Download Best Sellers Audiobooks in Fiction, Literary

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Title: Innocents and Others

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Dana Spiotta

Narrator: January LaVoy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-08-16

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 68 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

From "a major, unnervingly intelligent writer" (Joy Williams), "rich, funny, learned, and tonally fresh" (Jeffrey Eugenides), comes a novel about aspiration, film, work, and love.

Dana Spiotta's new novel is about two women, best friends, who grow up in LA in the '80s and become filmmakers. Meadow and Carrie have everything in common - except their views on sex, power, moviemaking, and morality. Their lives collide with Jelly, a loner whose most intimate experience is on the phone. Jelly is older, erotic, and mysterious. She cold calls powerful men and seduces them not through sex but through listening. She invites them to reveal themselves, and they do.

Spiotta is "a wonderfully gifted writer with an uncanny feel for the absurdities and sadnesses of contemporary life, and an unerring ear for how people talk and try to cope today" (The New York Times). Innocents and Others is her greatest novel - wise, artful, and beautiful.

Members Reviews:

Likable story and a wonderful reader

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

So far in life, I have not met in person any other Dana Spiotta fans though I know she has many. In the main, the people I know choose books with plots and aren't particularly charmed by Dana Spiotta type characters or obsessive film buffs.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Innocents and Others?

What was memorable to me was January LaVoy's read of it. Compared to her performance, the written text might have felt limp.

What does January LaVoy bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

Her talent. Plus her voice is a lovely one.

Beautifully written profile of the artist's psyche

Any additional comments?

A beautifully written novel about art, friendship, feminism, love, and human nature. Dark, quirky and eccentric this story is an intricately interwoven tale of a unique cast of characters. A far cry from your typical pop fiction, an interesting and worthwhile listen.

Bored me to tears

This book wasnt for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I don't know why I didn't like this book I listened to maybe 3 hours on various car rides, then I had to stop. It was boring me to tears, and I listen to audiobooks to help me stay awake while driving.

What could Dana Spiotta have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I didn't see the purpose of the story.

What three words best describe January LaVoys performance?

Mildly annoying (sorry...that's only 2 words).

Any additional comments?

Some magazine (Marie Claire maybe?) gave it a good review, so I thought I'd give it a try. I should've waited for other Audible listeners to weigh in before purchasing the audiobook.

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Title: Reap

Author: Eric Rickstad

Narrator: R. C. Bray

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-16-16

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 34 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Like a cross between Denis Johnson's Already Dead and David Lynch's Blue Velvet, Reap draws us into the hot, still air of a summer backwoods at whose fringes lurk danger and epiphany.

Jessup Burke, a lonely, naïve 16-year-old, has grown up without a father in a jobless, indifferent logging town. Out of high school a year early, he now bikes through the woods with his fishing gear, daydreaming of his sweetheart and their secret "home" in an abandoned farmhouse. When Reg, an embittered, paranoid recluse fresh out of jail for growing marijuana, encounters Jessup hitchhiking, he is at first drawn to the boy's easily manipulated naïveté, but the two soon become irreversibly bound.

As Jessup unknowingly participates in Reg's perilous criminal behavior, he also endangers himself when his relationship with Marigold, Reg's married younger sister, goes beyond friendship. Jessup's rude awakening into adulthood is rendered in sure and supple prose in this dramatic, action-packed novel.

Critic Reviews:

"[P]eople and situations twist inexorably in unpredictable, dangerous directions." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

It is a novel.....

Any additional comments?

I was incredibly disappointed in this book. The cover says "A Novel" and it sure is a novel. If you are looking for something similar to The Silent Girls- do not purchase this book. It is really not good. The book is about several characters who go about their daily life. There is no plot, drama, twist, or turns. I kept waiting for something, anything to happen. Nothing ever happened. I normally listen to 5-6 audio books a month- but this book was so slow it took me about three weeks to get through it. I am returning it to Audible because it was so bad. I would strong recommend listening to The Silent Girls but not Reap.

Usually like this author.

This book slow. Really slow until last hour and then you have to listen twice to try my to understand the ending. I was unhappy with the wasted time.

