-
Breathing Lessons
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Release date: 12-20-11
- Language: English
- Publisher: Audible Studios
- Whispersync for Voice-ready
Regular price: $24.95
People who bought this also bought...
-
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 257
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 205
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 203
Pearl Tull is nearing the end of her life but not of her memory. It was a Sunday night in 1944 when her husband left the little row house on Baltimore’s Calvert Street, abandoning Pearl to raise their three children alone....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Listen to it More Than Once
- By Babette on 06-13-11
-
Clock Dance
- A Novel
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 446
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 402
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 398
Willa Drake can count on one hand the defining moments of her life. In 1967, she is a schoolgirl coping with her mother's sudden disappearance. In 1977, she is a college coed considering a marriage proposal. In 1997, she is a young widow trying to piece her life back together. And in 2017, she yearns to be a grandmother but isn't sure she ever will be. Then, one day, Willa receives a startling phone call from a stranger. Without fully understanding why, she flies across the country to Baltimore....
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
frustrated
- By Amazon Customer on 07-13-18
-
The Accidental Tourist
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 655
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 598
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 599
Meet Macon Leary--a travel writer who hates both travel and strangeness. Grounded by loneliness, comfort, and a somewhat odd domestic life, Macon is about to embark on a surprising new adventure, arriving in the form of a fuzzy-haired dog obedience trainer who promises to turn his life around.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Extraordinary How Underwhelmed I Am
- By Gillian on 05-13-15
-
Ladder of Years
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kelly Lintz
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 102
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 83
"Baltimore woman disappears during family vacation" declares the headline. Forty-year-old Delia Grinstead is last seen strolling down the Delaware shore, wearing nothing more than a bathing suit and carrying a beach tote with five hundred dollars tucked inside. To her husband and three almost-grown children, she has vanished without trace or reason. But for Delia, "walking away from it all" is not a premeditated act, but an impulse that will lead her into a new, exciting, and unimagined life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My Favorite Book
- By Robyn Ringler, East Line Literary Arts on 06-10-17
-
Back When We Were Grownups
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Blair Brown
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 203
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 57
Back When We Were Grownups is about one woman's search for who she really is. Listen as a 53-year-old grandmother tries to recover her girlhood self and that dignified grownup she had once been.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful characters
- By Barbara on 08-19-03
-
A Spool of Blue Thread
- A Novel
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 2,116
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,857
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 1,865
"It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon..." This is how Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she fell in love with Red that day in July 1959. The Whitshanks are one of those families that radiate togetherness: an indefinable, enviable kind of specialness. But they are also like all families, in that the stories they tell themselves reveal only part of the picture.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
From a LONG Time Anne Tyler fan
- By S. Elder on 09-29-15
-
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 257
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 205
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 203
Pearl Tull is nearing the end of her life but not of her memory. It was a Sunday night in 1944 when her husband left the little row house on Baltimore’s Calvert Street, abandoning Pearl to raise their three children alone....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Listen to it More Than Once
- By Babette on 06-13-11
-
Clock Dance
- A Novel
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 446
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 402
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 398
Willa Drake can count on one hand the defining moments of her life. In 1967, she is a schoolgirl coping with her mother's sudden disappearance. In 1977, she is a college coed considering a marriage proposal. In 1997, she is a young widow trying to piece her life back together. And in 2017, she yearns to be a grandmother but isn't sure she ever will be. Then, one day, Willa receives a startling phone call from a stranger. Without fully understanding why, she flies across the country to Baltimore....
