Brace yourselves, bookworms, Halloween is going to be extra scary this year, and not just because of COVID-19 and the imminent end of the world. If you’re the type who likes to hunker down with a pile of blankets and binge-watch nothing but horror flicks in October, then you’re in luck because there’s a slew of terrifying adaptations to dive into this fall. From a classic nightmarish Stephen King tale to new takes on old scares, there are plenty of options for those looking to get their horror fix.
It’s just not a proper, spooky October if you don’t watch at least one Stephen King adaptation. Luckily, the latest adaptation of King’s bestseller The Outsider is as creepy as they come. Set in the fictional Flint City, Oklahoma, The Outsideris a classic King horror-thriller that begins with the rape and murder of an 11-year-old boy. The miniseries stars Jason Bateman as Terry Maitland, the once-beloved baseball coach accused of the crime, and Ben Mendelsohn as Ralph Anderson, the lead detective on the case, along with Cynthia Erivo and Bill Camp. Whether you already binged the series when it released back in January, or you’re just getting around to it now, October is the perfect time to dive into this nightmarish tale.
September brought the chills with the release of I’m Thinking of Ending Things. Adapted from Iain Reid’s award-winning novel of the same name, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is one heck of a psychological thriller about a man and his girlfriend who are on their way to visit his parents at a secluded farm. The adaptation features horror fan favorites Jesse Plemons as Jake and Toni Colette as Jake’s mother, with Jessie Buckley starring as “The Young Woman,” who is Jake’s girlfriend, and David Thewlis as Jake’s father.
Donald Ray Pollock’s award-winning blood-filled Southern gothic is streaming on the small screen with a star-studded cast. The adaptation, set between World War II and the Vietnam War, follows a group of sinister characters living in Ohio and West Virginia and will feature an ensemble cast including Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Jason Clarke, Riley Keough, Sebastian Stan, Eliza Scanlan, Bill Skarsgård, Mia Wasikowska, Harry Melling, and Haley Bennett.
2020 will see not one but two adaptations of Henry James’s novella, The Turn of the Screw. The first, which released earlier in the year, was a modern take on the 1898 ghost story. The second adaptation will be led by The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan and follows on the heels of the highly successful 2018 horror series. The second season, adapted as The Haunting of Bly Manor, follows a governess who, while caring for two orphans in the remote English countryside, begins to experience strange phenomenons. Among the returning cast is Victoria Pedretti, who’s swapping the role of the ill-fated Nell Crain for Dani Clayton, the American governess tasked with looking after the children.
2020 will see us all going to Manderley again with a new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier‘s 1938 gothic thriller, Rebecca, this time with Lily James taking on the role of Mrs. de Winter and Armie Hammer as her aristocratic, brooding husband, Maxim. The adaptation follows the pair of newlyweds as they begin their new life together at Maxim’s massive country estate. It is only when they arrive that Mrs. de Winter realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives—presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.
An all-new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches, the book that’s been fueling every kid’s nightmares since its release in 1983, is set to premiere on HBO Max just in time for Halloween. The Witches follows 7-year-old Luke who stumbles upon a secret coven of child-hating witches, whose plans he must put a stop to with the help of his grandmother. Anne Hathaway leads the adaptation as the evil Grand High Witch, with Octavia Spencer as Luke’s grandmother, and newcomer Jahzir Kadeem Bruno as Luke.
Hercule Poirot is back and his mustache is bigger and better than ever! This time, viewers are being whisked to Egypt where Poirot is being pulled into a murder investigation while he’s vacationing aboard a luxury cruise ship. The adaptation will see Kenneth Branagh reprising his role as the Belgian detective along with a star-studded cast featuring Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Letitia Wright, Emma Mackey, Annette Bening, Sophie Okonedo, Russell Brand, Rose Leslie, and Ali Fazal.
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Since there’s nothing better than curling up in bed with a good audiobook, we’ve created a new genre of top titles that are perfect for bedtime listening. From mindfulness and meditation lessons to hand-picked bedtime stories, there’s something for every nighttime listener. Plus, our handy sleep timer will snooze your audiobook when you snooze.
Learn more about Audiobooks.com’s sleep timer below and check out our top picks of audiobooks that will help you get a great night’s sleep.
How to use Audiobooks.com’s sleep timer
1) Open up the Audiobooks.com app
2) Navigate to the audiobook you’re listening to
3) Tap the moon icon at the bottom of the screen
4) Simply select the amount of time to play your audiobook for as you fall asleep, hit “Apply,” and the audiobook will automatically pause when your sleep timer is up
Sleep is vital for health and well-being. Sleep Well contains six different guided audio practices that have been devised specifically to help relax both body and mind and encourage restful sleep so that you wake feeling refreshed, recharged, and rejuvenated. They are to be followed at the end of the day prior to falling asleep or if you wake during the night and struggle to go back to sleep. These audios will encourage deep relaxation. By making relaxation your goal, falling asleep becomes so much easier.