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Title: The Core of the Sun

Author: Johanna Sinisalo, Lola Rogers - translator

Narrator: Coleen Marlo

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-16-16

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 26 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

From the author of the Finlandia Award-winning novel Troll: A Love Story, The Core of the Sun further cements Johanna Sinisalo's reputation as a master of literary speculative fiction and of her country's unique take on it, dubbed "Finnish weird". Set in an alternative historical present, in a "eusistocracy" - an extreme welfare state - that holds public health and social stability above all else, it follows a young woman whose growing addiction to illegal chili peppers leads her on an adventure into a world where love, sex, and free will are all controlled by the state.

The Eusistocratic Republic of Finland has bred a new human subspecies of receptive, submissive women, called eloi, for sex and procreation while intelligent, independent women are relegated to menial labor and sterilized so that they do not carry on their "defective" line. Vanna, raised as an eloi but secretly intelligent, needs money to help her doll-like sister, who has disappeared. Vanna forms a friendship with a man named Jare, and they become involved in buying and selling a stimulant known to the Health Authority to be extremely dangerous: chili peppers. Then Jare comes across a strange religious cult in possession of the Core of the Sun, a chili so hot that it is rumored to cause hallucinations. Does this chili have effects that justify its prohibition? How did Finland turn into the North Korea of Europe? And will Vanna succeed in her quest to find her sister, or will her growing need to satisfy her chili addiction destroy her? Johanna Sinisalo's tautly told story of fight and flight is also a feisty, between-the-lines social polemic - a witty, inventive, and fiendishly engaging listen.

Members Reviews:

Very Strange, but Great To Listen To!

I loved the narrator- her voice was perfection and she wasn't dead. She made the story a great listen. I laughed, cringed and pondered the odd tale, but definitely enjoyed it.

Chile, Chile, Chile

Absolutely loved the structure of the book. A lot of fun delving into the story. Predictable ending, but overall a good story. The journey was more fun than the destination!

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Title: Girl Through Glass

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Sari Wilson

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-26-16

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 86 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

In the roiling heat of the summer of 1977, 11-year-old Mira enters the high-stakes world of New York City ballet, a fiercely competitive world of struggle, obsession, passion for beauty - and something sinister that will challenge her, protect her, and ultimately take her innocence.

After her parents' divorce and a childhood spent between her father's tony Upper East Side dwelling and her mother's disordered Brooklyn habitat, young Mira becomes fascinated with the perfectionism, power, and promise of glory that ballet offers. Over the course of four years, she hones her talent, becoming a dancer for Balanchine - one of "Mr. B's girls" - eventually attracting the attention of 47-year-old Maurice, a reclusive, charismatic balletomane who haunts the city's dance studios and takes the young girl under his wing. As Mira plunges deeper into the ballet world, her relationship with Maurice intensifies, isolating her and taking her to darker and darker places within herself.

In the present day, Kate, a professor of dance at a Midwestern college, embarks on a risky affair with a student that threatens to obliterate her career and upend the life she has painstakingly created for her reinvented self. When she receives a letter from a man she has long thought dead, Kate is hurled back to the dramas of a past she thought she had left behind.

This enthralling literary debut is told in interweaving narratives that move between past and present, illuminating the costs and privileges of ambition and excellence and whether the sacrifices we make for an ideal destroy us - or save us.

Members Reviews:

I'm not even finished but so irritated already.

What would have made Girl Through Glass better?

It's pointe pronounced POINT. Not pwont. I am so distracted by that....it's silly, I know. But COME ON. In less OCD thoughts, so far, this book is just getting nowhere and not even fast. So many authors these days do that thing....you know....the thing where they jump back and forth from the past and the present. If it's done well, it's a good tool for suspense and an interesting way to present the history of a character. In this case, it's just choppy.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I'm not sure yet.

What didnt you like about Tavia Gilberts performance?

Aside from the pointe/pwont thing,I actually think Ms. Gilbert is a good performer. She does various voices for the different characters very well and seamlessly. She has a good grasp of French pronunciation,aside, of course, from "pwont." As an aside, there have been a few cases where she does say pointe and I almost celebrate when she does.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Darkness. I have not finished the book, so this sentiment may change, but the book's main character is insipid. I think we are supposed to think she is a woman of strength and determination, but truly, she is weak and lets things happen to her. She hasn't, thus far anyway, shown any strength or will power.

Any additional comments?

I am hoping this book takes a turn towards the end, where I am currently.

