Tag Archives: audiobook

STAFF PICK: Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society

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Title: The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Narrator: Various narrators

Here is a book that has languished on my (incredibly long) to-be-read list for years. It’s been recommended many times; indeed, you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who has read this book and not adored it. I’m here to say that if it’s been on your to-be-read list too, then read it now. And if it wasn’t on your radar before, then skip adding it to your to-be-read list, and just dive in immediately.

The year is 1946: Britain is recovering from the Second World War and the mail service has finally been restored to the previously German-occupied Channel Island of Guernsey. Dawsey, a pig farmer turned booklover, connects with Juliet, a recently successful London author looking for a new story to tell, all thanks to the inscription inside of an old book. A lively correspondence begins, and it doesn’t take long before Juliet is exchanging letters with all of Dawsey’s best friends and neighbours, and planning a trip to the small Channel Island to visit.

What ensues is mix of delightfully quaint small-town moments mixed with sobering recollections of the horrors of war. The Occupation lasted for five years in Guernsey, and its nuances are brought to life in the most human of ways by the author’s gorgeous writing and the talents of the narration cast. Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows wrote in epistolary form, i.e. storytelling through letters, diary entries and the like. Perspectives, and therefore narration, constantly rotate depending on the letter-writer. Far from being confusing, this narrative style is utterly compelling, and in the hands of such expert voice talent, make for a sparkling listening experience.

A laugh-out-loud, heartbreakingly bittersweet modern classic, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a testament to and a celebration of the power of books.

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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STAFF PICK: Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

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Title: Unsheltered
Author: Barabara Kingsolver
Narrator: Barbara Kingsolver

Of the many books I have read in 2018, this one takes the cake. Literary without being too self-important or cerebral; long enough to completely fall in love with all the characters and short enough to be bitterly sad that it’s over; incredibly relevant to today’s political climate while managing to be timeless; full of laugh-out-loud funny moments but also poignant truisms that took my breath away. In short: an extraordinarily excellent novel.

Unsheltered centers around two families, in two different centuries, who occupied the same house in Vineland, New Jersey. The house, which is a character as much as our 21st and 19th century protagonists, is falling apart. It was beginning to in the 1880s when Thatcher Greenwood, a science teacher with a passion for Darwin, moved in with his in-laws, and it’s literally starting to crumble in 2015 when Willa Knox, a journalist thrust into a caregiver role, moves her complicated family into the historic home.

Through dual storylines told in alternating chapters, both families navigate their own personal traumas – a suicide, a miscarriage, infidelity – in the context of intense political and cultural upheaval. Thatcher struggles with a town that isn’t ready for the truth-bomb that is the Theory of Evolution but finds companionship in one of history’s real heroines of science: the botanist Mary Treat. Willa can’t comprehend the wave of nationalism overtaking America in the lead-up to the 2016 election but finds escape in researching the history of her property with the offbeat local museum curator.

Both centuries have a host of fully-developed and fabulously nuanced characters, full of quirk and charm and artfully narrated by the author herself. There’s Willa’s foul and feeble Greek father-in-law and her stubborn but saving-grace of a daughter. There’s Thatcher’s staunchly oppositional headmaster and his small-minded wife. All are brought to life, first by Barbara Kingsolver’s arresting prose, and then by her narration.

Sweeping in its scope and yet intensely personal, Unsheltered reminds us that change – large, small, welcome or dreaded – is tremendously difficult but entirely fundamental to the human experience. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Unsheltered.

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STAFF PICK: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

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Title: Nine Perfect Strangers
Author: Liane Moriarty
Narrator: Caroline Lee

How much can 10 days at a remote health resort really change you? Nine perfect strangers are about to find out when they embark on what originally sounds like a dreamy experience. It sounded dreamy to me, at least — but not for long.

In Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers, nine people gather at an Australian resort to lose those last 10 stubborn pounds, revamp their lives, and face their demons head-on. Despite being in a luxurious resort that practically oozes mindfulness and meditation, everyone is expected to put in hard work in order to return home a better version of themselves.

When Frances Welty, a formerly best-selling romance novelist arrives at Tranquillium House, she is suffering from a bad back and a broken heart. The reviews she’s read of the resort are either full of praise or threats to sue the resort for ruining their lives. With a cast of characters that have little in common besides their painful pasts and high hopes of transformation, Nine Perfect Strangers is Liane Moriarty at her best — chock-full of suspense, tension, and unwavering wit.

There’s little I love more than a book that’s so cleverly written that I struggle to press pause, and this book certainly falls into that category. In fact, I was so enthralled in the story that I sat in my driveway for an extra five minutes after my commute home because I needed to finish the chapter I was on.

Caroline Lee does a fantastic job of narrating the story and left me hanging on every word. Her Australian accent made the story more authentic, and her storytelling abilities made this tantalizing listen even more addicting.

