Get Best Full Audiobooks in Classics, American Literature

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Title: Ethan Frome

Author: Edith Wharton

Narrator: Pete Cross

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-12-17

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Burdened by poverty and spiritually dulled by a loveless marriage to Zeena, his older and ailing wife, Ethan Frome is emotionally stirred by the arrival of their youthful cousin, Mattie Silver, who becomes employed as household help. Mattie's presence not only brightens a gloomy house but also stirs long-dormant feelings in Ethan. However, their growing love for each other is discovered by the embittered Zeena, and it presages an ending to the tale that is both shocking and savagely ironic.

Members Reviews:

Oh, Edith, you've done it again!

I love the emotions she evokes in her writings, but it's just so darn depressing. Ethan Frome isn't nearly as endearing as House of Mirth, but it still pulls at your heart. Somehow, despite his actions, you sympathize with Ethan to a point, lining for him to find peace even though you know it's hopeless. I think the reason I enjoyed House of Mirth more is because I didn't know the outcome of the story, so there was always some piece of me that held onto hope. In Ethan Frome, however, Wharton introduces Ethan as a depressed, disfigured man with secrets, then takes you back in time to how he came to that point. You begin the story knowing he ends up unhappy, so there isn't any room for hope. You're simply edged on by your curiosity to find out what exactly brought about his doomed existence in life.

Despite not really caring for the story itself, I feel I must give Wharton her dues by rating at least 3 stars; her writing is just so beautiful! Like I said, I was curious from the get-go of how Ethan Frome got to where he was. I wanted to know what came of each character, even though I don't think I deeply cared for any of them. It's a strange kind of detached curiosity, almost like reading a bad gossip column (though written about 10x better lol). You must know what happens to the characters even though you'll probably discard the information shortly after finding it out.

If you enjoyed Ethan Frome just a little, you must go on to read House of Mirth. I'm sure you'll enjoy it just as much, if not more.

Ethan Frome and Summer

Surprising character, not what I expected. He did not improve his life by falling in love with another woman. It was a sad book, about a dissatisfied man. His wife was sour and tried to get sympathy and attention by her ailments, but just succeeded in alienating her husband. He and his paramour tried to leave by committing suicide, and failed, and then had to suffer the consequences of this failure, for the rest of their lives.

Summer was about a silly listless girl that took up with a newcomer. It was kind of creepy that the man who adopted and raised her wanted her for a lover and married her when the man who got her pregnant left her for his original fiance.

Tragic but enjoyable

81. One of the most tragic characters in literature is Ethan Frome. I really enjoyed this work, the author uses wonderful words to describe her scenes of the country side. I also found that her discourses of the characters hold to the dialect of the area. The beginning and ending of the story are told as a narrative by a visitor to the village, the middle section is the story of Ethan and the history of his relationships. I have seen the visual with Liam Neeson in the role of Ethan and thought it was true to the book and wonderfully portrayed.

A classic I read in High School

I re-read this recently after not having read it in about 30 years.

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Title: The Man in Lower Ten

Author: Mary Roberts Rinehart

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-25-17

Publisher: Audio Book Contractors, LLC

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

A young lawyer survives a ghastly train wreck only to be accused of murdering a man who accidentally fell asleep in the wrong berth! This is another whirlwind of a whodunit by the author of The Circular Staircase.

Members Reviews:

Dangerous Train Travel

I understand from other reviews that this is an early Mary Rinehart mystery which may explain the confusing plot. I did enjoy the main characters, and I loved the 1906 setting. Cars were so rare that their owners named them, and trains were a vital part of American life--a great place for a murder. Worth the read.

Caveat: Rinehart uses terms for African-Americans that are clearly offensive, and she portrays black servants as little more than children in adult bodies. It can be jarring in 2016.

Too many coincidences!

Novels of certain eras really love to have all of their characters impossibly connected, and this is one of them. It's just one unrealistic coincidence after another. For me, a few ridiculous connections in a novel are quaint, this many were annoying. Every character (including minor ones like a maid) have connections to multiple characters.

