Ken
- 10
- reviews
- 52
- helpful votes
- 28
- ratings
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The Last Chairlift
- By: John Irving
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy, Raquel Beattie, Cassandra Campbell, and others
- Length: 32 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 476
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 419
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 421
In Aspen, Colorado, in 1941, Rachel Brewster is a slalom skier at the National Downhill and Slalom Championships. Little Ray, as she is called, finishes nowhere near the podium, but she manages to get pregnant. Back home, in New England, Little Ray becomes a ski instructor. Her son, Adam, grows up in a family that defies conventions and evades questions concerning the eventful past. Years later, looking for answers, he will go to Aspen. In the Hotel Jerome, where he was conceived, Adam will meet some ghosts; in The Last Chairlift, they aren’t the first or last ghosts he sees.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Why doesn’t Audible promote John Irving?
- By Ken on 10-21-22
Why doesn’t Audible promote John Irving?
Reviewed: 10-21-22
I’m 2 hours into this book, and I’m loving it. I found this by searching the author. I wouldn’t have found this gem by looking at new releases. Irving’s books are consistently excellent, yet you promote trashy fiction rather than Irving’s classics that will represent some of the best literature of my generation.
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50 people found this helpful
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My Dark Vanessa
- A Novel
- By: Kate Elizabeth Russell
- Narrated by: Grace Gummer
- Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,900
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,248
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,240
2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, 15-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful 42-year-old English teacher. 2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: Remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I apologize
- By Judy George on 03-13-20
- My Dark Vanessa
- A Novel
- By: Kate Elizabeth Russell
- Narrated by: Grace Gummer
From a male, retired educator
Reviewed: 04-09-20
Wow. This was an extraordinary book. Let me first say, I was extremely aware of the power I could have exerted on young, impressionable students. Early in my career I drew a line that I would not ever get close to, keeping a professional distance, making certain there was never even an appearance of inappropriate behavior. The vast majority of my colleagues practiced the same professionalism. That said, I had some incredible human connections with many students. Unfortunately, I did know teachers like Strane, who failed to create and communicate boundaries that allowed these human connections to blossom into inappropriate relationships many of which weren’t sexual. It’s all about power and control that makes these connections inappropriate. Great read, and very realistic. This should be required reading for college education programs.
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The Bone Clocks
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: Jessica Ball, Leon Williams, Colin Mace, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,093
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,662
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Story4 out of 5 stars 3,670
Following a scalding row with her mother, 15-year-old Holly Sykes slams the door on her old life. But Holly is no typical teenage runaway: A sensitive child once contacted by voices she knew only as "the radio people," Holly is a lightning rod for psychic phenomena. Now, as she wanders deeper into the English countryside, visions and coincidences reorder her reality until they assume the aura of a nightmare brought to life.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not Short Listed, This Time
- By Mel on 09-23-14
- The Bone Clocks
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: Jessica Ball, Leon Williams, Colin Mace, Steven Crossley, Laurel Lefkow, Anna Bentinck
Difficult to follow
Reviewed: 10-04-14
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
A different plot.
What was most disappointing about David Mitchell’s story?
Too difficult to follow and keep my interest.
What about the narrators’s performance did you like?
All the narrators were more than adequate, but the plot was too disjointed.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
Narrators tried.
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1 person found this helpful
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We Are Water
- A Novel
- By: Wally Lamb
- Narrated by: Wally Lamb, George Guidall, Maggi-Meg Reed, and others
- Length: 23 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,844
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,556
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,562
After 27 years of marriage and three children, Anna Oh - wife, mother, outsider artist - has fallen in love with Viveca, the wealthy Manhattan art dealer who orchestrated her success. They plan to wed in the Oh family’s hometown of Three Rivers in Connecticut. But the wedding provokes some very mixed reactions and opens a Pandora’s Box of toxic secrets - dark and painful truths that have festered below the surface of the Ohs' lives.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Lamb writes Fine Literature/What a Book!
- By Suzn F on 10-27-13
- We Are Water
- A Novel
- By: Wally Lamb
- Narrated by: Wally Lamb, George Guidall, Maggi-Meg Reed, Tavia Gilbert, Richard Ferrone, Edoardo Ballerini, Cynthia Darlow, Therese Plummer, Sandy Rustin
Totally disagree with negative reviews
Reviewed: 11-12-13
Where does We Are Water rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This is the best book I've listened to in years! I believe narrators were spot on. I think this is Wally Lamb's best. His bold portrayal of Kent, the pedophile, while disturbing, was inciteful without being sympathetic.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Annie. She's a great study of what can happen when one fails to deal with emotional trauma by bottling up her past.
What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The various narrators enhanced my ability identify with all of the characters. I was surprised that the author's narration was so good. Too many times authors are not good narrators, especially fiction writers.
If you could rename We Are Water, what would you call it?
Harmful Secrets
Any additional comments?
As a long time (15+ yrs) audible listener, I rank this in the top 5 novels.
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Sharp Objects
- A Novel
- By: Gillian Flynn
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41,466
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36,489
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36,466
Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: She must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful 13-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims - a bit too strongly.
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4 out of 5 stars
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I agree with Stephen King
- By Kelley on 01-26-08
- Sharp Objects
- A Novel
- By: Gillian Flynn
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
I love Gillian's books
Reviewed: 09-24-12
Would you listen to Sharp Objects again? Why?
I first read Dark Places when it first came out, and Gone Girl about a month ago. When I decided to go back and order Sharp Objects, I had high expectations. Wow. I wasn't disappointed. I thought this was the best of the three. All of her characters are somewhat "dark", but her stories are believable, and intriguing. Sharp Objects is the most twisted of the three; I guess that's why its my favorite. Keep 'em coming, Ms. Flynn!
Who was your favorite character and why?
Camille. She was the least "affected" character, but her demons were as addictive as her alcohol.
Which character – as performed by Ann Marie Lee – was your favorite?
Camille
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Most assuredly.
Any additional comments?
All three of her books are great.
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The Last Child
- By: John Hart
- Narrated by: Scott Sowers
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,850
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,052
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,037
Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: happy parents and a twin sister that meant the world to him. But Alyssa went missing a year ago, stolen off the side of a lonely street with only one witness to the crime. His family shattered, his sister presumed dead, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown in a last, desperate search.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Stick With It!
- By Christine on 10-19-09
- The Last Child
- By: John Hart
- Narrated by: Scott Sowers
Mediocre at Best
Reviewed: 02-11-10
If a story is great, I don't mind suffering through a poor narrator, even when warned by fellow reviewers. This book was tedious, and it dragged on and on. If I get distracted, I often re-wind to catch what I missed. I found myself so distracted and bored, that I gave up after rewinding the same scene about ten times. This selection was a waste of time and credit.
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1 person found this helpful
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Last Night in Twisted River
- A Novel
- By: John Irving
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 666
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 439
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Story4 out of 5 stars 441
In 1954, in the cookhouse of a logging and sawmill settlement in northern New Hampshire, an anxious twelve-year-old boy mistakes the local constable’s girlfriend for a bear. Both the twelve-year-old and his father become fugitives, forced to run from Coos County–to Boston, to southern Vermont, to Toronto–pursued by the implacable constable. Their lone protector is a fiercely libertarian logger, once a river driver, who befriends them.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Better to read it
- By MJL on 11-24-09
- Last Night in Twisted River
- A Novel
- By: John Irving
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
Classic Irving...better narrator, please!
Reviewed: 11-10-09
This is classic John Irving, better than Until I Find You. The narrator was poor with little attempt (or ability) to give voices to different characters. I'm surprised Audible didn't even list this as a new release, much less a featured new release. I found it by searching John Irving as an author.
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5 people found this helpful
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Columbine
- By: Dave Cullen
- Narrated by: Don Leslie
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,476
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,320
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,326
Over the course of this gripping narrative, Dave Cullen approaches his subjects with unrivaled care and insight. What emerges are shattering portraits of the killers, the victims, and the community that suffered one of the greatest - and most socially and historically important - shooting tragedies of the 20th century.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I feel like I've been hit by a freight train
- By Dave on 06-23-09
- Columbine
- By: Dave Cullen
- Narrated by: Don Leslie
Chilling...Better than most fiction
Reviewed: 04-21-09
Supberb. Great writing, great narration. Even though the story doesn't follow chronologically, the author has framed this tragedy exceptionally well. As a recently retired school administrator, I always dreaded 4/20, now I really know why.
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12 people found this helpful
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One Second After
- By: William R. Forstchen
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29,800
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25,677
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25,679
Already cited on the floor of Congress and discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a book all Americans should read, One Second After is the story of a war scenario that could become all too terrifyingly real. Based upon a real weapon - the Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) - which may already be in the hands of our enemies, it is a truly realistic look at the awesome power of a weapon that can destroy the entire United States.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A Civil War Re-enactor Saves a Community?
- By Cidney on 07-05-12
- One Second After
- By: William R. Forstchen
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
Beware! Fear Mongering Ahead
Reviewed: 03-27-09
The forward by Newt Gingrich is a clue about the political propaganda to follow. Smoking cigarettes and vigilanty executions are glorified. It feeds into the Survivalist movements, and the position of the author is much scarier than the apocalyptic outcome.
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35 people found this helpful
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In for the Kill
- By: John Lutz
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 554
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 276
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Story4 out of 5 stars 274
A madman is stalking women in the city. By the time his victims are found, they've been dismembered with careful precision, their limbs stacked into a gruesome pyramid and completely cleansed of every last drop of blood. Accustomed to working on the most grisly homicides, detective Frank Quinn's nerves don't rattle easily. But when the last names of the killer's victims spell out "Q-u-i-n-n", the veteran cop feels a chill run down his spine.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Tiresome
- By Linda on 12-11-07
- In for the Kill
- By: John Lutz
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
I always read reviews before downloading...
Reviewed: 04-05-08
Some of the reviews for this book were not very flattering, but I took a chance on Scott Brick as the narrator. I thought it was a great book. Unlike some of the reviews, I found it very intriguing and easy to follow. Good "creepy" story!
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5 people found this helpful