Not what I was hoping for at all.

Any additional comments?

I guess I was expecting something Nora Ephron adjacent and was excited by the stellar cast of celebrity narrators...Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Ellen Burstyn, Alan Alda, and a whole bunch more. Hmmmm. The essays in general were not funny, helpful, insightful, or even particularly well written. Revenge, pettiness, anger, bitterness, and such, appeared to be the main themes. For me it was all made worse by the addition of music and sound effects, which I don't really care for in an audiobook. Plus the narrators seem like they are acting the parts rather than narrating the stories, and by doing so they rather overpower the writing. Overall it felt more like listening to a not very good play being rehearsed than a book of essays. It wasn't a total loss, I found two of the essays quite compelling and well done. But in hindsight I wish I had simply exchanged this book for credit rather than persisting to the end.

18 people found this helpful

Loved it

What made the experience of listening to You Don't Look Your Age the most enjoyable?

Sheila has a delightful, beautiful voice and I would have enjoyed listening to her, however, I loved the concept of having familiar voices read the different essays/stories.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

I loved all the stories/essays...some more than others...but my very favorite was the very last one read by Meryl Streep.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Some stories made me laugh, some made me cry with their poignant honesty and some made me yell RIGHT ON!!

Any additional comments?

I am now interested in seeing Ms Nevin's documentaries because I'll understand her motivation for sheer honesty in the telling. I hope to come across other Audible books of this nature in the future....and HOPE Ms Nevins does another book! I absolutely adore her now.

5 people found this helpful

A Must-Listen for Women "of a Certain Age"

Sheila Nevins may be a hugely successful documentarian, but the life events and dilemmas that she details in these essays are for every woman who is or has been a wife, a mother, a "working mom," a daughter, a friend. Ms. Nevins is both self-aware and a keen observer of the behaviors of others. She approaches her subjects, which are very personal, as honestly and objectively as one can and manages to bring out the humor/poignancy of each situation. Not every vignette is a success (e.g., "Eunice's Period," read by Gloria Steinem), but there are far more winners than not.

I strongly encourage you to listen to (rather than read) this collection, because the majority of the narrators were perfectly chosen for the particular essays they read, and their voices add much to the overall experience. I enjoyed, particularly, Judith Light, Marlo Thomas, Kathy Bates, Edie Falco, Lily Tomlin, and Tovah Felshuh, while Gloria Vanderbilt, Liz Smith, and Diane Von Furstenberg were disappointments. Gayle King is delightful in her readings about foodies and frenemies, and I was surprised at how moved I was by Rosie O'Donnell's narration of a story about parenting a child with Tourette Syndrome.

Although these are "fairy tales" about women, Alan Alda and Ru Paul are fun additions to this impressive collection of narrators, which also includes Martha Stewart, Glenn Close, Lena Dunham, Whoopi Goldberg, Katie Couric, Christine Baranski, and Meryl Streep.

Give it a listen! I think you'll be glad you did.

5 people found this helpful

Not what I expected

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I thought these were going to be stories written by each of the different actors...but they are stories read by the actors. Some were touching and funny but all from the perspective of rich, successful woman. I didn't finish.

7 people found this helpful

Total Disappointment

The title is misleading. Although there are some great talents/voices here, I didn't expect a "performance". And all the music has to go.

1 person found this helpful

Loved this!

Have to admit that I worked with Sheila in the 90's through 2007 and am a big fan. Almost every story is relevant, well-told and the narration is fabulous. If you know Sheila, you can hear her in these pages--well done!

1 person found this helpful

Now I need antidepressants -

Perhaps I thought this was going to be humorous? Very quickly realized I had stumbled into a "Womans Studies" class by mistake.
Narration runs from good to over done. Maybe excessive self absorption is just not my thing.
I fully accept that this is probably just my problem and a zillion others will think this is the best book ever- as for myself, I'm looking up AUDIBLES refund or exchange policy.

3 people found this helpful

stellar cast of readers...

terrific idea to have various celebs read these stories - would expect nothing less from the author. Some sections are standouts and really enjoyable.

1 person found this helpful

This collection of stories is a treasure!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, every woman irregardless of age will find themselves within the pages, I greatly appreciated and admire the author's honesty, courage, humor and imagination contained in each story. Thank you so much for producing this gem of fiction and non-fiction, it has
helped me grasp meaning and perspective in not only my life, but that of my daughter's and who knows how many generations? Bravo, Ms. Nevins....a life well lived!
Thank you for the smile upon my face and though it's just been released
,please consider another edition!!!

What was one of the most memorable moments of You Don't Look Your Age?

All of the stories were exceptional!

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

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I absolutely loved it!

3 people found this helpful

Disappointing

I saw Charlie Rose interview Sheila Nevens and thought that with her reputation as the guru of documentary programming Book would be interesting. During the interview she kept saying that the worst possible thing that a documentary could be was boring. Though she had a cavalcade of superstars to perform her short essays, The writing itself was quite poor and very boring. It reminds me of the sometimes surprising gulf between a good critic and actual talent.

4 people found this helpful