Summer is finally here! I really didn’t think this time would ever come, but now here we are. And now that certain areas are starting to enter different phases of quarantine, some beaches and splash pads are opening up (with social distancing in place still, of course). This means it’s time for some breezy beachy listens to go along with your fun in the sun.
So, whether you’re thanking all the stars in the sky that you can go sunbathe on a beach again, or thinking you’ll enjoy the sun from the comfort of your home instead, you’re sure to find your perfect next listen to entertain you while you do so. Be sure to check out our full Breezy Summer Listens booklist here and hey, don’t forget your sunscreen!
A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hunting Party.
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather for a wedding fit for celebrities. Even though the cell phone reception is spotty, the happy couple has planned every single detail of their big day, but as the celebrations begin secrets old and new, jealousy, and betrayal are uncovered and then someone turns up dead.
Pick up the latest from Lucy Foley for a whirlwind mystery that will keep you guessing right until the end! Perfect for the long drive up to the cottage or while sitting around the roaring fire.
Fripp Island, South Carolina, is the perfect destination for the wealthy Daly family: Lisa, Scott, and their two girls. For Lisa’s childhood friend Poppy Ford, however, the resort island is a world away from what she and her family are used to. Everyone brings secrets to the island, distorting what should be a convivial, relaxing summer on the beach.
The ones who return from this vacation will spend the rest of their lives trying to process what they witnessed, the tipping points, moments of violence and tenderness, and the memory of whom they left behind.
Let The House on Fripp Island accompany you for happy hour while you chill poolside with a drink in hand.
Brynn Turner, in need of a fresh start, heads back home to Wildstone. And then there’s Kinsey Davis, who is at her wits end after dealing with health issues for the past 29 years, plus she’s keeping more than one secret from Brynn, her long-time frenemy.
Once Brynn runs into Kiney’s best friend Eli, she starts thinking she could really find love and a future if she could just let go of the past.
If you’re planning a lazy beach day this summer, then you’ll definitely want to have this audiobook ready to go. It’ll give you all the best kind of summer vibes.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest comes a new psychology suspense listen about a young woman who is plagued by night terrors after a childhood trauma who wakes one evening to find a corpse at her feet.
This listen is one of those unputdownable, can’t-stop-listening types of suspenseful audiobooks that you’ll zoom right through. There’s something about the summer heat that just makes thrillers that much better, don’t you think?
Liya Thakkar is a successful biochemical engineer who is happily single. When she realizes that her parents latest dinner party is a setup with the man they want her to marry, she’s out of there! To her surprise and both their dismay, the same man shows up a week later to her workplace. Turns out he’s the lawyer that has been hired to rescue her struggling company.
As they get to know one another, can Liya give real love a chance or will she keep running? Find out in this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that will just make you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother’s death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. Their one touchstone is their father, but when he passes away unexpectedly one night the daughters return to their childhood home.
As they navigate their grief and throw their father an Irish wake, a surprise guest arrives and it turns out that she’s a Sweeney sister too. What does this mean for their father’s legacy? And how will this new sister fit in?
This perfect summery listen is equal parts cautionary tale and celebration—a festive and heartfelt look at what truly makes a family.
The bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish is back with a new psychological thriller, filled with serpentine twists, about a woman fighting to hold onto the only family she’s ever loved—and how far she’ll go to preserve it.
Joanna is waiting for her husband to re-emerge from the severe depression that has engulfed him, so when he begins to return to his charming energetic self, she couldn’t be more thankful. Unfortunately, this his renewed happiness is from falling head over heels for someone else.
After her husband leaves her behind she starts to dig into this new girl’s past and finds some disturbing secrets, but her therapist brushes off her concerns. Can she find proof in time to save her family?
When their foster-turned-adoptive mother suddenly dies, four brothers struggle to keep open the doors of her beloved Harlem knitting shop.
Jesse Strong is passionate about keeping the shop open, but his brothers aren’t exactly on board. Part-time shop employee, Kerry Fuller, who has been crushing on Jesse, offers to help him with the daunting task.
