Language audiobooks

Cultish

By: Amanda Montell
Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
Length: 8 hours 21 minutes
Abridged: No

The author of the widely praised Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.

What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson...

Wordslut

By: Amanda Montell
Narrated by: Amanda Montell
Length: 6 hours 56 minutes
Abridged: No

A brash, enlightening, and wildly entertaining feminist look at gendered language and the way it shapes us, written with humor and playfulness that challenges words and phrases and how we use them.

“I get so jazzed about the future of feminism knowing that Amanda Montell’s brilliance is rising up and about to explode worldwide.”—Jill Soloway

The...

Dear Writer, You Need to Quit

By: Becca Syme
Narrated by: Becca Syme
Length: 3 hours 22 minutes
Abridged: No

I know what you're thinking...

You're thinking, "But, Becca... I don't want to quit writing."

*nods* I don't want you to quit writing, dear writer. But there are a lot of things that you do need to quit doing, when it comes to both your writing career and the writing process. 

How do I know this?

Because I have coached thousands of writers. Six- and...

Thank You for Arguing, Third Edition

By: Jay Heinrichs
Narrated by: Jay Heinrichs
Length: 14 hours 33 minutes
Abridged: No

A master class in the art of persuasion, as taught by professors ranging from Bart Simpson to Winston Churchill, newly revised and updated.

The time-tested secrets taught in this book include Cicero's three-step strategy for moving an audience to action, and Honest Abe's Shameless Trick for lowering an audience's expectations. And it's also... Read more »

The Art of Language Invention

By: David J. Peterson
Narrated by: David J. Peterson
Length: 9 hours 22 minutes
Abridged: No

An insider’s tour through the construction of invented languages from the bestselling author and creator of languages for the HBO series Game of Thrones and the Syfy series Defiance

From master language creator David J. Peterson comes a creative guide to language construction for sci-fi and fantasy fans, writers, game creators, and language...

HBR's 10 Must Reads on Public Speaking and Presenting

By: Harvard Business Review
Narrated by: Randye Kaye & Mike Lenz
Length: 5 hours 16 minutes
Abridged: No

Command the room—whether you're speaking to an audience of one or to hundreds.

We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the ten most important ones to help you speak confidently in front of a group and connect with audiences of any size.

This book will inspire you to: feel more confident when it's your... Read more »

Transformational Speaking

By: Gail Larsen
Narrated by: Gail Larsen
Length: 6 hours 33 minutes
Abridged: No

Today's challenging times call for passionate visionaries who are authentic and articulate communicators. Speaking coach and consultant Gail Larsen presents a proven program that liberates the "speaker within" and transforms even the reluctant orator into an agent of change.

While most programs on public speaking focus on a polished presentation...

Louder Than Words

By: Benjamin K. Bergen
Narrated by: Benjamin K. Bergen
Length: 6 hours 41 minutes
Abridged: No

Whether it’s brusque, convincing, fraught with emotion, or dripping with innuendo, language is fundamentally a tool for conveying meaning—a uniquely human magic trick in which you vibrate your vocal cords to make your innermost thoughts pop up in someone else’s mind. You can use it to talk about all sorts of things—from your new labradoodle... Read more »

On Writing

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Stephen King, Joe Hill & Owen King
Length: 9 hours 6 minutes
Abridged: No

Twentieth Anniversary Edition with Contributions from Joe Hill and Owen King

ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S TOP 100 NONFICTION BOOKS OF ALL TIME

Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King’s critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him... Read more »

Say What You Mean

By: Oren Jay Sofer
Narrated by: Oren Jay Sofer & Mark Bramhall
Length: 10 hours 59 minutes
Abridged: No

Find your voice, speak your truth, listen deeply—a guide to more meaningful and mindful conversations.

We spend so much of our lives talking to each other, but how much are we simply running on automatic—relying on old habits and hoping for the best? Are we able to truly hear others and speak our mind in a clear and kind way, without needing to... Read more »

Bird by Bird

By: Anne Lamott
Narrated by: Susan Bennett
Length: 6 hours 17 minutes
Abridged: No

From the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author: An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come.

