Stephanie (Bookfever)

thought-provoking exploration of owls

Revisado: 03-31-25

Humankind has been fascinated by owls for thousands of years, and I definitely am no exception. I already considered owls one of my favorite animals and this book just confirmed it — owls really are the world's most enigmatic birds, like the title says. Jennifer Ackerman taught me so much with this book about these beautiful animals. I didn't even realize that there are so many kinds of owls, over 200 different breeds! All distinct and unique in their own ways. I also learned that every continent (except for Antartica) has owls, which makes them even more special to me.

This was my first book by Jennifer Ackerman but it looks like she has many bird-related books so I have definitely some catching up to do. She wrote What An Owl Knows in a very compelling and accessible way. It was very easy to read (or listen to in my case). Not only goes she into the biology and behavior of owls, she also joins scientist in the fields and tells us all about what she has learned from them. From flying to hunting to their incredible senses to the many diverse noises they make and how they nest (many owls live in tree hollows but some burrow in the ground!).

The audiobook was narrated by Jennifer Ackerman herself and she did an excellent job at it. I really enjoyed listening to her voice and talent for storytelling. I also liked the way she delivered the humor as well as the more moving aspects of the life of owls.

What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World's Most Enigmatic Birds by Jennifer Ackerman was a well-researched, captivating and thought-provoking exploration of owls and their dynamic and often surprising way of life. I'd highly recommend this book!

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a highly fascinating and intriguing topic

Revisado: 01-25-19

Too be honest, before starting this audiobook I only knew the bare essentials about humanism, especially connected to the cultural movement that took place during the Renaissance but I've always wanted to learn more so I'm really glad I had to chance to listen and review the audiobook. It taught me a whole lot more, I loved that!

I'm very particular about the audiobooks I select and as my first one of 2019 so far I was very happy with how it turned out. Chirag Patel (who also is one of the co-writers of this book), was a great narrator and made it really easy to listen to the audiobook. He made me keep interest in it throughout and I never got bored, even for a second.

Whether or not you like nonfiction or even the topic of humanism in general, I'd still highly recommend to give this book a read or listen to it like I did. It's only about 2 hours and 19 minutes long so it was a pretty quick audiobook (for me at least) because it was a highly fascinating and intriguing topic that I think will definitely make its readers think and be even more interested in learning more about it all.

5 interesting facts I learned:

1. Buddhism is one of the first real humanist philosophies
2. The real origins of humanism are spiritual in nature.
3. The first veriable examples of humanist thinkers occurred in around 600 BC.
4. Buddhism is the first ethical system that is virtue based rather than rule based.
5. The focus of Confusionism is behavior, not thought.

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Fascinating subject as well as a great narrator

Revisado: 06-23-18

First of all I want to say I'm so glad I was offered the chance to listen to this audiobook of The Pawnee Indians. I really enjoyed listening to it. It's only my second audiobook of the year so far, which is already twice more than the previous year. So that's really great on its own for me. Usually I get easily bored or my mind starts to drift when I listen to audiobooks but I'm glad to say this wasn't the case at all with this one. Maybe it was because it was only about an hour long or because the subject was really interesting. It was probably both.

Starting this book I didn't know anything about The Pawnee Indians although I've always been interested in Native American history. So because of that in every single chapter there were a lot of new things for me to learn. And some things I did learn were pretty surprising to me as well. That's why I love history so much.

I really liked the narrator, Andrew Colford, as well. He had a great voice and accent to listen to, which also never got boring. And as someone who's first language isn't English I could understand him perfectly, which is always a bonus for me with audiobooks.

5 interesting facts I learned:

The Pawnee Indians practiced human sacrifice.
The Pawnee people were deeply religious and didn't convert to Christianity until the late 1800's
Family lineage in the Pawnee tradition was matriarchal.
Women n Pawnee culture were underplayed but some were entrusted with vital roles.
They were warriors but valued peace in their own community.

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I adored the story and narrator!

Revisado: 04-19-18

If you could sum up Amanda Noble, #Zoolife in three words, what would they be?

Funny, suspenseful, joyful

What did you like best about this story?

Everything! The story was great, the narrator did a great job. I couldn't stop listening to it. I loved Amanda's snarky wit. It was hilarious!

Have you listened to any of Katherine Littrell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I'd love to listening to more stories narrated by her.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I had to stop a couple of times because life got in the way but I totally would've listened to it in one sitting if I could.

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a quick read with steamy romance

Revisado: 04-27-17

Any additional comments?

Rogue In Love ended up as one of my favorite romances from Inger Iversen. It was a quick read with steamy romance and the main characters, Thea and Lex quickly wormed their way into my heart. The history between them made their relationship all the more intense when they reconnected. I also liked how there wasn't any unnessecary drama in the story like I see too much of in contemporary romances. The author's books tend to be real page-turners and Rogue In Love didn't disappoint in that aspect.One of the best things in the book was Teal and especially Trent (from Inevitable: Love & War) showing up. It was so great to read about them, even if their appearance was a short one. I love them. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Rogue In Love by Inger Iversen. The two main characters were perfect together. I loved reading about them. And with Lex I have a new book boyfriend to add to the list. Fans of second-chance romances will devour this story!

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I'd recommend it to all audiobook fans!

Revisado: 10-19-14

Would you listen to Phantom's Dance again? Why?

So did I love the audiobook of Phantom's Dance? Of course I did! I'd recommend it to all audiobook fans, whether or not you have read the book before. I enjoyed it immensely and am even more in love with this dark Phantom of the Opera retelling

I would listen to it again because at moments it was thrilling, sweet, scary and funny. That makes a great (audio) book!

What did you like best about this story?

First of all, I don't usually listen to a lot of audiobooks but I do like to listen to them when they're favorite books of mine that I have read before. I don't think this review will be as long as my normal reviews because it's an audiobook and I have reviewed the story before but as far as audiobooks go, I personally think that this one was fantastic. And I'm not saying this because I loved the book when I read it. I really mean it. So, I still love the story. Still love this Christine that Lesa Howard has created, as well as Raoul. He's so adorable, isn't he? And so supportive of Christine. Going through the story again, made it stand out even more. I also ended up liking her parents more than I originally did. They do have their flaws but they were also really supportive of Christine in the end when she had horrible things happening to her.

What does Kai Kennicott bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The thing with reading or in this case listening to a story you've read before is that the details are more clear. And also, with audiobooks they're even more clear and intense because you're listening to the story, to a voice telling it, which I love. Which brings me to the narrator. I loved all the voices she did with the story. They were all different from one another, so I think she did a fantastic job. Her voice as Christine and Van were probably my favorites. And Erik... Wowza. I was warned that his voice was creepy but I didn't realize how creepy until I actually heard his more intense scenes. I loved it and it impressed me because I've listened to audiobooks before where the narrator didn't do the voices as good as Kai Kennicott did. Oh and the music was brilliant. I loved the sweet music when it was a scene between Christine and Raoul. And of course the creepier music when it was a scene between Christine and Erik. That was brilliant!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Personally, it was a bit long to listen to all one one sitting. Audiobooks always take longer to listen to for me but the last 2 hours I did pretty much all in one sitting!

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