Simply The Best Audiobooks in Fiction, Contemporary to Listen Online

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: Of War and Weddings

Author: Jerry Yellin

Narrator: John Hough

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-15-10

Publisher: Books in Motion

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Of War and Weddings is a moving and compelling true story of bitter wartime enemies who find peace through their children's marriage. A mysterious force that weaves its way into the lives of the Yellin and Yamakawa families ends up healing the wounds of war and nurturing a legacy of freedom and understanding for the children of America and Japan. We experience Jerry Yellin's destiny from childhood to retirement. We feel his joys, his loves, and his pains. We experience the process of healing as it occurs and are moved to discover that the legacy of two fathers is an inheritance intended for us all.

Members Reviews:

Remarkable

This is the remarkable story of how a World War II Veteran of the Pacific makes peace with the nation and people of Japan decades after the war.

Jerry Yellin was a captain and fighter pilot going on many missions throughout the Pacific and over Japan. He is the last fighter pilot to fly a combat mission as the war was coming to a close.

When his youngest son decides to move to Japan, the door begins to open on pushed down memories and emotions that Mr. Yellin eventually, bravely, digs into, shares, and overcomes.

This journey includes multiple trips to Japan with his much-loved wife, Helene, as they explore their sonâs adopted country and meet his fiancé. Along with meeting her is the all encompassing gathering of family and friends. The honesty in the conversations Mr. Yellin has with the Japanese people he meetsâboth veterans and much younger folksâcan flatten you. Their desire to understand each other is a lesson we can take to heart and apply in our own lives.

Mr. Yellin is a strong man who bares his soul in an effort, a successful effort, to push beyond the boundaries he has lived with for years and come through a broader, larger person on the other side.

The stories that interweave into one narrative are well-written, and although the theme of forgiveness and reconciliation is strong, there is no tone of preaching or sermonizing. There simply is the revelation of a life starting anew because of his sonâs choices and Mr. Yellinâs own.

Note: We met Captain Jerry Yellin at the World War II Anniversary events at Fort DeRussy in December. See MusingsFromaRedhead to read about that and the pleasure of meeting so many of our Veterans.

It is wonderful. The process of healing he has gone through ...

I'm in the process of reading this book. It is wonderful. The process of healing he has gone through of his heart, mind and soul. It had to have taken a lot to be willing to share his thoughts and inner turmoil with the world. Thank you for sharing.

Compelling!

This is a compelling book, exceptionally well written, very hard to put down. We follow the author in his journey from hating the Japanese, enlisting in the Army Air Corps on his 18th birthday so he could become a fighter pilot and kill his hated enemy. He passed his Army aptitude tests, but failed the physical due to less-than-perfect eyesight. He solved that problem by memorizing the eye chart, and took and passed the eye exam on his next attempt! He was trained, first as a pilot and then as a fighter pilot, and flew P-40s, P-47s and P-51s.

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: Twisted Tree

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Kent Meyers

Narrator: Robertson Dean, Traci Svendsgaard, Cassandra Campbell, Ray Porter, G. Valmont Thomas, Paul Michael Garcia, Kirsten Potter, Lorna Raver, Kristoffer Tabori

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-24-09

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In this brilliantly written novel, one girl's story unfolds through the stories of those who knew her. A supermarket clerk recalls an encounter with a disturbingly thin Hayley Jo. An ex-priest remembers Hayley Jo as the best friend of Laura, whose mother he once loved. And Laura berates herself for all the running they did and how it fed her friend's addiction.

Hayley Jo's death recasts and connects the lives of her community in astonishingly violent and tender ways.

The narrators include: Robertson Dean, Traci Svendsgaard, Cassandra Campbell, Ray Porter, G. Valmont Thomas, Paul Michael Garcia, Kirsten Potter, Lorna Raver, Kristoffer Tabori, Joe Barrett, Malcolm Hillgartner, Anthony Heald, Dion Graham, Tai Sammons, and Grover Gardner.

Critic Reviews:

"In his beautiful, unsettling new novel, Meyers examines the effects of a murder on the residents of a small South Dakota town....Meyers' small masterpiece deserves comparison to the work of Raymond Carver, Joy Williams, and Peter Matthiessen." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

interesting

Faulknerian, but too many characters

disjointed

This book was extremely difficult for me to read. The whole thing seemed very disjointed. Each chapter would finally reveal a connection to the characters in the first chapter, however it was a brief and tenuous connection. I was hoping the last chapter would bring everything back around and it really didn't. I don't think I'll be reading any more books by Mr. Meyers.

