Discover Best Sellers Audiobooks in Fiction, Contemporary Best Sellers

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Title: Coal Run

Author: Tawni O'Dell

Narrator: Daniel Passer

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-17-06

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

With her eagerly awaited second novel, Tawni O'Dell takes readers back to the coal-mining country of western Pennsylvania. Set in a town ravaged and haunted by a mine explosion that took the lives of 96 men, Coal Run explores the life of local deputy and erstwhile football legend, "The Great Ivan Z.", as he prepares for a former teammate's imminent release from prison. As the week unfolds and Ivan struggles to confront his demons, he reveals himself to be a man whose conscience is burdened by a long-held and shocking secret.

©2004 Tawni O'Dell; (P)2004 Penguin Audio and Books on Tape, Inc. All rights reserved. Penguin Audio is a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Critic Reviews:

"This is a fast-paced mystery with well-defined characters and a plausible plotline and ending. Although a few references are made to the earlier book, this enjoyable story stands on its own." (School Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

Great story

Setting, events and story were intriguing. The characters were well developed and felt real. This is a tale of hurt and healing, heroes in everyday life. I thoroughly enjoyed this!

Great depiction of a time and life of a coal town

What made the experience of listening to Coal Run the most enjoyable?

The accuracy by which Ms. O'Dell captures the underlying sense of coal miners duty to each other and the town. How they would give up pay (leave their job) to continue to search for survivors after the official recovery period is over. Their work ethic and more.

What did you like best about this story?

The way the author combines so many accuracies and realities of the area with the fiction of the story.

Which scene was your favorite?

The description of the people in the Golden Pheasant "tavern" and how they left. Particularly the way an individual, drinking for what ever reason would open the door and pause before continuing as if the street was not passable.

If you could rename Coal Run, what would you call it?

Clune - The author will understand. Clune was the official postal town name of Coal Run. Many of the references come from that town and those around.

Any additional comments?

I grew up in Coal Run. Not the town in the book but the actual town and the area from which so much of the book uses as reference. I reflected back on many experiences so my enjoyment of the book may have been tainted by nostalgia but none the less it was excellent. At times I could see the many venues the author was referencing. Thank you Ms. O'Dell

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Title: Jimmy

Author: Robert Whitlow

Narrator: Robert Whitlow

Format: Abridged

Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-20-06

Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 34 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Peopled with a cast of Southern folk at once familiar and unexpected, Jimmy is an extraordinary tale about growing up in the midst of real struggle. Like Mark Twain and Harper Lee, Robert Whitlow uses an innocent's limited viewpoint to illuminate complex human realities, and to touch the heart. From the first encounter with Jimmy to that last bittersweet goodbye, Jimmy will enthrall and delight.

Members Reviews:

Wonderful story!

People miss a lot of sweet goodness when they abort a "handicapped" child. This book is a great listen and touched my heart. I have a boy in my family with Lowes syndrome and he is the JOY of our lives!! Thank you Robert, for such a great story.

wonderful story. fantastic and dynamic reading!

Any additional comments?

Great story. Love how the narrator/author uses inflection in his voice. Worth your time and money.

Preachy

This is a nice story, about a nice little boy. I am confused as to wether. it was written for a young audience. At times it had a very heavy religous preachy attitude. I enjoyed it despite the ending. (And the preaching)

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Title: Rules of Engagement

Author: Anita Brookner

Narrator: Joanna Davis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-16-06

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Elizabeth and Betsy are old school friends. Born in 1948 and unready for the sixties, they had high hopes of the lives they would lead, even though their circumstances were so different. When they meet again in their thirties, Elizabeth, married to the safe, older Digby, is relieving the boredom of a cosy but childless marriage with an affair. Betsy seems to have found real romance in Paris. Are their lives taking off, or are they just making more of the wrong choices without even realising it?

Members Reviews:

Sticking to the rules...........

Anita Brookner's characters have the most unbelievably dull and tedious lives, and the heroine of this one is even more boring than usual. It is strange to think that I (and many others no doubt) would willingly waste 8 hours listening to this, but I find it very soothing and relaxing to do so. I seem to slow right down to the turgid pace of this non-life. Very stress-busting.