As they spend more time together and work toward reinventing the shop for a new generation their chemistry builds, but Jesse has to prove that his past doesn’t dictate his future and that he can be the man for her forever and always.
Pick up this charming and light-hearted listen if you’re looking for something cute and breezy.
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If you’re a true crime aficionado, then you’ve definitely heard the story of the Unabomber. This case captivated the masses in the 90s, but there’s so much more to the story that Lis Wiehl, author of Hunting the Unabomber, has brought to light.
We got the chance to pick her brain about audiobooks, the recording process, and what inspired her to write about the Unabomber for her latest release. Keep reading to see what she had to say.
Audiobooks.com: What can readers gain from listening to the audiobook version of Hunting the Unabomberthat they might not necessarily get from reading the print version?
Lis Wiehl: Through my tone of voice, readers will get a heightened sense of drama and excitement on the hunt for this notorious domestic terrorist. As I read the pages I relived the hunt with the FBI agents, profilers, and all the other sources who made this book come alive. Reading the actual words I’d written was a very personal thing, and I think that personal experience comes through in an audiobook. If you listen closely, you can hear my smirk, chuckle, and sigh. You can’t read those expressions in the printed version.
Audiobooks.com: Was your initial plan to narrate your own book, or was this one of the roadblocks you met with COVID-19?
Lis Wiehl: It was absolutely my initial plan to narrate this book. Even as I was writing the book, I knew I wanted to narrate it. I had recorded most of the book before the COVID-19 shelter in place occurred. But, after shelter in place happened, it looked like we might have to hire a professional audio reader or actor who had a home studio, and who could record the book from scratch.
Fortunately, my amazing audio producer, Gabe Wicks, ultimately secured a safe studio where I could record the last installment of the audiobook. I am extremely grateful to the editorial team at Thomas Nelson/Harper Collins for sticking with me through COVID-19!
Audiobooks.com: How would you say this recording experience differed from narrating your other audiobooks?
Lis Wiehl: Other than the scare surrounding COVID-19, this recording was different because I was creating an important historical record by telling the story through people who had lived and experienced the events. I felt they were counting on me to get it right. I had only my voice to convey the tenor and tone of the whole operation. That was a big task!
Audiobooks.com: Did you ever consider narrating one of your fiction titles? Is this something you might do in the future?
Lis Wiehl: I’m not an actor. I’m not a professional audio reader. I read Hunting the Unabomber because this is nonfiction, and I thought my voice could convey raw emotion, changing tone, and personal connection in a way a professional reader might not. But I’ll leave reading my fiction titles, which require different voices for different characters, to the audio professionals.
Audiobooks.com: What made you decide to research the Unabomber for your latest release in the “Hunting” series?
Lis Wiehl: The Unabomber represents the longest domestic terrorist hunt in FBI history. That makes him a natural subject for me. For nearly two decades, the Unabomber terrorized a nation from a remote cabin in Montana. And Kaczynski was a mathematics wunderkind, going to Harvard at a young age, and even teaching at the college level, so he was a puzzle to figure out. I was fascinated to study the motivations behind his descent in to destruction. And the Unabomber is relevant today. What he did changed the way the FBI conducts its investigations even now.
Audiobooks.com: Are you currently working on anything new that you can share with us?
Lis Wiehl: I am deep on the hunt in my next installment of the Hunting series! The target of my hunt not only cost lives, but also endangered national security for years. Through interviews with key players involved in hunting my subject, I’m uncovering new mysteries, solving puzzles, and unlocking secrets that will make this book a thrilling ride!∎
New to Audiobooks.com? Get your first book free, PLUS a bonus book from our VIP selection when you sign up for our one-month free trial. Digital audiobooks make audible stories come to life when you’re commuting, working out, cleaning, cooking, and more! Listening is easy with our top-rated free audiobook apps for iOS and Android, which let you download & listen to bestselling audiobooks on the go, wherever you are. Click here to get your free audiobooks!
