Heidi Julavits’s midrange voice and crisp pronunciation combine for an engaging narration of her disarming collection of essays about life. Candid, thought-provoking, and often laugh-out-loud funny, the essays encompass the four years when her youngest child grows from a hand-holding-boy-child to a preteen. Amid her attempts to help him be the best possible person he can be, the award-winning writer mines the quandaries and joys of family life, the messy politics of the college where she teaches, and memories of her childhood in Maine. Julavits’s evenly paced delivery occasionally resembles a comedian’s deadpan tone just before the punch line. It’s curiously appealing and feels like the perfect choice for an audiobook full of wit, as well as wisdom.
Pub Date: 2023
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780525496687
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
James Michener tells the real stories behind the man and his books. The recording is read with skill and consistency although the reader does little to enhance the robust, larger-than-life incidents related in the book. Due to the first-person narrative format, there is no opportunity for the narrator to change his voice. This makes some chapters monotonous as they go on and on in the typical Michener style. The listener may also become confused because the stories are not told chronologically. This is not a great choice for the audio format, but Michener fans may stick with it to the end.
Pub Date:
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In a quest for a sense of inner contentment and self-worth, Gloria Steinem brings the reader on a journey of investigation and discovery. Steinem reads the text herself in a straightforward and friendly, but not intimate, presentation which is so easy to listen to it invites repetition--thus ensuring the painless relearning of the lessons of the book. It's difficult to tell from the reading that this audiobook is abridged; each section can stand alone. Nonetheless, the listener wished the book were unabridged. Steinem left me wanting to learn more.
Pub Date:
Duration: 3 hrs
DD ISBN:
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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