Sleep Well contains “Relaxations for Sleep,” “More Relaxations for Sleep,” and “Meditations for Sleep,” all by leading yoga teacher Sue Fuller. “Relaxations for Sleep” contains two different thirty-minute guided relaxation sessions that will deeply relax your body and mind, leading you into a fantastic sleep from which you will wake feeling calm, refreshed, and revitalized. “More Relaxations for Sleep” also contains two thirty-minute guided relaxation sessions created to clear your mind, relax your whole body, and lead you into a fantastic, deep, refreshing sleep. “Meditations for Sleep” contains two thirty-minute guided meditation sessions created to help relax and clear the mind, so that the body can relax, sleep hormones will be produced, and falling asleep is achievable.
Defeat anxiety, reach deep sleep, and heal yourself with this Guided Meditations Bundle! Listen to the calm voice and beat of this 3 in 1 guided meditations bundle to heal yourself and relieve stress in a few minutes! Guided meditations play an important role when it comes to self-healing and anxiety relief practices. Listening to a soft voice guiding you through the practice is the best way to get the most out of your meditation session.
Jane, our narrator, will guide you with the calm tone of her voice, allowing you to heal yourself reaching deep levels of relaxation and relief.
Do you want to access the deepest states of relaxation?
Yoga nidra, otherwise known as “sleep of the yogis,” is an accessible meditation practice that cultivates wellbeing on multiple levels. This simple practice of guided, deep relaxation promotes deep rest.
The technique incorporates a detailed body scan with awareness placed on the breath and the sensation of relaxation, part by part. Yoga nidra helps to calm the nervous system, reduce your stress level and enhance general health.
The easiest way to accommodate a yoga nidra practice is to make it part of your daily bedtime routine as a way to help you unwind for the night. Even if you fall asleep, you’ll still receive benefits as the unconscious mind continues to absorb this powerful practice.
Yoga nidra provides you with a space to relax and fully embody your physical and subtle bodies, as well as an opportunity to let go of any long-held emotions that arise. Each of the 3 guided meditations is 20 minutes long and features three soothing background music options, enabling you to customize the meditation to your preference.
Even if you’re new to meditation, this book can help you create a life-changing practice that allows you to relax more profoundly and be more energetic and effective during your waking hours.
The Best Guided Sleep Meditation for Insomnia: Fall Asleep Fast and Get a Full Night’s Rest with Deep Relaxation Techniques by Peace Found Now is an in-depth, guided meditation designed to help anyone having trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep, or other symptoms of insomnia get the deep, refreshing sleep that we all need. This helpful audiobook features relaxation techniques, an extended guided meditation, and a dream sequence with a soothing voice and peaceful music. The techniques will completely calm and relax your mind and body so that you can get the sleep that you need. The audiobook can be used in a private setting or taken with you when you travel. You may even enjoy the guided meditation with a friend. It will always be available for your use whenever you need help falling asleep.
There are few more precious routines than that of the bedtime story. So why do we discard this invaluable ritual as grown-ups to the detriment of our well-being and good health?
In this groundbreaking anthology, Ben Holden, editor of the bestselling Poems That Make Grown Men Cry, challenges how we think about life, a third of which is spent asleep. He deftly explores not only the science of sleep but also why we endlessly tell stories—even to ourselves, as we dream.
Holden combines his own illuminating storytelling with a treasure trove of timeless classics and contemporary gems. Poems and short stories, fairy tales and fables, reveries and nocturnes—from William Shakespeare to Haruki Murakami, Charles Dickens to Roald Dahl, Rabindranath Tagore to Nora Ephron, Vladimir Nabokov to Neil Gaiman—are all woven together to replicate the journey of a single night’s sleep.
Some of today’s greatest storytellers reveal their choice of the ideal grown-up bedtime story: writers such as Margaret Drabble, Ken Follett, Tessa Hadley, Robert Macfarlane, Patrick Ness, Tony Robinson and Warsan Shire. Fold away your laptop and shut down your mobile phone. Curl up and crash out with the ultimate bedside book, one you’ll return to again and again. Full of laughter and tears, moonlight and magic, Bedtime Stories for Grown-ups joyfully provides the dream way to end the day—and begin the night.
How often do you think about your bedtime routine?
Almost half of people in Britain say they’re kept awake at night due to worry and stress—so making time to switch off in the hour before bed is more important than ever.
Penguin Sleep Tales are ten specially designed descriptive audio tales to help you wind down and relax before you drift off.
Developed with The Sleep Council, each track will transport you to a different location, encouraging you to visualise calming settings and landscapes to ease away the day’s anxiety or worry and get you in the right frame of mind for sleep.
Lie in a hammock on a tropical beach, relax by a campfire or shelter from a distant thunderstorm. These mindful tales are read slowly and soothingly, accompanied by relaxing sounds of nature.
One has been specially designed to appeal to those with Auto Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), a physical reaction to sound which can be particularly relaxing.
Create a focused, peaceful environment so you can get a deep, natural night’s sleep and wake up refreshed in the morning. The perfect de-stressor after a long day.
Each track is 15 minutes long, so you can put your sleep timer on for any duration with no need to return to the screen.
So dim the lights, and get ready for a good night’s rest.
