The Book Reader

The Untempered Wind by Joanna E. Wood audiobook. Genre: drama Set in a small Canadian village in the late 19th century, The Untempered Wind follows Myron Holder, a young woman forced to move through daily life under a cloud of scandal: she is a mother, but not a wife. With her child to protect and few allies to trust, Myron faces the relentless scrutiny of neighbors who measure virtue with quick tongues and hard rules. As spring stirs the town awake, Myron is pushed into a quiet battle for dignity, work, and a future that feels increasingly out of reach, especially when judgment comes not only from the streets but from within her own household. Joanna E. Wood paints village life in sharp, realistic detail, revealing how kindness and cruelty can sit side by side in ordinary routines, and how reputations can become cages. While Myron struggles against shame that is not entirely her own, she must decide what self-respect means in a world determined to define her by a single fact. At once intimate and socially observant, this is a story about endurance, moral hypocrisy, and the high cost of compassion withheld. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:10:45) Chapter 02 (00:29:59) Chapter 03 (00:48:57) Chapter 04 (01:13:49) Chapter 05 (01:53:54) Chapter 06 (02:16:49) Chapter 07 (02:40:10) Chapter 08 (03:17:28) Chapter 09 (03:37:32) Chapter 10 (04:03:18) Chapter 11 (04:43:12) Chapter 12 (05:16:32) Chapter 13 (05:54:30) Chapter 14 (06:40:44) Chapter 15 (07:20:21) Chapter 16 (07:57:43) Chapter 17 (08:34:13) Chapter 18 (09:01:09) Chapter 19 (09:23:49) Chapter 20 (09:57:47) Chapter 21 (10:30:28) Chapter 22 (10:57:45) Chapter 23 (11:27:19) Chapter 24 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Hume and his Influence on Philosophy and Theology by James Orr audiobook. Genre: philosophy David Hume justly takes rank as the most distinguished member of that brilliant circle of literary men whose names gave such a lustre to the second half of the eighteenth century in Scotland. His speculations were the most profound, and, with the possible exception of Adam Smith in a particular department, his influence was the widest and most deeply felt, of any. But even his warmest friends could scarcely have predicted the influence he was destined to exercise, or the important results that were to spring from his thoughts. It required time to clear away the mists that had gathered round his name, and to place him in his true light in the eyes of posterity. At a century and a half’s distance, we are in a better position to take an impartial survey of his work and its effects. The result must be, that, however we may judge of Hume in particular respects, we cannot deny to him a right to the title of a great and independent thinker. It is indicated in the text that the point of view from which Hume’s philosophy is mainly regarded is that of an experiment to explain knowledge, and generally the intellectual and moral outfit of man, without the assumption of a rational nature in man. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:19:21) Chapter 02 (00:57:31) Chapter 03 (01:37:05) Chapter 04 (02:32:29) Chapter 05 (03:02:45) Chapter 06 (03:29:52) Chapter 07 (04:16:43) Chapter 08 (04:52:27) Chapter 09 (05:45:11) Chapter 10 (06:33:18) Chapter 11 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lesley Castle by Jane Austen audiobook. Genre: comedy In Lesley Castle, a young Jane Austen turns the fashionable epistolary novel inside out, using a chain of sharp, intimate letters to expose the vanity, jealousy, and performative sensibility of polite society. The correspondence begins between Margaret Lesley, secluded with her sister Matilda at their family's old estate, and her longtime friend Charlotte Lutterell, who writes from a whirl of social obligations and family drama. As weddings are planned and disrupted, new alliances form, and reputations wobble on the edge of scandal, each letter becomes both confession and competition: the writers insist on their own virtue and feeling even as their words betray self-interest, hunger for attention, and a comic lack of self-knowledge. The arrival of a new Lady Lesley at the castle shifts the household's balance, while Charlotte's circle in Bristol and London adds fresh fuel for gossip, matchmaking, and moral posturing. By letting multiple voices contradict and expose one another, Austen builds a witty portrait of people who narrate themselves as heroes of a grand romance, when they are often the authors of their own absurdity. The work is unfinished, but its satirical spark is unmistakable. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:07:34) Chapter 02 (00:16:53) Chapter 03 (00:24:44) Chapter 04 (00:33:14) Chapter 05 (00:36:08) Chapter 06 (00:46:34) Chapter 07 (00:56:31) Chapter 08 (01:00:38) Chapter 09 (01:05:03) Chapter 10 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mystery of Pain by James Hinton audiobook. Genre: philosophy Written by Victorian-era physician and moral thinker James Hinton, The Mystery of Pain: A Book for the Sorrowful is a brief, searching meditation addressed to anyone weighed down by suffering - their own or another's. Speaking not as a distant lecturer but as a companion in grief, Hinton refuses easy cheerfulness and instead asks a harder question: what if pain is not meaningless, but bound up with the unfinished, growing nature of human life? Moving between the realities of bodily hurt and the deeper wounds of fear, loss, and despair, he explores how suffering can sharpen perception, deepen sympathy, and change what we are capable of loving. His central argument treats pain as the shadow cast by imperfection - the cost of a world still in process - and he challenges the reader to consider whether the very experiences that feel most unbearable might also open a path toward moral awakening and a more vital joy. Part consolation, part philosophical inquiry, this classic essay offers language for sorrow and a framework for enduring it without denial. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:14:22) Chapter 02 (00:26:05) Chapter 03 (00:34:57) Chapter 04 (00:50:36) Chapter 05 (01:06:45) Chapter 06 (01:17:58) Chapter 07 (01:36:14) Chapter 08 (01:53:36) Chapter 09 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bells of San Juan by Jackson Gregory audiobook. Genre: adventure In the sun-blasted desert town of San Juan, six old mission bells speak a language everyone understands: joy for a birth, alarm for a fire, and a hard, angry clamor when a man is killed. When gunshots shatter the town's uneasy calm, Ignacio Chavez, the half-idler, half-guardian bell-ringer, sends the fatal message rolling across sage and sand - and exposes how thin the line is between the Mission's quiet promise and the temptations of La Casa Blanca. Into this tinder-dry place steps Roderick Norton, a new sheriff who wants to be more than a badge in a lawless corner of California. But San Juan already has its own power brokers, and none is more dangerous than Jim Galloway, an ambitious criminal with plans that feed on greed, fear, and the shadow of trouble brewing across the Mexican border. As Norton tries to hold the town together, Virginia Page, a young doctor newly arrived in San Juan, finds herself pulled into the widening conflict, where duty and desire collide and every choice rings out like bronze. Jackson Gregory's Western adventure blends frontier justice, revenge, and unexpected love under the relentless music of the bells. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:03:56) Chapter 01 (00:22:51) Chapter 02 (00:40:14) Chapter 03 (00:56:43) Chapter 04 (01:21:41) Chapter 05 (01:39:40) Chapter 06 (01:57:13) Chapter 07 (02:10:56) Chapter 08 (02:26:42) Chapter 09 (02:45:31) Chapter 10 (03:08:10) Chapter 11 (03:33:33) Chapter 12 (03:42:33) Chapter 13 (04:07:32) Chapter 14 (04:20:37) Chapter 15 (04:43:24) Chapter 16 (04:51:57) Chapter 17 (05:06:14) Chapter 18 (05:20:29) Chapter 19 (05:37:36) Chapter 20 (05:48:38) Chapter 21 (06:10:19) Chapter 22 (06:20:35) Chapter 23 (06:33:55) Chapter 24 (06:44:23) Chapter 25 (06:58:50) Chapter 26 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Abysmal Brute by Jack London audiobook. Genre: comedy Young Pat Glendon is twenty-two years old, weighs two-hundred and twenty pounds, has never drunk alcohol nor tasted tobacco and knows little of city life. He’s all muscle, moves with cat-like grace and possesses great stamina and strength acquired from living natural in the wilds of northern California with