Paula

Comprehensive, interesting, scholarly, thorough...

Reviewed: 01-21-24

...at times even too much so. Prof. Eckel is clearly a master at this subject and provides us with a wealth of information on the subject. It'll take more than one time through the program to digest everything he presents, but it'll be worth it.
One caveat: please note that this program
"Great World Religions: Buddhism" (yellow cover)
is identical, only in an "abridged" form. No need to purchase both; you won't get any additional content.

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Too Plain, Too Simple

Reviewed: 11-07-23

A simplistic, even juvenile reduction of the Gita, and not terribly true to the original. This might be a good intro for, like, a 5th grader, but if you're an adult seeker, you'd be much better served by reading or listening to Eknath Easwaran's books on the Gita. Narration also very poor, very amateur sounding, and mispronounces many Sanskrit words. Stay away from this one.

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1 person found this helpful

Strangest syntax ever

Reviewed: 01-09-23

This title purports to be a collection of soothing stories to help us drift off to sleep or return to sleep, but I found these pieces to be so oddly constructed that they almost sound like they've been badly translated into English. Completely strange sentence structure, odd choices of words, non-sequiturs, just completely bizarre! They ended up keeping me awake, rather than lulling me to sleep.
If you want to use an audiobook to help you sleep, in the fashion of pricey apps that offer peaceful stories to short-circuit the mind and help you drift off, I'd suggest selecting something terribly academic and boring. I've found a few that work like gangbusters.

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Meh. Glad I didn't pay for it.

Reviewed: 07-23-22

I had high hopes for this title, but didn't really learn anything other than the common sense stuff about conversation that most of us probably already know.
Also, I can't think too highly about a lexicographer who mispronounces common words (eck-cetera??)
It was mildly interesting, but I'm glad I didn't pay or use a credit for it.

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30 people found this helpful

Doesn’t follow through like it could have

Reviewed: 04-19-22

The premise is strong and interesting, but the story gets sillier and more improbable as it goes along. It finally collapses under the load of too many implausible plot devices and too many characters from real history, getting thrown in and behaving in too many unbelievable ways.
For a wonderful version of a similar alt-hist setup, try Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Superb writing, while this is only mildly entertaining at best.

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I can't recommend

Reviewed: 12-07-21

Disappointing, in a few ways.
The narrator is first rate, handles various English (and American) accents with precision. The Liverpool accent in which the bulk of the 1st person narration happens is actually rather hard to follow. If you choose this book, I suggest slowing down the speed; that'll make understanding easier.
Content was the real deal-breaker for me. There are several scenes of violence, notably one toward the end of the book with such horrific gore and violence, so much so that I couldn't continue, but had to advance to the following chapter. The remaining content and the resolution of the story wasn't worth enduring such awfulness.
Proceed with caution. I can't recommend it.

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4 people found this helpful

Tiresome

Reviewed: 11-18-21

I had to break off listening to this title about 5 hours in, as it just got so tedious! More angst, more awkwardness, more anxiety, more "it could never work... it must never happen again..."
Oh, get on with it!
A fluffy little rom-com story like this could have been told just as satisfactorily without dragging on for TEN HOURS. Take a pass on this one and re-listen to one of your other favorite rom-coms instead.

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17 people found this helpful

Not useful

Reviewed: 02-02-21

If you aren't really familiar with Jungian psychology, I suspect that you're not gonna derive too much value from this. The presenter tosses around a lot of terminology from the world of Jung, and spends no time with definitions or explanations.
Also, very little content about aging, which is, after all, the title of the program. Not for me; maybe for you.

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Meh, not great.

Reviewed: 12-19-20

The book itself is full of problems, the cumulative effect of which made this not a great listen.
1) Bad grammar, several misuses of words and incorrect words (simplistic for simple, regime for regimen, and more).
2) Anachronistic expressions such as "we've got your back", and many others.
All these careless little errors pulled this listener out of the story.
The narrator was excellent; although Kale Williams is an American actor (I think), his English accent was terrific. The story is nothing special, though, and there is no characterization to speak of. All the characters are written exactly the same, so it becomes hard to tell them apart and remember who's who.
Not womderful. I probably won't be moving on to the second book in this series.

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2 people found this helpful

Perfect Rom Com Material!

Reviewed: 10-20-20

"Boyfriend Material" has the feel of the wonderful British Rom Coms of the 90s and 00s: "Bridget Jones' Diary", "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Love, Actually", etc. Ingredients: the "fake boyfriend" trope, involving two lovely but deeply insecure men, one of whom hides his insecurity somewhat better; a supporting cast of quirky friends, colleagues, and family members; lots of genuinely funny witty dialogue (as opposed to banter that tries to be funny and mostly fails); a little anxiety and heartbreak; and a lot of heartwarmingness.
The narration is first-rate, clearly and enjoyably characterizing the MC's as well as a big variety of supporting characters. The story never stops being entertaining.
Many readers of MM romance expect "heat" (i.e., fairly explicit sex scenes), so if that's what you're looking for, move along, nothing to see here. But if you're looking for a completely lovely contemporary rom com, listen to "Boyfriend Material".

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2 people found this helpful