Mostly decent

My main problem with listening to this book was the narrater's insistence on saying " pa-went" instead of "pointe." It set my teeth on edge every time I heard it.

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Title: The Illegal

Author: Lawrence Hill

Narrator: Gideon Emery

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-25-16

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 241 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Keita Ali has nothing: no bank account, no papers, no legal identity. A runner, he has fled home - a brutal dictatorship that produces the world's fastest marathoners - to live as an illegal refugee in a wealthy Western nation, surviving on winnings from local races. But the government is cracking down on illegal immigrants, so Keita - who will be executed if he is deported to his homeland - goes underground.

Now a series of crises call for him to earn quick money: an unscrupulous businessman targets him, a serious health problem erupts, and, most troublingly, officials in Keita's native country kidnap his sister, threatening to execute her unless he pays a ransom. As Keita struggles to resolve these problems, he discovers a troubling political connection between his native and his adoptive countries.

The Illegal is a rich, riveting novel that weaves a complex moral and psychological web.

Members Reviews:

Very good read

The narrator was captivating. I loved the way he could switch character and you knew who was talking. Job well done.

enjoyable read

the narrator was every engaging. the story was very well written. the style of writing from different perspective is very refreshing. it was a enjoyable read. thank you!

Needs a good edit to be great

The story here is fine, strong characters, and in a broad way-of-the-world sort of mode. But as with The Book of the Negro, there's a sense of slackness around the narrative drive at points, and a sense that a strong story-edit would help.

The Illegal

Good story, and the narrator is on point with each character. One of my better listens so far.

Very good read

I really enjoyed this book. Well written and well read. The story flowed nicely. Didn't dwell too long on one thing but moved on just when you would want it too. Plus I'm a sucker for happy endings!

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Title: Coal River

Author: Ellen Marie Wiseman

Narrator: C. S. E. Cooney

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-24-15

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 102 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

As a child, Emma Malloy left isolated Coal River, Pennsylvania, vowing never to return. Now, orphaned and penniless at 19, she accepts a train ticket from her aunt and uncle and travels back to the rough-hewn community. Treated like a servant by her relatives, Emma works for free in the company store. There, miners and their impoverished families must pay inflated prices for food, clothing, and tools while those who owe money are turned away to starve.

Most heartrending of all are the breaker boys Emma sees around the village - young children who toil all day sorting coal amid treacherous machinery. Their soot-stained faces remind Emma of the little brother she lost long ago, and she begins leaving stolen food on families' doorsteps and marking the miners' bills as paid.

Though Emma's actions draw ire from the mine owner and police captain, they lead to an alliance with a charismatic miner who offers to help her expose the truth. As the lines blur between what is legal and what is just, Emma must risk everything to follow her conscience.

Members Reviews:

Great history

If you have ever visited Jim Thorpe, PA and have visited the historic jail, then you have walked into the jail/gallows scene in the book. Very gripping. Helpful fictional account of the true motivation of miners' strikes and the push for child labor laws.

Sappy!

I wouldn't waste my time!

Predictable middle and ending. Skip it I had to read for book club

Great subject - soapy story

This is a very painful chapter in our history that not all people know about. Would have had s greater impact had the story been s little less soapy

Best book I've listened to all year.

This book was awesome. I didn't want it to end, you can't go wrong with this one.

Not my Favorite narrator

Sometimes narrators make the book. Other times, they don't. Read this as a hard copy. I liked the story just not the narrator.

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Titel: Old School

Autor:: John Niven

Erzähler: Gerd Köster

Format: Unabridged

Spieldauer: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 11-20-15

Herausgeber: Random House Audio, Deutschland

Kategorien: Fiction, Literary

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Eine wilde Satire über Freundschaft, das Altern, die englische Mittelschicht und Gruppensex.

Susan und Julie sind gerade 60 Jahre alt geworden. Sie leben in einem kleinen Dorf in Südengland und sind seit der Schulzeit miteinander befreundet. Susan führt ein bürgerliches Hausfrauendasein, Julie lebt in einer Sozialwohnung und arbeitet als Aushilfe in einem Pflegeheim. Als Susans Ehemann Barry tot aufgefunden wird, offenbart sich, dass er ein surreales Doppelleben als Swinger führte und Susan einen finanziellen Scherbenhaufen hinterlassen hat. Um nicht in Altersarmut abzurutschen, greifen sie zu einer radikalen Lösung: einem Banküberfall.

