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Titel: Weihnachtsglitzern

Autor:: Mary Kay Andrews

Erzähler: Rike Schmid

Format: Unabridged

Spieldauer: 4 hrs and 52 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 10-28-13

Herausgeber: Random House Audio, Deutschland

Kategorien: Fiction, Contemporary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Eloise Foley liebt die Weihnachtszeit. Und ganz besonders freut sie sich auf den alljährlichen Wettbewerb um die schönste Weihnachtsdekoration in den Geschäften von Savannah. In ihrem kleinen Antiquitätengeschäft erschafft sie die Weihnachtswunderwelt "Blue Christmas". Doch nicht alle sehen Weihnachten mit der gleichen freudigen Erwartung entgegen - besonders ihr Freund Daniel verhält sich in dieser Jahreszeit immer besonders distanziert. Muss Eloise etwa den Traum von einem magischen Fest der Liebe aufgeben?

©2013 S. Fischer (P)2013 Random House Audio

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Title: The Samson Effect

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Tony Eldridge

Narrator: Joe Cirillo

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-08-13

Publisher: Tony Eldridge

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Dr. Michael Sieff and Dr. Thomas Hamilton have stumbled onto a finding so astonishing that it could reshape the political and religious boundaries of the world.

Hidden in a cave in Hebron, Israel, they find an ancient scroll that gives evidence of a substance so powerful, it gave the Biblical strongman Samson his great strength.

In the quest to uncover this powerful secret, they run into two other groups who also know of its existence. The first is a group of protectors chosen each generation to keep the ancient secret and use it when the moment is ready. The second is a ruthless Palestinian ruler who wants to use it to create an invincible army for Allah to purge the world of infidels and bring it under his control.

Joined by an unlikely ally, Sieff and Hamilton travel the globe, dodge bullets, endure betrayal, and ultimately have to confront the most powerful enemy that this world has seen in ages. Facing unimaginable odds, they are the only two standing between freedom and conquest of the world.

Members Reviews:

Interesting concept - poor execution

What disappointed you about The Samson Effect?

I think this is a first novel for the author. Prose were halting, predictable and at times downright painful. I couldn't get past how poorly the story was written, at times groaning out loud from how cliché and adolescent the narrative was.

Narration was robotic and awful. Not sure what accents narrator was doing, but they certainly weren't close to being Israeli. Accents aside, no performance value - my Garmin could have done a better reading.

Would you ever listen to anything by Tony Eldridge again?

Probably not.

What didnt you like about Joe Cirillos performance?

Robotic- didn't even have a logical or natural cadence to his recitation. Accents were embarrassingly awful. Just bad.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Samson Effect?

Seriously- so many! Tom being on the lamb was not fleshed out or believable- cut it not necessary. Interactions with students and other teacher at beginning are not needed. The three month hiatus for seeds to grow? Really? Life was just peachy for three months? Too many threads not tied off or fleshed out. Really interesting concept - but just so poorly executed.

Any additional comments?

Was this self published and self produced? Would ask for my money back if I could.

Kept me listening...and coming back for more.

This was one great listen! It usually takes me about a week to listen to an 8-10 hour long audiobook, but this one kept me tuned in, and I finished it in a day and a half. I never read Tony Eldridge before and I wish I had -- and I'm about to look for more.

As to the story itself, if you listen to it (or read it), I'm certain you be fantasizing as I was about finding the only remaining seed to the sacred plant that provides the Samson Effect, and trying it yourself.

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Title: Hunts in Dreams

Author: Tom Drury

Narrator: Lloyd James

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-30-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In his follow up to The End of Vandalism, Drury depicts a quiet, Midwestern October weekend in the lives of the Darling family, whose members all want something without knowing how to get it: for Charles, an heirloom shotgun; for his wife, Joan, the imaginative life she once knew; for their young son, Micah, a knowledge of the scope of his world, aided by prowling the empty town at night; and for Joan's daughter, Lyris, a stable home where she can begin to grow up. Sometimes together, other times crucially apart, the Darlings move through a series of vivid encounters that demonstrate how even the most provisional family can endure in its own particular way.

Members Reviews:

A strange and lovely inside look

Nothing Nobel Prize worthy here, but a sweet story, well written. Great sense of place and Drury explores the dynamic of a strange cast of family characters in a realistic, yet poetic way. And don't strange characters comprise all of our families when you get right to it?

The Pick of the Litter

Among the many fine young novelists who keep reassuring us that the art of writing and storytelling is not even a little ill, let alone dead, Tom Drury extends his credentials as one of our better new novelists with this choice little novel Hunts in Dreams. In much the same way as gifted painters can select a few ordinary, mundane objects, study them , arrange them and light them, then paint that Still Life in a way that we as observors can "discover" beauty, so is the method for Drury's composition of words. This man speaks with such clarity of detail without any wasted motion, seeks out or creates characters who if they passed us on a street would go noticed, and with these gifts he creates vibrant story and mood and, yes, introspection. Who among us has not encountered on same level the day to day inspirations and tragedies that confront this quietly dysfuntional family unit? The choices his characters make feel logical in their own thwarted ways. In 200 pages and in a time frame of four days Drury synthesizes what has happened to us in America, making the manageble scope of a small Midwestern town applicable to even our largest megopolis. This is such FINE writing that it begs for repeated readings ......even in groups, aloud, so that the humanity it embraces gains a shared voice among people for whom you care. Highly recommended!

Five Stars

a king of the banal!

Best Yet

Tom Drury is one of those gifted writers who deserves wider attention than he has. After the publication of his first novel, The End of Vandalism, Granta chose Drury as one of America's best young novelists. With Hunts in Dreams, he makes good on that promise. Drury is a master of dialogue who can show the emotional distance between husband and wife in just one exchange. His style in this book is deceptively simple, often masking layers of symbolism. His characters are quirky midwesterners who spend a weekend searching for meaning in a largely indifferent universe. One of them stops at nothing to retrieve an antique gun once owned by his stepfather. A seven-year-old boy wanders the town at night surprising himself with his adult thoughts while wielding his secret six-shooter pistol. These characters often try to root themselves in the present by identifying with their pasts -- and they don't always succeed.

Drury is at his best -- and funniest -- in the details.

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Title: Dina's Book

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Herbjorg Wassmo, Nadia M. Christensen (translator)

Narrator: Julia Farhat

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 08-31-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

From the winner of the Nordic countries' Pulitzer Prize comes "the gut-wrenching portrait of a woman forever in the grip of her past" (Los Angeles Times).

Set in Norway in the mid-nineteenth century, Dinas Book presents a beautiful, eccentric, and tempestuous heroine who carries a terrible burden: at the age of five she accidentally caused her mothers death. Blamed by her father and banished to a farm, she grows up untamed and untaught. No one leads the child through her grief, and the accident remains a gruesome riddle of death, with Dina left haunted by the vindictive spirit of her mother. When her father agrees to take her back after several years, his efforts to cultivate her have little lasting effect.

Tamed only by her tutor, who is able to reach her through music and draw out her gift for mathematics, Dina remains private and closely guarded, while her unconventional behavior and erotic power enchant and ensnare those around her. At age sixteen, she is married off to Jacob, a wealthy fifty-year-old landowner, who later dies under odd circumstances. Wrestling with her two unappeased ghosts, Dina becomes mute and then emerges from her shock to run Jacobs estate with an iron hand...until one day a mysterious stranger, the Russian wanderer Leo, enters her life and changes it forever.

Editorial Reviews:

From the acclaimed and award-winning author Herbojorg Wassmo, Diana's Book is the story of a young Norwegian girl who, after causing the accidental death of her mother, is banished by her father to a distant farm. A story of guilt and erotic desire, Wassmo's novel is replete with characters who are haunted by their pasts, both metaphorically and literally. Julie Farhat reads Nadia M. Christensen's translation with graceful ease, expertly alluding to the longing and loneliness present in every word.

Members Reviews:

Amazing Story

What made the experience of listening to Dina's Book the most enjoyable?

I like to read and listen at the same time, having the audible makes it so easy for me to listen and read. I have vision problems and this really helps. The book is very very good. Kindle can deliver everything I love. This story is also on DVD.

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Title: Longbourn

Author: Jo Baker

Narrator: Emma Fielding

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-20-13

Publisher: Random House Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

If Elizabeth Bennet had the washing of her own petticoats, Sarah thought, she would be more careful not to trudge through muddy fields.

It is wash-day for the housemaids at Longbourn House, and Sarah's hands are chapped and bleeding. Domestic life below stairs, ruled tenderly and forcefully by Mrs Hill the housekeeper, is about to be disturbed by the arrival of a new footman smelling of the sea, and bearing secrets.

For in Georgian England, there is a world the young ladies in the drawing room will never know, a world of poverty, love, and brutal war.

Members Reviews:

Wonderful !!

Would you listen to Longbourn again? Why?

Yes . I'd like to travel through Sarah's life again .

What was one of the most memorable moments of Longbourn?

All of it .

What about Emma Fieldings performance did you like?

How she became each of the characters in turn , bringing the household to life .

A lovely holiday read

Would you try another book from Jo Baker and/or Emma Fielding?

Yes, if the story sounds good.

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

Only to friends who are fans of Downton Abbey.

Which character as performed by Emma Fielding was your favorite?

Sarah.

Was Longbourn worth the listening time?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I was a bit disappointed in the end but still thought it a lovely book.

A worthy addition to the genre

How can you not relish this slice of life 'below stairs' in the world of 'Pride and Prejudice'? The events that loom so large in Elizabeth and Jane's world are but inconveniences and extra labour for the household staff (oh, the endless washing!). For the first hour of listening I was unconsciously wanting to hear more about the Bennets - as though that was the 'real' story - then I gradually became caught up in the lives of the staff as their characters unfolded, richly and well.

Recommended.

Wonderful voice!

One of the better Austen adaptations. Beautifully written, my only reservation being that it is rather a sad story, compared to Austen's usual cheerfulness. However, I must pile praise upon praise for the beautiful reading voice of Emma Fielding! I have been a monthly subscriber of Audible for a few years now, and this is by far the most lovely voice I have heard. I listen to these books to help me sleep, and despite finding some of the storyline a little more sad than I'd like, I still listened over and over to Longbourn because of the soft lilting voice, so intelligently and carefully putting across the exact nuances of meaning in every sentence.

Ms Fielding often crops up in radio plays and occasionally on TV. I keep an eye (and an ear) out for her now. A joy to listen to!

Pride and prejudice downstairs

A beautifully written and enchantingly narrated view of the life of Regency servants, the majority of Britain's population at the time of Austen's " Pride and Prejudice". Reading the original novel we tend to imagine ourselves as one of the Bennets , forgetting we may have belonged to Sarah and Polly's class.

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Title: The Uprising

Subtitle: The Forsaken Trilogy, Book 2

Author: Lisa M. Stasse

Narrator: Elizabeth Evans

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-06-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In this dystopian sequel to The Forsaken, Alenna has survived the brutality of life on the wheel - and now shes going back for more.

Alenna escaped. It was expected that she would die on the wheel, the island where would-be criminals are sent as directed by the UNA - the totalitarian supercountry that was once the United States, Mexico, and Canada. But Alenna and her boyfriend, Liam, made it to safety. Except safety, they will soon learn, is relative.In order to bring down the UNA, they must first gain control of the wheel. If the mission succeeds, the wheel will become a base of revolution. But between betrayals, a new Monk leading a more organized army of Drones, and the discovery of a previously unknown contingent, Alenna, Liam, and their allies might be in over their heads. One thing Alenna knows for sure: There will be a reckoning. And not everyone she loves will make it out alive.

Members Reviews:

Amazing

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

I would have to say it was an 8 out of 10

Who was your favorite character and why?

Liam, he's very interesting.

What does Elizabeth Evans bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

Voice.m

If you could rename The Uprising, what would you call it?