For instance, the maid mentioned works for one of the suspects but also has an aunt working for the family of our hero's love interest. If that sounds confusing, it's because it is. It's like piecing together an incestuous family tree ("so he is the uncle, but also the brother?"). And why did Rinehart even feel the need to include such minute and silly details?

It isn't just social and familial coincidences, though, the plot is full of them too. The murder is somehow simultaneous with two frauds (one related to the murder and one not), crimes of passion (again one related and one not), a silly musical chairs-type confluence of events, improbable actions by the criminals, AND a literal train wreck. ....SPOILER ALERT..... (((Then the ONLY survivors are ALL the people involved in the crime! Ugh.......))))

I didn't care for the love story, again because of too many silly coincidences, but also because there is a bit of damsel in distress to it, and because I don't really care for the girl. She has information in a murder investigation that could help keep the hero out of jail and hides it because it's a little embarrassing. She seems to fall for every guy (and gets proposed to by ALL men *eyeroll*), and is loved and adored by all, but we are never given any reason for this other than she is pretty.

However, the main character is generally likeable (even though he betrays his best friend), and there are several funny bits and witty dialogue.

110 years old and still worth reading

Mary Roberts Rinehart was one of the most popular and prolific American authors of the first half of the 20th Century. She's sometimes called "The American Agatha Christie." I often wonder what she thought about this back-handed compliment, since THE MAN IN LOWER TEN (her first book) preceded Christie's AFFAIR AT STYLES by 14 years. Both were female and prolific and wrote mysteries, but there are few other similarities that I can see.

Whereas Christie followed the time-honored recipe of a professional detective and his sidekick, Rinehart's mysteries are novels with a mystery thrown in. Her characters (IMHO) are more finely drawn and her romances are witty and realistic.

This is one of her books with a narrator and one of only three with a male narrator.

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Title: Anthem

Author: Ayn Rand

Narrator: Andrew Garman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-06-17

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Ayn Rand's classic tale of a dystopian future of the great "We" - a world that deprives individuals of a name or independence - that anticipates her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.

They existed only to serve the state. They were conceived in controlled Palaces of Mating. They died in the Home of the Useless. From cradle to grave, the crowd was one - the great WE. In all that was left of humanity, there was only one man who dared to think, seek, and love. He lived in the dark ages of the future. In a loveless world, he dared to love the woman of his choice. In an age that had lost all trace of science and civilization, he had the courage to seek and find knowledge. But these were not the crimes for which he would be hunted. He was marked for death because he had committed the unpardonable sin: He had stood forth from the mindless human herd. He was a man alone. He had rediscovered the lost and holy word - I.

"I worship individuals for their highest possibilities as individuals, and I loathe humanity, for its failure to live up to these possibilities."-Ayn Rand

Members Reviews:

Definitely a must-read for anyone into philosophy

I was recommended this book by a friend, and I do not regret it at all. The book is hard to follow for a specific reason which I won't really go into. But for the sake of the book, Ayn Rand had to make it like that to prove her point. I do feel like she over-exaggerates her philosophy, and that can drive away potential readers who feel like she's too much of a nut-job.

Another very interesting point; There are two versions of this book in one. The first is the official publication of Anthem, the second being Ayn Rand's rough draft. The rough draft kind of lets you into the mind of the writer, how they think of what to take out and what to keep. It's awfully brief too for being such a good book. But certainly something everyone into philosophy needs to read, because this can redefine your ideas.

Anthem, An inspired read

I read this book when I was in college and it is more relevant today than it was then. Ayn Rand grew up in the Soviet Union during the rise of communism and has lived first hand the brutality of collective thinking and it's threat to individual freedom and the pursuit of happiness. This book takes about 2 hours to read, but it will last you a lifetime.

and is admittedly pretty short for one of her books

Anthem can feel a little dry and confusing sometimes, but an attentive reading will net you the main ideas and overall themes of the story. It is not dissimilar to Rand's other works, and is admittedly pretty short for one of her books. If you're new to Rand and want a decent introduction to her writing, this would be my pick for you.

