J. Bell
- 8
- reviews
- 15
- helpful votes
- 130
- ratings
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Let There Be Water
- Israel's Solution for a Water-Starved World
- By: Seth M. Siegel
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Let There Be Water illustrates how Israel can serve as a model for the United States and countries everywhere by showing how to blunt the worst of the coming water calamities. Even with 60 percent of its country made of desert, Israel has not only solved its water problem; it also has an abundance of water. Israel even supplies water to its neighbors - the Palestinians and the Kingdom of Jordan - every day.
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More water politics story than water technology
- By normal person on 04-12-21
- Let There Be Water
- Israel's Solution for a Water-Starved World
- By: Seth M. Siegel
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
Dry as the desert riverbed
Reviewed: 12-03-24
Tons of historical policy making and name dropping from the advent of Israel to today. This will be a rare DNF for me as I checked out over and over again while trying to wrap my mind around hundreds of names and random interactions and chance meetings between them. This reads more like an article than a historical story or scientific explanation. I would much rather find this information in more dynamic podcasts than finish this book.
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The Dragon Never Sleeps
- By: Glen Cook
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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For four thousand years, the Guardships have ruled Canon Space - immortal ships with an immortal crew, dealing swiftly and harshly with any mercantile houses or alien races that threaten the status quo.But now the House Tregesser has an edge: a force from outside Canon Space offers them the resources to throw off Guardship rule.
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An excellent read of an excellent book
- By Fabrice on 03-26-15
- The Dragon Never Sleeps
- By: Glen Cook
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
Purely dialogue and telling
Reviewed: 07-07-22
Mr. Cook clearly has a strong command of language, but not of lyrical narrative, at least not in this book. I grew so tired of trying to piece together the setting's history and the characters that, by chapter ten or eleven when I was still trying to force any semblance of interest, I decided there were better books out there for me. It's rare that I put a book down unfinished. I can tell there's some compelling politics in this story, but damn if *I* was compelled to care about any of it.
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Children of Time
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
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A very pleasant surprise
- By Simon on 06-17-17
- Children of Time
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
An unexpected gem in sci fi literature
Reviewed: 04-06-19
Classic in style and rich in depth, this would make an excellent book for discussion between friends or a class. This is a rare book that is worth rereading for me because the lessons and warnings woven throughout are as delicate and beautiful as a spider's web.
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Unmentionable
- The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
- By: Therese Oneill
- Narrated by: Betsy Foldes Meiman
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Have you ever wished you could live in an earlier, more romantic era? Ladies, welcome to the 19th century, where there's arsenic in your face cream, a pot of cold pee sits under your bed, and all of your underwear is crotchless. (Why? Shush, dear. A lady doesn't question.) Unmentionable is your hilarious, scandalously honest (yet never crass) guide to the secrets of Victorian womanhood.
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I hope my review does this book justice.
- By jb11 on 12-13-17
- Unmentionable
- The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
- By: Therese Oneill
- Narrated by: Betsy Foldes Meiman
Starts out entertaining, grows tiresome
Reviewed: 04-08-18
I was hoping for something far more historical in nature, and while I did find some interesting facts at the beginning of the book, the latter half became tiresome and hateful. Sarcasm is an excellent spice, but makes a poor main course.
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14 people found this helpful
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Necronomicon
- By: H. P. Lovecraft
- Narrated by: Richard Powers, Bronson Pinchot, Stephen R. Thorne, and others
- Length: 21 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Originally written for the pulp magazines of the 1920s and '30s, H. P. Lovecraft's astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction, and cosmic terror that are as powerful today as they were when first published. This tome brings together all of Lovecraft's harrowing stories, including the complete Cthulhu Mythos cycle, just the way they were when first released.
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This has bugged me for a while...
- By mike on 06-23-16
- Necronomicon
- By: H. P. Lovecraft
- Narrated by: Richard Powers, Bronson Pinchot, Stephen R. Thorne, Keith Szarabajka, Adam Verner, Tom Weiner, Patrick Cullen
Poor Man's Edgar Allen Poe
Reviewed: 10-20-16
I feel obliged to explain my poor rating for this classic author.
Let me first preface this by saying that horror is not my genre of choice. I am, however, a long-time reader of sci-fi and fantasy with a strong leaning towards science and history. What I value most in my reading is characterization. I want to be shown different view points, surprising reactions, and depth.
Lovecraft is none of that.
