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Title: The Red Thread

Author: Ann Hood

Narrator: Hillary Huber

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-03-10

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 34 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In China there is a belief that people who are destined to be together are connected by an invisible red thread. After losing her infant daughter in a freak accident, Maya Lange opens The Red Thread, an adoption agency that specializes in placing baby girls from China with American families. Maya finds some comfort in her work, until a group of six couples share their personal stories of desire for a child.

Their painful and courageous journey toward adoption forces Maya to confront the lost daughter of her past.

Brilliantly braiding together the stories of Chinese birth mothers who give up their daughters, Ann Hood writes a moving and beautifully told novel of the red thread of fate that binds these characters lives. Heartrending and wise, The Red Thread is a stirring portrait of unforgettable love and yearning for a baby.

Critic Reviews:

[An] engaging new tearjerker.The individual arcs are woven together beautifully.Hood's sensitive depiction of her characters' hopes and fears makes for a moving story of dedication, forgiveness, and love.(Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Good idea for a story, but...

"The Red Thread" is the next selection for my book club. I can't wait for the discussions! The idea of telling the story of the sad prediciment of people in China who give up their baby girls and the Americans who take the heart-rendering journey to adoption is what attracted me to this book and lead me to recommend it to my book club friends.

But for all that, I found the plot shallow, the people shallow and way more sex than was necessary.

The stories of these marriages (the Americans) were depressing and, for the most part, self-inflicted, and I found very few of them ready to be parents.

It was hours of these horrific situtations and sad tales and then The End. They get their babies and, we must assume, that everyone lives happily ever after. As if a baby is the answer to everyone's bad behavior and problems. What a shallow, sad soap opera!

Well written, well read...

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. Masterfully told and well paced. I enjoyed meeting all the characters. The author's own story is touching to say the least...

Love this Legend

Would you consider the audio edition of The Red Thread to be better than the print version?

The people seem more real on audio for me

What does Hillary Huber bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

She is fantastic

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Oh yes I cried and I laughed and I could not put the book down until all the babies were safely connected.

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Title: Too Much Money

Author: Dominick Dunne

Narrator: Ann Marie Lee, Nicholas Hormann

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-01-09

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 69 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The last two years have been monstrously unpleasant for high-society journalist Gus Bailey. His propensity for gossip has finally gotten him into trouble - $11 million worth. His problems begin when he falls hook, line, and sinker for a fake story from an unreliable source and repeats it on a radio program.

As a result of his flip comments, Gus becomes embroiled in a nasty slander suit brought by Kyle Cramden, the powerful congressman he accuses of being involved in the mysterious disappearance of a young woman, and he fears it could mean the end of him.

The stress of the lawsuit makes it difficult for Gus to focus on the novel he has been contracted to write, which is based on the suspicious death of billionaire Konstantin Zacharias. It is a story that has dominated the party conversations of Manhattan's chattering classes for more than two years. The convicted murderer is behind bars, but Gus is not convinced that justice was served. There are too many unanswered questions, such as why a paranoid man who was usually accompanied by bodyguards was without protection the very night he perished in a tragic fire.

Konstantin's hot-tempered widow, Perla, is obsessed with climbing the social ladder and, as a result, she will do anything to suppress this potentially damaging story. Gus is convinced she is the only thing standing between him and the truth.

Critic Reviews:

"The only person writing about high society from inside the aquarium." (Tina Brown)

Members Reviews:

First by Dunne, I like it

I haven't read anything by Dunne before, but I found this book to be very interesting and well written. I found the constant use of repetitive language a bit annoying, but the story was fantastic.

Wasted a credit on this!

Briefly, not worth the time to download it - writing, dialogue trite and boring. Dunne should have hit the delete button on this one; I couldn't even finish the first half.

Could Have Used a Final Polish

This was published posthumously and really could have used a good final polish.