I like the name

Any additional comments?

Read it! You won't regret it.

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Title: Little Black Dress

Author: Susan McBride

Narrator: Loretta Rawlins

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-30-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Two sisters whose lives seemed forever intertwined are torn apart when a magical little black dress gives each one a glimpse of an unavoidable future

Antonia Ashton has worked hard to build a thriving career and a committed relationship, but she realizes her life has gone off track. Forced to return home to Blue Hills when her mother, Evie, suffers a massive stroke, Toni finds the old Victorian where she grew up as crammed full of secrets as it is with clutter. Now she must put her mothers house in order - and uncover long-buried truths about Evie and her aunt, Anna, who vanished fifty years earlier on the eve of her wedding. By shedding light on the past, Toni illuminates her own mistakes and learns the most unexpected things about love, magic, and a little black dress with the power to break hearts...and mend them.

Members Reviews:

The little black dress links the futures of family

(3.5 stars) Antonia (Toni)runs an event planning business and is hoping that her boyfriend is going to ask her to marry when he takes her out for a fancy dinner. She is horribly disappointed when he just asks her to move in. Before she can respond, she receives a call that her mother has had a stroke and is hospitalized. She leaves immediately to head to her small home town and is met by her mother's housekeeper, who informs her that she found her mother in a black dress in the attic. Evie, Toni's mother had been searching for something relating to her long-lost sister, Anna. The key item tying the past to the present is the little black dress which was purchased in a strange little shop by Anna. The dress has a magic about it, fitting any woman who wears it, and it provides glimpses into the future. The dress is the key to unraveling a host of family secrets. The story goes back and forth between the history of the two sisters and Toni's discoveries as she tries to sort out what has been going on in her mother's life and the family's vineyard, as well as what she wants from her own life. This was a nice blend a family story with a hint of magic.

the best yet

Totally captivating! Truly magical! Susan's best to date. I could not put this book down. Great characters and plot. Location perfect. Missouri has a wonderful wine area with vineyards that invite you to sit, sip and relax. And that is what this book does too. Thank you Susan

Little Black Dress

One of the best books I've read in awhile. I have already told my friends they needed to read this. First book I read by Susan McBride and I will most likely start reading her other books. 4 Thumbs up to Susan McBride.

Great love story with so many different twists

Great love story! This was the January book to read for Book Club, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Wish I had a little black dress too.

Three Stars

Fun, fast read!

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Title: Sunshine on Scotland Street

Subtitle: 44 Scotland Street, Book 8

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrator: David Rintoul

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-18-13

Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Scotland Street witnesses the wedding of the century of Angus Lordie to Domenica Macdonald, but as the newlyweds depart on honeymoon Edinburgh is in disarray.

Recovering from the trauma of being best man, Matthew is taken up by a Dane called Bo, while Cyril eludes his dog-sitter and embarks on an odyssey involving fox-holes and the official residence of a cardinal. Narcissist Bruce meets his match in the form of a sinister doppelganger; Bertie, set up by his mother for fresh embarrassment at school, yearns for freedom; and Big Lou goes viral.

But the residents of Scotland Street rally, and order - and Cyril - is restored by the combined effects of understanding, kindness, and, most of all, friendship.

Critic Reviews:

"A joyous, charming portrait of city life and human foibles." (Sunday Express)

Members Reviews:

Sunshine on Scotland Street

A pleasure to listen that leave you with a smile in your face and a sweet flavour

As ever

As ever thoroughly enjoyed Bertie's exploits. Yet again nothing but sympathy for the poor wee boy can't wait to see what occurs to the group in the next instalment

Very disappointing

I'm sorry not to able to say anything good about this book. It was boring, slow and a very weak storyline.

Reasonable Episode...

Personally, I felt that the storyline wasn't quite as interesting as captured in previous volumes however it lacked nothing in the telling so to speak. I must admit that, as always, I do not think that the narrator is the right person to tell this tale, ams as a consequence, has certain people sounding pompously inebriated, which is not the originally intended character portrayal. I enjoyed Bruce's identity switch and Bertie's brief time with Cyril - poor Cyril being shoved from pillar to post during his masters honeymoon. I especially liked Stuart getting caught by Irene looking up Paternity testing and of course Cyrils reunion with Angus after the honeymoon.

