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Nate W.

  • 17
  • reviews
  • 20
  • helpful votes
  • 257
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Watership Down Audiobook By Richard Adams cover art

Yes, it's about rabbits. Yes, you should read it.

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-24-15

This book sat unread on my shelf for years. I bought it on the recommendation of many friends, but was always held back by the rabbit thing.

Don't be held back by the rabbit thing.

This is a wonderful book -- full of adventure and spirit in a way not unlike The Hobbit. Also like The Hobbit, it kind of masquerades as a kids book, but its depth and darkness and insight into humanity betray the fact that it is not really a kids book at all.

Ralph Cosham's narration could not be more perfect.

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2 people found this helpful

Wanted to like this, but . . .

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-21-14

. . . I didn't.

Two reasons:

1. Poor character development. You never really know or learn enough about Deckard to understand his actions.

2. Uneven writing. Dick spends paragraphs and pages describing Deckard's dreams of purchasing an animal, but not much more than a few sentences describing how or why he fell for Rachel. Mercerism is never really laid out enough give the viewer any idea of what is going on with those scenes.

Scott Brick is solid as usual, though he hams up the noir tone a bit too heavily here.

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2 people found this helpful

Wool Omnibus Edition (Wool 1 - 5) Audiobook By Hugh Howey cover art

Ok, not great.

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
2 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-21-14

Story: Well written, starts strong, and the first half really pulls you in. The second half drags a bit.

Narrator: As noted by others, her male character voices are almost comically bad.

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Essential Reading

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-27-13

Put simply, this book is essential reading/listening for anyone who has ADD or loves someone who does.

As an adult with ADD, I've read several books on the topic. This is the best one.

Practical, readable and empathetic, it has opened my eyes, changed my thinking and my actions, and helped me understand my own brain in profound ways.

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Great story, poorly organized and poorly narrated.

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
2 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-27-13

The source material for Blind Descent is fascinating and more than a little terrifying to imagine. Unfortunately the story suffers a bit in Tabor's treatment. It's poorly organized - - jumping around and difficult to follow in places.

The writing veers into melodrama and hyperbole more than it should (ie, repeated statements like "what happened next would haunt him for the rest of his life..."). This problem is compounded by the narration. At times it sounds like you're listening to a book length movie trailer.

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They don't write books like this anymore.

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-04-13

A simple story about the value of simplicity. I found it to be old-fashioned in the best possible way.

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4 people found this helpful

Yes, you should read this.

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-04-13

The book is a classic, some say a masterpiece. Funny, poignant, and the kind story that is so enjoyable and expertly written that it will make you want to start over again at the beginning when you finish.

Donna Tartt isn't a professional narrator (she's an accomplished author in her own right who happens to also be a big fan of this book), but she makes the absolute most of her naturally sweet Southern lilt. It fits the main character well, and ultimately, I enjoyed her read. This said, it would be nice to hear what a pro could do with characters like those in this book.

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2 people found this helpful

Khan!

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-04-13

THE BOOK: Very enlightening examination of the often-overlooked but incredibly influential Mongol Empire, beginning with Genghis Khan. It's hard to overstate how much the ideas, societal structures, and yes, conquests, of Khan and his heirs influenced modernity.

A few samples - - 1) he introduced the idea of freedom of religion, and fostered religious tolerance in every land he conquered, 2) there is a strong case to be made that the expansive commercial routes he opened both directly and indirectly brought about the European Renaissance, and 3) Kublai Khan unified China from what was previously a divided land of warring dynasties.

Weatherford does a great job of shedding light on all of this (and much more), but does so in slightly wooden narrative that, while definitely interesting, also drags a bit in spots.

THE NARRATOR: Jonathan Davis' voice is pleasant enough, but the performance was uneven, sometimes flat when drama was needed, and (more often) melodramatic when restraint was needed.

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1 person found this helpful

Life of Pi Audiobook By Yann Martel cover art

Uneven, but interesting read.

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-15-13

Good: unique storyline, uniquely structured, asks big questions

Bad: The first several chapters drag. As a reader you want to root for, and in some way relate to, the protagonist, but this is hard with Pi, who is more than a little bit precocious and annoying. The book's theme -- basically universalism -- is logically untenable.

Not a huge fan of Jeff Woodman's stilted, quasi-Indian accent in the narration.

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An American Family Empire Down the Drain

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-15-13

I worked at A-B for several years and can attest first-hand to the Busch family cult of personality described in "Bitter Brew." If anything, I found it to be even more palpable and all-consuming in the corporate culture than what is described in the book.

The decades-long story that unfolds is fascinating in a way akin to reading about a royal family -- the aspirations, the battles, the treacheries, the grudges, and the grooming of heirs are all the same.

In this way, I see the whole thing as less a cautionary tale of cutthroat capitalism, than a tragic account of fatal and flawed family dynamics.

My only complaint is that Knoedelseder's telling is more plain and flatly journalistic than the vivid subject matter deserved, and in the end could've benefitted from more descriptive analysis into the meaning of it all.

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