Bits of information are repeated over and over, but the worst is that every character refers to a particular person as "the male nurse." Even a female nurse refers to him as a "male nurse," which just wouldn't happen in life.

The appeal of Dunne's writing is often recognizing the real life people and events he's fictionalizing, but this isn't the best of Dunne's work by a long shot. It might have been if he wasn't aged and in failing health and rushing to finish it before he died.

The story's more memorable simply for the feel of it and all the little details about the lives of the ultra rich Dunne sprinkles throughout, rather than the overall narrative.

The story's unmemorable and there's not a single really compelling character, so overall this is a mediocre effort in the end. You can easily skip it without having lost anything from your life.

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Title: Friends at Thrush Green

Author: Miss Read

Narrator: Gwen Watford

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-02-09

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

All these matters and more are faced by our old friends the Henstocks, the Youngs, Winnie Bailey, Dotty Harmer, and the Shoosmiths.

Members Reviews:

lovely

as with all miss read books, nice wholesome read to relax to

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Title: Chili Queen

Author: Sandra Dallas

Narrator: Barbara McCulloh

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-27-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 52 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Life may have been hard on Addie French, but when she meets friendless Emma Roby on a train, all her protective instincts emerge. Emma's brother is seeing her off to Nalgitas to marry a man she has never met. And Emma seems like a lost soul to Addie - someone who needs Addie's savvy and wary eye. It isn't often that Addie is drawn to anyone as a friend, but Emma seems different somehow. When Emma's prospective fails to show up at the train depot, Addie breaks all her principles to shelter the girl at her brothel, The Chili Queen.

But once Emma enters Addie's life, the secrets that unfold and schemes that are hatched cause both women to question everything they thought they knew.

Critic Reviews:

"[T]he zesty, offbeat charm of life among these undesirables in the seedy West keeps this tale moving smartly." (

Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

excellent experience

I thought I had it sussed at the beginning. But such wonderful twists and turns. Excellent Reading.

Too many details

There were Too many details to follow, and

I did not like the ending at all.

Disappointed

I couldn't figure out who to root for. None of the characters, despite their tragic pasts, were very likable. It was a strange departure from her typical style.

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Title: The Year of the Flood

Subtitle: MaddAddam Trilogy, Book 2

Author: Margaret Atwood

Narrator: Lorelei King

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-07-09

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 83 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Two women have avoided it: the young trapeze-dancer, Ren, locked into the high-end sex club; and former SecretBurgers meat-slinger turned Gardener, Toby, barricaded into a luxurious spa. Have others survived? And what are the odds for the human race?

By turn's dark, tender, violent, thoughtful, and uneasily hilarious, The Year of the Flood is Atwood at her most effective.

Critic Reviews:

"Atwood's mischievous, suspenseful, and sagacious dystopian novel follows the trajectory of current environmental debacles to a shattering possible conclusion with passionate concern and arch humor." (Booklist)

"Another stimulating dystopia from this always-provocative author, whose complex, deeply involving characters inhabit a bizarre yet frighteningly believable future." (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

Poetic without pace

This story was quite poetic and literary. I could appreciate the style of writing, with its many beautiful descriptive passages. I ENVY the writing style. The characters were tragically flawed in a brilliant way. But. It was just too painfully slow moving for me. I did not get through it all and dropped it three quarters of the way. By then, I just didn't care anymore if the world ended or not.

Strange and ponderous

It's been a couple of years since I read Oryx and Crake and I think after listening to this one I need to go back and reread and see how they fit together. It's a strange book and it makes you think. The narrator does a fantastic job, and the inclusion of music (songs sung by the God's Gardeners cult) in the audio version was a nice touch.

Margret Atwood at her best

In my opinion this book " The Year of the Flood" returns Margret Atwood to the genius level she achive in " The Handmaidens Tale" in which she so closely foresaw some of the dangers of the Religious Right long before they became a reality. Here she pose so many Eco question and how they may be handled in an increasingly fratured sociaty. A sociaty we and the finacial crisse are fast building. Much food for thought.

