Amanda Loring
- 23
- reviews
- 11
- helpful votes
- 46
- ratings
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Long Island Compromise
- A Novel
- By: Taffy Brodesser-Akner
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Taffy Brodesser-Akner
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 385
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 357
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 357
In 1980, a wealthy businessman named Carl Fletcher is kidnapped from his driveway, brutalized, and held for ransom. He is returned to his wife and kids less than a week later, only slightly the worse, and the family moves on with their lives, resuming their prized places in the saga of the American dream, comforted in the realization that though their money may have been what endangered them, it is also what assured them their safety.
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5 out of 5 stars
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We need more from Taffy Brodesser-Akner!
- By Ximena Enriquez on 08-31-24
- Long Island Compromise
- A Novel
- By: Taffy Brodesser-Akner
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Taffy Brodesser-Akner
A Masterpiece
Reviewed: 09-21-24
Amazing story, riveting performance, epic, comedic, tragic, I loved it. I can’t wait to read more by this author.
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Comedy Book
- How Comedy Conquered Culture–and the Magic That Makes It Work
- By: Jesse David Fox
- Narrated by: Jesse David Fox
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 69
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
Comedy is king. From multimillion-dollar TV specials to sold-out stand-up shows and TikTok stardom, comedy has never been more popular, democratized, or influential. Comedians have become organizing forces across culture—as trusted as politicians and as fawned-over as celebrities—yet comedy as an art form has gone under-considered throughout its history, even as it has ascended as a cultural force.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Not funny
- By steve finkelstein on 06-02-24
- Comedy Book
- How Comedy Conquered Culture–and the Magic That Makes It Work
- By: Jesse David Fox
- Narrated by: Jesse David Fox
Excellent content, very dry performance
Reviewed: 09-16-24
I love Jesse David Fox’s podcast, but I found listening to this book really boring. It is a thorough analysis of humor and amazingly well researched but just couldn’t keep my attention. JDF is an amazing researcher and interviewer, but not a performer. I wonder why he didn’t have a comedic voice actor read instead.
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Sure, I'll Join Your Cult
- A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere
- By: Maria Bamford
- Narrated by: Maria Bamford
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,154
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,035
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,033
Maria Bamford is a comedian’s comedian (an outsider among outsiders) and has forever fought to find a place to belong. From struggling with an eating disorder as a child of the 1980s, to navigating a career in the arts (and medical debt and psychiatric institutionalization), she has tried just about every method possible to not only be a part of the world, but to want to be a part of it. In Bamford’s “trademark blend of disarming intimacy and dark whimsy” (Publishers Weekly), Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult brings us on a quest to participate in something.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hilarious and sincere
- By B. Bazzell on 09-06-23
- Sure, I'll Join Your Cult
- A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere
- By: Maria Bamford
- Narrated by: Maria Bamford
HILARIOUS AND INFORMATIVE
Reviewed: 09-06-24
If I’m going to listen to anyone talk about mental illness, I want them to be as funny as MB, who is unsurpassed in my opinion (and I am a HUGE fan of this genre!). She is so funny, and so good with words, and you don’t need to have had any of the experiences she discusses to find this book relatable or hilarious. Big fat bonus if you do, though!! Absolutely worth the listen and the audible credit
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Episode 6: Deadlines
- By: Aaron Eisenberg, Will Eisenberg
- Narrated by: Abbi Jacobson, Whitney Peak, Susie Essman, and others
- Length: 40 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 81
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 81
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Story5 out of 5 stars 81
With her mom in surgery and her fate in Shannon's hands, Kelly must pull off her greatest coup yet in order to stay out of jail—or at least spare her associates.
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5 out of 5 stars
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You’ll be hooked
- By shannan l. hough on 12-19-23
Funny and upbeat
Reviewed: 12-30-23
Well written, well acted. A very enjoyable listen. I highly recommend this series. A satisfying mystery with entertaining subplots, this ones goes by fast.
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1 person found this helpful
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Misfit
- Growing Up Awkward in the '80s
- By: Gary Gulman
- Narrated by: Gary Gulman
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 374
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 353
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Story5 out of 5 stars 353
For years, Gary Gulman had been the comedian’s comedian, acclaimed for his delight in language and his bracing honesty. But after two stints in a psych ward, he found himself back in his mother’s house in Boston—living in his childhood bedroom at age forty-six, as he struggled to regain his mental health. That’s where Misfit begins. Then it goes way back. This is no ordinary book about growing older and growing up. Gulman has an astonishing memory and takes the listener through every year of his childhood education, with detailed stories that are in turn alarming and riotously funny.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I get it
- By Karen Johnson on 10-02-23
- Misfit
- Growing Up Awkward in the '80s
- By: Gary Gulman
- Narrated by: Gary Gulman
Entertaining, heartwarming and dare I say wise?!
