Anonymous
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Our Missing Hearts
- A Novel
- By: Celeste Ng
- Narrated by: Lucy Liu, Celeste Ng
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. He doesn’t know what happened to her—only that her books have been banned—and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him.
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Listen to the sample
- By Sunny White on 10-11-22
- Our Missing Hearts
- A Novel
- By: Celeste Ng
- Narrated by: Lucy Liu, Celeste Ng
Should be required HS lit reading
Reviewed: 05-16-23
Celeste Ng’s research and tribute to American resistance in the face of fear mongering brings a breathtaking and heart wrenching awareness to our nation’s history, present and potential future. It’s grim… only if we allow it. Thank you Celeste for this beautiful and painful testimony.
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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
- A Novel
- By: Gabrielle Zevin
- Narrated by: Jennifer Kim, Julian Cihi
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Sam and Sadie—two college friends, often in love, but never lovers—become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It is a love story, but not one you have heard before.
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This book sucked the life out of me
- By RMan on 08-08-22
- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
- A Novel
- By: Gabrielle Zevin
- Narrated by: Jennifer Kim, Julian Cihi
Fresh, complex and powerful
Reviewed: 09-29-22
I haven’t loved a book like I loved this one in a long time. I imagine part of that is because the timeline reflected my own life… youth college era and now this strange adulting. Im not a huge gamer, but I play enough to have been drawn into the experience. I found myself irritated with anyone who interrupted my listening! Friendship, love and the nuance of human nature. I loved how imperfect both Sadie and Sam are written. Two works in progress from egos and pride to growth and compassion… time can heal so much.
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The Hush
- By: Sara Foster
- Narrated by: Tamala Shelton, Cathi Ogden
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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In the six months since the first case of a terrifying new epidemic - when a healthy baby wouldn’t take a breath at birth - the country has been thrown into turmoil. The government has passed sweeping new laws to monitor all citizens. And several young pregnant women have vanished without trace. As a midwife, Lainey’s mum, Emma, is determined to be there for those who need her. But when 17-year-old Lainey finds herself in trouble, this dangerous new world becomes very real.
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So political
- By Sarah Farley on 03-21-22
- The Hush
- By: Sara Foster
- Narrated by: Tamala Shelton, Cathi Ogden
Resistance and Community
Reviewed: 09-07-22
While there’s a lot in this story that painfully illuminates the atrocities on women’s rights happening globally… the power of resistance movements, community and fighting for progress is undeniable. May this work of fiction be the Art that life imitates as we forge ahead.
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How Beautiful We Were
- A Novel
- By: Imbolo Mbue
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi, Janina Edwards, Dion Graham, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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We should have known the end was near. So begins Imbolo Mbue’s powerful second novel, How Beautiful We Were. Set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, it tells of a people living in fear amid environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company. Pipeline spills have rendered farmlands infertile. Children are dying from drinking toxic water. Promises of cleanup and financial reparations to the villagers are made - and ignored. The country’s government, led by a brazen dictator, exists to serve its own interests.
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As relevant as it is heart-wrenching
- By Anonymous User on 10-18-21
- How Beautiful We Were
- A Novel
- By: Imbolo Mbue
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi, Janina Edwards, Dion Graham, JD Jackson, Allyson Johnson, Lisa Renee Pitts
As relevant as it is heart-wrenching
Reviewed: 10-18-21
In a time where folks in the US are defending the need for critical race theory and teaching a more complete and accurate history of our nation’s founding and coming of age ever since…. this novel drives straight to the heart of western colonization, extraction and extermination of African cultures. The extended chapters that illuminate the voices and private wonderings of each character are so moving, so insightful and passionate. Altho the story is fictional, we have too much information to deny the deep truth within it. As I finish the book this evening, I grieve for all the untold loss… of human lives, of homelands, of languages, music, the rituals. I won’t lie, this book was painful. Yet I’m glad to have “read” it for the belief that opening up to these difficult truths will allow me to tap the depths of humanity. My highest praise to you, Imbolo Mbue and thoughts of love and tenderness as you heal and emerge from the experience of the research and writing of How Beautiful We Were.
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10 people found this helpful
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Small Moving Parts
- By: D. B. Jackson
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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When Harland Cain holds a .45 automatic to his head and bears down slowly upon the trigger, he experiences a profound sense of control over his destiny for the first time in his life. He savors the moment and imagines the click of the hammer, the explosion, and the bullet spiraling through the barrel before everything turns black. It's then he hears the out-of-control screaming of tires on the pavement, followed by the sickening sound of metal crashing against concrete. He lays down the pistol and crosses his yard in that predawn darkness to find a young boy, bloody and dazed.
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Excellent Narrator - Great Character Development
- By Andrea on 04-25-20
- Small Moving Parts
- By: D. B. Jackson
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
Intense yet so much tenderness
Reviewed: 09-17-21
I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about a book rooted primarily in male characters. I’m so glad I chose to listen… while staying true to the era, the author weaves such meaningful and tender relationships - Bobby and Dodger’s friendship and the makeshift father-son bond between Dodger and Harley. Nothing about it felt forced and their connections didn’t break more traditional gender norms ans yet there was a window into the depth of connection that is possible between men… even when that’s not what we often see. Beautifully written and artfully performed.
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2 people found this helpful
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Firefly Lane
- A Novel
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the "coolest girl in the world" moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all - beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn.
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Beachy Fare
- By FanB14 on 04-29-13
- Firefly Lane
- A Novel
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
Wanted to feel it…
Reviewed: 06-29-21
But it never clicked for me. The concept of long-term friendship and the complexity of being women in America is appealing. But even had way in I just could find it in me to care deeply about the characters. At which point I decided to bail.
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1 person found this helpful
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Hold Still
- By: Tim Adler
- Narrated by: Katie Moore
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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How much do we really know about those we love? Kate is visiting Albania with her husband, Paul, a much needed break from Paul's stressful website business. 'Hold still,' says Kate, taking a picture as Paul steps onto the hotel room balcony. 'We'll always be together,' Paul responds. Suddenly there is screaming below and a blaring car horn. Kate stares down from the balcony at the broken body of her husband lying lifeless in the street.
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Great narration, ridiculous story
- By Carolyn J. Bowes on 09-21-20
- Hold Still
- By: Tim Adler
- Narrated by: Katie Moore
Entertaining but bummed out by Albanian stereotypes
Reviewed: 02-21-21
In terms of a crime novel, this story is well written, entertaining and allows for both suspense and hints toward where things may turn. I enjoyed the story.
However, as a Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who lived in Albania for more than two years in the early 2010s... I’m bummed/disappointed that the author did not give more depth to the Albanian characters. The cold mother-in-law, the evil aunt and all the male characters as gang thugs. Is there organized crime on Albania? Yes. Are there elements of their culture that seem unusual to westerners? Yes. Is it fair to represent an entire nation as cold-hearted and criminal? No. And I’ll even say to do so as a writer is irresponsible. Especially a writer that has clearly done extensive research to infuse Albanian culture, history, food and rituals into the story.
I get it. Crime stories need to have their villains. However as an author from a country (my assumptions here) where they’ve had greater privileges and access to education, employment, opportunity than many Albanians ever will... Im disappointed that another peice of literature is now circling to reinforce the opinion that Albanians are criminals. For 2.5 years I was welcomed, befriended and honored by so many generous, kind, funny, loving and joyful Albanians. The world deserves to hear those stories too.
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1 person found this helpful
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The God of Small Things
- By: Arundhati Roy
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Likened to the works of Faulkner and Dickens when it was first published 20 years ago, this extraordinarily accomplished debut novel is a brilliantly plotted story of forbidden love and piercing political drama, centered on the tragic decline of an Indian family in the state of Kerala, on the southernmost tip of India. Armed only with the invincible innocence of children, the twins Rahel and Esthappen fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family.
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Worthy Booker winner!
- By Saman on 08-10-17
- The God of Small Things
- By: Arundhati Roy
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
A swirling tale of intertwined lives
Reviewed: 02-06-21
This book is like none I’ve ever read/listened to before. Not at al chronological but in and out of the past and present. I wouldn’t have thought I could follow it... but it was magical and I did. The characters are so incredibly defined that I could see and sense them in my minds eye. Their dreams, their fears, their flaws and souls.
I’m often a little sad when a book ends I’m not ready to leave these new people and places. Especially a story with so much pain and loss. The God of Small Things ends in such an way that left me feeling forever close to them, but able to say goodbye with peace in my heart. I loved this experience.
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1 person found this helpful
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Washington Black
- A Novel
- By: Esi Edugyan
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Eleven-year-old George Washington Black—or Wash—a field slave on a Barbados sugar plantation, is initially terrified when he is chosen as the manservant of his master’s brother. To his surprise, however, the eccentric Christopher Wilde turns out to be a naturalist, explorer, inventor, and abolitionist. Soon Wash is initiated into a world where a flying machine can carry a man across the sky, where even a boy born in chains may embrace a life of dignity and meaning, and where two people, separated by an impossible divide, can begin to see each other as human.
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Now what do I do?
- By Mary L. Doyle on 10-04-18
- Washington Black
- A Novel
- By: Esi Edugyan
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
Like nothing I’ve ever read before
Reviewed: 12-14-20
The first few chapters were so raw and gruesome, I found it difficult to continue. But i also felt obligated to continue, to listen and reckon with the violent history of white Englishmen (a part of my ancestry) associated with the African slave trade. As the story continued I found myself drawn to Wash and his experiences, the way he perceived the world and put together the pieces of others with little guidance and upbringing is a testament to the capacity of the human spirit, the yearning to understand, to know and to be known. This was a hard novel for me and I also found it deeply compelling. I imagine the learnings and processing of it will continue with me for some time.
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2 people found this helpful
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Mala
- By: Melinda Lopez
- Narrated by: Melinda Lopez
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Original Recording
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An utterly unsentimental journey toward the end of life, Mala is an irreverent exploration of how we live, cope, and survive in the moment. Grounded in Lopez’s distinctive emotional language and sharp humor, this powerful one-woman show dances between doctors and urgent 911 calls, a mother’s growing frailty, and a daughter’s quest for grace - all set during an epic Boston winter. Rather than depict a “right way”, the play opens the door for our universal struggle to support those we love in dying, especially when all we’ve ever focused on is surviving.
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Amazing performance
- By Kingsley on 02-01-19
- Mala
- By: Melinda Lopez
- Narrated by: Melinda Lopez
A gift for all who grieve
Reviewed: 03-27-19
For anyone who has lost - or is in the process of losing - a loved one, this story is a balm for your heart. In the midst of my own care-giver duties, I turned unwittingly to audible for an escape. This piece was anything but that... and yet it was EXACTLY what I needed to hear at a particularly befuddled time in our process. Ms. Lopez shares so honestly and vividly it was as if she were dropped into my very existence. Of course she wasn’t...rather her story is my story is your story is our story. Even in the depths of our struggles....this is not new or unique. Someone has been here before. And they made it through. So maybe... We will too.
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1 person found this helpful