Page to Screen in October 2018

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Lena Yang

Going to the movies this October? Get the best experience by listening to the books they were based on before seeing the film adaptations.

1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, narrated by Bahni Turpin
Expected release date: October 5, 2018 (limited)

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Read more and sample the audio.

2. Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey through His Son’s Meth Addiction by David Sheff, narrated by Anthony Heald
Expected release date: October 12

Before meth, David Sheff’s son, Nic, was a varsity athlete, honor student, and award-winning journalist. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole money from his eight-year-old brother, and lived on the streets. With poignant candor, Sheff traces the first warning signs—denial, 3 a.m. phone calls—the attempts at rehabilitation, and, at last, the way past addiction.
Read more and sample the audio.

3. First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen, narrated by Jeremy Bobb
Expected release date: October 12

When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon’s surface in 1969, the first man on the Moon became a legend. Based on over fifty hours of interviews with Lance Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive access to private documents and family sources, this “magnificent panorama of the second half of the American twentieth century” is an unparalleled biography of an American icon.
Read more and sample the audio.

4. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, narrated by Bernadette Dunne
Expected release date: October 12

Four seekers have come to the ugly, abandoned old mansion. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable noises and self-closing doors, but Hill House is gathering its powers and will soon choose one of them to make its own.
Read more and sample the audio.

5. Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Memoirs of a Literary Forger by Lee Israel, narrated by Jane Curtin
Expected release date: October 19

In 1990, Lee Israel made a bold and irreversible career change: inspired by a letter she’d received once from Katharine Hepburn, and armed with her considerable skills as a researcher and celebrity biographer, she began to forge letters in the voices of literary greats. Between 1990 and 1991, she wrote more than three hundred letters and sold the forgeries to memorabilia and autograph dealers.
Read more and sample the audio.

6. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat, narrated by Samin Nosrat
Expected release date: October 19

In the tradition of The Joy of Cooking and How to Cook Everything comes Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, an ambitious new approach to cooking by a major new culinary voice. By explaining the hows and whys of good cooking, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat will teach and inspire a new generation of cooks how to confidently make better decisions in the kitchen and cook delicious meals with any ingredients, anywhere, at any time.
Read more and sample the audio.

New to Audiobooks.com? Get a free audiobook 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 audiobook!

STAFF PICK: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman

Posted on October 1, 2018 by admin

Post by Laura Laidman

Title: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
Author: Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman
Narrator: Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman

Hollywood marriages are rarely ones that people would consider long lasting, inspirational, or ‘great love stories’, but Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman have never been the type to follow trends. From their May-December partnership (Mullally is 12 years older than Offerman), to their courtship while she was an Emmy Award winning superstar on Will & Grace and he was sleeping in a friend’s unfinished basement and struggling for work, they’ve trumped the expectations society has put on Hollywood stars, and on love itself.

In The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, Mullally and Offerman dissect their marriage, careers, childhoods, passions, and what makes them work as a unit. Both are known for being hilarious scene stealers in two outrageously funny sitcoms (Will & Grace and Parks & Rec, respectively), as well as their many guest appearances in other shows that always capture an audience’s attention. As a team, they play off each other’s humor brilliantly, and listening along with their back and forth had me laughing in the car all the way to work each day.

Unlike most traditional books, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told is an open dialogue between our two narrators rather than a structured linear timeline of their courtship and relationship. Mullally and Offerman go off on tangents, sing songs, side bar, and tease each other (and the listener) in a playful, sweet way that comes with the intimate knowledge of nearly two decades together. Intercut between topics such as family life, having kids, acting, and music are solo chapters more akin to traditional biographical works, where Offerman shares his personal histories and views on his life in Hollywood, and his devoted love for his wife, and a few from Mullally exploring her eccentric childhood, career, and aging in Hollywood.

This was easily the most fun I’ve had listening to an audiobook, and I had to pause several times simply because I was missing chunks of the story because I was laughing too hard. Even with the laughter, sidebarsm, and tangents, at the heart of the book are two people who are very much in love after 18 years together in Hollywood. And that is pretty inspirational.

September’s Top 10 Audiobooks.com Member Downloads

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Lena Yang

Listen to last month’s roundup of the top fiction and non-fiction titles downloaded by Audiobooks.com members.

Fiction

1. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, narrated by Lynn Chen

When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn’t know is she will soon be initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination. Read more and sample the audio.

2. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, narrated by Cassandra Campbell

In late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl who haunts Barkley Cove. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens. Read more and sample the audio.

3. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, narrated by Ann Marie Lee

Reporter Camille Preaker must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her mother or to the half-sister she barely knows. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming. Read more and sample the audio.

