Josh's Recs

Original Sins

The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of AmericanRacism

By: Eve L. Ewing
Narrated by: Robin Miles & Eve L. Ewing
Length: 12 hours 14 minutes

“I think everyone who grew up in the American school system should read this book. Both a look at the history of (mis)education to marginalized people to the continuing disenfranchisement of many students in America, I learned a lot from reading this. I will never look at schools or the United States in the same way. An excellent and... Read more

Prequel

An American Fight Against Fascism

By: Rachel Maddow
Narrated by: Rachel Maddow
Length: 13 hours 9 minutes

“This eye opening true history of the Nazi plot to overthrow American Democracy in the 1930s and 1940s reads like a page-turning spy thriller novel! Tracking the historical strain of American far right politics that longs for an authoritarian ruler, Maddow draws astonishingly relevant parallels to our current political moment in America.... Read more

Soldiers and Kings

Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling

By: Jason De León
Narrated by: Jason De León
Length: 9 hours 57 minutes

“At a time when both major political parties are demonizing immigration at our southern border, it's more important than ever to have a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the complex forces at work behind this painfully topical issue. Jason De Leon is a McArthur Genius Fellow and he has spent many years embedding himself among migrant... Read more

The Mercy of Gods

Captive's War: Book #1

By: James S.A. Corey
Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
Length: 14 hours 54 minutes

“The thrilling academic breakthroughs, tense rivalries, and workplace crushes of the scientists on Anjiin suddenly seem petty when the Carryx, terrifying and powerful insectoid aliens, invade and nearly wipe out humanity. But when the scientist team, reunited on the Carryx home planet in a puzzling captivity, are forced to resume similar... Read more

The Serviceberry

By: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Length: 1 hour 56 minutes

“Can a book be cozy, loving, encouraging, compassionate AND a threat to the brutal and cutthroat consumer capitalism of our era? I present to you Robin Wall Kimmerer’s first book since her surprise mega bestselling sleeper hit Braiding Sweetgrass. The Serviceberry is a bushy, under appreciated fruit tree native to Eastern North America that... Read more

The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science

The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science: Book #1

By: Kate McKinnon
Narrated by: Kate McKinnon & Emily Lynne
Length: 4 hours 54 minutes

“This was one of my favorite middle grade books of 2024, partially because I am such a huge fan of Kate McKinnon. This book is exactly what you'd expect: fun, weird, and full of underdogs to cheer for. Perfect for any kid who feels like an outsider, loves science, or has cheered for the underdog. The audiobook is excellent - just be sure to... Read more

The Universe in Verse

15 Portals to Wonder through Science & Poetry

By: Maria Popova
Narrated by: Maria Popova & Lili Taylor
Length: 1 hour 28 minutes

“A dazzling constellation of science and poetry that will spark your curiosity and leave you in awe, The Universe in Verse sends us on a voyage through space and time on a vessel made of verse by Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou, Tracy K. Smith, and more, about mycology and octopus intelligence, floriculture and the Hubble telescope, radioactivity and... Read more

Millie Fleur's Poison Garden

By: Christy Mandin
Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden
Length: 28 minutes

“This adorably quirky picture book features a Wednesday-Addams-like Millie Fleur settling in a new neighborhood with her family, and growing a big garden of delightfully strange and macabre plants in the yard. When the local HOA garden group finds out, they try to put a stop to it, but Millie rallies her school mates to help save her strange and... Read more

We Are the ARK

Returning Our Gardens to Their True Nature Through Acts of Restorative Kindness

By: Mary Reynolds
Narrated by: Jane Copland
Length: 4 hours 20 minutes

“Mary Reynolds is most well known for her dramatic outsider win at the 2002 Chelsea Flower Show (the olympics of the landscape design world), the story of which is immortalized in the 2016 film Dare To Be Wild. We Are The ARK is her manifesto, an inspiring call for us to transform our relationship to any land that may be in our care. Reynolds'... Read more

Moonbound

A Novel

By: Robin Sloan
Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
Length: 10 hours 40 minutes

“Moonbound is a fantastically imagined epic adventure, with wizard geneticists, dragons made of code living on the moon, and talking beaver ecologists who commune with sentient plants, to cite a few wild examples. Did I mention this madcap tale is also a sideways Arthurian Sword In The Stone retelling? Moonbound is a great story - fun, smart, and... Read more