There is also a satisfying feeling that, however ordinary my own life, it is a great deal more interesting than this!

I did enjoy Joanna David's crisp delivery which was perfectly in keeping with the character.

The Rules of Engagement

Listening to an account of the thoughts, behaviour and conversations of two middle class English women, their lives and conventional relationships with men is like entering an alien culture. It is fascinating as a realisation of values and beliefs that are almost historical and completely different to my own. I am sure that If i met these women I would dislike them but I can recognise their fears and feelings. The novel is compelling. It touches some profound thoughts about love, life and death and its tone of gentle melancholy and subtle humour is so well conceived.

slow moving river

This is a long and tedious account of non-events; the plot, if indeed it can be called this, has a distinct lack of pace throughout. This is an account of the narrow-minded lives of some middle-class women, whose characters seem altogether superficial. I honestly do not think I would have progressed beyond Chapter Three if I had been reading it myself off the page.......

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Title: The Light in the Piazza

Author: Elizabeth Spencer

Narrator: Hillary Huber

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-23-05

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Margaret, extremely protective of her daughter, attempts to keep Clara and Fabrizio apart, not only because of the cultural differences between the young lovers but also because of a family secret that would be revealed: Clara is not quite all that she appears. Considering whether to inform Fabrizio and his family of the truth about Clara, Margaret realizes that it could possibly spoil her daughter's one true chance for happiness.

Members Reviews:

deceptively simple

After watching the Tony Award show this year I was curious about Elizabeth Spencer, a Southern writer whom I had not heard of before the show. I have just finished reading her novella "Light in the Piazza" (haven't seen the touted play yet)and it was a memorable read. It starts out like a fairy tale---you don't quite know why Mrs. Johnson and her daughter are in Florence, what time period they are in, their background---and you're quickly engaged in a charming romance story. But there's also an undercurrent of tragedy. You discover lies, family strains, an accident in the past. Every character in the story becomes suspect. You start to question every character's motives, possible deceptions (with the exception of Clara, who becomes a symbol of clarity and innocence, as in the Virgin Mary). For the last 30 pages of the story I am nervously living inside Margaret Johnnon's head, worrying about the future of her "simple-minded" daughter Clara.

Elizabeth Spencer is a masterful storyteller, making me ponder what level of control we have in life, how easily we make assumptions about people soley based on appearance, how we can manipulate others and fool ourselves. Her prose is deceptively simple at times. I found myself reading and re-reading many a sentence to decipher the multiple levels of meaning. I closed the book wistfully, wishing for a sequel!

Italy of 50 years ago

The author, born in Mississippi, brings a Southern sensibility to these stories. She has written a series of short stories about Southern women living and visiting in Italy in the 1950's. Ms. Spencer writes beautifully, and her stories are never overly sentimental or superficial. They ring true. Italian words are sprinkled throughout the text which adds to the overall effect.

I found the stories a little "dated" though. These women are trapped here in an era of proper white gloves, cocktail parties and long cigarette holders. The 1950's was a rather repressive time for women, and in many of these stories we find women struggling to be in control of their own lives. They have come to Italy to vacation "abroad"; to fulfill a lifelong dream; to work, or to distance themselves from the past.

By far, the best of the stories is "The Light in the Piazza" which has a warmth and appeal that I found missing in most of the others.

Five Stars

Enchanting stories of Americans in Italy.

Five Stars

A great collection

Great Book

Great Book

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Title: The Tea House on Mulberry Street

Author: Sharon Owens

Narrator: Caroline Winterson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-23-05

Publisher: Listen & Live Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 40 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

After 17 years, their marriage has started to fade and wear a little thin, even as their old shop bustles with the energy of the customers who seek refuge from their particular dilemmas. Housewife Sadie Smith comes to escape her diet and her husband's stick-thin mistress. Struggling artist Brenda Brown sits and pens love letters to the actor Nicolas Cage. And Clare Fitzgerald returns after 20 years abroad to search for a long-lost someone.

Behind the cherry cheesecakes, vanilla ice creams, and chocolate cappuccinos are the stirrings of a revolution that will define lives, heal troubled hearts, and rock the very foundation of the humble teahouse. And through it all, Penny and Daniel manage to discover what truly matters in life and love. Rich with wit, bursting with charm, The Tea House On Mulberry Street is a vibrant debut of tenderness, imagination, and delicious pastries.

