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I've Tried Being Nice
(Among Other Things): Essays
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Narrated by:
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Ann Leary
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By:
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Ann Leary
About this listen
New York Times bestselling author Ann Leary offers a literary feast of humor and wisdom told from the perspective of a recovering people pleaser.
Having arrived at a certain age (her prime), Ann Leary casts a wry backward glance at a life spent trying—and often failing—to be nice. With wit and surprising candor, Leary recounts the bedlam of home bat invasions, an obsession with online personality tests, and the mortification of taking ballroom dance lessons with her actor husband. She describes hilarious red-carpet fiascos and other observations from the sidelines of fame, while also touching upon her more poignant struggles with alcoholism, her love for her family, her dogs, and so much more.
Prepare to laugh, cry, cringe and revel in the comically relatable chaos of Ann Leary’s life as revealed in this delightful collection of essays.
©2024 Ann Leary (P)2024 Simon & Schuster AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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- A Novel
- By: Ann Leary
- Narrated by: Laura Benanti
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It’s 1927, and 18-year-old Mary Engle is hired to work as a secretary at a remote but scenic institution for mentally disabled women called the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. Soon after she’s hired, Mary learns that a girl from her childhood orphanage is one of the inmates. Mary remembers Lillian as a beautiful free spirit with a sometimes-tempestuous side. Could she be mentally disabled? When Lillian begs Mary to help her escape, Mary is faced with a terrible choice.
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Interesting subject, but poor execution
- By PhotoSports on 08-16-22
By: Ann Leary
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The Good House
- A Novel
- By: Ann Leary
- Narrated by: Mary Beth Hurt
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of a small community on the rocky coast of Boston's North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. And she's good at lots of things, too. A successful real-estate broker, mother, and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, sent her off to rehab. Now she's in recovery—more or less.
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Soberingly Funny
- By Mel on 10-16-13
By: Ann Leary
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Outtakes from a Marriage
- A Novel
- By: Ann Leary
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Julia and Joe Ferraro are living the good life in Manhattan now that Joe's finally made it; he's the star of a hit TV show and has just been nominated for a Golden Globe award. After many lean years, they've got a grand Upper West Side apartment and an Amagansett beach house, and their two kids go to elite private schools. Even better, Julia and Joe are still madly in love. Or so Julia thinks.
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Views of a marriage from the inside.
- By Patricia on 01-11-13
By: Ann Leary
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A Kid from Marlboro Road
- By: Edward Burns
- Narrated by: Edward Burns
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In A Kid from Marlboro Road, past and present intermingle as family stories are told and retold. The narrative careens between the prior generation’s colorful sojourns in the Bronx and Hell’s Kitchen and the softer world of Gibson, the town on Long Island where they live now. There are scenes in the Rockaways, at Belmont racetrack, and in Montauk. Edward Burns’s buoyant first novel is a bildungsroman, yet out of one boy’s story a collective warmth emerges, a certain kind of American tale, raucous and joyous.
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Marlboro Road
- By Elizabeth K. Scheer on 11-11-24
By: Edward Burns
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My Sister, the Serial Killer
- A Novel
- By: Oyinkan Braithwaite
- Narrated by: Adepero Oduye
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola’s third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede’s practicality is the sisters’ saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her “missing” boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit. Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works.
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That’s it?!!!
- By Danni B. on 12-26-18
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Same as It Ever Was
- A Novel
- By: Claire Lombardo
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 18 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Julia Ames, after a youth marked by upheaval and emotional turbulence, has found herself on the placid plateau of mid-life. But Julia has never navigated the world with the equanimity of her current privileged class. Having nearly derailed herself several times, making desperate bids for the kind of connection that always felt inaccessible to her, she finally feels, at age fifty seven, that she has a firm handle on things. She’s unprepared, though, for what comes next.
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Long winded
- By Brooke on 09-17-24
By: Claire Lombardo
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The Foundling
- A Novel
- By: Ann Leary
- Narrated by: Laura Benanti
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1927, and 18-year-old Mary Engle is hired to work as a secretary at a remote but scenic institution for mentally disabled women called the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. Soon after she’s hired, Mary learns that a girl from her childhood orphanage is one of the inmates. Mary remembers Lillian as a beautiful free spirit with a sometimes-tempestuous side. Could she be mentally disabled? When Lillian begs Mary to help her escape, Mary is faced with a terrible choice.
