BB's favorites: Read by the Author

Lincoln in the Bardo

A Novel

By: George Saunders
Narrated by: George Saunders, Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, Carrie Brownstein, Don Cheadle, Lena Dunham, Bill Hader, Kirby Heyborne, Keegan-Michael Key, Julianne Moore, Megan Mullally, Susan Sarandon, Ben Stiller & Various
Length: 7 hours 24 minutes

“Saunders' first novel has a steep entry curve. It's not a novel that reveals itself quickly and easily, but if you give it your attention, if you burrow deep into the book, you'll be eminently rewarded. There is a richness and depth of humanity here. There is the strange and wonderful. There is love and grief and mystery all brought together in... Read more

Against the Loveless World

A Novel

By: Susan Abulhawa
Narrated by: Susan Abulhawa
Length: 13 hours 9 minutes

2020 Palestine Book Awards Winner
2021 Aspen Words Literary Prize Finalist

“Susan Abulhawa possesses the heart of a warrior; she looks into the darkest crevices of lives, conflicts, horrendous injustices, and dares to shine light that can illuminate hidden worlds for us.” —Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize–winning author

In this... Read more

We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders

A Memoir of Love and Resistance

By: Linda Sarsour
Narrated by: Linda Sarsour
Length: 7 hours 34 minutes

Linda Sarsour, co-organizer of the Women’s March, shares an “unforgettable memoir” (Booklist) about how growing up Palestinian Muslim American, feminist, and empowered moved her to become a globally recognized activist on behalf of marginalized communities across the country.

On a chilly spring morning in Brooklyn, nineteen-year-old Linda Sarsour... Read more

1919

By: Eve L. Ewing
Narrated by: Eve L. Ewing
Length: 1 hour 5 minutes

The Chicago Race Riot of 1919, the most intense of the riots comprising the nation’s Red Summer, has shaped the last century but is not widely discussed. In 1919, award-winning poet Eve L. Ewing explores the story of this event—which lasted eight days and resulted in thirty-eight deaths and almost 500 injuries—through poems recounting the... Read more

The Poet X

By: Elizabeth Acevedo
Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo
Length: 3 hours 30 minutes

“Getting to listen to the author herself read her poetry, which are clearly a testament to the spoken word and the art of slam, is absolutely the best way to devour this novel-in-verse. Acevedo puts everything into her words, and no one else could do them justice the way she does herself. Despite possible age/cultural/religious differences, any... Read more

This Is What I Know About Art

Pocket Change Collective

By: Kimberly Drew
Narrated by: Kimberly Drew
Length: 1 hour 3 minutes

"Drew's experience teaches us to embrace what we are afraid of and be true to ourselves. She uses her passion to change the art world and invites us to join her."--Janelle Monáe, award-winning singer, actress, and producer

"Powerful and compelling, this book gives us the courage to discover our own journeys into art."--Hans Ulrich Obrist,... Read more

How to Be Perfect

The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question

By: Michael Schur
Narrated by: Michael Schur, Kristen Bell, D'Arcy Carden, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Manny Jacinto, Marc Evan Jackson, Jameela Jamil & Todd May
Length: 9 hours 13 minutes

“Accessible, funny, and fascinating, much like the author's famed television show, The Good Place. This is a great primer on moral philosophy, targeted at the layperson. A quick read that will have you chuckling at times and grappling with the great questions of right and wrong at others. Highly recommended, even more so as an audio book since... Read more

How We Fight For Our Lives

By: Saeed Jones
Narrated by: Saeed Jones
Length: 5 hours 34 minutes

“This memoir by black and gay poet Saeed Jones is a visceral coming of age and coming out story. Growing up as an only child to his single mother in Texas and spending summers with his evangelical grandmother in Memphis, Jones struggles to come to terms with his sexuality, to come out of the closet, and to love himself. He wrestles with his... Read more

Delicious Foods

A Novel

By: James Hannaham
Narrated by: James Hannaham
Length: 11 hours 6 minutes

Held captive by her employers -- and by her own demons -- on a mysterious farm, a widow struggles to reunite with her young son in this uniquely American story of freedom, perseverance, and survival.

Darlene, once an exemplary wife and a loving mother to her young son, Eddie, finds herself devastated by the unforeseen death of her husband.... 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

Beyond the Gender Binary

Pocket Change Collective

By: Alok Vaid-Menon
Narrated by: Alok Vaid-Menon
Length: 1 hour 7 minutes

Winner of the 2021 In The Margins Award
 
"When reading this book, all I feel is kindness."-- Sam Smith, Grammy and Oscar award-winning singer and songwriter
 
"Thank God we have Alok. And I'm learning a thing or two myself."--Billy Porter, Emmy award-winning actor, singer, and Broadway theater performer

"Beyond the Gender Binary will give readers... Read more

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

A Novel

By: Ocean Vuong
Narrated by: Ocean Vuong
Length: 7 hours 18 minutes

“Written as a letter from son to mother, Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is desolately beautiful. Each carefully crafted sentence builds upon the last, a momentum that carries you through a hundred pages before you remember to take a breath. Bleak, brilliant, it is the book other books will be compared to for years. Honestly, I... Read more

The Deep

By: Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes
Narrated by: Daveed Diggs
Length: 4 hours 1 minute

“This book is haunting in the best possible way. I felt so keenly for Yetu, for the Wajinru and their histories, it gave me chills. Daveed Dig's narration was a well-matched piece in an already incredible project. I'm so glad this little novella came to be written so that I might share it. Read more

Finding Me

A Memoir

By: Viola Davis
Narrated by: Viola Davis
Length: 9 hours 15 minutes

Winner of the 2023 Grammy for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording!Audie Award Winner for Audiobook of the Year!Narrated by Viola DavisIn my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever.This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central... 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

Gathering Moss

A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses

By: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Length: 7 hours 46 minutes

Living at the limits of our ordinary perception, mosses are a common but largely unnoticed element of the natural world. Gathering Moss is a beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites listeners to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses.

Robin Wall Kimmerer's book is not an identification guide,... Read more

Little Weirds

By: Jenny Slate
Narrated by: Jenny Slate
Length: 4 hours 19 minutes

“Magical, delightful and amusing book of daydreams with a cupful of nonsense. Read more

Hunger

A Memoir of (My) Body

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

“Man oh man. Roxane Gay never fails to disappoint, even if she might disagree. This is a powerful, raw memoir, narrated by the author. Her truth is so relatable, and even when it’s not, Gay’s writing is empathetic. This audiobook was so engrossing, I actively looked for excuses to step away from what I was doing and listen to it. I highly... Read more

The 2000s Made Me Gay

Essays on Pop Culture

By: Grace Perry
Narrated by: Grace Perry
Length: 8 hours 21 minutes

“Wow! I picked this book up thinking it would just be a fun collection of personal essays. Boy howdy was I pleasantly surprised by what this book actually was! Perry makes each piece intensely personal, yes, but she also dives deep into many of the fundamental pieces of media for teens and tweens in the 2000s. Each essay looks at a different pop... Read more

Happy-Go-Lucky

By: David Sedaris
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 7 hours 30 minutes

“Unsurprisingly, Sedaris delivers a thoughtful, funny, somber, and occasionally gross examination of the world today. This includes COVID-19, MeToo, BLM, the transition from Trump to Biden, and the death of his father who was, in his words, a 'character.' I couldn't stand to live in a world without David Sedaris. And him reading his own work is... Read more