Includes ten relaxing tales: ‘Wakarango Mai’, ‘Hammock on a Distant Shore’, ‘The Purring Temple’, ‘Pegasus in the Night Sky’, ‘Dancing Flames’, ‘A Bothy in a Storm’, ‘The Warm Smell of Hay’, ‘Travel on the Overnight Train’, ‘The Magic Bookshop’ (ASMR story) and ‘Yara’s Song’ (inspired by the Brazilian folk tale ‘The Story of Yara’).
Sir Ian McKellen reads The Valley of Fear, the last of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s four Sherlock Holmes novels. The mystery begins with a coded warning of imminent danger, drawing the illustrious Sherlock Holmes and the faithful Dr. Watson to a secluded English country home. A trail of bewildering clues leads to sleuthing in the finest Holmesian tradition and the gripping backstory of a cult that terrorized a valley in the American West. First broadcast as Book at Bedtime on BBC Radio 4.
There’s a reason psychologists and child experts suggest reading a bedtime story to your kid.
Listening to a soothing, relaxing, and fun story before you close your eyes can help you unwind faster and enjoy deeper sleep.
Are you too old to jump into your parents’ bed and ask them to read you a bedtime story? No problem!
Our Bedtime Stories for the Overwhelmed Adult: 2 in 1 Bundle includes two audiobooks for busy, stressed adults: “Bedtime Stories for Stressed Adults: Sleep Meditation Stories to Melt Stress and Fall Asleep Fast Every Night” and “Bedtime Stories for Busy Adults: Sleep Meditation Stories to Find Your Inner Calm, Fall Asleep Fast, and Wake up Energized.”
It’s time to spoil your mind, body, and soul with a generous dose of calmness and serenity.
Do you have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep?
Cure your insomnia with the best natural sleep therapy you can get. Turn on the audio and relax as the soothing ocean waves and tropical rainforest sounds of a secluded beach in Costa Rica effortlessly lull you to sleep. Each audio is the perfect 8 hours in length for the optimal night’s sleep.
Simply start the audio when going to bed and when the soothing sounds end its time to get up, it’s that simple! At the end of eight hours, you’ve achieved the perfect night’s sleep and you will feel totally rested, rejuvenated, and ready to attack the day!
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!
When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella’s side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward’s version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.
This unforgettable tale as told through Edward’s eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward’s past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?
On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand’s godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. Walking home together after the meal, they watch in horror as Stephen is knocked down and critically injured in what Gamache knows is no accident, but a deliberate attempt on the elderly man’s life.
When a strange key is found in Stephen’s possession it sends Armand, his wife Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour d’Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded, works of art.
It sends them deep into the secrets Armand’s godfather has kept for decades.
A gruesome discovery in Stephen’s Paris apartment makes it clear the secrets are more rancid, the danger far greater and more imminent, than they realized.
Soon the whole family is caught up in a web of lies and deceit. In order to find the truth, Gamache will have to decide whether he can trust his friends, his colleagues, his instincts, his own past. His own family.
For even the City of Light casts long shadows. And in that darkness devils hide.
While Eve examines a fresh body in Washington Square Park, her husband, Roarke, spots a man among the onlookers he’s known since his younger days on the streets of Dublin. A man who claims to be his half brother. A man who kills for a living—and who burns with hatred for him.
Eve is quick to suspect that the victim’s spouse—resentful over his wife’s affair and poised to inherit her fortune—would have happily paid an assassin to do his dirty work. Roarke is just as quick to warn her that if Lorcan Cobbe is the hitman, she needs to be careful. Law enforcement agencies worldwide have pursued this cold-hearted killer for years, to no avail. And his lazy smirk when he looked Roarke’s way indicates that he will target anyone who matters to Roarke…and is confident he’ll get away with it.
Eve is desperate to protect Roarke. Roarke is desperate to protect Eve. And together, they’re determined to find Cobbe before he finds them—even if it takes them across the Atlantic, far outside Eve’s usual jurisdiction…
When Mitch Rapp captures ISIS’s top technology expert, he reveals that he was on his way to meet a man who claims to have the ability to bring down America’s power grid. Rapp is determined to eliminate this shadowy figure, but the CIA’s trap fails.
The Agency is still trying to determine what went wrong when ISIS operatives help this cyber terrorist do what he said he could—plunge the country into darkness. With no concept of how this unprecedented act was accomplished, the task of getting the power back on could take months. Perhaps even years.
Rapp and his team embark on a desperate search for the only people who know how to repair the damage—the ones responsible. But his operating environment is like nothing he’s experienced before. Computers and communication networks are down, fuel can no longer be pumped from gas stations, water and sanitation systems are on the brink of collapse, and the supply of food is running out.
Can Rapp get the lights back on before America descends irretrievably into chaos?
Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.
