With the age of 30 looming, Julie Powell feels she hasn't accomplished anything in life except acquiring a dead-end secretarial job and a great husband. She decides to add meaning to her life by cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child's MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING‚ over the course of a year. As we and Julie learn in this seamless abridgment, a perfect crêpe makes a bad day better and surviving a pancaked soufflé means one can endure anything. The author, who has a pleasant contralto voice, reads with humor and a rhythmic pacing perfectly suited to the book. Her lively reading (and excellent French) bring drama to the scenes and pleasure to the listener.
Pub Date: July 1, 2009
Duration: 6 hrs
Publisher: Hachette 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: N/A
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: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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