his father. Young Pat is a natural at prize-fighting. In addition to his brawn he has speed and a natural instinct for the sport. His father, a former heavyweight prize-fighter himself, has trained Young Pat and believes it is time for the boy to take on the heavyweight world. But being in poor health, the elder Glendon enlists Sam Stubener of San Francisco to be the boy’s manager with instructions to protect the boy from the rottenness of the sport. Jack London’s The Abysmal Brute is a story about naivete and natural athleticism against the brutishness and corruption of professional boxing, intertwined with a touching romance. This novel was twice made into movies: The Abysmal Brute (1923) and Conflict (1936), the latter starring John Wayne as Young Pat Glendon. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:32:10) Chapter 02 (01:05:47) Chapter 03 (01:51:53) Chapter 04 (02:14:33) Chapter 05 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Charing Cross Mystery by J. S. Fletcher audiobook. Genre: mystery Here's another intriguing mystery by J. S. Fletcher, centering on why a former high-level police official was murdered, and on whether - and if so how - the murder was linked to two glamorous and high-profile sisters, one of whose photo was found in the dead man's pocket. As usual, Fletcher creates a number of different detectives -- a lawyer, his assistant, several policemen, a police spy, and even the dead man's granddaughter -- following various lines of inquiry. These lines converge rapidly in the last few chapters, when the author lets the reader weave them together into a coherent whole: the solution to the mystery. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:19:35) Chapter 02 (00:40:24) Chapter 03 (00:58:01) Chapter 04 (01:18:02) Chapter 05 (01:36:37) Chapter 06 (01:58:18) Chapter 07 (02:20:00) Chapter 08 (02:37:44) Chapter 09 (02:56:30) Chapter 10 (03:19:24) Chapter 11 (03:41:29) Chapter 12 (03:55:08) Chapter 13 (04:14:05) Chapter 14 (04:35:24) Chapter 15 (04:57:04) Chapter 16 (05:19:58) Chapter 17 (05:39:37) Chapter 18 (06:03:49) Chapter 19 (06:21:05) Chapter 20 (06:40:54) Chapter 21 (07:01:10) Chapter 22 (07:19:52) Chapter 23 (07:44:33) Chapter 24 (08:03:18) Chapter 25 (08:19:08) Chapter 26 (08:43:36) Chapter 27 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grotesques and Fantasies by Israel Zangwill audiobook. Genre: fantasy A set of often funny, sometimes tragic stories by Israel Zangwill. Most famous for his scathingly accurate portrayals of the Jewish ghetto, these stories have a wider stage, poking fun at social conventions and society itself, both high and low. The real and the fantastic collide to produce a world uniquely Zangwill's. These are the tales of figures as diverse as a pantomime dragon, an excellent butler, a man living his life in the wrong order and a Jewish maiden who knows exactly what she is worth. Well observed and original, the satire is biting and the wit sparkling. Many of the stories in this volume are accompanied by excellent illustrations, which are well worth a look. They are available in the Gutenberg e-text. The novella, King of Schnorrers, which began this collection when it appeared in print, has already been recorded separately. As such it is omitted from this collection, and only the shorter stories are included. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:02:23) Chapter 01 (00:25:54) Chapter 02 (00:34:43) Chapter 03 (00:46:23) Chapter 04 (01:19:18) Chapter 05 (01:35:56) Chapter 06 (01:57:30) Chapter 07 (02:14:09) Chapter 08 (02:24:11) Chapter 09 (02:57:58) Chapter 10 (03:25:04) Chapter 11 (03:54:03) Chapter 12 (04:02:26) Chapter 13 (04:31:27) Chapter 14 (04:55:59) Chapter 15 (05:12:10) Chapter 16 (05:37:43) Chapter 17 (05:47:49) Chapter 18 (06:00:58) Chapter 19 (06:08:59) Chapter 20 (06:27:08) Chapter 21 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Improvement of the Mind by Isaac Watts audiobook. Genre: self help 'No man is obliged to learn and know everything; this can neither be sought nor required, for it is utterly impossible; yet all persons are under some obligation to improve their own understanding; otherwise it will be a barren desert, or a forest overgrown with weeds and brambles. Universal ignorance or infinite