Essays audiobooks

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

By: John Koenig

Narrated by: John Koenig

Length: 4 hours 42 minutes

Abridged: No

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“It’s undeniably thrilling to find words for our strangest feelings…Koenig casts light into lonely corners of human experience…An enchanting book. “ —The Washington Post

A truly original book in every sense of the word, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows poetically defines emotions that we all feel but don’t have the... Read more

Black Nerd Problems

By: William Evans & Omar Holmon

Narrated by: William Evans & Omar Holmon

Length: 7 hours 53 minutes

Abridged: No

The creators of the popular website Black Nerd Problems bring their witty and unflinching insight to this engaging collection of pop culture essays—on everything from Mario Kart to issues of representation—that “will fill you with joy and give you hope for the future of geek culture” (Ernest Cline, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

When... Read more

Hola Papi

By: John Paul Brammer

Narrated by: John Paul Brammer

Length: 4 hours 55 minutes

Abridged: No

LGBTQ advice columnist John Paul Brammer writes a “wise and charming” (David Sedaris) memoir-in-essays chronicling his journey from a queer, mixed-race kid in America’s heartland to becoming the “Chicano Carrie Bradshaw” of his generation.

“A master class of tone and tenderness.” —The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“Should be... Read more

Finding Freedom

By: Erin French

Narrated by: Erin French

Length: 9 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

"[Erin French's] memoir treats listeners to a smooth ride through an anything-but-smooth life. French's engrossing narration delivers polished consistency, and her gentle tone ushers listeners through her story. She speaks with passion and grace, creating a compelling narrative--with plenty of mouthwatering food descriptions." -- AudioFile... Read more

Survival of the Thickest

By: Michelle Buteau

Narrated by: Michelle Buteau

Length: 6 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

*Now a comedy series on Netflix!*
From the stand-up comedian, actress, and host beloved for her cheeky swagger, unique voice, and unapologetic frankness comes a book of “zesty and hilarious” (Publishers Weekly) essays for fans of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling and We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union.

If you’ve... Read more

If I Knew Then

By: Jann Arden

Narrated by: Jann Arden

Length: 3 hours 14 minutes

Abridged: No

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Jann Arden—bestselling author, recording artist and late-blooming TV star—is back with this funny, heartfelt and fierce memoir on becoming a woman of a certain age. The power, gravity and freedom she's found at fifty-seven are superpowers she believes all of us can unleash.

Digging deep into her strengths, her failures and her... Read more

The Socrates Express

By: Eric Weiner

Narrated by: Eric Weiner

Length: 11 hours 20 minutes

Abridged: No

The New York Times bestselling author of The Geography of Bliss embarks on a rollicking intellectual journey, following in the footsteps of history’s greatest thinkers and showing us how each—from Epicurus to Gandhi, Thoreau to Beauvoir—offers practical and spiritual lessons for today’s unsettled times.

We turn to philosophy for the same reasons... Read more

Dreyer's English

By: Benjamin Dreyer

Narrated by: Benjamin Dreyer & Alison Fraser

Length: 9 hours 38 minutes

Abridged: No

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A sharp, funny grammar guide they’ll actually want to read, from Random House’s longtime copy chief and one of Twitter’s leading language gurus
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY O: The Oprah Magazine • Paste • Shelf Awareness

“Essential (and delightful!)”—People

We all write, all the time: books, blogs,... Read more

The End of the End of the Earth

By: Jonathan Franzen

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 6 hours 47 minutes

Abridged: No

This program has been updated with a new epilogue written and read by the author.

A sharp and provocative new essay collection from the award-winning author of Freedom and The Corrections

The essayist, Jonathan Franzen writes, is like “a fire-fighter, whose job, while everyone else is fleeing the flames of shame, is to run straight into them.”... Read more

When Einstein Walked with Gödel

By: Jim Holt

Narrated by: David Stifel

Length: 15 hours 18 minutes

Abridged: No

From Jim Holt, New York Times bestselling author of Why Does the World Exist?, comes When Einstein Walked with Gödel: Excursions to the Edge of Thought, an entertaining and accessible audiobook guide to the most profound scientific and mathematical ideas of recent centuries

Does time exist? What is infinity? Why do mirrors reverse left and right... Read more

Fraud

By: David Rakoff

Narrated by: David Rakoff

Length: 4 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

You've heard him on This American Life! Now read his book!

Wherever he is, David Rakoff is a fish out of water. Whether impersonating Sigmund Freud in a department store window during the holidays, climbing an icy mountain in cheap loafers, playing an evil modeling agent on a daytime soap opera, or learning primitive survival skills in the wilds... Read more

Magically Black and Other Essays

By: Jerald Walker

Narrated by: Aaron Goodson

Length: 3 hours 56 minutes

Abridged: No

In this engaging follow up to How to Make a Slave and Other Essays, the recipient of PEN New England Award for nonfiction and finalist for the National Book Award sharply examines and explains Black life and culture with equal parts candor and humor.In Magically Black and Other Essays Jerald Walker elegantly blends personal revelation and... Read more

You Get What You Pay For

By: Morgan Parker

Narrated by: Morgan Parker

Length: 5 hours 40 minutes

Abridged: No

In her “witty and searing” first essay collection, award-winning poet Morgan Parker examines “the cultural legacy of Black womanhood and the meaning of finding ‘well-being’ in a world that wasn’t built for you” (Vogue).

