My Planet

Finding Humor in the Oddest Places

De: Mary Roach

Narrado por: 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.

Amusing and good

Mary Roach continues to impress, while the narrator seemed to be yelling the words at me. Overall really quite good!

Laugh out loud funny!

Short stories that are a bit dated but so funny. Even if you haven't experienced all of them - you'll get it.

Great relatable humor, Grating narration

The chapters I've managed to get through are humorous, but the reader's voice is painful to my ears. She has shrill intonation and over emphasizes almost everything. I've slowed down the playback speed and adjusted my equalizer to make it tolerable. I'm seriously thinking of buying the book for myself and friends because I've enjoyed the stories.

Loved the book, not the narrator

I couldn't finish it, I'll read it instead. The story is not suited to the narrator. The style of Mary Roach and her writings are deadpan humour and it just sounded wrong.

Amusing material poorly delivered

I would like to be kind to the narrator of this book, but it felt rushed, expressionless and was difficult to listen to. I think it would have been really funny, but this is what the teacher sounds like when she really wants to finish the chapter in today's readaloud and the bell is going to ring in two minutes.

I think I'll buy the book and try it again - I'll have to think twice before buying another audible by this narrator.

awful narrator

Her angry- tone no matter the topic, and staccato delivery was annoying. distracted greatly from my usual enjoyment of Roach's stories.

Entertaining

This was a great listen while doing chores or commuting because I didn't have to concentrate too closely on the narration. Even still, there were some really funny moments that caught me off guard. I think it's the simple, honest way this was written that kept me smiling throughout.