Short and Simple

A very short and incredibly symbolic read, Anthem is nothing like Rand's other books, but the theme of individualism is very clear. This is a perfect introduction to Ayn Rand for younger kids (middle school+), but is not as representative of her ideology as Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead. It's definitely something worth reading for a day if you've enjoyed her other works, but do not let its simplicity limit your views of her works.

I like this book

I like this book. It is very useful for advanced leaner of English, because the vocabularies and grammar are not too complicated. In addition, the novel is very interesting.

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Title: A Jury of Her Peers

Author: Susan Glaspell

Narrator: Sara Morsey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-09-17

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Susan Glaspell, one of the founders of the Provincetown Players, first published this short story adaptation of her popular one-act play Trifles in 1917. Both story and play have appeared in numerous anthologies.

Inspired by events witnessed during her years as a court reporter in Iowa, Glaspell crafted a story in which two rural women deduce the details of a murder in which a housewife is accused of killing her husband. This nuanced tale revolves around the women's understanding the clues left amidst the "trifles" of the housewife's kitchen.

Performed by professional regional actor Sara Morsey.

Members Reviews:

Five Stars

Great short story!

One of The Best Short Stories I Have Ever Read

I read the short story, "A Jury of Her Peers". I did not read the play. The short story is one of the best short stories I have ever read. I am a retired police officer, 39 years, 31 as a detective. I will not risk spoiling this story. It is the story of a death. But to me, this story is so relevant on so many levels, I am extremely impressed. The men, the officials, seem smug and condescending. In the meantime the women, the "amateurs" figure everything out. What I can not figure out myself is, whether or not what they found would have hurt or helped the female under investigation; either then or now.... And I wonder how Susan Glaspell felt about it. I do not believe I have previously read anything by Susan Glaspell. But I assure you I intend to study her work further. This was excellent.

As I previously stated I do not want to say or do anything to spoil the reading of this story for anyone. If, after reading this story, the reader has a further interest in the emergence of the issue of domestic violence, in literature, from the perspective of a FEMALE author, I respectfully recommend another short story, "Janet's Repentence" by George Eliot, birth name Mary Ann Evans.

Very thought provoking a must read for history enthusiasts

This is a short read but very thought provoking. The two women are truly a jury of peers of the acused in this story. It is a fictional account of a woman arrested for the murder of her husband in the early 1900's. The setting is a rural farm which gives the reader the sense of the isolation that farm women faced each day. The understanding of this isolation enhances the feelings & actions of the women & the desparation the acused must have felt that led her to murder her husband. The book started out as a play based on a real crime of similar nature that Susan Glaspell covered as a journalist for a Des Moines, Iowa newspaper. The crime is the subject of another book that I highly recommend as well. The book is Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America's Heartland by Patricia L. Bryan.

The Jury of Her Peers

Upon reading Susan Glaspell: a Critical Biography in high school, I learned that within the era of Glaspell's most important stories and plays, it was mainly unacceptable to talk outwardly about the issue faced by woman within their homes and marriages. For any writer who chose to raise awareness of these issues, it was necessary to sneak into hard questions and uncomfortable truths through innuendo and suggestion. Jury of Her Peers deals with the investigation of a man's "mysterious" murder.

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Title: Queen Zixi of Ix: The Story of the Magic Cloak

Author: L. Frank Baum

Narrator: Flo Gibson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-09-16

Publisher: Audio Book Contractors, LLC

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

In this exciting tale, a King, a Queen, and the Roly-Rogues parry and wage war. The plot also involves a magic cloak, each wearer of which has one wish granted - with surprising results!

Members Reviews:

Great book

This story is L Frank Baum's greatest story outside of the Oz book. I recommend it well to adults and children alike.

As Good as the Wizard!

L. Frank Baum is best known for THE WIZARD OF OZ and the sequels he wrote to that series. All of them are good but, of course, some are better than others. He wrote other stories as well and most of them take place in the same general locale as the Oz stories. The kingdoms and personages may vary but the "feel" remains the same. This book is one such.

This is an original fairy tale and has many of the familiar aspects of the classical genre. It is fun and well written and is as fully deserving of respect as the OZ books. Some say it was Baum's best work; Baum himself certainly ranked it among his best. I had heard of this book when I was a child in love with all things Oz but it was out of print at that time. Thankfully, it is available now.