errors will overspread the mind which is utterly neglected and lies without any cultivation. The common duties and benefits of society, which belong to every man living, as we are social creatures, and even our native and necessary relations to a family, a neighborhood, or government, oblige all persons, whatsoever, to use their reasoning powers upon a thousand occasions; every hour of life calls for some regular exercise of our judgment, as to time and things, persons and actions: without a prudent and discreet determination in matters before us, we shall be plunged into perpetual errors in our conduct. Now, that which should always be practiced must at some time be learned.' This version has been abridged from Watt's original by Stephen Norris Fellows as follows: 'In endeavoring to adapt it to the needs of the present, the following changes have been made: First — Nearly one-third of the book has been eliminated, as being too theological or too closely related to the age and country of the author. Second — A brief but comprehensive analysis has been prepared, which appears as a table of contents. Third — Prominence is given to some of the more essential doctrines by stating them in large type, while explanatory and illustrative matter is given in smaller type. But few changes have been made in the text other than those mentioned above, as it seemed desirable to preserve the unique and forcible style of the author. The original work was first published in 1727, and although it is over one hundred and fifty years old, yet its teachings are in substantial harmony with the truest pedagogical doctrines of to-day. It is believed that in its present form and dress it is adapted to private reading, and reading circles, and also as a text-book in Secondary and NormaI Schools.' For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:03:23) Chapter 01 (00:39:50) Chapter 02 (01:11:00) Chapter 03 (01:21:15) Chapter 04 (01:47:50) Chapter 05 (02:10:00) Chapter 06 (02:19:35) Chapter 07 (02:26:43) Chapter 08 (02:55:13) Chapter 09 (03:09:30) Chapter 10 (03:27:58) Chapter 11 (03:37:16) Chapter 12 (03:59:09) Chapter 13 (04:56:29) Chapter 14 (05:32:03) Chapter 15 (05:43:01) Chapter 16 (06:02:23) Chapter 17 (06:14:33) Chapter 18 (06:30:30) Chapter 19 (06:45:32) Chapter 20 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All in the Day's Work by Ida Tarbell audiobook. Genre: biography In All in the Day's Work, pioneering investigative journalist Ida M. Tarbell tells the story behind the byline, tracing her path from a childhood in western Pennsylvania's oil country to the center of American letters and reform. Raised in a family shaped by boom-and-bust fortunes and fierce debates over fairness, Tarbell grows into a determined student and one of the few women pushing into professional life on her own terms. She follows opportunity into the world of magazines, reporting and editing while learning how ideas, money, and power move through a rapidly industrializing nation. Tarbell recounts formative years of study and travel, her early editorial work, and the craft of building long-form narratives from interviews, archives, and stubborn fact-checking. As her career accelerates, she navigates the pressures of deadline culture, the politics of publishing, and the skepticism reserved for a woman in a male-dominated newsroom. Along the way, she reflects on the people she profiles, the mentors and rivals who test her, and the moral calculus of exposing wrongdoing without sacrificing accuracy. Clear-eyed, witty, and intensely observant, this autobiography captures the making of a journalist and the era that demanded her kind of scrutiny. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:42:14) Chapter 02 (01:25:28) Chapter 03 (01:53:24) Chapter 04 (02:27:26) Chapter 05 (03:24:35) Chapter 06 (04:02:01) Chapter 07 (04:44:19) Chapter 08 (05:35:37) Chapter 09 (06:06:48) Chapter 10 (06:46:30) Chapter 11 (07:37:40) Chapter 12 (08:15:48) Chapter 13 (08:42:41) Chapter 14 (09:33:59) Chapter 15 (10:03:47) Chapter 16 (10:33:11) Chapter 17 (11:21:02) Chapter 18 (12:01:34) Chapter 19 (12:37:52) Chapter 20 (13:28:05) Chapter 21 (13:55:50) Chapter 22 (14:27:40) Chapter 23 (14:56:21) Chapter 24 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices