STAFF PICK: The Language of Kindness by Christie Watson

Posted on May 8, 2018 by Michelle

Title: The Language of Kindness: One Nurse’s Story
Author: Christie Watson
Narrator: Christie Watson

When both of my grandmothers were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I was warned that their declining memories would mean that they could confuse the past with the present. In both cases, they talked about their lives as nurses as though in real time, unearthing stories that were once too intimate to share at family parties and Sunday dinners.

During a recent conversation with my maternal grandmother, she rattled on about what she was cooking for dinner that night and, in nearly the same breath, told me she had to go check on her patient. These memories confirmed what I always knew, and what anyone who loves or is a nurse knows — it is more than a career, but a lifelong passion defined by resilience, kindness, and compassion.

Christie Watson was a nurse for 20 years. In The Language of Kindness, she shares the powerful details of beloved patient relationships, including nursing a premature baby who defied its odds of surviving the night, washing the hair of a child fatally injured in a fire to remove the toxic smell of smoke, and comforting a patient suffering from an excruciating heart-lung transplant.

Like all nurses, Christie is there during some of our most vulnerable moments. The Language of Kindness is made even more compelling as Christie narrates it herself. Her steady and assured tone, even when narrating the most emotional parts of the audiobook, demonstrates her ability to remain calm under stormy circumstances, a trait she shares with my grandmothers.

I’m grateful to Christie for both her dedicated career and for giving me the perfect gift to give the nurses in my life. For too long, the only books for people in the medical field have been for doctors. This audiobook is easy to understand even if you haven’t taken Nursing 101, and will give listeners a new appreciation for one of the toughest and most overlooked professions.

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Have You Heard the Hottest New Book Trend?

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Michelle

If you’ve noticed a recent trend in the domestic thriller genre, you’re not alone — we did too. “Moms in danger” titles are sweeping bestsellers lists and keeping us emotionally invested and stunned until the very end. Listen to a moms in danger title today.

1. The Other Mother by Carol Goodman, narrated by Nicol Zanzarella

When Daphne Marist and her infant daughter, Chloe, pull up the gravel drive to the home of Daphne’s new employer, it feels like they’ve entered a new world. Tucked in the Catskills, the stone mansion looks like something out of a fairy tale, its lush landscaping hiding the view of the mental asylum just beyond its border.
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2. The Temptation of Forgiveness by Donna Leon, narrated by David Colacci

An accident leads Commissario Guido Brunetti to uncover a longstanding scam with disturbing consequences. Surprised to discover from his superior, Vice-Questore Patta, that leaks are emanating from the Questura, Commissario Guido Brunetti is surprised more consequentially by the appearance of a friend of his wife’s with a request for intervention.
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3. Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh, narrated by Gemma Whelan and Clare Mackintosh

Two years ago, Tom and Caroline Johnson committed suicide, one seemingly unable to live without the other. Their adult daughter, Anna, is struggling to come to terms with her parents’ deaths, unable to comprehend why they chose to end their lives. Now with a young baby herself, she is determined to find out what really happened to her parents. But as Anna digs up the past, someone is trying to stop her.
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4. The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie, narrated by Kate Rudd, Teri Clark Linden, Whitney Dykhouse and JD Jackson

Can you hide a secret with the whole world watching? When an explosion rips apart a Chicago building, the lives of three women are forever altered. A year later, Cecily is in mourning. She was supposed to be in the building that day. Instead, she stood on the street and witnessed it going down, with her husband and best friend inside.
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5. The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy, narrated by Cristin Milioti

Some people are so good at making perfect look easy. The May Mothers, a collection of new moms who gave birth in the same month, are out for a fun night when something goes terribly wrong: one of the babies is taken from his crib. As the police investigate and the media scrutinizes the mothers, damaging secrets are exposed, marriages are tested, and friendships are formed and fractured.
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6. Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser, narrated by Erin Bennett

An innocent night of fun takes a shocking turn. When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal. By Monday morning, one of them is gone.
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7. Our Little Secret by Darren O’Sullivan, narrated by Darren O’Sullivan

Chris is ready to join his wife. He’s planned this moment for nearly a year. The date. The time. The train. But he hadn’t factored in Sarah. So when Sarah walks on to the platform and sees a man swaying at the edge she assumes he’s just had too much to drink. What she doesn’t expect is to stop a suicide.
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8. The Glass Forest by Cynthia Swanson, narrated by Cassandra Campbell, Caitlin Davies and Jayme Mattler

In the autumn of 1960, Angie Glass is living an idyllic life in her Wisconsin hometown. At twenty-one, she’s married to charming, handsome Paul, and has just given birth to a baby boy. But one phone call changes her life forever.
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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.

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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Have You Heard the Hottest New Book Trend?

April’s Top 10 Audiobooks.com Member Downloads

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