Nine Perfect Strangers will make you question every character, relationship, interaction, and motive. Throughout the book, I questioned whether Frances’ doubts were an overreaction or whether she should’ve made a run for it, wondering what I would’ve done if I were in her position. As the characters come to realize, no one truly knows what their lives can be until they are pushed to the brink.

Nine Perfect Strangers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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October’s Top 10 Audiobooks.com Member Downloads

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

 

Fiction

1. The Reckoning by John Grisham, narrated by Michael Beck

Pete Banning was Clanton, Mississippi’s favorite son—a decorated World War II hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, father, neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church. Then one cool October morning he shot and killed his pastor and friend, the Reverend Dexter Bell.
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2. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult, narrated by Bahni Turpin, Jodi Picoult

The day starts like any other at the Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff offering care to anyone who comes. Then, in late morning, a gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage. After setting up a perimeter around the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, finds out that his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic.
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3. Juror #3 by James Patterson, Nancy Allen, narrated by Megan Tusing

The murder of a woman from one of Rosedale’s oldest families has the town’s upper crust howling for blood, and the prosecutor is counting on newcomer Ruby Bozarth’s inexperience to help him deliver a swift conviction. Ruby’s client is a college football star who has returned home after a career-ending injury, and she is determined to build a defense that will stick.
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4. Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks, narrated by Vanessa Johansson, Sean Cameron Michael

Hope Anderson is at crossroads. Looking for a break, she escapes to her family’s cottage in Sunset Beach, North Carolina to think things over. Tru Walls has never visited North Carolina but is summoned to Sunset Beach by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. When the two strangers cross paths, their connection is as electric as it is unfathomable…
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5. Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand, narrated by Erin Bennett

When Irene Steele’s husband is killed in a plane crash on the distant Caribbean island of St. John, her idyllic life is shattered. After Irene and her sons arrive at this faraway paradise, they make a shocking discovery: her husband had been living a secret life. As they untangle a web of intrigue and deceit, they have to face the truth about their family, and about their own futures.
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Non-Fiction

1. Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown, narrated by Brené Brown

When we dare to lead, we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don’t see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don’t avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it’s necessary to do good work. In Dare to Lead, Brown shows us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up and lead.
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2. 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.
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3. Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class Is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution by Tucker Carlson, narrated by Tucker Carlson

In Ship of Fools, Tucker Carlson tells the truth about the new American elites, a group whose power and wealth has grown beyond imagination even as the rest of the country has withered. The people who run America now barely interact with it. Left and right are no longer meaningful categories; rather, the rift is between those who benefit from the status quo and those who don’t.
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4. Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History by Bill O’reilly, Martin Dugard, narrated by Bill O’reilly

Killing the SS is the epic saga of the self-styled ‘Nazi hunters.’ Among them were a French husband and wife team, an American lawyer who served in the army on D-Day, a German prosecutor who had signed an oath to the Nazi Party, and a death camp survivor. Over decades, these men and women scoured the world, tracking down the SS fugitives and bringing them to justice.
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5. Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking, narrated by Ben Whishaw

Stephen Hawking not only unraveled some of the universe’s greatest mysteries but also believed science plays a critical role in fixing problems here on Earth. Now, as we face immense challenges on our planet—including climate change, the threat of nuclear war, and the development of artificial intelligence—he turns his attention to the most urgent issues facing us.
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Page to Screen in November 2018

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

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms: The Secret of the Realms by Disney Book Group, narrated by Nicola Barber
Expected release date: November 2

When Clara Stahlbaum receives a beautiful yet mysterious egg-shaped box from her late mother, she wonders what it means. Searching for answers, Clara soon finds herself in a magical world—the Four Realms—where she meets a host of colorful and curious new friends and discovers the fascinating link between the Realms and her dear mother.
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A Private War by Marie Brenner, narrated by Marie Brenner
Expected release date: November 2

In February 2012, Marie Colvin crossed into Syria on the back of a motorcycle. A veteran war correspondent known for her fearlessness, outspokenness, and signature eye patch, she was determined to report on the Syrian civil war. But she had no idea that the story she was looking for in Syria would be her last, culminating in the explosion of an improvised device that sent shock waves across the world.
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The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz, narrated by Simon Vance
Expected release date: November 9

When Blomkvist learns of a young female superhacker from a source—a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well, he turns to Lisbeth Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda. The secret they are both chasing is at the center of a tangled web of spies, cybercriminals, and governments around the world, and someone is prepared to kill to protect it…
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How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Film Adaptation: The Grinch) by Dr. Seuss, narrated by Walter Matthau
Expected release date: November 9

The Grinch, whose heart is two sizes too small, hates Who-ville’s holiday celebrations, and plans to steal all the presents to prevent Christmas from coming. To his amazement, Christmas comes anyway, and the Grinch discovers the true meaning of the holiday.
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The Road to Jonestown (TV Adaptation: Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle) by Jeff Guinn, narrated by George Newbern
Expected release date: November 17