First is Zara, a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else until tragedy changed her life. Now, she’s obsessed with visiting open houses to see how ordinary people live—and, perhaps, to send an old wrong to right. Then there’s Roger and Anna-Lena, an Ikea-addicted retired couple who are on a never-ending hunt for fixer-uppers to hide the fact that they don’t know how to fix their own failing marriage. Julia and Ro are a young lesbian couple and soon-to-be parents who are nervous about their chances for a successful life together since they can’t agree on anything. And there’s Estelle, an eighty year-old woman who has lived long enough to be unimpressed by a masked bank robber waving a gun in her face. And despite the story she tells them all, Estelle hasn’t really come to the apartment to view it for her daughter, and her husband really isn’t outside parking the car.
As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.
Bob Woodward, the #1 international bestselling author of Fear: Trump in the White House, has uncovered the precise moment the president was warned that the Covid-19 epidemic would be the biggest national security threat to his presidency. In dramatic detail, Woodward takes readers into the Oval Office as Trump’s head pops up when he is told in January 2020 that the pandemic could reach the scale of the 1918 Spanish Flu that killed 675,000 Americans.
In 17 on-the-record interviews with Woodward over seven volatile months—an utterly vivid window into Trump’s mind—the president provides a self-portrait that is part denial and part combative interchange mixed with surprising moments of doubt as he glimpses the perils in the presidency and what he calls the “dynamite behind every door.”
At key decision points, Rage shows how Trump’s responses to the crises of 2020 were rooted in the instincts, habits and style he developed during his first three years as president.
Revisiting the earliest days of the Trump presidency, Rage reveals how Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats struggled to keep the country safe as the president dismantled any semblance of collegial national security decision making.
Rage draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand witnesses as well as participants’ notes, emails, diaries, calendars and confidential documents.
Woodward obtained 25 never-seen personal letters exchanged between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who describes the bond between the two leaders as out of a “fantasy film.”
Trump insists to Woodward he will triumph over Covid-19 and the economic calamity. “Don’t worry about it, Bob. Okay?” Trump told the author in July. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get to do another book. You’ll find I was right.”
Jay Shetty, social media superstar and host of the #1 podcast On Purpose, distills the timeless wisdom he learned as a monk into practical steps anyone can take every day to live a less anxious, more meaningful life.
Shetty grew up in a family where you could become one of three things—a doctor, a lawyer, or a failure. His family was convinced he had chosen option three: instead of attending his college graduation ceremony, he headed to India to become a monk, to meditate every day for four to eight hours, and devote his life to helping others. After three years, one of his teachers told him that he would have more impact on the world if he left the monk’s path to share his experience and wisdom with others. Heavily in debt, and with no recognizable skills on his résumé, he moved back home in north London with his parents.
Shetty reconnected with old school friends—many working for some of the world’s largest corporations—who were experiencing tremendous stress, pressure, and unhappiness, and they invited Shetty to coach them on well-being, purpose, and mindfulness. Since then, Shetty has become one of the world’s most popular influencers. In 2017, he was named in the Forbes magazine 30-under-30 for being a game-changer in the world of media. In 2018, he had the #1 video on Facebook with over 360 million views. His social media following totals over 38 million, he has produced over 400 viral videos which have amassed more than 8 billion views, and his podcast, On Purpose, is consistently ranked the world’s #1 Health and Wellness podcast.
In this inspiring, empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Combining ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. He transforms abstract lessons into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve relationships, and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can—and should—think like a monk.
The former director of special events at Vogue and producer of nine legendary Met Galas, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff met Melania Knauss in 2003 and had a front row seat to the transformation of Donald Trump’s then girlfriend from a rough-cut gem to a precious diamond. As their friendship deepened over lunches at Manhattan hot spots, black-tie parties, and giggle sessions in the penthouse at Trump Tower, Wolkoff watched the newest Mrs. Trump raise her son, Barron, and manage her highly scrutinized marriage.
After Trump won the 2016 election, Wolkoff was recruited to help produce the 58th Presidential Inauguration and to become the First Lady’s trusted advisor. Melania put Wolkoff in charge of hiring her staff, organizing her events, helping her write speeches, and creating her debut initiatives. Then it all fell apart when she was made the scapegoat for inauguration finance irregularities. Melania could have defended her innocent friend and confidant, but she stood by her man, knowing full well who was really to blame. The betrayal nearly destroyed Wolkoff.
In this candid and emotional memoir, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff takes you into Trump Tower and the White House to tell the funny, thrilling, and heartbreaking story of her intimate friendship with one of the most famous women in the world, a woman few people truly understand.
How did Melania react to the Access Hollywood tape and her husband’s affair with Stormy Daniels? Does she get along well with Ivanka? Why did she wear that jacket with “I really don’t care, do u?” printed on the back? Is Melania happy being First Lady? And what really happened with the inauguration’s funding of $107 million? Wolkoff has some ideas.
No matter your goals, Atomic Habitsoffers a proven framework for improving–every day. James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you’ll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.
Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.
Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits–whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.
The bloody Battle of Tippecanoe was only the beginning. It’s 1811 and President James Madison has ordered the destruction of Shawnee warrior chief Tecumseh’s alliance of tribes in the Great Lakes region. But while General William Henry Harrison would win this fight, the armed conflict between Native Americans and the newly formed United States would rage on for decades.
In Killing Crazy Horse bestselling authors Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard venture through the fraught history of our country’s founding on already occupied lands, from General Andrew Jackson’s brutal battles with the Creek Nation to President James Monroe’s epic “sea to shining sea” policy, to President Martin Van Buren’s cruel enforcement of a “treaty” that forced the Cherokee Nation out of their homelands along what would be called the Trail of Tears. O’Reilly and Dugard take listeners behind the legends to reveal never-before-told historical moments in the fascinating creation story of America.
This fast-paced, wild ride through the American frontier will shock listeners and impart unexpected lessons that reverberate to this day.
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!
As the last of the summer heat burns up, it’s once again time for snuggling up in cozy sweaters with mugs of hot cider—but don’t bury yourself in blankets just yet! We’ve got five fall activities with the perfect audiobook pairings to get you moving, thinking, and listening.
Read on for our recommendations so you can get the most out of this gorgeous, glorious season.
Go on a bike ride
Is there a more perfect time to go biking than in the fall? It’s the perfect way to take in the changing foliage, plus the crisp, chilly air will keep you from breaking a sweat! This year, take it up a notch as you begin your ride by popping on Ruth Ware’s latest thriller, One By One, and let narrator Imogen Church transport you to a luxury ski chalet where a company retreat goes horribly wrong. Just make sure you have a long enough route planned because you won’t want to press pause on this listen!
Learn to knit
If you’re itching to pick up a new hobby, knitting is perfect for the fall season! From scarves to socks to decorative goodies, there’s no limit to what you can create with some yarn and a pair of knitting needles. Plus, if you’re ambitious, you can knock out some Christmas presents extra early. For the perfect listen to keep you entertained and motivated, pop on The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren for some lighthearted mystery filled with knitting references!
Take a scenic fall drive
As the trees change colors, going on a scenic drive is the perfect way to take in the autumn landscape. No matter if you’re driving solo or making the trip with loved ones, there’s always room for the fabulous and radiant Jonathan Van Ness! Listening to his memoir Over the Top will be like having an extra friend in the car cheering you on and giving you honest advice, which—let’s face it—we could all use from time to time. Alternatively, if you have little ones riding with you, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer is a perfect action-packed listen that the whole family will enjoy. Get lost in the world of magic and mystery in the car, then put on the movie when you get home for some bonus bonding time!
Go fruit picking
There’s nothing more relaxing than going apple picking on a crisp, fall morning. It’s the perfect way to spend some time in nature, plus you get to bring home fresh fruit for all of your baking needs. When you head to the orchard this season, put on Jay Shetty’s Think Like a Monk for lil extra mindful detox. Learn how to find your purpose and overcome negativity while you’re filling your basket with fresh goodies!
Make Halloween crafts
Fall just isn’t complete without spooky activities. Whether or not trick or treating will happen as usual this year, you can always spook-ify your home to set the mood. Pull out those carving tools and faux cobwebs and get crafting! What better audiobook to listen to than something terrifying like Riley Sager’s Home Before Dark? Transport yourself to the haunted Baneberry Hall as you transform your own home into a haunted house!
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!
Fall is finally here and with it comes pumpkins, cozy sweaters, and the biggest audiobook releases of the year!
From big-name memoirs to fresh works by beloved authors, the hottest audiobooks of the fall are going to be a real treat for your ears. No matter what you’re itching for, there’s something here for everyone. Read on for our 25 most anticipated audiobooks of fall 2020.
From the chef behind Momofuku and star of Netflix’s Ugly Delicious, Eat a Peach chronicles David Chang’s switchback path. He lays bare his mistakes and wonders about his extraordinary luck as he recounts the improbable series of events that led him to the top of his profession. He wrestles with his lifelong feelings of otherness and inadequacy, explores the mental illness that almost killed him, and finds hope in the shared value of deliciousness. Along the way, Chang gives us a penetrating look at restaurant life, in which he balances his deep love for the kitchen with unflinching honesty about the industry’s history of brutishness and its uncertain future.
In this inspiring, empowering book, Jay Shetty, social media superstar and host of the #1 podcast On Purpose, draws on his time as a monk to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Combining ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. He transforms abstract lessons into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve relationships, and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can—and should—think like a monk.
A deeply personal work about identity and belonging in a nation coming apart at the seams, Homeland Elegies blends fact and fiction to tell an epic story of longing and dispossession in the world that 9/11 made. Ayad Akhtar forges a new narrative voice to capture a country in which debt has ruined countless lives and the gods of finance rule, where immigrants live in fear, and where the nation’s unhealed wounds wreak havoc around the world. Akhtar attempts to make sense of it all through the lens of a story about one family, from a heartland town in America to palatial suites in Central Europe to guerrilla lookouts in the mountains of Afghanistan, and spares no one—least of all himself—in the process.
It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns. In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined.
