Nonfiction in an afternoon

Climate Optimism

Celebrating Systemic Change Around the World

By: Zahra Biabani
Narrated by: Jeed Saddy
Length: 4 hours 48 minutes

Change the way you think about the future. The fate of humanity can be daunting, but we don't need to live in that space. First, we need to change our attitude in order to implement nature-based solutions to deal with climate change. Good news: there are environmental trends and examples to change the way you think about how we can protect the... Read more

Poverty, by America

By: Matthew Desmond
Narrated by: Dion Graham
Length: 5 hours 40 minutes

“Desmond challenges readers to recognize how they benefit from poverty through low cost goods, services, and systemic structures that benefit those who already have resources (no surprise - they also have roots in racism and misogyny!). He reminds us that both the rich and poor benefit from government assistance, but only programs for the poor... Read more

How to Resist Amazon and Why

The Fight for Local Economics, Data Privacy, Fair Labor, Independent Bookstores, and a People-Powered Future!

By: Danny Caine
Narrated by: Danny Caine
Length: 3 hours 39 minutes

When a company's workers are literally dying on the job, and its business model relies on preying on local businesses and even their own companies, and its CEO is the richest person in the world while its workers make minimum wage with impossible quotas...wouldn't you want to resist? Danny Caine, owner of Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas,... Read more

How to Be a Good Creature

A Memoir in Thirteen Animals

By: Sy Montgomery
Narrated by: Sy Montgomery
Length: 3 hours 41 minutes

“Sy Montgomery (The Soul of an Octopus) has led a rich life, full of good creatures, and she has generously shared her experiences throughout the years. This lovely book describes some of the most beloved and memorable critters she has known and the lessons and knowledge she has gained from them. We’ve all had our lives enriched by animals and... 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

The Intersectional Environmentalist

How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet

By: Leah Thomas
Narrated by: Leah Thomas, Hayden Bishop & Erin Walker
Length: 4 hours 1 minute

From the activist who coined the term comes a primer on intersectional environmentalism for the next generation of activists looking to create meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable change. The Intersectional Environmentalist examines the inextricable link between environmentalism, racism, and privilege, and promotes awareness of the fundamental... Read more

The Future We Choose

Surviving the Climate Crisis

By: Christiana Figueres & Tom Rivett-Carnac
Narrated by: Christiana Figueres & Tom Rivett-Carnac
Length: 4 hours 47 minutes

A cautionary but optimistic book about the world’s changing climate and the fate of humanity, from two of the architects of the 2015 Paris Agreement. • "One of the most inspiring books I've ever read." —Yuval Harari

Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac outline two possible scenarios for our planet. In one, they describe what life on Earth... Read more

Body Work

The Radical Power of Personal Narrative

By: Melissa Febos
Narrated by: Melissa Febos
Length: 3 hours 35 minutes

“This book is both a self-reflection piece and a tender yet valiant meditation on the power of writing. Anyone that approaches their work through an autoethnographic lens would benefit from tools Febos so kindly lends to us in Body Work. Read more

The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist

By: Ben Barres
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
Length: 4 hours 47 minutes

Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. In this book, completed shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer in December 2017, Barres (born Barbara Barres in 1954) describes a life full of remarkable accomplishments—from his childhood as a precocious math... Read more

The Hawk's Way

Encounters with Fierce Beauty

By: Sy Montgomery
Narrated by: Sy Montgomery
Length: 1 hour 58 minutes

“Written and beautifully read by Sy Montgomery, this deceptively short narrative describes her experience as a falconer's apprentice. It will leave readers with a renewed appreciation for the utter wildness of raptors and the people who work with them. Read more

Above Ground

By: Clint Smith
Narrated by: Clint Smith
Length: 1 hour 29 minutes

A remarkable poetry collection from Clint Smith, the #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Critics Circle award-winning author of How the Word Is Passed.

