Tag Archives: audiobooks

6 Audiobooks That Will Whisk You Away to France

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As life slowly returns to normal and we start daydreaming about travelling again, I’m willing to bet France will be high on a lot of people’s bucket lists—and who can blame them? From dreamy architecture to the country’s storied history, there’s something worth exploring for every type of traveller. For those who simply can’t wait to hop on a plane, let these audiobooks set in France tide you over and satisfy the wanderlust in you!


All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams, Karen White, and Lauren Willig, narrated by Nicola Barber, Saskia Maarleveld, Helen Sadler

Publisher Summary:

The heiress . . .
The Resistance fighter . . . 
The widow . . .
Three women whose fates are joined by one splendid hotel

France, 1914. As war breaks out, Aurelie becomes trapped on the wrong side of the front with her father, Comte Sigismund de Courcelles. When the Germans move into their family’s ancestral estate, using it as their headquarters, Aurelie discovers she knows the German Major’s aide de camp, Maximilian Von Sternburg. She and the dashing young officer first met during Aurelie’s debutante days in Paris. Despite their conflicting loyalties, Aurelie and Max’s friendship soon deepens into love, but betrayal will shatter them both, driving Aurelie back to Paris and the Ritz- the home of her estranged American heiress mother, with unexpected consequences.

France, 1942. Raised by her indomitable, free-spirited American grandmother in the glamorous Hotel Ritz, Marguerite “Daisy” Villon remains in Paris with her daughter and husband, a Nazi collaborator, after France falls to Hitler. At first reluctant to put herself and her family at risk to assist her grandmother’s Resistance efforts, Daisy agrees to act as a courier for a skilled English forger known only as Legrand, who creates identity papers for Resistance members and Jewish refugees. But as Daisy is drawn ever deeper into Legrand’s underground network, committing increasingly audacious acts of resistance for the sake of the country-and the man-she holds dear, she uncovers a devastating secret . . . one that will force her to commit the ultimate betrayal, and to confront at last the shocking circumstances of her own family history.

France, 1964. For Barbara “Babs” Langford, her husband, Kit, was the love of her life. Yet their marriage was haunted by a mysterious woman known only as La Fleur. On Kit’s death, American lawyer Andrew “Drew” Bowdoin appears at her door. Hired to find a Resistance fighter turned traitor known as “La Fleur,” the investigation has led to Kit Langford. Curious to know more about the enigmatic La Fleur, Babs joins Drew in his search, a journey of discovery that that takes them to Paris and the Ritz-and to unexpected places of the heart.

Read more and sample the audio →


The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant, narrated by John Lee and Ajjaz Awad

Publisher Summary:

Les Misérables meets Six of Crows in this page-turning adventure as a young thief finds herself going head to head with leaders of Paris’s criminal underground in the wake of the French Revolution.

In the violent urban jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, the French Revolution has failed and the city is divided between merciless royalty and nine underworld criminal guilds, known as the Court of Miracles. Eponine (Nina) Thénardier is a talented cat burglar and member of the Thieves Guild. Nina’s life is midnight robberies, avoiding her father’s fists, and watching over her naïve adopted sister, Cosette (Ettie). When Ettie attracts the eye of the Tiger—the ruthless lord of the Guild of Flesh—Nina is caught in a desperate race to keep the younger girl safe. Her vow takes her from the city’s dark underbelly to the glittering court of Louis XVII. And it also forces Nina to make a terrible choice—protect Ettie and set off a brutal war between the guilds, or forever lose her sister to the Tiger.

Read more and sample the audio →


Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, narrated by Imani Jade Powers

Publisher Summary:

As sweet as a macaron from Laduree, with writing as crisp as a freshly baked baguette, this romantic novel set in Paris about an American ballerina and a charming French boy is parfait for fans of American Royals and Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Mia Jenrow has always known she’s destined to be a professional ballerina. In fact, it’s in her blood—according to family legend, her too-many-greats-to-count-grandmother once danced for the Paris Opera and was painted by Degas himself! Her parents say it’s just a fantasy, but to Mia it’s so much more than that. It’s her fate.

