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Title: Goodbye Soldier

Author: Spike Milligan

Narrator: Spike Milligan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-04-16

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Goodbye Soldier, written and read by Spike Milligan.

"My name is Maria Antonoinetta Fontana, but everyone call me Toni."

"I'm Spike, sometimes known as 'stop thief' or 'hey you.'"

"Yeser, I know."

The sixth volume of Spike Milligan's off-the-wall account of his part in World War Two sees our hero doing very little soldiering. Because it's 1946. Rather, he is now part of the Bill Hall Trio - a 'Combined Services Entertainment' inflicted on unsuspecting soldiers across Italy and Austria - and is largely preoccupied with the unbearably beautiful ballerina, Ms Toni Fontana ("Arghhhhhhhhh!"). But he must enjoy it while he can before he is demobbed and sent home to Catford - so he does....

Members Reviews:

My favorite book series of all time.

This is volume 6 in Milligan's extremely funny war memoirs. This covers the end of Milligan's military career and his transition back to Civvy Street and the entertainment business. If you've never read a book that's made you laugh out loud, then you will reading this. Milligan's view on war is clearly stated in the book but his humor always shines through. A look at life from a long gone era by one of Britain's greatest funny men. You can see where the Goon humor was nurtured in these books. If you are a Goon fan, a Milligan fan or indeed a British comedy fan, then this series of books are something you just can't not read.

I first read this series of books in my late teens. 30 years later I'm still reading them, new copies of course.

Has to be the only books I've ever read that have had me crying with laughter and unable to get a breath. Don't believe me? Read it for yourself.

Read and experience a forgotten era

This is a brilliant, witty, pithy, nostalgic book which I have read a couple of times. In fact I was so caught up in the story Spike recounted here about his days prior to demob, shared with the Bill Hall Trio and Toni that I wrote to him and expressed my appreciation (he wrote back too!). While the previous war biographies were already laced with the witty sharp humour that we would see in the Goon Show, the show which incorporated the Bill Hall Trio put it into practice!!

I think it was such a special time in Spike's life - his relationship with Toni and the simple, innocent times he shared with his mates and dreams of being rich and famous through his music - this really comes through in this book.

I don't know how you cannot fail to be moved by reading this part of the war biographies. In fact I am reading the war biographies from the beginning again!

Milligan's Post War Romance

I have read this book many times , I got it out of my local library . Someone stole IT!

( not me)

I love this book. Spike is a guitar player in the Bill Hall Trio touring Southern Europe

post war . On the same bill is a young Italian dancer named Antoinetta. She is beautiful.

The story is basically about the tour and Spike and Toni's falling in love and having

the time of their lives . Including a naughty holiday on Capri . A lovely , touching and very

humorous book about one of the 20th century's great characters and his first true love.

Excellent Condition

The book was promised to be in "good" condition . It turned out to be like new .

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Title: When All Balls Drop

Subtitle: The Upside of Losing Everything

Author: Heidi Siefkas

Narrator: Heidi Siefkas

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-26-16

Publisher: Heidi Siefkas

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Heidi Siefkas was a happily married, globetrotting professional who seemingly had it all - until a tree limb in New York's Hudson River Valley struck her down, breaking her neck and leaving her unconscious. Suddenly, life as she knew it stopped. She lost her independence. She lost her career. She watched her marriage disintegrate as she confronted a trail of devastating lies about her husband's double life. She had lost all that mattered, but she was a survivor. She fought to restore her health, repair her broken heart, and rebuild herself. Along the way, she gained clarity about her core values, ultimately coming to a deeper understanding of what it means to have it all. Through down-to-earth, short vignettes, When All Balls Drop shows us how it's possible to look up in spite of pain, deceit, and loss. Heidi's memoir - rich with hope and humor - inspires anyone who's had to confront tragedy and reassess their life in the wake of life-altering events.

Members Reviews:

Triumph over adversity!

Heidi is courageous in the telling of her very personal story. Listening to her unweave the tale of her journey from hell and back is inspirational and motivating.

Daringly self disclosing with a powerful message !

Heidi is extraordinarily honest about her recovery process and the trials through which she overcame her adversity.

Authentic Story of Triumph - Inspirational

Would you consider the audio edition of When All Balls Drop to be better than the print version?

You certainly get a better sense in the audio version as the author is also narrating. The tone of voice and even humor comes through loud and clear.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Other than the author, I enjoyed many of the characters. Each added something special from the pets, Meg and Kasha, and Dr. R to the brace man.

Have you listened to any of Heidi Siefkass other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I hear that the second book With New Eyes: The Power of Perspective is coming out in audio too.

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

I listened to it on a plane. However, it could be done in multiple sittings because of the short vignettes or like I did, all in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

Bravo! Looking forward to With New Eyes and future books.

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Title: Trafficking the Good Life

Author: Jennifer Myers

Narrator: Susan Crawford

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-23-15

Publisher: Bettie Youngs Book Publishers Co., Inc.

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

An all-American, Midwestern farm girl, Jennifer Myers had worked hard toward a successful career as a dancer in Chicago. But just as her star was rising, she fell for the kingpin of a drug trafficking operation. Drawn to his life of excitement, she soon acquiesced to driving marijuana across the country, making easy money she stacked in shoeboxes and spent like an heiress.

Steeped inside moral ambiguity, she sought to cleanse her soul with the guidance of spiritual gurus and New Age prophets, to no avail. Only time in a federal prison made her face up to and understand her choices. It was there, at rock bottom, that she discovered that her real prison was the one she had unwittingly made inside herself and where she could start rebuilding a life of purpose and ethical pursuit.

Members Reviews:

Self indulgent and boring!

What disappointed you about Trafficking the Good Life?

Such a dull and boring story! It sent me to sleep often.

What was most disappointing about Jennifer Myerss story?

The story was self indulgent and quite frankly boring!!!!

Which character as performed by Susan Crawford was your favourite?

The only merit goes to the narrator who made a silk purse from a sows ear!

What character would you cut from Trafficking the Good Life?

The author

Any additional comments?

Don't buy. It's so dull. The narration is excellent- full praise there- but one on the worst books I have ever listened to.

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Title: Death's Driver

Subtitle: The Life of a Body Transporter

Author: Jack Larson

Narrator: J. Scott Bennett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-18-15

Publisher: ZA Productions

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

My career in the death care profession spanned a decade but encompassed the industry from several perspectives. What tied all these together was my role as a driver for the dead.

Sometimes I was a funeral driver, other times I picked up from morgues, and in another capacity I picked up the deceased from the scenes of car accidents, shootings, hit and runs, and worse. Finally, I cleaned up after homicides, accidents, and suicides as a side business.

I could have organized it in a logical, linear fashion, but that's not how I remember it. My experiences varied widely and the pacing of the job was frenetic, fascinating, heartbreaking, and strangely edifying. Like death itself, it was always unpredictable.

Members Reviews:

Makes you think about things you want to avoid.

If you could sum up Death's Driver in three words, what would they be?

Gross, interesting, engaging.

What other book might you compare Death's Driver to and why?

Stiff by Mary Roach. They both tackle the body after death, but from different perspectives.

Any additional comments?

This really isn't for faint of heart people. It is gory, funny, sad and overall extremely interesting. I love glimpses into others lives that make you appreciate the world around you more and this book certainly does. Everybody dies and we are blessed to have people that take care of tragic situations as well as day to day unpleasantness for us.

I received this book free for review from the Author or Narrator through audiobook blast. I really enjoyed the book and the reading.

Creepy yet enthralling

This is not a book for someone who has lost a child, a loved one or anyone recently. It will creep you out yet suck you in. The authors vignettes are quick and to the point and by the time the shock of the imagery of what you heard huts you he is already onto the next scenario. LOVED IT!!!!! I received this audiobook from the author narrator or publisher for free via audiobookblast in exchange for an unbiased review

Death 101

If you could sum up Death's Driver in three words, what would they be?

This was certainly an unusual audiobook! Nevertheless, I enjoyed listening to the author describe his experiences in working with the the deceased. I was fascinated by the author's perspective on working with dead people, especially the kindness and respect he extends to them. At times, the content was somewhat challenging-even surreal-for me to listen to-due to the nature of the topic. Aside from that, it was an enjoyable read/listen.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review.

A short but interesting audiobook

This audiobook is just under two hours in length and in it, Jack Larson relates short anecdotes about his time as "Death's Driver." Most of his anecdotes are about picking up bodies at accident or crime scenes and at times he goes into gory detail about the condition the body was in when he arrived to transport it to the morgue.

This audiobook is definitely not suitable for listeners under the age of 18 as I believe it would give children nightmares. It may even give some adults nightmares, but at least adults know what to expect when they read the synopsis, so, if it causes them nightmares, that is their own fault.

All of the anecdotes in this audiobook are very short.

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Title: Out of the Transylvania Night

Author: Aura Imbarus

Narrator: Tina Marie Shuster

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-09-15

Publisher: Bettie Youngs Book Publishers Co., Inc.

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

"I'd grown up in the land of Transylvania, homeland to Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, and worse, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu," writes the author. "Under his rule, like vampires, we came to life after sundown, hiding our heirloom jewels and precious documents deep into the earth." Fleeing to the US to rebuild her life, she discovers a startling truth about straddling two cultures and striking a balance between one's dreams and the sacrifices that allow a sense of "home".

Members Reviews:

A full positive recommendation!

In a world which needs to embrace more from the ineffable principles of the universe, it is such a blessing to discover the beauty and greatness of a soul which reveals itself in all its fundamental genuineness!

Personally, I think "Out of the Transylvania Night" is a precious treasure full of sensitivity and spirituality, a treasure which comes out to the light with an overflowing Romanian conscience of courage, freedom, truth, love, and giving.

I read this book being totally immersed and overwhelmed by full-of-life memories, memories from my past as well...My mind, heart, and soul reunited in joy, sadness, revolt, relief and especially in a vital need for ascending beyond all what made us the slaves of a Romanian communist nightmare starting from those still unborn and ending with the oldest, the most hurt, and those who lack hope.

And then, learning about the life's dear secrets of Aura Imbarus, I felt a "deja-vu" feeling in my own universe, enjoying and crying, reviving and raising with each emotion and feeling of hers, rediscovering myself, finding her and admiring her!

What more can I say? Well, there are so much to be said and yet I feel that if I think I said everything, there, in the dense shadow, much more will still remain to be confessed...

All Romanians from everywhere, (and not only Romanians!), please receive as a special gift such a beautiful genuineness of a naked soul which was already given to us, a dare to hope that each will find a way to fly so close to Aura and to the eternal Phoenix bird which undoubtedly put her essence inside of each of us; and let's enjoy, unchain ourselves, and especially fulfill and elevate ourselves so far away as this can be possible for each of us!

In total admiration for the courage and genuineness of Aura,

Antonela Simmermaker, Artist

This book was written for me!

First of all I would like to thank the author for writing such a beautiful and honest book! Aura, your courage is exemplary! While reading "Out of the Transylvania Night", the entire time I felt it was written for me, so if you, dear reader, are expecting an objective and well put together review, you will not get it from me! I cried on almost every page, because everything is absolutely true! I was there!

In essence, every chapter was emotional for me: starting with the stories about the dreaded Communism and the '89 Romanian Revolution, and continuing with the struggles of being caught between two worlds, leaving behind family and everything you knew, feeling alone, while overcoming unbelievable obstacles as a foreigner in the U.S.

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Title: A Stone's Throw

Subtitle: Memoir of a Dope Fiend

Author: Scott A. Spackey

Narrator: Scott A. Spackey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-03-15

Publisher: Primordial Publishing

Ratings: 1 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

In A Stone's Throw, the listener experiences the journey of a 13-year-old boy who is moved from a calm suburban life to a chaotic existence in Los Angeles. We follow the subtle progression of the partying indulgences of youth as they digress into a dark and twisted life of survival, seduction, and excess that are part of a secret cult existence of crime, drugs, and sex. Scott's life devolves from its once youthful and normal innocence to tragic loss of character and spirit as he and his high school friends become some of Los Angeles' most notorious counterfeiters, drug dealers, and thieves, enslaved by exotic drugs few people know about to this day. The climax of his memoir is a terrifying, suspenseful event that escalates on a trajectory with one of two outcomes: total self-annihilation and death or profound and enlightening salvation.

Members Reviews:

Nope.

I gave up after 15 mins. He shouldn't have narrated his own book and his choice of vocabulary was odd, to say the least.

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Title: Hog Fever, Episodes 1-5

Author: Richard La Plante, Kevin Godley

Narrator: full cast

Format: Original Recording

Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-01-15

Publisher: Escargot

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Midway between the satire of Spinal Tap and the pathos of American Beauty lies the schizophrenic state of mind known as Hog Fever. On the surface this is the story of a man, a motorcycle, and a teetering bank balance. But lurking beneath, occasionally visible like threads through faded denim, is the story of a man in search of freedom - or at least one last stab at it.

Motivated by the emasculating success of his British screenwriter wife and a love of Easy Rider and The Wild One, Robert Lourdes, a struggling American author on the cusp of 40, finds solace in the Harley-Davidson legend. Robert's last-ditch attempt to become part of his wife's world ends in disaster when she blatantly co-opts his idea for a screenplay during a dinner party for a hideous Hollywood producer.

The arrival of Gabriella, a beautiful Italian production assistant with a Harley of her own, stirs in Robert the first tremors of a long-dormant passion. Confused and lacking the confidence to shed the marital skin, he takes further refuge in shiny accessories, rallies, and bigger Harleys, culminating in a 1,700-mile pilgrimage to a major biker rally in Marbella, Spain.

Hog Fever is Roberts comedy of errors as he embarks on a tattoo-and-testosterone-fueled quest to find himself.

Members Reviews:

Great story in an exciting format

LaPlante's story is funny, fast and worryingly relatable. The format is creative, and more than overcomes the traditional bogeyman of audiobooks: bad narration. Instead the book is performed and supported by sound effects and musical beds. Shows that a creative author can enhance his work in the audio format, not simply read it.

CURE FOUND FOR HOG FEVER

Repeated listening is the cure. You have to check this out. Now that there is a cure don't be afraid to tell your friends you have Hog Fever.

George Christie

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Title: I Leap Over the Wall

Author: Monica Baldwin

Narrator: Anne Dover

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-30-15

Publisher: Soundings

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

At the age of 21, Monica Baldwin - the niece of Stanley Baldwin - entered one of the most strictly enclosed contemplative orders of the Roman Catholic Church. At the age of 48, and after struggling with her vocation for many years, she left the convent.

But the world Monica had known and forsaken in 1914 was very different from the world into which she emerged at the height of the Second World War.

This is the fascinating account of one womans two very different lives, with revealing descriptions of the world of a novice. Interwoven with these are the trials and tribulations of coping with a new and alien world, as the author is confronted with fashions, interventions, politics and art totally unfamiliar to her.

Members Reviews:

A FORMER CATHOLIC NUN FOR 28 YEARS TELLS HER STORY, AND OF HER DEPARTURE

Monica Baldwin (1893â1975) was [besides being the niece of a British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin] a canoness regular for 28 years, until she gave up her vows in 1941. She also wroteThe Called and the Chosen.

She wrote in the Introduction to this 1950 book, "In the following pages I have tried to describe what happened ... It is a rash and foolhardy undertaking... for I really know nothing about anything, except, perhaps, what goes on behind 'high convent walls.' My only excuse is that so many, and such different kinds of people, have urged me to attempt it... Others simply bombarded me with questions. It is chiefly on their account that I have embarked upon this book. Some of the remarks made to me revealed such fantastically wrong ideas about nuns and convents that I began to feel something ought to be done to put the monastic idea in a truer perspective for those who know little or nothing about it." (Pg. 5-6)

She states in the first chapter, "Most people imagine that girls go into convents because of an unsuccessfu love-affair... I myself believe that most people become nuns because they belong to one or other of two classes. The first and smaller class consists of those who are naturally devout. Marriage does not particularly attract them... They do not make the best nuns, but they certainly lead good lives and quite often arrive at a surprising degree of holiness. The second class is the larger and the more interesting. It consists of the people who enter convents less because they themselves chose to do so than because they are chosen by God. These are the real 'vocations.' Some spiritual adventure has happened to them: some vital encounter has taken place between their souls and God... They therefore become possessed by a kind of burning hunger and thirst for God, which only he himself can satisfy." (Pg. 10-11)

She says, "Looking back, it now seems to me that what was hardest on human nature in religious life was the absolute subjection, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, of one's free will to the exegencies of the Rule. It would not be too much to say that in those few words are contained all the agonies of what is called 'a life of perfection.'" (Pg. 63-64)

She suggests, "For there really ARE points of similarity between hen-canaries and some enclosed religious. They are both so neat, so almost identical in appearance, so perfectly content to continue hopping about from perch to perch behind their bars... I remember feeling almost smothered by the rarefied atmosphere of undiluted femininity.

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Title: Two Dogs and a Suitcase: Clueless in Charente

Subtitle: Sarah Jane's Travel Memoirs Series Book 2

Author: Sarah Jane Butfield

Narrator: Sandra Garston

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-11-15

Publisher: Rukia Publishing

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

The title says it all: what we have and where we are. This travel memoir, the sequel to Glass Half Full: Our Australian Adventure, follows our French exploits as we endeavor to rebuild our lives in another new country, after spending four and half years in Australia. Our goal, or hope for the immediate future, is to focus positively on the present so that we can start a new, optimistic future back in Europe. Our main aim is to be nearer to the children, leaving the dark clouds of the challenges we faced in Australia as a distant memory. Journey with us as we arrive in rural South West France; enjoy my reflections, thoughts, and observations about my family, our new surroundings, and our lifestyle. Follow the journey of my writing career and how we start our renovation project while managing our convoluted family life. Once again, we will laugh, cry, and enjoy life to the fullest with a generous helping of positive spin thrown in for good measure.

Members Reviews:

I really enjoyed this book.

I have never listened to an audio book that I could hear the narrator taking breaths. I tried putting the speakers farther away and turning it up but that made it worse. I won't listen to any more books narrated by this woman. But if Sara Jane has more books available on the audio format with another narrator I will jump at the chance to buy them.

2 dogs and a suitcase

Dreary story and voice. Could have added a bit of poetic license to beef it up. Too many 'howevers'.

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Title: Mule Kisses

Author: Dan R. Manning

Narrator: Bob Rundell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-10-15

Publisher: Goldminds Publishing, LLC

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Dan Manning has put together a compilation of stories about his ancestors and himself as each of them have interacted with anything equine. He is nearly as hybridized as the mules he writes about from his great, great grandfathers...one was a Belgian anarchist, one was a Kentucky abolitionist, and one was a missionary in the Indian Nation, to his great grandfathers...one was a teamster who became a hardware-man, and one was a circuit-riding preacher in Missouri. One of his grandfathers grew up in the Ozarks, homesteaded in Oklahoma, and was called to be a Methodist minister in Kansas. The other one was raised in Kansas, attended KU, was a school superintendent, and took over operating his father's hardware store. Dan Manning loves God, his life, his family, an old gristmill, and mules...but please don't ask him in what particular order.