Download the Best Full Audiobooks in Fiction, Contemporary Popular Authors

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: How to be Good

Author: Nick Hornby

Narrator: Frances Barber

Format: Abridged

Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-15-04

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 92 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

But now David's changed. He's become a good person, too, really good. He's found a spiritual leader. He has become kind, soft-spoken, and earnest. He's even got a homeless kid set up in the spare room. Katie isn't sure if this is a deeply-felt conversion, a brain tumor, or David's most brilliantly vicious manipulation yet. Because she's finding it more and more difficult to live with David, and with herself.

Critic Reviews:

"Breezy without being shallow, truth seeking (and, egad, spiritual) without being sentimental, Hornby's novel explores the theme of goodness with tremendous fun." (Booklist)

"Barber's stellar performance turns a worthy novel into a must-listen event." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Sad and Serious

Would you be willing to try another book from Nick Hornby? Why or why not?

Yes I've read many of his books and I really love his stories. They are always entertaining - and many have been adapted into movies which goes to show you that he can write a story for the masses where the characters are likeable, the story is interesting balancing some serious trauma with self deprecating humor. The male character is always so terribly lovable and so seriously flawed. This book however is different. It didn't fall in this camp. It centers around a woman who is mother, wife, doctor and totally miserable. Katie has always done the right thing and she is married to the angriest man in Halloway (her husband's true weekly column self) and did i mention that she is miserable. The story is funny at times, but mostly I think it is serious and the end was just sad. It felt hopeless and serious.

What about Frances Barbers performance did you like?

I liked her impressions of goodnews and Katie. You can hear in her voice how f'in fed up Katie is with her husband, with her life, with her lover, and with goodnews - ahh just with it all. She becomes unglued as her husband lets go of his anger and works at becoming more centered and that feeling of her losing her bearings felt very real. Much of this book felt like witnessing an uncomfortable conversation between friends - you know the kind. You get invited to someone's house and they are actually so fed up with each other that they can't even maintain the illusion of marital civility. Some of the dialogue felt like that.

Any additional comments?

If you want a really good laugh, read Juliet Naked. That by far is one of my all time favorite Nick Hornby books.

Good, but not Hornby's best

What did you like best about How to be Good? What did you like least?

If you're looking for more Nick Hornby, you'll be right at home here. Clever banter between characters and situations that are just a bit outside of believable while still being charming.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

"Really?....Really?" as I mentioned above, just a little too charming and cute to be believable, but not unexpected.

Which scene was your favorite?

Any with the father and goodnews

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Absolutely.

Any additional comments?

If you've only read About a Boy or High Fidelity, go check out "A Long Way Down" next.

Could have been a good short story.

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

It was mildly interesting for the first half, but downright boring the second half.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Sunset and Sawdust

Author: Joe R. Lansdale

Narrator: Joe R. Lansdale

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-24-04

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

So most everyone is surprised and angry when, thanks to the unexpected understanding of her mother-in-law, three-quarter owner of the mill, Sunset is named the new constable. And they're even more surprised when she dares to take the job seriously: beginning an investigation into the murder of a woman and an unborn baby whose oil-drenched bodies are discovered buried on land belonging to the only black landowner in town. Yet no one is more surprised than Sunset herself when the murders lead her, through a labyrinth of greed, corruption, and unspeakable malice, not only to the shocking conclusion of the case, but to a well of inner strength she never knew she had.

Lansdale brings the thick backwoods and swamps of East Texas vividly to life, and he paints a powerfully evocative picture of a time when Jim Crow and the Klan ruled virtually unopposed, when the oil boom was rolling into and over Texas, when any woman who didn't know her place was considered a threat and a target. In Sunset, he gives us a woman who defies all expectations, wrestling a different place for herself with spirit and spit, cunning and courage. And in Sunset and Sawdust he gives us a wildly energetic novel, galvanizing from first to last.

Critic Reviews:

"The book opens with a cyclone, ends with a plague of grasshoppers and in between there's insanity, extreme violence, sex, grotesques aplenty and an excellent dog. What's not to like?" (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Excellent, as usual

As with all of Joe's books that I've read, this was a top-notch story told with a "from the hip" style that draws you in and keeps you on your toes with twists that sneak up on you - there are clues and you may even figure out the gist of it but there's almost always some little something you've overlooked - some thread that helps tie it all together that much tighter that you overlooked even though the clue was sitting there to be seen.

