The Greeks

By Diane Harris Cline

Have you ever wanted to learn about the Greeks but didn’t want to read a 2,000 page book? Were you ever curious about how the Greeks integrated their mythology in their every day life? Have you wondered how the Greeks used their inventions and technology? Well, buckle up because The Greeks by Diane Harris Cline is the right book for you!

The Greeks by Diane Harris Cline is the companion to PBS series, The Greeks and wow is it great! The Greeks is a quick listen, coming in just past six hours in length. The Greeks does not bore you with dusty history that makes everyone fall asleep, including history majors. Cline hits you with very quick history lessons based on Greek history and mythology. Cline does an excellent job as well to mix humor and seriousness to keep you fully engaged all the way to the end.

Pam Ward does a fantastic job narrating The Greeks and keeps you fully engaged all the way through the closing credits. I look forward to more books that she will narrate.

As I said above, The Greeks is a quick hitting history lesson. If you’re a history buff and are on the fence about learning more about the Greeks, get this book. Heck, even if you’re just a fan of history, get this book! Actually, just get this book period.

Story: 5/5

Narration: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

Pros: Quick listen and filled with excellent history.

Cons: I wanted more!

The 10% Entrepreneur

By Patrick J. McGinnis

The 10% Entrepreneur takes the modern question of, “How do you become and entrepreneur without jumping headfirst?” McGinnis takes a very simplistic approach to give you the first stepping stone. By dedicating only 10% of your time, energy, and even money in order to diversify your portfolio and to also, hopefully, make wise investments that will pay off.

The 10% Entrepreneur is a quick read/listen coming in at around six hours. McGinnis gives a great and quick biography of who he is and how he started his 10% philosophy while also giving you examples of other individuals who did the same thing. By giving the examples of other individuals, it helps provide a breakup from other “typical” investment books and I greatly appreciated his approach.

In no shape or way is The 10% Entrepreneur a “step by step, how to get rich, follow my lead and you can be a millionaire too” book. McGinnis quickly lets you know that there are risks and that you should only invest in industries that you actually know about or are passionate about. Which is a very simple approach. However, for those of us who know very little about investing, it was an eye opening and a “Well that makes perfect sense!” approach.

Elijah Alexander is the narrator and he does a great job at keeping you engaged fully throughout the entire audiobook. I definitely look forward to listening to more books that he has narrated.

In conclusion, if you are interested in starting to invest, definitely get this book. As I said, this isn’t a blueprint of a book for everyone to follow. Patrick McGinnis just nudges you to the right direction on how to approach being an entrepreneur and how to be serious about it as well while keeping your day job.

Story: 4/5

Narration: 5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

Pros: Quick read, great examples, great advice, and not a dusty investment book compared to the other 99.98% investment books out there.

Cons: I feel like I would have liked more of direct data as to how to actually begin. Reason being, I live in a small town and feel that investment opportunities are slim to non-existent here. However, not enough of a negative for me to ding this book.

The Long List Anthology: More Stories from the Hugo Awards Nomination List

Edited by David Steffen

Skyboat Media

The Long List Anthology is a wonderful idea from Skyboat Media! Taking the stories that did not make the top five for each ballot from the Hugo Awards and turning them into a quick and wonderfully put together audiobook for all to listen to!

The short stories included in this collection are:

“The Breath of War” by Aliette de Bodard

“When It Ends, He Catches Her” by Eugie Foster

“Toad Words” by T. Kingfisher

“Makeisha in Time” by Rachael K. Jones

“Covenant” by Elizabeth Bear

“The Truth about Owls” by Amal El-Mohtar

“A Kiss with Teeth” by Max Gladstone

“The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family” by Usman T. Malik

“This Chance Planet” by Elizabeth Bear

The novelettes in this collection are:

We Are the Cloud by Sam J. Miller

The Magician and Laplace’s Demon by Tom Crosshill

Spring Festival: Happiness, Anger, Love, Sorrow, Joy by Xia Jia, translated by Ken Liu

Each story is very unique each of in itself. Each story is just shy of an hour in length, save for a few, but packs enough punch to immediately draw you in and immediately forces you to want to know more of each and every story. I am still wanting to listen to more of each story causing much frustration on my end. However, that’s how I feel about great short stories.

The narrators definitely knocked it out of the park. Each narrator does such an excellent job basically taking you in from the cold and wrapping you in a warm blanket of their voices. If you’re a fan of audiobooks, you know the importance of an excellent narrator and The Long List Anthology is not missing a single one.

In conclusion, get this audiobook! You can easily listen to one story a day or you can be like me and get sucked into the excellent storytelling and narration and listen to it in one go.

Stories: 5/5

Narration: 5/5 ( I would give more if I could)

Overall: 5/5

Pros: Excellent stories and excellent narration. Also, excellent cover art!

Cons: The stories leave you wanting more, leading to frustration.

Beer Money by Frances Stroh

Book Review

Beer Money is a memoir by Frances Stroh about the fall of her family’s brewing business in Detroit, Michigan. Stroh takes you on an a realistic journey of the high and luxurious times of when the business was good and the low times when the business started to decline, later in her teenage/early adult years. You follow Stroh from her childhood to adulthood with quick glimpses at certain life events.

Beer Money is a very quick read/listen that offers you a glimpse into the wealthy stature of American high class. Interesting choices of memories from her past fill this book. Some of the memories are somewhat easy to relate to. However, a majority of them can be a coin flip if the reader/listener can relate to it or not.

This is the first book I’ve listened to that has been narrated by Erin Bennet and she does a great job. In my honest opinion Bennet is the one that saves this book completely. Adding a somber mood throughout definitely helps the listener stay engaged.

In conclusion, Beer Money is an interesting take on the life of the privileged losing it all. However, the direction and point of the memoir at this time is unknown. With how damaged this country is with the divide between the wealthy and the not so wealthy, I can see how this book lacking a common interest. Especially with the success of the author being an installation artist, I find it hard to feel any concern or interest for the Stroh family.

Story: 1/5

Narration: 4/5

Overall: 2.5/5

Pros: Great narration.

Cons: Misguided story that attempts to make you feel sympathy for the Stroh family.

Jungle of Stone by William Carlsen Book Review

Jungle of Stone is an intriguing adventure of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in the deep jungles of what is now Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras for the search of the lost civilization of the Mayans. Dripping with grave details of the adventures of Stephens and Catherwood, you will easily feel as if you are discovering the ancient ruins yourself.

Jungle of Stone is put together extremely well and is based off of research from Stephen’s well detailed journals and Catherwood’s amazing illustrations of the journey as well. The simple concept of wondering into an aggressive jungle in the mid 1800’s to look for a lost civilization is either mad or brave. William Carlsen does an excellent job of surrounding you in the depths of the jungle. Carlsen quickly has you feeling every emotion that the adventurers felt and you can’t help but feel inspired by their determination.

Paul Michael Garcia does a wonderful job as the narrator. Garcia quickly sets the tone of the adventure and also changes it up to have you feel every emotion that Carlsen is attempting to portray. Again, Garcia does a wonderful job of separating each and every character and is flawless with giving the appropriate accents.

If you’re a fan of adventures, lost civilizations or even South America in general, get this book! You will not be disappointed. The only complaint I have is towards the end of the book. I understand what the author was attempting to do by giving a sense of closure and updates about Stephens and Catherwood’s life after the jungle discoveries. However, the closure drags on way too long in my honest opinion.

Story: 4/5

Narration: 5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

Pros: Great detail of the environment and of the adventures.

Cons: The ending drags on too long.

You can obtain the audiobook from downpour.com by clicking here.

The Cartel by Don Winslow Audiobook Review

Don Winslow does it again! He delivers a direct punch to your gut with the brutal realities of the brutal war on drugs against the Mexican Cartel. Dragging you by the back of your shirt throughout the entire book and then throwing you out the door when you’re done.

The Cartel continues off of Don Winslow’s book, The Power of the Dog. Winslow has you follow DEA agent Art Keller and his obsession to take down the drug lord, Adan Barrera. Winslow also has the reader/listener follow Barrera’s side of the war as well. Creating an excellent view of both sides of the war. Is Keller obsessive compulsive on taking down Barrera? Or is he so “institutionalized” in the war on drugs that he does not know how to get out of government work?

Ray Porter narrates the audiobook and does an incredible job as always. I may be a little biased since Porter is definitely one of my favorite narrators. Regardless of my favoritism, Porter does an excellent job of giving each character their own voice and he also nails the accents of the many characters within the book.

Don Winslow plays out the drama of the battle between Art Keller, Adan Barrera, government red tape, corrupt governments, and the drama and stress that each character is going through. There are a few slow parts throughout the book. However, they do not last long and Winslow hits you with more excitement quickly.

My only complaint about the book is that is seems as if the ending was somewhat rushed for a conclusion. Other than the ending, if you’re a fan of special agents, special forces or government drama. You need to read or give this book a listen immediately! You will not be disappointed!

Story: 4/5

Narration: 5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

Pros: Fast paced story with a very interesting cast of characters.

Cons: A few slow parts (nothing bad) and (what feels like) a rushed ending.

You can obtain the audiobook, DRM free from downpour.com by clicking here.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin Review

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin is definitely a quick and easy listen/read for any fans of the Game of Thrones series. AKSK takes place well before the GoT series as you follow the hedge knight, Dunk and his squire Egg.

Dunk comes by knighthood when the knight he was serving passes away and while on the knights deathbed, inducts Dunk into knighthood. However, as a newly found hedge knight Dunk must now find a way to make his mark in the seven kingdoms. Dunk hears about a knight tournament not too far away and so begins his journey as a new found knight. Along the way Dunk comes across an inn in which he meats a boy named Egg. I am not going to put any spoilers in this review. However, Egg does eventually become Dunks squire.

For those of you who are fans of GoT, Egg is actually Aegon Targaryen. If you need a reminder, Aegon is the "Mad King". However, this book shows you more of his youth and his position within the Targaryen family.

The book is narrated by none other than Harry Llod, who plays Viserys Targaryen on the GoT series. Harry does such an excellent job with all the characters and offers such great and robust fluidity of the narration that I could listen to him narrating all day. He never misses a beat even during hectic scenes.

George R. R. Martin gives us a well timed book to somewhat hold off his fans until the next Game of Thrones book comes out... whenever that may be. Martin gives you a sliver of what the time before GoT was like in the seven kingdoms.

Story: 5/5

Narration: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

Pros: Excellent story met with an excellent narration.

Cons: As always, we want more Game of Thrones! Too short (about 10 hours).

Final Decision: If you're a fan of Game of Thrones, go and listen to this book now!

You can obtain a copy of this audiobook at downpour.com by clicking here.