Narrator Kirsten Potter portrays vibrant, funny, fierce Shirley Jackson in this collection of letters from her college years until the week before she died of a heart attack at age 48. Written with scant punctuation and no capital letters, the letters are a pell-mell experience, which Potter channels without seeming to rush. She times Jackson's protean wit with skill and subtly deepens her voice to match the writer's increasing age and illnesses. Jackson's letters frequently served as practice drafts for the many comical articles on family life that she wrote for women's magazines. The psychological darkness and pain that engendered such famous works as THE LOTTERY and THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE only creeps out occasionally, and when it does, it's ferocious.
Pub Date: July 13, 2021
Duration: 19 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593412145
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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