Ellen L
- 11
- reviews
- 13
- helpful votes
- 22
- ratings
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Orlando
- By: Virginia Woolf, Lettie Precious - adaption
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4 out of 5 stars 42
A spirited new version of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando adapted with a distinctly queer point of view. This adaptation revels in the origin of the story as a love letter from Woolf to Vita Sackville West. Beginning the story as a young 16th century nobleman, Orlando’s life spans centuries, continents, lovers and genders in a sumptuous celebration of what it means to explore one’s own identity.
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3 out of 5 stars
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What is wrong with Mrs Woolf?
- By Kindle Customer on 30-03-2021
- Orlando
- By: Virginia Woolf, Lettie Precious - adaption
Pure David
Reviewed: 05-08-2023
David has this wonderful way of layering light and dark moments so that you are left wondering what is wrong with you for laughing at something you know you shouldn’t. He is one of life’s great observers and his take on life is thought provoking. If you’ve listened to any of his books you know what’s coming the dark observations can be brutal in their honesty. Sometimes you just want to hug him or go back in time to save the child he once was from the pain. The funny bits (and there are lots) make you laugh stupidly esp embarrassing if wearing headphones in public. It’s always a wild ride and always worth it
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Anathem
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, Tavia Gilbert, William Dufris, and others
- Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 165
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 149
Fraa Erasmus is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the "Saecular" world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Over the centuries, cities, and governments have risen and fallen beyond the concent's walls. Three times during history's darkest epochs, bloody violence born of superstition and ignorance has invaded and devastated the cloistered mathic community.
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1 out of 5 stars
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All world building, no narrative.
- By Anonymous User on 14-10-2019
- Anathem
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, Tavia Gilbert, William Dufris, Neal Stephenson
I’m a fan
Reviewed: 13-07-2023
I appreciate all the criticism but like most Stephenson novels it’s the journey that matters. Yes there’s lots of world building but if you let it take you over it’s a fascinating thought provoking ride. I’m biased I enjoy Stephenson’s methods.
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Thief of Time
- Discworld, Book 26
- By: Terry Pratchett
- Narrated by: Stephen Briggs
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 339
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 311
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Story5 out of 5 stars 308
Time is a resource. Everyone knows it has to be managed. And on the Discworld that is the job of the Monks of History, who store it and pump it from the places where it's wasted (like the underwater; how much time does a codfish need?) to places like cities, where there's never enough time. But the construction of the world's first truly accurate clock starts a race against, well, time for Lu Tze and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome all round.
- By Gretta on 26-02-2015
- Thief of Time
- Discworld, Book 26
- By: Terry Pratchett
- Narrated by: Stephen Briggs
Never resist a perfect moment
Reviewed: 02-11-2022
This book makes me incredibly happy. I love Stephen Briggs and his reading of Sir Terry’s work. I know there are new versions but this is the one I return to every time
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Foxglove Summer
- Rivers of London, Book 5
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 763
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 697
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 694
In the fifth of his best-selling series Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London - to a small village in Herefordshire where the local police are reluctant to admit that there might be a supernatural element to the disappearance of some local children. But while you can take the London copper out of London you can't take the London out of the copper. Travelling west with Beverley Brook, Peter soon finds himself caught up in a deep mystery and having to tackle local cops and local gods. And what's more all the shops are closed by 4pm....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fabulous narration brings the book to life
- By emmoff on 15-07-2015
- Foxglove Summer
- Rivers of London, Book 5
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Love this series
Reviewed: 20-08-2022
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is just the best. His reading of this whole series is something I could listen to over and over again. Well worth starting with The Rivers of London Ben Aaronovitch is a prolific and consistent writer. Each book builds a richer world of fantasy.
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Bad Blood
- Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
- By: John Carreyrou
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,525
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,181
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2,181
The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar start-up, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end. In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose start-up ‘unicorn’ promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood tests significantly faster and easier.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing journalism
- By Adam Webb on 09-06-2018
- Bad Blood
- Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
- By: John Carreyrou
- Narrated by: Will Damron
Fascinating
Reviewed: 27-05-2019
Knowing the ending of this story through the press does not diminish the book. By the end it does read like a thriller and it is fascinating and heartwarming to know that there are brave people out there who would risk their careers and reputations to reveal the truth.
