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Title: The Chinese Takeout

Author: Judith Cutler

Narrator: Diana Bishop

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-25-14

Publisher: Isis Publishing Ltd

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Morning service in the quiet village church. Josie Welford, licensee of the White Hart, is daydreaming during Father Tim Martins sermon. The peace is shattered when a filthy Chinese youth flings himself into the church demanding sanctuary. The Church must decide whether to accede to a request that no longer has legal standing or to hand Tang over to the authorities. Josies friend and long-term lodger, Nick Thomas, fears for the boys life. Tang is almost certainly an illegal immigrant whose gang-masters would rather have dead than able to betray them. Its not long before the media are involved and the subsequent publicity brings tragic results, not just to the priest and the refugee, but to St Judes itself.

Members Reviews:

A great story which kept me enthralled to the end.

Brilliant reading by Dianne. The wit of Josie is captivating. I love the character. Good background scene setting. Highly recommended

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Title: Broken Laces

Author: Rodney Walther

Narrator: Jeff Hoyt

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-29-14

Publisher: Redstone Ranch Press

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Everyone deserves a second chance.

Jack "The Cannon" Kennedy thinks he's living the American Dream. A fancy house in the Houston suburbs. A promising career. And a loving wife who tolerates his long hours and selfish ways.

In one horrific instant, he loses his wife. Then his job. Then his hope. And that just leaves Kellen, the young son Jack hardly knows or understands.

Jack realizes he must reconnect with Kellen or they'll never get past their shared grief. But Jack's biggest obstacle is staring back from the mirror.

Desperate to reach Kellen, he turns to baseball, the game he once loved. With Jack, a win-at-all-costs former star pitcher, coaching his son's Little League team, what could possibly go wrong?

Members Reviews:

Predictable? Pretty much. Charming? Definitely!

What made the experience of listening to Broken Laces the most enjoyable?

I really liked the baseball overlay to the plot of the story. This wasn't just a story about a dad and son, or of the ups and downs of building a relationship. The baseball element gave the book depth that it wouldn't have had otherwise.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Well, the whole set-up is fairly predictable so I'm not sure how to change it. It was pretty enjoyable just as it wasthanks mostly to the narrator.

What about Jeff Hoyts performance did you like?

I love this narrator. I really felt the child-like innocence of Kellin in his voice. Mr. Hoyt is able to evoke such emotion in all the major characters.

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

I started this book on a 5 hour drive and I honestly didn't know how long it was. I was literally disappointed when I reached my destination and had to end the day of listening. And, I was quite happy to get in my car less than 24 hours later to drive home because I knew this book was waiting for me. While I thought the story was predictable, I really thought Mr. Hoyt brought the characters to life.

WORTH THE READ!

I loved Broken Laces. You dont have to be a baseball fan to fall in love with this story. For me, though, it brought back memories of sitting in the bleachers watching my own son play Little League. The book hits all your emotions as the author brings Jack and Kellen through the natural stages of grief. At times I found myself sad, and then laughing out loud at the innocence of a child and at the brutal honesty, and sometimes unrealistic anger, of Jack and the predicaments he finds himself in as he is trying to find a new normal for his life. The narrator, Jeff Hoyt, did an outstanding job with the character voices. By the end of the book I knew who was talking without explanation. This is the first book I have read by Rodney Walther, and the first narration by Jeff Hoyt, and I will definitely search for more by both.

One of the best audiobooks I've listened to

Where does Broken Laces rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

This is definitely one of the best! The author brings an incredible story, and the narrator kept me captivated and in the action.

What did you like best about this story?

The story depicts a broken man with a lot on his plate.

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Titel: Dicke Freunde

Autor:: Stephan Bartels

Erzähler: Christian Ulmen

Format: Abridged

Spieldauer: 5 hrs and 2 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 05-09-14

Herausgeber: Random House Audio, Deutschland

Kategorien: Fiction, Contemporary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Ausgerechnet an seinem 30. Geburtstag erwischt Simon seine Freundin mit einem anderen auf dem Herrenklo. Und sie wirft ihm auch noch vor, dass er während ihrer Beziehung 25 Kilo zugenommen hat! Kurzentschlossen zieht er zu seinem Kollegen Hotte, der noch dicker ist als er. Die gemeinsamen Diäten bringen erstaunliche Erkenntnisse über sich selbst, Männerfreundschaften, Frauen, und die Wirkung einer Überdosis Ananas...

©2014 Heyne (P)2014 Random House Audio

Kritik Bewertungen:

Ein wunderbarer Roman über die Kunst, Gewicht zu verlieren und sich selbst zu gewinnen.

-- Christian Ulmen

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Title: The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins

Author: Irvine Welsh

Narrator: Lorelei King, Penelope Rawlins

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-01-14

Publisher: Random House Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

When Lucy Brennan, a Miami Beach personal-fitness trainer, disarms a gunman chasing two frightened homeless men, the police and the breaking-news cameras are not far behind and, within hours, Lucy is a media hero. The solitary eye-witness is the depressed and overweight Lena Sorensen, who becomes obsessed with Lucy and signs up as her client - though she seems more interested in the trainers body than her own.

When the two women find themselves more closely aligned, and cant stop thinking about the sex lives of Siamese twins, the real problems start....

In the aggressive, foul-mouthed trainer, Lucy Brennan, and the needy, manipulative Lena Sorensen, Irvine Welsh has created two of his most memorable female protagonists, and one of the most bizarre, sado-masochistic folies à deux in contemporary fiction.

Featuring murder, depravity and revenge - and enormous amounts of food and sex - The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins taps into two great obsessions of our time - how we look and where we live - and tells a story so subversive and dark it blacks out the Florida sun.

Warning: Contains explicit content.

Members Reviews:

Simply classic IRVINE WELSH

Where does The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Having read all Irvines books wasnt sure if i would get in to this but it was fantastic

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins?

the way the Characters intertwined and the journey of each one

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The last 3 hours

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

it made me laugh and at times made me feel uncomfortable

Any additional comments?

great book worth a read

Usually I love welsh

In fact I would say he's my favourite author, but I felt this was just a bit below par.

Not Welsh's best but didn't disappoint

As an avid fan of IW I always look forward to his new books and whilst I prefer his work when it's centred in Edinburgh I still enjoy the twists and turns of everything he writes.

This was typical Welsh, a brilliant and often macabre sense of humour shines throughout. Brilliantly narrated, if you like Welsh you'll enjoy this.

twins

big fan of Irvine Welsh. It was a little hard to get used to the narrator being American as in my head Irvine Welsh books should all be read in Scottish so a little disappointed to start. the story unfolds and you get to know the characters it becomes an excellent read. I love the performance and don't think you could of found anyone to do a better job. the book is not for everyone crude and rude and with a dark sense of humour but definitely has a story to tell and worth sticking with to the end.

Loved it!

I thought I was going to miss Tam Dean Burn! The voice talent were incredible and I loved the story. Awesome!!

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Title: Terms & Conditions

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Robert Glancy

Narrator: Ralph Lister

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-22-14

Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Frank has been in a serious car accident and hes missing memories - of the people around him, of the history they share, and of how he came to be in the crash. All he remembers is that he is a lawyer who specializes in fine print, and as he narrates his story, he applies this expertise in the form of footnotes.*

Everyone keeps telling Frank that he was fine before the accident, "just a bit overwhelmed", but as he begins to reclaim his memories, they dont quite jibe with what everyone is telling him. His odious brother Oscar is intent on going into business with an inventively cruel corporation.** Alice, Franks wife, isnt at all like the woman he fell in love with. Shes written a book called Executive X that makes Frank furious, though he isnt sure why. And to make matters even stranger, stored in a closet is a severed finger floating in an old mustard jar that makes him feel very, very proud. As more memories flood in, Franks tightly regulated life begins to unspool as he is forced to face up to the real terms*** and the condition of his life.**** Robert Glancys debut novel is a shrewd and hilarious exploration of freedom and frustration, success and second chances, and whether its worth living by the rules.

* Yes, exactly like this.

** We can't tell you what its called for legal reasons, but believe us, its evil.

*** Which are rarely in his favor.

**** Which is a total mess.

Members Reviews:

Check "Yes" That You Have Read "Terms and Conditions "

This book is best read with your tongue planted firmly inside your cheek, which is surely how Robert Glancy wrote it. If you've ever secretly grinned at the absurdity of the sheer volume of legal jargon in the fine print of nearly all commercial and financial contracts we encounter every day, this book is for you. Or, if you've ever been tasked with writing rules and regulations for any organization and you find yourself inserting more and more disclaimers to cover every eventuality, you will identify with the plight of the protagonist, who prior to developing amnesia, was responsible for writing "terms and conditions" designed to enable his insurance company, run by his oppressive older brother, to pay as few claims as possible. After an accident stole his memory, he was forced to rely on his wife and his brother/boss to fill in the gaps, but he senses all is not as it seems. Prepare for a hilarious ride as his memory returns in flashbacks. Though the style of this book bothers some readers, I find that its reliance on footnotes and fine print enhances the humor.

Terms and Conditions

I read aa review of this book in the paper and it sounded like something that was very different. It tells the story of a man who has lost his memory in an accident. He's an insurance small print lawyer and he tells of his journey during his recovery but as if he was writing clauses for insurance policies.

It is a bit of a weird format at first but you soon get used to the style and added to which it was a very funny book.

I woudl highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a laugh and who would like to try a slightly different format.

with good comedic touches

I wasn't sure what to expect and had this book on my Kindle for some months before beginning to read it. Once I started reading I spent more time getting through it as quickly as possible than I would normally do.

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Title: Agamemnon's Daughter

Subtitle: A Novella & Stories

Author: Ismail Kadare

Narrator: Clinton Wade, Allan Robertson, Jeremy Arthur, Nicholas Techosky

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-21-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In this spellbinding novel, written in Albania and smuggled into France a few pages at a time in the 1980s, Ismail Kadare denounces with rare force the machinery of a dictatorial regime, drawing us back to the ancient roots of tyranny in Western Civilization. During the waning years of Communism, a young worker for the Albanian state-controlled media agency narrates the story of his ill-fated love for the daughter of a high-ranking official. When he witness the ghostly image of Agamemnon-the Ancient Greek king who sacrificed his own daughter for reasons of State-on the reviewing stand during a May Day celebration, he begins to suspect the full catastrophe of his devotion. Also included are "The Blinding Order", a parable of the Ottoman Empire about the uses of terror in authoritarian regimes, and "The Great Wall, a chilling duet between a Chinese official and a soldier in the invading army of the Tamerlane.

Members Reviews:

Three Stories, Each Unique

The title novella in this anthology by Man Booker Prize recipient Ismail Kadare is a reference to the Greek king Agamemnon, who lured his daughter Iphigenia to the altar with promises of marriage to the hero Achilles, only to seize her and sacrifice her to the gods so that his army would be allowed to sail away and attack Troy. The narrator of Kadares novella, a broadcast journalist in totalitarian socialist Albania during the early 80s, finds the ancient story of Iphigenia strangely resonant. He is hurting because the woman he loves has recently left him, allegedly because her father did not find their relationship politically expedient. He has also received a last-minute ticket to a grandstand seat at the May Day Parade--a high honor he cannot refuse--and his romantic musings as he walks to claim his unsought exalted position are interspersed with paranoid reflections as to the meaning behind the anonymous invitation. Is it really a reward (and if so, for what?), or is it a trap?

Agamemnons Daughter is Kadares no doubt autobiographical mirror of the conditions prevailing in Albania from 1944-1985, under the rule of dictator Enver Hoxa (referred to in the story as the Supreme Guide). During that time Albania achieved unprecedented economic and agricultural success; the people were said to be tax-free; education (within rigidly prescribed socialist contexts) was available to all and literacy skyrocketed. By the May Day described, it is also a society where personal privacy, independence, family loyalty, and love itself have been sacrificed to absolute political authority. It is all the more chilling for having been drawn from reality.

The second story, The Blinding Order, explores the paranoid psychology that grips people when a witch hunt is on; in this case, the hunt involves seeking out those who possess the evil eye. It was an original approach to a topic thats been covered many times.

I found the last and shortest story, The Great Wall, to be the most interesting. Set in the 14th century, it documents the internal musings of two men, one an engineer called to work on shoring up Chinas Great Wall against an attack by Tamarlanes army; the second man is a scout for that army.

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Titel: Drei Frauen

Autor:: Robert Musil

Erzähler: Otto Sander, Christoph Waltz

Format: Unabridged

Spieldauer: 3 hrs and 35 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 01-14-14

Herausgeber: tacheles! / Roof Music

Kategorien: Fiction, Contemporary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Drei Erzählungen vom Großmeister der literarischen Moderne, in denen drei Frauen im Mittelpunkt stehen: die Bäuerin Grigia, die portugiesische Aristokratin und die Verkäuferin Tonka. Drei Frauen war die letzte schriftstellerische Vorstufe, bevor Musil sich auf sein monumentales Romanwerk "Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften" konzentrierte.

©1952 Rowohlt (P)2005 ROOF Music

Kritik Bewertungen:

Otto Sander mit seiner einfühlsamen, ruhigen Stimme und Christoph Waltz mit dem aufgeregt-jungen Gegenpart beleben diese scharf beobachteten Erzählungen Musils von 1924. Ein Hörgenuss.

-- Brigitte

Mitglieder Bewertungen:

Of a certain period in German literature

Not only did I find this book fascinating. I wrote an entire master's essay on it, the second half of which has my translation of Grigia, the first time it was presented in English.

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Title: River of Dust

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Virginia Pye

Narrator: Caroline Shaffer

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-31-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

On the windswept plains of northwestern China, Mongol bandits swoop down upon an American missionary couple and steal their small child. The Reverend sets out in search of the boy and becomes lost in the rugged, corrupt countryside populated by opium dens, sly nomadic warlords and traveling circuses. This upright Midwestern minister develops a following among the Chinese peasants and is christened Ghost Man for what they perceive are his otherworldly powers. Grace, his young ingnue wife, pregnant with their second child, takes to her sick bed in the mission compound, where visions of her stolen child and lost husband begin to beckon to her from across the plains. The foreign couple's savvy and dedicated Chinese servants, Ahcho and Mai Lin, accompany and eventually lead them through dangerous territory to find one another again. With their Christian beliefs sorely tested, their concept of fate expanded, and their physical health rapidly deteriorating, the Reverend and Grace may finally discover an understanding between them that is greater than the vast distance they have come.

Members Reviews:

kudos for River of Dust

I was absolutely transported by River of Dust, throughout the entire book. I have never been to China, but felt like I was actually there, on those godforsaken plains, where events take place that change a couple's life forever. The main character of the missionary was so intricately drawn that what might, in a lesser author's hands, have been a difficult personality to bring to life, through Pye's imagination becomes a complex, three-dimensional man, riven with doubts and fears about his past, but strong, powerful and compelled to action. His wife, burdened by circumstances, also transcends stereotyping (the good missionary's wife) by her complicated psyche and physical state that both stymy her and ultimately send her off on a mission perhaps larger in scope than her husband's. Without giving anything away, these characters broke my heart and also widened it as I experienced their travails right alongside them as they struggled along, searching for their child and coming to terms with their pasts. Kudos to the author for giving us so many colorful and also at times heart-rending experiences within one book!

A dramatic story that could have been told with a bit more nuance.

The book is about a missionary family in China in the 1800s that gradually breaks down when their child is kidnapped and spirited away. The formally formidable reverend goes rather mad and increasingly "native' in his search for his child, which devolves in a compulsive need to roam. The wife falls into an understandable depression and risks her unborn child in a desperate (and implausible) bid to regain intimacy with her husband by traveling with him. Two loyal servants provide additional perspective. The story is dramatic, and the writing is good, although I wouldn't call it evocative, probably because Virginia Pye never traveled to the region she wrote about. Oddly enough, the reverend is the character with the most dimensionality, although he's not a point of view character.

