May 1, 2019 - June 3, 2019
Betty from Harrisburg, IL
Dee from Scottsdale, AZ
Francisca
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
Narrator Name: Sarah Paulson
Rating the Audio Performance
Paulson did a fine job performing the audiobook. She has good pacing and enough skill as a voice artist to differentiate the various characters. I particularly liked how she voiced Sarah and her mother; the emotions behind their words really came out in her performance. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
As she has done for other neurological disorders, Genova crafts a compelling story that educates and entertains. I felt Sarah’s frustrations as she worked with occupational therapists to try to regain some of her lost functionality. I empathized with her inability to let go of the high expectations she set for herself. I thought the book was interesting and informative, but not as compelling as some of her other works.
Ann
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Narrator Name: Michelle Obama
Rating the Audio Performance
I loved that the author narrated this book. I felt like she was with me as I listened. I truly enjoyed hearing her pronunciation of words, not the perfectly cultured voices of many narrators. It was fun to realize that Mrs. Obama might drop a "g" from the ending of a word, or slide letters together. Just a great listen! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A wonderful memoir of the author's life through her husband's presidency.
Mary Lou
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Narrator Name: Susan Orlean
Rating the Audio Performance
Susan does a good job, speaking clearly. However, there is a sort of plodding characteristic to her voice that began to grate after a while. And, she often slipped into pronouncing the word "library" as "liberry", and "librarian" as "liberian", which was kind of cute at first, but became a real distraction for me - go figure. I mean, the whole book was about libraries and librarians, so the pronunciation of those particular words is important, right? Generally speaking, I feel that authors should leave the reading to the professional readers. Just my honest opinion, and, of course, there are always exceptions. Carly Simon wonderful reading of her BOYS IN THE THREES comes to mind... Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is an amazing book. The amount of research that Susan must have done to write this book boggles the mind. Beautifully and clearly written, the story of the 1986 fire at the central branch of the LA Public Library is the central part of this work. Susan weaves in so much interesting detail into this story. I personally spent the first year after my divorce reentering the workforce after 16 years as a housewife working at the San Clemente Library as a library assistant, so I really, really enjoyed every aspect of this book. Book and library nerds will love it, as well as history buffs. Such a wonderful book!
Ricki
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Narrator Name: Caroline Lee
Rating the Audio Performance
Maybe it was the accent, but Lee's voice got way too whiny too often. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Some really great moments with emotions all over, but a little slow at times.
Aimee
The Banker's Wife by Cristina Alger
Narrator Name: Karissa Vacker
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator did an excellent job with different accents. The tension in certain parts was spot-on. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This book really kept me listening! It was hard to shut off at times...I wanted to know where the story was going next.
Kate
All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin
Narrator Name: Dorothy Dillingham Blue, Milton Bagby, Catherine Taber
Rating the Audio Performance
I enjoyed having three readers. They brought more personality to the characters than one reader. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Kept me hanging until the end. The storyline seemed relevant to teens today. I would have liked to know how the divorce turned out.
Richard N B
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Narrator Name: Tom Stechschulte
Rating the Audio Performance
Stechschulte is a talented voice artist and actor, and he really brings these characters to life. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A man and his son wander a desolate and destroyed American landscape after some unnamed world-wide disaster has killed off most of the Earth’s population and destroyed the environment. I don’t need a happy ending in order to appreciate and like a book, but I do need to feel some sense of purpose to the story, and I couldn’t figure out what McCarthy was trying to impart. Still, there is something about McCarthy’s writing that captivates me. I like his spare style. I like the way he paints the landscape so that I feel I am living in the novel (even if it’s a horrible place to be). I think he’s one of those author’s whose works I appreciate, even when I don’t particularly like them.
Jill Price
The 18th Abduction by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Narrator Name: January LaVoy
Rating the Audio Performance
She has an excellent voice to listen to. Her inflections are great and add to the story. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Two good storylines that intertwine, well done.
MARILYN
The Colors of All the Cattle by Alexander McCall Smith
Narrator Name: Lisette Lecat
Rating the Audio Performance
Lisette always does a super job with all the voices of these enchanting characters in Botswana. I have listened to some of the NUMBER 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY books over and over just because they are easy listening and contain wise bits of philosophy. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Precious Ramotse goes about her day gently working out the problems of those who enter her tiny office in back of the Speedy Motors Garage.
Susan
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
Narrator Name: Ruthie Ann Miles and Kimiko Glenn
Rating the Audio Performance
The voices were excellent and kept my attention. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Having a granddaughter adopted from China who doesn't know anything of her background except the orphanage from which she was adopted, I was totally fascinated with the family dynamics and the love of the mother that had to relinquish her child. Watching the small village evolve was very interesting. Hearing from the adopted child and her contemporaries made me understand their mindset. I also decided it was time I became a tea drinker.
