Staff Picks of 2021

How Rights Went Wrong

Why Our Obsession with Rights Is Tearing America Apart

By: Jamal Greene
Narrated by: Ryan Vincent Anderson
Length: 11 hours 7 minutes

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PUBLISHERS PROSE AWARD FINALIST | “Essential and fresh and vital . . . It is the argument of this important book that until Americans can reimagine rights, there is no path forward, and there is, especially, no way to get race right. No peace, no justice.”—from the foreword by Jill Lepore, New York Times best-selling... Read more

Malibu Rising

A Novel

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Length: 11 hours 5 minutes

“When you’re famous, the summer party you have at your famous Malibu house is famous, and you’re famous friends and family come and so does everybody else…what could go wrong? EVERYTHING! Read more

A Promised Land

By: Barack Obama
Narrated by: Barack Obama
Length: 29 hours 9 minutes

“No one really needs my blurb to help sell this book, but I wanted to give it anyway, especially for the audiobook, narrated by Barack Obama himself. If you want to know his incredible knowledge and wisdom that guided him through major decisions, and also hear him drop a few F-bombs, you need to listen to this fantastically written book. Read more

When I Ran Away

A Novel

By: Ilona Bannister
Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky
Length: 11 hours 20 minutes

Longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s 2021 First Novel Prize • A rich, bighearted debut that takes us from working-class Staten Island in the wake of the September 11th attacks to moneyed London a decade later, revealing a story of loss, motherhood, and love.

As the Twin Towers collapse, Gigi Stanislawski flees her office building and escapes... Read more

The Quiet Zone

Unraveling the Mystery of a Town Suspended in Silence

By: Stephen Kurczy
Narrated by: Roger Wayne
Length: 9 hours 7 minutes

""Captivating."" —Kirkus | ""Fascinating, deeply reported, and slightly eerie."" —BookPage (Starred Review) | ""The Quiet Zone will live on in your memory."" —Bill McKibbenA stunning portrait of an Appalachian community, the people who call it home, and the enduring human quest for quietDeep in the Appalachian Mountains lies the last truly quiet... Read more

Razorblade Tears

A Novel

By: S. A. Cosby
Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
Length: 12 hours 22 minutes

“At once gritty and graphic, tender and heart wrenching, Razorblade Tears is the story of two fathers hardened by life circumstances and their respective prejudices who seek vengeance against those who killed their gay sons. The audio was perfection. We NEED this novel to be on the big screen, with Denzel Washington playing Ike. Read more

Nowhere Girl

A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood

By: Cheryl Diamond
Narrated by: Eileen Stevens
Length: 10 hours 36 minutes

“This was such a deftly paced story; often incredibly touching and funny, yet heavily laced with intrigue and terror. No memoir has gripped me more since Kiese Laymon's Heavy. Read more

Network Effect

Murderbot Diaries: Book #5

By: Martha Wells
Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
Length: 12 hours 47 minutes

“Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries has become one of my favorite series of all time, and Network Effect is a perfect addition. Murderbot is still trying to figure out what it wants after hacking its governor module. In the meantime, it spends its days protecting the humans it cares about. Of course, everything goes terribly wrong when a friend... Read more

The House in the Cerulean Sea

Cerulean Chronicles: Book #1

By: TJ Klune
Narrated by: Daniel Henning
Length: 12 hours 12 minutes

“So good! A wonderful whimsical feel good! Read more

What Comes After

A Novel

By: JoAnne Tompkins
Narrated by: Mark Deakins, Kristen DiMercurio & Kirby Heyborne
Length: 13 hours

“Abandoned and homeless, a pregnant 16-year-old finds shelter in the home of a man who has recently lost his son and his faith. Achingly poignant, What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins brims with raw emotions and conflicting feelings. A redemptive story of loss and love. Keep tissues nearby. Read more

Layoverland

By: Gabby Noone
Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
Length: 7 hours 41 minutes

“What if purgatory was an airport - a place where you were stuck until you were cleared to move on to the afterlife? A creative YA Rom-Com about two teens stuck in purgatory. One has a quick layover while the other is atoning for her sins. Read more

Tell the Wolves I’m Home

A Novel

By: Carol Rifka Brunt
Narrated by: Amy Rubinate
Length: 11 hours 46 minutes

“Carol Rifka Brunt’s novel is one of those debuts that has a magical shine to it. The brilliant writing pulls you back into the throes of adolescence, when someone you love is dying and there is no order and no sense. But it is larger than a story of loss and tragedy; it is also about growing up and the sharp beauty that comes with the discovery... Read more