CFinn

Great to listen to Brene speak on her topics

Reviewed: 11-08-17

I really like Brene's books, and I especially liked listening to Rising Strong as a Spiritual Prctice since it was recorded at a speaking engagement. Even if this audiobook may cover topics from Rising Strong, I think it's a unique listen because of the extra energy that the audience brings through the speaking engagement format. Also, Brene is funny and that makes the whole listen very upbeat. Lastly, I enjoyed the Q&A at the end since I had many of the same questions that were asked.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Simple Advice, Narration is Much Too Fast

Reviewed: 05-15-16

I like "self development" books that are easy to digest, include humor or generally, don't get overly bogged down in the scientific so that they become boring or overdone. This audiobook is short and to the point, however, I think it would have benefited greatly by the narrator slowing down the pace of his reading. That comment is pretty ironic since the message of the book is to get going, but the narration is so fast that I ended up listening to it at .75 speed. The slower speed warps the voice performance to a degree, but I felt that I could digest the content much better when it didn't feel like the pace was a step away from Alvin and the Chipmunks. I found the content helpful and motivating but I gave fewer Overall stars because the narration's pace was annoying.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

A Worthwhile Listen for Good Advice

Reviewed: 01-23-16

I've been listening to a bunch of break-up type books, and I thought Getting Past Your Breakup was a worthwhile listen. It has good, practical advice that anyone can benefit from. I listened to Louise Hay's "You Can Heal Your Life" and thought it was helpful but sometimes too 'out there' for me when she brings in metaphysical type elements (with ideas along the line of people having hearing problems because they don't want to listen to what is happening in their life). I listened to "It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken," which was funny but at times annoying. This audiobook fell somewhere in between: It's not trying too hard to be funny and it doesn't include some ideas that may not jive with the average person. I would recommend it.

As for the negatives: The author heavily pushes "NC" or No Contact in order to break your link with your now former significant other. I agree with this concept in theory, but when you have younger children in the mix, it's just not feasible. The narrator was pretty good, but at times just a little bit on the flat side. It can make for easy listening, but every once in a while, I felt like the audio was just droning on and there was no pep to it. Last, the author includes some of her own personal stories and in a few of them, I questioned her judgement. She indicates that her therapist set her straight in at least one of the stories, but I wondered why she needed the therapist to do so and couldn't arrive at the same conclusion on her own? It made me wonder if she was qualified to give me advice. All in all, the negatives were relatively minor compared to the positives. If you're going through a breakup or divorce, this audiobook is worth a listen.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

Mom's Opinion:Hated It, Child's Opinion:Hated It

Reviewed: 01-22-16

My daughter and I listen to audiobooks all of the time in the car. We had high hopes for this audiobook given that it was performed by the narrator of the year and the movie, Frozen, was loosely based on this story. We both hated the story and could not wait for it to be over (which speaks volumes considering that it is not a long recording to begin with). If the audiobook had been any longer, we would have stopped listening due to our dislike. I had to urge my daughter (any myself even) to finish since I thought the ending might salvage things. Nope.

I didn't care for the story AT ALL. It was so disjointed. There was a thread of cohesiveness with the main characters but the rest was like chaos going on around them. From the glass to the Snow Queen to the witch. It felt like such a jumble and honestly, I was expecting much more development with the Snow Queen, which did not happen. She's in the story for a very short time. If there was a rating for how we felt when it was over, it would be 4-5 stars, but ONLY because we rejoiced that we didn't have to listen to it anymore. Skip it. The narrator is fine, but the story is horrible.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

I'm a Sucker for a Circus

Reviewed: 12-06-15

I'm a sucker for the circus so my interest was already high when I came across this book. I was looking for a book that my 9-year old daughter and I would both enjoy since we listen to audiobooks all of the time in the car. Before I get into some of my other comments, I will say that we both enjoyed the book and I thought it was fine. I thought the narration was good. I gave the story only 3 stars because I felt like there were a bunch of gaps or areas where things didn't come together in the story. At least not in my mind.

I loved that Circus Mirandus was a magical circus. It reminds me of the Night Circus. I liked the message on how Ephraim saved his miracle, although that aspect of the story became a little overly drawn out for my tastes. I liked the interaction with The Man Who Bends Light, but I would have preferred more details as to how he makes his magic/illusions happen. I also thought that there should have been more of a connection back to the Micah's grandmother, rather than building up the story only to have it fade into the background. I had a few issues with the ending, but overall, I was ok with it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Love the Full Cast Production

Reviewed: 12-06-15

My daughter and I listen to audiobooks all of the time in the car. We've been a huge fan of full-cast/radio theater audiobooks, and I was drawn to The Graveyard Book because of the great reviews and more importantly, the full-cast production.

The full-cast production didn't disappoint. It was very well done, and it helped make the story come to life. We both liked this audiobook very much, and I would have given it 5 stars all around if I didn't have a few beefs. One of those beefs is that I was not thrilled with the ending, and neither was my daughter. I don't want to include spoilers, so I will leave my comment there.The ending was not my favorite, but many would likely have no issue with it.

This book is recommended for ages 11 - 13. My daughter is 9, but she is a high level reader and mature for her age. The beginning was a little unnerving for her, and I had some worries about continuing on (although those worries turned out not to be an issue). Despite the few issues that I had here and there, I would recommend this book and we really enjoyed it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Good Advice, but a Seinfeld-like Fast Talker

Reviewed: 09-23-15

I'm going through a divorce so I've listened to several self-help books on divorce or break-ups. My favorite was "Falling Apart in One Piece" by Stacy Morrison because it was her story rather than straight-up self-help and I enjoyed her as the narrator as well. This audio book is probably next on the list because it has a lot of helpful advice and in general, I liked Tamsen.

Some factors took away from my giving it a 5-star review all around. The first and most major point is that I felt like Jerry Seinfeld complaining about a fast talker. Tamsen talks fast and it really bothered me at first. I got more used to it as the book went on. At one point, Tamsen talks about a man who she dated who said that it bothered him when she spoke so fast. She admitted to speaking quickly, and my first thoughts were (a) I can totally identify with this man's opinion and (b) if you know you talk fast, perhaps it would be wise to consider talking slower if you narrate your own book. It's not like the narration has to be sloooooooow, but somewhat slower would have improved things greatly.

The second point, which is far more minor is that I felt like some of the advice was geared to a much different lifestyle. Tamsen was living in NYC and she's a TV personality. Many of the points seemed geared to this metropolitan, much more trendy lifestyle that is not my life. When these points came up, I did relate some of the advice to my suburban lifestyle, but somehow, the differences between her life and mine made me disconnect a little bit.

On the plus side, I did like Tamsen and despite what I said above, I think she does a good job with her book and her performance. I like these advice books when they come from the person who went through the experience rather than being something more dry or written by a psychologist. I'd recommend listening to the audiiobook. I'm glad that I did, even if I wasn't 'lovin' every minute of it' with the fast talking.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Narrator Drove Me Crazy. So Robotic.

Reviewed: 09-22-15

This book had some fairly good content, but the narrator was driving me crazy with the unnatural pauses in the sentences. It became robotic sounding. For example, if a sentence was something like, "When you are dealing with a break-up, it's helpful to get out and do the things you love.", then the sentence was read more like, "When you are dealing ...(pause)...with a break-up...(pause)..., it is helpful ... (pause) ... to get out and do the things you love." At times, I couldn't concentrate on the advice due to my irritation with the pauses. I urge you to listen to the sample audio. The narrator's voice is nice enough, but listen through the whole sample because you can hear the pausing at times. I don't know how the performance became so highly rated, as I could not connect with the style at all.

As for the content/advice, I thought it was good enough. It was largely your typical type of advice, "Don't contact your ex. Get out and do the things that you love." One piece of advice was not to consider the time that you were in the relationship as wasted time, but instead to consider it a "gift of experience." I can't say that I'm totally on board with that idea, but maybe I'm just not there yet mentally. I would agree with most of the rest of the advice.

I preferred "It's Called a Breakup because it's Broken" because it was more enjoyable (except for the frequent use of the calling the listener a "superfox" which gets old almost immediately and some of the stories that sounded very loony tunes). This audiobook is fine, but if you're hurting, I find that I'd rather listen to something more enjoyable or listen to a voice that I can relate to more.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

Excellent Narration of Adventure and Girl Power

Reviewed: 06-27-15

My 9-year old daughter and I both thoroughly enjoyed Bloody Jack. We are avid audiobook listeners, and we're thrilled when there is a book series that appeals to both of us. Each time we hopped into the car, my daughter immediately asked me to start up the audiobook and I was only too happy to oblige. I've already purchased the second book in the series and it's queued up to start later on today. When I'm looking at a series, I will often scroll through subsequent books to see the ratings. I don't want to get invested in a series where the first book may be good but the rest get poor reviews. L.A. Meyer's Bloody Jack series has high marks throughout on all levels, and so I purchased 2 books straight off. I'm glad to see that my leap of faith worked out well and that we have many hours of positive listening to look forward to.

Katherine Kellgren did an excellent job with the narration and brought the story to life. I looked up other books on Audible that she narrated since a good narration can make or break the listening experience.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!