Tessa
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Narrator Name: Jonathan Pryce
Rating the Audio Performance
Pryce does a marvelous job narrating the audiobook. He’s a talented actor and he gives all the characters, men and women, distinct voices that really bring them to life. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Oh, what a tangled web we weave... Wonderfully atmospheric, Gothic psychological suspense. Rachel is flirtatious one moment, and standoffishly proper the next. She seems callously indifferent in one scene and then solicitous and concerned about Philip on the next page. She’s both captivating and infuriating!
Harriett
The New Tsar by Steven Lee Myers
Narrator Name: Rene Ruiz
Rating the Audio Performance
The actor's voice was matched perfectly for the serious content of the book: low, even rhythm and serious. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The rise of Vladimir Putin from childhood to his current years as the leader of Russia. There is commentary and some analysis of his behavior and political choices as he becomes more dictatorial and wealthy. The story casts a light on his personal life which is mostly kept under the radar of public scrutiny. Having read various articles and some other books on Putin, I learned some new history and politics from a literate but not pedantic work.
MAUREEN
Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
Narrator Name: Alana Kerr Collins
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrators lovely Irish voice was the perfect voice for this audiobook. Her voice was clear and easy to understand. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Not knowing too much about Andrew Carnegie I found this book interesting.
Richard N B
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
Narrator Name: Simon Winchester
Rating the Audio Performance
Winchester narrates the audiobook himself and he does a fine job. As a bonus, at the end of the audiobook there is an interview between Winchester and the OED’s current editor, John Simpson. THAT was equally as interesting to me as the main story. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The subtitle is all the synopsis you need: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. James Murray is the professor, a learned man who became the editor of the OED. Dr. William C. Minor is the madman, an American Civil-War surgeon whose paranoid delusions result in his commitment to an asylum for the criminally insane. And yet...Simon Winchester crafts a compelling non-fiction narrative. He captured my attention on page one and held it throughout.
Karen
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
Narrator Name: Imogen Church
Rating the Audio Performance
This book was very hard to listen to and follow the storyline. I did not care for Imogen Church's interpretation of the British accent. It seemed rather phony and made the characters seem comical. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Maybe it was the narrator that made this book's storyline hard to follow. I did plow through it
because it got such good reviews, but it wasn’t a favorite and I would not recommend it as an audiobook.
Kristin
I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney
Narrator Name: Stephanie Racine
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator did a great job on this book! I really enjoyed listening to her, and she did some different character voices very well. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I enjoyed this book in the beginning, and was really intrigued by the set up and storyline. Then the last 25% the story went completely off the rails, with a plot twist that was completely nonsensical, ill-advised and frankly just gross.
Margie
August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones
Narrator Name: Mirron Willis
Rating the Audio Performance
Did not love the narrator but that did not stop me from falling in love with August Snow! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I was not really looking to listen to a mystery book but I was going to hear Jones speak so forced myself to start it. And boy am I glad that I did! What a great book! I love character development and AUGUST SNOW is still living in my brain weeks after I finished the book! Jones bring Snow to life by revealing him bit by bit. You gotta love the tough Detroit ex-cop who just can't seem to stop himself from doing good but with a gruff exterior. Highly recommend.
Francisca
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
Narrator Name: Adenrele Ojo
Rating the Audio Performance
The digital audio was performed by Anenrele Ojo, who did a marvelous job. I really felt as if Meena was telling me her story. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Originally published in Canada as THE BOOK OF NEGROES, Hill’s novel tells the story of Aminata Diallo from 1745 to 1802. What marvelous storytelling! I was engaged and interested from beginning to end. It’s a thought-provoking, informative and inspiring tale.
Dee
Rocket Men by Robert Kurson
Narrator Name: Ray Porter
Rating the Audio Performance
A pro at narration, he does a fine job of keeping the rhythm of the story. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
ROCKET MEN is the story of Apollo 8, the very human astronauts and the stormy time that was 1968.
Karen
The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille
Narrator Name: Scott Brick
Rating the Audio Performance
Listened to this story on a road trip. Felt like I was watching a movie. Didn’t want to get out of the car even though we readied our destination. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Great plot. Exciting. Nail biting at times. Perfect moments of peace, too.
Tessa
The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
Narrator Name: Davina Porter
Rating the Audio Performance
Davina Porter is absolutely pitch-perfect in her interpretation of these stories. Every character comes to life and Porter gives them all believable voices. Brava. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Book Number Five in the popular OUTLANDER series continues the saga of Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser. There’s plenty of drama and intrigue in these tales…personal and political. It’s a ripping good yarn that moves at a quick pace and held my interest throughout.
