I read Pillars decades ago and since the name doesn't bring back a bad taste in the mouth, I must have liked it then. Mary, I have been to Europe several times and have always been fascinated by the cathedrals - the history of the building and the men who were instrumental in creating them. The architects were like celebrities in that time, I think. I do have Pillars recorded on my PVR but have yet to getting around to watching it. It was done by Masterpiece Theatre and I know it won several awards. I am suggesting this because hopefully it will have visuals - imo these buildings are meant to be seen to be appreciated. I am not sure the written word can do them justice.

How wonderful to find this site, though I must admit that it took me some time to find one that discusses this subject. The reason I sought it out was because I have been listening to audiobooks for years and they have brought me many hours of pleasure. Like you, though, I find that a book can be absolutely ruined for me by a poor narrator. I can be distressed by an irritating voice as much as the next person but what I find truly disturbing is when words are mispronounced. It is difficult for me to believe that narrators who are considered to be professionals, do not take the time and make the effort to research the pronunciation of unfamiliar words. Another pet peeve, though a minor one, is when a narrator uses the accent of a particular language for a character who is speaking that language. A french person speaking french does not have an "accent" unless that person is french and speaking english. It sounds foolish and often the narrator is difficult to understand in his/her attempt to illustrate the fact that the character is speaking in a language other than english. Other than that, what joy to be able to "read" while doing laundry, vacuuming, working in the yard, etc. :)

Thank you all for you responses. You've given me some good ideas, and some names of books that just might spark some discussion. I'm always a little leery of books about the Holocaust; I often find them too upsetting to read. But The Sunflower sounds like it goes beyond just relating the horrors to some deeper reflections on human nature. My library doesn't have a copy, nor a copy of A Thread of Grace, but I think I'll look elsewhere for them. I like the idea of the reading kits. I believe our local library has a few of those; I'm not sure how many. I went to one meeting of the library book club. We discussed Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth, a fabulous book, but I was disappointed in the discussion. It was dominated by a woman who wanted to discuss current-day politics, and the leader/librarian, couldn't seem to slow her down. The discussion ended exactly one hour after we started, even though we had lots more to discuss.

Stacey; I always look forward to your book reviews and thoroughly enjoy them. This particular book sounds "right up my alley;" even as I type this the unabridged audio version is downloading into my iPod Touch. It will be entertaining and educating me the next few days as I buzz around my never-ending mindless chores. Thank you so much for all your reviews.