LISTENER

Beverly Floyd

  • 4
  • reviews
  • 2
  • helpful votes
  • 7
  • ratings

  • Just Mercy

  • A Story of Justice and Redemption
  • By: Bryan Stevenson
  • Narrated by: Bryan Stevenson
  • Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars 7,336
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 6,644
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars 6,614

Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Made me question justice, peers and myself.

  • By Kristy VL on 04-17-15

Hard Truths Beautifully Shared

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-10-18

I was very moved by Mr. Stevenson‘s memoir of his work on behalf of so many people betrayed by our flawed justice system. This book is heartbreaking but very important. I am left with the strongest admiration for the author and the others like him who dedicate their lives to the betterment of our society.

  • The Song of Achilles

  • A Novel
  • By: Madeline Miller
  • Narrated by: Frazer Douglas
  • Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 7,801
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 7,261
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 7,244

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia to be raised in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles. “The best of all the Greeks”—strong, beautiful, and the child of a goddess—Achilles is everything the shamed Patroclus is not. Yet despite their differences, the boys become steadfast companions. Their bond deepens as they grow into young men and become skilled in the arts of war and medicine—much to the displeasure and the fury of Achilles’ mother, Thetis, a cruel sea goddess with a hatred of mortals.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Wasn't Expecting to Like It- BOY! was I wrong!!

  • By susan on 06-11-14

Surprisingly good!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-24-17

Would you listen to The Song of Achilles again? Why?

This isn't a genre that I usually choose for myself, but my daughter highly recommended this book after it captivated her. I didn't expect to like is as much as I did.

What did you like best about this story?

This audiobook perfectly combines an extremely well-developed character with a narrator who brought that character to life. At times, I felt like I was listening to Patroclus tell his own story.

Have you listened to any of Frazer Douglas’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not to my knowledge.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending was perfect. We all knew how the story would reach its natural end, but the author took the story beyond the well-known narrative to a transcendent conclusion that was very satisfying.

Any additional comments?

This is a highly romanticized story with a few cringe-worthy moments, but there are enough beautifully-written passages and a powerful love story that make this novel a lovely way to revisit an ancient legend.

  • You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

  • A Memoir
  • By: Sherman Alexie
  • Narrated by: Sherman Alexie
  • Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 1,443
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 1,334
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 1,329

When his mother passed away at the age of 78, Sherman Alexie responded the only way he knew how: He wrote. The result is this stunning memoir. Featuring 78 poems and 78 essays, Alexie shares raw, angry, funny, profane, tender memories of a childhood few can imagine - growing up dirt poor on an Indian reservation, one of four children raised by alcoholic parents. Throughout, a portrait emerges of his mother as a beautiful, mercurial, abusive, intelligent, complicated woman.

  • 4 out of 5 stars

  • True connection

  • By Tom on 07-20-17

A Memoir Like No Other

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-18-17

Listening to Sherman Alexie read his memoir is an intimate and heartbreaking experience. It wasn't easy to get through, and I had to take breaks from time to time, but I will cherish the time I spent immersed in this beautiful work of art.

  • Forever Young

  • My Friendship with John F. Kennedy, Jr.
  • By: William Noonan
  • Narrated by: Adam Grupper
  • Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars 21
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 15
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 15

For 25 years William Noonan and John F. Kennedy, Jr. were best friends. Sharing an adolescence in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, the two frequented beach bonfires and the Monday-night yacht-club dances, took road trips, shared albums, sneaked cigarettes on the widow’s walk of John’s house, and scored beer together. And as they grew older, John and Billy never lost the connection they forged in the Kennedy compound as two young boys who had both tragically lost their fathers.

  • 2 out of 5 stars

  • Lacks substance

  • By Beverly Floyd on 12-04-16

Lacks substance

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
1 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-04-16

This book seems like nothing more than the author's shameless effort to profit from his friendship with a lost icon. He has few interesting anecdotes and resorts to gossip throughout most of the book. I'm sorry I wasted my time.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful