Elisa's Picks

The Other Mother

By: Rachel Harper
Narrated by: January LaVoy & William DeMeritt
Length: 13 hours 59 minutes

A page-turning generational saga about a young man's search for a parent he never knew, and a moving portrait of motherhood, race, and the truths we hide in the name of family. Jenry Castillo is a musical prodigy, raised by a single mother in Miami, who arrives at Brown University on a scholarship—but also to learn more about his late father,... Read more

Hamnet

By: Maggie O'Farrell
Narrated by: Ell Potter
Length: 12 hours 42 minutes

“I wanted to live in this book forever and for it to never, ever end. I have never had a book hangover like the one I had when I finished this book. It is so, so, so, good. Every word is perfectly chosen and often not the expected choice. I can't say enough about both the writing and the narration and I already can't wait to listen to this one... Read more

Nikhil Out Loud

By: Maulik Pancholy
Narrated by: Maulik Pancholy
Length: 6 hours 11 minutes

Lambda Literary Award Winner for LGBTQ+ Middle GradeFrom the acclaimed actor and Stonewall Honor–winning author of The Best at It, Maulik Pancholy, comes a new middle grade novel about a gay Indian American boy who learns the power of using his voice. For fans of Merci Suárez Changes Gears and Better Nate Than Ever.Thirteen-year-old Nikhil Shah... Read more

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

By: David Sedaris
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 10 hours 53 minutes

David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother's wedding. He mops his sister's floor. He gives directions to a lost traveler. He eats a hamburger. He has his blood sugar tested. It all sounds so normal, doesn't it? In his newest collection of essays,... Read more

The Undocumented Americans

By: Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
Narrated by: Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
Length: 4 hours 53 minutes

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • One of the first undocumented immigrants to graduate from Harvard reveals the hidden lives of her fellow undocumented Americans in this deeply personal and groundbreaking portrait of a nation.

“Karla’s book sheds light on people’s personal experiences and allows their stories to be told and their voices to be... Read more

Sand Talk

How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World

By: Tyson Yunkaporta
Narrated by: Tyson Yunkaporta
Length: 7 hours 49 minutes

A paradigm-shifting book in the vein of Sapiens that brings a crucial Indigenous perspective to historical and cultural issues of history, education, money, power, and sustainability—and offers a new template for living.As an indigenous person, Tyson Yunkaporta looks at global systems from a unique perspective, one tied to the natural and... Read more

An Immense World

How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us

By: Ed Yong
Narrated by: Ed Yong
Length: 14 hours 17 minutes

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “thrilling” (The New York Times), “dazzling” (The Wall Street Journal) tour of the radically different ways that animals perceive the world that will fill you with wonder and forever alter your perspective, by Pulitzer Prize–winning science journalist Ed Yong
 
“One of this year’s finest works of narrative... Read more

The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman

By: Julietta Henderson
Narrated by: Katherine Parkinson
Length: 9 hours 10 minutes

“For a great book with all the feels, you can't beat The Funny Thing About Norman Forman. Sadie is an imperfect but devoted single mother to 12 year old Norman who has just suffered the tragic loss of his larger-than-life best friend. In an impulsive attempt to ease his mourning, Sadie promises Norman she'll help him accomplish a couple of epic... Read more

This Story Will Change

After the Happily Ever After

By: Elizabeth Crane
Narrated by: Elizabeth Crane
Length: 4 hours 40 minutes

“In this moving memoir filled with heartbreak, humor, and hope, Crane chronicles in real-time her journey through the ending of her 15-year marriage. Through vivid vignettes of memories and of present moments, she gives us an intimate look into her emotions and actions through the break-up. She explores how sometimes what we remember is not... Read more

High Conflict

Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out

By: Amanda Ripley
Narrated by: Amanda Ripley
Length: 9 hours 50 minutes

When we are baffled by the insanity of the “other side”—in our politics, at work, or at home—it’s because we aren’t seeing how the conflict itself has taken over.

That’s what “high conflict” does. It’s the invisible hand of our time. And it’s different from the useful friction of healthy conflict. That’s good conflict, and it’s a necessary force... Read more

Wordslut

A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

By: Amanda Montell
Narrated by: Amanda Montell
Length: 6 hours 56 minutes

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 SolowayThe... Read more

The Falling in Love Montage

By: Ciara Smyth
Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
Length: 9 hours 53 minutes

Two girls embark on a summer of montage-worthy dates (with a few strings attached) in this hilarious and heartfelt lesbian rom-com that’s perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Jenny Han. Seventeen-year-old cynic Saoirse Clarke isn’t looking for a relationship. But when she meets mischievous Ruby, that rule goes right out the window. Sort of.... Read more

Care Of

Letters, Connections, and Cures

By: Ivan Coyote
Narrated by: Ivan Coyote
Length: 6 hours 15 minutes

“What a beauty this book is, and read by Ivan, it's that much better. They are *such* a powerful reader. I had chills from the writing and the reading, over and over again. Whether or not you've read anything by Ivan or know who they are, this is such an excellent introduction to their writing and work. It's maybe 20 exchanges between Ivan and... Read more

The Book of Night Women

By: Marlon James
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 15 hours 45 minutes

“This is a tough, but really good, read. And so powerful and well-done. There are so many strong women in this, in their individuality, in their sisterhood, in their strength. I have to admit that I don't often like stories with main female characters or voices written by men, but James really does something remarkable here. This is so impressive. Read more

Why Fish Don't Exist

A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life

By: Lulu Miller
Narrated by: Lulu Miller
Length: 4 hours 55 minutes

“I've followed Lulu Miller's audio stories on public radio for years and I found Why Fish Don't Exist absolutely absorbing. Part memoir, part scientific deep dive into the life of David Starr Jordan (a taxonomist who discovered one-fifth of the fish known to humans), Why Fish Don't Exist examines order and chaos in the world with humor and deep... Read more

The Right to Sex

Feminism in the Twenty-First Century

By: Amia Srinivasan
Narrated by: Andia Winslow
Length: 6 hours 42 minutes

“Laser-cut writing and a stunning intellect. If only every writer made this much beautiful sense.”
—Lisa Taddeo, author of Three Women

“Amia Srinivasan is an unparalleled and extraordinary writer—no one X-rays an argument, a desire, a contradiction, a defense mechanism quite like her. In stripping the new politics of sex and power down to its... Read more

The Certainties

By: Aislinn Hunter
Narrated by: Sandra Flores & Steve Cumyn
Length: 5 hours 55 minutes

A vivid, moving novel reminiscent of Anthony Doerr and Michael Ondaatje, about the entwined fates of two very different refugees.

In 1940, as the shadow of war lengthens over Europe, three mysterious travelers enter a village in Spain. They have the appearance of Parisian intellectuals, but the trio of two men and a woman are starving and... Read more

The Only Plane in the Sky

An Oral History of September 11, 2001

By: Garrett M. Graff
Narrated by: A Full 45-Person Cast
Length: 15 hours 54 minutes

“I absolutely believe this book should be listened to, instead of read. Each of the interviews and testimonies has a different voice, making this experience extremely intimate. I thought I knew. I had no idea. My memory is made up of all the big moments shared by the news. Planes, towers, explosions, the Pentagon, flight 93. All Images,... Read more

White Smoke

By: Tiffany D. Jackson
Narrated by: Marcella Cox
Length: 8 hours 56 minutes

The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California... Read more

Stand Up, Yumi Chung!

By: Jessica Kim
Narrated by: Greta Jung
Length: 6 hours 3 minutes

“Young readers will connect with the challenges of pursuing interests that your family may not be too thrilled about, and the lengths you'll go to for your dreams to come true! Read more