A reasonable read.

gentle and humorous

Beautifully read, with charming characters and a touch of pathos to high light the humour.

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Title: Blood Price

Author: Jon Evans

Narrator: Eric Martin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-16-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Paul Wood and his girlfriend, Talena, were just tourists in Sarajevo, a city still reeling from the aftermath of civil war. But an unexpected encounter makes them a desperate woman's only hope of escape. Now, to get her to safety, they must navigate through the minefield of warlords, criminals, and peacekeepers that is postwar Bosnia.

Pursued by brutal gangsters and unable to leave the country legally, Paul agrees to do a job for a shadowy group of people smugglers - in exchange for safe passage. The smugglers seem friendly. The job seems harmless. But when he discovers the secrets seething beneath, the repercussions will propel him on a perilous journey around the world - from a warlord's compound in lawless Albania, through the jungles of Latin America, and toward an explosive confrontation at the extraordinary Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert.

Editorial Reviews:

Don't turn on Blood Prince unless you are prepared to be addicted. Scenes happen fast, in places as diverse as postwar Bosnia and Burning Man, and it is the author's fidelity to history and place that give the fictional narrative of the story credibility and excitement. Eric Martin's expertly dark narration lends an intensity to the tone of the audiobook, which does not skimp on intrigue - smugglers, gangsters, and criminals of all kinds show up in every corner of the world. This is a modern crime drama with a good splash of romance, suitable for veteran and new recruits to the genre.

Members Reviews:

Thriller, Travelogue and History All in One Suspenseful book

Iâm an avid reader and Iâm pretty picky about what I read, so itâs always a delight for me to find an author whose books I really enjoy. Jon Evans has made it onto my shortlist of authors to watch.

This is the second book that Iâve read of Mr. Evansâ. Like the first one I read, The Night of Knives, this one is part history, part travelogue and part thriller. Unlike many other authors, Evans seems to be able to put it all together in an engaging and complex plot. This book takes place in post-war Bosnia, Albania, Belize and the US, culminating in a suspenseful conclusion at the Burning Man festival in Nevada. While being thoroughly entertained in the thriller part of the book, I was also transported to each exotic location, getting a real insiderâs look at what that country is like and the events that transpired to make it that way.

The book does meander a bit, starting from a domestic violence scenario and ending with human and drug trafficking. In this way, itâs almost like reading two books in one, and because that was a little disorienting, I'd deduct half a star - but it's still an excellent read. I do like the way the author breathes life into his characters. Dialogue is realistic, the various action scenes are, for the most part, plausible, and the sense of place is incredible.

I recommend this book if you enjoy thrillers that take in exotic locations, mild-mannered computer programmer heroes and almost-sympathetic villains. Itâs a good book and worth checking out.

four is my limit for books that I thoroughly enjoy, saving the 5's for exceptional work

I rarely give a 5 star review...four is my limit for books that I thoroughly enjoy, saving the 5's for exceptional work. This book is a 5 star for me.

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Title: Elly's Ghost

Author: John R. Kess

Narrator: David Doersch

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-25-13

Publisher: John R. Kess

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Jay Tessier returns home from Afghanistan yearning for the solitude of his beloved Montana forests. Suddenly, he finds himself on the run when he disrupts the attempted kidnapping of pop star Elly Wittenbel. Jay's survival and combat skills as a Force Recon Marine, or "Ghost," are tested as Elly and Jay flee through the vast wilderness while the FBI investigates her disappearance. The two must learn to trust each other despite their completely different backgrounds. Jay and Elly's relationship grows as he deals with the effects of war and losing his best friend, and she strives to overcome a drug addiction and to regain control of her chaotic life.

Members Reviews:

Loved it!

This book was well written and well done. It was a bit predictable but getting there was a 'ride'. A terrific way to spend an afternoon.