W&CF 2021 Holiday Favorites

Crying in H Mart

A Memoir

By: Michelle Zauner
Narrated by: Michelle Zauner
Length: 7 hours 22 minutes

“In Crying in H Mart Michelle Zauner goes into detail about her mothers cancer, the nights she spent next to her bed, the secrets she learned about her later on, the small yet wonderful moments she remembers with clarity, and of course the raw emotion that goes with losing a mother. I had gotten over halfway through when I fell asleep listening... Read more

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

A Novel

By: Zoraida Córdova
Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
Length: 10 hours 57 minutes

“This story sparkles and enchants! It’s a rich and layered multigeneration saga featuring strong women and a mystery veiled in magical realism that will tease and feed your imagination. Read more

Detransition, Baby

A Novel

By: Torrey Peters
Narrated by: Renata Friedman
Length: 12 hours 31 minutes

“This book led to my favorite book club conversation to date. The characters are messy and mostly unlikeable and Peters unflinchingly dives straight into topics in trans identity often considered taboo, without worrying about placating a cisgender audience. A quietly chaotic and fascinating character study. Read more

Well Matched

By: Jen DeLuca
Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
Length: 9 hours 29 minutes

A pretend relationship gives two friends more than they bargained for in a Renaissance Faire rom com filled with flower crowns, kilts, corsets, and sword fights.

Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for twelve years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she’s decided to move on from her quaint little... Read more

The Last Nomad

Coming of Age in the Somali Desert

By: Shugri Said Salh
Narrated by: Waceke Wambaa
Length: 9 hours 39 minutes

“Shugri Said Salh delivers a poignant memoir about her life in Somalia, beginning with her life as a nomadic child with her grandmother in the desert. Shugri's struggles morph as she grows: hunger and thirst as a young nomadic child; an unstable home life back in the city; an escape from her home country when civil war breaks out; and so much... Read more

How Beautiful We Were

A Novel

By: Imbolo Mbue
Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi, Janina Edwards, Dion Graham, JD Jackson, Allyson Johnson & Lisa Renee Pitts
Length: 14 hours 7 minutes

A fearless young woman from a small African village starts a revolution against an American oil company in this sweeping, inspiring novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Behold the Dreamers.

ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, People• ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review,The... Read more

Mexican Gothic

By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
Length: 10 hours 39 minutes

“Delightfully creepy. Dread builds steadily throughout the book. As a listener, you know that something is wrong but it’s hard to put your finger on it. Like the main character, you will doubt everything: the characters, their motivations and even your own deductive abilities. This book keeps you on your toes, flitting from one theory to the... Read more

The Lincoln Highway

A Novel

By: Amor Towles
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Marin Ireland & Dion Graham
Length: 16 hours 38 minutes

“THIS BOOK EXCEEDED ALL EXPECTATIONS! As a huge fan of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility, The Lincoln Highway had a lot of pressure and holy cow did it surpass anything I could have hoped for. From the first page, I was immediately drawn into Towles' magical writing and superb characters. This felt like a modern classic, the new and... Read more

Matrix

A Novel

By: Lauren Groff
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
Length: 8 hours 51 minutes

“In this brilliant work of historical fiction, Lauren Groff reimagines a 12th century in which Marie of France, scorned by the French court and exiled to an impoverished English abbey, uses her keen intellect and iron will to smash through the patriarchy and become one of the most powerful women of her age...British actress Adjoa Andoh is a... Read more

Dream Girl

A Novel

By: Laura Lippman
Narrated by: Jason Culp
Length: 8 hours 53 minutes

“Carve out a lot of time for when you start Dream Girl, because you're not going to want to stop! Haunting, atmospheric and often funny — this is one of Lippman's best, which is saying a lot! Read more

Interior Chinatown

A Novel

By: Charles Yu
Narrated by: Joel de la Fuente
Length: 4 hours 20 minutes

“We all make choices throughout our lives, choosing different paths to follow, different roles to play. But who selects the options we choose from? Interior Chinatown is like a rapier taken to stereotypes that inhabit society's attitudes towards Asian Americans. The main character, Willis Wu, is a minor actor in an ongoing cop drama who wants to... Read more