I don’t know about you, but between the popularity of the historical drama The Crown, and the real-life drama of the comings and goings of the Royal family of late, The Gown, written by Jennifer Robson and narrated by Marisa Calin is just what the doctor ordered! You must forgive the pun when I say that this piece—an audiobook of historical fiction—talks to the making of the wedding dress that was to be worn by Princess Elizabeth in her marriage to Philip Mountbatten. And what an intriguing subject of choice by Jennifer Robson! The weighty anticipation for Meghan Markle’s wedding dress pales in comparison to the expectancy for the dress worn by Princess Elizabeth, if for no other reason than the socio-economic backdrop of her engagement in what was then a war-exhausted England.
Even setting aside the recent fascination with the Royals, The Gown is an audiobook that is well worthy of every minute of its 11 hours and 38 minutes’ narration. Jennifer Robson carefully builds its storyline around three female protagonists: Ann, a 25-year-old self-admitted “plain girl”; Miriam, a French Holocaust survivor; and over 6 decades later, Ann’s granddaughter, Heather, who is determined to discover the significance of a box of exquisitely embroidered flowers bequeathed to her by Ann. This, in and of itself—the growth of the characters and their relationships—makes for an intriguing tale.
Add to that narrator Marisa Calin‘s voice and narrative flair are perfect for the subject matter at hand. She transports the listener effortlessly from wherever they may choose to listen and thrusts us into the throes of the lives of these three strong female characters, and the interesting and unexpected twists and turns their lives take over the span of multiple decades.
Whether you devoutly devour every bit of the daily barrage of news about the Royals, passionately take sides on Harry and Meghan’s UK exit (like my mum!), stand passively by with mere (mild) curiosity (more like I do), or lie somewhere in-between, The Gown—interwoven with just the right amount of drama and historical fact—is skillfully wrapped around the tale of three captivating characters which makes for a riveting story that you will not want to miss!
Publisher Summary:
London, 1947: Besieged by the harshest winter in living memory, burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation’s recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell. Together they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown.
Toronto, 2016: More than half a century later, Heather Mackenzie seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers, a legacy from her late grandmother. How did her beloved Nan, a woman who never spoke of her old life in Britain, come to possess the priceless embroideries that so closely resemble the motifs on the stunning gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding almost seventy years before? And what was her Nan’s connection to the celebrated textile artist and holocaust survivor Miriam Dassin?
With The Gown, Jennifer Robson takes us inside the workrooms where one of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created. Balancing behind-the-scenes details with a sweeping portrait of a society left reeling by the calamitous costs of victory, she introduces readers to three unforgettable heroines, their points of view alternating and intersecting throughout its pages, whose lives are woven together by the pain of survival, the bonds of friendship, and the redemptive power of love.
New to Audiobooks.com? Get your first book free, PLUS a bonus book from our VIP selection when you sign up for our one-month free trial. Digital audiobooks make audible stories come to life when you’re commuting, working out, cleaning, cooking, and more! Listening is easy with our top-rated free audiobook apps for iOS and Android, which let you download & listen to bestselling audiobooks on the go, wherever you are. Click here to get your free audiobooks!
Racism has been built into the structures of our communities. It has become a part of the systems we use to function and won’t waiver without intervention. Now is the time to push forward into a long-overdue change, to unpack the racism that has plagued our society for centuries. Now is the time to not only be “not racist” but to be actively antiracist.
The first step towards change is an understanding of the issues and how they may have shaped each of us. Becoming educated on the topic, and sharing that knowledge when possible, will help make a difference in working towards a future of equality and safety for all.
Here is a selection of antiracist listens from our book list Voices For Change. To see the full list, click here.
Based off of the original workbook,Me and White Supremacyteaches listeners how to dismantle the privilege within themselves so that they can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.
When Layla Saad began an Instagram challenge called #meandwhitesupremacy, she never predicted it would spread as widely as it did. She encouraged people to own up and share their racist behaviors, big and small. She was looking for truth, and she got it. Thousands of people participated in the challenge, and over 90,000 people downloaded the Me and White Supremacy Workbook.