-
-
Interesting subject, but poor execution
- By PhotoSports on 08-16-22
By: Ann Leary
-
The Good House
- A Novel
- By: Ann Leary
- Narrated by: Mary Beth Hurt
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of a small community on the rocky coast of Boston's North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. And she's good at lots of things, too. A successful real-estate broker, mother, and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, sent her off to rehab. Now she's in recovery—more or less.
-
-
Soberingly Funny
- By Mel on 10-16-13
By: Ann Leary
-
Outtakes from a Marriage
- A Novel
- By: Ann Leary
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julia and Joe Ferraro are living the good life in Manhattan now that Joe's finally made it; he's the star of a hit TV show and has just been nominated for a Golden Globe award. After many lean years, they've got a grand Upper West Side apartment and an Amagansett beach house, and their two kids go to elite private schools. Even better, Julia and Joe are still madly in love. Or so Julia thinks.
-
-
Views of a marriage from the inside.
- By Patricia on 01-11-13
By: Ann Leary
-
A Kid from Marlboro Road
- By: Edward Burns
- Narrated by: Edward Burns
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In A Kid from Marlboro Road, past and present intermingle as family stories are told and retold. The narrative careens between the prior generation’s colorful sojourns in the Bronx and Hell’s Kitchen and the softer world of Gibson, the town on Long Island where they live now. There are scenes in the Rockaways, at Belmont racetrack, and in Montauk. Edward Burns’s buoyant first novel is a bildungsroman, yet out of one boy’s story a collective warmth emerges, a certain kind of American tale, raucous and joyous.
-
-
Marlboro Road
- By Elizabeth K. Scheer on 11-11-24
By: Edward Burns
-
My Sister, the Serial Killer
- A Novel
- By: Oyinkan Braithwaite
- Narrated by: Adepero Oduye
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola’s third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede’s practicality is the sisters’ saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood, the trunk of her car is big enough for a body, and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures of her dinner to Instagram when she should be mourning her “missing” boyfriend. Not that she gets any credit. Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works.
-
-
That’s it?!!!
- By Danni B. on 12-26-18
-
Same as It Ever Was
- A Novel
- By: Claire Lombardo
- Narrated by: Emily Rankin
- Length: 18 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julia Ames, after a youth marked by upheaval and emotional turbulence, has found herself on the placid plateau of mid-life. But Julia has never navigated the world with the equanimity of her current privileged class. Having nearly derailed herself several times, making desperate bids for the kind of connection that always felt inaccessible to her, she finally feels, at age fifty seven, that she has a firm handle on things. She’s unprepared, though, for what comes next.
-
-
Long winded
- By Brooke on 09-17-24
By: Claire Lombardo
What listeners say about I've Tried Being Nice
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- gss
- 06-24-24
Big Leary Fan
Enjoyed essays found myself laughing out loud while listening..
I have enjoyed Ann Leary’s books more when she’s not the narrator.
I get it-it’s dry humor but I find Ann’s reading gets monotonous. Still a huge fan of all her books and of Rescue Me!
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- B. Saxon
- 06-18-24
I’ve tried being Nice!
This was absolutely a fun fun book, and so relatable. Ann Leary is not only enjoyable in her writing, but her own narration was spot on!!!
I’ll admit I had never heard of this author, and I downloaded the book for free only because of the title, as that is my mantra daily! Haha . I was out of credits so looking for free audio books, and I have to say this was a delicious surprise. Very few times do I luck out on the freebies , but BINGO on this one. I’ve already purchased “The Good House” and several others of hers are on my wish list!
Funny, realistic, honest, heart warming and lovely! Thank you Ann Leary.
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- S. Denora
- 07-05-24
Funny. Thought provoking.
Really liked her voice — in reading and writing. Love that she puts her own foibles out there — just like ours.
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- Jennifer Benton
- 02-08-25
Funny and charming
Made me chuckle often, laugh out loud once in a while and engaging all the way through. The essays are also interesting on a wide variety of topics from her life, very relatable.
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