Icelandia
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The Marriage Portrait
- A Novel
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt, Maggie O'Farrell
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and to devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding, Lucrezia is thrust into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf. Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must make her way in a court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed.
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If You Love Alternate Histories, Get This
- By Jim on 09-26-22
- The Marriage Portrait
- A Novel
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt, Maggie O'Farrell
Captivating
Reviewed: 03-20-24
Maggie O’Farrell is a wonderful storyteller and brilliant writer. The narration is flawless and this is a most satisfying listen.
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I Have Some Questions for You
- A Novel
- By: Rebecca Makkai
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, JD Jackson
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past—the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, in the spring of their senior year. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia’s death and the conviction of the school’s athletic trainer, Omar Evans, are hotly debated online, Bodie prefers—needs—to let sleeping dogs lie.
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Really?
- By cydney numnum on 03-16-23
- I Have Some Questions for You
- A Novel
- By: Rebecca Makkai
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, JD Jackson
Unputdownable
Reviewed: 03-29-23
This is the kind of book that I yearn for: one that is fast-paced, detailed, well-written, and suspenseful. It has complex characters, compelling dialogue, and a good plot. It draws from the modern-day mysteries that surround us and unravels the knot of a travesty of justice. And, like life itself, the conclusion is not conclusive, but is, nevertheless, satisfying.
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Lessons in Chemistry
- A Novel
- By: Bonnie Garmus
- Narrated by: Miranda Raison, Bonnie Garmus, Pandora Sykes
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
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Making my 3 adult daughters read this
- By Teresa H. on 04-07-22
- Lessons in Chemistry
- A Novel
- By: Bonnie Garmus
- Narrated by: Miranda Raison, Bonnie Garmus, Pandora Sykes
Best Chemistry Book Ever
Reviewed: 01-18-23
This novel has generated much writing and word of mouth already and so I don’t feel compelled to comment on the story. The unique characters, especially the dog, are beautifully drawn. It is a delightfully good read.
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Instructions for a Heatwave
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Gretta Riordan wakes on a stultifying July morning to find that her husband of forty years has gone to get the paper and vanished, cleaning out his bank account along the way. Gretta’s three grown children converge on their parents’ home for the first time in years.
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Another Gem from O'Farrell
- By Cariola on 07-17-13
- Instructions for a Heatwave
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: John Lee
Another Wonderful Tale
Reviewed: 10-07-22
Maggie O’Farrell is my favorite writer. This story of a family is woven expertly and never disappoints. The characters are at once lovable and exasperating, perfectly flawed. Her depiction of the character’s internal monologues is engaging and believable. Like her other stories, this one was unputdownable.
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1 person found this helpful
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The Hand That First Held Mine
- By: Maggie O’Farrell
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Lexie Sinclair yearns for more than her parents’ genteel country life. She makes her way to the city, where she meets a magazine editor, Innes, a man unlike any she has ever imagined. He introduces her to the thrilling world of Bohemian postwar London, and Lexie learns to become a reporter, to know art and artists, to live fully, unconventionally, and with deep love. And when she finds herself pregnant by a man wholly unsuitable for marriage or fatherhood, she doesn’t hesitate a minute to have the baby on her own.
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Enjoy as much as I did.
- By Anonymous User on 11-09-21
- The Hand That First Held Mine
- By: Maggie O’Farrell
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
Such a Well-written Story
Reviewed: 09-25-22
I have been a fan of Maggie O’Farrell since reading/listening to Hamnet. This story is equal to that one as it demonstrates the author’s ability to include the slightest details to illustrate the characters and the plot. It was cinematic (in a good way). I was very sorry to get to the end.
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Out of the Corner
- A Memoir
- By: Jennifer Grey
- Narrated by: Jennifer Grey
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In this beautiful, close-to-the bone account, Jennifer Grey takes listeners on a vivid tour of the experiences that have shaped her, from her childhood as the daughter of Broadway and film legend Joel Grey, to the surprise hit with Patrick Swayze that made her America’s sweetheart, to her inspiring season eleven win on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.
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nothing new
- By DH on 05-12-22
- Out of the Corner
- A Memoir
- By: Jennifer Grey
- Narrated by: Jennifer Grey
Beyond Dirty Dancing
Reviewed: 06-09-22
This film is on my list of favorite movies a it is for oh so many of us, and hearing Jennifer Grey read her memoir was illuminating and just plain fun. Of course, what is most noteworthy is what she reveals about how her nose job changed her life—profoundly and unfairly. She is a good storyteller; her Borscht Belt creds serve her well.
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The Last Guests
- By: JP Pomare
- Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Newlyweds Lina and Cain don’t make it out to their property on gorgeous Lake Tarawera as often as they’d like, so when Cain suggests they rent the house out to vacationers, Lina reluctantly agrees. While the home has been in her family for generations, they could use the extra money. And at first, Lina is amazed at how quickly guests line up, and at how much they’re willing to pay. But both Lina and Cain have been keeping secrets, secrets that won’t be put off by fresh paint or a new alarm system. And someone has been watching them.
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JP Pomare is brilliant, but this isn’t his best
- By Meg on 09-26-21
- The Last Guests
- By: JP Pomare
- Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen
Strong Start. Less Strong Finish.
Reviewed: 05-17-22
This story had good plot twists until it lost me in the implausibility of the protagonist’s actions.
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Klara and the Sun
- A Novel
- By: Kazuo Ishiguro
- Narrated by: Sura Siu
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is the story of Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, who, from her place in the store, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her. Klara and the Sun is a thrilling book that offers a look at our changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator, and one that explores the fundamental question: What does it mean to love?
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Well Worth Having Waited For!
- By otherdeb on 03-04-21
- Klara and the Sun
- A Novel
- By: Kazuo Ishiguro
- Narrated by: Sura Siu
Booker Prize nominee disappoints
Reviewed: 07-29-21
I don’t get the hype. I loved “Remains of the Day” but think that this book is not nearly as well written. Interesting premise but devoid of a coherent narrative with too many loose ends for my liking. It read like a YA novel with a few four letter words thrown in.
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Hamnet
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Agnes is a wild creature who walks her family’s land with a falcon on her glove and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer, understanding plants and potions better than she does people. Once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon, she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose career on the London stage is taking off when his beloved young son succumbs to sudden fever.
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A masterpiece
- By Molly-o on 08-03-20
- Hamnet
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
Brilliant in All Ways
Reviewed: 01-19-21
The story, the writing, the narration, and the evocation of late 16th century England are brilliantly rendered. I couldn’t wait to return to the story and am only sorry it ended.
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Lady in Waiting
- My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown
- By: Anne Glenconner
- Narrated by: Anne Glenconner
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Anne Glenconner has been at the center of the royal circle from childhood, when she met and befriended the future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, the Princess Margaret. Though the firstborn child of the fifth Earl of Leicester, who controlled one of the largest estates in England, as a daughter she was deemed "the greatest disappointment" and unable to inherit. Since then she has needed all her resilience to survive court life with her sense of humor intact.
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Horrible Reading
- By Teddy hall on 03-27-20
- Lady in Waiting
- My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown
- By: Anne Glenconner
- Narrated by: Anne Glenconner
Truly Extraordinary Life
Reviewed: 07-22-20
I found the seeming honesty and behind the closed door account of life as a Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret as well as a wife and mother touching and fascinating. I admire Anne Glenconner's grit, tenacity, forgiving nature, and self-analysis. She is a very good writer and a terrific reader. She endured so many challenges and tragedies in her life and finally has the opportunity for reflection. I am grateful to her for sharing her history with the world.
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24 people found this helpful