The story centers around a magic cloak created by a fairy queen. The possessor of the cloak will be granted one wish. Many of those wishes turn out to be foolish or wasteful. The cloak is originally given to a young orphan girl, Fluff. Her brother is soon proclaimed King of Noland and turns out to be an enlightened ruler, even if he is full of the follies of youth. The cloak provokes jealousies, however, and Noland soon finds itself at war with Ix and ultimately conquered by a bunch of strange beings foreign to both Noland and Ix. The cloak turns out to be a source of trouble as well as a blessing.

Great Book

While this book isnât about OZ it is about inhabitants of other fairy lands. Those inhabitants do visit OZ at least once during the series. This is the story of how they came to be.

Zixi magic

My granddaughter loved it! She read it over and over, every night for several days. Not as marvelous as the Wizard of Oz (by the same author), Queen Zixi of Ix has all the elements of a classic children's tale: characters the reader can relate to; values and a piping good story.

Robert Bottome

ps - I also read it. And I loved it.

Five Stars

Great book.

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Title: The Scarlet Plague [Classic Tales Edition]

Author: Jack London

Narrator: B.J. Harrison

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-09-16

Publisher: B.J. Harrison

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 105 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Twelve billionaires rule the United States, while those called freemen are forced to serve the rich. But that was 60 years ago, before the Scarlet Plague. In this post-apocalyptic novella, a ragged and tattered old man tells his progeny of what life was like before The Scarlet Plague appeared - and wiped out civilization as they knew it.

Members Reviews:

wonderful listen very relevant today!

amazing how this book reflects what could happen anytime with world leaders pandering to corporations

short but good

A short Vivid tale of the aftermath of the Scarlet plague in San Francisco CA

short read for the commute

It's an Interesting take on a possible dystopian world skillfully narrated from a deserted beach.

BJ Harrison really brings life to these old tales

Out of the mouths of babes will a new civilization begin. This story is about a man telling his grandson and two other boys about the Scarlet Plague, its beginnings, and the re-structuring of society as a result. The former richest leaders reduced to squalor and servitude. Formerly well-regarded men known previously as doctors becoming superstitious with the new change. The effects of the reduction in population of 8 billion down to a few hundred and its effects upon nature, including the un-domestication of the dog, the wild overgrowth of farmland, and farm animals themselves devouring each other without the structure once provided by man.

This is a very interesting story told by a good narrator. Jack London is an author I would definitely read more of.

A Tale Of The End

Jack London's story of the demise of human kind and its' new.frightening re-start gives one a belief and feeling of prehistoric suffering forthcoming. His great command of the language is brilliant. And though this book is not in the classic sphere of a Call Of The Wild and others, the depth to which he can pierce your soul while producing imagery that is real is extraordinary as always.

B.J.s narrative is a tour de' force, eloquently expressing the tale and its characters as they are, and a lively revelation ,prediction, of an unsettling subject matter.

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Title: The Nine Billion Names of God

Author: Arthur C. Clarke

Narrator: Steven Jay Cohen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-20-16

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Words have power. Some words have more power than others. So when a group of monks seek to enlist modern technology in their quest to list all nine billion names of god, there is no telling what may happen.

Arthur C. Clarke walks the line between science and mysticism in this thought-provoking tale. The story was selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the best science fiction short stories published before the creation of the Nebula Awards. It was published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964. In 2004, it won the retrospective Hugo Award for Best Short Story for the year 1954.

Members Reviews:

GREAT Short Story!

Awesome classic sci-fi with a very good narrator. In the true style of philosophical/speculative sci-fi.

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Title: The Girl from Montana

Author: Grace Livingston Hill

Narrator: Anne Hancock

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-10-16

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 30 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Elizabeth is utterly alone in her Montana cabin, shocked by the sudden, brutal death of her brother, the last of her family. His killer has threatened to return and claim her, and she has only one thought: to flee across country to the East and search for relatives she has never known. With the villain and his gang in pursuit, she rides across perilous terrain, encountering those who help her and those who, in their own way, are just as dangerous as the men she is fleeing. Along the way she meets a kind man who is trying to find his own escape, and a church group that teaches her more about the Lord to whom she prays.

