Matthew
- 17
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- helpful vote
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Failure Is an Option
- An Attempted Memoir
- By: H. Jon Benjamin
- Narrated by: H. Jon Benjamin
- Length: 4 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,927
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,465
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Story4 out of 5 stars 4,441
While he's not quite a household name, most people would consider H. Jon Benjamin, the voice-actor star of Archer and Bob's Burgers (and a sentient can of mixed vegetables in 2015's Wet Hot American Summer) a comedy show business success. But he'd like to remind everyone that as great as success can be, failure is also an option. In a hilarious, self-deprecating memoir, Jon lays out some of his many failures in all areas of life, from Work ("wherein I'm unable to deliver a sizzling fajita") to Family ("wherein a trip to PF Chang's fractures a family").
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5 out of 5 stars
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No joke, This book helped my marriage
- By Michelle on 05-07-18
- Failure Is an Option
- An Attempted Memoir
- By: H. Jon Benjamin
- Narrated by: H. Jon Benjamin
I have less respect for J. Benjamin after reading this
Reviewed: 10-20-24
This book as nothing but a shallow diatribe that tries and fails to be funny. For what purpose this was ever written I do not know, but I hazard to guess that it was completely based on ego so that Mr. Benjamin could add "I wrote a book" to his list of failed pick up lines. I got this book on Audible because I love the characters of Archer and Bob and thought that I would find J. Benjamin as likable and entertaining. Never meet your heros kids, they can only disappoint you by having nothing of substance except for their voice.
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Alien: Out of the Shadows
- By: Tim Lebbon, Dirk Maggs
- Narrated by: Rutger Hauer, Corey Johnson, Matthew Lewis, and others
- Original Recording
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,289
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,231
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,225
As a child, Chris Hooper dreamed of monsters. But in deep space, he found only darkness and isolation. Then, on planet LV178, he and his fellow miners discovered a storm-scoured, sand-blasted hell - and trimonite, the hardest material known to man. When a shuttle crashes into the mining ship Marion, the miners learn that there was more than trimonite deep in the caverns.
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5 out of 5 stars
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excellent, cannot praise enough
- By michelle on 12-11-20
- Alien: Out of the Shadows
- By: Tim Lebbon, Dirk Maggs
- Narrated by: Rutger Hauer, Corey Johnson, Matthew Lewis, Kathryn Drysdale, Andrea Deck, Mac McDonald
High production value, zero substance
Reviewed: 10-09-24
The story is just not good, in fact it's pretty terrible. The story just takes everything about Alien and Aliens and dumbs it down to spoonfeed the audience. There is no suspense and the "action sequences" are just meaningless sound effects. There is absolutely nothing at stake during the whole story, I don't remember a single characters name or motivations except for Ripley. if you are an Alien fan, do not waste your time or money on this.
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The Rising Sun
- The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 41 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,015
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,668
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,663
This Pulitzer Prize-winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words, "a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened - muddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox."
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5 out of 5 stars
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A political as well as military history
- By Mike From Mesa on 07-30-15
- The Rising Sun
- The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945
- By: John Toland
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
Long but Thorough
Reviewed: 07-21-24
The book is as wide as possible without delving into thr 1800s but is surprisingly deep as well with a lot of primary sources.
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Talking to Strangers
- What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71,139
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 61,604
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 61,239
How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to each other that isn't true? While tackling these questions, Malcolm Gladwell was not solely writing a book for the page. He was also producing for the ear. In the audiobook version of Talking to Strangers, you’ll hear the voices of people he interviewed - scientists, criminologists, military psychologists.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable listen with some facts incorrect
- By Jim on 09-11-19
- Talking to Strangers
- What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
For a book about communication, it leaves a lot lacking to be on the right side.
Reviewed: 04-27-24
I appreciate the attempt and the book makes lots of good points but stays in the shallow end if the pool to avoid offense and we all lose so much because of that.
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Catchers
- By: Ben Rock, Bob DeRosa
- Narrated by: Billy Gardell, Herizen Guardiola, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,366
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,881
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,858
In Buck Lake, Colorado, the resident dog catcher, Collins, is on the verge of retirement. But something strange lurks in the woods, about to ruin his plans.... After 30 years, Collins is ready to be done with small-town animal control. His replacement, Blair, is a Gen Z vet student who hates mansplaining; they don’t get along. But on the eve of his retirement, Collins gets a call that changes everything. There’s been a report of a vicious wild dog on the loose.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I want more!
- By alex wolf on 10-28-22
- Catchers
- By: Ben Rock, Bob DeRosa
- Narrated by: Billy Gardell, Herizen Guardiola, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Nicki Micheaux, David Patrick Kelly, full cast
Cookies cut, boxes checked
Reviewed: 01-23-23
This is not a good story, this is akin to something that would be filler in a ScyFy channel monster movie marathon. The story is generic, with generic characters that tries very hard to give people what they think they want. The acting reminds me of a high school dress rehearsal, the dialog is cliché, stereotypical, and the jokes aren't even skin deep. None of the producers of this trash have any respect for their audience or the people they are hoping to bring into the genre.
