about spies which I could check out. This work was sad and also ever so intriguing.
Ettus, Samatha (editor): read by Several People
(unabridged).
2005:The Expert's Guide to 100 Things Everyone
Should Know How to Do. Minneapolis, MN: Highbridge
Audio.
The material was full of a good variety and the segments were short but long enough. The readers were good choices; and one in particular had a ton of enthusiasm. In a few cases, such as doing laundry (with a machine), mowing the lawn, and writing a personal letter, the act was so basic and simple, it almost insulted our intelligence to provide it, but in the vast majority of cases, the material was very relevant and useful indeed.
Franken, Al
2005:The Truth...With Jokes. Grand Haven, MI:
Brilliance Audio.
I am very impressed with the fact that Franken narrated his own book. Many famous authors delegate that task to someone else. Furthermore, this audio book wasn't simply an oral version of the hardcover, but instead the audio format gave it something the
hardcover format lacked. Al Franken did impressions and included audio clips, something you cannot get from a hardcover. He makes me laugh a lot.
Grant, Michael: read by Nelson Runger.
1995:Julius Caesar. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded
Books, LLC.
Interesting enough for me to get all the way through it, but not so interesting that it kept me on the edge of my seat. The back praises Runger's speaking. Indeed he does have a powerful voice. He does stay in the same tone of inflection the whole time though, and
some variation would have been nice. It says there are "tracks every 3 minutes for easy bookmarking." At first, it seemed like they were tracks every 5 minutes, but later it seemed more like three. I am still new to the books on cds deal; I prefer books on
tape as it's easier to start and stop since you don't have to worry about being in the middle of a track. A Brilliance Audio cd had a track every minute, and that helped a lot. Even every 3 minutes is too long. I hate having to not be able to stop it when it is convenient for me to do so.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama: read by Richard Gere.
2005:The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence
of Science and Spirituality (unabridged). USA: Random
House, Inc.
This book covered some of the same ground as other books by/or about the Dalai Lama, nevertheless, it was good. The Dalai Lama has a good worldview and I found his metaphysical discussions about life fascinating (I would have preferred even more of that, as this is something I am sorting out myself).
The House Committee on Un-American Activities
Year Unknown: The House Committee on Un-American Activities. Smithsonian Folkway Recordings.
Great clips though way too short and piecemeal in format. I think instead of bits of hearings, we could have been exposed to more substantial portions of them.
Johnson, Spencer, M.D.: read by Dennis Boutsikaris.
Year Unknown:The Present: the Gift that Makes You Happy and
successful at work and in life. Santa Ana, CA; Books
on Tape, Inc.
From reading the description on the back and from looking at the title, from the beginning, I had a good idea what the story would be about. I guess the only
surprise was this is how Spencer Johnson feels. This message is tiresome and I didn't find the story enlightening.
Kasper, Lynne Rosetto
1999:Stories From the Italian Country Table: Experience the Flavor of the Italian Countryside: Includes Pimsleur Italian Lesson. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Audio.
This audio tape wasn't my first choice. I selected it more out of lack of other alternatives, but it ended up being decent. The "Pimsleuer Italian Lesson" would have gotten quite redundant if I listened to the full length version, but it was interesting getting a little taste of Italian.
Kelly, Kate and Peggy Ramundo
1995:You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid, or Crazy?!: A Self Help Audio Program for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (abridged). New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Audio.
Good information and easy to listen to. I just didn't like how the authors legitimated psychiatry and pharmaceutical drugs.
Ladouw, Donald: read by Rick Adamson.
1998:How to Supervise Others: Techniques for Getting Results Through Others (abridged?). USA: Random House, Inc.
Similar to many other works on the same topic. Some of the new material is thoughts I have came to myself. Not quite servant leadership minded, but fairly high minded as supervising works go.
Less Than Jake
2006:In With the Out Crowd. New York, NY: Sire
Records.
Besides the song "Overrated", nothing else was too special. It's alright, just not sensational.
Livingston, Gordon: performed by James Jenner.
2004:Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart: Thirty True
Things You Need to Know. Prince Frederick, MD:
Recorded Books, LLC.
In a work like this, one might expect clichéd advice, but the author actually provides wise and insightful advice. I like how he's a psychtriast and is willing to criticize the profession's practices. The narrator has an edge to his voice when reading the pointed
sections.
Lonestar
1997:Crazy Nights. New York, NY: BMG Entertainment.
Good songs were "A Week in Juraez" and "John Doe on a John Deere", the rest were mediocre.
Neujahr, Michelle
Year Unknown:Living on the Edge. Forest Lake, MN.
This was very short only one side, but also very inspirational. It didn't jump out at me as something that looked exciting, but I guess we shouldn't judge an audio tape by its cover. It's also neat that she lives in the same county as I do. Too often I am disappointed with audio tapes because the speakers aren't dynamic enough, but she sure was dynamic.
Nichols, Donald R.
1986:Starting Small, Investing Smart: What to Do with $5 to $5,000. Albuquerque, NM: Newman Communications Corporation.
The author tried to make the format interesting by having two real life people ask questions, but the questions were clearly contrived. Nevertheless, the program was still informative.
Pipes, Richard: Performed by George Wilson
2003:Communism: A History. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded Books, LLC.