Clint Smith’s vibrant and compelling new collection traverses the vast emotional terrain of fatherhood, and explores how becoming a parent has recalibrated his sense of the world.... Read more

Dyscalculia

A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation

By: Camonghne Felix
Narrated by: Camonghne Felix
Length: 2 hours 7 minutes

“Powerful . . . a poetic meditation on how love or attempts at loving can drive us to madness.”—The Boston Globe
 
“We learn about the cracks in Felix’s upbringing, the hurt from the breakup itself, and a pain that spans a lifetime, all through a sharp millennial voice.”—Time, “Best Books of 2023 (So Far)”
 
When Camonghne Felix goes through a... Read more

Love Is an Ex-Country

By: Randa Jarrar
Narrated by: Randa Jarrar
Length: 5 hours 46 minutes

“Randa Jarrar’s intimate memoir is nothing short of monumental. Intelligent, tender, and lacerating in equal measure, Love Is an Ex-Country takes readers on a journey across the U.S., probing what it means to live fully in a hostile environment and contemplate survival in the face of erasure. Jarrar navigates the profound with a light touch and... Read more

Joy at Work

Organizing Your Professional Life

By: Marie Kondo & Scott Sonenshein
Narrated by: Brittany Ishibashi & Dan Woren
Length: 5 hours 19 minutes

“I found a lot to love in this application of Kon Mari method to work. I am finding it especially comforting at this time when I am working mostly from home as many of you are. It is a very slow process as, by nature, I am a slob and my surroundings are usually chaos. Little by little, I feel gently guided by Kondo and Sonenshein to eliminate... Read more

Yoke

My Yoga of Self-Acceptance

By: Jessamyn Stanley
Narrated by: Jessamyn Stanley
Length: 4 hours 29 minutes

Finding self-acceptance both on and off the mat.
In Sanskrit, yoga means to “yoke.” To yoke mind and body, movement and breath, light and dark, the good and the bad. This larger idea of “yoke” is what Jessamyn Stanley calls the yoga of the everyday—a yoga that is not just about perfecting your downward dog but about applying the hard lessons... Read more

Living Resistance

An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day

By: Kaitlin B. Curtice
Narrated by: Kaitlin B. Curtice
Length: 5 hours 17 minutes

In an era in which "resistance" has become tokenized, popular Indigenous author Kaitlin Curtice reclaims it as a basic human calling. Resistance is for every human who longs to see their neighbors' holistic flourishing. We each have a role to play in the world right where we are, and our everyday acts of resistance hold us all together.

Curtice... Read more

Radical Kindness

The Life-Changing Power of Giving and Receiving

By: Angela Santomero
Narrated by: Angela Santomero & Michael David Axtell
Length: 3 hours 23 minutes

“Did you read the Bio of Mister Rogers and feel inspired? Angela Santomero's new book will have you channeling your inner Rogers in no time! Her approach to kindness, both within and without, is a gift to us all. A reminder of the best in ourselves and a nudge to see that best in others as well. Read more

How Far the Light Reaches

A Life in Ten Sea Creatures

By: Sabrina Imbler
Narrated by: Sabrina Imbler
Length: 5 hours 40 minutes

“How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler is badass. I never thought I'd walk away from a collection of essays about weird sea creatures with a more crystal-clear understanding of my own gender identity than I have had in years—but curious readers live to be surprised! In winding personal essay with science writing, Imbler gifts the reader... Read more

Rest Is Resistance

A Manifesto

By: Tricia Hersey
Narrated by: Tricia Hersey
Length: 5 hours 26 minutes

Disrupt and push back against capitalism and white supremacy by connecting to the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice. Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, encourages us to elevate rest as a form of resistance and a divine human right.

What would it be like to live in a well-rested world? Far too... Read more

The Princess Diarist

By: Carrie Fisher
Narrated by: Carrie Fisher & Billie Lourd
Length: 5 hours 10 minutes

“You know Carrie Fisher, the famous actress, but do you know Carrie Fisher, the writer? This witty, intimate and revealing memoir was published about a month before her death. I loved the listening experience. It felt like Fisher was in the room with me sharing memories from her past since she narrates the majority of the book. Included in this... Read more