If We're Being Honest

A Novel

By: Cat Shook
Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
Length: 11 hours 8 minutes

“Shock, awe and an undercurrent of hilarity at a family funeral starts off this highly original novel by Cat Shook. Even serious topics are treated with a light enough hand to make their point while still entertaining. Strong characters, surprises at every turn and intriguing family dynamics make this one a great choice. Just wait for the... Read more

Tropic of Cancer

By: Henry Miller
Narrated by: Campbell Scott
Length: 10 hours 3 minutes

“Another one read initially as a teenager, it was given to me by my older brother as if it was some kind of dangerous and sacred object. Famous for its candid sexuality and the 1960’s free speech trials it aroused (ha!), Tropic is the semi-autobiographical tale of Miller living as a nomadic-bohemian-expatriate in Paris in the early 1930’s. The... Read more

Sapiens

A Brief History of Humankind

By: Yuval Noah Harari
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
Length: 15 hours 17 minutes

“Harari's brilliant cross-discipline synthesis of humanity's last 100,000 year story arc is sweeping and brilliant. I would almost use a phrase usually reserved for beach read thrillers-it's a page-turner. Rarely does a book stir up conversation in academic circles while still being so accessible to a general audience. That a history book has... Read more

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Wayfarers: Book #1

By: Becky Chambers
Narrated by: Rachel Dulude
Length: 14 hours 23 minutes

“This gripping, diverse novel, set well after Earth's residents have scattered to Mars, other planets, and itinerant spacecraft, is as scientifically and sociopolitically plausible as any science fiction I've ever read or listened to. The characters, from a variety of alien species along with AI, have wide-ranging journeys that speak to our... Read more

Babel

Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of The Oxford Translators' Revolution

By: R. F. Kuang
Narrated by: Chris Lew Kum Hoi & Billie Fulford-Brown
Length: 21 hours 45 minutes

“This is it. This is the magical school story that adults who grew up in the 90s and 00s have been hoping to find: one that incorporates a beautiful, erudite, delightfully post-steampunk world of magic, but that is ultimately about the hopes and the friendships of young people who came from outside the elite class, and whose lives have been... Read more

Remarkably Bright Creatures

A Novel

By: Shelby Van Pelt
Narrated by: Marin Ireland & Michael Urie
Length: 11 hours 16 minutes

“A beautiful story that weaves together multiple characters in a wonderfully heartwarming way. The narration and the way the voices play off each other is fantastic and adds even more to the book. Read more

Demon Copperhead

A Novel

By: Barbara Kingsolver
Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
Length: 21 hours 2 minutes

“Demon Copperhead is without a doubt one of the best books I've ever read! The narrator is the perfect! Everything about this book is perfection. Pro-tip count how many times you say, "oh no Demon." Read more

Hell Put to Shame

The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America's Second Slavery

By: Earl Swift
Narrated by: Mark Deakins
Length: 12 hours 22 minutes

“The more I read, the less I realize I know. Hell Put to Shame' shines light on the Peonage System which, even though slavery was no longer 'legal', allowed White men to bring Black people to their land for forced labor within the laws of the time. This book highlights one such horrific case which resulted in the murder of over a dozen Black... Read more

Now Is Not the Time to Panic

A Novel

By: Kevin Wilson
Narrated by: Ginnifer Goodwin & Kevin Wilson
Length: 6 hours 12 minutes

“Aspiring writer Frankie is sixteen years old and bored with her small town life. It’s summer and she realizes all of her friends have moved on. She’s lonely. That’s when she meets Zeke. Like Frankie, Zeke is an artist yearning to say something, anything. Together they start making art, culminating in a poster with his art and her words: 'The... Read more

The Wager

A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

By: David Grann
Narrated by: Dion Graham & David Grann
Length: 8 hours 28 minutes

“I loved this nautical true story of mutiny on the high seas. The men lived by such a strict code. What is to be done when the captain loses the confidence and respect of some of his crew? In a culture and atmosphere where your rank determines whether your account of events is to be read, let alone believed, it makes for a very interesting... Read more