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jaygabler's reviews
120 reviews
Landslide: The Unmaking of the President, 1984-1988 by Jane Mayer
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Readers looking for a juicy play-by-play of the Iran-Contra Affair — you know who you are — will not be disappointed.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Lady in Red: An Intimate Portrait of Nancy Reagan by Sheila Tate
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Thank you Penguin Random House Audio for the free audiobook. Lady In Red is a frankly reverent memoir by Nancy Reagan’s press secretary of half a decade. Where else are you going to get a story about the time Nancy almost got into a scandal involving a slot machine in Sinatra’s Vegas suite?
The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories: From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter by Jessica Harrison
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was sheer folly to attempt this on audio; the stories vary widely in length, tone, and content, so if you're popping in and out it's a mental workout to keep track of what's going on. Also, heads up that this is quite a melancholy selection overall; a typical last line is, "After that morning, I think my childhood was at an end" (Frank O'Connor, "Christmas Morning"). That said, if you prefer a more literary approach to seasonal storytelling, go for it!
The Christmas Book: Exclusive Edition by Phaidon Press
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
The several writers behind the volume all seem to have gloried in their assigned task: to explain the significance of holiday images and artifacts spanning centuries, curated to encompass the variety of religious, cultural and commercial Christmas traditions. The entire tome is almost overwhelming in its illustration of how much Christmas culture there now is.
The Fright Before Christmas: Surviving Krampus and Other Yuletide Monsters, Witches, and Ghosts by Jeff Belanger
dark
informative
medium-paced
2.0
A wandering catalog of holiday mythology, describing over a dozen different types of personage that have been posited to roam the world at yuletide. The book is too long by half, but will serve as welcome inspiration for lovers of the macabre who relish the threat implicit in Santa's nice and naughty lists.
Quest for Planet X by Tessa Gratton
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
An appealing if low-key, relationship-focused adventure set in the background of Phase II.
The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The author takes a kaleidoscopic approach to storytelling, rotating among the perspectives of friends and family members surrounding the eponymous pair of betrothed.
Each character intrigues, but in a relatively short novel — the audiobook runs five and a half hours — it’s hard not to feel cheated of deeper dives into the characters whose eternal happiness is most immediately in question.
Each character intrigues, but in a relatively short novel — the audiobook runs five and a half hours — it’s hard not to feel cheated of deeper dives into the characters whose eternal happiness is most immediately in question.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn, and the Transformation of Journalism by Adam Nagourney
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Thank you Crown Publishing for the free book. Needless to say I devoured this chronicle of four decades during which the New York Times reinvented itself for a digital world. What's next, newspaper journalists moonlighting as book influencers?