The updated and expanded Me and White Supremacytakes the work deeper by adding more historical and cultural contexts, sharing moving stories and anecdotes, and including expanded definitions, examples, and further resources.
Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism—and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.
Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.
In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?
Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.
Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and churches, Austin writes, “I had to learn what it means to love blackness,” a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker, and expert helping organizations practice genuine inclusion.
In a time when nearly every institution (schools, churches, universities, businesses) claims to value diversity in its mission statement, Austin writes in breathtaking detail about her journey to self-worth and the pitfalls that kill our attempts at racial justice. Her stories bear witness to the complexity of America’s social fabric—from Black Cleveland neighborhoods to private schools in the middle-class suburbs, from prison walls to the boardrooms at majority-white organizations.
For readers who have engaged with America’s legacy on race through the writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael Eric Dyson,I’m Still Here is an illuminating look at how white, middle-class, Evangelicalism has participated in an era of rising racial hostility, inviting the reader to confront apathy, recognize God’s ongoing work in the world, and discover how blackness—if we let it—can save us all.
A current, constructive, and actionable exploration of today’s racial landscape, offering straightforward clarity that readers of all races need to contribute to the dismantling of the racial divide
In So You Want to Talk about Race, editor-at-large of The EstablishmentIjeoma Oluo offers a contemporary, accessible take on the racial landscape in America, addressing head-on such issues as privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the “N” word. Perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between people of color and white Americans struggling with race complexities, Oluo answers the questions readers don’t dare ask and explains the concepts that continue to elude everyday Americans.
Oluo is an exceptional writer with a rare ability to be straightforward, funny, and effective in her coverage of sensitive, hyper-charged issues in America. Her messages are passionate but finely tuned and crystallize ideas that would otherwise be vague by empowering them with aha-moment clarity.
In this groundbreaking history of the modern American metropolis, Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy, explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation-that is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, The Color of Law incontrovertibly makes clear that it was de jure segregation-the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments-that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day.
Lynch mobs, chain gangs, and popular views of black southern criminals that defined the Jim Crow South are well known. We know less about the role of the urban North in shaping views of race and crime in American society.
Following the 1890 census—the first to measure the generation of African Americans born after slavery—crime statistics, new migration and immigration trends, and symbolic references to America as the promised land of opportunity were woven into a cautionary tale about the exceptional threat black people posed to modern urban society. Excessive arrest rates and overrepresentation in northern prisons were seen by many whites—liberals and conservatives, northerners and southerners—as indisputable proof of blacks’ inferiority. In the heyday of ‘separate but equal,’ what else but pathology could explain black failure in the ‘land of opportunity?’
The idea of black criminality was crucial to the making of modern urban America, as were African Americans’ own ideas about race and crime. Chronicling the emergence of deeply embedded notions of black people as a dangerous race of criminals by explicit contrast to working-class whites and European immigrants, this fascinating book reveals the influence such ideas have had on urban development and social policies.
With searing honesty, intimacy and humor too, America’s leading young black feminist celebrates the power of rage in this piercing new audiobook. So what if it’s true that Black women are mad as hell? They have the right to be. In the Black feminist tradition of Audre Lorde, Brittney Cooper reminds us that anger is a powerful source of energy that can give us the strength to keep on fighting.
Far too often, Black women’s anger has been caricatured into an ugly and destructive force that threatens the civility and social fabric of American democracy. But Cooper shows us that there is more to the story than that. Black women’s eloquent rage is what makes Serena Williams such a powerful tennis player. It’s what makes Beyoncé’s girl power anthems resonate so hard. It’s what makes Michelle Obama an icon.
Eloquent rage keeps us all honest and accountable. It reminds women that they don’t have to settle for less. When Cooper learned of her grandmother’s eloquent rage about love, sex, and marriage in an epic and hilarious front-porch confrontation, her life was changed. And it took another intervention, this time staged by one of her homegirls, to turn Brittney into the fierce feminist she is today. In Brittney Cooper‘s world, neither mean girls nor fuckboys ever win. But homegirls emerge as heroes. This audiobook argues that ultimately feminism, friendship, and faith in one’s own superpowers are all we really need to turn things right side up again.