The Sky Blues

By: Robbie Couch
Narrated by: Michael Crouch
Length: 8 hours 58 minutes

Sky’s small town turns absolutely claustrophobic when his secret promposal plans get leaked to the entire school in this witty, “earnest, heartfelt” (Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author), and ultimately hopeful debut novel for fans of What if it’s Us? and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Sky Baker may be openly gay, but in his... Read more

Memorial

A Novel

By: Bryan Washington
Narrated by: Bryan Washington & Akie Kotabe
Length: 8 hours 19 minutes

“Reading Memorial is like sitting down with a dear friend, asking ‘What’s going on with you?’ and settling in for much-needed catch-up on life, love, heartache, and family. Washington’s writing is so intimate and direct that you feel the exhilaration, frustration, and uncertainty that Benson and Mike feel about their relationships, both with one... Read more

Astrid Sees All

A Novel

By: Natalie Standiford
Narrated by: Emily Tremaine
Length: 8 hours 10 minutes

“Astrid Sees All is the novel for everyone who has ever moved to a new city to reinvent themselves —and hit some bumps along the way. In a love letter to the East Village of Manhattan, the neighborhood’s grit, glamor, and romance feels palpable. The reader never stops rooting for these complex and compelling characters, despite their many... Read more

Olympus, Texas

A Novel

By: Stacey Swann
Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
Length: 10 hours 16 minutes

“A gripping debut that takes all of the skeletons out of the Briscoe family closet and throws them on the front lawn. The depth of character development speaks to my own east Texan family, which feels disconcerting and scandalous. A page-turning read that you won’t want to end. Read more

Girly Drinks

A World History of Women and Alcohol

By: Mallory O'Meara
Narrated by: Mallory O'Meara
Length: 11 hours 29 minutes

“Girly Drinks is a fun, feminist, and information account chronicling the immense impact women have had on society through making and consuming alcohol. From beer and ale, to whisky, to sake, to sorghum, this is an inclusive and culturally aware history. Full to the brim with riveting stories, you’ll savor every line. Grab a beverage and tuck in! Read more

Firekeeper's Daughter

By: Angeline Boulley
Narrated by: Isabella Star LaBlanc
Length: 14 hours 13 minutes

“Firekeeper's Daughter is a wonder! We so rarely hear YA through an Indigenous people's voice and this book does it so very well. Main character Daunis Lorenzo Fontaine lives a fine line between her white French Canadian mother and her Ojibwe father in a complicated family dynamic. She is smart, hockey talented, driven, and tenacious as she... Read more

Certain Dark Things

A Novel

By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Narrated by: Aida Reluzco
Length: 8 hours 46 minutes

“What an engrossing, vibrant, new take on vampires. Part forbidden love story, part revenge caper, part bloodbath, this is easily one of my favorite vampire stories now. I love how Moreno-Garcia creates complex social structures and vampire-specific physical attributes to heighten tensions. This divide between vampires, as well as the... Read more

Broken (in the best possible way)

By: Jenny Lawson
Narrated by: Jenny Lawson
Length: 8 hours 18 minutes

“I accidentally didn't heed my friends adamant recommendations to read Jenny Lawson. I generally just prefer fiction. But let me tell you something! I'm a true convert now. I busted out in belly laughs. I held my breath in sorrow. I nodded "YES!" in unity. I'm now a proud, full fledged, card carrying member of the 'Jenny Lawson is My Imaginary... Read more

The Pull of the Stars

A Novel

By: Emma Donoghue
Narrated by: Emma Lowe
Length: 9 hours 6 minutes

“I listened to the audiobook of "The Pull of the Stars" by Emma Donoghue and was immediately pulled into the intense and vivid surroundings of a hospital ward in 1918 Dublin. It is the height of the flu epidemic and pregnant women who have the flu are quarantined together. Life goes on as babies are born and solutions found in spite of an... Read more