsteps of his hero - literally - and started a journey around the UK, tracing the trip taken by Bill Bryon in his classic tribute to the British Isles, Notes from a Small Island.
Staying at the same hotels, ordering the same food and even spending the same amount of time in the bath, Aitken's homage - updated and with a new preface for 2022 - is filled with wit, insight and humour.
Critic reviews
"It would be wrong to view this book as just a highly accomplished homage to a personal hero. Aitken's politics, as much as his humour, are firmly in the spotlight, and Dear Bill Bryson achieves more than its title (possibly even its author) intended." (Manchester Review)
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After backpacking her way around Europe journalist Sarah Turnbull is ready to embark on one last adventure before heading home to Sydney. A chance meeting with a charming Frenchman in Bucharest changes her travel plans forever. Acting on impulse, she agrees to visit Fredric in Paris for a week. Put a very French Frenchman together with a strong-willed Australian girl and the result is some spectacular - and often hilarious - cultural clashes.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Almost Terrific
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The Year of Living Danishly
- Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
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When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting content. Unfortunate delivery.
- By Jennifer Soudagar on 11-13-15
By: Helen Russell
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Surviving Ireland
- By: Colm Tobin
- Narrated by: Colm Tobin
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
It's exhausting being Irish. The constant self-flagellation is enough to put anybody off their breakfast. Why are we so hard on ourselves? Is it the postcolonial overhang following centuries of oppression at the hands of a litany of foreign invaders? Or is it collective guilt for sending Westlife out into the wider world? In Surviving Ireland, acclaimed comedy writer Colm Tobin takes the listener by the hand for a satirical romp through modern Irish life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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very fun
- By Rick on 06-12-19
By: Colm Tobin
-
Iranian Rappers and Persian Porn
- A Hitchhiker's Adventures in the New Iran
- By: Jamie Maslin
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
When Jamie Maslin decides to hitchhike the entire length of the Silk Road, he decides to travel first and plan later. Then, unexpectedly stranded in Iran - a country he's only read about in newspapers - he wonders whether he'll make it out alive. After crossing the border on foot from Turkey, Maslin finds himself suddenly plunged into the subversive, contradictory world of Iranian subculture, where he is embraced by locals who are happy to show him the true Iran as they see it....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Entertaining & Informative
- By Bella Bates on 04-18-14
By: Jamie Maslin
-
Dreaming of Jupiter
- By: Ted Simon
- Narrated by: Rupert Degas
- Length: 16 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 127
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 113
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 110
When Ted Simon rode 64,000 miles round the world on his 500c Triumph Tiger, he inspired thousands of motorcyclists to begin their own adventures, including Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, who chronicled their travels in Long Way Round. Nearly 30 years later, Ted Simon took to the road again to retrace the epic journey he made in his 40s. He meets up with old friends and acquaintances, revisits old landmarks and locations, and rediscovers himself, as well as the world, along the way.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing book, Amazing Man
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By: Ted Simon
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My Twenty-Five Years in Provence
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- Narrated by: John Lee
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 230
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A celebration of 25 years of Provençal living - of lessons learned and changes observed - with his final book, Peter Mayle has crafted a lasting love letter to his adopted home, marked by his signature warmth, wit, and humor.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
The narrator ruins it for me.
- By Flossiesmommy on 07-05-18
By: Peter Mayle
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Maeve's Times
- In Her Own Words
- By: Maeve Binchy
- Narrated by: Kate Binchy
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
From the royal wedding to boring airplane companions, Samuel Beckett to Margaret Thatcher, "senior moments" to life as a waitress, Maeve's Times gives us wonderful insight into a changing Ireland as it celebrates the work of one of our best-loved writers in all its diversity - revealing her characteristic directness, laugh-out-loud humor, and unswerving gaze into the true heart of a matter.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A GLIMPSE THROUGH MAEVE'S LOOKING GLASS
- By jstrfic on 08-08-17
By: Maeve Binchy
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Lord James Harrington and the Winter Mystery
- By: Lynn Florkiewicz
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 245
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 201
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 201
1957. Lord James Harrington and his wife, Beth, run a country hotel in the village of Cavendish, deep in the heart of West Sussex. James and Beth are discussing the latest Cavendish Players production, The Devil Incarnate, when their cleaner informs them that farmer Alec Grimes is missing.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I'm Officially Hooked On Lord Harrington
- By John on 12-18-17
By: Lynn Florkiewicz
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Paris to the Moon
- By: Adam Gopnik
- Narrated by: Adam Gopnik
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 148
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 107
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 107
Paris. The name alone conjures images of chestnut-lined boulevards, sidewalk cafés, breathtaking façades around every corner: in short, an exquisite romanticism that has captured the American imagination for as long as there have been Americans.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Wish this wasn't abridged!!
