Rachel

4 Stars

Reviewed: 02-10-25

This is based on true crime cases involving “the modern Blue Beard” who was discovered in the early 1920s. Being a woman has always been difficult in history but even more so before women’s rights was started. Women had no rights at all; everything they ever had became their husbands and getting a divorce was pretty impossible. Men could request them but women just had to take pills to ease them into being more accepting of their life and spouse. It’s amazing that Kathryn Wombacher denied all these circumstances to help herself and other women get this dangerous man, her husband, off the street. It’s sad how even afterwards the women would have been seen as victims who are untouchable due to being “used goods” or “fools” for having the unfortunate opportunity of being wooed by this monster. It was a great audio listen and I enjoyed the story. Definitely took notes on the narrators I enjoyed to look for more audiobooks by them.

Trigger warnings: physical abuse, physical assault, animal cruelty, attempted marital rape, emotional abuse and gaslighting.

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5 stars

Reviewed: 09-25-24

I loved the narrator and the way he read the book was perfect for me. Gave me all the noir, appealing young man vibes this book was going for. There were heavy topics mentioned in this book that I wasn’t expecting for the time period. It’s nice how the author was calling out bad things out like racism and pedophilia out without making it the main part of the book.

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4.25 stars

Reviewed: 01-06-24

I bought the audiobook on sale on Audible and it was a good purchase. I wasn’t planning on making this my first read in 2024. I planned to finish it in one day but I ended up taking my time listening and reading this book as I really enjoyed it. It is full of funny yet practical advice and “life with Madea” moments. Tyler Perry and Madea voicing themselves just makes the reading experience even better than just reading the ebook. Starting 2024 off with some good advice and laughs gives me hope that the year will be full of good times.

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New Favorite Nonfiction Read

Reviewed: 06-07-23

This book combines history, random facts of knowledge that nobody might need to know unless you’re a historian or on a quiz show, and insights of wisdom. It’s a perfect book for me to where I plan to get my own physical copy to annotate. Ms. Wright might become a new favorite nonfiction author if the rest of her books are this good. Her commentary was witty yet had her own personal touch to it. Made it feel like I was listening to a friend sharing their thoughts on a subject we were discussing. The narrator wasn’t my favorite at first but she grew on me over time. I think it’s best to listen to her in long listening sessions if you pick up the audio version, but that can be for most people in regards to any book including historical research. I didn’t want to stop listening and definitely plan to physically read for annotating purposes, so this is a 5 star for me.

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Loved It

Reviewed: 05-30-23

This sequel was absolutely wonderful! I can’t believe that it took me so long to get it since I loved the first one. I definitely enjoyed reading the different stories. I truly enjoyed the narrator and the choices made for the audio as it felt very immersive.

Pooh is a better poet and philosopher than most of the ones I have read from over the past couple of years including myself. I wish I was as creative in coming up with poems and songs as him. Eeyore is definitely one of my favorites out of the friends as he is sassy and actually knowledgeable.

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3.5 stars

Reviewed: 01-08-23

This was a good choice for my new project of reading off my TBR shelves of books I’ve owned for longer than 2 years. This was a nonfiction book I bought during an Audible sale. Not sure why there being a PDF included with this book excited me so much but it helped persuade me to buy this scientific, slightly biographical book.

I liked listening to this book. The narrator did a good job reading this book. His was was super clear so I always knew what he was saying. The downside was that his voice didn’t fluctuate a lot due to the scientific terms so my mind did wander a few times. I did have to listen to a few sections a few times while other sections really held my interest. The “awkward” examples seemed like realistic moments people would actually go through, and I might have gone through similar thing, so I appreciated them. I liked how he always brought those examples back into the chapter since there were subsections among the chapters.

In the beginning of the book, the author mentions that many people mix neurodivergent and moderate to highly awkward people together. This part got confusing as it seemed like this book seemed to be aimed towards neurodivergent people as they share a lot of the “awkward traits” talked about throughout this book. However, awkwardness can be worked on and there are useful suggestions on how to do that in this book. Neurodivergent individuals would need much more than these suggestions to adhere to social norms society says is appropriate to act in situations. The confusion is why I had to remove a star, I also noticed I wasn’t the only one with this issue, and it was one of the sections I had to listen to multiple times to grasp what was truly trying to be conveyed.

I’m glad I finally have read this book but I’m not sure I’ll remember much about it. If I find a copy of it at a used bookstore and the price is right, then I might buy it to mark useful sections and interesting tidbits. The psychology of awkwardness definitely interested me as I’m very awkward and recognized myself a little bit. I guess I was hoping for more from this book but the suggestions were pretty basic.

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3.5 stars

Reviewed: 01-01-23

I decided that “Rip Van Winkle” would be my introduction to Washington Irving in a pretty random way. I saw a little clip of the classic children series “Wishbone” on YouTube that was covering this short story. From there I got curious to see if that adaptation was close to the original short story. Once I saw that Audible had a version available to listen to it was a no brainer to give it a listen.

I wasn’t as wowed by this short story as I thought I would be but I think it’s because of the hype that follows this story. Whenever someone brings up Washington Irving they mention either “Rip Van Winkle” or “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” as his most well-known and best works. This was a fine story but I can’t say that it would be super memorable to me if it wasn’t considered Classic Literature.

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4.5-5 stars

Reviewed: 01-01-23

I’ll be honest and say I didn’t expect to enjoy this audiobook as much as I did. The first audiobook was good but didn’t exactly wow me as much as this one. I recently saw this on my audible page as a recommendation. It was free and short so I thought why not give it a listen. I’m very glad I did because this was a pretty perfect middle grade listening experience for me. I love the introduction of new characters that “The 99” brought us. Elsie de la Rue is always a bright spot too. I would have been satisfied if this would have been the end of “The Flying Flamingo Sisters” adventures. It isn’t the end though, and I’m not sure where the story could go from here. I’m willing to find out though.

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1 person found this helpful

3.75-4 stars

Reviewed: 01-01-23

Decided that I really wanted to read “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” as it seems to be mandatory October reading for most of my family friends. Boy was I in for a shock as Icabod Crane, Brom Bones and Katrina were all kind of shitty human beings. This book showcases that men and women can be underhanded even if they’re liked and admired by others. Icabod was a male gold digger who sponges off the town’s inhabitants for food and shelter. He does light chores and gossips so he’s not seen as a complete pest. Literally does just enough to stop people from complaining. He’s basically a mix of Mr. Collins look wise and Mr. Wickham personality wise from Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice,” which is weird and sad that people like that exist. Katrina just wanted to flirt and possibly make Brom jealous and to stop him from flirting with other girls. Brom just seems to want Katrina because she’s the most desired girl in town and he’s the most desired guy in town.Nobody seems to be a “good moral” character but it does go to showcase that you have to be careful of people’s intentions as what they shore on the surface isn’t always what you’d hope it to be. Everything seems to work out fine enough and I did enjoy this book overall. Glad I can cross this classic off my TBR and do think I’ll read it with my kids in the future.

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Spectacular Sequel

Reviewed: 09-26-22

It was great getting more of background of how Maud became the elderly criminal I love. I could see the progression of if you are a truly vulnerable person then she’ll do what she can to help, how she craves independence, why education is so important to her, and why she’s not comfortable with others touching her. It’s also great seeing how she’s evolved as a person. She’s realized that it’s time to change her life again and she, of course, does it in her spectacularly big way. This feels like the conclusion with Maud’s life and I think it’s a good one. I’m actually left feeling satisfied with how everything has turned out for Maud and her life, which is why I’m giving this book 5 stars.

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2 people found this helpful