My Audible Book Reviews

Over the past year I started downloading and listening to books on my Microsoft ZUNE MP3 player. I found this to be quite enjoyable when laying around the pool, on long driving trips, laying out on our deck and before going to bed for the evening.

2010 Reviews

Silent Hour – by Michael Koryta Publisher's Summary: Whisper Ridge, a multimillion-dollar architectural project built to house paroled murderers, was the passion of Alexandra Sanabria, the daughter of a deceased Mafia don. But the program never got off the ground. Uninhabited but also kept off the market, with taxes paid by a legal trust that Sanabria established just before she and her husband left town, the home remains as a strange monument to dangerous secrets. While the couple's abrupt exit was unique, it was also not regarded as criminal until the bones of Alexandra's husband were found more than a decade later. Private investigator Lincoln Perry has mixed feelings when an ex-con hires him to find Alexandra. It is a task that will challenge both Perry's abilities as a detective and his commitment to that calling.  REVIEW: Though I felt that this book certainly seemed to be intricate, I felt that it was in no way a “lightning paced thriller” as it is described in the book’s jacket. I found it to be a rather slow moving mystery novel that was more of a psychological character study of its primary character, private detective “Lincoln Perry”. This is Koryta's fourth book in the Lincoln Perry series. Having read and enjoyed the last one, I was a disappointed with this one. In this novel Perry’s character seems to be at a major crossroads in his career as a private detective. Guilt and fear have become increasing burdens and Perry spends much of this book in contemplation regarding the human costs of his actions. For some reason I felt I was missing something. Maybe it was because I had not read the first two books of this series. I suggest starting with the first novel, “Tonight I Said Goodbye” and continue with the series before reading this book. Though I started out reading this in hard cover, I ended up listening to the last half as an audio book. The audio version was very well done and made it much easier to finish. However, in the end I felt that it was rather contrite and only give it [2.5 Stars].

2009 Reviews

A Christmas Carol - An Original Performance by Tim Curry - Publisher's Summary: Charles Dickens' timeless tale, has never been out of print since its original publication in 1849 and has been adapted for stage, television, film, and opera. It has often been credited with returning the jovial and festive atmosphere to the holiday season in Britain and North America, following a period of sobriety and somberness that emerged during the Industrial Revolution. The story opens on a bleak and cold Christmas Eve as Ebenezer Scrooge is closing up his office for the day. That evening, he is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley, who warns of a terrible fate for the miserly Scrooge if he does not change his ways. As the story progresses and Christmas morning approaches, Scrooge encounters the unforgettable characters that make this story a classic: Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and of course the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

A Place for My Stuff – by George Carlin Publisher's Summary: Classic Carlin all the way. This is his eighth comedy album after a five-year break. Unlike earlier releases, A Place for My Stuff contains a number of studio tracks in addition to live performances, and he pokes fun at the format and candor of community radio, commercials, and television with aplomb. Includes the following tracks: 1. Acknowledgements ; 2. Opening; 3. A Place for My Stuff; 4. First Announcements; 5. Have a Nice Day; 6. Rice Krispies; 7. Second Announcements; 8. Interview with Jesus; 9. Join the Book Club ; 10. Abortion; 11. Third Announcements; 12. Ice Box Man; 13. Fourth Announcements; 14. Asshole, Jackoff, Scumbag; 15. Fifth Announcements; 16. Fussy Eater, Part 1; 17. Sixth Announcements; 18. Fussy Eater, Part 2; 19. Seventh Announcements

The F Word - by Louie Anderson Publisher's Summary: Take it from a man whose family background includes brawls, visits from "aliens," star-billing on FBI wanted posters, and, oh yes, an altercation with the Swedish Mafia - families can be brutal! But because we all have one, Louie Anderson has written this honest, funny, and brilliant survival manual for anyone who's ever choked on the F Word.

The War Within - by Bob Woodward Publisher's Summary: As violence in Iraq reaches unnerving levels in 2006, a second front in the war rages at the highest levels of the Bush administration. With unparalleled intimacy and detail, Bob Woodward takes listeners deep inside the tensions, secret debates, unofficial back channels, distrust, and determination within the White House, Pentagon, State Department, intelligence agencies, and U.S. military headquarters in Iraq. This gripping account of a president at war describes a period of distress and uncertainty within the U.S. government from 2006 through mid-2008. The White House launches a secret strategy review that excludes the military. On the verge of revolt, the Joint Chiefs of Staff also conduct a secret strategy review that goes nowhere, and they worry that the military will be blamed for a failure in Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice strongly opposes a surge of additional U.S. forces and confronts the president, who replies that her suggestion would lead to failure. The president keeps his decision to fire Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld from Vice President Dick Cheney until two days before he announces it. Woodward interviewed key players, obtained dozens of never-before published documents, and had nearly three hours of exclusive interviews with President Bush. A stunning, first-hand history of the years from mid-2006, when the White House realizes the Iraq strategy is not working, into mid-2008, when the war becomes a fault line in the presidential election, The War Within addresses head-on questions of leadership, not just in war but in how we are governed and the dangers of unwarranted secrecy.  REVIEW: I though this book was excellent; if not a little scary. Makes you wonder what is really going on at the top levels of government on a daily basis. The only thing that was disappointing was that the only version I was able to download was an abridged version and therefore didn’t have everything that was in the original book.