- By Sarah D. on 03-25-17
By: Adam Gopnik
-
Flesh Wounds
- By: Richard Glover
- Narrated by: Richard Glover
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
A mother who invented her past, a father who was often absent, a son who wondered if this could really be his family...Richard Glover's favourite dinner-party game is called 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?' It's a game he always thinks he'll win. There was his mother, a deluded snob who made up large swathes of her past and who ran away with Richard's English teacher, a Tolkien devotee, nudist and stuffed toy collector.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Such a Meaningful Reflection
- By Awarenessing on 11-28-15
By: Richard Glover
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How It All Began
- By: Penelope Lively
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 458
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 391
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 389
When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. A marriage unravels after an illicit love affair is revealed through an errant cell phone message; a posh yet financially strapped interior designer meets a business partner who might prove too good to be true.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful and beautifully written
- By Molly-o on 02-15-12
By: Penelope Lively
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Missing Susan
- By: Sharyn McCrumb
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
When Rowan Rover is offered $50,000 to murder a woman on his September Mystery Tour, he is surprised to find himself accepting the offer. The thought of committing murder chills him, until he meets the beautiful Susan Cohen. After days of listening to her nonstop chatter, with insults tossed in every direction, Rowan reaches a startling conclusion: she is someone he would like to kill.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Anyone who has taken a package tour can relate.
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 12-30-17
By: Sharyn McCrumb
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Lost on Planet China
- By: J. Maarten Troost
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 753
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 505
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 505
When the travel bug bit, J. Maarten Troost took on the world's most populous and intriguing nation. As Troost relates his gonzo adventure - dodging deadly drivers in Shanghai, eating yak in Tibet, deciphering restaurant menus (offering local favorites such as cattle penis with garlic), and visiting with Chairman Mao (still dead) - he reveals a vast, complex country on the brink of transformation that will soon shape the way we all work, live, and think.
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3 out of 5 stars
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I love Troost but...
- By Abigail on 02-25-09
-
Time Pieces
- A Dublin Memoir
- By: John Banville
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
As much about the life of the city as it is about a life lived, sometimes, in the city, John Banville's "quasi-memoir" is as layered, emotionally rich, witty, and unexpected as any of his novels. Born and bred in a small town a train ride away from Dublin, Banville saw the city as a place of enchantment when he was a child, a birthday treat, the place where his beloved, eccentric aunt lived.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
‘loved it!
- By SandyK on 02-24-24
By: John Banville
-
I Regret Nothing
- A Memoir
- By: Jen Lancaster
- Narrated by: Jen Lancaster
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 410
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 367
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 363
New York Times best-selling author Jen Lancaster has lived a life based on re-invention and self-improvement. From Bitter Is the New Black to The Tao of Martha, she’s managed to document her (and her generation’s) attempts to shape up, grow up, and have it all - sometimes with disastrous results...Mistakes are one thing; regrets are another. After a girls’ weekend in Savannah makes her realize that she is - yikes! - middle-aged (binge watching is so the new binge drinking), Jen decides to make a bucket list and seize the day.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The Smug Is Strong With This One
- By T. Filowitz on 05-24-15
By: Jen Lancaster
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In the first of three essays included in this audiobook, Bill Bryson decides to move his wife and kids back to his homeland, the United States, after nearly two decades in Britain. But not before taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. The result is a hilarious social commentary.
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Bill Bryson is an unabashed Anglophile who, through a mistake of history, happened to be born and bred in Iowa. Righting that error, he spent 20 years in England before deciding to repatriate. This was partly to let his wife and children experience life in Bryson's homeland - and partly because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another. It was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain.
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Crackin' yarn, lad!
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Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.”
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Bryson does it again
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
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Story5 out of 5 stars 10
Recently widowed, Winnie, 84, was in need of some companionship. Someone to help with the weekly food shop and offer tips on the crossword. Ben, 34, was looking for a new housemate. As the UK was locked down in 2020, Ben and Winnie's lives interwove, forming an unlikely friendship, where lessons were learnt (heat the red wine in the oven with the plates, preserve or pickle whatever you can, never throw anything away) and grief, both personal and that of a nation, was explored.
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In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.
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Bryson Not Reading Makes For a Rare Fail
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Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant.
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What listeners say about Dear Bill Bryson
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- susan w
- 01-20-24
Narration distracts from content
The intent was intriguing. I was curious to see what a later journey discovered that was same and different from Bryson's original. However Aitken's speech rhythm, dropping down at the end of each sentence becomes dreary. He does seem depressed by much of his travels. Even enthusiastic reviews have the same down tone. I gave up about two thirds through .
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- I. Sherman
- 11-29-23
Nope
I love Bill Bryson’s work; I did NOT love this. While Bryson writes with wit, charm and a sparkle, Aitken comes across as pretentious, negative and easily disappointed by anything and everything. His narration doesn’t make up for it as he delivers a lifeless performance that seems to emphasize his negativity. If you like Bryson, give this a miss.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- John R. Galloway Jr.
- 08-02-23
Not funny, just boring
Sadly, at least with this example, Ben Aitken shows himself to be an even worse narrator than he is an author, and he is not a very good author. I have not listened to Bryson's Notes From A Small Island, but of the ones to which I have listened they make me chukle and Bryson is a decent narrator. I can not recall a single moment of amusement listening to Aitken's 8.5 hrs of droning. The last 2 hrs are a little better but not by much. I did manage to listen to the entire thing so that gets from 1 star up to 2 stars.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jacob Nance
- 05-24-22
Very nicely done!
I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to read (listen to) more books from Ben.
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