New to Audiobooks.com? Get your first book free, PLUS a bonus book from our VIP selection when you sign up for our one-month free trial. Digital audiobooks make audible stories come to life when you’re commuting, working out, cleaning, cooking, and more! Listening is easy with our top-rated free audiobook apps for iOS and Android, which let you download & listen to bestselling audiobooks on the go, wherever you are. Click here to get your free audiobooks!
Finding the perfect Father’s Day gift can be tough. You can mentally tick through all of the usual ideas—a new tie, some handy tools, a techy gadget—but they’ve all been done. And when you ask Dad directly, he’ll surely say there’s nothing he needs.
This year, try picking out the perfect audiobook to show Dad how much you care. He’ll love that you took the time to think about what he’s interested in, and that he can enjoy the audiobook while he’s busy doing dad things.
We’ve narrowed down some great audiobooks for every dad to enjoy. From thrilling fiction to business memoirs, we’ve got you covered no matter your dad’s interests.
Want to let Dad pick out his own audiobooks? When purchasing a prepaid subscription for Audiobooks.com, you give Dad the gift of listening for 1, 3, 6, or 12 months.
In this bravura follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.
When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood’s only salvation is his friendship with fellow “delinquent” Turner, which deepens despite Turner’s conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the Academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades.
Offering a glorious back-to-nature experience with all the comforts of high-speed Internet, solar smart houses, and the assurance of being mere hours from Seattle by highway, Greenloop was indeed a paradise—until Mount Rainier erupted, leaving its residents truly cut off from the world, and utterly unprepared for the consequences. With no weapons and their food supplies dwindling, Greenloop’s residents slowly realized that they were in a fight for survival. And as the ash swirled and finally settled, they found themselves facing a specter none of them could have predicted—or even thought possible.
In these pages, Max Brooks brings to light the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town’s bloody wreckage, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own investigations into the massacre that followed and the legendary beasts behind it. If what Kate saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us—and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.
From James McBride, author of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird and the bestselling modern classic The Color of Water, one of the most anticipated novels of the year: a wise and witty tale about what happens to the witnesses of a shooting.
In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and in front of everybody shoots the project’s drug dealer at point-blank range.
The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong, James McBride‘s funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird. In Deacon King Kong, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood’s Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself.
Three-time Hugo Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author N.K. Jemisin crafts her most incredible novel yet, a story of culture, identity, magic, and myths in contemporary New York City.
In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn’t remember who he is, where he’s from, or even his own name. But he can sense the beating heart of the city, see its history, and feel its power. In the Bronx, a Lenape gallery director discovers strange graffiti scattered throughout the city, so beautiful and powerful it’s as if the paint is literally calling to her. In Brooklyn, a politician and mother finds she can hear the songs of her city, pulsing to the beat of her Louboutin heels. And they’re not the only ones.
Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She’s got six.
Just as Bruce Cable’s Bay Books is preparing for the return of bestselling author Mercer Mann, Hurricane Leo veers from its predicted course and heads straight for the island. Florida’s governor orders a mandatory evacuation, and most residents board up their houses and flee to the mainland, but Bruce decides to stay and ride out the storm.
The hurricane is devastating: homes and condos are leveled, hotels and storefronts ruined, streets flooded, and a dozen people lose their lives. One of the apparent victims is Nelson Kerr, a friend of Bruce’s and an author of thrillers. But the nature of Nelson’s injuries suggests that the storm wasn’t the cause of his death: He has suffered several suspicious blows to the head.
Who would want Nelson dead? The local police are overwhelmed in the aftermath of the storm and ill-equipped to handle the case. Bruce begins to wonder if the shady characters in Nelson’s novels might be more real than fictional. And somewhere on Nelson’s computer is the manuscript of his new novel. Could the key to the case be right there—in black and white? As Bruce starts to investigate, what he discovers between the lines is more shocking than any of Nelson’s plot twists—and far more dangerous.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author, legendary storyteller, and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary collection of four new and compelling novellas—”Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” “The Life of Chuck, Rat,” and the title story “If It Bleeds”—each pulling you into intriguing and frightening places.
