Part very personal memoir, part travelogue, part intellectual obsession--it's hard to know whom this audiobook is for. Mary Norris, former NEW YORKER copy editor, is here most interesting when discussing classical Greek language and literature, modern Greek, and the history of written languages. Norris's personal journey learning to speak Greek, and her passion for Greece the country, may be less universally fascinating. More problematic still is the TMI factor as Norris recounts her long-ago sensual adventures as an available single-woman traveler. She has done herself no favors by narrating, as it's hard to enjoy imagining the young woman she was, skinny-dipping and picking up strangers, while hearing the voice of a woman in late middle age, with its distancing strongly regional Midwestern accent.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019
Duration: 7 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781501935282
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
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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