“Riveting and deeply personal . . . filled with poignant insights.”—Cosmopolitan

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Electric Lit, Chicago... Read more

Sex with a Brain Injury

By: Annie Liontas

Narrated by: Natalie Naudus

Length: 9 hours 21 minutes

Abridged: No

For readers of Meghan O’Rourke’s The Invisible Kingdom, Esmé Weijun Wang’s The Collected Schizophrenias, and Melissa Febos’s Girlhood, a powerful and deeply personal memoir in essays that sheds light on the silent epidemic of head trauma.

Annie Liontas suffered multiple concussions in her thirties. In Sex with a Brain Injury, she writes about... Read more

Small Fires

By: Rebecca May Johnson

Narrated by: Kim Bretton

Length: 4 hours 22 minutes

Abridged: No

A bracingly original, revelatory debut that explores cooking and the kitchen as sources of pleasure, constraint, and revolution, by a rising star in food writing

This joyful, revelatory work of memory and meditation both complicates and electrifies life in the kitchen.

Why do we cook? Is it just to feed ourselves and others? Or is there... Read more

The Book of (More) Delights

By: Ross Gay

Narrated by: Ross Gay

Length: 6 hours 48 minutes

Abridged: No

From bestselling author of The Book of Delights and award-winning poet, a book of lyrical mini-essays celebrating the everyday that will inspire readers to rediscover the joys in the world around us.

Ross Gay’s essays have been called “exquisite” (Tracy K. Smith), “imperative” (the New York Times Book Review), and “brilliant” (Ada Limón). Now,... Read more

Round Here and Over Yonder

By: Trae Crowder & Corey Ryan Forrester

Narrated by: Trae Crowder & Corey Ryan Forrester

Length: 7 hours 11 minutes

Abridged: No

Read by the authors.Join Southern comedian duo Trae Crowder and Corey Ryan Forrester in this hilarious and irreverent travel guide as they wander about ponderin' the peculiarities beyond their small-town front porches.Trae and Corey will take you from the smallest of small towns to major US metropolises (or is it metropoli? We haven't a fartin'... Read more

Congratulations, The Best Is Over!

By: R. Eric Thomas

Narrated by: R. Eric Thomas

Length: 6 hours 39 minutes

Abridged: No

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The beloved author of Here for It returns with a collection of “funny and compulsively readable” (Vogue), “hilarious and incisive” (Time) essays about what happens after happily ever after.

“How is it possible that I liked this book even more than his last one? Phenomenal.”—Jenny Lawson, New York Times bestselling author of... Read more

The Tao of the Backup Catcher

By: Tim Brown

Narrated by: Justin Price & Tim Brown

Length: 9 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: No

This fascinating book chronicles the unsung men of baseball who serve the job, the hardships they face, and their love for a game that would not always love them back―told partly through the experiences of an MLB veteran.​

In baseball there are superstars and stars and everyday players and then there are the rest. Within the rest are role... Read more

Tough Titties

By: Laura Belgray

Narrated by: Laura Belgray

Length: 8 hours 13 minutes

Abridged: No

Discover a brutally honest, hilarious, and relatable account of being a late bloomer on the dating scene, trying to master adulthood, and embracing your inner dork: "a hilarious, must-read permission slip to be 100% you" (Marie Forleo, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

What does it take to grow up cool and popular, master adulthood, fast... Read more

We're All in This Together . . .

By: Tom Papa

Narrated by: Tom Papa

Length: 7 hours 9 minutes

Abridged: No

This program is read by the author.

"In 37 short essays comedian Tom Papa reminds listeners that life's absurdities are here to stay and that everyone is doing the best they can. His tone and delivery are comforting, heartwarming, even therapeutic."- AudioFile

Stand-up is all well and good, but observational humor that’s funny and warm may work... Read more

Walking with Sam

By: Andrew McCarthy

Narrated by: Andrew McCarthy

Length: 6 hours 43 minutes

Abridged: No

An intimate, funny, and poignant New York Times bestseling travel memoir following award-winning author and actor Andrew McCarthy as he walks the Camino de Santiago with his son Sam. 
 
When Andrew McCarthy's eldest son began to take his first steps into adulthood, McCarthy found himself wishing time would slow down. Looking to create a more... Read more

It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway

By: Elizabeth Passarella

Narrated by: Elizabeth Passarellla

Length: 7 hours 45 minutes

Abridged: No

Read by the author.A collection of refreshingly honest and hilarious essays from Southern Living columnist Elizabeth Passarella about navigating change--whether emotional or logistical--and staying sane during life's unexpected twists and turns.After Elizabeth Passarella and her husband finally decided that it was time to sell their two-bedroom... Read more

Body Horror

By: Anne Elizabeth Moore

Narrated by: Anne Elizabeth Moore

Length: 8 hours 24 minutes

Abridged: No

Whether for entertainment, under the guise of medicine, or to propel consumerism, heinous acts are perpetrated daily on women’s bodies. In Body Horror: Capitalism, Fear, Misogyny, Jokes, award-winning journalist Anne Elizabeth Moore catalogs the global toll of capitalism on our physical autonomy. Weaving together unflinching research and... Read more