The novella is a form King has returned to over and over again in the course of his amazing career, and many have been made into iconic films, including “The Body” (Stand By Me) and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” (Shawshank Redemption). Like Four Past Midnight, Different Seasons, and most recently Full Dark, No Stars, If It Bleeds is a uniquely satisfying collection of longer short fiction by an incomparably gifted writer.
At eighty-five years old, Alejandro ‘Sandy’ Stern, a brilliant defense lawyer with his health failing but spirit intact, is on the brink of retirement. But when his old friend Dr. Kiril Pafko, a former Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, is faced with charges of insider trading, fraud, and murder, his entire life’s work is put in jeopardy, and Stern decides to take on one last trial.
In a case that will be the defining coda to both men’s accomplished lives, Stern probes beneath the surface of his friend’s dazzling veneer as a distinguished cancer researcher. As the trial progresses, he will question everything he thought he knew about his friend. Despite Pafko’s many failings, is he innocent of the terrible charges laid against him? How far will Stern go to save his friend, and—no matter the trial’s outcome—will he ever know the truth?
Stern’s duty to defend his client and his belief in the power of the judicial system both face a final, terrible test in the courtroom, where the evidence and reality are sometimes worlds apart. Full of the deep insights into the spaces where the fragility of human nature and the justice system collide, Scott Turow‘s The Last Trial is a masterful legal thriller that unfolds in page-turning suspense—and questions how we measure a life.
The hero of The Poet and The Scarecrow is back in the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly. Jack McEvoy, the journalist who never backs down, tracks a serial killer who has been operating completely under the radar—until now.
Veteran reporter Jack McEvoy has taken down killers before, but when a woman he had a one-night stand with is murdered in a particularly brutal way, McEvoy realizes he might be facing a criminal mind unlike any he’s ever encountered. Jack investigates—against the warnings of the police and his own editor—and makes a shocking discovery that connects the crime to other mysterious deaths across the country. Undetected by law enforcement, a vicious killer has been hunting women, using genetic data to select and stalk his targets.
Uncovering the murkiest corners of the dark web, Jack races to find and protect the last source who can lead him to his quarry. But the killer has already chosen his next target, and he’s ready to strike.
The Kennedys have always been a family of charismatic adventurers, raised to take risks and excel, living by the dual family mottos: ‘To whom much is given, much is expected’ and ‘Win at all costs.’ And they do–but at a price.
Across decades and generations, the Kennedys have occupied a unique place in the American imagination: charmed, cursed, at once familiar and unknowable. The House of Kennedy is a revealing, fascinating account of America’s most storied family, as told by America’s most trusted storyteller.
Widely regarded as the greatest all-around player in baseball history because of his unparalleled hitting, defense, and baserunning, the beloved Willie Mays offers people of all ages his lifetime of experience meeting challenges with positivity, integrity, and triumph in 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid.
Presented in 24 chapters to correspond with his universally recognized uniform number, Willie’s memoir provides more than the story of his role in America’s pastime. This is the story of a man who values family and community, engages in charitable causes especially involving children and follows a philosophy that encourages hope, hard work, and the fulfillment of dreams.
In their book Abundance, bestselling authors and futurists Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler tackled grand global challenges, such as poverty, hunger, and energy. Then, in Bold, they chronicled the use of exponential technologies that allowed the emergence of powerful new entrepreneurs. Now the bestselling authors are back with The Future Is Faster Than You Think, a blueprint for how our world will change in response to the next ten years of rapid technological disruption.
Technology is accelerating far more quickly than anyone could have imagined. During the next decade, we will experience more upheaval and create more wealth than we have in the past hundred years. In this gripping and insightful roadmap to our near future, Diamandis and Kotler investigate how wave after wave of exponentially accelerating technologies will impact both our daily lives and society as a whole. What happens as AI, robotics, virtual reality, digital biology, and sensors crash into 3D printing, blockchain, and global gigabit networks? How will these convergences transform today’s legacy industries? What will happen to the way we raise our kids, govern our nations, and care for our planet?