Gerd Köster liest Nivens kluge, aber auch verrückte Satire mit seiner Charakterstimme gewohnt lässig und mit viel rauem Charme.

©2015 John Niven / Wilhelm Heyne Verlag (P)2015 Random House Audio

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Title: Nevra

Author: Paulo Coelho

Narrator: Jana Stryková

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-18-15

Publisher: Tympanum s.r.o.

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Linda vede zdánlive dokonal ivot: má milujícího zámoného manela, dve úasné deti a jako úspená novinárka pracuje v prestiním enevském listu.

Znenadání vak prijde okamik pravdy a Linda si behem jednoho interview uvedomí, e její zajiten, snadno predvídateln ivot je jen nudn stereotyp a ona sama místo testí u dlouho cítí apatii a nudu. A práve tehdy se po letech setkává se svou studentskou láskou, nyní úspenm politikem. Jedin den, presahující vechny její dosavadní zkuenosti, rázem staví ivot do zcela nového svetla...

©2014 Paulo Coelho (P)2015 Tympanum

Critic Reviews:

Treinka a pecka zároven.

-- iDNES.cz

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Title: The Fires of Spring

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: James A. Michener

Narrator: Larry McKeever

Format: Unabridged

Length: 24 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-08-15

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

An intimate early novel from James A. Michener, now remembered as the beloved master of the historical epic, The Fires of Spring unfolds with the bittersweet drama of a boy's perilous journey into manhood.

David Harper is an orphan, seemingly doomed to loneliness and poverty. As an adolescent con artist and petty thief, David spends his days grifting at an amusement park, the place where he first learns about women and the mysteries of love. Soon he discovers that his longing to embrace the world is stronger than the harsh realities that constrain him. Featuring autobiographical touches from Michener's own life story, The Fires of Spring is more than a novel: It's a rich slice of American life, brimming with wisdom, longing, and compassion.

Editorial Reviews:

"Michener is a gifted storyteller." (Kirkus Reviews)

Critic Reviews:

"A warm-hearted, readable story, crammed with lively incident and remarkable characters." (The Atlantic)

"Heartfelt.... Immensely readable.... Michener is a born writer." (The New York Times)

Members Reviews:

Not Your Typical Michener Story

Any additional comments?

This one didn't begin with dinosaurs and land bridges connecting continents, instead it was a novel of a boy growing up as an orphan in a poor house and falling in and out of love as he grew up. He struggled with being good vs getting ahead but the women he fell for always seemed to set him back. I would classify it as a coming of age book and, maybe it's because I'm a dad now with kids his age, but I kept wanting to strangle David for some of his bone headed choices. But I guess we learn from the good and bad choices we make throughout our lives. I appreciate Michener's writing and was looking for something from him that wasn't so vastly sweeping. That is what I found in the Fires of Spring.

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Title: Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Subtitle: Summary & Analysis

Author: Instaread

Narrator: Michael Gilboe

Format: Unabridged

Length: 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-07-15

Publisher: Instaread

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:

Jean Louise Finch tries to go home again and finds tiny Maycomb, Alabama, grappling with the emerging civil rights movement in the mid-1950s. Set nearly 20 years after the events in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee's classic American novel Go Set a Watchman looks at the earlier book's beloved characters in a different and sometimes shocking light. Go Set a Watchman, however, was written first and became the groundwork from which To Kill a Mockingbird was developed.

At 26 Jean Louise, who managed to grow up color-blind in the Deep South, has been living in New York City. She arrives home for her fifth annual two-week visit eager to see her father, Atticus. She also plans to see her longtime suitor, Henry "Hank" Clinton, her brother's best friend and junior partner in Atticus' law firm. She thinks she may be ready to settle down and give Atticus some grandchildren, but what she discovers undermines every assumption she has ever had....

Please note: This is a summary and analysis of the book and not the original book.

Inside this Instaread Summary & Analysis of Go Set a Watchman you'll find:

About the author: With Instaread, you can get the summary and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, summarize it, and analyze it for your convenience.

Members Reviews:

Not what I had hoped

This is a good download if you want a summary and simple analysis. I had already read the book and had hoped for more in depth analysis - not here. Also found the reader's voice to be a bit too monotone for my taste.