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Title: Tell It to the Skies

Author: Erica James

Narrator: Sarah Lancashire

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-25-08

Publisher: Orion Publishing Group Limited

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

As a young child, Lydia and her sister are sent to live with grandparents they've never even met before. It's a cruel and loveless new world for them and it teaches Lydia to grow up fast. She learns to keep secrets and to trust sparingly. And through it all, she suppresses her grief and guilt, believing she is to blame for her mother's death.

Now, 28 years later, Lydia is persuaded to leave behind the safe new life she has created for herself and return to England to face the past - and maybe her future.

Compelling and heart-breaking, with a touch of bittersweet romance, this is Erica James at her finest.

Members Reviews:

Thought provoking

Interesting book! Really enjoyed it. I must say....it is sooooo easy to listen to Sarah Lancashire!

Brilliant

I always enjoy reading an Erica James but I do think this one is her best or one of the best.

Brilliant book

This book was a great listen. The story was gripping and really well read and enjoyable. Good fiction book for all

can sarah lancashire please read all audiobooks??

loved it, mainly due to the fact that its the only one I can find read by sarah lancashire, apart from the dodgy ice cream man voice which was a bit weird i just cant get enough of her voice. its almost hypnotic.

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Title: And Sometimes Why

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Rebecca Johnson

Narrator: Cassandra Campbell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-18-08

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

With wit and warmth, And Sometimes Why captures the fragile rhythm and unpredictable drama of family life. When Sophia and Darius say good-bye to their teenage daughters one unremarkable morning,l they have no idea how permanently their family will be affected by a decision made around the breakfast table. One of the daughters will have a terrible accident; the other will meet a boy. Both events will change their lives forever.

Profoundly honest and rendered with a deft lightness of touch, And Sometimes Why is a novel about how quickly life can change and how we must learn to change with it.

Critic Reviews:

"Unflinching and heartbreaking....Powerful." (Booklist)

"Johnson's portrayal of a family's grieving is exquisitely crafted." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Shimmering

Rebecca Johnson's debut novel sets the bar pretty high. It's not often you find a gripping story that effortlessly weaves arcane and interesting information with perfectly rendered descriptions of the inner workings of the heart and mind. I also found it helpful in letting go of certain losses in my own life.

Best Book of the Year

This book is startling good. Not a young adult book at all like this last reviewer wrote. please ignore all that junk. This is one of the best books I've read in years. It's dramatic and funny and moving and touching without ever being maudlin. I was moved to tears. This woman is a writer to watch with skills this great in her first book I can't wait to watch for the great work this writer is destined for. So thank you Ms Johnson for this amazing book. You're now one of my favorite writers along with Carolyn See, John Updike and all the great modern authors of this modern era. I was so amazed by the quality of this book! Clancy OHara

AND SOMETIMES WHY

It was interesting to read reviews on how people liked this book. I could not get beyond 50 pages and feel buying this book was a waste of money and time. This book most likely fits with this generation where many live dsyfunctional lives, find lying easy and can't complete a sentence without a lot of four-letter words. For me, this is not a quality book and could have been written by a teenager who views life in a negative way. There are a lot of quality books to buy, and this one is not. However, it will probably appeal to the Hollywood colony to make a movie of people who fit their taste.

Beautiful, not tragic

This book is extremely powerful if you like your spouse, feel understood by him or her, are accustomed to disagreeing about big things, and believe that even major problems will sort themselves out. The writer makes the storm of resentment between husband and wife both a logical outcome of events and a complete mystery. She resolves the disorientation and anger in a way I didn't expect but was sure would be true. The end is spare and incredibly beautiful.

As a mother of two young daughters, I thought I might not be up for the plot. Interestingly, there are no manipulations that force you to tears. The book asks good questions about how much parents can know, or should try to know, about their teenage kids, and about the usefulness of research as a technique for reorienting oneself and building inner resources in a tragedy.

[...]

crude and the story line fell flat

Halfway through the book I became discouraged.

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Title: The Loner

Author: Josephine Cox

Narrator: Christian Rodska

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-29-08

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

After a tragic accident involving his mother, and the disappearance of his father, young Davie flees his hometown of Blackburn. Devastated, he must escape the memories of the worst night in his young life. With little more than the shirt on his back and a fierce determination to find his father, he sets off on a lonely, friendless road.

©2007 Josephine Cox;

Members Reviews:

The loner

I was disappointed with the story which contained numerous cliches and was unimaginative. The storyline was unexceptional and at various stages i wondered if i had chosen in error, a book which was for children,the storyline was so transparent. Having read others by the same author it has put me off trying any others. I would not recommend this to anyone who likes a little more substance to the story.

the loner,josephine cox

I'm a new member to audible books such an amazing club, recommended by my son also an avid reader of your books, war/history. so this book I've just finished is a very good read, extremely descriptive and wonderfully read, have already purchased moe books by this author and others,thank you.

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Title: Kyra

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Carol Gilligan

Narrator: Justine Eyre, Mark Deakins

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-15-08

Publisher: Books on Tape

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Kyra is an architect involved in a project to design a new city. Andreas, a theater director, is staging an innovative production of the opera Tosca. Both have come through political upheaval and personal loss. Neither wants to fall in love. Yet when she asks him, what the opposite of losing is, and he says, "finding", it galvanizes a powerful attraction, and they risk opening themselves to love once again. But a shocking betrayal awaits.

©2008 Carol Gilligan; (P)2008 Books on Tape

Members Reviews:

heaped

well i have a big respect for Carol Gilligan, but i don't like books that need to show how much general knowledge the writer has and be overoaded with informations about each subject they write that takes us away from the story endlessly. i can read the opera stories apart of the book as wel as psyco. theories. etc...it was quite exhausting to read it. pitty as it's a beautiful story

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Title: Walk in My Shoes

Author: Alwyn Evans

Narrator: Kellie Jones

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-17-07

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

After a perilous and terrifying escape from war-torn Afghanistan, Gulnessa and her family find themselves in Australia, a place they know nothing about. They are exhausted and traumatized, but so full of hope. But their struggle isn't over yet.

They are confined in a detention centre for asylum seekers, and forced to prove their refugee status. As days drag into weeks and months, Gulnessa is determined to stay strong. She cannot give up hope for a second chance at life, and the opportunity to build a future in a new land.

Editorial Reviews:

At once harrowing and heartwarming, Walk in My Shoes follows 16-year-old heroine Gulnessa, as her family flees the devastation of war-torn Aghanistan only to find themselves trapped in an Australian detention center for illegal immigrants. Author Alwyn Evans addresses a litany of heady issues - including war, human trafficking, religious persecution, racism, culture shock, and political asylum - while nevertheless rendering Gulnessa as a typical adolescent, fancifully doting on her secret crush or musing over future career goals. Actress Kellie Jones bequeaths Gulnessa a fitting teenage tone, imbuing the young heroine with playful rambunctiousness, naïve insecurity, and dreamy desires for her life ahead. Throughout the proceedings, Jones proves herself a masterful role player, as she delivers delightful accents, dialects, and dialogue sequences.

Critic Reviews:

"This sound recording of the remarkable text is an interesting way to encourage students to visualize the text, and indeed, walk in narrator Gulnessa's shoes. Kellie Jones is to be commended for keeping the quality of the narration at a high standard throughout all eleven discs. Walk in My Shoes is a rather long novel and this Bolinda audio version makes it more accessible to those who would not choose to read such a lengthy novel." (Fiction Focus)

Members Reviews:

Every Australian of reading age should read this book

Walk in my Shoes is about a Pakistani refugee family who arrive in Australia after going through a circuitous, arduous and dangerous journey. When they arrive they are full of hope and believe they are finally safe. However, the family is immediately placed in a detention centre out in the desert where they linger for almost two years before being released. The loss of hope, the anguish and pain this family suffers while they try to prove to the Australian government that they are indeed refugees is excrutiating.

The reading age of this book is 9-12 years but is suitable for all age groups and I would recommend it as essential reading not only for school children but for all Australians. It is difficult not to feel deep compassion for those people who have suffered so terribly in their own countries and have come to Australia (even if they have by-passed the legal channels).

It gives another perspective to the refugee debate quite differnet from the government's stance and is likely to produce a public outcry about the way refugees are being treated in Australia. Indeed as the protagonist of the novel points out - why if we weren't refugees would we come to Australia on such dangerous unseaworthy boats? Terrorists are never going to travel this way.

Thought provoking

I bought this book because my granddaughter was reading it for school. (She is 12) and I wanted to

see what the kids were reading and whether it would help them develop more empathy.

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Title: This Book Will Save Your Life

Author: A. M. Homes

Narrator: Richard Poe

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-20-07

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Richard is a modern day everyman; a middle-aged divorcee trading stocks out of his home. He has done such a good job getting his life under control that he needs no one. His life has slowed almost to a standstill until two incidents conspire to hurl him back into the world. One day he wakes up with a knotty cramp in his back, which rapidly develops into an all-consuming pain. At the same time a wide hole appears outside his living room window, threatening the foundations of his house.

©2006 A. M. Homes; (P)2007 Recorded Books, LLC

Members Reviews:

Strangely re-assuring

This is classic, I am having a mid life crisis kind of book and that is the way the bizarre tale tracks. A great story and god knows don't we all need a little of that sometimes.

brilliant book, well read

Having read the book, I wondered what listening to it would give, but this is a well chosen narrator whose reading does the book definite justice.

This is well worth a listen, and a read. A book that gives you faith and hope to start over again.

A Modern Los Angeles Fairy Story

One of my favourite ever Audible books is May We Be Forgiven also by A M Holmes. That book is so good, I was really hesitant to buy this one, in case it just didn't measure up. In fact, though there are some trade-mark parallels, This Book Will Save Your Life is not that similar and so comparisons are not helpful or relevant - except that both books are really about a second or third (or more) chance at life, happiness and finding your own way.

This book is dry, dark in places, (not as dark as May We Be Forgiven), often with wry humour. A host of clearly drawn characters swarm in and out of the book and the narrator does a very good job of making them live and helps to guide you with different 'voices'. His female characters OK, and he is great at all the male characters. I liked his voice, it suits the material. No character is so incidental that they don't get a fully rounded characterisation - even the Doctor's receptionist. Holmes does this with an economy and deftness that is very clever.

The story is incredibly simple - and also very convoluted, with slap-stick moments of surreal incidents at times. The coincidence of 'things' that start happening to Richard, the main character, is almost magical so don't bother trying to think along the lines of 'well THAT just wouldn't happen!' as I did at first - just go with it. It's a modern, Los Angeles fairy story really but with donuts and film stars and a hundred extras!

I didn't love it in the way I loved May We Be Forgiven but I knew that would be hard to do. However, I did really enjoy it and I recommend it.

lovely, tender, unusual, heatfelt, warm

I thing this was a bit of a hopeful requiem for a world Homes would like to live in. It was a story about redemption and second chances. A story for the mostly hopeless and minorly hopeful that real and enduring change is possible. It was a tender and warm story about trying again and awakening and I really really liked it. It was delivered with humor, irony (where necessary) and without a trace of schmaltz...considering it was a totally feel good story ultimately. It was really hopeful and inspiring too and probably has the power to change the lives of a few people who read it.

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Title: The Almost Moon

Author: Alice Sebold

Narrator: Joan Allen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-12-07

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A woman steps over the line into the unthinkable in this brilliant, powerful, and unforgettable new novel by the author of The Lovely Bones.

For years, Helen Knightly has given her life to others: to her haunted mother, to her enigmatic father, to her husband and now-grown daughters. When she finally crosses a terrible boundary, her life comes rushing in at her in a way she never could have imagined.

Unfolding over 24 hours, this searing novel explores the ties between mothers and daughters, wives and lovers, the meaning of devotion and the line between love and hate. It is a challenging, moving, gripping story, written with the humanity and fluidity that only Alice Sebold can bring to the page.

Members Reviews:

Tedious

Narrator spoils this book with her flat delivery. Predictable ending.

Not for the faint-hearted.....

This is a gruesome and ghastly tale of matricide and more, which is also laugh-out-loud funny. Alice Sebold is a writer not afraid to tell it like it is and her characters are brilliantly formed and very human. The Hollywood actress Joan Allen is the perfect narrator for this gripping story. If you are a fan of films like 'Serial Mom' you'll love this, but if you are a sensitive soul (or elderly parent!) perhaps you had better give it a miss.

Monotonous

I immediately realised the mistake I made in purchasing this novel; the narrator blunders on in a droll monotone I could barely stand to listen. However, I gave it a chance and spent eight hours of my life burdened to this drivel. The ending is horribly predictable - no twists nor turns excite or stimulate this story of motherhood.

Is there a part 2 to this book?

Would you try another book written by Alice Sebold or narrated by Joan Allen?

No but the narrator was enjoyable

What could Alice Sebold have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Give it a real ending something tangible its like i only downloaded part one!

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

Yes the narrator

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Title: Birmingham Friends

Author: Annie Murray

Narrator: Annie Aldington

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-18-07

Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Anna Craven grew up captivated by stories of her mother's childhood in Birmingham and of Kate's friend, Olivia. Theirs was a magical friendship and Anna always regretted that, with Olivia's tragic death during the war, she would never meet the woman her mother loved so deeply. But when Kate dies, she leaves her daughter one final story: the whole truth of her life with Olivia Kemp. Anna is shocked to discover how little she really knew about the mother with whom she once felt so close. With Kate's words of caution ringing in her ears, she goes in search of the one woman, very much alive, who can answer the urgent questions she now has.

©1996 Annie Murray; (P)2005 Soundings

Members Reviews:

Disappointing

Would you listen to Birmingham Friends again? Why?

No

Did Annie Aldington do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

No. I was disappointed with Annie's narration. Her portrayal of dialects local to the setting were very poor - including the main voice which sounded more like Essex - or London, rather than Birmingham. Sometimes the correct voices seemed to be totally forgotten, and in places the sense of particular sentences was misread.

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

No. Sadly, the story became tedious. A better narration might have helped. So sorry Annie. I hate to be so critical,

different

took a while to get going but understood why as story got going. overall I enjoyed it

Very disappointing

Would you try another book written by Annie Murray or narrated by Annie Aldington?