On a pracial level, the destion to have the contents of the "Oral Hymnbook" done in song on the reading/recording adds an aditional level of enjoyment, Thanks to, whoever thought of that.

Great Book great recording.

disapointing

Any additional comments?

Loved the first book in the series and thought this would be similar. But here it feels like time is standing still, there is lack of a storyline and feels like it is written as an extra afterthought.

At every X chapter there is some song to praise god and that gets annoying very fast. The narration was otherwise very good. I stopped reading somewhere over halfway and wished i stopped sooner.

Thought provoking

What did you love best about The Year of the Flood?

The message for sustainability.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Year of the Flood?

The correlation between today's societies obsession with looking young - botox, plastic surgery, fake body parts and those described in the story.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Lorelei King?

Her slow drawl is not what I prefer to listen to - I'd rather not, unless it is appropriate to the vernacular of the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

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Title: The Secret

Subtitle: Seasons of Grace, Book 1

Author: Beverly Lewis

Narrator: Rachel Botchan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-11-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 133 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Soon-to-be-engaged Grace Byler is perplexed by her mom's nocturnal weeping and wandering - and her dad's refusal to discuss what's wrong. But when her mom runs off, Grace puts her own life on hold to pick up the pieces her mother left behind.

Critic Reviews:

"Two young women, Amish Grace Byler and graduate student Heather Nelson, stand as counterpoints in parallel plots involving two secrets. Grace's mother is troubled; Heather, whose mother has died of cancer, tells no one in her circle of her own diagnosis of terminal illness, which drives her to Pennsylvania Amish country in search of healing. Grace's mother makes a decision that painfully complicates the action and drives it forward. Grace, her family and friends and the Amish milieu are drawn with characteristically ample detail, right down to jars of preserves set out on the tables at many bountiful Amish meals. Lots of powerful emotions go characteristically unspoken in this reticent culture, though the reader won't miss them." (Publishers Weekly)

"No one does Amish-based inspirationals better than Lewis." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Enjoy all of Beverly's books

I enjoy all the books that Beverly Lewis has written. I am intrigued with the Amish stories. This series is one that you must listen to all three books to find out the ending. If you want a wholesome, clean series, this is the one for you. Take time to share these with the young people in your home.

Not my favorite Amish/Lewis story

Reader had strong articulation, but her little girl voice distracted throughout. Slow story line. It felt like she was drawing it out to have enough for a series. Overall, pleasant...but I wouldn't buy again if I had it to do over.

Book is only a teaser--Do no fall for it.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I purchase a book to finish at least part of the story--this was like a soap with NO answers.Just a teaser to buy more books....I will not be purchasing her books again. $60 to read one story and get it finished.

What was most disappointing about Beverly Lewiss story?

Did not fill in one blank. Not one story line was completed! I feel she was looking to make lots of money and just devided one book into thirds.

What about Rachel Botchans performance did you like?

She did a nice job and I found her voice easy to listen to.

You didnt love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

NONE

Any additional comments?

These three should be sold as one....that is how I feel I have been cheated. I have read other series that move on to different stories, but they finish the first leg of the story and then move on. She opened 3 stories and did not finish even one.

good story

Beverly Lewis' books start out slower than Cindy Woodsmall's but once they get going she spins a good sory. The Secret could be written in any setting but this author writes with Amish ones. You learn about Amish life and realize they have hopes, dreams, and lives just like everybody else. This book answers what the secret is but it leaves enough mystery hanging that you know you are going too read book two to experience what happens.

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Title: The Crying Tree

Author: Naseem Rakha

Narrator: Carol Monda

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-11-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 39 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Irene and Nate embark on a new life in Oregon with their two children, Bliss and Shep. But shortly after their move the family is devastated when Shep is gunned down by an intruder in their home. Irene struggles through the aftermath, awaiting the murderer's execution - but as time passes, she draws closer to a desperate and surprising act.

