Staff Picks JZ

Klara and the Sun: A GMA Book Club Pick

A novel

By: Kazuo Ishiguro
Narrated by: Sura Siu
Length: 10 hours 16 minutes

“Klara and the Sun is a parable, a warning, a neatly-crafted story that fits into an Artificial Friend-sized box, which—make no mistake—is not to say that it’s ordinary. Ishiguro explores the ethics of creating artificial intelligence that’s indistinguishable from humans, at least ideally. But Klara and her owner, Josie, are kindred spirits... Read more

The Story Paradox

How Our Love of Storytelling Builds Societies and Tears them Down

By: Jonathan Gottschall
Narrated by: Joshua Kane
Length: 7 hours 2 minutes

Storytelling, a tradition that built human civilization, may soon destroy itHumans are storytelling animals. Stories are what make our societies possible. Countless books celebrate their virtues. But Jonathan Gottschall, an expert on the science of stories, argues that there is a dark side to storytelling we can no longer ignore. Storytelling,... Read more

Nothing to See Here

By: Kevin Wilson
Narrated by: Marin Ireland
Length: 6 hours 40 minutes

“Absolutely loved this book, I listened to it on Libro.fm. Quirky, entertaining, smart, and funny. I could not put it down. I can not wait to put this book into hands of readers I know will love it as much as I did. Thank you Kevin Wilson for giving the weird and wonderful a voice! And thank you to Marin Ireland for doing an excellent job... Read more

The Book of Delights

By: Ross Gay
Narrated by: Ross Gay
Length: 5 hours

“For those of you having a rough year, take comfort and inspiration from Ross Gay’s aptly titled The Book of Delights. After going through a bumpy patch himself, Gay tasked himself with a year’s worth of essays, each day focusing on something delightful. What resulted is a warm, thoughtful range of reflections on tomato plants, high fives, and... Read more

Heavy

An American Memoir

By: Kiese Laymon
Narrated by: Kiese Laymon
Length: 6 hours 17 minutes

“An incredibly generous, tender, and searingly honest book. Kiese Laymon is hands down one of the most talented American writers publishing right now. HEAVY overflows with deep love and deep pain. Laymon holds up a mirror to the US past, present - "We did not have to be this way. We will not ever have to be this way." I'm going back to read... Read more

Hunger

A Memoir of (My) Body

By: Roxane Gay
Narrated by: Roxane Gay
Length: 5 hours 57 minutes

“This memoir is about trauma and privilege, self-loathing, and a silent fear kept secret for far too long. It's about our obsession with body weight and body image, what happens when we internalize our pain and become self-destructive, and how very, very large people are treated in humiliating ways. The descriptions of addictive behavior and the... Read more

Educated

A Memoir

By: Tara Westover
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Length: 12 hours 9 minutes

“How a young woman, raised without modern medicine, any schooling, or even a birth certificate, in a remote Mormon, survivalist household in Idaho, made it to college and ended up receiving a PhD from Cambridge is the incredible story of this memoir. Outstanding! This true story is a beautifully written and narrated, soulful, hilarious,... Read more

I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are

By: Rachel Bloom
Narrated by: Rachel Bloom
Length: 4 hours 51 minutes

From the charming and wickedly funny co-creator and star of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, a collection of hilarious personal essays, poems and even amusement park maps on the subjects of insecurity, fame, anxiety, and much more.
Rachel Bloom has felt abnormal and out of place her whole life. In this exploration of what she thinks makes her "different,"... Read more

The Dawn of Everything

A New History of Humanity

By: David Graeber & David Wengrow
Narrated by: Mark Williams
Length: 24 hours 19 minutes

“In this brilliant and sometimes funny reexamination of human history, the authors argue that we are less free than our ancestors, and that it was not inevitable "progress" that brought us here. Using evidence from the last few decades of archeology, the authors contend that the centralization of power in the hands of a few was often avoided in... 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

Braiding Sweetgrass

Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

By: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Length: 16 hours 44 minutes

“Part memoir, part native and scientific knowledge, Braiding Sweetgrass is a wonderful work of non-fiction. There is so much to be learned about gratitude in this book, and Kimmerer's poetic-prose will help you find wonder in the world again. Read by the author, it's one book that can teach a bit of something to everyone. Read more

Bewilderment

A Novel

By: Richard Powers
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
Length: 7 hours 50 minutes

“An homage to the heartbreaking Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, this intimate story of a grieving father and his troubled son is an intelligent and touching story of tragedy and hope. Read more

The Liar's Dictionary

A Novel

By: Eley Williams
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton & Jon Glover
Length: 7 hours 55 minutes

“The Liar’s Dictionary is an enormously charming novel about putting the world into words. Its two logophilic heroes, separated by a century, are unforgettable characters; I loved spending time with these word-curious creations. You’ll be utterly transported by this playful and seriously funny book. Read more