My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
Listening Is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project
by
Dave Isay
Drawn from the work of StoryCorps, the largest and most ambitious private oral history project in American history, comes this tapestry of the stories Americans have been sharing from their lives to leave behind to their loved ones.
Audio CD, Abridged, 1 pages
Published
November 8th 2007
by Penguin Audio
(first published 2007)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,409)
*I edited this* Listening is an act of love. Even if I weren't already a huge fan of NPR's StoryCorps, that statement alone would have caught my eye. Nine times out of ten I come into work on Friday mornings sniffly and red-eyed from having listened to StoryCorps during Morning Edition. Just getting 100 pages into the book today during my lunch hour already had me tearing up, so maybe I'll have to restrict reading it to only occasions when I won't look like a lunatic from weeping over a book. Wh...more
The StoryCorps Project is dedicated to collecting and preserving the stories of ordinary Americans for future generations. People participate by being interviewed at the Storycorps booth in New York City or at one of the mobile recording booths traveling the country - they can choose to be interviewed by a relative or friend, or by a Storycorps facilitator. Selected stories are read on NPR every Friday morning and all are stored in the Library of Congress (subject to the participant's signing a ...more
I am making my way through this extraordinary book - we saw the Storycorps booth in NYC in Grand Central and thought that it was a wonderful idea and then moved on with the crowd. I suppose that is what strikes me as I read this - if we don't consciously sit down and map out the foundation of our roots through the sharing of stories with loved ones then we are lost on the road. I wish I had asked so many more questions of my grandmother. She emanated such light and some striking dark tones. I am...more
People aren't all that bad.
Justin
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
NPR Addicts and people who watch news or reality programming for the stories
I'm not so sure that everyone will enjoy this book as much as I did, but it is an inspiring look in the lives of everyday Americans and their history, memories, and most importantly their stories.
By design it is fragmented into anecdotal excerpts that are transcribed from the best bites of NPR's Storycorps. Specifically, the author compiled those stories that would work well on paper. While some of the stories focus on major events in an individual's life, there are a number of sect...more
By design it is fragmented into anecdotal excerpts that are transcribed from the best bites of NPR's Storycorps. Specifically, the author compiled those stories that would work well on paper. While some of the stories focus on major events in an individual's life, there are a number of sect...more
view 1 comment
I have not been a StoryCorps listener, but after reading this book, I'm planning to become one!
My book club selected this book, but there actually wasn't much to discuss, unlike other books we've read. I'd say it's a great book to read, not a great book for book club.
I had several favorite stories, but the interviews in the last portion of the book ("Fire and Water") were the most moving and memorable. Four of them were very touching: a story from a survivor ...more
My book club selected this book, but there actually wasn't much to discuss, unlike other books we've read. I'd say it's a great book to read, not a great book for book club.
I had several favorite stories, but the interviews in the last portion of the book ("Fire and Water") were the most moving and memorable. Four of them were very touching: a story from a survivor ...more
Laura
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Laura by:
NPR, StoryCorps
Shelves:
favorites
Actually, I'm listening to this via audiobook. I wanted to hear the people's voices tell their own stories.
***
I finally sat down and listened to the entire CD. I am in awe of these stories, of the people who lived them, and who were brave enough to tell them on tape and submit them to the Library of Congress.
The story that affected me most was from a Brooklyn man talking about his fiance who died in the World Trade Center towers on September 11th. You can hear the l...more
***
I finally sat down and listened to the entire CD. I am in awe of these stories, of the people who lived them, and who were brave enough to tell them on tape and submit them to the Library of Congress.
The story that affected me most was from a Brooklyn man talking about his fiance who died in the World Trade Center towers on September 11th. You can hear the l...more
Valerie
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Valerie by:
Barbara
Shelves:
short-stories,
non-fiction
Listening Is an Act of Love is a book of short stories that are filled with slices of everyday life, from normal, everyday people, just like you and me. The only difference between us is that they visited a StoryCorps booth (in New York city or a mobile recording booth) and committed their story to audio CDs. The CDs are then archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Excerpts from their stories (which are in interview format) are played on NPR's Morning Edition. This b...more
"...if we take the time to listen, we'll find wisdom, wonder, and poetry in the lives and stories of the people all around us. That we all want to know our lives have mattered and we won't ever be forgotten. That listening is an act of love."
"One of the things that has accompanied me, followed me, surrounded me, wrapped me, is that feeling of gratitude for whatever happens. The event was like beig picked up by the scruff of the neck and shaken. And God says, "...more
"One of the things that has accompanied me, followed me, surrounded me, wrapped me, is that feeling of gratitude for whatever happens. The event was like beig picked up by the scruff of the neck and shaken. And God says, "...more
(Thanks, Kate!)