Mia is planning to spend a magical summer in France pursuing her dream, but as she pirou-ettes into Paris, she soon realizes it may be a bit more complicated than she hoped. For starters, there’s her rival, Audrey, who will stop at nothing to show her up. There’s her ballet instructor, whose impossibly high standards push her to the breaking point. And then . . . there’s Louis. Devastatingly, distractingly charming Louis. He’s eager to show Mia his city—and Mia is more than happy to hop on his Vespa and wrap her arms around him as they pass the gleaming lights of the Eiffel Tower.

Mia’s summer was supposed to be about ballet—but there’s a reason Paris is called the City of Love.

Read more and sample the audio →


Three Hours in Paris by Cara Black, narrated by Elisabeth Rodgers

Publisher Summary:

In June of 1940, when Paris fell to the Nazis, Hitler spent a total of three hours in the City of Light—abruptly leaving, never to return. To this day, no one knows why.

The New York Times bestselling author of the Aimée Leduc investigations reimagines history in her masterful, pulse-pounding spy thriller, Three Hours in Paris.

Kate Rees, a young American markswoman, has been recruited by British intelligence to drop into Paris with a dangerous assignment: assassinate the Führer. Wrecked by grief after a Luftwaffe bombing killed her husband and infant daughter, she is armed with a rifle, a vendetta, and a fierce resolve. But other than rushed and rudimentary instruction, she has no formal spy training. Thrust into the red-hot center of the war, a country girl from rural Oregon finds herself holding the fate of the world in her hands. When Kate misses her mark and the plan unravels, Kate is on the run for her life—all the time wrestling with the suspicion that the whole operation was a set-up.

Cara Black, doyenne of the Parisian crime novel, is at her best as she brings Occupation-era France to vivid life in this gripping story about one young woman with the temerity—and drive—to take on Hitler himself.

Read more and sample the audio →


Paris is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay, narrated by Brittany Pressley

Publisher Summary:

A thirty-year-old woman retraces her gap year through Ireland, France, and Italy to find love—and herself—in this hilarious and heartfelt novel.

It’s been seven years since Chelsea Martin embarked on her yearlong postcollege European adventure. Since then, she’s lost her mother to cancer and watched her sister marry twice, while Chelsea’s thrown herself into work, becoming one of the most talented fundraisers for the American Cancer Coalition, and with the exception of one annoyingly competent coworker, Jason Knightley, her status as most successful moneymaker is unquestioned.

When her introverted mathematician father announces he’s getting remarried, Chelsea is forced to acknowledge that her life stopped after her mother died and that the last time she can remember being happy, in love, or enjoying her life was on her year abroad. Inspired to retrace her steps—to find Colin in Ireland, Jean Claude in France, and Marcelino in Italy—Chelsea hopes that one of these three men who stole her heart so many years ago can help her find it again. 

From the start of her journey nothing goes as planned, but as Chelsea reconnects with her old self, she also finds love in the very last place she expected.

Read more and sample the audio →


The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross, narrated by Jim Dale

Publisher Summary:

A luxuriously magical retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in seventeenth-century France—and told from the point of view of the Beast himself.

I am neither monster nor man—yet I am both. I am the Beast.

He is a broken, wild thing, his heart’s nature exposed by his beastly form. Long ago cursed with a wretched existence, the Beast prowls the dusty hallways of his ruined château with only magical, unseen servants to keep him company—until a weary traveler disturbs his isolation.

Bewitched by the man’s dreams of his beautiful daughter, the Beast devises a plan to lure her to the château. There, Isabeau courageously exchanges her father’s life for her own and agrees to remain with the Beast for a year. But even as their time together weaves its own spell, the Beast finds winning Isabeau’s love is only the first impossible step in breaking free from the curse…

Read more and sample the audio →

Looking for Book Recommendations?

• Here are the audiobooks our members have been loving, along with our staff picks that we’ve been championing.