4. A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell, narrated by Xe Sands, Andi Arndt, Matthew Waterson

It starts with a simple favor. When her best friend, Emily, asks Stephanie to pick up her son Nicky after school, she happily says yes. But, when Emily doesn’t come back from her high-demand job in Manhattan, Stephanie knows something is wrong. Then, she receives shocking news. Emily is dead. The nightmare of her disappearance is over.
Or is it? Read more and sample the audio.

5. Texas Ranger by James Patterson, narrated by Christopher Ryan Grant

Across the ranchlands and cities of his home state, Rory Yates’s discipline and law-enforcement skills have carried him far: from local highway patrolman to the honorable rank of Texas Ranger. He arrives in his hometown to find a horrifying crime scene and a scathing accusation: he is named a suspect in the murder of his ex-wife, Anne. Read more and sample the audio.

Non-Fiction

1. Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward, narrated by Robert Petkoff

Bob Woodward reveals in unprecedented detail the harrowing life inside President Donald Trump’s White House and precisely how he makes decisions on major foreign and domestic policies. Woodward draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, files, and documents. Read more and sample the audio.

2.The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson, narrated by Roger Wayne

In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be “positive” all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people. With academic research and well-timed poop jokes, Manson argues that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Read more and sample the audio.

3. In Pieces by Sally Field, narrated by Sally Field

Sally Field has stunned audiences time and time again with her artistic range and emotional acuity. Yet there is one character who always remained hidden: the shy and anxious little girl within. With raw honesty and the fresh, pitch-perfect prose of a natural-born writer, Field brings readers behind-the-scenes of her life and career. Read more and sample the audio.

4. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Leif Babin, Jocko Willink, narrated by Jocko Willink, Leif Babin

Leif Babin and Jocko Willink, two U.S. Navy SEAL officers who led the most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War, demonstrate how to apply powerful leadership principles from the battlefield to business and life. Read more and sample the audio.

5. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari, narrated by Derek Perkins

Yuval Noah Harari’s 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a probing and visionary investigation into today’s most urgent issues as we move into the uncharted territory of the future. Harari addresses the challenge of navigating life in the face of constant and disorienting change and raises the important questions we need to ask ourselves in order to survive. Read more and sample the audio.

7 Audiobooks for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Michelle

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, listen to inspiring stories about the trials and triumphs of breast cancer patients.

1. The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs, narrated by Kirby Heyborne and Cassandra Campbell

Nina Riggs was just thirty-seven years old when initially diagnosed with breast cancer-one small spot. Within a year, the mother of two sons, ages seven and nine, and married sixteen years to her best friend, received the devastating news that her cancer was terminal. How does one live each day, “unattached to outcome”? How does one approach the moments, big and small, with both love and honesty?
Read more and sample the audio.

2. The Bucket List by Georgia Clark, narrated by Lauren Ezzo

Twenty-five-old Lacey Whitman is blindsided when she’s diagnosed the “breast cancer” gene. Her high risk forces a decision: increased surveillance or a double mastectomy. Lacey doesn’t want to lose her breasts. To help make her choice, she creates a “boob bucket list:” everything she wants do with and for her boobs before a possible surgery, kicking off a year of sensual exploration and sexual entertainment.
Read more and sample the audio.

3. Faded Photo by Sarah Price, narrated by Tanya Eby

Frances Snyder can never quite get her mother’s voice out of her head. How to be the perfect wife. The perfect mother. Frances’s home life is demanding, and while she’s busy seeing to everyone else’s needs, Frances doesn’t have the luxury of spare time. So when she is diagnosed with breast cancer, she thinks that she can handle it on her own. Dealing with endless tests, brutal chemotherapy, and the looming specter of surgery, Frances chooses to face cancer on her own terms: alone. That is, until she finally understands that unexpected friendship—and unconditional love—can offer hope in the darkest hours.
Read more and sample the audio.

4. Bald is Better with Earrings by Andrea Hutton, narrated by Andrea Hutton

When Andrea Hutton was diagnosed with breast cancer, she wanted to know everything. She read books, articles, surfed websites, and talked to everyone she knew. But nothing prepared her for the surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. What she really wanted was something she could not find: a clear how-to guide for the Cancer Girl she had become.
Read more and sample the audio.

5. Twisting Fate by Pamela N. Munster, narrated by Eliza Foss

A leading oncologist at the University of California-San Francisco, Dr. Pamela Munster has advised thousands of women on how to deal with the life-altering diagnosis of breast cancer. But when she got a call saying that her own mammogram showed ‘irregularities,’ she found herself experiencing a whole new side of the disease she thought she was an expert in.
Read more and sample the audio.

6. Everybody’s Got Something by Veronica Chambers and Robin Roberts, narrated by Robin Roberts

Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts‘ memoir recounts the incredible journey of her life so far. With heart and humor, she writes about overcoming breast cancer only to learn five years later that she will need a bone marrow transplant, the grief and heartbreak she suffered when her mother died, her triumphant return to work after her medical leave, and the support of her family and friends.
Read more and sample the audio.