The Simulmatics Corporation, launched during the Cold War, mined data, targeted voters, manipulated consumers, destabilized politics, and disordered knowledge—decades before Facebook, Google, and Cambridge Analytica. Simulmatics had a hand in everything from political races to the Vietnam War to the Johnson administration’s ill-fated attempt to predict race riots. The company’s collapse was almost as rapid as its ascent, a collapse that involved failed marriages, a suspicious death, and bankruptcy. Exposed for false claims, and even accused of war crimes, it closed its doors in 1970 and all but vanished. Until Jill Lepore, best-selling author of These Truths, came across the company’s papers in MIT’s archives and set out to tell this forgotten history, the long-lost backstory to the methods, and the arrogance, of Silicon Valley.
During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira Navárez finds an alien relic. At first she’s delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.
As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn’t at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human.
While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity’s greatest and final hope . . .
Who could have predicted that, after a fateful meeting in a Bronx summer school in the 1990s, Desus & Mero would turn their friendship into an empire of talking to each other. And it’s no surprise—tuning in to them is like listening to the funniest, smartest people you know dissect a topic and then light it on fire. Now they’ve written the most essential guide to life of this century, in which all the important questions are asked: How do I talk to my kids about drugs if I do them, too? What are the ethics of ghosting in a relationship? How do I bet on sports? How should I behave in jail? How much is too much to spend on sneakers? Is porn really that bad for me?
The quiet power of kindness can change the way we view one another, our communities, and even ourselves. Lady Gaga embodies this mission, and through her work, brings more kindness into our world every single day.
Within these chapters, you’ll meet young changemakers who found their inner strength, who prevailed in the face of bullies, who started their own social movements, who decided to break through the mental health stigma and share how they felt, who created safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth, and who have embraced kindness with every fiber of their being by helping others without the expectation of anything in return. Individually and collectively, these stories prove that kindness not only saves lives but builds community. Kindness is inclusion, it is pride, it is empathy, it is compassion, it is self-respect and it is the guiding light to love.
Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: Prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband but of a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.
As the story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures—one with her husband and daughter, the other with Wyatt and a career she long-ago abandoned—unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried with them. Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What does a life well lived look like?
Fear. Grief. Loss. Betrayal. Rachel Hollis has felt all those things. Now, she takes you to the other side. When it comes to the “hard seasons” of life—the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job—transformation seems impossible when grief and uncertainty dominate your days. Especially when, as Didn’t See that Coming reveals, no one asks to have their future completely rearranged for them. With her signature humor, heartfelt honesty and true-life stories, Rachel Hollis shares how to embrace the difficult moments in life for the learning experiences they are, and that a life well-lived is one of purpose and focused on the essentials.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver comes the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic. With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates a heroine for the ages—a character so sharply realized and so richly nuanced that she will live on in hearts and minds for generations to come.
In this scientifically informed account of the changes occurring in the world over the last century, award-winning broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough shares a lifetime of wisdom and a hopeful vision for the future. A Life on Our Planet is Attenborough’s witness statement and his vision for the future. It is the story of how we came to make this, our greatest mistake—and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right.
Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a bucolic Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens. But when a local kid whose brother has gone missing arm-twists him into investigating, Cal uncovers layers of darkness beneath his picturesque retreat, and starts to realize that even small towns shelter dangerous secrets.
Let Love Rule covers a vast canvas stretching from Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant, Los Angeles’s Baldwin Hills, Beverly Hills, and finally to France, England, and Germany. It’s the story of a wildly creative kid who, despite tough struggles at school and extreme tension at home, finds salvation in music.
Jake Brigance is back! The hero of A Time to Kill, one of the most popular novels of our time, returns in a courtroom drama that showcases #1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham at the height of his storytelling powers.
Clanton, Mississippi. 1990. Jake Brigance finds himself embroiled in a deeply divisive trial when the court appoints him attorney for Drew Gamble, a timid sixteen-year-old boy accused of murdering a local deputy. Many in Clanton want a swift trial and the death penalty, but Brigance digs in and discovers that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Jake’s fierce commitment to saving Drew from the gas chamber puts his career, his financial security, and the safety of his family on the line.
Written by veteran journalist and music critic Marcus J. Moore, this is the first biography of Kendrick Lamar. It’s the definitive account of his coming-of-age as an artist, his resurrection of two languishing genres (bebop and jazz), his profound impact on a racially fraught America, and his emergence as the bona fide King of Rap.
The Butterfly Effect is the extraordinary, triumphant story of a modern lyrical prophet and an American icon who has given hope to those buckling under the weight of systemic oppression, reminding everyone that through it all—“we gon’ be alright.”
Hope blooms anew for the Four Lands in this riveting conclusion, not only to the Fall of Shannara series but to the entire Shannara saga—a truly landmark event over forty years in the making!
As the Four Lands reels under the Skaar invasion—spearheaded by a warlike people determined to make this land their own—our heroes must decide what they will risk to save the integrity of their home. Even as one group remains to defend the Four Lands, another is undertaking a perilous journey across the sea to the Skaar homeland, carrying with them a new piece of technology that could change the face of the world forever. And yet a third is trapped in a deadly realm from which there may be no escape.
In To Hold Up the Sky, Cixin Liu takes us across time and space, from a rural mountain community where elementary students must use physicas to prevent an alien invasion; to coal mines in northern China where new technology will either save lives of unleash a fire that will burn for centuries; to a time very much like our own, when superstring computers predict our every move; to 10,000 years in the future, when humanity is finally able to begin anew; to the very collapse of the universe itself.