A selection of narratives from the StoryCorps Project that were compartmentalized into chapters based on what the person was talking about. This book does seem to make truth of the idea that every ordinary and even extraordinary person has something worthwhile to say. My favorite chapter was "History & Struggle", particularly the story within the chapter about the young woman and her "odiferous" year in North Dakota. Of course, the stories in the chapt...more
A selection of narratives from the StoryCorps Project that were compartmentalized into chapters based on what the person was talking about. This book does seem to make truth of the idea that every ordinary and even extraordinary person has something worthwhile to say. My favorite chapter was "History & Struggle", particularly the story within the chapter about the young woman and her "odiferous" year in North Dakota. Of course, the stories in the chapt...more
This is a very charming companion to the radio series run on NPR that allows two people to interview one another and share their own personal stories (there's a booth in Grand Central Station and many others around the country -- go sign up!).
You can read the individual stories very quickly. This is absolutely a book that can be picked up and put down all the time. I can't say it's quite the same as hearing the on-air segments -- where the power of the human voice can move you to t...more
You can read the individual stories very quickly. This is absolutely a book that can be picked up and put down all the time. I can't say it's quite the same as hearing the on-air segments -- where the power of the human voice can move you to t...more
I bought this book last night after hearing the author speak at book people in austin and was thru by 2am.. You might have heard excerpts of the StoryCorps project on Morning Edition on NPR.. basically it's an organization focused on spreading oral histories of everyday Americans, in a time when we are so focused on celebrity... this book is a collection of some of their favorite essays, from everyday things like a Brooklyn couple very much in love, to grandparents sharing their life with their ...more
First of all, let me say that StoryCorps could very well be one of my most favorite things about NPR.
It feels like a gift to read these intimate moments in peoples' lives.
Who would think that opening up to another person and recording it for prosperity could be such a captivating thing. Maybe it just goes to show in this hectic world how seldom we really do listen to one another or share stories about what is important to us.
Most of all this book make...more
It feels like a gift to read these intimate moments in peoples' lives.
Who would think that opening up to another person and recording it for prosperity could be such a captivating thing. Maybe it just goes to show in this hectic world how seldom we really do listen to one another or share stories about what is important to us.
Most of all this book make...more
StoryCorps is an epic social experiment about Americana that was inaugurated in 2003 at New York’s Grand Central Terminal in order to “celebrate the lives of the uncelebrated,” as Studs Terkel described it. Pairs of people enter a booth where a facilitator helps them have a dialogue about a key moment in their life. One copy of the forty-minute recording goes home with the speakers; the other is saved at the Library of Congress. Listening is an Act of Love is a compilation of forty-nine of the m...more
You need to know somethings about my family and me before I tell you what I thought about this book. We are TALKERS. We are debaters, theorizers, and lamenters. I mean we can REALLY TALK *A LOT*. So much so, that I am considered the down to earth* one because It's not uncommon for me to announce that "I'm not interested in talking about that anymore, that topic bores me, you're being too theoretical for me to follow you anymore" etc, etc, etc
*I'm replacing "down to ea...more
*I'm replacing "down to ea...more
As I started reading this, I had such high expectations because of all the great reviews I have seen. However, I basically just felt "ho hum" about it for about 2/3 of the book. Then suddenly, the book switched gears and then I experienced what others have. From the horrible prejudices the older generation of black Americans have suffered,to reading the sad story of a woman fighting for her brother dying of Aids and the awful way he was treated and even harder to deal with, the accou...more
Five stars, hands down. This is a book to read when you need to remember what it is to be human (and maybe have some faith in humanity restored, too). The audio CD made me bawl, but reading the book did the same thing. I'm amazed at the visceral power of some of these simple interviews and memories about work, family, tragedy, and love. I especially loved the sections on the StoryCorps staff's firsthand experiences of the power of storytelling, and hints for doing your own interviews and recordi...more
Oh, how I loved this book! This book is a compilation of oral histories recorded by Storycorps, a non-profit organization dedicated to recording the every day life of Americans. Each week Storycorps airs a recent interview on NPR. I was a fan of the program long before I encountered this book. The beauty of Storycorps is that it shows how each person's life has meaning and importance, and it does that by recording brief bits about that person. Obviously, as a compilation of interviews, it r...more
Ok, I confess, I am addicted to NPR, especially Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and one of my all-time favorite things is StoryCorps. Listening Is an Act of Love, edited and with an introduction by David Isay, is a compilation of selected stories from the more than 10,000 recorded sessions done at StoryCorps, either at their stationary sites at Grand Central Station or the World Trade Center booths or at one of the mobile booths that travel the country. While Iowa City has not yet ...more
This is an amazing book. I've heard segments from the StoryCorps Project on NPR, but I wasn't really aware that there was a book that gathered some of the more memorable interviews together. Thanks, Maggie, for recommending this book so highly. You were totally right. There is something lost, I think, in reading these interviews rather than listening to them (I admit that I went to the website and listened to a couple of them), but even in print the emotional impact hit me with a wallop. To...more
Something tells me that, in a couple of hundred years, when historians from the 23rd century do their research on the United States in the 20th and 21st centuries, this book will be essential reading. It is history, viewed from the bottom up.
