These Things Happen
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Richard Kramer
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By:
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Richard Kramer
About this listen
A domestic story told in numerous original and endearing voices.
The story opens with Wesley, a tenth grader, and involves his two sets of parents (the mom and her second husband, a very thoughtful doctor; and the father who has become a major gay lawyer/activist and his fabulous "significant other" who owns a restaurant). Wesley is a fabulous kid, whose equally fabulous best friend Theo has just won a big school election and simultaneously surprises everyone in his life by announcing that he is gay.
No one is more surprised than Wesley, who actually lives temporarily with his gay father and partner, so that he can get to know his rather elusive dad. When a dramatic and unexpected trauma befalls the boys in school, all the parents converge noisily in love and well-meaning support. But through it all, each character ultimately is made to face certain challenges and assumptions within his/her own life, and the playing out of their respective life priorities and decisions is what makes this novel so endearing and so special.
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It was pretty good, just not a book that I would listen to over and over again
- By Pablo Valdez on 04-27-17
By: Alex Flinn
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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
- By: Jonathan Safran Foer
- Narrated by: Jeff Woodman, Barbara Caruso, Richard Ferrone
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Jonathan Safran Foer's best-selling debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated, wowed critics on its way to winning several literary prizes, including Book of the Year honors from the Los Angeles Times. It has been published in 24 countries and will soon be a major motion picture. Foer's talent continues to shine in this sometimes hilarious and always heartfelt follow-up.
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Hard book to review
- By Jbug on 12-27-09
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Paper Angels
- A Novel
- By: Jimmy Wayne, Travis Thrasher
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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When his mom decided it was time for them to leave for good, Thomas knew they better get far away or he'd come and find them. It was Christmas Day, with Mom sweating in a tiny room over a tiny stove, and Dad watching college basketball and drinking with a vengeance. "Thomas, I want you to get your sister and go out to the car, okay?" Mom had promised them that they would be getting a special Christmas present today. Just the two kids. They couldn’t mention it to Dad. This is her present, Thomas thought....
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Giving and FORGIVING . . . Great Christmas Story
- By Debbie on 11-25-14
By: Jimmy Wayne, and others
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The Good Luck of Right Now
- By: Matthew Quick
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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For 38 years, Bartholomew Neil has lived with his mother. When she gets sick and dies, he has no idea how to be on his own. His redheaded grief counselor, Wendy, says he needs to find his flock and leave the nest. But how does a man whose whole life has been grounded in his mom, Saturday Mass, and the library learn how to fly? Bartholomew thinks he's found a clue when he discovers a "Free Tibet" letter from Richard Gere hidden in his mother's underwear drawer. In her final days, Mom called him Richard - there must be a cosmic connection.
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AMAZING
- By JoAnn on 02-17-14
By: Matthew Quick
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The Opposite of Maybe
- By: Maddie Dawson
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Jonathan and Rosie have been together so long they finish each other's sentences - so when he (finally) proposes and asks her to move across the country with him, everyone is happily surprised. But when things suddenly unravel, Rosie sends Jonathan packing and moves back home with Soapie, the irascible, opinionated grandmother who raised her.
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Well written book. The characters grow on you~
- By chatteycathi on 08-01-18
By: Maddie Dawson
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Babylon Sisters
- By: Pearl Cleage
- Narrated by: Pearl Cleage
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Catherine, busy working with refugee and immigrant women through her small firm, Babylon Sisters, has taken on a powerful new client. She doesn't have much time for Phoebe's complicated questions of paternity - that is, until Phoebe's real father, B. J., a renowned investigative reporter, shows up in town to work on a story connected to Catherine.
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Sister Love
- By Florence Graydon on 03-26-21
By: Pearl Cleage
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The Admissions
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mitchell Moore
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The Hawthorne family has it all. Great jobs, a beautiful house in one of the most affluent areas of Northern California, and three charming kids whose sunny futures are all but assured. And then comes their eldest daughter's senior year of high school....
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Anything for success
- By JillHen on 09-13-15
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A Necessary End: A Novel
- By: Holly Brown
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam, James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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At nineteen Leah bears a remarkable resemblance to the young woman Adrienne once was. Which is why Adrienne knows the baby Leah is carrying is meant to be hers. But Leah's got ideas of her own: Her baby's going to get a life in California; why shouldn't she? All she wants is to live in Adrienne's house for a year after the baby's born and get a fresh start. It seems like a small price for Adrienne to pay to get their baby. And with Gabe suddenly onboard, what could possibly go wrong?
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Long time audible listener.
- By Cherith DuBois on 07-11-15
By: Holly Brown
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Get Lucky
- By: Katherine Center
- Narrated by: Morgan Hallett
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Filled with wit and heart, Get Lucky by Katherine Center explores the deep bonds of sisterhood. Sarah Harper’s whole world revolved around her job at a New York advertising agency before an email snafu got her fired. Now she’s seeking refuge at her sister Mackie’s home in Houston. But Mackie, who’s unable to get pregnant, is also down-and-out these days. So Sarah decides to do something good and becomes a surrogate mother.
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So Funny & Heartfelt - Loved the Characters
- By dbs on 01-03-25
By: Katherine Center
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Parrotfish
- By: Ellen Wittlinger
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
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Last week I cut my hair, bought some boys' clothes and shoes, wrapped a large ACE bandage around my chest to flatten my fortunately-not-large breasts, and began looking for a new name. Angela Katz-McNair has never felt quite right as a girl. Her whole life is leading up to the day she decides to become Grady, a guy. While coming out as transgendered feels right to Grady, he isn't prepared for the reaction he gets from everyone else.
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Just what the doctor ordered
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-18-11
By: Ellen Wittlinger
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Small Admissions
- A Novel
- By: Amy Poeppel
- Narrated by: Carly Robins
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite her innate ambition and summa cum laude smarts, Kate Pearson has turned into a major slacker. After being dumped by her handsome French "almost fiancé", she abandons her grad school plans and spends her days lolling on the couch, leaving her apartment only when a dog-walking gig demands it. Her friends don't know what to do other than pass tissues and hope for a comeback while her practical sister, Angela, pushes every remedy she can think of, from trapeze class to therapy to job interviews.
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For fans of "Where'd You Go, Bernadette ?"
- By RueRue on 01-16-17
By: Amy Poeppel
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What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
- Stories
- By: Helen Oyeyemi
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon, Piter Marek, Bahni Turpin
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In "Books and Roses", one special key opens a library, a garden, and clues to at least two lovers' fates. In "Is Your Blood as Red as This?", an unlikely key opens the heart of a student at a puppeteering school. "'Sorry' Doesn't Sweeten Her Tea" involves a "house of locks", where doors can be closed only with a key - with surprising unobservable developments. And in "If a Book Is Locked There's Probably a Good Reason for That Don't You Think", a key keeps a mystical diary locked (for good reason).
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clever
- By jared rogerson on 03-15-18
By: Helen Oyeyemi
What listeners say about These Things Happen
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tammy M
- 04-13-14
More screen play than novel
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
At the end of the novel, I learned that the author who is also the narrator is a former screen play writer for some pretty successful TV shows. That made perfect sense then, as the story read like the script for a movie throughout, heavy on descriptives as if I needed to see what I was hearing and reading. It was difficult for me to really emerse myself into this story as the narrator wasn’t really a narrator or a storyteller. He simply read the words from the book. And at times I couldn’t differentiate which character was speaking because of the lack of emotion in his voice. I would like to see what a true narrator like Paul Morey, or a storyteller like Sean Crisden could do with this novel.
Would you recommend These Things Happen to your friends? Why or why not?
Perhaps. Too each his own, and while this wasn't the book for me, it could be the best book ever for someone else.
Would you be willing to try another one of Richard Kramer’s performances?
Doubtful.
Could you see These Things Happen being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
YES! Now that is what I think this story was intended for as it read more like a screen play than a novel. Cord Overstreet could be Wesley and Matt Bomer can play George.
Any additional comments?
This story is told from multiple perspectives throughout, but the majority of the time the reader is hearing from Wesley himself and George, his father's significant other.
Wesley is at a turning point in his life it seems, completely unsure of which fork in the road to take. He is living temporarily with his father Kenny and his father's partner, George. While Kenny is an established gay rights activist and lawyer, throughout the story he is completely emotionally distant with both his son and his partner. George fits the older, self aware gay man persona to a 'T'. He is successful in his own right as the owner of the restaurant they live above, Echo, and wants nothing more than to connect with his step son Wesley and reconnect with the love of his life, Kenny.
Wesley's best friend Theo has won the class election for President, and announced to the entire school that he is gay. Now he wants his best friend Wes to talk to his two dads about the implications of Theo's confession. He's curious. Is it a choice? Was he born this way? While Wes, Theo, George, Kenny and all the other key players in Wesley's day to day life circle through the story; Wes's questions and contemplations are the heart of the novel. When the boys fall victim to a homophobic attack at school, Wes begins to question things even more so.
At the end of the novel, I learned that the author who is also the narrator is a former screen play writer for some pretty successful TV shows. That made perfect sense then, as the story read like the script for a movie throughout, heavy on descriptives as if I needed to see what I was hearing and reading. It was difficult for me to really emerse myself into this story as the narrator wasn’t really a narrator or a storyteller. He simply read the words from the book. And at times I couldn’t differentiate which character was speaking because of the lack of emotion in his voice. I would like to see what a true narrator like Paul Morey, or a storyteller like Sean Crisden could do with this novel.
I’m rating this one right down the middle because I’m really torn on how I feel about it. The narration was off and the story didn’t flow well, I also felt nothing but contempt for Wesley’s dad because of the way he was portrayed. My rating would be even lower if it weren’t for the character George. He was exactly as promised, utterly fabulous. His back story and the way he was so intent on developing a sturdy relationship with Wesley made him very endearing to me.
While this wasn’t the audio book for me, I have to say, I’d love to see this made into something on screen.
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