The Twelve Sacred Traditions of Magnificent Mothers-in-Law

By: Haywood Smith

Narrated by: Erin Novotny

Length: 1 hr and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

A very Southern mother-in-law's humorous advice to mothers-in-law everywhere.

From the multiple New York Times best-selling author of The Red Hat Club. Best-selling author Haywood Smith and her pals have lots of personal experience in the joys, sorrows, pitfalls and flat-out hysteria of Mother-in-Lawness. Now Smith offers a handy and fun booklet of pithy advice to mothers-in-law everywhere.

Smith's sassy observations and gentle wisdom are delivered with her trademark southern charm, packing the sweet, heady punch of bourbon ice cubes melting in a mint julep.

The Twelve Sacred Traditions of Magnificent Mothers-in-Law is the perfect gift book for showers, engagement parties, family celebrations or just to share with that special DIL (Daughter-in-Law) or SIL (Son-in-Law). It can even safely be given to a Mother-in-Law.

©2009 Haywood Smith (P)2011 BelleBooks, Inc.

Bad Narration

If you can get past a really fake southern accent, you might pick up some good reminders and tips for respecting adult children and their partners. I am glad I stuck it out until the end because I am 6 months away from becoming a first time MiL, but it was incredibly difficult. You've been warned.

Impossible Narration

What disappointed you about The Twelve Sacred Traditions of Magnificent Mothers-in-Law?

After just five minutes, I had to turn this book off. The narrator was so irritating and annoyed me so much that I had no idea what the book was about.The fake southern accent was so disconcerting that I could not even concentrate enough to hear the story.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Fortunately I have a print copy of this audiobook and was able to read that. Although it was not the best of Haywood Smith's books I have read, it was ok. A short listing of the rules of etiquette for mothers-in-law, meant to be a humorous piece that was less than stellar. I would give it 3 stars tops The audiobook was spoiled for me by the narration

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Erin Novotny?

Anyone else! My personal favorite female narrator is Kate Rudd, but I can imagine Fannie Flagg narrating this book and I know there are others who are terrific with southern dialects..

Any additional comments?

For me, the narration of an audiobook is a most important aspect of the listening experience. The narration can make or break my overall opinion of any book, sometimes regardless of the quality of the author's writing and the book as a whole. The narration is the additional aspect that I so enjoy when listening to a book. If it's good, the experience is enhanced by the narration
Hopefully writers consider the narrators that are recording their book but sometimes I wonder. To me it is important and poor narration can result in a negative reaction to a book that may be very good. That means both the reader and the writer lose...readers miss a good book and the author does not get credit for their well written book. The majority of the narrators I have listened to were at least ok if not really good. Obviously it makes a big difference to me and I imagine other readers feel the same. Many times while listening to an audiobook it feels like I am part of an audience and the experience is similar to watching a broadway show. It is entertainment that I enjoy with the rest of the audience this is what I love about audiobooks. I feel as if I am being entertained and it's fun and I do not have to think about it like I do when reading a book and I will always enjoy reading a good book. But now I have a choice.
Reading has always been a big part of my life and it has always been a wonderful experience. Audiobooks are relatively new to me and they give me a new and different way to enjoy a book. As an avid reader, both audio and printed books are equally enjoyable, but in different ways. My reading list is pretty much split between audio and the printed version. Some books I prefer to read, others I want to hear narrated. The feature called "whispersync" means I can read and/or listen to a book. It's pretty cool. If I leave off reading on a certain page, i can download my audible recording and it will continue from where I stopped reading the ebook. And vice versa. Love that option.

Review

This was my least favorite book from author Haywood Smith. The narration by Erin Novotny was the 100% annoying. This was by far the worst narration of a book that I ever listened to. It was torture to finish listening to the book. I normally enjoy this authors books, but not this one.

I need to listen to this once a week for awhile...

...and not just for the sake of my in-laws but for all of my interactions. I know the narration, noted by reviews, seems annoying, but lol!!-I think that is the point!-we are annoying when we speak the same, well, in the South! and maybe N, E, & W! I rarely leave reviews-just listen alot rather than talk alot, but if you want to listen with an ear for peace...go for this inexpensive entertainment:)