And Joe is great at transporting the reader to a different time and place. It's not always a comfortable time or place and it's not always prett but it's always a fun ride that you're not quite ready to leave when it's run its course.

Normally, I prefer unabridged versions. But to hear Joe read his own story - even abridged - is truly a treat not to be missed.

Lansdale does it again.

Great story. One on which I didn't think I would enjoy but did. Lansdale's voice when great with the story. Can't wait to pick up another one of his books.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: All Over Creation

Author: Ruth Ozeki

Narrator: Anna Fields

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-19-04

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 367 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

As she grapples with her conflicted past and uncertain future, Yumi collides with the Seeds of Resistance, a rollicking band of environmentalists who see her parents' potato farm as an ideal in their fight against genetic engineering.

With her signature wit and uncanny ability to evoke the pathos and humor of life's conundrums, Ozeki spins a tale of family, food, and corporate greed. All Over Creation is the emotionally resonant and utterly unique story of an ordinary woman just trying to make sense of it all as the unceasing cycle of all creation continues around her.

Critic Reviews:

"The story keeps exploding outward like a clump of cells becoming a complex plant but is never out of control; it never even strains credulity. Anna Fields's reading is as accomplished as the storytelling; as audio experiences go, this is just about perfect." (AudioFile)

"This quirky novel is bewitching." (Publishers Weekly)

"Ozeki's characters are utterly charming, and she writes with sensitivity and inventiveness about the complexities of love and nature, deftly humanizing the thorny issues raised by biotechnology with humor and panache in a tale rich in suspense and pathos." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

fantastic

This book is very good and the reading is well done. It reminds me of The Secret Life of Bees, though it is not quite as lyrical, combined with a Tom Robbins novel. A wonderful, quirky listen.

Quirky read! I wasn't disappointed

I read "My Year of Meats" on a whim, loved it, and then was pleasantly surprised to find this book by the same author. But this story was really different than the first, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are richly developed, the plot takes some unexpected turns, and in the end, you feel like these folks were old friends. And of course, the narrator was really great, as she was in "My Year of Meats!" She brought everyone to life in a way that isn't typical of other narrators. If anyone else reads this, I'm curious to know: Do you end up liking Yummy or not? I don't think I've decided yet!

i say potato

Wow! What a pleasure to listen to. The book is very well written but the reader really brought all the characters to life. What really impressed me was how real the characters appeared in the book. They all had their good points and bad points. Many were deeply flawed, which made them that much more real to me. This is not a black and white story. Infinite shades of gray color this wonderful novel. I would definitely recommend this.

Couldn't put it down

I loved this book. Political messages aside, I enjoyed the story, the characters and the narrator.

Now back to politics. I work in agriculture so I hear about GMO's on a daily basis. I think the author did a great job presenting many sides of the issue and the people involved without resorting to taking sides or stereotyping. She actually balanced both sides with characters who ranged from genius to ignorant, some being very amusing to say the least.

All Over Creation

Like Ozeki's first book, this one also weaves pressing environmental/ecological issues with complex characters and a compelling story. The narration was also excellent so that I felt at times that I was listening to a multi-actor dramatization rather than a novel.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Confessions of Max Tivoli

Author: Andrew Sean Greer

Narrator: Brian Keeler

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-26-04

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 220 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Max Tivoli is uniquely cursed. His mind ages normally, but he is born with the withered body of a 70-year-old man, and his body ages in reverse. Despite this torment, Max manages three times to cross paths with Alice, the woman who captures his heart. Because he appears to be a different person each time they meet, Max has three chances for true love.

A story of self-discovery and sacrifice, set against momentous historical events, including the Great San Francisco Earthquake and World War I, The Confessions of Max Tivoli is a spellbinding masterpiece.