Audrey
Killer Pancake by Diane Mott Davidson
Narrator Name: Barbara Rosenblat
Rating the Audio Performance
This reader has a pleasant voice and is very expressive. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I've read about four in this series and this one is the best so far. It's about the cosmetic business and the cutthroat way it operates. Goldy decides to help her husband solve a case and gets herself in a bind more than once.
Audrey
Tilt A Whirl by Chris Grabenstein
Narrator Name: Jeff Woodman
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator is the younger of the two policemen. He sounds the part and does a good job. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The policeman is an ex-military guy who is perfect. He is A-squared away and kind and honest. If it's necessary to tell a lie for the good of someone, he just doesn't say anything. Instead, he lets the other person's perspective rule even though it may be wrong, as long as it is what Ceepak wants them to believe. Hence, not really telling a lie, just not correcting one. The young man who rides with him is totally in awe of him until, in the course of this investigation, it appears he has killed a suspect for molesting a child. The narrator, Danny, is totally bummed and rethinking his admiration for Ceepak and for becomming a policeman.
Audrey
Skinwalker by Faith Hunter
Narrator Name: Kristine Hvam
Rating the Audio Performance
Pleasant voice. Reads clearly and at a good rate. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Jane Yellowrock travels to New Orleans to hunt another vampire - only this one is wanted by the vampire community and they are doing the hiring. She finds her rogue vampire is not just a vampire. She also finds that the service she has done the community was not appreciated by all, especially a grieving father who is very dangerous. Good story. I will read the next.
Karen
Raspberry Danish Murder by Joanne Fluke
Narrator Name: Suzanne Toren
Rating the Audio Performance
Suzanne's reading makes the novel inviting to listen to. She voices the characters to reflect a vision of what the character would be like if we could see them. Hannah sounds like a sturdy, competent, but sensitive woman. Her sisters, Andrea and Michelle, have higher, squeaker voices. The male voices are less masculine, but they sound strong and confident. Suzanne's descriptions of the food create a desire to both cook and eat some delicious food. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Hannah Swensen Barton's new husband, Ross, has disappeared. Hannah is a sleuth as well as part owner of The Cookie Jar so she is investigating as well as baking for the shop and preparing for cookie sales at a convention. Two other mysteries also pop up. Hannah's cat, Mosche, is acting strangely, and Ross's assistant, PK, dies in a car crash after consuming some poisoned candy. The vet can find nothing wrong with Mosche. There are a several suspects for PK's murder and questions about PK and Ross. Meanwhile Hannah is providing recipes for meals, helpful tips for cooking and clean up. Hannah, her partner Lisa, and other family members are developing delicious new recipes for desserts for sale at The Cookie Jar and the convention.
Helen
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Narrator Name: David Sedaris, George Saunders, Nick Offerman, Carrie Brownstein, Miranda July and Lena Dunham
Rating the Audio Performance
I had tried to read the book and failed, but listening to it was fascinating! The multiple cast of supporting characters, both alive and dead, was intriguing. The story of President Lincoln and the death of his son Willy was poignant and moving.
Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Poignant and interesting in its historical prospective of President Lincoln and his family.
Audrey
To Speak for the Dead by Paul Levine
Narrator Name: Luke Daniels
Rating the Audio Performance
Clear, easy to understand. Pace is not too fast or slow. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Jake is defending a surgeon for malpractice. When the law suit is over it turns out it's really not - it devolves into a trail to murder. Good story.
Audrey
Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn
Narrator Name: Marguerite Gavin
Rating the Audio Performance
Reader does a nice job - clear and well-paced. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This book was third in the series and it just missed the mark. Kitty comes off as a bit whiny. She's holed up in the woods writing a book about her experience - which isn't much of an experience as she has not been a werewolf long. Her lawyer's plight and Cormick are the focus as her lawyer has been bitten. That was kind of weird as they developed a romantic relationship. Then Cormick is arrested and the results of that take up the end of the book as they prepare a defense. The entire book was not very fulfilling this time. I will probably read the next, but if it's like this one I will be done. Oh, and Kitty calling in each week under different names to the new paranormal talk show was kind of sad.
Karen
The Chef by James Patterson and Max DiLallo
Narrator Name: Michael Ziants
Rating the Audio Performance
Michael Ziants has a very pleasant voice to listen to. He brings the characters in THE CHEF to life.
