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Andrew

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Lift is a Fun Character

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-01-25

The author of The Stormlight Archive series, Brandon Sanderson, came in at the end of the book to explain his reason for writing this book, the main explanation being that this narrative is needed to keep the series flowing and not have large gaps, and also to explain history of characters we’ll see in future stories. Very nicely done, sir! In the narration of the book, she did a marvelous job, and, as there are many distinct characters, each one was different. She did a great job, too, of expressing the fun character of Lift and others. When there was sarcasm, it was easily understood, the same with emotions. Very well done! I look forward to more books in this series and more narration!

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The History of the Church, the Reasons Why Folks Believed What They Did, and the Denominations That Continue to Grow

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-30-24

Tom Parks (narrator) did a marvelous job of reading what’s more than a seven-hundred page book. I know this because I listen as I read-along. Each section contains a “Statement of Belief,” what was believed “in the Early Church,” the beliefs “in the Middle Ages,” beliefs “in the Reformation and Post-Reformation,” and then beliefs “in the Modern Period.” (I did not know until I picked up the book and began reading, that it’s a companion to Wayne Grudem’s book called Systematic Theology, another fantastic book.) Mr. Parks did an amazing job, enunciating everything so that it was clearly understood. I think the only thing I didn’t like about Audible’s version was that Mr. Parks didn’t read many, many of the sub-notes (perhaps because they weren’t in the edition he read, I don’t know.) So, I had to pause it frequently in order to read the notes. Aside from that, Mr Parks was amazing, as was Mr Allison, the author of the book! Well done, indeed!

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Great Narration, but Not all Footnotes

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-19-24

The narrator of this book has done a marvelous job, with great, clear voice. There are some footnotes, though, that he doesn’t read, so, having the book and following along, I’ve had to pause the recording to read the footnote more than a dozen times. Aside from that, this is a great book and, while it’s to accompany Wayne Grudem’s “Systematic Theology” book, this one stands alone very well!

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Great Narration, but Had to Slow it Down

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-09-24

John Mark Comer wrote a great book, with wonderful wisdom, not just from him, but from others, and, best yet, there were answers from the Lord! It’s always marvelous when Scripture is used, but also the explanation of Scripture, when it could’ve been easily passed over but, with his explanation, those verses will never be read the same again! John Mark Comer was the narrator of the book, and he speaks quickly, so I had to slow it down a bit. Also, there were quotes from others that, a few times—but not every time—had “quote” before. There was no change in voice, though, so it was not always clear when he was reading a quote or reading his own narrative. Not when I was just listening anyway—I have the book also, and was able to follow along, so I knew the difference.

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Confidence in Testimonies

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-30-24

We encounter so many things in this world that make us fearful, and the more we fear the more the devil has a strangle-hold on us. It’s not wrong for us to think of something as dangerous, hence, be careful. But being careful and being scared are not the same thing. The book talks a lot of the Lord and what He spoke to disciples. It’s only mentioned a couple times in the book, but it’s important to remember the Lord’s words, “Don’t be afraid.” The world wants us to be afraid, but the Lord wants us to live boldly. So, what are we to do, cower in fear, or be liberated by God? Liberation, freedom, truth, fearlessness that only comes as a gift from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Take the Lord’s truth!

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Didn’t Know It’s Abbreviated

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-20-24

I enjoyed this book very much. I knew that Reagan had kept a diary and loved his wife, but I didn’t know how spiritual he was. His diary tells of this and, unfortunately, while this book is abbreviated, many of those spiritual notes were not mentioned. It took me a while to read this book, as I paused when days—sometimes a week-and-a-half—were skipped, and I read them myself. Great stuff from Reagan’s Diaries, and great narration, too!

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Optimism Despite Concentration Camps

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-06-24

Frankl, and his family, were put in concentration camps, and the first two-thirds(-ish) of the book told of some of the things he endured. It’s surely not the worst stories told of concentration camps and the victims they produced, and he eludes to that which the latter parts of the book refers. It loosely tells of “logotherapy,” his speciality in neurology and psychology. This is how he made it through those torturous years: essentially, thinking of the future and not the present. In the present, he was a victim of SS guards and a Nazi regime. In the future, he was living a wonderful life with his wife. Frankl was very intelligent and, without giving himself any glory, he briefly told how he composed this spectacular book in less than a week. The narrator of this book was quite phenomenal, too, clearly articulating most footnotes as well as the rest of the words, whether they were the forward, by Harold Kushner, the majority of the book, by Frankl, and the afterword, by William Winslade. Well-done to all involved!

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A Rise That Even He Didn’t Think Could Happen

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-01-24

I enjoyed the story of his rise from “hillbilly” to, now, a vice-presidential nominee! Vance makes it very clear in this book that he was always getting in his own way. Yes, there were struggles—we all have them—yet he overcame his initial thoughts of inability to show that we’re in our own heads way too often. His grandmother, Mamaw, knew this in his earliest years and was a great encouragement. It’s clear that his four years in the Marines changed his personality of low self-esteem, and it’s great to see this on pages. Even at regular speed, the narration was quick, so, sometimes, I’d have to rewind thirty seconds to be sure of a certain word or two, usually a person’s name. That’s the only downside, easily overcome, though! Well done, fine sir, for a marvelous book and pretty good narration!

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Eye-Opening!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-18-24

I can see why it took a couple decades to fully bring this together as a book: there are so many facts, my head already spinning at the prologue and first chapter! I’ve thought of a lot in the last few decades and, while some are deemed “conspiracy theories,” it’s ridiculous, especially after reading this and knowing that strings that are so easily pulled. I’m not gonna get into any of them, though. This book was recommended, actually, by a podcast/YouTube page I watch, and, despite being so tired in the evenings my eyes were literally seeing double at times, I didn’t want to put this book down! The authors did a phenomenal job putting all the facts together into a narrative that makes much sense as you read it. I find the problem with history books, sometimes, is that so many facts are thrown at you, that you can’t keep up and they become boring. Here, though, you can keep up, and you really, really want to—I know I did! Surely not a boring book, but eye-opening and educative! Well-narrated, too, by Kevin Stillwell! I sped it up to 1.25x, I think, as regular speed seemed fairly slow. There were so many quotes, that what someone actually said, sometimes sounded like normal narration. But, with so many quotes/facts, and so exciting a book, it was expected. Well done to both the author(s) and the narrator!

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Marvelous Tell of First and Second-Century Times

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-07-24

N.T. Wright and Michael Bird did a magnificent job explaining the world of early believers of Jesus and the hurdles they faced. Divided into nine parts, they looked at the reasons for the New Testament; Jesus’s world (and that of the disciples and surrounding cultures); what resurrection meant to Greek, Roman, and Jewish folk; the authors; and much more.

The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the images/tables that were told of in an accompanying pdf file. Also, the reading was slow, so I sped it up—an easy task. Aside from that, fantastic reading of great scholarship! Ironically, when the authors spoke of how books were copied in the old days, and how a line could be skipped/omitted, only here was a line skipped. (I followed along in the nearly 900-page book. Otherwise, it would not have been noticed.) Great work to both the authors and the narrator!

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