Pam
- 82
- reviews
- 950
- helpful votes
- 231
- ratings
-
Busy
- How to thrive in a world of too much
- By: Tony Crabbe
- Narrated by: Tony Crabbe
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's difficult to ask anybody "how are you?" without hearing the word "busy" somewhere in their response. We feel overwhelmed by busyness because of the demands on our time: our inboxes and our to-do lists are bulging, a huge amount of people expect things from us and our organisations are trying to do more with fewer people. But it doesn't have to be that way. In reality, busyness isn't essential. Yes, there is a lot to do, but believing you're always busy because you have so much to do is both false and unhelpful.
-
-
Getting things done—right
- By Pam on 12-07-15
- Busy
- How to thrive in a world of too much
- By: Tony Crabbe
- Narrated by: Tony Crabbe
Getting things done—right
Reviewed: 12-07-15
This book is an makes for an interesting companion to the time management classic "Getting Things Done," in that it helps you figure out which "things" you actually want to do. It also makes a convincing argument that people who strive to be strategic with their time, rather than simply efficient, are not only more effective at their jobs—they're happier, too. Don't try to do everything, the author says—do the right things to get what you want. The same holds true for companies: don't try to be everything to every consumer. Settle on your true brand, and do what makes you the best at it.
If you haven't read "Getting Things Done," I would recommend reading this first, as it puts you in the right mindset for learning concrete strategies for success.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Jeweled Fire
- Elemental Blessings, Book 3
- By: Sharon Shinn
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As one of the four princesses of Welce, Corene always thought she might one day become queen. Only circumstances changed, leaving fiery Corene with nothing to show for a life spent playing the game of court intrigue - until a chance arises to become the ruler of a nearby country. After stowing away on a ship bound for Malinqua with her loyal bodyguard, Foley, Corene must try to win the throne by making a play to marry one of the empress' three nephews.
-
-
Utterly satisfying
- By LV on 11-10-15
- Jeweled Fire
- Elemental Blessings, Book 3
- By: Sharon Shinn
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
New cast of instantly beloved characters
Reviewed: 12-07-15
Don't get too attached to any of the characters in this series. A funny thing about "Elemental Blessings" is that, while each individual book tells a complex story with many characters, only one or two characters continue from one installment to the next. A minor character in one becomes central to the next. So while the story continues as one long narrative, the reader's perspective changes dramatically, and there are always many new people to meet. (Who's story will form the center of book four? My money's on Leah, or maybe Leah's daughter.) This latest installment is as satisfying as the others, and the mystery is resolved with a few surprising turns. Thoroughly enjoyable!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Chimera
- By: Mira Grant
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From New York Times best-selling author Mira Grant comes the final book in the terrifying Parasitology series. The outbreak has spread, tearing apart the foundations of society, as implanted tapeworms have turned their human hosts into a seemingly mindless mob. Sal and her family are trapped between bad and worse, and must find a way to compromise between the two sides of their nature before the battle becomes large enough to destroy humanity, and everything that humanity has built...including the chimera. The broken doors are closing. Can Sal make it home?
-
-
Avoid- the third book really didn't get better...
- By Gloria on 12-01-15
- Chimera
- By: Mira Grant
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
Many unanswered questions
Reviewed: 12-07-15
While the premise of this series is an excellent one for exploring themes of identity (If a tapeworm takes over your brain, are you still you? Who do you want to be?), the execution of it falls a little flat in this third installment. Some questions have have lingered from the first book go unanswered, while others are tied up in too neat of a bow. I'm left thinking that the story could have been told in one or two books instead of three. Or maybe it should be four or five. (See what I mean? Hard to tell.) I don't want to give the impression that the book is poorly written, because it's really quite well written—just not structured properly, perhaps. The narrator struggles with one character's British accent, and that was quite distracting. Still, I'm optimistic enough to read the author's future works, and see where she goes from here.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Lamp Black, Wolf Grey
- A Novel
- By: Paula Brackston
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Artist Laura Matthews finds her new home in the Welsh mountains to be a place so charged with tales and legends that she is able to reach through the gossamer-fine veil that separates her own world from that of myth and fable. She and her husband, Dan, have given up their city life and moved to Blaencwm, an ancient longhouse high in the hills. Here, she hopes that the wild beauty will inspire her to produce her best art and will give her the baby they have longed for.
-
-
Just plain silly
- By Jennifer S Lewis on 08-10-18
- Lamp Black, Wolf Grey
- A Novel
- By: Paula Brackston
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
Classic Paula Brackston
Reviewed: 12-07-15
This book has everything fans of Paula Brackston expect from one of her novels, including a brilliantly described natural landscape that at times becomes a character itself. Very similar to "The Silver Witch," "Lamp Black, Wolf Grey" explores themes of creativity and independence, and the heroine's artistic endeavors (in this case, painting) bring her closer to the supernatural realm—a great metaphor for the unconscious and creative part of the psyche. This book is a little too similar to "Silver Witch," though, and I think that book told the story better. Still, a good read, and suspenseful.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
10 people found this helpful
-
Locke & Key
- By: Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez
- Narrated by: Haley Joel Osment, Tatiana Maslany, Kate Mulgrew, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on the best-selling, award-winning graphic novel series Locke & Key - written by acclaimed suspense novelist Joe Hill (NOS4A2, Horns) and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez - this multicast, fully dramatized audio production brings the images and words to life.
-
-
I WANT MY MONEY BACK!