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
frustrated
- By Amazon Customer on 07-13-18
-
The Accidental Tourist
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 655
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 598
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 599
Meet Macon Leary--a travel writer who hates both travel and strangeness. Grounded by loneliness, comfort, and a somewhat odd domestic life, Macon is about to embark on a surprising new adventure, arriving in the form of a fuzzy-haired dog obedience trainer who promises to turn his life around.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Extraordinary How Underwhelmed I Am
- By Gillian on 05-13-15
-
Ladder of Years
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kelly Lintz
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 102
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 83
"Baltimore woman disappears during family vacation" declares the headline. Forty-year-old Delia Grinstead is last seen strolling down the Delaware shore, wearing nothing more than a bathing suit and carrying a beach tote with five hundred dollars tucked inside. To her husband and three almost-grown children, she has vanished without trace or reason. But for Delia, "walking away from it all" is not a premeditated act, but an impulse that will lead her into a new, exciting, and unimagined life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My Favorite Book
- By Robyn Ringler, East Line Literary Arts on 06-10-17
-
Back When We Were Grownups
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Blair Brown
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 203
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 57
Back When We Were Grownups is about one woman's search for who she really is. Listen as a 53-year-old grandmother tries to recover her girlhood self and that dignified grownup she had once been.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful characters
- By Barbara on 08-19-03
-
A Spool of Blue Thread
- A Novel
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 2,116
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,857
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 1,865
"It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon..." This is how Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how she fell in love with Red that day in July 1959. The Whitshanks are one of those families that radiate togetherness: an indefinable, enviable kind of specialness. But they are also like all families, in that the stories they tell themselves reveal only part of the picture.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
From a LONG Time Anne Tyler fan
- By S. Elder on 09-29-15
-
Saint Maybe
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 83
In 1965, the happy Bedloe family is living an ideal, apple-pie existence in Baltimore. Then, in the blink of an eye, a single tragic event occurs that will transform their lives forever--particularly that of 17-year-old Ian Bedloe, the youngest son, who blames himself for the sudden "accidental" death of his older brother. Depressed and depleted, Ian is almost crushed under the weight of an unbearable, secret guilt.Then one crisp January evening, he catches sight of a window with glowing yellow neon, the Church of the Second Chance.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Saint Maybe
- By Gretchen on 07-17-18
-
The Destiny Thief
- Essays on Writing, Writers and Life
- By: Richard Russo
- Narrated by: Richard Russo
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
In these nine essays, Richard Russo provides insight into his life as a writer, teacher, friend, and reader. From a commencement speech he gave at Colby College, to the story of how an oddly placed toilet made him reevaluate the purpose of humor in art and life, to a comprehensive analysis of Mark Twain's value, to his harrowing journey accompanying a dear friend as she pursued gender-reassignment surgery, The Destiny Thief reflects the broad interests and experiences of one of America's most beloved authors.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Destiny Thief
- By anne on 08-22-18
-
The Amateur Marriage
- A Novel
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Blair Brown
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 153
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 56
They seemed like the perfect couple: young, good-looking, made for each other. The moment Pauline, a stranger to the Polish Eastern Avenue neighborhood of Baltimore (though she lived only twenty minutes away), walked into his mother's grocery store, Michael was smitten. And in the heat of World War II fervor, they are propelled into a hasty wedding. But they never should have married.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Lisa on 01-25-04
-
The Hours
- By: Michael Cunningham
- Narrated by: Michael Cunningham
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 333
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 188
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 187
The Hours is the story of three women: Clarissa Vaughan, Laura Brown, and Virginia Woolf. By the end of the novel, the stories intertwine in remarkable ways, and finally come together in an act of subtle and haunting grace.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very literary, intentionally slight plot
- By Steve on 12-02-03
-
Snap
- By: Belinda Bauer
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 96
"Jack's in charge," said his mother, as she disappeared up the road to get help. "I won't be long." So 11-year-old Jack and his two sisters wait on the hard shoulder in their stifling, broken-down car, bickering and whining and playing I-Spy until she comes back. But their mother doesn't come back. She never comes back. And after that long hot summer day, nothing will ever be the same again. Three years later, Jack's 15 and still in charge.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful, mesmerizing
- By brenda hubbard on 07-16-18
-
A Thousand Acres
- By: Jane Smiley
- Narrated by: C. J. Critt
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 334
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 261
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 269
Three daughters and their husbands are pulled into a tangle of love, jealousy, and fear when their father, Larry Cook, grows too old to manage the family's fertile thousand-acre farm. As each couple struggles with their own tragedies and challenges, they know their father is judging them in light of the weighty inheritance that hovers within their reach.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
good book bad reader
- By C. Carlson on 08-07-08
-
Ironweed
- By: William Kennedy
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 85
Francis Phelan, ex-ballplayer, part-time gravedigger, full-time drunk, has hit bottom. Years ago he left Albany in a hurry after killing a scab during a trolley workers' strike; he ran away again after accidentally – and fatally – dropping his infant son. Now, in 1938, Francis is back in town, roaming the old familiar streets with his hobo pal, Helen, trying to make peace with the ghosts of the past and the present.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Darkly Lovely
- By Michael on 07-22-17
-
Less
- By: Andrew Sean Greer
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,000
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,988
You are a failed novelist about to turn 50. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: Your boyfriend of the past nine years is engaged to someone else. You can't say yes - it would be too awkward - and you can't say no - it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of invitations to half-baked literary events around the world. Question: How do you arrange to skip town? Answer: You accept them all.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Endearing, funny, but sometimes overly clever
- By Lili on 07-30-17
-
Her Pretty Face
- By: Robyn Harding
- Narrated by: Rebekkah Ross, Cassandra Campbell, Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 191
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 178
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 179
Frances Metcalfe is struggling to stay afloat. A stay-at-home mom whose troubled son is her full-time job, she thought that the day he got accepted into the elite Forrester Academy would be the day she started living her life. Overweight, insecure, and lonely, she is desperate to fit into Forrester’s world. But after a disturbing incident at the school leads the other children and their families to ostracize the Metcalfes, she feels more alone than ever before. Until she meets Kate Randolph.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Realistic insight into sociopaths
- By Colorado-reader on 07-22-18
-
There There
- By: Tommy Orange
- Narrated by: Darrell Dennis, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Alma Ceurvo, and others
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 768
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 701
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 694
Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life back together after his uncle's death and has come to work at the powwow to honor his uncle's memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and will perform in public for the very first time. There will be glorious communion and a spectacle of sacred tradition and pageantry. And there will be sacrifice, and heroism, and loss.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Highly recommend.