Annie Murray is a brilliant writer, usually. Have listened to many stories read by Annie Aldington, she is a wonderful story teller

What was most disappointing about Annie Murrays story?

It was so disjointed, and the characters were totally weird

Did Annie Aldington do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

Annie Aldington is very clever with the voices

What character would you cut from Birmingham Friends?

Olivier. I know she is the main character, but she was horrible.

Disappointing narrative

I have read several of the Annie Murray books about the Bournville girls etc., and have really enjoyed reading them and was happy to find this story, which is a different premise, but sounded really interesting and downloaded it in anticipation..... But what a disappointment. The Narrator was very poor in my opinion and I haven't managed to get past the first listen, which lasted for a good forty minutes and I have not been able to face listening to it again as I find even the thought of it makes me weirdly frustrated and peeved, a strange reaction I know, but such a shame for a good author to have her work represented in this way in my opinion.

Vivid depiction

An engrossing story that conjours the characters and places depicted beautifully.

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Title: This Year it Will be Different

Author: Maeve Binchy

Narrator: Kate Binchy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-26-07

Publisher: Orion Publishing Group Limited

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

This Year it Will be Different brings us the magic and spirit of Christmas in 15 stories filled with Maeve Binchy's trademark wit, charm, and sheer storytelling genius. Instead of nostalgia, Binchy evokes contemporary life; instead of Christmas homilies, she offers truth; and instead of sugarplums, she brings us the nourishment of holidays that precipitate change, growth, and new beginnings.

The stories in This Year it Will be Different powerfully evoke many lives during the one holiday of the year when feelings cannot be easily hidden - when step-families grapple with exes; long-married couples face in-law problems; a wandering husband chooses between "the other woman" and his wife; a child is caught in the grown-up tug-of-war. The time of year may be magical, imbued with personal meaning, but the situations are universal, and Maeve Binchy makes us care about them all.

Critic Reviews:

"Poignant....Compassionate....All the stories boast Binchy's deft touch and knowing warmth." (San Francisco Chronicle)

"What makes [Binchy's] stories so inviting is the subtle way they tilt from humor to sorrow, then back again, in the blink of an eye." (Detroit News/Free Press)

Members Reviews:

Irish humour at its best

If you like hunourous short stories, this is a great book. I think I have pretty much read all of Maeve Binchy's books, narrated by her daughter Kate Binchy and this is a lovely lighthearted look at Christmas and all that it entails.

Gets you in the Christmas Spirit

This is really really lightweight listen. Maeve Binchy has written a group of stories which explore the myriad challenges faced by various groups of people at Christmas - ie: dinner with demanding parents, spending Christmas alone because your lover is spending it with their wife etc.

Funny in parts, poignant in others, this kept me entertained during long drives around the country. However, often the stories seemed to finish rather abruptly, leaving me overall with a vague feeling of dissatisfaction.

It won't change your life, but this audiobook does help to get you in the Christmas spirit.

Realy enjoyable story's

I enjoyed all the story in this able. Would listen to it again! Well written easy to understand! Thank you

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Title: The Office of Desire

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Martha Moody

Narrator: Renée Raudman, Todd McLaren

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-21-07

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 15 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Alicia, Brice, and Caroline are the ABCs - three close friends who have been brought together while working at the cozy medical practice of Drs. Markowitz and Strub in Midburg, Ohio. But when Alicia and Dr. Strub begin an affair, a dramatic chain of events ensues that gradually but drastically alters the office environment - ultimately requiring all five coworkers to redefine their relationships to one another.

As Dr. Strub's romantic life is thrown into turmoil, Dr. Markowitz is faced with the dire illness of his own wife and the secret life she has kept from him. Nurse Alicia withdraws to focus on her prodigy son; receptionist Caroline enters into a strange romance she previously would have dismissed; and office manager Brice, his once-ordered world disintegrating, is set dangerously adrift.

Finally, a questionable business venture that evolves into financial scandal precipitates a monstrous tragedy that threatens to destroy everyone involved.

Warm, moving, and witty, The Office of Desire offers an insightful look at human nature that will appeal to those who loved Moody's previous novel and anyone else who has worked in an office.

Critic Reviews:

"A provocative, intensely moving novel of ideas and opposing philosophies presented by deeply flawed, deeply human characters." (Kirkus)

Members Reviews:

It's Not About You

Do you sometimes wonder why you can't get a doctor's appointment for three weeks? Does it ever occur to you that the doctor's office staff might be gossiping about you? Does your doc seem only mildly interested as he/she looks down your throat or pokes your abdomen? And why were you billed for that procedure that was never done? These questions and more are addressed in appealing and irreverent detail as this novel recounts the lives, loves and laughs of a medical practice and comes up with some very compelling story lines and salient insights. A thoroughly enjoyable listen. Five stars!