- By Randall on 10-24-15
- Locke & Key
- By: Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez
- Narrated by: Haley Joel Osment, Tatiana Maslany, Kate Mulgrew, full cast
Scary Fun
Reviewed: 12-07-15
Like an old-time radio drama, this book puts you in the middle of the action. It's a little over-dramatic, but not terribly so, and by the time I was through the first few chapters, I was hooked. Great voice performances, especially from Tatiana Maslany.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
The Taming of the Queen
- By: Philippa Gregory
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
- Length: 18 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kateryn Parr, a 30-year-old widow in a secret affair with a new lover, has no choice when a man old enough to be her father who has buried four wives - King Henry VIII - commands her to marry him.
-
-
NEEDS EDITING - DESPERATELY!
- By The Louligan on 08-31-15
- The Taming of the Queen
- By: Philippa Gregory
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
All Any Woman Wants
Reviewed: 08-26-15
There is a moment when Kateryn Parr, sixth wife of Henry VIII, asks herself what she wants. She thinks that she wants "all any woman wants,"—to be taken care of. Her answer may surprise fans of HBO's The Tudors, for this is a different Queen Kateryn than the self-assured one they knew, and certainly a different one from historical accounts, which cannot channel her inner voice. Gregory creates that inner voice beautifully as Kateryn grows into her role as queen.
Tiny details make the emotions ring true, such as when Kateryn inspects the royal jewels and catches the scent of the queens that came before her. Each of the women's perfume clings to their favorite pieces. In that moment, Kateryn's sense that she's being haunted by the five queens is instinctual, and her reaction natural—she can't help but wonder what she will leave behind someday.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
9 people found this helpful
-
Aurora
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Ali Ahn
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A major new novel from one of science fiction's most powerful voices, Aurora tells the incredible story of our first voyage beyond the solar system. Brilliantly imagined and beautifully told, it is the work of a writer at the height of his powers.
-
-
The Future is Limited, Get Used to It
- By Martin Lesser on 08-20-15
- Aurora
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Ali Ahn
Best book I've listened to all year
Reviewed: 07-26-15
"Wherever we go, there we are." -- I can't imagine being born and raised on a starship six generations after it left Earth, but Kim Stanley Robinson can. Unlike their distant ancestors who volunteered for this mission, the space travelers we meet bound for Aurora have no choice but to be where they are, fighting to get to a habitable planet before they run out of food, fuel, and time. We experience some of the psychological burden of a lifetime spent on a spaceship, and come out at the end of the journey appreciating our home planet for the treasure that it is. Like Robinson's other books, this one is rich with both scientific and emotional detail. I grew to care deeply about the characters, and didn't want to stop listening.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
38 people found this helpful
-
The Siege Winter
- A Novel
- By: Ariana Franklin, Samantha Norman
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1141. England is engulfed in war as King Stephen and his cousin, the Empress Matilda, vie for the crown. In this dangerous world, not even Emma, an 11-year-old peasant, is safe. A depraved monk obsessed with redheads kidnaps the ginger-haired girl from her village and leaves her for dead. When an archer for hire named Gwyl finds her, she has no memory of her previous life.
-
-
Please give us more books!
- By South Carolina Senior on 03-06-15
- The Siege Winter
- A Novel
- By: Ariana Franklin, Samantha Norman
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
Fits perfectly with Mistress in the Art of Death
Reviewed: 06-04-15
This book is written by the daughter of Ariana Franklin, one of my very favorite authors. Samantha Norman captured her mother's voice perfectly, and I didn't want to stop listening to this book. (I was also very happy to find out that Norman is going to continue writing her mother's series, "Mistress in the Art of Death." I very much want to know how that storyline turns out!) As a stand-alone book, "The Siege Winter" doesn't require any familiarity with the "Mistress in the Art of Death" series, but it confronts some of the same societal issues—in particular class and gender equality—in the context of a richly constructed historical narrative.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
14 people found this helpful
-
Misbehaving
- The Making of Behavioral Economics
- By: Richard H. Thaler
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Richard H. Thaler has spent his career studying the radical notion that the central agents in the economy are humans - predictable, error-prone individuals. Misbehaving is his arresting, frequently hilarious account of the struggle to bring an academic discipline back down to earth - and change the way we think about economics, ourselves, and our world.
-
-
Great book if it's your first about Behav. Econ
- By Jay Friedman on 09-30-15
- Misbehaving
- The Making of Behavioral Economics
- By: Richard H. Thaler
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
Entertaining story of the life of a scientist
Reviewed: 06-03-15
I'd recommend this book to anyone who is curious about life as a scientist. The actual science of behavioral economics is interesting enough if you want to learn more about it, but the author really shines when he describes how he came up with some of his research projects, and how he was able to collaborate with good people and secure funding for his work (which isn't easy!). Thaler makes his life story both informative and funny. This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to be a scientist, regardless of discipline.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
13 people found this helpful
-
Social Physics
- How Good Ideas Spread - The Lessons from a New Science
- By: Alex Pentland
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From one of the world’s leading data scientists, a landmark tour ofthe new science of idea flow, offering revolutionary insights into the mysteries of collective intelligence and social influence.
-
-
The most self-promoting book I've read.
- By Atila on 08-02-14
- Social Physics
- How Good Ideas Spread - The Lessons from a New Science
- By: Alex Pentland
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
Valuable ideas, technical presentation
Reviewed: 06-03-15
I'm a science writer, so I see great value in researchers explaining science to the public. I don't believe this book is meant for the general public, however, but rather people with some background in science or business who want to learn more about behavioral economics.
The main idea is this: people make better decisions when they consider a variety of points of view. The same with innovation—successful people come up with new ideas by occasionally stepping outside the norm and looking at things in unusual ways. Pentland finds examples where this is true in investing, politics, and business, among others.
He suggests that if you find yourself in a room at a party where you agree with every word that everybody says, you should probably go to a different room—that is, if you want to catch the good ideas he mentions in the subtitle.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful