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Title: Ghosts of Manhattan

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Douglas Brunt

Narrator: George Newbern

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-18-12

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 61 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A wryly comic, first-person debut novel offering a withering view of life on Wall Street from the perspective of an unhappy insider who is too hooked on the money to find a way out, even as his career is ruining his marriage and corroding his soul.

Its 2005. Nick Farmer is a 35-year-old bond trader with Bear Stearns clearing seven figures a year. The novelty of a work-related nightlife centering on liquor, hookers, and cocaine has long since worn thin, though Nick remains keenly addicted to his annual bonus. But the lifestyle is taking a toll on his marriage and on him.

When a nerdy analyst approaches him with apocalyptic prognostications of where Bears high-flying mortgage-backed securities trading may lead, Nick is presented with the kind of ethical dilemma hes spent a lifetime avoiding. Throw in a hot financial journalist who seems to be more interested in him than in the percolating financial armageddon and the prospect that his own wife may have found a new romantic interest of her own, and you have the recipe for Nicks personal and professional implosion.

By turns hilarious and harrowing, Ghosts of Manhattan follows a winning but flawed character as he struggles to find the right path in a complicated urban heart of darkness.

Members Reviews:

Great Book

This book is very good. Plot is good. Character development is great and an outstanding reader performance makes this book a true winner.

Loved this book!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. The narrator was great--best I've ever heard. The main character was complex and interesting.

Which character as performed by George Newbern was your favorite?

Nick, of course.

Loved this book

This is a great story, I could see each scene aa it was being.read. keep bringing the great stories.

Thoroughly enjoyed!

Recommended to me by friends. I am glad I took the time to listen to this.

Too Light

Would you try another book from Douglas Brunt and/or George Newbern?

No

What could Douglas Brunt have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Provide new insights about Wall Street..Funny yuppie conversations and insecurities were just not enough to define a plot.

What three words best describe George Newberns voice?

clear, pleasant, familiar

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Ghosts of Manhattan?

NA-needed to add

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Title: The Last Days of Louisiana Red

Author: Ishmael Reed

Narrator: Rodney Gardiner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-04-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

"The Last Days of Louisiana Redblends paradox, hyperbole, understatement and signifyin' so expertlyyou can almost hear a droll black voice telling the tales as you readit." - The New Republic

When Papa LaBas (private eye, noonday HooDoo, and hero of Reed's Mumbo Jumbo) comes to Berkeley, California, to investigate the mysterious death of Ed Yellings, owner of the Solid Gumbo Works, he finds himself fighting the rising tide of violence propagated by Louisiana Red and those militant opportunists, the Moochers.

A HooDoo detective story and a comprehensive satire on the explosive politics of the '60s, The Last Days of Louisiana Red exposes the hypocrisy of contemporary American culture and race politics.

Members Reviews:

A Difficult but Significant Novel

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

I think this audio edition of louisiana red is really impressive, as it really emphasizes the cadence with which Reed writes.

What other book might you compare The Last Days of Louisiana Red to and why?

Mumbo Jumbo, other novels from this post-modern black era, etc. I think this novel is so contextual to the era it was written in, really that era is the only thing I can compare it to.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Absolutely, it was well-paced and allowed the reader to properly hear the story.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Gumbo, Voodoo, Murder.

Any additional comments?

Great audiobook!

BEEN THERE, DID THAT, GOT A T-SHIRT TO PROVE IT!

I've had this book in my Wish List for a very long time, not buying it because I was conflicted about the content. Although I'm black, I don't particularly care for black literature. Not because the works aren't good - it's just that many such stories hit too close to home and make me uncomfortable reliving certain events in my actual existence as a black American.

OK, so I finally download the book today. Immediately I knew this wasn't going to be a great experience for me. The story is written in a way that is reminiscent of the newly emerging black authors and playwrights in the late 1960s, early 1970s. At that time I was a theater major at Howard University. A top drama school, the curriculum suddenly went from staging works like "Antigone" and "Othello" to original ground-breaking plays by new, often militant, playwrights who had more social conscience than talent. Everything about this book reminds me of the creative cacophony in which black artists from all mediums found themselves during a time of unprecedented political and social upheaval. We were faced with black awareness, female empowerment, and fighting a war that we didn't believe in. This book pretty much sums up that era from a black American point of view. However, I'm not sure how relevant this book is today. I can't even figure out what demographic would be interested in the story which unfolds here. It is a hard read, bogged down in the ideological rhetoric of the time. I often found myself getting frustrated with the dated sounding text. The only real saving grace is the narrator who "keeps it real" while maintaining an intelligent and skilled delivery.

That said, there are people who would likely find this book interesting and fresh. It is not a bad book - I just don't like it.

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Title: The Secret Daughter

Author: Catherine King

Narrator: Maggie Mash

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-08-12

Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Loss

Phyllis Kimber's entire future is called into question after her father is killed in Earl Redfern's employ. But the earl knows something about Phyllis that means she will always be looked after.

Lies

As lady's maid to Martha, Phyllis is the American heiress's only confidant in England: she knows Martha doesn't love the recently widowed Lord Melton, the man Martha's socially ambitious father is determined she marries, but there's another secret - a secret that makes Phyllis give up everything to protect her friend.

Loyalty

Martha begins making preparations to return to America with Phyllis, her father and new husband on the Titanic but the burden of deception eclipses Phyllis's hope for a new future. As she struggles to protect Martha, Phyllis must decide where her loyalties lie, unaware of the undiscovered secrets in her own past and of the tragedy that is about to unfold on that fateful crossing.

Members Reviews:

Good story enjoyable book

Well written, good story would definatly recommend to family and friends much enjoyed narrated brilliantly.

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Title: Nunc Dimittis (A Roald Dahl Short Story)

Author: Roald Dahl

Narrator: Derek Jacobi

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 09-13-12

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The unabridged, digital audiobook edition of "Nunc Dimittis", a short, sharp, thrilling story from Roald Dahl, the master of the shocking tale, read by the legendary Derek Jacobi.

In "Nunc Dimittis", Roald Dahl, one of the worlds favourite authors, tells a dark story about the sinister side of human nature. Here, a slighted old man takes an elaborate and chilling revenge on his tormentor....

"Nunc Dimittis" is taken from the short story collection Someone Like You, which includes 17 other devious and shocking stories, featuring the wife who serves a dish that baffles the police; a curious machine that reveals the horrifying truth about plants; the man waiting to be bitten by the venomous snake asleep on his stomach; and others. This story is also available as a Penguin ebook.

Roald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been filmed and were most recently the inspiration for the West End play, Roald Dahls Twisted Tales by Jeremy Dyson. Roald Dahls stories continue to make listeners shiver today.

Derek Jacobis film work includes The Day of the Jackal, The Kings Speech, Gladiator, Hamlet, and Henry V. His television work includes Cadfael, Mr Pye, I, Claudius, and Titanic - Blood and Steel.

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Title: Zoo Time

Author: Howard Jacobson

Narrator: Simon Schatzberger

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-07-12

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Struggling novelist Guy Ableman is in thrall to his vivacious wife Vanessa. The trouble is, he is no less in thrall to her alluring mother, Poppy. In flight from personal disappointment and universal despair, Guy wonders if it's time to take his love for Poppy to another level. Fiction might be dead, but desire isn't. And out of that desire he imagines squeezing one more great book.

Critic Reviews:

"How is it possible to read Howard Jacobson and not lose oneself in admiration for the music of his language?" (The Times)

"On this form, Jacobson has better claims than anyone to be called the greatest novelist working in Britain today." (The Mail on Sunday)

Members Reviews:

Wicked fun but irritating too

I love Jacobson's style. Many might not, since it is very literary, full of his own stylistic quirks and devices - too clever by half, and yet that does grab you also - the ironic penetration of most of what he says. The Finkler book was very serious and dark. This also has shadows but it much more an outrageous fantasy of sexuality and relationships. It took me a while to get into - I found it hard to engage with something the author himself didn't seem to be taking seriously but by halfway through I was committed and went through happily to the end.

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Title: NW

Author: Zadie Smith

Narrator: Karen Bryson, Don Gilet

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 09-06-12

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of NW, Zadie Smiths first novel since the best-selling On Beauty.

This is the story of a city. The north-west corner of a city. Here youll find guests and hosts, those with power and those without it, people who live somewhere special and others who live nowhere at all. And many people in between. Every city is like this. Cheek-by-jowl living. Separate worlds. And then there are the visitations: the rare times a stranger crosses a threshold without permission or warning, causing a disruption in the whole system.

Like the April afternoon a woman came to Leah Hanwells door, seeking help, disturbing the peace, forcing Leah out of her isolation....

Zadie Smiths brilliant tragi-comic new novel follows four Londoners - Leah, Natalie, Felix, and Nathan - as they try to make adult lives outside of Caldwell, the council estate of their childhood. From private houses to public parks, at work and at play, their London is a complicated place, as beautiful as it is brutal, where the thoroughfares hide the back alleys and taking the high road can sometimes lead you to a dead end. Depicting the modern urban zone - familiar to town-dwellers everywhere - Zadie Smiths NW is a quietly devastating novel of encounters, mercurial and vital, like the city itself.

Members Reviews:

Feels like three unfinished books.

While a lot of the insight and small passages are quite good, with sharp writing and fine observations, the stories felt a bit long and never quite closed in on anything or resolved the three stories, two of which overlapped, one which was only minimally related.

no story

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

Nothing, it just was not for me.

What could Zadie Smith have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

her other books have had more straight forward story lines.

How could the performance have been better?

My thinking about The performance was coloured by my lack of interest in the story.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment and despair

Talented narrators bring the story to life

If you could sum up NW in three words, what would they be?

London, gritty, urban

Who was your favorite character and why?

Natalie was the most complex and well developed character.

What about Karen Bryson and Don Gilet s performance did you like?

They were both excellent at giving voice to the characters. It is a book about London and they perfected the accents.

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

Both

Any additional comments?

Like White Teeth, this book could be seen as a portrait of London as much as anything. The ending is a bit of a letdown but it is still a great book, try it.

Interesting, but....

What did you like most about NW?

The stories are set in NW London where I live so I actually know all the places. All the characters sound familiar to me, they would actually fit into Kilburn and Willesden, not only because of there characters but also because of the narration.

Would you recommend NW to your friends? Why or why not?

I'd only recommend it to friends who live in NW London or those who have a personal connection to the area.

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Title: The Summer House

Author: Santa Montefiore

Narrator: Tara Ward

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-01-12

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

When her husband dies in a tragic accident, Antoinette's world falls apart. He was her rock and the man she thought she knew better than she knew herself. But as she arrives at the church for George's funeral, she sees an unfamiliar woman. Phaedra loved George too, and could not bear to stay away from his funeral. As she sits before his wife, she knows that what she is about to reveal will change their lives forever.

Critic Reviews:

"I couldnt put this book down." (Julian Fellows, creator of Downton Abbey)

"Now is the perfect time to read this gripping romance...It is as believable as the writing is beautiful." (Daily Telegraph)

Members Reviews:

excellent story line

loved this story, kept my interest right to the end. Well written and brilliantly performed. Highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a bit more than a chic flick!

Challenging story-line

I have enjoyed the story so far but the narration is awful and absolutely ruins the characterisation. I could not bear to listen to it again.

wonderful

Where does The Summer House rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

This is one of my favourite stories and I will definitely listen to it again

What about Tara Wards performance did you like?

Tata read this story very well with a lot of feeling

Predictable

This is the first Santa Montefiore book I have read and three chapters in I am pretty sure how it is going to end. I would stick with it, if it was not for the appalling reading - the arch female voices and the terrible attempts at male voices spoil the whole thing.

Easy and entertaining read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it has enough tension to keep the pages turning

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Summer House?

the exposure of the main character's real relationship to the family

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The above

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

no

Any additional comments?

Montefiore's characterisation is good and I appreciate a new plot in each of her books rather than an old one in new clothes

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Title: Primary Colors

Subtitle: A Novel of Politics

Author: Joe Klein

Narrator: Lloyd James

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-30-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Primary Colors has its rich rewards as a savvy insiders look at life on the stump. But it travels far beyond mere gossip and exposé to discover a convincing world of its own, peopled by smart cookies, nutcases, and wheeler-dealers, whose public and private lives illuminate each othersometimes by casting dark shadows. This story spans the novelistic spectrum from bedroom farce to high moral drama, and it paints a picture of the political state of the nation so vivid and authentic that one finds in it the deepest kind of truththe kind of truth that only fiction can tell.

Members Reviews:

Clintons, Explained

This was a great listen, and anyone interested at all in politics (especially early '90s politics) or the Clintons would probably love it. This book has great writing, great characters, laugh-out-loud humor and situations, and political maneuvering that's as realistic as it gets. I loved it. It's a rich work, not at all simplistic, and it made me simultaneously think less of the Clintons and admire them more. My only beef with it is that as a fan of the excellent movie adaptation (with John Travolta and Emma Thompson as Bill and Hillary), I couldn't help but notice that the screenplay is superior to the original novel in some ways. The movie is leaner, streamlines or eliminates several extraneous characters and situations, and doesn't end on any kind of a cliffhanger the way this novel rather unfortunately does.

But overall: Definitely worth a credit. And the narrator is excellent! Grade: A minus.

