Spare

Well, it took me 5 months to finish Spare.  Honestly, it wasn't the narration.  Prince Harry did a nice job reading his own words, and it was nice to hear those words in his voice.   The pacing could've been a little better (or I could have listened at a faster speed) and sometimes I wished for more emotion.  But I was okay with the narration.  

Really the issue was the story.  There was so much in this book that really could have been edited out.  It was just a slog to get through it.  It was hard to feel sorry for Harry, in his younger years when he was drinking and using drugs.  It was easier to feel sorry for him in more recent years with the issues with the press.  And while I know he was telling his side of the story, his perceptions on how things occurred, in the end, the book often just sounded like an opportunity to whine and hopefully gain some sympathy.  

I'll admit that I've never really been a royal watcher.  I was too young for the Charles-Diana drama, but I do remember Diana's death.  I watched both William and Harry's weddings and also watched Queen Elizabeth's funeral, all well after the fact and mostly out of curiosity of traditions.  I most definitely don't seek out any stories about the royals, only seeing those that may show up on the national news, and was pretty much unaware of a lot of the issues Harry brings up during Spare.  So, I can't speak to how accurate any of his story is, but rather it has to be his perception and I take it at that face value.

The book wasn't bad, but it also wasn't good and I don't think I'd recommend except maybe to the most hardcore fans of memoirs or the royal family.