In this riveting narrative, Jeff Guinn examines Jim Jones’s life, from his extramarital affairs, drug use, and fraudulent faith healing to the decision to move almost a thousand of his followers to a settlement in the jungles of Guyana. Guinn provides stunning new details of the events leading to the fatal day in November, 1978 when more than nine hundred people died after being ordered to swallow a cyanide-laced drink.
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My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, narrated by Hillary Huber
Expected release date: November 18

Growing up on the outskirts of Naples, Elena and Lila learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else. As they grow—and as their paths repeatedly diverge and converge—Elena and Lila remain best friends whose respective destinies are reflected and refracted in the other.
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Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham: An Agatha Raisin Mystery, by M. C. Beaton, narrated by Penelope Keith
Expected release date: November 19

The local ladies all deem Mr. John a wizard, so when Agatha Raisin finds a few grey hairs on her head, she makes a beeline for the handsome Evesham hairdresser. And as well as sorting out her hair it soon becomes clear the charming man also has designs on her heart—but their budding romance is cut short when Mr. John is fatally poisoned in his salon.
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The Front Runner by Matt Bai, narrated by Rob Shapiro
Expected release date: November 21

In May 1987, Colorado Senator Gary Hart—a dashing, reform-minded Democrat—seemed a lock for the party’s presidential nomination and led George H. W. Bush by double digits in the polls. Then, in one tumultuous week, rumors of marital infidelity and a newspaper’s stakeout of Hart’s home resulted in a media frenzy the likes of which had never been seen before.
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Wreck-It Ralph (Film Adaptation: Ralph Breaks the Internet) by Irene Trimble, Disney Press, narrated by Andrew Eiden
Expected release date: November 21

Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph is about a video game villain who wants nothing more than to be the good guy for a change. But when Ralph finally gets his chance, he discovers that being the hero isn’t as easy as it looks. Soon the entire video game world is at stake, and if Ralph doesn’t play to win, it could mean ‘Game Over’ for every game in the arcade!
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Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders by Christopher Goffard, narrated by George Newbern
Expected release date: November 25

The story of “Dirty John,” a conman who terrorized a Southern California family, wasn’t unfamiliar terrain to its writer, Christopher Goffard. Over the course of two decades at newspapers from Florida to California, Goffard has reported probingly on the shadowy, unseen corners of society. This book gathers together for the first time “Dirty John” and the rest of his very best work.
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If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin, narrated by Bahni Turpin
Expected release date: November 30

Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and is imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions—affection, despair, and hope.
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Anna and the Apocalypse by Barry Waldo, Katharine Turner, narrated by Fiona Hardingham
Expected release date: November 30

Anna Shepherd is a straight-A student with a lot going on in her life, which is why she’s looking forward to skipping town after graduation—but then a zombie apocalypse majorly disrupts the holidays season. It’s going to be very hard to graduate high school without a brain. It’s up to Anna, her friends, and her frenemies to save the day.
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STAFF PICK: Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah Mccoy

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Post by Pam Campbell

Title: Marilla of Green Gables
Author: Sarah Mccoy
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell

As I was getting ready to begin Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy for the first time and get lost in Avonlea life, I suddenly became nervous. Would this story live up to my love and appreciation for the classic Anne of Green Gables stories? What if it didn’t? (This has happened to me before and it’s heartbreaking.) Within the first few minutes of listening, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and settled in for the long haul as I knew I would listen to this book in one go.

Readers are transported back to Avonlea to meet Marilla Cuthbert at the tender age of 13, where she brings us into her life and the lives of those around her. We meet a shy,  teenaged Matthew, who wears his heart and morals on his sleeve. Miss Rachel Lynde is just as strong-willed and free-speaking as ever in her teenage years, and we finally get to know the story behind Marilla and John Blythe’s much alluded to romance. We get a glimpse into the reasons for adult Marilla’s hard exterior, but we are so lucky to see her hopes, dreams, trials, triumphs, and, most importantly, her heart as a young lady.

Sarah McCoy did a wonderful job of keeping the integrity, heart, and soul of these beloved characters. To add to this delight, Cassandra Campbell narrates the audiobook, and she does not disappoint. Her delivery of such tender sentences such as, “June arrived in a torrential downpour of sunshine,” is sure to take you back to the beautiful tone, pacing, and style of the original stories. Thankfully, McCoy has crafted many more of these captivating sentences throughout the book for Campbell to bring to life.

Marilla of Green Gables is a delightful imagining of one of literature’s greatest female characters. Anne would be so proud to see Marilla’s story come to life. It truly is a long awaited hug from a kindred spirit.

 

Marilla of Green Gables

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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!