Five Stars

yes

Was expecting something different

No spoilers in this review.

This story is told from the POV of different characters, from chapter to chapter. The story starts out from the POV of a serial killer who kidnaps and kills a young anorexic girl named Hayley Jo Zimmerman. It is a gripping chapter, and we feel both horror at the young victims fate, and a feeling of disconcertion at being inside the mind of a disturbed sociopath.

From that chapter on, we go on to see how this murder has affected other people from this small Texas town. We hear from her father, from a (former missionary) store clerk, and from the victim's former best friend among several others. We even go back and hear again from the killer.

First, let me say that this was a very different read for me. I am a big fan of suspense novels and mystery books, and this sounded like something I would like. But it wasn't what I expected. After the first chapter I found this book a slow-go. Because we keep switching characters and POV, it takes a while to adjust to each new chapter. This had an effect on the flow of the narrative for me, and it took me several sittings to get through this book.

I think that if you are looking for the usual quick, suspenseful mystery novel, this is not your book. It is not a linear trip from crime to denouement and it isn't meant to be. Instead, it is an ambitious and different story that looks at the serial killer genre in a new way - and the focus is on the lives of different characters.

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: Blame

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Michelle Huneven

Narrator: Hillary Huber

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-09-09

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 109 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In fact, two Jehovah's Witnesses, a mother and daughter, are dead, run over in Patsy's driveway, and Patsy will spend the rest of her life trying to atone. She goes to prison, gets sober, and upon her release finds a new community (and a husband) in AA. She resists temptations, strives for goodness, and becomes a selfless teacher, friend, and wife.

Then, decades later, another unimaginable piece of information turns up. For the reader, it is an electrifying moment; a joyous, fall-off-the-couch-with-surprise moment. For Patsy, it is more complicated. Blame must be reapportioned, her life reassessed.

Blame is a spellbinding novel of guilt and love, family and shame, sobriety and the lack of it, and the moral ambiguities that ensnare us all.

Editorial Reviews:

Blame by Michelle Huneven is risky, prickly, and astonishingly lovely. Patsy's redemption is anchored by being good, not staying clean, even though she never relapses. Huneven approaches addiction as a messy, elemental impulse that crushes some with liquor and pills, while collapsing others, like Cal Sharp Patsy's three-decades-older husband, a pillar of AA with the compulsion to save as many lost souls as can be crammed into their ranch home.

Hillary Huber narrates Blame and her hypnotic storyteller's voice coaxes a rich, rhythmic word flow out of Huneven's droll language. There is empathy as well as a sneaky, subversive acidity to Huber's logic-driven Patsy; a deliberate, academic pacing. Patsy's rakish ex-boyfriend, Brice, is also humanized by Huber, who registers Brice's grief over losing his lover, Gilles, by curdling his surfer drawl with a gritty skim of impatience. Blame is a masterpiece, and when Huber, as Patsy, observes, "Guilt was like the check on a table. Somebody had to pick it up", it clicks that yes, finally, this is the meaning of recovery. Nita Rao

Critic Reviews:

"Brilliant observations, excellent characters, spiffy dialogue and a clever plot keep readers hooked, and the final twist turns Patsy's new life on its ear. Huneven's exploration of misdeeds real and imagined is humane, insightful and beautiful." (

Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Amazing character study!

I found this novel by Michelle Huneven, to be an amazing character study. Her (the protagonist Patsy) fall and eventual redemption following a horrible accident done in an alcoholic blackout was believable and compelling. So often a person is judged by their worst act but in Patsy's case, her friends, family, and victims family are the first to forgive. Long before she is able to forgive herself. Some of the most telling parts in this novel are scenes between Patsy and her victims husband. I found the AA program sections and scenes with her therapist both compelling and informative. The reader, Hillary Huber, was one of the best readers I have heard in along time. All in all, an amazing reading/listening experience!

narrative whiplash

This book has an excellent premise, but it is not even slightly evident that the protagonist "spends the rest of her life trying to atone". Perhaps the writer had some sort of internal angst in mind when she created this character and her situation, but actually from the reader's point of view, this person suffers very little for her misdeeds, and any spiritual growth experienced by "Patsy", does not come across.