Partially inspiring and partially informative. Despite the dismissive tone, I found it interesting and because of that, almost too short.
Poison
2006:The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock.
Hollywood, CA: Capitol Records.
Most of these are songs of Poison I heard before, particularly in my adolescent days when I really dug metal. The song "Something to Believe In" really hit the spot right especially right now, since its message is something I really relate to these days. In fact, Poison's lyrics are better than I thought they were.
Richardson, Cheryl
2002:Stand Up For Your Life: Develop the Courage,
Confidence, and Character to Fulfill Your Greatest
Potential (abridged).
Her message is an awesome one. It is similar to what Wayne Dyer says, and I think this could really benefit people. It is the way to go.
Robbins, Stephen
2002:The Truth About Managing People And Nothing But the Truth. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded Books, LLC.
There was indeed some new material and although the target of it was not up my alley, it still was fairly interesting nevertheless.
Stewart, James B.: Read by Boyd Gaines.
1999:Blind Eye: How the Medical Establishment Let a Doctor Get Away with Murder. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Audio.
I love these thrillers! Little else glues me this much to my tape player. Some tapes are tolerable; others are interesting; this is the
best of the best. Plus, I find psychopathy so interesting, and since the character Mike Swango was a psychopath, it was even better yet. Incredible indeed!
Travis, Randy
1987:Always and Forever. USA: Warner Brothers, Inc.
"Forever and Ever, Amen" is a good song, which I have heard before. The title of that song sounds very much like "Always and Forever", but "Forever and Ever, Amen" is a much stronger song. As new songs go, "Good Intentions" appears to be a song with a touching message.
Tobais, Cynthia Ulrich
1999:The Way We Work: What Your Know About Working Styles Can Increase Your Efficiency, Productivity, and Job Satisfaction. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers.
A lot of this I have heard before or at least something similar to it. Still it had some interest for me.
Traig, Jennifer: read by Melinda Wade.
Year Unknown: The Devil is in the Details: Scenes
from an Obsessive Girlhood. Minneapolis, MN:
Highbridge Audio.
I have never heard of the term "scrupulosity" before even though I am very familiar with OCD. She is very hard on herself. I'm into the whole idea put forth by people like Thomas Szasz that mental illness is just a social construct. I don't understand why scrupulosity is a mental illness. Surely overanalyzing matters for moral concerns might be missing the forest for the trees, but that really isn't mental illness. Jennifer Traig has bought into the psychiatric brainwashing and ultimately ends up in a state of self loathing. Scrupulosity to me is a sign of advanced intelligence. Most people can't handle it, certainly, but such an analytical mind should not be deemed mentally illness. If
morality is an intricate web, that shows that very sophisticated thoughts are going on. Traig is way too self loathing. Again, I must say that non fiction narratives are among the best type of writing. So what's the problem with scrupulosity? I'm skeptical.
Various Artists
2006:80's Hits Stripped. Los Angeles, CA: sidewinder-records.com.
I would have performed the electric versions, but I guess this all acoustic various artists album works.
Weil, Andrew M.D and Rosie Daley: read by the authors
2002:The Healthy Kitchen: Recipes for a Better
Body, Life, and Spirit (abridged). New York, NY:
Random House Audio.
I have listened to other Weil audio tapes, so by now I am familiar with his message. A lot of what he said here was a repeat of his message elsewhere, but it was still interesting. Recipes probably aren’t the ideal subject matter for audio books, but there weren't too many of those.
Various Artists
2005:Punk Goes 80's. Westminster, CA: Fearless
Records.
I've heard better punk covers, namely the album "Punk Covers" among others, though this did have some good punk versions such as Relient K's "Manic Monday", Amber Pacific "Video Killed the Radio Star", So They Say "Forever Young" for example. I am not familiar with many of these bands.
Various Artists
2006:Monster Ballads. New York, NY: Universal Music
Enterprises.
As a big fan of ballads, I found this to be a treasure. These included many of my favorite metal songs from my adolescent/teenager days. I thus had heard many of these songs before. My favorite song is the Scorpions "Wind of Change", which I also remember.
I like that song because it is a beautiful song about political freedom. It makes me want to hear other Scorpions songs; I wonder if the Scorpions have many political songs.
Vega, Suzanne
1992:99.9 F. USA: A&M Records.
I have a feeling Vega's songs are full of substance, but if they are I can't figure them out, at least right away. I wish I could because if they are songs of substance, I love songs of substance. Music wise, they are mostly fairly catchy.
Weiss, Brian, M.D.
1996:Only Love is Real: The Story of Soulmates Reunited (abridged). New York, NY: Time Warner AudioBooks.
The suspense was pretty predictable. I'm not sure about past lives existing, but they are interesting and Weiss wrote a good book about them here.
Worley, Daryl
2002:I Miss My Friend. Nashville, TN: SKG Music
Nashville LLC.
If only all the songs here were as poignantly beautiful as "POW 369".
Zig Ziglar
2004:Staying Up, Up, Up in a Down, Down, Down World:
Daily Hope for the Daily Grind. Carol Stream, IL:
Oasis Audio, LLC.
Christians claim the bible is infallible and full of wisdom; Ziglar quote many passages he thought were the best, and to me they didn't sound that special really. I really didn't find this work all that motivational.
Catfish: Volumes 41-45 Page 13
