urbanmusicgal

An Understated Adventure that keeps you wondering.

Reviewed: 10-25-24

I really appreciate Lecarre’s conversational style of weaving a tale. His descriptions are captivating and make me feel like I am right there in the milieu.

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6 people found this helpful

A great adventure of detail and mystery!

Reviewed: 10-22-24

I like the clear narrative that Ben MacIntyre brings to this nonfiction work. It reads like a mystery with great detail and “bread crumbs” while it is easy to understand, even though the subject matter is copious. I’m planning on reading and listening to all of Ben MacIntyre’s works.!

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Easy listen for a complicated subject

Reviewed: 09-29-24

This was an engrossing tale of w
WWll, Cold War spies, MI6 and also MI5 which also included the CIA and KGB.

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A Reader's Companion for Those Who Grieve

Reviewed: 05-29-21

I loved this book, and I carry the story with me not only in my purse as I ride public transit, but in my heart as well. As Joan Didion takes us by the hand , and winds us through her story so deeply woven into who she is, and, for some of us, who we are, I felt I had a wonderful empathic friend, as I face the losses of my loves also. Her style is different in this book. It is not "tight", it is not driven. It isn't even modern. It is a timeless journey, with so many turns in the road, so many cul-de-sac, that it mirrored my own wandering experience when I lost my love. In those days, I didn't go back to work. I didn't set goals. I couldn't. The pain numbed my brain, and held the fate of my heart in it's hands as I finally found my way through it. In this process, I happened to come across this dear story of love and loss. When it's over, there is no longer "normal", there is only different. This book was my companion in empathy and compassion. Thank you so much.

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Muse

Reviewed: 04-19-21

Joan Didion has been the creative voice inside of me for eras. This profound work certainly defines what grief is and what it feels like. Thank you so much.

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Joan Didion speaks to the heart of life

Reviewed: 08-15-20

I'm deliciously trapped again in another Joan Didion adventure of life. I have read this book many times, but this time, at the age I'm at now, which is elderly - the voice is the one in my heart. I am now on still another Joan Didion cycle where I will read and listen to everything she ever wrote, from start to end, as if for the first time. Great Read!!! Thank you Joan Didion and Diane Keaton!

Narrator Diane Keaton's voice lends such lightness and weight to the magnificent voice of this work. I will now read everything she has ever narrated for Audible!

The Story - Oh!! The story,! The story! The story! Need I say more?

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If You're Scared of Dying, Read This Book!

Reviewed: 02-09-15

Where does The Afterlife of Billy Fingers rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks clearly among the better spiritual books I have listened to at Audible.

What did you like best about this story?

What I liked best about this story was the courageous writing style. It was a wonderfully clear, imaginative mix of heart and soul.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It took several sittings to listen to this book.

Any additional comments?

I appreciated the courage this author had in presenting her story. Who's to really say that it isn't true? Since so much of what is real is unseen anyway, as in quantum physics, this book made me pause. I am at an age where my mortality is truly upon me, and "The Afterlife of Billy Fingers" was at the very least comforting. I would question Billy's ego statement about the sensual goddess flirting with him, (if indeed we get to keep our egos, that would be disappointing) and a few other statements, but - I don't know. No one really knows here on earth - I'm calling it believable - and, I'm going to listen to it again! By far it beats the terrifying "judgement day" scenarious that I rejected a couple of eras ago.

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"The Longest Read . . . Ever"

Reviewed: 09-30-14

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

This book would be good for a reader who is not interested in plot development, or character development, but who enjoys slow paced stories that one can pick up and put down whenever they want to and not lose the story line.

Has The Longest Ride turned you off from other books in this genre?

The Longest Ride has not turned me off from this genre, however, I will think very carefully, and read all reviews before I invest one more credit on a Nicholas Sparks novel again. This book was boring. The characters were not clearly drawn, the narrators' renditions were so "cheesy" they actually created reader's block. I had to sift through the poorly constructed plot, which never held my interest, and the distracting narrations.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Ron McLarty and January LaVoy ?

I am not informed enough to recommend narrators yet. My suggestions are to stay away from superficial accents, and choose a more consistent reading "tempo". In my recording, the female bytes were so close together that her voice raced against a dragging plot line, and did not technically complement the pace of the male narrator, and vice versa. The tempo of the male narrator was a bit better, but the overall reading or byte speed was terribly distracting.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Longest Ride?

In playing editor, in my opinion, the problem with the overall story was the internal pace, and lack of tightness within the whole work, rather than cutting scenes. For example, there was little or nothing done to create suspense between the Luke and Sophia "plot", and the Ira and Sophia "plot" except a somewhat loose tidbit of art appreciation. The presenting problem was that the writing dragged along, and not at a pace to create relaxation, or for me, interest. The only reason I finished the book was because I didn't want to waste a credit. Once again, the characters lacked dimension, and the story was poorly plotted. I was disappointed in the ending which failed to suspend my disbelief.

Any additional comments?

This was my first and probably only Nicholas Sparks novel I will try.

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2 people found this helpful