Diamandis, a space-entrepreneur-turned-innovation-pioneer, and Kotler, bestselling author and peak performance expert, probe the science of technological convergence and how it will reinvent every part of our lives—transportation, retail, advertising, education, health, entertainment, food, and finance—taking humanity into uncharted territories and reimagining the world as we know it.
Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, during a difficult time. Competition was more intense than ever and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company’s history. His vision came down to three clear ideas: Recommit to the concept that quality matters, embrace technology instead of fighting it, and think bigger—think global—and turn Disney into a stronger brand in international markets.
Today, Disney is the largest, most admired media company in the world, counting Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox among its properties. Its value is nearly five times what it was when Iger took over, and he is recognized as one of the most innovative and successful CEOs of our era.
This book is about the relentless curiosity that has driven Iger for forty-five years, since the day he started as the lowliest studio grunt at ABC. It’s also about thoughtfulness and respect, and a decency-over-dollars approach that has become the bedrock of every project and partnership Iger pursues, from a deep friendship with Steve Jobs in his final years to an abiding love of the Star Wars mythology.
If there is one belief that has united the left and the right, psychologists and philosophers, ancient thinkers and modern ones, it is the tacit assumption that humans are bad. It’s a notion that drives newspaper headlines and guides the laws that shape our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. Human beings, we’re taught, are by nature selfish and governed primarily by self-interest.
But what if it isn’t true? International bestseller Rutger Bregman provides new perspective on the past 200,000 years of human history, setting out to prove that we are hardwired for kindness, geared toward cooperation rather than competition, and more inclined to trust rather than distrust one another. In fact this instinct has a firm evolutionary basis going back to the beginning of Homo sapiens.
From the real-life Lord of the Flies to the solidarity in the aftermath of the Blitz, the hidden flaws in the Stanford prison experiment to the true story of twin brothers on opposite sides who helped Mandela end apartheid, Bregman shows us that believing in human generosity and collaboration isn’t merely optimistic
it’s realistic. Moreover, it has huge implications for how society functions. When we think the worst of people, it brings out the worst in our politics and economics. But if we believe in the reality of humanity’s kindness and altruism, it will form the foundation for achieving true change in society, a case that Bregman makes convincingly with his signature wit, refreshing frankness, and memorable storytelling.
A brilliant new theory of how and why some nations recover from trauma and others don’t, by the author of the landmark bestsellers Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse. In his earlier bestsellers, Jared Diamond transformed our understanding of what makes civilizations rise and fall.
Now, in the final book in this monumental trilogy, he reveals how successful nations recover from crisis through selective change—a coping mechanism more commonly associated with personal trauma. In a dazzling comparative study, Diamond shows us how seven countries have survived to define upheavals in the recent past—from US Commodore Perry’s arrival in Japan to the Soviet invasion of Finland to Pinochet’s regime in Chile—through a process of painful self-appraisal and adaptation, and he identifies patterns in the way that these distinct nations recovered from calamity.
Looking ahead to the future, he investigates whether the United States, and the world, are squandering their natural advantages, on a path towards political conflict and decline. Or can we still learn from the lessons of the past? Adding a psychological dimension to the awe-inspiring grasp of history, geography, economics, and anthropology that marks all Diamond‘s work, Upheaval reveals how both nations and individuals can become more resilient. The result is a book that is epic, urgent, and groundbreaking.
The bestselling authors of The First Conspiracy, which covers the secret plot against George Washington, now turn their attention to a little-known, but true story about a failed assassination attempt on President Lincoln
Everyone knows the story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, but few are aware of the original conspiracy to kill him four years earlier in 1861, literally on his way to Washington, D.C., for his first inauguration. The conspirators were part of a pro-Southern secret society that didn’t want an anti-slavery President in the White House. They planned an elaborate scheme to assassinate the brand new President in Baltimore as Lincoln’s inauguration train passed through en route to the Capitol.