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Title: The Headhunter's Daughter

Subtitle: A Mystery

Author: Tamar Myers

Narrator: Molly Elston

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-28-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Tamar Myers returns to Africa in The Headhunters Daughter, the second audiobook in her wonderful mystery series set in the Belgian Congo in the mid-twentieth century - a riveting and atmospheric follow-up to The Witchdoctors Wife.

Raised in the Congo herself, the child of missionaries, Myers uses her intimate knowledge of the people, the culture, and the landscape to add richness to this stunning story of an abandoned infant raised by a tribe of headhunters - a masterful mystery that fans of Alexander McCall Smith and The #1 Ladies Detective Agency will adore.

Members Reviews:

A Poor Follow-up

I read both "The Witch Doctor's Wife" (WIFE) and "The Headhunter's Daughter" (DAUGHTER) this week while on vacation. The former was left by a previous tenant of the condo I'm staying at, and was a serendipitous find. I thoroughly enjoyed how the portrait of the Belgian Congo was drawn alongside the main plot. I also enjoyed the African factoids at the beginning of each chapter. As a result I eagerly downloaded the Kindle version of DAUGHTER. Unfortunately, DAUGHTER appears to be a sequel in search of a story.

Where WIFE flowed seamlessly between details of colonial Africa and the story DAUGHTER is disjointed and many plot elements seemed contrived simply for the sake of highlighting an interesting historical or cultural fact. Several of the characters seemed to have distinct personality changes in the second book, e.g. the OP. And I'm pretty sure there are inconsistencies between the two books (I have no desire to recreate the timelines in detail). Even glossing over the details the plot is much flimsier and doesn't really build to an interesting conclusion. Finally, as mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed the factoids at the beginning of each chapter in WIFE, and these were not included in DAUGHTER (at least in the Kindle version).

Although I feel this book was half-baked at best, there is still a fair amount of interesting details about colonial Africa. If you're intrigued by the premise and haven't read WIFE, I would start there. If you really liked WIFE, there's a good chance you'll at least enjoy this book -- just don't read them back to back.

Fun characters

This book pales in comparison to the Witch Doctors Wife. However, the characters are still fun and you just never know what they will say. It ended without a real conclusion as well. I really only read it so I could get more from the characters of the first book but this one left me a little flat.

Two Stars

Didn't care for this novel.

Enjoyable but not as good as others in this series

This book is thoroughly enjoyable and deserves 5 stars for the sheer pleasure of reading it but I'm giving it 4 stars because I found the multiple story lines to be too busy and tangled. I've read previous books in the series and knew and liked the characters in each of the different story lines, but I found this book to be more scattered than the others in the series.

Wonderful book. The real Tamar Myers.

Interesting plot line, good character development, fabulous setting, and authentic. It is hard to believe the skilled author of these riveting Belgian Congo stories is the same writer of the Magdalena Yoder mush.

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Title: Mothertime

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Gillian White

Narrator: Holly Fielding

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-24-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 21 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In this dark comedy, five siblings who are fed up with their mother's negligent parenting conspire to teach her a lesson.

Caroline Townsend is a nightmare for her children. The former actress and current alcoholic hits her nadir on Christmas Eve. Her five young children hope for a Christmas celebration. Instead, they get a fight with their mother, who's absolutely plastered and fresh off yet another failed relationship. After lashing out at her children, Caroline passes out under the bent and mangled Christmas tree. For the Townsend children, this proves to be a rare opportunity - a chance to set things right with their mother. Together, they concoct an elaborate ruse designed to teach her a lesson, once and for all.

Mothertime finds Gillian White at her uproarious best as she nimbly skewers motherhood and modern marriage.

Members Reviews:

no real twists but a good listen

Where does Mothertime rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

middle. interesting the entire way. but predictable. Could have easily went to the dark side

What other book might you compare Mothertime to and why?

lord of the flies but did not go any where near that far or interesting

Which character as performed by Holly Fielding was your favorite?

the little boy. could have really made the story different. Almost did but not quite.

If you could rename Mothertime, what would you call it?

power reversed