The wonderful Kate Reading is the ideal narrator for this quintessentially British audiobook. She’s a master of intonation and offers the most lovely of accents to enliven this unusual text. The book is part literary criticism, examining the George Eliot novel of the title with almost microscopic care. The audiobook is also part biography of Eliot, studying the influences that inspired the novel, and this memoir, as Mead draws parallels between her own life and her love of MIDDLEMARCH and its author. Yes, there’s a lot going on here, and, yes, it can become exhausting following it all for many hours of listening, but the premise is interesting and Reading’s performance makes it suitable for the audio format. L.B.F. 2015 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2014
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Blackstone 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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