Grace Livingston Hill has created a strong-willed heroine who faces every misfortune with poise and fortitude. Elizabeth discovers that life in Philadelphia has challenges that require as much resilience as her cross-country trek. Will her grandmothers, aunt, and cousin accept her, and will she be able to conform to their ideas of proper social behavior? The girl from the mountains has her own standards, and they are not always compatible with high (or low) society....

Members Reviews:

Wonderful book by Ms hill

I love ms hill's books. They are wonderful clean Christian books. This was no exception. as I listened I wondered if the two young people would ever get together with all the obstacles put in front of them. l enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to one and all.

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Title: The Boats of the Glen Carrig

Author: William Hope Hodgson

Narrator: Mark Turetsky

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-28-16

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The survivors of the shipwrecked eighteenth-century vessel Glen Carrig fight for their lives amidst a vast continent of weeds. Mysterious wrecks, horrific monsters, and swashbuckling adventure!

First published in 1907, The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" is a classic supernatural horror tale, praised by H. P. Lovecraft for its "brooding menace... impossible to surpass"

Members Reviews:

Less than the sum of its parts

Would you try another book from William Hope Hodgson and/or Mark Turetsky?

Yes. I read this book because I've enjoyed William Hope Hodgson's other work. I'm beginning to think that he's best suited for short stories and struggles with long-form fiction.

Has The Boats of the Glen Carrig turned you off from other books in this genre?

Of course not.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Just not a lot of life to it.

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

Frustration and impatience. There was so much potential, but the events seemed to only happen in isolation. The book had lots of interesting things happening in it, but these seemed to leave no progressive impact.

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Title: Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

Author: L Frank Baum

Narrator: Rebecca Thomas

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-28-16

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

On her way to a ranch outside San Francisco, Dorothy is caught in an earthquake that sends her; her escort, Zeb; and her kitten, Eureka, to a familiar land and familiar faces. But when Eureka is accused of eating Princess Ozma's pet piglet, she stands trial and risks death.

Members Reviews:

The Wizard is Back!!!!

L. Frank Baum fourth installment in the Oz series is âDorothy and the Wizard in Ozâ. This book takes us on another adventure with Dorothy. This time Dorothy is joined by her second cousin, Zeb and her cat Eureka and a horse named Jim. On the way they encounter an earthquake which takes them deep into the earth to the Land of the Mangaboos. Here they are re-united with the wizard whom we last bid goodbye in âThe Wonderful Wizard of Ozâ. Together, along with the wizardâs nine piglets, they must escape this whacky land. Towards the end we also get to meet Ozma, the sawhorse and the magical Emerald City.

I loved these Oz books in my childhood and now have ...

I loved these Oz books in my childhood and now have been reading this one a chapter at a time w my 5 yr old granddaughter who is enthralled by the whimsical imagination that Frank L. Baum exudes in his writing. The hardcover book is well worth the cost and the illustrations throughout are beautiful as well.

Love that I was able to order through Amazon!

Great backstory

Dorothy is visiting California when an earthquake strikes, sending Dorothy, Eureka her cat, Zeb, and Jim and his horse-cart inside the earth. Soon the Wizard and his nine piglets join them. Together, they embark on an adventure through the earth dealing with angry vegetables, invisible people and bears, and wooden gargoyles. Eventually they end up back in Oz where they are happily reunited with many old friends and the back story of Oz and the Wizard is explained.

Like the other Oz books, this fourth one included lots of fun wordplay. The story of OZPINHEAD was funny. I enjoyed Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz very much. I highly recommend it to people of all ages, especially those who are Oz fans.

A nightmare

In the lightest sense of the word. Meant to be a more lighthearted tale from the Land of Oz this to me is one of the more terrifying with the description of the countries inside the earth. But a very interesting read.

Delightful and Charming...

This book IS a good read, and merits 3.5 stars. However, it doesn't reach the stellar quality of the Wizard of OZ. This book is a reunion of sorts,

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