• Looking to share your love of books? Our handy Book Clubbin’ questions make it super easy to start a book club. Or, Netflix n’ buddy-read with this year’s book-to-screen adaptations (just be prepared for the perennial debate: is the book better than the movie/show?).

• If you’re looking for something extra, we’ve got author and narrator interviews to give you a gleam inside their worlds.

• For the curious-minded, audiobooks can teach you a thing or two, from nature therapy to personal finance. It can even keep the little ones busy so you can steal some time back for yourself.

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!


Interview with ‘Soar, Adam, Soar’ author, Rick Prashaw and narrator, John Dickhout

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After an epilepsy-related accident tragically ended Adam Prashaw’s young life, he left a legacy of changed lives and a trove of social media posts documenting his life as a transgender man, his relationships, and his everyday ups and downs. In Soar, Adam, Soar, his father, Rick Prashaw, retells Adam’s story alongside his son’s own words. And in the audiobook edition, John Dickhout brings the book to life with an emotional intensity only possible thanks to his incredible connection to the family: John was the recipient of Adam’s heart via organ donation after Adam’s untimely death.

*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Listen in full to the complete interview by playing the video above!*

Audiobooks.com: Rick, you say early on in your book that you always knew you would write a book about your son. Where did that conviction come from?

Rick: I was a journalist, I was a Catholic priest, and a storyteller. I had this kid named Adam that doctors identified at birth as a girl and yet intuitively, especially the mother, but also me definitely saw at least a tomboy and certainly a boy in progress. So I knew I had a fascinating story. I wanted to tell that story, the pride of being dad to this kid late in life, given my priesthood part of my my life. And I just knew that this was a story, given his personality, his his joy, and the journey that he was on. It was something that I wanted to tell them.

Audiobooks.com: And you described writing annual birthday letters to Adam that provided a bit of the basis for your book. But then, when did you finally properly sit down to write his story? And what was that process like?

Rick: I retired and… I was so keen to write for myself. And so I did have those letters. I had probably more significant, as it turned out, Adam’s social media and Facebook posts to tell. Both in the years identifying as Rebecca and then later in terms of his huge coming out with his post, “I am Adam.” And so I had all of that material to draw on and also, of course, the family trips and all the adventures that everyone knows about in their in their family life.

[But it was] what happened in 2016 that completely, dramatically shifted the tone of the book. I was in California on a holiday[…] And I got the worst call of my life when we learned that Adam, who had a lifetime of dealing with epilepsy […] had been found face down in a hot tub. Friends had been with him, but they had left to retrieve some clothes in his apartment. He was resuscitated and I had to fly home for this weekend vigil to see if we would get the miracle that we were hoping and praying for. And that was not to be. And yet there was to be some life coming out of that tragedy as Adam was a registered organ donor and he was able to save four lives. So as tragic as it was and as much of grieving, the story started to bubble up inside of me. That lifeline for me was to tell again his entire story, including the gender story, the epilepsy story, but also now a remarkable organ donor part to the book.

“And yet there was to be some life coming out of that tragedy as Adam was a registered organ donor and he was able to save four lives. So, as tragic as it was and as much of grieving, the story started to bubble up inside of me.”

RICK PRASHAW

Audiobooks.com: And that’s where John, the narrator, comes into the conversation. How did you two become connected and and what was that like?

John: Being a transplant recipient is unlike anything else. And I was pretty obsessed with wanting to find out whatever I could, if I could, about my donor, this person that gave me my life back. […] I had this immense need or desire to share my gratitude somehow, if I could. Soon found out that that wasn’t really promoted. In fact, I remember my post transplant coordinator […] said, “John, you’ll never know who your donor was.” You can send an anonymous letter, which I did, of course. But I remember in my head thinking, “Oh, yeah, well, we’ll see about that.”

So I sent an anonymous letter just to somehow try to put into words the immense gratitude I was feeling toward my my donor and, of course, my donor’s family, who made the decision in a very trying time to grant their wishes of their loved one to be an organ donor. And I wasn’t necessarily expecting, certainly hoping, but not expecting to get a letter in return. But I did. And in that letter, which was just full of love and…sorry, and overwhelming gratitude toward me for having reached out and I was pretty stunned.