For a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been... Read more »

How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish

By: Ilan Stavans & Josh Lambert
Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
Length: 15 hours 40 minutes
Abridged: No

Is it possible to conceive of the American diet without bagels? Or Star Trek without Mr. Spock? Are the creatures in Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are based on Holocaust survivors? And how has Yiddish, a language without a country, influenced Hollywood? These and other questions are explored in this stunning and rich anthology of the... Read more »

Story Genius

By: Lisa Cron
Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
Length: 9 hours 36 minutes
Abridged: No

Following on the heels of Lisa Cron's breakout first book, Wired for Story, this writing guide reveals how to use cognitive storytelling strategies to build a scene-by-scene blueprint for a riveting story.

It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story... Read more »

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

By: Alexander Chee
Narrated by: Daniel K. Isaac
Length: 8 hours 28 minutes
Abridged: No

An essay collection exploring his education as a man, writer, and activist—and how we form our identities in life and in art.

As a novelist, Alexander Chee has been described as “masterful” by Roxane Gay, “incendiary” by the New York Times, and “brilliant” by the Washington Post. With How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, his first collection...

How to Tell a Story

By: The Moth, Meg Bowles, Catherine Burns, Jenifer Hixson, Sarah Austin Jenness & Kate Tellers
Narrated by: Meg Bowles, Catherine Burns, Jenifer Hixson, Sarah Austin Jenness, Suzanne Rust, Chloe Salmon & Kate Tellers
Length: 10 hours 7 minutes
Abridged: No

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The definitive guide to telling an unforgettable story in any setting, drawing on twenty-five years of experience from the storytelling experts at The Moth

“From toasts to eulogies, from job interviews to social events, this book will help you with ideas, structure, delivery and more.”—CNN

Over the past twenty-five... Read more »

The Mother Tongue

By: Bill Bryson
Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
Length: 10 hours 44 minutes
Abridged: No

With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson—the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent—brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells...

I Came All This Way to Meet You

By: Jami Attenberg
Narrated by: Xe Sands
Length: 6 hours 44 minutes
Abridged: No

A Most Anticipated Title from: USA Today * The Guardian * Alma * Fodor’s * AV Club * Vogue * KatieCouric.com * BookRiot * Lithub * BuzzFeed

From New York Times bestselling author Jami Attenberg comes a dazzling memoir about unlocking and embracing her creativity—and how it saved her life.

In this brilliant, fierce, and funny memoir of...

In Other Words

By: Jhumpa Lahiri
Narrated by: Jhumpa Lahiri
Length: 6 hours 52 minutes
Abridged: No

From the best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize winner, a powerful nonfiction debut—an “honest, engaging, and very moving account of a writer searching for herself in words.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)
 
In Other Words is a revelation. It is at heart a love story—of a long and sometimes difficult courtship, and a passion that verges on obsession:... Read more »

How to Take Smart Notes

By: Sönke Ahrens
Narrated by: Nigel Fyfe
Length: 5 hours 52 minutes
Abridged: No

The key to good and efficient writing lies in the intelligent organisation of ideas and notes. This book helps students, academics and nonfiction writers to get more done, write intelligent texts and learn for the long run. It teaches you how to take smart notes and ensure they bring you and your projects forward.

The Take Smart Notes principle...

Still Writing

By: Dani Shapiro
Narrated by: Dani Shapiro
Length: 6 hours 37 minutes
Abridged: No

“Still Writing offers up a cornucopia of wisdom, insights, and practical lessons gleaned from Dani Shapiro's long experience as a celebrated writer and teacher of writing. The beneficiaries are beginning writers, veteran writers and everyone in between.” —Jennifer Egan

From Dani Shapiro, bestselling author of Devotion and Slow Motion, comes a... Read more »

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 »

Before and After the Book Deal

By: Courtney Maum
Narrated by: Courtney Maum
Length: 10 hours 35 minutes
Abridged: No

Everything you've ever wanted to know about publishing but were too afraid to ask is right here in this funny, candid guide by acclaimed author Courtney Maum. Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer's Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book has over 150 contributors from all walks of the industry, including... 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 »

27 Essential Principles of Story

By: Daniel Joshua Rubin
Narrated by: Daniel Joshua Rubin
Length: 13 hours 4 minutes
Abridged: No

“So often people ask me if there’s a book on story I can recommend. This is the one. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”––Alexa Junge, writer/producer, Friends, Sex and the City, The West Wing
 
A master class of 27 lessons, drawn from 27 diverse narratives, for novelists, storytellers, filmmakers, graphic designers, and more. Author Daniel... Read more »