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: Transition

Author: Iain Banks

Narrator: Peter Kenny

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-03-09

Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 37 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

On the Concern's books are Temudjin Oh, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and the dark palaces of Venice; and a nameless, faceless torturer known only as the Philosopher. And then there's the renegade Mrs Mulverhill, who recruits rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, hiding out from a dirty past in a forgotten hospital ward.

As these vivid, strange and sensuous worlds circle and collide, the implications of turning traitor to the Concern become horribly apparent, and an unstable universe is set on a dizzying course.

Members Reviews:

Complicated but a great ending.

If you like your stories complicated, you'll love Transition. Just keep track of which character is currently narrating and you'll be thoroughly entertained.

Iain Banks once again applies his unique perspectives and sporadic comedic genius to a supremely well thought-out plot constructed of ideas not often approached with such enthusiasm and expressed in such detail.

Very deep and philosophical in parts; sometimes long-winded but never boring. Definitely worth the time just for the last few chapters - especially the final paragraph of the epilogue. Very satisfying end.

Be aware of graphic sex and violence however the more elaborate and unconventional occasions are highly entertaining, even if occasionally too in-depth.

Narrator is excellent as always. Peter Kenny also read The Wasp Factory and has no trouble keeping the many and greatly varying character roles distinct and true to their natures. Australian and American accents are weaker but not only very brief in the story. Very glad that the reader is British.

Hard to see what the fuss is about

What disappointed you about Transition?

Two hours into it, and I'm still not sure why I'm listening, whether there is a plot and why the characters are meant to be interesting.

What was most disappointing about Iain Bankss story?

The plot is very oblique, disjointed, and nothing that smacks of the brilliance of Excession, The Algebraist or Surface Detail.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Peter Kenny, a great narrator, doesn't really shine either, because there is so much text by the first person writer.

Audio book of the year

This manages to get past the troubling multi-character recounting of the plot by the skillful vocal work of the narrator. At no point are you unsure about who is leading the story. A witty, evocative and sly piece of storytelling, greatly enhanced by being an audio book. What the medium was intended for. Fantastic.

Oh boy

I haven't finsihed this yet but I'm really enjoying it. I think it's the best by him I have read/heard for some time. In addition the reading is lively and characterful, well suiting the tone of the book.

The premise - revealed pretty early on so I don't think this is a spoiler - is a bunch of people leaping from body to body in Quantum Leap style, but rather than back and forth within history, between an infinitude of parallel Earths. Banks has an unusually powerful imagination, and he's used it to render each world with depth of detail in a quick vignette, rather than to produce a shallow cavalcade of implausible exotica. The writing too is controlled and either lyrical or cynical as it needs to be.

Does this help?

Hmm I too was confused by this book.

Escuche este audio libro completo gratis en https://hotaudiobook.com

Título: Mirta y el viejo señor [Mirta and the Old Man]

Subtitular: América Latina

Autor: Dolores Soler-Espiauba

Narrador: Claudia Aberzua

Formato: Unabridged

Duración: 56 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 06-04-09

Editor: Difusión, S.L.

Calificaciones: 4.5 de 5 de 10 votos

Categorías: Fiction, Contemporary

Resumen del editor:

Las novelas de esta serie están ambientadas en el entorno geográfico y cultural de diversos países latinoamericanos: Cuba, México, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Perú, Bolivia, Guatemala y Costa Rica.Estas novelas, además de incluir numerosos comentarios culturales, políticos, geográficos, gastronómicos, etc., reproducen la variante de español del país donde se desarrolla la historia.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

Opiniones de los miembros:

Nice story, great for students of spanish

This series of short stories is especially for students of spanish, i think they are all in the dialect of the country discussed in the story. I found this to be a nice little short story, not hard to follow, the ability to download the written version being an added bonus. Stuff like this makes learning a language that much easier. Would like to see more of these. Well worth listening to ( for anyone wanting to improve their spanish).

Un lindo cuento

Un cuento corto de los 90, usando palabras particular de Chile y de Espana. Facil de entender, y una historia felix.

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: Church of the Dog

Author: Kaya McLaren

Narrator: Kirsten Potter

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-30-09

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Deep in Oregon farm country, Edith and Earl McRae are looking down the barrel of their 50th anniversary with none of the joy such a milestone should hold. Instead, they are stuck in a past that holds them to heartbreak and tragedy. Enter the mysterious and ever-so-slightly magical Mara O'Shaunessey who appears on their ranch with the power to mend long broken fences and show them how to recognize the enchantment of their everyday lives. Gracefully capturing the strange alchemy of people and places, Kaya McLaren's story of redemption and rediscovery will inspire listeners to find the magic and power in every day shared with the people they love.

Members Reviews:

May not be for you if your spirit is wounded

This story is well written and wonderfully narrated but oh, it is so tragic. It is at least a box of kleenex. But the characters are great, the warmth is very warm. And none of us gets out of this life alive.

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: Sonata for Miriam

Author: Linda Olsson

Narrator: Andy Paris

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-27-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

After the unexpected death of his daughter, musician Adam Anker loses all sense of direction in his life. Adrift, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery, one that will take him from New Zealand, to Poland, and finally to Sweden for a reunion with his daughter's mother.

Members Reviews:

treacle, sickly sweet

This book was a real disappointment. I'm not even sure why it was recommended; I certainly will be more careful in the future.

The problem is the self-consciousness of the writer, and her inability to edit her own thoughts, so that every voice is the same one, the protagonist, the Polish characters, the errant wife - every one of them is infused with saintly values, maudlin self-absorption and overly verbose sentimentality. Yuck!

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 Domino Men

Author: Jonathan Barnes

Narrator: Gerard Doyle

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-26-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

In The Domino Men, an ordinary office-working Brit discovers that he may be destined to wipe out the wicked House of Windsor.

Members Reviews:

excellent creepy modern fantasy.

What did you love best about The Domino Men?

it's the sequel to the somnambulist but you don't need to have read the somnambulist to enjoy and understand this one. it's dark, funny, creepy, fantastical, cool.

What other book might you compare The Domino Men to and why?

the somnambulist. same series and author.

What does Gerard Doyle bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

he's so damned posh.

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

yup.

Any additional comments?

buy it.

A macabre decent story

This is the first book I have been exposed to from J.Barnes. So, I can't compare it to his other work. Evaluating The Domino Men on it's own I would have to say that it started off really strong. By the end of the first part I was really hooked, but the last few hours of the second part lost momentum and seemed to drag. The only other complaint that I have is that Barnes goes above and beyond to tie all loose plot strings by the end of the book, but never explains why the two characters are called the Domino Men. You are left only to assume. Morbid humor, characters with blunt human flaws, a conspiricy thriller worth a listen.

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 Perfect Is That

Author: Sarah Bird

Narrator: Susan Bennett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-25-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 21 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Sarah Bird's acclaimed novels include The Yokota Officers Club.In How Perfect Is That? Blythe Young is stumbling down Texas' social ladder after some dubious moral choices. Bankruptcy is only the beginning. Soon, Blythe must face the facts and make amends with the world. But first she'll have to fix her nails.

©2008 Sarah Bird; (P)2008 Recorded Books

Critic Reviews:

"A fried Twinkie of a book - crunchily witty, creamy-hearted and shockingly delicious." (Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander)

Members Reviews:

Not worth a credit

I finished it, but only because I paid a credit for it and these books get expensive. If you get it for free, it is an OK listen and does pick up a bit at the end. But, I was never looking forward to listening to it. Not great, but not horrible.

Not perfect but not bad

Easy light listening. Could have gotten to the point a little faster but overall not bad. Give it a try

fun

So laughed my ass off during the pap schene but felt the ending was a bit lacking.

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 Flowers

Author: Dagoberto Gilb

Narrator: Ramon De Ocampo

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-24-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Dagoberto Gilb has won the PEN/Hemingway Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Sonny Bravo is a young Mexican American struggling to become a man while living with his mom and step-father in a small urban community known as the Flowers. There the assorted residents teach Sonny life lessons, even as racial tensions simmer in the city around them.

©2008 Dagoberto Gilb; (P)2008 Recorded Books,LLC

Critic Reviews:

"Hilarious and thought provoking..." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Homophobia is so pass?

Homophobia is a great way to spoil a decent book. Dagoberto Gilb doesn't seem to have gotten the memo: masculinity is not constituted by rejecting and/or beating up gay men. That tired scene is so five minutes ago. I don't care if Gilb supposedly is a great fan of John Rechy. If so, he clearly didn't learn the lesson Rechy's books have to offer.