“…I was pretty obsessed with wanting to find out whatever I could, if I could, about my donor, this person that gave me my life back.”

JOHN DICHOUT

But also there were a lot of clues which I think the Trillium Gift of Life Network maybe and Adam had a hand in letting slip through. But there were a lot of clues about this wonderful young man who was my organ donor. So, I just went to the Google machine and plugged in a few keywords from this marvelous letter that I received. And the first thing that popped up was a an obituary. And I could tell immediately that it was written by the same hand as the person who’d sent me this wonderful letter. So, I contrived a plan. I wanted to respect their anonymity and privacy. So, I did remain anonymous for as long as I could until it was absolutely certain that my organ donor[‘s family], which turned out to be Rick, wanted to connect. […] Short story, I created a fake Facebook page called Heart Recipient and sent him an anonymous note and went from there.

Audiobooks.com: So, once you two got connected and Rick, you understood John’s background, did you always have him in mind to narrate the book?

Rick: I think for about five seconds I said, “Oh, I really want to do this myself. You know, this would be such a good experience for me. I’ve never done this.” That thought left me when John popped into my head and I said, “He’d be the perfect choice.” I mean, we were now friends. We knew each other, [and our] families. I was very aware of his golden attitude. I knew he was a community theater actor. I knew he had seized on his desire to be a professional actor. So, I knew he had the skills and I can joke on the good days that he had his “heart” in it for sure. And and I said, “He’s just so perfect.” And of course, then being a professional product, he had to go out and and earn it and do the audition and everything.

“I knew he had the skills and I can joke on the good days that he had his ‘heart’ in it for sure.”

RICK PRASHAW

Audiobooks.com: What was it like recording it? Were you surprised by anything during the recording process?

John: I got hold of some cubicle walls and built this little makeshift studio. And one thing that surprised me is how bloody hot it got after six hour, eight hour days. The process itself was very interesting to me. You know, you’re live basically with the engineer who’s putting it together as you go. And I guess the one thing I found surprising is how difficult it is to say an entire sentence without stopping and how many times you stop and start and start again. In fact, I hear it when I when I listen to the book now that the first couple of chapters I might be finding my rhythm a little bit.

But that was that was an interesting part of the process. The the most nerve wracking part is thinking about what all those people to whom the book means so much and so many different things, how they would accept it and how I could possibly do justice to their memories, particularly those people that know Rick and [Adamn’s mother] Suzanne and all of his family and, of course, Adam. To try to put a voice to what they already have in their heads was a little bit daunting.

Audiobooks.com: And so, Rick, for you, what was it like to hear John bring the book to life?

Rick: I rely on Adam’s family and friends, and they just rave about John and the voice and the telling of the story. So, he certainly has no worries. He shouldn’t have any worries. The people that really know the story, know my boy, are just thrilled with the with the audiobook.

Audiobooks.com: And certainly, John, your narration brings an extraordinarily personal element to the audiobook. What do you think really elevates the audio experience, perhaps not above print, but certainly as a wonderful companion?

John: Yeah. So, I mean, really, for me, knowing that I feel, anyway for the for the listener, that just knowing that story or maybe discovering the story as it unfolds on its own lifts the senses, I suppose. That’s another interesting thing. The engineer who recorded the audiobook with me wasn’t aware. He knew that Rick and I had a connection, but he didn’t know what it was until we got to those chapters in the book. So, it was pretty neat to experience that with someone who’s hearing it for the first time. So, yeah, that I think that it’s going to mean different things and it’s going to touch different people in different ways. But I certainly think if you’ve got a heart, it’ll probably mean something to you.

“…It’s going to touch different people in different ways. But I certainly think if you’ve got a heart, it’ll probably mean something to you.”

JOHN DICKHOUT

Rick: Jemma, I get notes. One of the great surprises as an author that I had is to get notes from strangers and they tell you what the story does, what this boy does. So, sometimes when you’re a publisher, they all want to know what section of the bookstore, what’s the hashtag to use here? And for sure, there’s a gender story. He was this tomboy that was like Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird or Tatum O’Neal played that picture in the Paper Moon. Very much looked like those two characters. So this is a gender story. There’s the epilepsy story. There’s the organ donor story, but there’s the family acceptance of this kid.

And then somebody finally, one of the podcasters said, it’s a love story. And that’s what I like the best to hear, that it’s a love story not just of people like family and parents and friends for Adam, but it’s Adam’s love for himself, where he had the courage and the resiliency to be who he was and to love who he wanted to love. […]

There’s just so many angles and so many audiences out there for the story.

“…It’s a love story not just of people like family and parents and friends for Adam, but it’s Adam’s love for himself, where he had the courage and the resiliency to be who he was and to love who he wanted to love.”

RICK PRASHAW

Audiobooks.com: I wonder what lessons you might draw for us from his life as the world moves collectively through this time of hardship. What would Adam have to say about this right now?

Rick: I just chuckle in the good days about Adam getting the biggest kick out of a book written about him, an audiobook that John is the voice. I, just as a dad, I think that’s where I go to to enjoy thinking about Adam watching all of this from his place now. He would enjoy the celebrity and the attention of it. It would be always from the fun perspective, because no matter how many times life knocked them down, it was always get back up and and like, “What’s next? Let’s go to a sunny place.” He’d whine for a day on Facebook and then he’d be back in his happy place. […] I take enormous comfort in thinking of Adam being so happy in terms of his story being out there.

Publisher Summary:

Coming out. Coming in. Coming home.

Adam Prashaw’s life was full of surprises from the moment he was born. Assigned female at birth, and with parents who had been expecting a boy, he spent years living as ‘Rebecca Danielle Adam Prashaw’ before coming to terms with being a transgender man. Adam captured hearts with his humor, compassion, and intensity. After a tragic accident cut his life short, he left a legacy of changed lives and a trove of social media posts documenting his life, relationships, transition, and struggles with epilepsy, all with remarkable transparency and directness.

In Soar, Adam, Soar, his father, a former priest, retells Adam’s story alongside his son’s own words. From early childhood, through coming out first as a lesbian and then as a man, and his battles with epilepsy and refusal to give in, it chronicles Adam’s drive to define himself, his joyful spirit, and his love of life, which continues to conquer all.

Read more and sample the audio →

Related Articles:

• Interview with Bonita C. Stewart & Jacqueline Adams, authors of ‘A Blessing’

• Interview with Jay Manuel, Author of ‘The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown’

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!

Audiobooks to Inspire Your Spring Cleaning This Year

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Spring has arrived and I don’t know about you, but I am more than ready to embrace all things spring! Warm and sunny weather, busting out the spring/summer wardrobe, and even spring cleaning.

If you know you need to jump into a deep clean of your house or even just need to go through your belongings to start the decluttering process, but you’re not sure where to start and need a little inspiration, hello, we are here for you.

Click here to view our full list of spring cleaning audiobooks or keep reading for some specific recommendations for great listens that will put a pep in your step and get you stoked to get cleaning.


The Easy Life by Lynsey Crombie, narrated by Lynsey Crombie

Publisher Summary:

Welcome to The Easy Life, where your kitchen always sparkles, your closet is organized, and your to-do list has an end. It sounds almost too good to be true, but TV’s Queen of Clean, Lynsey Crombie—mother of three, pet owner, Instagrammer, This Morning cleaning expert, and head of her own cleaning business—has all the tips, tricks, and routines you need to create a happy and healthy home environment.

In her latest book, Lynsey expands on her eco-friendly, tried-and-tested tips for cleaning, while also providing a series of interactive to-do lists, quick cleaning challenges, and hacks to take the stress out of managing your home. Whether you’re finding that you now have time to finally get to all those deep cleaning tasks or that having all your family at home means you need every trick to keep life organized, Lynsey has you covered.