Critic Reviews:

"Greer's second novel plumbs the agonies of misdirected love and the pleasures of nostalgia with gratifying richness....Greer writes marvelously nuanced prose; with its turn-of-the-century lilt and poetic flashes, it is the perfect medium for this weird, mesmerizing and heartbreaking tale." (Publishers Weekly) Greer pinpoints the 'tiny hidden madnesses in ordinary people' with unerring accuracy, and, in prose littered with sparks, makes palpable the longing for the celestial." (The New Yorker) "Greer is a writer to watch." (Boston Globe)

Members Reviews:

Preposterous Premise, Captivating Tale

I am absolutely captivated by "The Confessions of Max Tivoli." Its premise is preposterous, but after one employs willing suspension of disbelief, it makes for a great story. Max Tivoli is born with a 70-year old body which, as he gets older, gets younger. His "confession" is made when he's 60, but his body appears to be that of an 11-year-old. In it he reveals that he had encounters with the same woman--with whom he is madly in love--three different times in his life. She thought he was three different people. It says much about the underrated thing that is the love a man can have for a woman, and its steadfastness. It has its flaws--too many coincidences, and I typically guessed every surprise before it was revealed--but I still am enjoying it greatly. And nobody could say that this isn't a highly original plot line.

Tastefully yours,

Tom Fitzmorris

Possibly the saddest book ever written

This book was so sad that it really challenged me to finish it. It was too well-written not to continue with, however. I ended up listening to it in ten minute snatches, so that it took me well over a month to listen to.

What sounds like whinyness on the part of the main character turns out to be something far different - guilt that is only fully understood in the last chapter or so. I could not possibly imagine myself reading this book, but having stumbled onto it, I feel changed for having read it.

Sad, but changed.

odd premise, but it works!

I usually have a hard time with premises that are unbelievable. But the combination of a great story and wonderful narration make this a must-hear book. Greer covers love, aging, relationships, and more in a unique turn-of-the-century story. The narrator's style definitely added to the emotion of the experience.

More Drama/Tragedy than Sci-Fi

This book was not at all what I was expecting, having ordered it from the Sci-Fi category. It was depressing from beginning to end, and more than a little bit ridiculous. I don't mean to say that it was a bad book. It was well written and well narrated and the story line was an interesting concept, though I didn't care for the way it was handled.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Great Fire

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Shirley Hazzard

Narrator: Virginia Leishman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-16-04

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 106 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

National Book Award, Fiction, 2003

Thirty-two-year-old war hero Aldred Leith is in Japan to survey the Hiroshima devastation. His close friend and fellow veteran Peter Exley prosecutes Japanese war criminals in Hong Kong. Striving to rebuild lives shattered by war, both men reach critical turning points. Leith falls in love with a precocious and charming 17-year-old girl, while Exley faces a decision that will forever alter his path.

Author Shirley Hazzard's first novel in more than 20 years, The Great Fire is an elegant and beautifully crafted story that resonates long past the final word.

Critic Reviews:

"What blows away all cobwebs is the extraordinary quality of the writing, gravely beautiful and utterly attentive...[a] marvelous book." (The Observer) "Hazzard combines emotion on a scale we associate with 19th century novels with language that has the freedom and lucid precision of early 20th century modernism." (Salon.com) "The purity of her sentences, each one resonant with implication, create an effortless flow. This is a quiet book, but one that carries portents well beyond its time and place, suggesting the disquieting state of our current world." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Always found something else to do

This is one of those books that must be better as a read than a listen. I would listen for a while, lose track, rewind. You know the ritual. In the end, I got through about three hours of it. Life of Pi has a slow start but then becomes engrossing. This doesn't ever make that step. The review says it's beautifully written. I like a well written book but not something that plods along like this.

Save your money and your time

The review sounded so good I couldn't resist. I was hoping for another "Memoirs of a Geisha" but boy, was I disappointed. The story bounces all over the place, never seems to have a consistent theme and finally, turns out to be just plain boring. I'll give the author some credit; the imagery is nice and having traveled to many of the same locations in Asia myself, I enjoyed her descriptions of those places set in a bygone era. Unfortunately, the budding story of a war hero's longing for a very young girl (he refers to her as the "Changeling") made me think the guy was little more than a pedophile.

