Barbara Stark-Nemon - author Even in Darkness- a novel
- 14
- reviews
- 11
- helpful votes
- 83
- ratings
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The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water
- A Novel
- By: Erin Bartels
- Narrated by: Mia Barron
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 340
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 313
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 308
When Kendra Brennan moves into her grandfather's old cabin on Hidden Lake, she has a problem and a plan. The problem? An inflammatory letter from A Very Disappointed Reader that's keeping her from writing her next novel as long as its claims go unanswered. The plan? To confront Tyler, her childhood best friend's brother - and the man who inspired the antagonist in her first book - in order to prove to herself that she told the truth as all good novelists should.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another wonderful story by Bartels
- By Lora Headley on 01-17-22
- The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water
- A Novel
- By: Erin Bartels
- Narrated by: Mia Barron
A Winner All Around
Reviewed: 06-21-22
Erin Bartels does it to me again. Full disclosure, I am a Michigan author with a fascination for lake settings and an interest in the responsibility a writer has to protect the sources of characters and stories, so perhaps I was predisposed to love The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water. Still, the careful plotting, (I didn’t mind AT ALL that it was slow and careful), the acceptance of complexity in the characters and relationships, and the gorgeous writing made this book a winner all around.
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3 people found this helpful
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Virgil Wander
- By: Leif Enger
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,081
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 962
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 957
Midwestern movie house owner Virgil Wander is "cruising along at medium altitude" when his car flies off the road into icy Lake Superior. Virgil survives, but his language and memory are altered, and he emerges into a world no longer familiar to him. Awakening in this new life, Virgil begins to piece together his personal history and the lore of his broken town, with the help of a cast of affable and curious locals. Into this community returns a shimmering prodigal son who may hold the key to reviving their town.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Not a Minnesota Accent
- By Caritas on 10-09-18
- Virgil Wander
- By: Leif Enger
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
Makes a novelist wonder... wny bother?
Reviewed: 08-09-20
What a winsome, poignant gem of a novel. Nails the upper midwest angst and goodness, with a profound expression of the power of the natural world. And there were kites! Makes a novelist wonder: why bother?. Did notice a shift in the dialect mid-stream by the narrator, but still loved this audio version.
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Great Second Acts
- In Praise of Older Women
- By: Marlene Wagman-Geller
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
Marlene Wagman-Geller, author of Once Again to Zelda and Behind Every Great Man, presents a fascinating collection of biographical vignettes of dozens of women of a certain age who have excelled, inspired, and achieved. Learn how these women changed their respective fields of art, politics, science, mathematics, media, literature, activism, education, and more. From actresses, yoga teachers, folk artists to business women, prime ministers, monarchs, and authors, this group of exceptional women will illustrate that women can achieve anything, no matter their age.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An inspiring collection
- By Barbara Stark-Nemon - author Even in Darkness- a novel on 12-04-18
- Great Second Acts
- In Praise of Older Women
- By: Marlene Wagman-Geller
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
An inspiring collection
Reviewed: 12-04-18
Marlene Wagman-Geller's collection of stories about accomplished women from all walks of life and from many places in the world share the themes of resilience, persistence and the reality that we are products of our upbringing and our times, but that we need not be victims of them. With humor, candor and sass, Wagman-Geller reveals what inspires her about actresses, stateswomen, judges, nuns, and political activists, and in so doing inspires the reader to believe we can all have great second acts.
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4 people found this helpful
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One Good Mama Bone
- A Novel
- By: Bren McClain
- Narrated by: Bren McClain
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 221
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 195
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Story5 out of 5 stars 193
Set in early 1950s rural South Carolina, One Good Mama Bone chronicles Sarah Creamer's quest to find her "mama bone", after she is left to care for a boy who is not her own but instead is the product of an affair between her husband and her best friend and neighbor, a woman she calls "sister". When her husband drinks himself to death, Sarah, a dirt-poor homemaker with no family to rely on and the note on the farm long past due, must find a way for her and young Emerson Bridge to survive.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Simply the Best!
- By Linda P. on 09-28-17
- One Good Mama Bone
- A Novel
- By: Bren McClain
- Narrated by: Bren McClain
A Do-not-miss
Reviewed: 10-16-18
Bren McClain’s One Good Mama Bone is a brilliant tapestry of tribute to motherhood, South Carolina back-country, and the redemption of simple human kindness. There are cows. There is sewing. There is hunger. There are boys and their mothers. Be prepared for McClain’s beautiful writing to reach right down into your heart and build a world so poignant and real it will take your breath away. The audiobook is exquisitely narrated by the author. A do-not-miss!
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The Scribe of Siena
- A Novel
- By: Melodie Winawer
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 848
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 777
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 772
Accomplished neurosurgeon Beatrice Trovato knows that her deep empathy for her patients is starting to impede her work. So when her beloved brother passes away, she welcomes the unexpected trip to the Tuscan city of Siena to resolve his estate, even as she wrestles with grief. But as she delves deeper into her brother's affairs, she discovers intrigue she never imagined - a 700-year-old conspiracy to decimate the city.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I hope this is the first in a series!
- By Taryn on 05-30-17
- The Scribe of Siena
- A Novel
- By: Melodie Winawer
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
Heady Science with Artistic Sensibility
Reviewed: 10-06-18
In the author’s note at the end of The Scribe of Sienna, Melodie Winawer’s time traveling historical fiction, she writes “this isn’t history- it’s fiction, and fiction, by definition, goes between and beyond the facts. That is the privilege and the heady pleasure of the novelist.” The pleasure extends bountifully to the reader. Winawer’s skillful combination of beautifully written sensory detail, meticulous research into 14th century Sienna, her knowledge as a neurosurgeon, and the complex story that results, are captivating. The time travel, and juxtaposition of heady science with artistic sensibility and doses of spirituality and hard political intrigue give Winawer a broad range within which to explore human character from the 14th century to our own, and the themes that bind all the best stories. Don’t miss this book!
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Eden
- A Novel
- By: Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg
- Narrated by: Marnye Young
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
Becca Meister Fitzpatrick - wife, mother, grandmother, and pillar of the community - is the dutiful steward of her family's iconic summer tradition...until she discovers her recently deceased husband squandered their nest egg. As she struggles to accept what is likely her last season in Long Harbor, Becca is inspired by her granddaughter's boldness in the face of impending single-motherhood, and summons the courage to reveal a secret she was forced to bury long ago.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I can’t wait for Ms. Blasberg ‘s next novel!
- By Susu on 10-30-17
- Eden
- A Novel
- By: Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg
- Narrated by: Marnye Young
A Wonderful Audiobook!
Reviewed: 04-06-18
Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg’s debut novel Eden poignantly proves the adage, all that glitters is not gold. The wealth and privilege of the Meisters give way to the reality of the secrets and sorrows that each family member harbors. All is played out in the beautifully described summer days at the family compound on the ocean in Rhode Island. Blasberg reminds us it’s never too late to learn from the past and redefine the meaning of family. A wonderful audiobook!
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The Weight of Ink
- By: Rachel Kadish
- Narrated by: Corrie James
- Length: 23 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,519
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,966
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,954
Set in the London of the 1660s and of the early 21st century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city, and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. As the novel opens, Helen has been summoned by a former student to view a cache of 17th-century Jewish documents newly discovered in his home during a renovation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Compelling characters question life choices, ethics, religious rules, love and desire
- By CHRISTINE on 11-02-17
- The Weight of Ink
- By: Rachel Kadish
- Narrated by: Corrie James
Rachel Kadish "metabolizing life"
Reviewed: 08-21-17
Rachel Kadish has written “I put words to paper because it's my way of metabolizing life,” and readers can be delighted with the nourishing and sustaining results in her novel, The Weight of Ink. As an historical novelist myself, I am awed by Kadish’s skill in balancing historic accuracy in thought and language to describe and create characters and dialogue from the 17th century, with the need to convey to a modern reader the synergistic themes and conflicts of identity, spirituality, love, passion and responsibility. Using another set of characters from the present to discover and interpret, with plotting to intersect the two centuries adds to the interest and complexity of this masterful work. Those with an interest in the history of Sephardic Jews in the European diaspora, and in epistolary novels will be particularly delighted. Favorite quote: “The greatest curse, he’d thought, was to be stuck in one’s own time- and the greatest power, to see beyond its horizons.”
Corrie James’ narration – first rate!
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1 person found this helpful
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The Simplicity of Cider
- By: Amy E. Reichert
- Narrated by: Rachel Dulude
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 140
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 130
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
Focused and unassuming fifth generation cider-maker Sanna Lund has one desire: to live a simple, quiet life on her family's apple orchard in Door County, Wisconsin. Although her business is struggling, Sanna remains fiercely devoted to the orchard, despite her brother's attempts to convince their aging father to sell the land. Single dad Isaac Banks has spent years trying to shield his son, Sebastian, from his troubled mother.
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5 out of 5 stars
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just awesome
- By Gettingitdone on 09-26-17
- The Simplicity of Cider
- By: Amy E. Reichert
- Narrated by: Rachel Dulude
A Multi-category Joy
Reviewed: 07-27-17
With lush descriptions and an intricate plot, Amy Reacher's Simplicity of Cider is a special treat for hard apple cider aficionados who love strong female lead characters in their women's fiction, and authentic evocations of the charms of Midwest orchard country. Everyone else will love it too!
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2 people found this helpful
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Miller's Valley
- A Novel
- By: Anna Quindlen
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,011
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 909
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Story4 out of 5 stars 907
As a young girl in Miller's Valley, an ordinary farming town that may be facing its final days, Mimi is observing adults, selling corn, growing up and changing, and watching the world around her change, too. As the years go by, the unthinkable starts to seem inevitable. Anna Quindlen's novel takes us through the changing eras of Mimi and her family, as secrets are revealed, and the heartbreaks of growing up and falling in love with the wrong man are overcome.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Quietly engaging
- By Taryn on 01-07-17
- Miller's Valley
- A Novel
- By: Anna Quindlen
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
Anna Quindlen at her Best
Reviewed: 12-08-16
Not just a poignant coming of age story, Miller's Valley shines with the authenticity of a woman's attachments to her family, her past, her dreams, her loved ones and the land they all inhabit. Great narration.
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By Fire, By Water
- By: Mitchell James Kaplan
- Narrated by: Clinton Wade
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 23
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 20
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Story4 out of 5 stars 20
Luis de Santngel, chancellor to the court and longtime friend of the lusty King Ferdinand, has had enough of the Spanish Inquisition. As the power of Inquisitor General Toms de Torquemada grows, so does the brutality of the Spanish church and the suspicion and paranoia it inspires. When a dear friend’s demise brings the violence close to home, Santngel is enraged and takes retribution into his own hands. But he is from a family of conversos, and his Jewish heritage makes him an easy target.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Bit hard to follow
- By Kelsi Gulig on 11-02-22
- By Fire, By Water
- By: Mitchell James Kaplan
- Narrated by: Clinton Wade
Superb literary excursion to Inquisition Spain
Reviewed: 11-23-16
Spain, particularly Andalusia, was a maelstrom of religious, political and sociological upheaval in the late fifteenth and early 16th century. Mitchell James Kaplan’s By Fire, By Water is a superb literary excursion into that time and place. Engagingly written, and deeply researched, Kaplan convincingly transports the reader to the sights, sounds, and smells of Spain, to the desperate conflicts of religion and politics, and to a convincing set of relationships among a wide cast of characters, both real and imagined.
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