Kate Hunter
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- Mar 13, 2005
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I'm in the middle of several at the moment but I'll try and rate some of the ones I've finished. All are the unabridged versions.
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult ****
Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister -- and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? - Summary mercilessly stolen from play.com
I though this audiobook would be more to do with medical ethics but the focus seems to be more on the family dynamic, with great emphasis put on the relationship between different sets of sisters. The production of this audiobook was for me one of the things that set it apart from some others, using a full cast instead of a single narrator really help me to identify with each character and won it the Audie Award Winner, Multi-Voiced Performance, 2005. For me this was a good audiobook but not a "I really, really have to listen to that again" type of book.
Dude, Where's My Country? by Michael Moore *
Michael Moore is on a mission in his new book: Regime Change. The man who slithered into the White House on tracks greased by his daddy's oil buddies is one of the many targets in Mike's blistering follow-up to his smash #1 Stupid White Men, the biggest selling nonfiction book of the year. Now no one is safe: corporate barons who have bilked millions out of their employees' lifetime savings, legislators who have stripped away our civil liberties in the name of "homeland security," and even that right-wing brother-in-law of yours (yes, we all have one) who manages, year after year, through his babbling idiocy, to ruin Thanksgiving dinner. From Audible
Hated it. I've read (as in regular books) the rest of Michael Moore books and usually find them interesting and funny however this one just annoyed me. Firstly since Michael Moore has gained such fame I can recognise his voice and this guy sounds *nothing* like him, I don't know why this annoyed me so much in this case, but every time I started to listen I thought that the narrator didn't have the energy or passion that MM did. Secondly I felt much of the material were points he had made elsewhere and listening to them again was just tiring. Also as time has gone on his subject matter has gotten less and less funny for example think back to TV nation when he went to Russia to find a long range missile pointed at Flint He could make that funny but Bin Laden less funny. This is of course completely subjective and I'm sure many people will enjoy this as I enjoyed reading that previous ones.
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger *****
This extraordinary, magical novel is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, a librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36, and were married when Clare was 22 and Henry 30. Impossible but true, because Henry has Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity in his past, present, and future. The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's marriage and their passionate love for each other.
This was the second Audiobook I ever listen to and absolutely loved it. Again this has a multiple readers, and William Hope and Laurel Lefkow who read for Claire and Henry (and I think for the other characters as well but I could be wrong) are my absolute favourite narrators. I thought I would have trouble keeping up with all the shifts in time but the book is so well written that I could pause in any place and still be able to pick up the story easily enough. Although it is a love story the characters don't fall into the trap of being perfect people torn apart by there circumstances but are more well rounded and flawed than in many other love stories.
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult ****
Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister -- and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? - Summary mercilessly stolen from play.com
I though this audiobook would be more to do with medical ethics but the focus seems to be more on the family dynamic, with great emphasis put on the relationship between different sets of sisters. The production of this audiobook was for me one of the things that set it apart from some others, using a full cast instead of a single narrator really help me to identify with each character and won it the Audie Award Winner, Multi-Voiced Performance, 2005. For me this was a good audiobook but not a "I really, really have to listen to that again" type of book.
Dude, Where's My Country? by Michael Moore *
Michael Moore is on a mission in his new book: Regime Change. The man who slithered into the White House on tracks greased by his daddy's oil buddies is one of the many targets in Mike's blistering follow-up to his smash #1 Stupid White Men, the biggest selling nonfiction book of the year. Now no one is safe: corporate barons who have bilked millions out of their employees' lifetime savings, legislators who have stripped away our civil liberties in the name of "homeland security," and even that right-wing brother-in-law of yours (yes, we all have one) who manages, year after year, through his babbling idiocy, to ruin Thanksgiving dinner. From Audible
Hated it. I've read (as in regular books) the rest of Michael Moore books and usually find them interesting and funny however this one just annoyed me. Firstly since Michael Moore has gained such fame I can recognise his voice and this guy sounds *nothing* like him, I don't know why this annoyed me so much in this case, but every time I started to listen I thought that the narrator didn't have the energy or passion that MM did. Secondly I felt much of the material were points he had made elsewhere and listening to them again was just tiring. Also as time has gone on his subject matter has gotten less and less funny for example think back to TV nation when he went to Russia to find a long range missile pointed at Flint He could make that funny but Bin Laden less funny. This is of course completely subjective and I'm sure many people will enjoy this as I enjoyed reading that previous ones.
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger *****
This extraordinary, magical novel is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, a librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36, and were married when Clare was 22 and Henry 30. Impossible but true, because Henry has Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity in his past, present, and future. The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's marriage and their passionate love for each other.
This was the second Audiobook I ever listen to and absolutely loved it. Again this has a multiple readers, and William Hope and Laurel Lefkow who read for Claire and Henry (and I think for the other characters as well but I could be wrong) are my absolute favourite narrators. I thought I would have trouble keeping up with all the shifts in time but the book is so well written that I could pause in any place and still be able to pick up the story easily enough. Although it is a love story the characters don't fall into the trap of being perfect people torn apart by there circumstances but are more well rounded and flawed than in many other love stories.