- By Rachel Subido on 07-09-18
-
If Morning Ever Comes
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 15
Tyler’s first novel, written when she was 22 years old. Ben Joe Hawkes comes from a large, cheerful family of women. But when one of his sisters takes her baby and leaves her husband, everything--including his perceptions of the past--changes.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Toss Up
- By April Fritz on 08-19-11
-
The Garden Party
- A Novel
- By: Grace Dane Mazur
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story3 out of 5 stars 9
The Cohens are impractical intellectuals - academics, activists, and artists. The Barlows are Wall Street Journal-reading lawyers steeped in trusts and copyrights, golf and tennis. The two families are reserved with and wary of each other, but tonight, the evening before the wedding that is supposed to unite them in marriage, they will attempt to set aside their differences over dinner in the garden. Set over the course of a single day and night, Grace Dane Mazur’s brilliantly observed novel weaves an irresistible portrayal of miscommunication, secrets, and the power of love.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
disappointing and convoluted ending
- By Barbara on 07-24-18
Publisher's Summary
Maggie and Ira Moran have been married for 28 years... and it shows: in their quarrels, in their routines, in their ability to tolerate with affection each other's eccentricities. Maggie, a kooky, lovable meddler and an irrepressible optimist, wants nothing more than to fix her son's broken marriage. Ira is infuriatingly practical, a man "who should have married Ann Landers". And what begins as a day trip to a funeral becomes an adventure in the unexpected.
As Maggie and Ira navigate the riotous twists and turns, they intersect with an assorted cast of eccentrics - and rediscover the magic of the road called life and the joy of having somebody next to you to share the ride - bumps and all.
Critic Reviews
More from the same
Narrator
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
-
3.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars27
-
4 Stars28
-
3 Stars18
-
2 Stars13
-
1 Stars9
Performance
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars38
-
4 Stars21
-
3 Stars13
-
2 Stars4
-
1 Stars8
Story
-
3.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars18
-
4 Stars24
-
3 Stars20
-
2 Stars12
-
1 Stars8
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Rita
- 05-01-13
Narration spoiled it for me
Anne Tyler's work is delicate and subtle. Suzanne Toren's narration was so un-subtle it totally destroyed the book. It made the situations and the characters seem absolutely inane. A much better narrator of Anne Tyler's work is Elisabeth Rodgers, whose performance of Earthly Possessions is nuanced, at times ironic. I have been a very active Audible listener for many years, and I can remember only one other book I was unable to finish because of the narrator.
8 of 10 people found this review helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kelly
- 05-31-18
Intimate and Brutal at the same time.
I loved this book. It felt deeply personal and almost intrusive. It felt as though I was the fly on the wall, listening to private conversations and spying on Maggie and Ira. I have not read any books by Tyler before now, and I am so glad to have finally gotten to this one. The writing is languid and intimate. The story is a slow-burn, and the characterization is complex and profound. We only see one day in their lives, but it seems to tell us everything about their marriage. I know Maggie. I know Ira. And, while they are both flawed and often unlikable I still came away from the book liking both of them.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Laura
- 07-24-15
One of my favorite authors
I liked the story and the performance Tyler describes what it means to be human. Often so beautifully written it hurts and is joyful.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Jennifer Y.
- 05-19-18
Good, but disappointing......
This is the third book I have listened to by this author. I feel like each book the family had a major problem they all deal with in the books. The problem is never resolved... each book the reader is left hanging. The characters are great, but I felt disappointed at the end of each book. I felt like did everything work out or not???
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 01-29-18
Shocked
I expected this to be at the level of accidental tourist. I was shocked this was award winning. Wasted my time reading it.
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Jason Wilford Neville
- 08-04-16
sometimes less is more
As a character portrait, it was okay. Should've been a short story, not a novel.