My Planet

Finding Humor in the Oddest Places

By: Mary Roach

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Follow New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach - but be careful not to trip - as she weaves through personal anecdotes and everyday musings riddled with her uncanny wit and amazingly analytical eye. These essays, which found a well-deserved home within the pages of Reader's Digest as the column "My Planet," detail the inner workings of hypochondriacs, hoarders, and compulsive cheapskates. (Did we mention neurotic interior designers and professional list makers?) For Roach, humor is hidden in the most unlikely places, which means that nothing is off limits. Whether she is dwelling on her age or talking about the pros and cons of a bedroom night light - "A married couple can best be defined as a unit of people whose sleep habits are carefully engineered to keep each other awake" - Roach finds a lesson, a slice of sarcasm, or a dash of something special that makes each day comical and absolutely priceless.

In keeping with our mission - curating the best listens in the land - Reader's Digest editors neatly packaged these timeless (and hilarious) Roach essays together for the first time.

©2013 The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Short & Witty

The book is a collection of columns originally printed in Reader's Digest. The subjects vary but are mostly a reflection on daily activities, family relationships, and observations of human interaction. Her wording is clever and phrasing often has a twist or three.

Unfortunately, the narrator's performance doesn't meet the same standard sounding too immature for the material and not conveying the obvious humour in the text.

Laughed out loud!

I did have to get used to the voice but the material is so sharp and funny!

I love Mary Roach

This would have been funnier with a different reader, say, Mary Roach. At first I thought the narrator was shouting at me. Later I realized the narrator used the same robot voice with the same inflection on every sentence. Her voice works well on the bit on being on hold with a helpful non-person assistant.

Very Funny

The book is comprised of short essays on random subjects of everyday life. Most are amusing, and some made me burst out laughing, causing some odd looks because I was listening with headphones in public.
Mary's own personality comes though, and she seems like a person you'd like to know in person. Also, almost all of the book is g rated, with a sprinkling of pg stuff like a tiny bit of bad language.
The narrator sounds like a brash NYC comedian, which sometimes doesn't feel right but overall didn't detract too much.

Enjoyable!

I found this audiobook to be quite enjoyable. The author is very clever in her writing. It was not "rolling on the floor laughing" funny but It was very witty. I also felt the narrator did a good job with the delivery. I will probably listen to it again in the future!