Kate Bolick considers the question of two competing forces facing contemporary women today: societal pressure to get married and the desire to remain an independent single woman. Bolick takes on an academic tone while narrating her work with precise diction and pronunciation befitting her literary approach to her topic. Bolick explores the possibility of living an unconventional life through a selection of five literary women in recent history who, in her estimation, espouse the "spinster" lifestyle to which she aspires, and whom she designates as her "awakeners." The result is an academic and historical approach to the author's contemporary experiences as both a coupled and an uncoupled woman.
Pub Date: April 21, 2015
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780553397468
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: 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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