Read more and sample the audio →


The Conscious Closet by Elizabeth L. Cline, narrated by Elizabeth L. Cline

Publisher Summary:

From journalist, fashionista, and clothing resale expert Elizabeth L. Cline, “the Michael Pollan of fashion,” comes the definitive guide to building an ethical, sustainable wardrobe you’ll love.

Clothing is one of the most personal expressions of who we are. In her landmark investigation Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, Elizabeth L. Cline first revealed fast fashion’s hidden toll on the environment, garment workers, and even our own satisfaction with our clothes. The Conscious Closet shows exactly what we can do about it.

Whether your goal is to build an effortless capsule wardrobe, keep up with trends without harming the environment, buy better quality, seek out ethical brands, or all of the above, The Conscious Closet is packed with the vital tools you need. Elizabeth delves into fresh research on fashion’s impacts and shows how we can leverage our everyday fashion choices to change the world through style. Inspired by her own revelatory journey getting off the fast-fashion treadmill, Elizabeth shares exactly how to build a more ethical wardrobe, starting with a mindful closet clean-out and donating, swapping, or selling the clothes you don’t love to make way for the closet of your dreams.

Read more and sample the audio →


The Art of Discarding by Nagisa Tatsumi, narrated by Karen Cass

Publisher Summary:

The book that inspired Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Nagisa Tatsumi‘s international bestseller offers a practical plan to figure out what to keep and what to discard so you can get–and stay–tidy, once and for all.

Practical and inspiring, The Art of Discarding (the book that originally inspired a young Marie Kondo to start cleaning up her closets) offers hands-on advice and easy-to-follow guidelines to help readers learn how to finally let go of stuff that is holding them back—as well as sage advice on acquiring less in the first place. Author Nagisa Tatsumi urges us to reflect on our attitude to possessing things and to have the courage and conviction to get rid of all the stuff we really don’t need, offering advice on how to tackle the things that pile up at home and take back control. By learning the art of discarding you will gain space, free yourself from ‘accumulation syndrome,’ and find new joy and purpose in your clutter-free life.

Read more and sample the audio →


Clean Mama’s Guide to a Healthy Home by Becky Rapinchuk, narrated by Tiffany Morgan

Publisher Summary:

In Clean Mama’s Guide to a Healthy Home, Becky Rapinchuk, author of Simply Clean and creator of the popular cleaning website Clean Mama, provides a step-by-step guide to take charge of your home’s wellness with a comprehensive, all-natural cleaning system.

Cleanliness is about detoxing, embracing organic, all-natural methods and products, and protecting the environment. Moms look to Becky to guide them in the best cleaning practices for their home, and will welcome Clean Mama’s Guide to a Healthy Home, which shows that going natural isn’t just a better way to a cleaner home-it’s vital to the health of our bodies, our families, and our planet.

Read more and sample the audio →


Hinch Yourself Happy by Mrs Hinch, narrated by Mrs Hinch

Publisher Summary:

Mrs Hinch has taken the nation by storm with her infectiously addictive charm, her clever cleaning hacks and her passionate belief in the life-changing magic of tidying. Now she’s here to show us that cleaning – aka hinching – doesn’t have to be that job you dread, not when Mrs Hinch is here to show you her sparkly ways.

In Hinch Yourself Happy, Mrs Hinch invites you into her home where you’ll find everything from tips for easing stress and anxiety through cleaning to Mrs Hinch must-haves and step-by-step hinching guides. You’ll even hear the story of Mr and Mrs Hinch and their ‘dorgeous’ boy, Henry.

Read by Mrs Hinch herself, Hinch Yourself Happy will help you turn your house into a home.

Read more and sample the audio →


The CHAOS Cure by Marla Cilley, narrated by Marla Cilley

Publisher Summary:

Are you suffering from CHAOS, otherwise known as Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome? If your house is a jumble of dirty dishes, piles of paper, and never-ending laundry, you are probably afflicted. But don’t give up hope, because now there’s an antidote: The CHAOS Cure.

