April’s Top 10 Audiobooks.com Member Downloads

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Michelle

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

Fiction

1. Fallen by David Baldacci, narrated by Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy

Baronville has seen four bizarre murders in just two weeks. Amos Decker and his FBI colleague Alex Jamison are in Baronville visiting Alex’s sister and her family. Decker, with his singular talents, may be the only one who can crack this bizarre case. Only this time-when one mistake could cost him everything-Decker finds that his previously infallible memory may not be so trustworthy after all.
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2. I’ve Got My Eyes On You by Mary Higgins Clark, narrated by January LaVoy

After a party when her parents are away, eighteen-year-old Kerry Dowling is found fully dressed at the bottom of the family pool. The immediate suspect is her boyfriend who had a bitter argument with her at the party. Then there is a twenty-year-old neighbor who was angry because she didn’t invite him to the party. Or is there someone else who has not yet been seen on the radar?
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3. Birthday Girl by Matthew Iden, narrated by James Anderson Foster

Eight years ago, Elliott Nash’s daughter was murdered. Since then, everything the brilliant former criminal psychologist had is a memory-his child, his career, his wife, and his home. Now he lives on the streets around Washington, DC, with only a bottomless well of guilt and nightmares to make him feel alive. Until Amy Scowcroft solicits his help.
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4. Until You’re Mine by Cindi Madsen, narrated by Alexander Cendese and C.J. Bloom

You might’ve heard of me, Shane Knox, the guy who rose quickly through the MMA fighter ranks, only to crash just as fast. I’ve finally convinced the owner of Team Domination to take a chance on me. What I didn’t bargain for is the guy’s spitfire of a daughter. The closer we get, the more I want Brooklyn. The stakes are high, and I know there’s a big chance of both of us getting hurt, but I won’t stop until she’s mine.
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5. After Anna by Lisa Scottoline, narrated by Mozhan Marno and Jeremy Bobb

Dr. Noah Alderman, a widower and single father, has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie Ippolitti. Maggie is overjoyed when she unexpectedly gets another chance to be a mother to the child she thought she’d lost forever, Anna. Maggie and Noah know that having Anna around will change their lives, but they would never have guessed that everything would go wrong, and so quickly.
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Non-Fiction

1. A Higher Loyalty by James Comey, narrated by James Comey

Former FBI director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like, and how it drives sound decisions. His journey provides an unprecedented entry into the corridors of power, and a remarkable lesson in what makes an effective leader.
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2. Cowgirl Power: How to Kick Ass in Business & Life by Gay Gaddis, narrated by Gay Gaddis

As the owner of one of the largest woman-owned advertising agencies in the U.S., Gay Gaddis knows a thing or two about empowerment. Gay‘s insights are rooted in the spirited strength of the real cowgirl heroines of the 1920s and ’30s — gutsy risk-takers in everything they did. These cowgirls are celebrated as a metaphor for the power we all have to achieve far more than we think.
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3. This Is Me by Chrissy Metz, narrated by Chrissy Metz

When This Is Us debuted, a divided America embraced a show that celebrates human connection. The critically acclaimed series became America’s most watched-and most talked about-network show. As Kate Pearson, Chrissy Metz presents a character that has never been seen on television, yet viewers see themselves in her, no matter what they look like or where they come from.
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4. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World — And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Anna R. Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Hans Rosling, narrated by Richard Harries

When asked simple questions about global trends, we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. Factfulness offers a radical new explanation of why this happens.
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5. Crushing It! How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business And Influence — And How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk, narrated by Gary Vaynerchuk, Rich Roll and Amy Schmittauer

In this lively, practical, and inspiring audiobook, Gary dissects every current major social media platform so that anyone, from a plumber to a professional ice skater, will know exactly how to amplify his or her personal brand on each. He offers both theoretical and tactical advice on how to become the biggest thing on old standbys like Instagram, podcast platforms like Spotify, and other emerging platforms.
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7 Memoirs for May

Posted on May 4, 2018 by Michelle

Dive into seven gripping memoirs that detail the lives of an innocent man who spent 30 years on death row, a veterinarian’s profound insight of our relationships with animals, a heroine of resistance, and more.