Profound Waste of Time

I've probably listened to about 200 audiobooks. This was, without any hesitation, the most wretchedly, painfully boring book I have ever heard. Every single character was amazingly unlikeable. I detested them all. I was disappointed when I realized (after finishing the first half) that it wasn't over -- there were another three hours to endure. The plot is insipid. The production was poor (several times we were told that we were at the end of a cassette tape). The narrator's voice was a grating, fake british accent. Several times (and the memory makes me shudder) to set the post-war mood, she sings a lyric or two from popular songs of the era. I loathe this book. I want the eight hours I spent listening to this back.

A high-class romance novel

The "Great Fire" is a high-class romance novel that contains a mixture of historical fiction, psychological portraiture, political commentary on WWII and its aftermath (particularly in east Asia, but also with some focus on England & Australia & New Zealand).

Listen to this audiobook free with a 30-day trial. Go to http://audiobookspace.com/free

Title: Red Poppies

Author: Alai

Narrator: Ping Wu

Format: Abridged

Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-19-02

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Ambitious, sensuous, filled with intriguing characters, panoramic settings, and high drama, Red Poppies opens a window on pre-occupation Tibet, dispelling many of the popular myths of a pacifistic society peopled by devout worshipers.

Critic Reviews:

"It succeeds marvelously as a wacky and immensely enjoyable portrait of a thoroughly unusual figure." (Publishers Weekly)

"Shrewdly satiric and wonderfully entertaining." (Booklist)

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Wish You Well

Author: David Baldacci

Narrator: Kate Burton

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-07-01

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 61 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Then, in a single, terrifying moment, Lou's life is changed forever, and she and Oz are on a train rolling away from New York and down into the mountains of Virginia. There, Lou's mother will begin a long, slow struggle between life and death. And there, Lou and Oz will be raised by their remarkable great-grandmother, Louisa, Lou's namesake.

Suddenly this young girl finds herself coming of age in a landscape that could not be more foreign to her. On her great-grandmother's farm, on the land her father loved and wrote about, Lou finds her first true friend; learns lessons in loyalty, tragedy, and redemption; and experiences adventures tragic, comic, and audacious. When a dark, destructive force encroaches on their new home, Lou and her brother are caught up in another struggle - a struggle for justice and survival that will be played out in a crowded Virginia courtroom.

Critic Reviews:

"Baldacci triumphs with his best novel yet, an utterly captivating drama [which] offers...bone-deep emotional truth" (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

wish it was better

I was disappointed with this book. The story is predictable and simplistic. I enjoy stories about growing up in rural areas, but this one doesn't ring true. Check out "A Painted House" by John Grisham, its much better. I am not a fan of Grisham's or Baldacci's regular fare, but enjoy good biographies and auto-biographies.

Wish you Well

Just a great Book, I really enjoyed it!!

Wish You Well

A Great book on growing up in rural America. Baldacci captures your heart on this one. Hopefully it will become a movie someday.

Worth the listen!

It is a very enjoyable well read story.

Thank you for the efforts that went into this production.

Listen to this audiobook free with a 30-day trial. Go to http://audiobookspace.com/free

Title: Your Oasis on Flame Lake

Author: Lorna Landvik

Narrator: Lorna Landvik

Format: Abridged

Length: 3 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 06-13-00

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In the small Minnesota shore town of Flame Lake, a close-knit group of friends find their comfortable lives taking some unforeseen turns. Best friends Devera and BiDi were recently voted "Least Changed" at their twentieth high school reunion, but Devera is starting to think of the label as insulting. Sure, she loves her husband and still believes being a wife and mother is the main entree on life's plate...but she longs for some more exotic side dishes. Lorna Landvik, author of

, creates real, resilient people we come to know and love, and stories with brilliant wit and amazing resonance.

©1997 Lorna Landvik; (P)1997 HighBridge Company; Cover Photo © Robert Mertens/Photonica

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Naked Face

Author: Sidney Sheldon

Narrator: William Roberts

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-03-14

Publisher: Phoenix Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Hanson died quickly - with a knife in his back. Carole was next - covered with acid and tortured to death. Now it's Judd's turn - a New York pschoanalyst, he'd known them both. Two faceless executioners on a murderous mission, searching for a secret which is unknown to Judd. Not safe at home or at work, Judd feels his professional grip slipping while he faces constant threat of imminent attack. To whom can he ultimately turn? To the sharp-witted private eye he hired? To the two policeman watching, one with undisguised hostility? To his beautiful and mysterious new client who has taken hold of his heart?