This is a book of stories, edited by Dave Isay, the founder of the StoryCorps project. The goal is to collect and archive the stories of everyday people. The StoryCorps methodology is simple: go around the country with a bunch of mobile record...more
This is a book of stories, edited by Dave Isay, the founder of the StoryCorps project. The goal is to collect and archive the stories of everyday people. The StoryCorps methodology is simple: go around the country with a bunch of mobile record...more
I am not a regular listener of NPR and wasn't aware of the StoryCorps project. The premise is that everyone has a story to tell. StoryCorps has several mobile recording booths across the USA and everyday people can go into the booths and record their stories. Many are interviews by loved ones. This book compiles some of these stories into thematic units (Family, Work, History and Struggles etc.) It is a powerful little book about the love, joy, courage and despair of humanity. Some of th...more
To understand this book, you first have to understand StoryCorps, an oral history project, which has been going on across America since 2003. It was modeled after a similar project done by the WPA in the Great Depression, in which out of work historians and writers interviewed ordinary Americans about their lives. The purpose of that project was to create a record for posterity so that we could understand life during the Depression. But the current StoryCorps is slightly different. The interview...more
This is the first book I have read for a new book club I joined and it is not one I would have picked, but I really enjoyed it. This book is a collection of interviews of people across the United States. Basically you go into a booth and are given 40 minutes to talk about anything (your life, your loves, a specific experience) with another person or a facilitator. At the end of the 40 minutes, two CDs are recorded - one for you and one the goes into the Library of Congress as an archive of Am...more
This was awesome! I was listening to it in my car and I'm sure people driving by me were wondering why I was crying, but it was lovely. Just stories from individual lives, many interviewed by a loved one, that you wouldn't hear in everyday life but they share as part of the StoryCorps Project. Makes me want to get out a taperecorder and talk to everyone I know; but first, I guess I'd better think of some intelligent questions...
"That's where I learned that when you have a job to do, don't keep looking up to see how much left there is to do. If you keep working at your job, it'll be done." Barney Feldman, February 20, 2006, p. 90
"You would always sit on the counter by the door, and you would start to ask me questions. I remember a particular conversation where one of the questions you asked was, 'Are you happy?' You know, a lot of people ask, 'How are you feeling today?' But no -- you looke...more
"You would always sit on the counter by the door, and you would start to ask me questions. I remember a particular conversation where one of the questions you asked was, 'Are you happy?' You know, a lot of people ask, 'How are you feeling today?' But no -- you looke...more
This book earned 5 stars in my mind for reasons other than the typical ones for which I give a high rating. (I have recently repented of giving too many 5 stars in the past and am now experimenting with being more discrimating in my ratings). Usually a 5 star book for me includes masterful use of the English language (most anything by Nabokov) or incredible insight into human nature and the human condition (Tolstoy or George Eliot) or a wonderful mix of wit, style, brilliant storytelling and in...more
I love listening to StoryCorps on NPR every Friday morning...Recently, I've timed Elizabeth's drop-off @ day care so that I can spend the last few minutes before I take her in listening to StoryCorps. This book is an excellent compilation of interviews - stories of sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, grandparents, extended families, wiaves, husbands, partners, best friends, neighbors, and everyone in between. Certain stories really moved me - especially the harrowing memories...more
Snoooooooze. There are two or three wonderful stories ... but honestly, this book is a huge snoozer. Boring boring boring. A HUGE disappointment, because the Story Corps project is so fantastic. Whoever edited this book should be slapped ... virtually all of the selected stories are about "My family grew up poor in the midwest, and I am happy today." Snooze city.
Update: Loved it. Definitely worth a read. Uplifting and life-affirming. In our celebrity-obsessed culture, it's refreshing to read the stories of everyday people and find them more interesting, more inspiring than whatever else the media tells us is interesting and important. Go read it. And listen to Storycorps segments on Friday mornings on NPR.
The audiobook was great because it really does make more sense to hear the people tell their own stories. It's about an hour long & worth...more
The audiobook was great because it really does make more sense to hear the people tell their own stories. It's about an hour long & worth...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