His voicing of the characters, and his way of reading their parts, gives the listener a view of what the characters look and how they act. Detective Caleb Rooney sounds strong, competent, reasonable and street smart. His former wife and business partner is good-natured, kind and full of snappy comebacks. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
THE CHEF is a good mystery with many twists and turns. Detective Caleb Rooney, the Killer Chef, is accused of killing an unarmed gang banger who along with some other members of the gang was selling drugs. He threatened Caleb with his gold handled, engraved gun, but there are claims that Caleb planted the gun. Caleb is fed up with being a scapegoat and concentrates on his food truck business. He is beaten up by the gang, he discovers a plot to attack the Mardi Gras Parade and learns about a quirky family of restaurant owners. He fancies Vanessa who is the wife of one of the restaurant owners. Caleb races to learn who is plotting against Mardi Gras and just when he thinks he knows there is another twist.
Karen
The Girl in the Glass Box by James Grippando
Narrator Name: Jonathon Davis
Rating the Audio Performance
When Jonathon Davis reads this novel, he reflects the whole range of emotions: fear, worry and terror. He is good at voicing both men and women's voices. Jack has the rational voice of an attorney. Julia has a soft,sometimes worried voice. Beatrix has the young voice of a teenager, and she speaks English very well. Cecilia speaks as an exasperated young adult unable to help her sister and with the responsibility of caring for Beatrix as well as studying for her degree at FIU. Theo has the deep voice of a big man who will use his size if he needs to. Simone Durrell, a deportation lawyer, speaks in a matter-of-fact voice and is bent on deporting Julia to the point of getting Julia's old boss to say she had stolen his wallet. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Illegal immigrant Julia Rodriguez is working in a Miami coffee shop when she refuses her bosses sexual advances and he reports her to ICE. Julia and her daughter have fled El Salvador to get away from gangs, violence and Julia's crazy husband. Miami attorney Jack Swyteck learns about the case when his abuela, who has frequented the coffee shop, volunteers her grandson to help Julia. He learns about Julia from Beatriz, Julia's daughter, and searches for her in the ICE system. He finally finds her and drives to north Florida to meet with her. The journey through the ICE system begins. There are many obstacles including Julia's crazy husband, Beatriz going into a catatonic state and Julia's fear.
Karen
Falling by Jane Green
Narrator Name: Jane Green
Rating the Audio Performance
Love the English accent! I smiled when Jane changed her voice for another character! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The title, FALLING, will make you think this is a love story about falling in love. It is that, but so much more! Jane’s insight into how a woman thinks and feels in a relationship is spot-on. “She folded her arms in that way women do when protecting themselves...” (or something like that!) Other themes which are addressed include parenting, the influence of parents, leaving the “rat race” to follow your heart, and the power of love.
Richard N B
Heat Lightning by John Sandford
Narrator Name: Eric Conger
Rating the Audio Performance
Eric Conger does a fine job narrating the audiobook. He keeps the pace up and the action moving forward. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is the second book in the Virgil Flowers series, which is a spin-off of Sandford’s extremely popular Lucas Davenport series. In his trademark style, Sandford gives us plenty of twists and turns in the plot, a few red herrings, and some subtle clues that are easy to miss. Flowers is an extremely likeable character. The action is fast and furious, and the ending is satisfying for the thriller/mystery genre.
Betty
The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
Narrator Name: Melinda Gates
Rating the Audio Performance
This was my first audiobook. Melinda’s narrative gives credibility to her experience. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Melinda details how and why the Gates Foundation was started, who her major influences were and how the Foundation has evolved. Not all attempts were successful but they listened to the people they were trying to help and culture change is the result.
Tessa
Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
Narrator Name: S. Epatha Merkerson
Rating the Audio Performance
S. Epatha Merkerson is a talented actress and she does a marvelous job of voicing this audiobook. She really brought Zarité to life for me. And she was able to differentiate the many characters, so I was never confused about who was speaking. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
In a bit of a departure from her usual emphasis on Hispano-American history, Allende gives us a story of an 18th-century slave in French-occupied Saint-Domingue (later to become Haiti). We follow Zarité from her childhood through age forty, Saint-Domingue to Cuba and onto New Orleans. Allende is more than up to the task of relating the historical events that frame this family drama. I loved Zarité. She’s intelligent, resourceful, courageous, and wily. Violette is also a richly drawn character – willful, intelligent, confident, loyal and loving. None of the men in her life are a match for her.
Shirley
The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
Narrator Name: Suzanne Toren
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator did a good job narrating the book but her pace was a little slow. Her voice brought with it the luxurious feel of the main character, Hedy Lamarr. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The story was one I first heard about at Hedy Lamarr's death. The book covered about 10 years when she was first married to the wealthiest man in Austria, her escape from her homeland, and her rise to stardom in Hollywood. It also brought in her patent for a torpedo tracking system. I was disappointed that the book did not cover how she became the brilliant scientist that she was and instead focused on her being just a pretty face. 