Critic Reviews:

"[A] charming debut novel." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Chick-Lit

I enjoyed Teahouse on Mulberry Street...But be forewarned its very much chick lit. By chick lit I mean....There are a lot of women standing around, having tea, bitching about their husbands and a certain lack of action.I enjoyed the fun characters and the sleepy feeling of the town. But I admit I found the multiple-character persepctive a little annoying. Plus the wind up with the main character's loser husband was a little slow.

Overall, not a bad read. But nothing that makes me want to repeat the experience.

Fun, Charming Book-A Delight to Listen To

What made the experience of listening to The Tea House on Mulberry Street the most enjoyable?

I loved the reader with the lilting Irish accents. It added so much to the story of these rich characters in Ireland. It is a very descriptive book, and the reader just takes you right there to the streets of Ireland.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the characters-so divergent. I loved the vehicle of the tea room to bring them together. I always love stories about the richness of day to day living, and the power of the individual to make meaningful changes.

Which scene was your favorite?

I loved the whole story line of Sophie, the overweight and overworked woman who finds out her husband is having an affair. She evolved with such dignity and such creativity! I don't want to give away the details of my favorite scene and be a spoiler!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to listen all in one setting, but I was not able to. This is a book you can't wait to get back to!

perfect for audio ... charming story

this is my first book from this author. i imagine it might be somewhat spare in the reading/ traditional book form, however, as an audiobook it is really charming and worth a second listen .. i will definitely put her others on my wishlist.

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Title: Zermatt

Author: Frank Schaeffer

Narrator: Lloyd James

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-27-04

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

It is 1966, and Calvin is 14, torn between his naturally volcanic sexual curiosity and a fundamentalist family so strict that he has never seen a movie, watched television, or danced. But at the Hotel Riffelberg, a supposed safe haven from the sinners listening to jazz far below in Zermatt, Calvin nevertheless falls into the hands of Eva, a young waitress who begins Calvin's initiation. Even so, it is only after his mother catches him in the act, or so she thinks, that Calvin's real education begins. The resulting family meltdown builds to a climax destined to push Calvin's childhood into the past.

Members Reviews:

have to read the trilogy

This is the 3rd part of the Calvin Becker trilogy. You have to read the first two books to really understand the characters very well. This was by far the darkest book of the trilogy but makes sense as Calvin matures throughout the stories to finally realize just how crazy his mother is. The whole trilogy is great.

Flat. Just didn't do it for me.

There is nothing at all wrong with this story, but it just didn't excite me. It was well told and complete, but the characters left me asking myself, "Who cares?"

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Title: The Weather in Berlin

Author: Ward Just

Narrator: Robertson Dean

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-30-04

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Now, out of inspiration, in the dark Berlin winter, he sifts through past and present for a new creative direction.

Just's intelligent, compelling, and meticulously crafted fiction offers unexpected insights into the psychology of people obsessed with art or political intrigue and faced with circumstances that make pursuit of their passion, or addiction, difficult if not dire. An ever evolving writer with a deep sense of global connectedness and the habitual abuse of power, Just has reached a new plateau in this novel, a work of subtle suspense and significant irony that penetrates hidden terrain similar to that explored by Conrad, Greene, and Didion.

Critic Reviews:

"Narrator Robertson Dean enhances Ward Just's subtleties in structure and character development with his impeccable diction and elegant pacing. His voice rumbles in the ear, his words dropping like velvet pebbles into a pond of dark silk." (AudioFile)

"Just writes seamlessly, mixing spoken dialogue, interior monologue, and narrative so that the story unreels before the reader as in a film. Recognized for writing that puts him among the best in the United States today, Just portrays a talented person, trapped by circumstance and lassitude, breaking free into new creativity and insight." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

An older man's valediction and absolution

Ward Just is one of the great American writers. His reporting in Vietnam stands with Ernie Pyle and Bill Mauldin as some of the sharpest war reporting.

Later in his career, Just turned towards political thrillers, but "The Weather in Berlin", despite it's Len Deighton-like title is the story of a Hollywood player past his prime, a museum piece who is suffocating in his glass display case.

