Philosophy, as we know it in the West, began with the Greeks, when people first applied reason to the baffling world of phenomena that surrounded them. For that reason, it is all too often, as the title ironically suggests, a mere "dream." Creatures as irrational as we are can't rely exclusively on our reason, after all. Nadia May's reading of this refreshing history is tuned to Gottlieb's delicate irony as he traces his history from the pre-Socratics to Descartes, though better than three-quarters of the book focuses on the Greeks, especially the pre-Socratics and Gottlieb's beloved Aristotle. (Medieval and Renaissance thinkers are merely a footnote to Aristotle, one would suppose.) Nevertheless, Gottlieb's strength is really storytelling, not philosophy, and the cultural context of his stories. May’s reading catches his narrative excitement. She is at once glib, catchy, erudite, but above all entertaining. Stay tuned for Gottlieb’s take on the Moderns, which promises to be equally entertaining.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2003
Duration: 19 hrs
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Claudette Monica Powell wanted to be a nun since she watched the movie A NUN'S STORY at age 7. Now she is Sister Monica Clare, Sister Superior of the Community of Saint John Baptist, an Episcopal order of women in rural New Jersey. A former acting student at New York University, Sister Monica Clare delivers an approachable, folksy account of her long and often painful path to the convent. Her chaotic and abusive childhood led to a loveless marriage, intensifying her already towering insecurity. Now she has a TikTok, @nunsenseforthepeople, with 200,000 followers. An energetic and engaging storyteller, Sister Monica Clare relays tidbits from her Hollywood days, as well as details of monastic life in this warm and engrossing memoir.
Pub Date: April 29, 2025
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217064878
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Colm Tóibín's consummate narration of his new collection of essays charms and educates in equal measure. The 11 pieces, written between 1995 and 2022, explore topics ranging from Catholic popes and the author Marilyn Robinson to Tóibín's homosexuality, treatment for testicular cancer, and childhood in Ireland. An award-winning journalist, novelist, and poet, Tóibín is analytical, elegiac, and often very funny, with a great eye for the telling detail. His soft, slightly nasal tenor and gentle Irish intonation are interestingly mellifluous; "power" becomes "paar" and "carefully" is "kerfully." He narrates deliberately, giving listeners time to absorb the writing. Occasionally, he lingers over words and phrases for maximum effect. It's a poet's approach, which works. The result is entrancing.
Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2023
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797153230
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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