1. The Fox Hunt: A Refugee’s Memoir of Coming to America by Mohammed Al Samawi, narrated by Assaf Cohen

Born in Yemen, Mohammed Al Samawi was a devout Muslim raised to think of Christians and Jews as his enemy. But when Mohammed was 23, he received a copy of the Bible, and what he read cast doubt on everything he’d previously believed. After connecting with Jews and Christians on social media and at various international interfaith conferences, Mohammed became an activist.
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2. Manic by Terri Cheney, narrated by Coleen Marlo

On the outside, Terri Cheney was a highly successful, attractive Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer. But behind her seemingly flawless facade lay a dangerous secret-for the better part of her life Cheney had been battling debilitating bipolar disorder and concealing a pharmacy’s worth of prescriptions meant to stabilize her moods and make her “normal.”
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3. Unsuccessful Thug: One Comedian’s Journey from Naptown to Tinseltown by Mike Epps, narrated by J.D. Jackson

Growing up in “Naptown,” what people who live there really call rough-around-the-edges Indianapolis, Epps found himself forced to hustle from an early age. Despite his mother’s best efforts and the love of his siblings, Epps was drawn to a life of crime, but as he quickly discovered, stealing and dealing didn’t really fit his sweet sensibilities.
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4. My Patients and Other Animals: A Veterinarian’s Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope by Suzy Fincham-Gray, narrated by Suzy Fincham-Gray

The pursuit of a childhood dream has taken Suzy Fincham-Gray on a journey in veterinary medicine, with thousands of rewarding and emotionally challenging stories collected along the way. Like many physicians, Fincham-Gray tends to see her patients at often life-or-death moments. Her stories expand into deeper explorations of our complex, profound relationships with the animals in our lives.
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5. The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Lara Love Hardin and Anthony Ray Hinton, narrated by Bryan Stevenson

An arresting memoir of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading written by a man who spent 30 years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder. He knew that it was a case of mistaken identity, but with an incompetent defense attorney and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, he was sentenced to death.
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6. Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead–My Life Story by Cecile Richards, narrated by Cecile Richards

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund for more than a decade, featured speaker at the Women’s March on Washington, and a “heroine of the resistance” (Vogue), comes a story about learning to lead and make change, based on a lifetime of fighting for women’s rights and social justice.
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7. You All Grow Up and Leave Me: A Memoir of Teenage Obsession by Piper Weiss, narrated by Brittany Pressley

Piper Weiss was 14-years-old when her middle-aged tennis coach, Gary Wilensky, killed himself after a failed attempt to kidnap one of his teenage students. In the aftermath, authorities discovered that this well-known figure among the Upper East Side tennis crowd was actually a frightening child predator who had built a secret torture chamber – a “Cabin of Horrors”- in his secluded rental in the Adirondacks.
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STAFF PICK: The Life List of Adrian Mandrick

Posted on May 4, 2018 by Emma

Title: The Life List of Adrian Mandrick
Author: Chris White
Narrator: David Aaron Baker

Love, obsession, addiction. Bird-lover Adrian Mandrick is always experiencing all three, which together make a perfect storm. When his estranged mother leaves him a voicemail, a domino effect of poor decisions throws Adrian’s life into disarray. Attempting to drown the emotions in the drugs he prescribes, Adrian numbly meanders along, missing family events, and disrupting a life he loves.

Throughout the story I struggled between sympathy and contempt for the main character, who has kind intentions but allows himself to fall back on his addiction. His constant high means he isn’t completely present anywhere, except for when working on his life list – a collection of birds he’s spotted over his lifetime. It’s a thoughtful novel that highlights the fragility of human relationships and how someone else’s decisions could impair the rest of your life.

I enjoyed the narration by David Aaron Baker, whose calm and matter-of-fact tone contributed some stability in a story that was otherwise spiraling out of control.

If you’re in the mood for a book that will provide a different perspective, I recommend this listen. It’s a touching story told from an addict who otherwise has a seemingly wonderful life. It’s thought-provoking and reinforces the importance of gratitude.

STAFF PICK: Educated by Tara Westover

Posted on April 27, 2018 by Michelle

Title: Educated: A Memoir
Author: Tara Westover
Narrator: Julia Whelan

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love coming-of-age memoirs almost as much as air. Reminiscent of one of my all-time favorites, The Glass Castle, Educated is a perfect example of the power of curiosity, ambition, and education.

Kept out of school by her survivalist family, Tara Westover didn’t experience her first day of school until she was 17-years-old. Growing up in the Idaho mountains, she spent her childhood preparing for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned goods, stewing herbs, salvaging metal, and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills” bag. Four out of the seven Westover children don’t have birth certificates. None of them have medical or school records, as the children were all born at home and rely on natural medicine made by Tara’s mother, courtesy of her father’s distrust in modern medicine.

After one of her brothers goes to college and returns armed with stories of the outside world, Tara was inspired to teach herself enough math, grammar, and science to get herself into Brigham Young University, eventually earning a PhD from Cambridge University. It was here that she learned about major world events like the Holocaust and Civil Rights Movement, but not without shock, judgement, and curiosity from her peers.

Tara’s storytelling abilities, beautiful and vivid, are powerful enough to make me feel as though I’ve met the characters and been to the locations in a dream:

my father was not a tall man, but he was able to command a room. he had a presence about him, the solemnity of an oracle. his hands were thick and leathery — the hands of a man who’d been hard at work all his life — and they grasped the bible firmly.