Members Reviews:

Maybe too close to the story to like it more

This is a hard review to write because I don't believe I can be fair. My expectations and hopes for the story were unreasonable. I learned of The Crying Tree after running across an article the author wrote called Healing in a Hard Place which described Oregon's Facilitated Dialogue Program, where an offender and a victim can meet. For the article, she had interviewed a woman who met with her mother's killer and a prison chaplain who volunteered as a facilitator in the program.

I read the book just shortly before my meeting with the person who killed my own son. I suppose I hoped for a story that somewhat paralleled my own, with characters and emotions and actions I could relate to, that would help prepare me for my own face to face with a killer. Instead I didn't really identify with anyone at any time, except perhaps when Irene got to the point where she wanted to help and support Daniel, the man convicted of killing her son. I DO feel that and I do kind of feel secretive about it because it's not really a popular perspective. But what I really hoped for was more about grief and coping; the characters seemed flat to me for the most part. I also hoped for more information and more feelings about the Facilitated Dialogue Program and meet itself, but in the book the program is not even named and was nothing at all like described (I WAS privileged to have the same facilitator that the author interviewed for her article; she was incredible).

So again, I can't fairly judge because I read the book from the perspective of someone who lived a similar story (a homicide, forgiveness of and meeting with the perpetrator) while the author was someone imagining what it might be like. Also, most of the story was set years and years after the crime, while my child was killed just 15 months ago.

I would still recommend the book for anyone wondering about forgiveness when it seems it would be impossible.

Thumbs up!

This is such a good book! Our book club chose this and I was actually a little reluctant to read it..murder, prison, loss. It turns out to be about forgiveness and change and so much more. It is a very readable, page-turner that will leave you thinking about the characters long after you finish the book. Thumbs up!

EMOTIONS ARE RAW IN AN INTRIGUING STORY

Naseem Rakhaâs novel âThe Crying Treeâ is insightful, wonderfully expressive, and will strike a nerve in all but the most callous. Itâs about forgiveness; what initiates the need, why it becomes an obsession, and how the move impacts relationships. Rakhaâs insight has been gained through much careful reflection and personal experience, and she masterfully conveys how the letting go of anger can affect life.

âThe Crying Treeâ is about a young family visited by a terrible tragedy. A 15-year old son and brother is killed during an apparent robbery. Painful emotions are stirred, lives are forever altered, and relationships disintegrate.

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Title: The Post-Birthday World

Author: Lionel Shriver

Narrator: Tanya Eby Sirois

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-29-09

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 85 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The decision to give in to temptation will have consequences for her career, her relationships with family and friends, and perhaps, most importantly, the texture of her daily life.

Hinging on a single kiss, this enchanting work of fiction depicts Irina's alternating futures with two men temperamentally worlds apart yet equally honorable. With which true love Irina is better off is neither obvious nor easy to determine, but Shriver's exploration of the two destinies is memorable and gripping. Poignant and deeply honest, written with the subtlety and wit that are the hallmarks of Shriver's work, The Post-Birthday World appeals to the what-if in us all.

Critic Reviews:

"The rewards for sticking with these 500-plus pages are as delicious as one of Irina's feasts." (The Washington Post)

"Best novel of '07." (Entertainment Weekly)

Members Reviews:

A terrific examinination of relationships

Unlike some other reviewers, I loved this book and thought the narrator was fine. Shriver's focus in this novel is the nature of relationships itself: how it is that so many of us seek happiness and cannot fully figure out when we have it, how we squander it, how we lose it, and how all of our choices, however small, change us. Who are we attracted to? How important is sex? How do we become different when we're with different kinds of people? Who, then, are we anyway? By examining parallel imaginative lives, this novel allows us to think harder and wiser about our own possibilities, decisions, and realities. Ironically, while the chapters end up shifting between 'black' and white' ??? as a way of dividing up the different lives ??? by the end, the entire conceit shows that while 'black' and 'white' are different, they're not about right or wrong, they're just about different paths. I might also add, that I got so addicted to listening to this novel , I also downloaded the Kindle version for the moments I had time to read even faster than I could listen.

great writing;disappointing story telling

I'm new to audible books and have quickly learned one lesson. A good read doesn't necessarily make good listening. The post birthday world has a central characted from south London, Hearing that accent in his speech is key. Disappointingly, this narrator has a completely unbeleivable English accent. I am English and could have forgiven an English accent from another region, but this is not recognizable. She makes Ramsey sound as if he lived half his life in a southern staate! Irritating to listen to and spoiled my enjoyment of the book.

best book I've read in years!

I just love Lionel Shriver. A few years ago I had read We need to talk about Kevin. This latest book didn't disappoint me in the least. I thought the concept highly original - the parallel stories about Irina's life had she succombed to the temptation and her life if she had been faithful to her chosen life, her husband. The book was funny, I found myself laughing out loud; it was analytical, very realistic and true to life I felt. It was sexy yet it wasn't superficial - a reflexion on married life, love, etc. A great book. Un coup de coeur as they say in French! I highly recommend it!

I couldn't finish it, which is unusual

I listened for about 5 hours and finally gave up trying to find something worth hearing.

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Title: Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Margot Berwin

Narrator: Cassandra Campbell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-16-09

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 25 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Shortly after her divorce, advertising executive Lila Nova purchases her first plant. It's a bird-of-paradise, and the seller is David Exley, a rugged country-sexual, who seems to promise a paradise of his own making. Lila is immediately obsessed - with plants and with the man who sells them - but when David introduces her to the myth of the nine plants of desire, and when she meets a man named Armand who claims to own the nine plants, her obsession reaches unexpected heights: if she can possess all nine plants, the legend goes, her wildest dreams will be fulfilled.

But Lila is too trusting, and as a result she is soon off on an adventure she never meant to take: in the Yucatan, alone, hefting a backpack full of travel guides and expensive shampoo, and learning more than she ever wanted to know about the rain forest and about herself.

Plant mythology, shamans and charlatans, mysterious spirit animals, orchid obsessives, scorpions, poisonous snakes, and handsome Huichols...they're all here in this tale of mystery, adventure, and heat...in every sense of the word.

Members Reviews:

Good read

Liked the story , its far fetched but entertaining and that's what fiction should be.

Silly book!

Silly book. I don't understand why all these plants are supposed to be so rare. Some of them are quite common. Plus, Lila, the main character, is thoroughly unlikeable.

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Title: Bitter Sweet

Author: LaVyrle Spencer

Narrator: Nancy Dussault

Format: Abridged

Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-19-09

Publisher: Phoenix Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Newly widowed, still beautiful, and suddenly wealthy, Maggie Pearson Stearn has come home to Wisconsin to start a new life. The recent death of her much-loved husband has left an empty space in her heart. Back on familiar ground, with a gratifying business venture off to promising start, she finds a new zest for life in the rekindling of old friendships-and of her love affair with her high-school sweetheart. But he is married, and she finds herself marooned between two generations of selfishness and disapproval-her mother's and her daughter's.

©2009 Phoenix; ©1998 LaVyrle Spencer

Members Reviews:

Disappointed in this Rendition

I have read this book several times over the years, and was excited when I saw it on Audible. Unfortunately, the book was shortened, leaving out so many details. I finished listening, merely to see how much was left out. I would not recommend it. This was the first Audible book I have ever had this experience with.

Memorable - all time favorite

My friends and I read this MANY years ago when it first came out. Although we lived in various parts of the country, we converged on Door County and Egg Harbor for a girls weekend. That was the ULTIMATE readers club experience. We loved the book then and I have read its tattered covers many times since and have purchased copies for others. Saw it on Audible and purchased it and listened yet another time. I was not disappointed and neither will you be if you listen to this wonderful novel.