When a German institution invites him to teach, and relive his greatest success--a scandal-laden masterpiece of cinema made in Germany decades-ago--he accepts. The trip renews friendships and scandals and allows him a rare second chance.

Just manages to paint his characters in vibrant HD digital color, in the black and silver of 35mm and the sun-softened pallet of memory and the independent film of the 70s. I admired the writing, and the characters, but as someone in his 40s, this book came too soon in my life, and I was left with, mercifully, an intellectual understanding and not a shared experience for this older man.

Unfortunately

A great premise, but plodding and tedious. Waiting for this plot to advance is worse than watching grass grow...

A Wonderful Novel, Beautifully Narrated

Where does The Weather in Berlin rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

It is certainly one of the best I've listened to in the past year. This was the first work by Ward Just that I've come across, and I'm surprised that I had never heard of him ... none of my friends are familiar with him, either. What a loss for us all, since his is one of the more powerful American voices of the past generation. Although he cites Henry James as a major influence - and certainly the subtle ways that we enter the minds of the characters is Jamesian -- his prose reminds me of F Scott Fitzgerald who appears in the novel briefly in a story told by the narrator's father. Ward Just was a journalist in the 1960s and left the newspaper business to write novels and short stories.

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Title: My Life as a Fake

Author: Peter Carey

Narrator: Susan Lyons

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-26-04

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 73 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In the 1950s poet Christopher Chubb composes a body of sexually charged poems. Chubb then dupes a trendy literary magazine into believing the poems were composed by the late Bob McCorkle, an undiscovered genius. But the trick backfires, and soon Chubb finds himself tormented by the very monster he creates. Decades later, a literary editor named Sarah Wode-Douglass begins peeling back the layers of the Chubb mystery in, of all places, Malaysia, where the reclusive poet remains in hiding.

With its breathtaking scope and limitless inventiveness, My Life as a Fake is a triumph of the imagination. Carey's masterful tale receives a sparkling narration by Susan Lyons, who provides authentic and compelling voices for the full cast of vivid characters.

Critic Reviews:

"Hypnotic novel of personal and artistic obsession....The tale is a tour de force....As so often before, this extravagantly gifted writer has created something bewilderingly original and powerful." (Publishers Weekly)

"Delectably suspenseful and wildly inventive, Carey's spellbinding modern Gothic is a shrewd and seductive inquiry into the diabolical dimension of the imagination." (Booklist)

"A Nabokovian masterpiece." (Kirkus)

Members Reviews:

Good Quirky

Wow, what divergent opinions about this book that tells you something right there. I am on the really liked side of the fence. Yes indeedy, the novel is unbelievable more power to it. It is fiction not biography. The writing is good, the characters (although overshadowed by the plot) are interesting, and the plot is intriguing. This is my second Peter Carey novel (Jack Maggs was my first). I liked Jack Maggs but enjoyed My Life as a Fake significantly more. This is a very odd book and is likely not for everyone it isnt a light summer read. The story is a bit dark, but still endowed with humanity. I truly loved the ambiguity of all of the characters. The impossibility to connect with the characters is (oddly enough) one of the most surprising and endearing charms of this book.

A wonderful book by a wonderful writer

I find Carey's writing captivating in its ability to evoke totally the world of its main characters, and this book has that quality in spades. The feel of Sarah's obsession with Chubb's story and even the smells and sounds of Malaysia swept me up and carried me through a pretty dark story. This reader gives theatrical life and character to the voices of the book, rendering a play-like quality that I found convincing and very pleasurable to listen to. This was one of those books that, despite its darkness and mystery, I was sorry to stop "living in" when it was over. I felt I had visited another country both metaphorically, through immersion in these very original character's minds, and geographically, through the extraordinary evocation of place.

An Original "Fake"

I'm still not quite sure what to make of this novel, which I found irritating and yet oddly compelling. None of the characters, most of whom are "fakes" to one degree or another, is appealing, but their stories (and there are stories within stories within stories here) are intriguing. The literary mystery that drives the plot kept me listening to the end, despite some stomach-turning plot twists and the posh British narrator, whom I found both annoying and yet perfectly cast as the obsessive central character.