In her eagerly anticipated new book, Marla Cilley—aka ‘The FlyLady’ to the hundreds of thousands who visit her website for daily domestic inspiration—reaches into our homes to help make housecleaning more meaningful and life less messy. With a little bit of armchair therapy and plenty of practical, tactical tips—such as ‘On the Fly!’ quick fixes and genius uses for sticky notes—she’ll help us get our houses in shipshape order before we can break a sweat. Along the way, the FlyLady teaches us to embrace household maintenance as an act of self-care, and to enjoy the soothing satisfaction of an orderly habitat.

Before you know it, you’ll be on the fast-track to living CHAOS-free, surrounded by sparkling serenity

Read more and sample the audio →


The Joy of Less by Francine Jay, narrated by Teri Schnaubelt

Publisher Summary:

Having less stuff is the key to happiness: Do you ever feel overwhelmed, instead of overjoyed, by all your possessions? Do you secretly wish a gale force wind would blow the clutter from your home? If so, it’s time to simplify your life!

The Joy of Less is a fun, lighthearted guide to minimalist living:
Part One provides an inspirational pep talk on the joys and rewards of paring down.
Part Two presents the STREAMLINE method: ten easy steps to rid your house of clutter.
Part Three goes room by room, outlining specific ways to tackle each one.
Part Four helps you get your family on board and live more lightly and gracefully on the earth.

Francine has helped hundreds of thousands of people declutter their homes and simplify their lives with her bestselling book, The Joy of Less.

Read more and sample the audio →

Related Articles:

• Put a Spring in Your Step and Get Cleaning

• 12 Audiobooks to Help You Start Fresh

• New Year, New You: The Best Audiobooks for Self-Improvement

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!

Book Clubbin’: 9 Discussion Questions for ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ by Delia Owens

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Welcome back to our monthly blog feature, Book Clubbin’!

Is one of your resolutions for this year to read more books or start a book club? If you’re reading this, this is your sign to take the plunge! We know that it can be a little tough with stay-at-home orders, lockdowns, and social distancing, but don’t let it stop you! Start up a virtual book club with a couple friends where you can chat all about your latest read/listen via Zoom, FaceTime, or whatever you choose!

This month’s Book Clubbin’ pick is Delia Owen’s Where the Crawdad’s Sing. Chances are, you’ve heard of this book a lot over the past few years. Where the Crawdads Sing was Owens’ debut novel and it held its ground on the New York Times Fiction Bestsellers list for 25 weeks in total. So, you know it’s worth a listen!

Where the Crawdads Sing takes us to Barkley Cove, North Carolina in 1969, where rumors have circulated of the ‘Marsh Girl’ for years. When the handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, all fingers point to Kya Clark, the so-called ‘Marsh Girl.’ But there is more to Kya than meets the eye. After surviving alone in the marsh for so long, she yearns to be loved and when two men in town become intrigued by her, Kya is opened up to a new life…until the unthinkable happens.

Ready to start chatting about Where the Crawdads Sing with your bookclub, then get started with the discussion questions below. Beware— SPOILERS ahead.

—————MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!————

1) Jumpin’ and Mabel know that Kya is living on her own as a 10 year-old, and while they do offer support through clothing and other transactions, they never contact anyone to come remove her from the marsh. Why do you think this is?

2) Kya decides not to return to school after she was bullied. How do you think this affected her life?

3) Chase and Tate are both drawn to Kya, how do their relationships with her differ?

4) How did the fireflies that Kya observed one night influence her outlook on relationships and contribute to her actions later in the book?

5) Delia Owens is not only an author, but also a zoologist and has studied animals in remote parts of the world. Do you think her experience seeped into Where the Crawdads Sing? What similarities do you see with both Kya and wild animals?

6) Let’s discuss Kya’s trial. Do you think that the local’s presumptions and opinions about her colored the case and its outcome?

7) Did you suspect that Kya actually did kill Chase? Were you surprised when Tate found Kya’s secret stash/confession after her death?

8) Thinking of the title, why do you think Delia Owen titled her novel, Where the Crawdads Sing?

9) Reese Witherspoon’s production company is planning to adapt this novel into a movie. Which actors do you picture for the characters in the book?