From Academy Award®–winning actor Matthew McConaughey comes an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction.
Group is the deliciously original debut memoir of a guarded, over-achieving, self-lacerating young lawyer, Christie Tate, who reluctantly agrees to get psychologically and emotionally naked in a room of six complete strangers. With Tate as our guide—skeptical of her own capacity for connection and intimacy, but hopeful in spite of herself—we are given a front row seat to the daring, exhilarating, painful, and hilarious journey that is group therapy—an under-explored process that breaks you down, and then reassembles you so that all the pieces finally fit.
Benson and Mike are two young guys who live together in Houston. Mike is a Japanese American chef at a Mexican restaurant and Benson’s a Black day care teacher, and they’ve been together for a few years—good years—but now they’re not sure why they’re still a couple. There’s the sex, sure, and the meals Mike cooks for Benson, and, well, they love each other.
But when Mike finds out his estranged father is dying in Osaka just as his acerbic Japanese mother, Mitsuko, arrives in Texas for a visit, Mike picks up and flies across the world to say goodbye. In Japan, Mike undergoes an extraordinary transformation, while back home Mitsuko and Benson are stuck living together as unconventional roommates.
Both men will change in ways that will either make them stronger together, or fracture everything they’ve ever known. And just maybe they’ll all be okay in the end.
Ivy Lin is a thief and a liar—but you’d never know it by looking at her. Thieving allows Ivy to accumulate the trappings of a suburban teen—and, most importantly, to attract the attention of Gideon Speyer, the golden boy of a wealthy political family. But when Ivy’s mother discovers her trespasses, punishment is swift and Ivy is sent to China.
Years later, Ivy has grown into a poised yet restless young woman, haunted by her conflicting feelings about her upbringing and her family. Back in Boston, when Ivy bumps into Sylvia Speyer, Gideon’s sister, a reconnection with Gideon seems not only inevitable—it feels like fate.
Slowly, Ivy sinks her claws into Gideon and the entire Speyer clan. But just as Ivy is about to have everything she’s ever wanted, a ghost from her past resurfaces, threatening the nearly perfect life she’s worked so hard to build.
Megan Rapinoe, Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women’s World Cup champion, has become a galvanizing force for social change; here, she urges all of us to take up the mantle, with actions big and small, to continue the fight for justice and equality
Using anecdotes from her own life and career, from suing the United States Soccer Federation alongside her teammates over gender discrimination to her widely publicized refusal to visit the White House, Rapinoe discusses the obligation we all have to speak up, and reveals the impact each of us can have on our communities.
As told by Dolly Parton in her own inimitable words, explore the songs that have defined her journey. Illustrated throughout with previously unpublished images from Dolly Parton’s personal and business archives Mining over 60 years of songwriting, Dolly Parton highlights 175 of her songs and brings readers behind the lyrics. Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics reveals the stories and memories that have made Dolly a beloved icon across generations, genders, and social and international boundaries.
The highly anticipated sequel to the beloved worldwide bestseller Ready Player One, the “ridiculously fun and large-hearted” (NPR) near-future adventure that inspired the blockbuster Steven Spielberg film.
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With every year that rolls around, many of us set personal goals with the hopes of bettering ourselves. Although, inevitably—as this year has shown us—curve balls both big and small will come along and nudge us off of our paths. That’s why author Gary Jansen created the simple but powerful method of “microshifting” to help people create significant, sustainable changes in their lives by making small, incremental adjustments. In his latest audiobook, MicroShifts, Jansen blends masterful storytelling and dozens of practical tips to help you change your life.
We got the chance to pick Jansen’s brain about his latest audiobook, the recording process, and how he stays motivated in tough times. Keep reading to find out what he had to say.
Audiobooks.com: “MicroShifts” is the idea that implementing small, daily changes can impact our lives in profound ways in the long run. What led you to develop this technique?
Gary Jansen: I wrote a book some years ago called The 15-Minute Prayer Solution (available as Exercising Your Soul from Recorded Books), which was in some ways a book about time management. There are 1440 minutes in a day. One percent of that time is 14 minutes and 24 seconds, roughly 15 minutes. I asked readers, what would happen if you dedicated your life to growing spiritually every day by setting aside 15 minutes a day for spiritual practice? Just 1% of your life. Before writing the book, I had experimented with that principle for a year. The results were transformative. MicroShiftsgrew out of that initial idea that you can make significant changes in your life by setting aside small blocks of time to do something you really want to do. All of us feel like we don’t have enough time, but we do have time. All of us can find 15 minutes a day to meditate, pray, call a friend, learn about the stock market, research healthy foods, go for a walk, paint, learn to cut an onion, clean out a closet, or take a power nap. Whether you’re a busy mom or an executive or a plumber working around the clock—everyone can find 15 minutes to do something to better their lives. I think there is something innate inside us that always wants us to strive to improve. MicroShifts aims to help others do that.
Audiobooks.com: What can readers gain from listening to the audiobook version of MicroShiftsthat they might not necessarily get from reading the print version?
Gary Jansen: I hope the humor comes through. I like to make people laugh, and I have a dry sense of humor, so sometimes people don’t know if I’m joking or being serious. As the author of the book, I know where the jokes are and how they should be delivered. Plus, I’ve been a musician for over 25 years, so intonation, tempo, and rhythm are essential. I’m hoping the writing’s musicality comes through, too, especially in the chapter about writing and Stephen King. That chapter felt like a song to me.
Audiobooks.com: You’ve been narrating your own audiobooks since 2010. What are some of the most interesting changes you have seen in the audiobook industry over the last decade?
Gary Jansen: I love the process of recording. I love being in the studio. I love getting to have fun with my voice. I’ve been a huge fan of audiobooks since the ’90s. Having worked in the publishing business, I know audiobooks struggled to find their audience for a long time. In retrospect, I guess I can see why. Audios weren’t that financially lucrative, as compared to a hardcover book or paperback sales. There wasn’t a lot of money to invest in the recordings, and sometimes that meant lackluster productions. Nowadays, audio is riding high. I know many people who no longer read print books. They only listen to audio. Plus, as an editor, I know that one way to get a bestseller is for an author to write a book for people who don’t usually read books. There are plenty of people who just don’t like to read, but they like to listen; they like to learn. Audio gives a whole new part of the population access to great books and great minds. And with this level of popularity, there’s more money to invest in the best engineers and voice talent. In the last ten years, audios have become an art form.
Audiobooks.com: How has your approach to narration changed over time?
Gary Jansen: I think I’m more conscious now than ever to the energy of lines. By this, I mean that sometimes a line should be read slowly, sometimes quickly, and sometimes naturally like a steady pulse of heartbeats. Over the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity to read in front of large audiences and be interviewed on TV. I’ve learned that if you switch up your rhythms and your tempo, you’ll keep someone’s attention better than if you stay at a steady pace. But I don’t try to force a line. The spoken line needs to be an outgrowth of the written line. I just have to try to find the energy of a word, a line, or a paragraph. That can take extra time for me when I’m practicing and preparing, but I think it makes for a better listening experience.
Audiobooks.com: During these uncertain times, many people have had to make drastic lifestyle changes. How have you used your technique of MicroShifting to stay healthy and focused during this time?
Gary Jansen: MicroShifts is a book of practical spirituality, meaning it’s a book that helps you develop your mind, body, and soul and gives you things to do. I’ve worked with author and doctor Deepak Chopra for many years, and he’s been a big influence in my life as a friend, a writer, and a mentor. Everything is connected. Case in point: All the gyms are shut down, and I miss working out with all the folks I’ve gotten to know at our local gym. I’ve been using the idea of microshifting to help me exercise at home to keep me sane. Since I only have a few dumbbells, I make small changes to the way I perform an exercise, which keeps me on my toes, and I exercise in small chunks of time throughout the day to keep me active. I’ve also taken up running during the lockdown, and I’ve used microshifts to push myself to run just a few more feet every day. Those extra steps you take add up over time. I have more energy and feel better than I have in years. When you feel better—when you aren’t distracted by pain or fear or anxiety—something changes inside you spiritually. You feel happier and focused, and when you’re happier, you treat the people around you better too. Your relationships improve, and when that happens, the world around you transforms in surprising ways.
Audiobooks.com: Do you have any advice for people who are looking to implement these daily shifts into their lives? How do you stay motivated and committed to taking 1% out of your day to making positive changes?
Gary Jansen: Staying motivated is hard, and being consistent may even be harder. Sometimes we can be overcome by feelings that drag us down. “What’s the point?” or “Why should I even try?”. Often, we feel this way because of this nasty little pest in our heads—that inner voice—that is saying things like, you’re not good enough, you’re never going to succeed, just give up. Most meditation practices will tell you to let the voice speak, allow your thoughts to move through you like they were clouds, let them pass. I’m not that patient. I want them to shut up because a lot of times, this voice in your head is just a liar. So one microshift you can do is thought replacement. If you start to doubt yourself, repeat the word love or wealth or prosperity or happiness repeatedly to drown out the voice of self-doubt. It might sound stupid or overly simple, but the reason why negative thoughts often spring up inside us is that we’ve repeated them over and over again to ourselves. We’ve allowed the voice to speak lies. So speak truth when the voice speaks lies. It’s a small thing, but in time the practice can rock your world in remarkable ways.
Audiobooks.com: Is there anything new that you’re working on that you can share with us?
Gary Jansen: I am working on a script for my memoir Holy Ghosts, which is about growing up and living in a haunted house (and is an audiobook at Recorded Books). I’ve talked with some producers over the years in Hollywood about turning Holy Ghosts into a movie. So there’s been interest. Writing a script is difficult and requires a unique skill set, but I’m using microshifts to inch my way to completion. I want Ethan Hawke to play me in the movie. I’m not only a fan of his films, but he’s a fantastic audiobook narrator. I just finished listening to him read Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums. Loved it! ∎
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!