7. Best Friends Forever by Kimberla Lawson Roby, narrated by Maria Howell

Things are falling apart for the Richardson’s. Fights between Celine and her husband have become routine, and she worries how her young daughter will be affected. But the situation turns devastating when Celine is diagnosed with breast cancer. As her marriage deteriorates, support comes in the form of her best friend, Lauren, and she is forced to make tough decisions — about her marriage and otherwise.
Read more and sample the audio.

6 Horror Audiobooks Scarier than the Movies

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Michelle

Looking for a surefire way to get spooked this Halloween? These page to screen adaptations will trick and treat.

1. The Shining by Stephen King, narrated by Campbell Scott

Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote… and sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.
Read more and sample the audio.

2. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, narrated by William Peter Blatty and Eliana Shaskan

Summoned to a case of apparent possession, Father Karras is skeptical at first — then horrified. The victim, a 12-year-old named Regan, seems to be controlled by a malignant supernatural force that makes her swear, blaspheme, scream, and perform appalling acts. With his faith in God and humanity tested to the limit, Karras turns to the ultimate solution: exorcism.
Read more and sample the audio.

3. Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin, narrated by Mia Farrow

She is a housewife: young, healthy, and blissfully happy. He is an actor: charismatic and ambitious. Their spacious, sun-filled apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side is their dream home, which turns into an unspeakable nightmare. Enter the chilling world of Ira Levin, where terror is as near as your new neighbors and where evil wears the most innocent face of all.
Read more and sample the audio.

4. Psycho by Robert Bloch, narrated by Paul Michael Garcia

It was a dark and stormy night when Mary Crane glimpsed the unlit neon sign announcing the vacancy at the Bates Motel. Exhausted, lost, and at the end of her rope, she was eager for a hot shower and a bed for the night. Her room was musty, but clean, and the manager seemed nice, if a little odd. Norman Bates, the reserved motel manager with a mother complex, and has been called the “first psychoanalytic thriller.”
Read more and sample the audio.

5. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, narrated by Thomas Harris

A serial killer stalking women has a purpose, although no one can fathom it. Clarice Starling, a young trainee at the FBI Academy, is assigned to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who is kept under close watch in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Dr. Lecter is a former psychiatrist with a grisly history. His understanding of the killer, and of Clarice, form the crux of this brilliant, horrifying tale.
Read more and sample the audio.

6. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, narrated by David Rintoul

An experiment goes horribly wrong, and the monster swears revenge on his creator. Swiss student Victor Frankenstein uncovers the secret to bringing life to what is lifeless, and in assembling body parts to create a monster, ultimately sets the stage for his own destruction and that of everything he loves when the monster is rejected by society.
Read more and sample the audio.

STAFF PICK: A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

Posted on September 27, 2018 by admin

Post by Pam Campbell

Title: A Spark of Light
Author: Jodi Picoult
Narrator: Jodi Picoult and Bahni Turpin

We begin at the end in Jodi Picoult’s latest mesmerizing audiobook, A Spark of Light. It speaks to her storytelling abilities that we’re able to follow along in reverse. The theme of the audiobook is controversial, but her writing is in top form. To be honest, I am at a loss as to where to begin this review. Trying to keep my personal beliefs about this topic to myself and simply review the story line, characters, writing, and world that Picoult has created is difficult. I’m going to borrow her method and start with how I normally end a review and work my way backwards.

At the heart of this story is a woman’s right to make decisions with regards to her body; her self; her worth. What Picoult brings to this sensitive subject is a somewhat balanced view of individuals on either side of the pro-life vs. pro-choice debate. Bahni Turpin does a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life and enhances the heightened atmosphere created by Picoult.

Exploring every aspect of women’s health and how it can affect those around us, Picoult takes a private matter and shines a light on how it becomes a public matter, exposing the raw emotions of why this topic is so provocative, and why there are such extreme opinions.

A Spark of Light is fast-paced, which made it difficult to press pause. Every chapter represents an hour in time on the fateful day when a women’s health center is held hostage. We are immediately taken to the end of the day and the end of the hostage situation. We are introduced to the survivors in disbelief, and to Hugh McElroy, the hostage negotiator and father of 15-year-old Wren, a hostage in the center.

The end unfolds before us, before we have bonded with the characters, before we know their motives. And it works. I was immediately invested in knowing how this came to pass. I wanted to know more about Wren, Hugh, Janine, Dr. Ward, Joy, Aunt Bex, and George. A Spark of Light begins like a newscast interrupting your daily programming to bring you a breaking story. It is a story that needs to be told and one that Picoult expertly delves into with passion, respect, and conviction.

Tag Archives: audio

Page to Screen in October 2018

September’s Top 10 Audiobooks.com Member Downloads

audiobooks_com