I find his writing formulaic, bigoted, and a poor shadow of Poe's honestly disturbing works--which I admire but don't adore. I think I missed reading this during my angsty adolescent years and that the opportunity has since passed. In short, Lovecraft is outdated and suitable for a niche reader base with a true passion for the genre.
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1 person found this helpful
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Swan Song
- By: Robert R. McCammon
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 34 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Facing down an unprecedented malevolent enemy, the government responds with a nuclear attack. America as it was is gone forever, and now every citizen - from the President of the United States to the homeless on the streets of New York City - will fight for survival. In a wasteland born of rage and fear, populated by monstrous creatures and marauding armies, earth's last survivors have been drawn into the final battle between good and evil, that will decide the fate of humanity.
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Simply an Amazing Story
- By Amanda H. on 06-21-12
- Swan Song
- By: Robert R. McCammon
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
Overtly Religious and Bigoted
Reviewed: 09-06-15
I listened to this a year ago based on a recommendation from Audible. At first I was intrigued by the concept: apocalyptic world where a few survivors struggle to live. Some cling to their faith, some have none, and still others are adverse to religion.
I would like to compliment the author on his writing ability. He couched his beliefs in this book in such a way as to make the morals of his story easy to miss. Looking back at this book over the past year, however, I find myself gritting my teeth. Here is why:
1.-In the Swan Song, being a homosexual is equivalent to being an ugly, pedophile Nazi rapist.
2. Video games are the devil's device and warp the mind.
It's a pity that such a good concept had to be dragged down by such ignorance. Mr. McCain has talent as a writer.
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On Writing
- A Memoir of the Craft
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Stephen King, Joe Hill, Owen King
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.
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Who needs a print edition when King reads King?
- By Cather on 11-18-05
- On Writing
- A Memoir of the Craft
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Stephen King, Joe Hill, Owen King
A Must-Read For Any Writer - Or Reader
Reviewed: 11-13-12
As one of at least a billion would-be writers, I will take good help where I can get it.
I spotted this book on the bookshelves at a local store and immediately dialed it into my phone (don't you just love tech?) for a later listen. I put off listening to the book, listening to two others first for fear that a book on writing would be bland and dry and a struggle to get through.
Silly me.
Stephen King is as honest in his instruction as he is with his fiction. He speaks candidly to his readers, sometimes baring more than I would feel comfortable with were I in his shoes, but always driving home his point with an elegance of simplicity to his words.
Mr. King's comfortable use of a conversational voice has made the beginner's mantra of "just write" less intimidating and more feasible.
Will everyone like his tendency to use profanity to drive his points home? No, not everyone. But I enjoyed every word, even the "bad" ones. It was like sitting down with a good friend over a coffee and having a discussion on a topic favored by both.
I intend to read this one again, if only to better cement some of the concepts into my working mind. Highly recommended.
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Dies the Fire
- A Novel of the Change
- By: S. M. Stirling
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 22 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Michael Havel was flying over Idaho en route to the holiday home of his passengers when the plane's engines inexplicably died, forcing a less than perfect landing in the wilderness. And, as Michael leads his charges to safety, he begins to realize that the engine failure was not an isolated incident.
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Misleading description....
- By David on 06-12-08
- Dies the Fire
- A Novel of the Change
- By: S. M. Stirling
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
Poor Execution, Stilted, and Unbelievable
Reviewed: 11-13-12
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Perhaps I am spoiled by writers like Tad Williams and Stephen King, but when I pick up a book I don't want to feel like I'm slogging through unnecessary baggage to find the meat of the story. In the first chapter alone I was drowned by a clumsy list of character facts, and then fed the very same information again two paragraphs later through dialogue. Stirling's descriptions were all similes (i.e. "a blow like the world's biggest donkey kick" or "a verdant green like summer's grass"), which served less to draw me into a visualization of the book and more distract me with the effort required to suspend my disbelief.
Stirling could have told his tale with half of the words he printed and with virtually none of the inner monologue or adverbs. I was hoping for a rocket ship to another dimension. I found myself on a barge.
Would you ever listen to anything by S. M. Stirling again?
Absolutely not. Life is too short.
What didn’t you like about Todd McLaren’s performance?
Todd read the book as I would have read it aloud -- stilted, halting in places, and largely monotone.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
Stirling thought out the logistical requirements of a people caught in a global level catastrophe that completely destroys all electrical and digital power.
Any additional comments?
I like the concept, but as a writer myself I found the book an excellent study on what not to do. I will look elsewhere for an author who values the craft of writing as much as storytelling itself.
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