A disturbing drama and the first novel from multi best-selling author Sidney Sheldon.

Members Reviews:

Really Good!!

This is one of his earlier works and one of his best. I really did like this storyline and the unexpected twist towards the ending!

Happy Reading!!

Poor recording quality

I enjoyed the story and will buy more Sidney Sheldon. The recording however was unprofessional - the volume and quality changed several times during the story. I'm surprised this slipped past Audibles quality control.

cgammon

a little to descriptive at times.made for slow read. the was to slow in coming

Very good Sheldon

Sidney Sheldon at his best. Full of surprises, good story, the reader suspects the wrong people - of course! A surprising end. Very well read.

The key character is a handsome and lonely psychoanalyst. People get killed for no apparent reason, the police suspects the shrink, there is a bad cop, a good cop,

a colourful detective that we hesitate how to classify, a beautiful and mysterious woman... Enjoy!

Great Story and Great Narator :-)

Had this on tape before loved it then love it now. Just one word Brilliant!

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Second Person Singular

Author: Sayed Kashua, Mitch Ginsburg - translator

Narrator: Elijah Alexander

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-06-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

From one of the most important contemporary voices to emerge from the Middle East comes a gripping tale of love and betrayal, honesty and artifice, which asks whether it is possible to truly reinvent ourselves, to shed our old skin and start anew.

Second Person Singular follows two men, a successful Arab criminal attorney and a social worker-turned-artist, whose lives intersect under the most curious of circumstances. The lawyer has a thriving practice in the Jewish part of Jerusalem, a large house, a Mercedes, speaks both Arabic and Hebrew, and is in love with his wife and two young children. In an effort to uphold his image as a sophisticated Israeli Arab, he often makes weekly visits to a local bookstore to pick up popular novels. On one fateful evening, he decides to buy a used copy of Tolstoy's The Kreutzer Sonata, a book his wife once recommended. To his surprise, inside he finds a small white note, a love letter, in Arabic, in her handwriting. "I waited for you, but you didn't come. I hope everything's all right. I wanted to thank you for last night. It was wonderful. Call me tomorrow?"

Consumed with suspicion and jealousy, the lawyer slips into a blind rage over the presumed betrayal. He first considers murder, revenge, then divorce, but when the initial sting of humiliation and hurt dissipates, he decides to hunt for the book's previous owner - a man named Yonatan, a man who is not easy to track down, whose identity is more complex than imagined, and whose life is more closely aligned with his own than expected. In the process of dredging up old ghosts and secrets, the lawyer tears the string that holds all of their lives together.

A Palestinian who writes in Hebrew, Sayed Kashua defies classification and breaks through cultural barriers. He communicates, with enormous emotional power and a keen sense of the absurd, the particular alienation and the psychic costs of people struggling to straddle two worlds. Second Person Singular is a deliciously complex psychological mystery and a searing dissection of the individuals that comprise a divided society.

Critic Reviews:

"Part comedy of manners, part psychological mystery.... Issues of nationalism, religion, and passing collide with quickly changing social and sexual mores." (Boston Globe)

Members Reviews:

A great read!

A refreshing and entertaining novel from a modern Arab Israeli perspective. An angle not often seen in the the Israeli Arab narrative. A highly recommended work of fiction!

Excellent story, but performance needed work

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator did an excellent job with the Arabic-speaking characters, but didn't even bother to find out how to pronounce the names of the main Hebrew-speaking characters. That's unforgivable. He also didn't differentiate between Israeli and Palestinian accents. It's a demanding book to perform and the narrator should have been better prepared.

Any additional comments?

Keshua is an excellent writer who tells a compelling story.

Brilliant writing

Loved this fascinating story-a very unusual glimpse into the lives of Palestinian Israeli professionals. The narration was good, but, as a Hebrew speaker, I was bothered by mispronunciation of Hebrew words and use of same accents for Hebrew and Arabic speakers.