The plot was investigated by famed detective Allan Pinkerton, who infiltrated the group with undercover agents, including one of the first female private detectives in America. Had the assassination succeeded, there would have been no Lincoln Presidency, and the course of the Civil War and American history would have forever been altered.
This is a book about TRUTH—and all the ways we try to avoid it—from the bestselling author of Humans: A Brief History of How We F*cked It All Up. We live in a “post-truth” world, we’re told. But was there ever really a golden age of truth-telling? Or have people been lying, fibbing, and just plain bullsh*tting since the beginning of time?
Tom Phillips, editor of a leading independent fact-checking organization, deals with this question every day. In Truth, he tells the story of how we humans have spent history lying to each other—and ourselves—about everything from business to politics to plain old geography. Along the way, he chronicles the world’s oldest customer service complaint, the Great Moon Hoax of 1835 and the surprisingly dishonest career of Benjamin Franklin.
Sharp, witty and with a clear-eyed view of humanity’s checkered past, Truth reveals why people lie—and how we can cut through the bullsh*t.
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Welcome to our monthly blog feature, Book Clubbin’! As most of us are still at home due to the pandemic and social distancing practices, we’re trying our best to stay busy, entertained, and most of all, connected. During this time, we encourage you to reach out to your bookish friends and see if they want to start up a virtual book club!
And if you’re thinking, “I’m busy with homeschooling, working, and so many other things right now, when do you expect me to read!?” That’s where audiobooks come in. You can pop an audiobook on in the background while you’re cooking dinner, relaxing after a long day, or while you’re taking that government-recommended afternoon stroll.
This month our Book Clubbin’ pick is The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is an important listen, that centers around a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. The story follows Elwood Curtis and his friend and fellow Nickel boy, Turner. The narrative jumps back and forth from Elwood’s time at Nickel to present day and demonstrates how one decision will echo down the decades.
This month’s pick is a quick listen, but also a devastating one. It’s one that you certainly won’t want to miss. If you’re ready to start discussing The Nickel Boys with your book club, get started with the questions below. Beware— SPOILERS ahead.
—————MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!————
1) Do you think that the racism Elwood endures before going to Nickel differs at all? If so, how?
2) Discuss the relationship Elwood has with education throughout the novel.
3) A student, Jaimie, was half-Mexican and was moved back and forth between the “white” and “colored” sections at Nickel. Why do you think Whitehead added a character of this ethnicity to the story?
4) After Elwood has his first beating how does his outlook on the school and life in general change?
5) Elwood reads about how Nickel contributes to the community. What are your thoughts about how the surrounding community is benefiting from work the Nickel boys have done? Do you see this relating to historical or modern-day practices?
6) What did you think when you found out that present day Elwood was actually Turner, who had taken on Elwood’s name to commemorate him? Are you able to separate the two characters?
7) Why do you think Elwood waited so long to tell Millie the truth about his past and true identity?
8) Who do you think was the villain in The Nickel Boys? Was it the teachers, the community, the school, or someone/something else?
9) After listening to the author’s note at the end of the book, were you surprised to learn that Nickel was based on a real “reform school” that only just closed its doors in 2011? Did this change your feelings about the novel at all?
10) At the very end of the book, roughly 50 years after his time at Nickel, Turner ends up at the Radisson in Tallahassee, which used to be the Richmond. He’s sitting in the very room Elwood used to fantasize about, although he isn’t aware he has fulfilled his friend’s wish of seeing a black person dine at the Richmond. How does this mark of progress make you feel, given all the injustices minorities continue to face today?
New to Audiobooks.com? Get your first book free, PLUS a bonus book from our VIP selection when you sign up for our one-month free trial. Digital audiobooks make audible stories come to life when you’re commuting, working out, cleaning, cooking, and more! Listening is easy with our top-rated free audiobook apps for iOS and Android, which let you download & listen to bestselling audiobooks on the go, wherever you are. Click here to get your free audiobooks!