Reviewed: 10-04-23
I’m a huge fan of Gary’s work, but I don’t think you have to be to enjoy this memoir. His vivid memory and illustrious way with words will win you over. He tells the story with all of the presence of a person who can still feel what it was like to be there. The nostalgic imagery is unique, and you can feel a twinkle in his eye as he reads the words he wrote. At times, it’s laugh out loud hilarious, and others wistful. A very worthwhile and enjoyable listen.
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Romantic Comedy (Reese's Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Curtis Sittenfeld
- Narrated by: Kristen Sieh
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,270
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,131
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,130
Sally Milz is a sketch writer for The Night Owls, a late-night live comedy show that airs every Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life. But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actress who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not really for me
- By Emma on 04-19-23
- Romantic Comedy (Reese's Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Curtis Sittenfeld
- Narrated by: Kristen Sieh
Great for female comedy fans
Reviewed: 08-21-23
Smart and satisfying, Curtis Sittenfeld does not disappoint with this one. I loved it and I highly recommend.
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Based on a True Story
- A Memoir
- By: Norm Macdonald
- Narrated by: Norm Macdonald, Tim O'Halloran
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8,611
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 7,624
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7,598
When Norm Macdonald, one of the greatest stand-up comics of all time, was approached to write a celebrity memoir, he flatly refused, calling the genre “one step below instruction manuals.” Norm then promptly took a two-year hiatus from stand-up comedy to live on a farm in northern Canada. When he emerged he had under his arm a manuscript, a genre-smashing book about comedy, tragedy, love, loss, war, and redemption. When asked if this was the celebrity memoir, Norm replied, “Call it anything you damn like.”
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bizarre, funny ride
- By Michael Chauvin on 09-25-16
- Based on a True Story
- A Memoir
- By: Norm Macdonald
- Narrated by: Norm Macdonald, Tim O'Halloran
The very best of Norm
Reviewed: 02-13-22
This book captures the genius of Norm’s comedy. Sophomoric, poetic, loaded with self deprecating metaphor, and a glimpse of the erudite I didn’t realize he truly was. Listening to Norm’s narrative brings a life lost too early as close as we can now have. Loved every minute and found myself buckled and in tears laughing several times.
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Girl, Woman, Other
- By: Bernardine Evaristo
- Narrated by: Anna-Maria Nabirye
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,269
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,857
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,848
From one of Britain's most celebrated writers of color, Girl, Woman, Other is a magnificent portrayal of the intersections of identity and a moving and hopeful story of an interconnected group of black British women. Winner of the 2019 Booker Prize and short-listed for the Gordon Burn Prize, Girl, Woman, Other paints a vivid portrait of the state of post-Brexit Britain, as well as looking back to the legacy of Britain's colonial history in Africa and the Caribbean.
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4 out of 5 stars
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smart, compassionate, confronting and enjoyable
- By Kelly on 12-20-19
- Girl, Woman, Other
- By: Bernardine Evaristo
- Narrated by: Anna-Maria Nabirye
One of the most engaging sagas
Reviewed: 11-09-21
The stories of the people in this book would be captivating separately but the real magic is the beautiful context of all of them as a collection, building on one another and the rich story of living that they describe. The author is so sensitive and effective in embodying the many people in this book and each feels real, interesting, and alive. I enjoyed the many perspectives. There is a lot of beauty and truth in this book and I loved it. The narrator was wonderful, too.
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Beautiful World, Where Are You
- A Novel
- By: Sally Rooney
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,588
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,199
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Story4 out of 5 stars 2,201
Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend, Eileen, is getting over a break-up, and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood. Alice, Felix, Eileen, and Simon are still young—but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Must listen!
- By cathy hunt on 09-09-21
- Beautiful World, Where Are You
- A Novel
- By: Sally Rooney
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
Philosophically honest and beautiful
Reviewed: 10-14-21
I loved this book. Sally Rooney articulates modern relationships with a sensitivity and nuance that I really enjoy and appreciate. I felt seen, spoken to, and yet optimistic after reading. A beautiful book.
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Cheat Day
- A Novel
- By: Liv Stratman
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 24
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 22
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 22
Kit and David were college sweethearts. Now married and in their thirties, they live in Kit’s childhood home in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. While David has a successful career, jetting off on work trips to exciting destinations, Kit is stuck in a loop. She keeps quitting her job managing her sister’s bakery to seek a more ambitious profession, but fear of failure always brings her back to Sweet Cheeks. Kit finds a fraught solace in cycling through fad diets, which David, in his efforts to be supportive, follows along with her.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Ugh
- By W. Schroeder on 02-15-23
- Cheat Day
- A Novel
- By: Liv Stratman
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
What if you had a great life but couldn’t feel it?
Reviewed: 07-19-21
This is a subtle but rich story about a woman whose life is going well all the while she cannot experience joy or allow herself comfort. The metaphor for sticking to a life changing food regimen (diet culture repackaged as wellness) as a way of trying to improve her self image and general outlook is very relevant. This is a wholly new book, exploring topics that relate to our current moment. Unique, real characters. Understated narration. Highly recommended.
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