Narrator Julia Whelan does an excellent job of embracing the author’s thirst for knowledge, zest for life, and struggle to adapt to a new life while realizing that maybe you can’t truly go home again.

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Perfect Audiobooks for Friday the 13th

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Michelle

This Friday the 13th, let the hair on the back of your neck stand a little taller with seven new horror and thriller audiobooks.

1. The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian, narrated by Mark Deakins, Erin Spencer and Grace Experience

When Cassandra Bowden awakes in a Dubai hotel room, she tries to piece the previous night back together, counting the minutes until she has to catch her crew shuttle to the airport. She quietly slides out of bed and looks at the man she spent the night with. She sees his dark hair. His utter stillness. And blood, a slick, still wet pool on the crisp white sheets. Afraid to call the police, Cassie begins to lie.
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2. Drifters by John L. Campbell, narrated by Richard Ferrone

The survivors of the Omega Virus make a desperate effort to find the living. But the walking dead aren’t done with them yet. Helicopter pilot Vladimir Yurish is a man of his word. The last thing he wants is to abandon the safety of the U.S.S. Nimitz and his newly adopted son Ben. Still, a promise is a promise, no matter how close to death it brings him.
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3. The Terminal List by Jack Carr, narrated by Ray Porter

A Navy SEAL has nothing left to live for and everything to kill for after he discovers that the American government is behind the deaths of his team in this ripped-from-the-headlines political thriller. On his last combat deployment, Lieutenant Commander James Reece’s entire team was killed in a catastrophic ambush that also claimed the lives of the aircrew sent in to rescue them.
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4. The French Girl by Lexie Elliott, narrated by Katharine McEwan

They were six university students from Oxford – friends and sometimes more than friends – spending an idyllic week together in a French farmhouse. It was supposed to be the perfect summer getaway… until they met Severine, the girl next door. There are some things you can’t forgive. And there are some people you can’t forget… like Severine, who was never seen again.
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5. Fifty Fifty by James Patterson and Candice Fox, narrated by Federay Holmes

What are the chances that convicted killer Sam Blue is innocent of the serial murders of three young women? Determined to clear his name, Detective Harriet Blue reassigns to a remote town where a found diary reveals a murderous plan. The clock is already ticking. Meanwhile, back in the city, a young woman holds the key to crack Harriet’s brother’s case wide open. If only she could escape the madmen holding her hostage.
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6. The Clarity by Keith Thomas, narrated by Robin Eller

Psychologist Matilda Deacon must protect 11-year old Ashanique, whose memory of past lives makes them both targets. When Ashanique claims to harbor the memories of the last soldier killed in World War I, Matilda is skeptical. But when she talks about being chased by the Night Doctors – a term also used by an unstable patient who was later found dead – Matilda realizes she may be telling the truth.
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7. Caribbean Rim by Randy Wayne White, narrated by George Guidall

Murder, sunken treasure, and pirates send Doc Ford on a nightmare quest in the thrilling new novel in the New York Times-bestselling series. Marine biologist Doc Ford’s been known to help his friends out of jams occasionally, but he’s never faced a situation like this. Greed makes people do terrible things: rob, cheat, even kill. With stakes this high, there’s no way anyone will go quietly.
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STAFF PICK: Only Child by Rhiannon Navin

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Michelle

Title: Only Child
Author: Rhiannon Navin
Narrator: Kivlighan De Montebello

First grader Zach Taylor’s school is the latest to be flocked by reporters and thrown into the headlines for the most devastating reason: it has been added to the long list of school shootings in the United States. Told from the perspective of a six-year-old boy facing trauma and loss, Only Child could easily and heartbreakingly pass as non-fiction.

Crammed in a coat closet that smells like pee and his teacher’s coffee breath, six-year-old Zach and his classmates listen to gunshots firing through the halls of their school. A gunman entered the building, taking 19 young lives and forever changing the once peaceful community and Taylor family. Growing up far faster than any child should, Zach is a stunning example of the wisdom, optimism, and forgiveness of children that is so often forgotten as we age.

In the aftermath of tragedy, the Taylor family struggles to cope. Zach’s mother focuses on pursuing justice against the shooter’s parents, holding them accountable for the pain their son caused, despite backlash from the community, while his father is more distant than ever. As Zach’s world begins to crumble around him, he loses himself in a magical world of books and art that help lead him, and the adults in his life, on a path of healing and forgiveness.

The author’s ability to storytell from the perspective of a six-year-old boy is striking. Rhiannon Navin dug so deep in subtle, aching ways that I found myself pausing it for the sake of gathering myself. What made the story even more compelling was the narration by young actor Kivlighan De Montebello, who perfectly portrays Zach and made me even more emotionally invested in the story. While I always prefer listening to audiobooks over print, I strongly encourage anyone interested in Only Child to listen to it in audio in order to get the most powerful experience.

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April’s Top 10 Audiobooks.com Member Downloads

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