There is no reason to get attached to any of the characters and I didn't even care what the monsters looked like.
The worst thing about this though story, is. I don't know what the original goal was, but if it was to make me hesitant to try another Audible Original, it succeeded.
No creativity, poor performance.
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Dismantling America
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,820
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,558
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,547
These wide-ranging essays - on many individual political, economic, cultural, and legal issues - have as a recurring, underlying theme the decline of the values and institutions that have sustained and advanced American society for more than two centuries. This decline has been more than erosion. It has, in many cases, been a deliberate dismantling of American values and institutions by people convinced that their superior wisdom and virtue must override both the traditions of the country and the will of the people.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Nice Collection of Essays
- By Laura on 09-01-11
- Dismantling America
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
Typical Sowell
Reviewed: 01-05-23
Well researched, well spoken, well written as is typical of all his writings. I want to be as smart as he is.
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Wasteland
- The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror
- By: W. Scott Poole
- Narrated by: Andrew Eiden
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 305
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 269
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Story4 out of 5 stars 268
In the early 20th century, World War I was the most devastating event humanity had yet experienced. New machines of war left tens of millions killed or wounded in the most grotesque of ways. The Great War remade the world's map, created new global powers, and brought forth some of the biggest problems still facing us today. But it also birthed a new art form: the horror film, made from the fears of a generation ruined by war. From Nosferatu to Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man, the touchstones of horror can all trace their roots to the bloodshed of the First World War.
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3 out of 5 stars
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An interesting take
- By CN on 07-30-19
- Wasteland
- The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror
- By: W. Scott Poole
- Narrated by: Andrew Eiden
Poole Can't Stick to the Subject
Reviewed: 09-09-22
When this book is focusing on WW1 and its influence on the horror genre, it's decent and informative. Unfortunately, Poole makes several cheap hit and runs on modern politics. False dichotomies, and red herrings, and domatisms abound where maybe a little introspection is needed.
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1 person found this helpful
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Thresher
- By: Michael Cole
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 600
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 536
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 534
In the aftermath of a hurricane, a series of strange events plague the coastal waters off Florida. People go into the water and never return. Corpses of killer whales drift ashore, ravaged from enormous bite marks. A fishing trawler is found adrift, with a mysterious gash in its hull. Transferred to the coastal town of Merit, police officer Leonard Riker uncovers the horrible reality of an enormous thresher shark lurking off the coast. Forty feet in length, it has taken a territorial claim to the waters near the town harbor.
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5 out of 5 stars
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WHAT A BRILLIANT SURPRISE!
- By Malissa Williams on 08-26-19
- Thresher
- By: Michael Cole
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
A Great Creature Feature
Reviewed: 03-07-22
This book will not win any prizes but if you are looking for a man vs monster book that is shallow and hits all the tropes, then this book will satisfy.
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The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
- An Experiment in Literary Investigation
- By: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
- Narrated by: Ignat Solzhenitsyn
- Length: 21 hrs and 53 mins
- Abridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,221
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,789
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2,777
The Nobel Prize winner’s towering masterpiece of world literature, the searing record of four decades of terror and oppression, in one abridged volume (authorized by the author). Features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Mandatory reading in Russia, not USA. Why?
- By Arlon James on 11-07-20
- The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
- An Experiment in Literary Investigation
- By: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
- Narrated by: Ignat Solzhenitsyn
Should be required reading in schools
Reviewed: 12-22-21
This book is about consequences. It's the end result of a revolution based around idealized concepts without taking into account the human element resulting in a totalitarian regime. Heed the words and stories in this Nobel Prize winning work, it could happen here in the USA
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The Terror
- A Novel
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Tom Sellwood
- Length: 28 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,847
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,365
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,359
The men onboard HMS Terror have every expectation of finding the Northwest Passage. When the expedition's leader, Sir John Franklin, meets a terrible death, Captain Francis Crozier takes command and leads his surviving crewmen on a last, desperate attempt to flee south across the ice. But as another winter approaches, as scurvy and starvation grow more terrible, and as the Terror on the ice stalks them southward, Crozier and his men begin to fear there is no escape.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Very good then, NOT
- By Randall on 07-24-18
- The Terror
- A Novel
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Tom Sellwood
Redeemed Dan Simmons Novels for Me
Reviewed: 08-31-21
I went into this book with low expectations after reading Carrion Comfort last year. I thought that book was uninspiring and mediocre at best and I'm surprised at myself for giving this one a try. I'm glad I did.
Do not listen to the weird reviews that talk about the book being too drawn out. While the ending is not the best, it's still good. There are a lot of characters and a good bit of them are well fleshed out with a lot to like and dislike about them. You will find find yourself solemn over some deaths and pleased with others. The book does a great job at building suspense and the payoffs are worth it nearly every time.
I will not be so hesitant to pick up my next Dan Simmons novel and I appreciate that he wrote this one.
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