Ingrid

Cute and fun

Reviewed: 2020-05-18

I laughed out loud several times while listening to this book. It’s a fun, light, romcom that was a good escape from the seriousness of life.

Enjoyable

Reviewed: 2020-04-20

Listening to this audiobook was a real treasure for many reasons. Alicia Keys’ voice was such a pleasure to listen to as she told her story. And there were introductions to each section by important people in her life in their own voices and that was really special.
The book is the story of her life, and naturally scattered throughout are various lessons she learned. I have such great respect for Alicia, what she stands for, and her genuine nature. But I have to say this book felt a little on the light side with regards to insights. I guess I thought it would go deeper.
However, as I said, it was a great book to listen to you and interesting to see the perspective of someone coming up in the music industry.

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Enjoyed it

Reviewed: 2020-04-04

I enjoyed this book and the world that Laura Sebastian created.
I found the book somewhat slow moving, and very long. I felt like some good editing could’ve cut out some unnecessary scenes and a lot of repetitive comments. There was a lot of over-emphasized regret, and constant reminders of what had happened earlier in the book.
Aside from those relatively minor defects. I did enjoy the book and I look forward to reading the sequel.
The narrator did a good job and was interesting to listen to. However at times I found her too breathy, almost whispering with an overly dramatic flair. But for the most part she was good.

Fantastic remake of the fairy tale classic

Reviewed: 2020-03-05

I loved this book. I'm really into YA fantasy/sci-fi at the moment and this did not disappoint for some light, fun escape. The ending is very abrupt, as seems to be common in certain series I've read lately, and I wish some of these authors would spend a bit more time bringing it to a close. Cliffhangers are meant for TV ratings, not books.
Rebecca Soler did a fantastic reading - great voices and consistency throughout.

Gripping sequel

Reviewed: 2020-02-08

A fantastic follow-up to Minimum Wage Magic. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, smiling at humorous bits, enjoying the characters, and generally feeling good throughout. The ending was super abrupt, however. Clearly paving the way for the next book, which I will read for sure. But it should have felt more like the end of a book and not the end of a chapter.
Emily Woo Zeller is just so great as a narrator. Stellar job!

Wow. Incredible.

Reviewed: 2020-01-16

The performance, the writing, the emotion, the impact. So good. Tough content but so, so good.

Excellent

Reviewed: 2020-01-15

Just loved this book. Tore through it. So engaging. What would it feel like to lose a big chunk of your memories? Of your life? This was very well written and I loved all the different stories intertwining.

Great concept

Reviewed: 2020-01-15

I found this book to be thought-provoking and bold. Just what I like! Because I listened while driving though, I found I wanted more time to ponder the thoughtful questions. I also think I would like to see it in print to let some of it sink in and to be able to journal with it. I will re-read for sure. Overall thumbs up!

Fantastic book

Reviewed: 2020-01-06

Really enjoyed this fantasy novel. Couldn’t put it down, so to speak. Awesome narrator as well. I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.

very interesting but terrible narrator

Reviewed: 2020-01-01

Like many, I thought this book was going to be about the impact of social media on today's generation of selfie-obsessed youth (and adults). Instead, it was a very thorough history of the psyche from Aristotle and the Greeks, to Freud, to Ayn Rand, and into the politics of the 70's and 80's through to today's selfie generation. While the history seemed long and tedious at times, I also felt it was that history that enabled Storr to come to conclusions he came to about today's selfie-generation. It was a clear path from the origins of self-esteem (undeniably important in a society of productive and happy people) to narcissism, which was then fueled intensely by social media and smartphones. Social Media didn't cause narcissism, narcissism has been a long time coming and social media only fanned the flames of something that was already in progress.
As someone who likes learning about psychology and sociology, I found the history and theories very interesting, and appreciated the line of reasoning from beginning to end of book. I found myself quoting the book or alluding to it in many conversations after I read it, so I must say it had a positive impact in my understanding of the topic.
I will say that the narrator was terrible. He sounded like the cross between an overzealous newscaster and an automated GPS voice. It wasn't so bad that I had to stop listening, but it sure made it tough to enjoy the book. Nonetheless, the writing came through strong and I'm glad I stuck with it.

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