For extra interest, look up the controversy surrounding the identity of the author.

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Title: The Dinner

Author: Herman Koch

Narrator: Clive Mantle

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-02-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 57 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A summer's evening in Amsterdam and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant. Between mouthfuls of food and over the polite scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse - the banality of work, the triviality of holidays. But behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened. Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son.

The two boys are united by their accountability for a single horrific act; an act that has triggered a police investigation and shattered the comfortable insulated worlds of their families. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children, and as civility and friendship disintegrates, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.

Members Reviews:

excellent novel, excellent narration

The Dinner is a spectacular book about family and society, among other things as well. This is not a cute book. It's heavy because it's about heavy things, and because it doesn't take heavy things lightly.

I liked the progression from bland dinner table conversation, pigmented with hints of a couple of mysterious incidents (something found in the phone of Paul's teenage son; Paul's sister-in-law arriving for dinner with traces of tears in her eyes), to the unfolding of the drama behind the dinner. The drama that started years before with instances of personal drama and of parenting; the drama that spikes in a horrific incident, then again in discussing it at home, then again at the dinner table.

The fact that this is a Dutch novel is extremely relevant, since Dutch society struggles with a very tolerant front which sometimes comes up to kick itself in the teeth. It is amazing what torments hide behind the blandness of equality and tolerance - not that they always turn violent, but that fear of speaking up against indiscriminate equality becomes oppressive in itself.

"The Dinner" is a painful analysis of society and family, delivered not from a high moral standpoint, but with a subtle understanding of nuances, of small things that make up or break up lives and relationships.

The problem is...it's all highly improbable

Any additional comments?

The publisher''s summary describes the set up well. While the story centres around a dinner at a restaurant one evening between two couples, what is revealed slowly over the course of the story are the events that have has preceded this night and the real reason as to why the couples have come together for this dinner. That is fine as it goes and I found it intriguing.

The real problem with the story, however, is that what is described as having occurred prior to the dinner is reasonably improbable. I just found it hard to believe. The couples' reaction to it I found equally unlikely in a normal world and what comes after the dinner is also hard to swallow. This is really unfortunate as the author spends quite a bit of time making insightful observations about dinners and about restaurants generally which will resonate with a lot of readers and is quite amusing. But in the end, what should have been a work that could have been drawn from real life just turned into more or less a bit of a fantasy tale.

Other commentators have remarked on the slowness of the reveal and the pace of the book.

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Title: The Meryl Streep Movie Club

Author: Mia March

Narrator: Joy Osmanski

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-19-12

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 20 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In the best-selling tradition of The Friday Night Knitting Club and The Jane Austen Book Club, three women find unexpected answers, happiness, and one another, with Meryl Streep movies as their inspiration.

Each woman sees her complicated life reflected through the magic of cinema: Isabel's husband is having an affair, and an old pact may keep her from what she wants most . . . June has promised her seven-year-old son that she will somehow find his father, who he's never known . . . and Kat is ambivalent about accepting her lifelong best friend's marriage proposal. Through everything, Lolly has always been there for them, and now Isabel, June, Kat - and Meryl - must be there for her. Finding themselves. Finding each other. Finding a happy ending.

Critic Reviews:

"A heartwarming, spirit-lifting read just in time for beach season." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Marchs debut is a treat for movie lovers an fans of meaningful womens fiction. The main characters have their flaws, but are easy to relate to, and one cant help but root for their success in life and love." (Romantic Times Book Reviews)

"Consume with a bowl of popcorn and plenty of hankies." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

not for meryl fans

Would you try another book from Mia March and/or Joy Osmanski?

Don't let the very market-savvy title fool you; this is a run of the mill chick lit that manges to mention some movie titles in passing but in no way takes advantage of what could have been a clever plot device...

Any additional comments?

Meryl will NOT. Be playing the lead!

Inspiring

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It was a very enjoyable read that gives you hope and motivation to improve your life, not just settle.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Meryl Streep Movie Club?

When June finally met her child's grandparents.

Did Joy Osmanski do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes. They all had their own very different personality traits, but you could still see they were linked.

If you could take any character from The Meryl Streep Movie Club out to dinner, who would it be and why?

June, she seems like the most fun.

Good beach book.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

With reservations.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

What I expected.

What three words best describe Joy Osmanskis performance?

Pleasant voice. Sorry I only came up with two.

Was The Meryl Streep Movie Club worth the listening time?

Guess it must have been as I finished the book. Some incentive was that I listened during a ride south and it is this months selection for my book club.