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Title: Stone Kiss

Subtitle: A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novel

Author: Faye Kellerman

Narrator: Dennis Boutsikaris

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-09-02

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 100 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The shocking crime propels Decker onto the streets of a city he hasn't walked in 10 years, into an alien environment where his resources quickly run dry and the desperate hours pass without results. With little recourse, Decker is forced into New York's underbelly, seeking help from amoral souls who consider life as expendable as pocket change.

Obsessed with his mission to find the girl, Decker follows a labyrinthine trail of vile deeds and sinister secrets that threaten to pit brother against brother. Soon he's battling an unregenerate evil that threatens everything he holds dear - including Rina.

Critic Reviews:

"No one working in the crime genre is better." (Baltimore Sun)

"Kellerman does for the American cop story what P. D. James has done for the British mystery, lifting it beyond genre." (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Members Reviews:

Easy and great listen!

Faye Kellerman's series with Rina Lazarus and Peter Decker is one of my favorites. She's already written a lot of them, and I'm worried that the series will have to eventually play itself out!!

This one is right up there w her best -- and the narrator is good, too. It's a gripping,can't-put-it-down plot with her well-known excellent character development. I recommend trying her at least once and see if you don't agree.

First-rate Novel Lost in the Narration

The novel is a gem (worthy of at least four stars) but the narrator struggles with Hebrew--his gutteral /kh/ works only a parody; his Yiddish is incomprehensible at best, outrageously wrong at worst; his rendition of Jewish-American colloquial English is not much better. This audiobook is all but unlistenable by at least a significant subset of Kellerman's target audience. Were it, say, French or Spanish that was so mangled, the publisher would never have released this vocal shambles. Recommended only to those with a stone ear.

totally bummed it is abridged!

I didn't even realize that some of the books on the site are abridged -- I completely overlooked that information. And these novels are already short -- why abridge it??? And then you leave me without an audio copy that is unabridged too. I am sorry I wasted my money on this book, and am waiting for another version before moving on in the series.

Poorly read and weak writing

Would you ever listen to anything by Faye Kellerman again?

I love Faye Kellerman this series, but this book is not well written and not well read. It was disappointing.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator read badly, didn't differentiate between the characters and did not know anything about how to pronounce the words in Hebrew or Yiddish.

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Title: The Copper Beech

Author: Maeve Binchy

Narrator: Fionnula Flanagan

Format: Abridged

Length: 3 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 12-16-99

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 44 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

From Ryan's Hotel to Barna Woods, where the gypsies came each year, from Nellie Dunn's sweet shop to Father Gunn's church, the tenor of life in Shancarrig is outwardly placid and uneventful. Some, like Nessa Ryan, in search of passion, would say deadly dull. But behind the calm exterior, serenity fades into unexpected drama: Maddy Ross has a secret love; Eddie Barton, a surprising friendship; the Darcy's, the glamorous newcomers, find a curious partner in poor Maura Brennan. The Dunnes, Kelly's, Leo Murphy, and Dr. Jim's all have their own extraordinary stories to tell...brought to life by Maeve Binchy's sure touch.

Members Reviews:

SLOW

What did you like best about The Copper Beech? What did you like least?

UNDERSTANDING

Has The Copper Beech turned you off from other books in this genre?

NO

What didnt you like about Fionnula Flanagans performance?

SHE WAS GOOD

Do you think The Copper Beech needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

YES I DO, IT ENDED QUICKLY

Any additional comments?

I DID NOT CARE FOR THE BOOK AT ALL

TOO MUCH

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Narrator speaks with such a heavy brog, I couldn't not understand her.

Would you ever listen to anything by Maeve Binchy again?

NO!

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Copper Beech?

The narrator made it too hard to follow the story line.

Gotta Love Maeve Binchy

I am still getting over the fact that we are never going to have a new Maeve Binchy book. I just love her writing. It's storytelling that's seems a bit old-fashioned at first, but yet draws you in. While the books that are set in Dublin are more contemporary than this one, I still like this one too. It's just too bad this one is abridged. I actually listened to the unabridged version several years ago and it was a great listen. Go for the whole book is my advice.