[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with MOSES: A LIFE.]--Two fascinating bestsellers examine Old Testament tales. HARLOT retells seven obscure, lurid biblical stories along with the originals and notes on their context. It recalls the old joke of the street corner entrepreneur selling copies of the Bible with the dirty parts underlined in red. The other volume is misnamed, for, as the author points out, the Good Book doesn't give us a coherent picture of the great prophet. Kirsch tells us what the Bible does say, then continues with the tradition, lore, and speculation that has grown around this seminal figure. His point seems to be that Holy Writ is not what we think it is, but something much richer. Geoffrey Howard reads accurately and a little pretentiously. A more informal approach would have better represented the author's style and intention to make his subject widely accessible. In HARLOT, his voice has been quickened electronically and, consequently, the pitch of it raised. This makes him neither more nor less intelligible, but does tend to enliven his delivery.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2001
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
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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