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Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature
- By: Pamela Bedore, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Pamela Bedore
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
Can literature change our real world society? At its foundation, utopian and dystopian fiction asks a few seemingly simple questions aimed at doing just that. Who are we as a society? Who do we want to be? Who are we afraid we might become? When these questions are framed in the speculative versions of Heaven and Hell on earth, you won't find easy answers, but you will find tremendously insightful and often entertaining perspectives.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A wonderful, exciting series
- By James on 06-09-2019
One of my favourite Great Course
Reviewed: 01-04-2019
Always a pleasure to listen to a passionate, interested and engaging lecturer. Pamela Bedore is wonderful. Only problem is my list of recommended reading will occupy the rest of this year
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1 person found this helpful
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Changing Body Composition Through Diet and Exercise
- By: Michael Ormsbee, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Michael Ormsbee
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 158
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 135
Changing Body Composition Through Diet and Exercise presents the latest scientific research about changing your body composition, along with diet and exercise recommendations in incremental steps that men and women of all ages and fitness levels can follow. Led by Professor Michael Ormsbee, Assistant Professor and Interim Director of the Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicine, you will gain access to cutting-edge research that demonstrates what does - and doesn’t - work.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Don’t let your first step be a misstep.
- By Anonymous User on 26-06-2019
Sensible and we'll researched
Reviewed: 25-03-2019
As another reviewer said before me I honestly learnt so much from this. No gimmicks just research and a balanced opinion. You don't have to follow it but I'm willing to try
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2 people found this helpful
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So, Anyway...
- The Autobiography
- By: John Cleese
- Narrated by: John Cleese
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 385
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 344
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 342
John Cleese describes his nerve-racking first public appearance, at St Peter's Preparatory School at the age of eight and five-sixths; his endlessly peripatetic homelife, with parents who seemed incapable of staying in any house for longer than six months; his first experiences in the world of work, as a teacher who knew nothing about the subjects he was expected to teach; his hamster-owning days at Cambridge; and his first encounter with the man who would be his writing partner for over two decades, Graham Chapman.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great for Cleese fans
- By Stan on 10-12-2017
- So, Anyway...
- The Autobiography
- By: John Cleese
- Narrated by: John Cleese
Please Mr Cleese can we have MORE!!!!
Reviewed: 19-11-2016
Mr Cleese is wrong we do care about his youth and his struggles and what made him one of the most influential entertainers of his generation.
I have to agree his voice started out unsure and I was slightly disappointed having really looked forward to this audiobook. But as other reviewers have pointed out he warmed up and it was such a pleasure to listen to him laugh at the memories and sketches.
I have no idea how time consuming and painful it is to write an autobiography and I understand as a fan of his work I can't really ask for more than the pleasure he has already given so many BUT I am asking for more please. Listening to this audiobook is as close as I'll get to sitting down with him over a coffee and asking questions about his life. I just want a few more hours please.
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2 people found this helpful
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Clockwork
- By: Philip Pullman
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 1 hr and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
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Story5 out of 5 stars 3
A tormented apprentice clock-maker - and a deadly knight in armour. A mechanical prince - and the sinister Dr Kalmenius, who some say is the devil... Wind up these characters, fit them into a story on a cold winter's evening and suddenly life and the story begin to merge - almost like clockwork...
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5 out of 5 stars
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Listened to it in the car with my kids
- By Ellen L on 30-04-2015
- Clockwork
- By: Philip Pullman
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
Listened to it in the car with my kids
Reviewed: 30-04-2015
Trying to save my children from commercial radio I've been turning to audio books. I wasn't sure what to expect from this one but there was great interest and silence from my 9 year old son. We were both captivated by the story and the telling. when you find yourself sitting in the car spellbound waiting for the next part of the story instead of rushing into the house at the end of the day I guess you have to say you loved it
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1 person found this helpful
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The Spire
- By: William Golding
- Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 20
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 18
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 18
Dean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire on his cathedral. His mason anxiously advises against it, for the old cathedral was built without foundations. Nevertheless, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by pinnacle, until the stone pillars shriek and the ground beneath it swims. Its shadow falls ever darker on the world below, and on Dean Jocelin in particular.From the author of Lord of the Flies, The Spire is a dark and powerful portrait of one man's will, and the folly that he creates.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant actor
- By Ellen L on 30-04-2015
- The Spire
- By: William Golding
- Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch
Brilliant actor
Reviewed: 30-04-2015
having a book read to you adds another dimension to the story. If you hate the voice and if you are familiar with a story but dislike the actor's take on the story it makes for a painful listen. Fortunately this was not a painful few hours. I am a fan of Mr Cumberbatch and I have to say his involvement in this was one of the reasons I decided to listen. I'm glad I did. I think I could listen to him forever.
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4 people found this helpful