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!

Listen Your Way to Better Sleep with Audiobooks

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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



Guided meditations for better sleep


Sleep Well: Guided Relaxations and Meditations for a Good Night’s Sleep by Sue Fuller, narrated by Sue Fuller

Publisher Summary:

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.

Read more and sample the audio →


Guided Meditations for Sleep, Anxiety and Self Healing Bundle: 3 Beginners Scripts for Stress Relief, letting go, having a quiet Mind in difficult Times and overcome Trauma by Mindfulness Meditation Academy, narrated by Jane Lee

Publisher Summary:

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.

Read more and sample the audio →


Yoga Nidra for Sleep: Guided Meditation for Deep, Transcendental Sleep by Mindfulness Habits Team, narrated by Loula Taylor

Publisher Summary:

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.

Read more and sample the audio →


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, narrated by Zachary Miulli

Publisher Summary:

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.

Read more and sample the audio →



Bedtime stories for adults


Bedtime Stories for Grown-ups by Ben Holden, narrated by Gareth Armstrong, Sandra Duncan, Luke Thompson, Esther Wane, Ben Holden

Publisher Summary:

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.

Read more and sample the audio →


Penguin Sleep Tales: Ten stories to help you relax at night and encourage better sleep by Penguin, narrated by Sally Scott

Publisher Summary:

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’).

Read more and sample the audio →


Sherlock Holmes: Valley of Fear: Book at Bedtime by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Ian McKellen

Publisher Summary:

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.

Read more and sample the audio →


Bedtime Stories for the Overwhelmed Adult: 2 in 1 Bundle: Sleep Meditation Stories to Find Your Inner Calm, Fall Asleep Fast, and Wake up Energized by Mindfulness Habits Team, narrated by Loula Taylor

Publisher Summary:

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.

Read more and sample the audio →



Soothing sounds to help you relax


Tropical Rainforest and Ocean Waves: The Better Sleep System – The Smarter Way to Fall Asleep Fast and Stay Asleep: Deep Sleep Hypnosis and Meditation with Natural Relaxing Sounds by Sara Stevenson, narrated by Tiana Hanson

Publisher Summary:

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!

Read more and sample the audio →


Soothing Sounds by Twin Sisters Productions, narrated by Kopperhead Compositions

Publisher Summary:

Authentic household sounds create a sleep environment for baby and anyone in the household in need of a good night’s sleep.

Track List:
1. Clothes Dryer Drone
2. Window Fan Hum
3. Pitter-Patter Bathwater
4. Vacuum Cleaner Rumble
5. White Noise
6. A Ride In The Car

Read more and sample the audio →


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!

September’s Top 10 Audiobooks.com Member Downloads

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Listen to last month’s most popular fiction and non-fiction titles downloaded by Audiobooks.com members.


Fiction

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer, narrated by Jake Abel 

Publisher Summary:

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?

Read more and sample the audio →


All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny, narrated by Robert Bathurst

Publisher Summary:

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.

Read more and sample the audio →


Shadows in Death: An Eve Dallas Novel by J. D. Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen

Publisher Summary:

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…

Read more and sample the audio →


Total Power by Kyle Mills and Vince Flynn, narrated by George Guidall

Publisher Summary:

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?

Read more and sample the audio →


Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, narrated by Marin Ireland

Publisher Summary:

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.

Read more and sample the audio →


Non-Fiction

Rage by Bob Woodward, narrated by Robert Petkoff

Publisher Summary:

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.”

Read more and sample the audio →


Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day by Jay Shetty, narrated by Jay Shetty

Publisher Summary:

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.

Read more and sample the audio →


Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, narrated by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff

Publisher Summary:

What Melania wants, Melania gets.

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.

Read more and sample the audio →


Atomic Habits by James Clear, narrated by James Clear

Publisher Summary:

No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers 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.

Read more and sample the audio →


Killing Crazy Horse: The Merciless Indian Wars in America by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, narrated by Bill O’Reilly and Robert Petkoff

Publisher Summary:

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.

Read more and sample the audio →


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!