Mark's Picks
Hey, I'm on the Libro.fm team in Seattle. I enjoy running in the rain, playing tennis when the sun makes an appearance, over and undercooking food, and reading The New York Times on paper. Check out my recommended listens.
A Gentleman in Moscow
A Novel
By Amor Towles
Narrated by Nicholas Guy Smith / 17 hours 51 minutes
A Gentleman in Moscow
“I believe A Gentleman In Moscow is without dispute a modern day masterpiece. Towles uses exquisite language to tell the story of Count Rostov, a charming and witty "man of intent", who is confined to a fabulous hotel in Moscow for all his days. But that doesn't stop the count from living a sumptuous and meaningful life and he, in turn, graciously affects all the lives around him. I can't praise this book enough.”
Mary , R.J. Julia Booksellers
Before the Fall
Booktrack Edition
By Noah Hawley
Narrated by Robert Petkoff / 12 hours 55 minutes
Before the Fall
“When a private plane plunges into the ocean off Martha's Vineyard, the media and the government want answers. The two survivors -- a middle-aged artist along for the ride and the 4-year-old son of a prominent and powerful family - have little to say. Before the Fall takes the reader on a thrilling ride through the past lives of the other passengers and the aftermath of the crash. As the deepest secrets of the wealthy and those who surround them surface, no one is safe. A brilliant and relentless thriller.”
Geoffrey Jennings, Rainy Day Books
Lab Girl
By Hope Jahren
Narrated by Hope Jahren / 11 hours 37 minutes
Lab Girl
“This book has it all: nature, love, science, drama, heartbreak, joy, and plenty of dirt. Not since Cheryl Strayed's Wild have I read such a rich and compelling nonfiction narrative. Lab Girl is the story of Jahren's life in science, and her writing on the wonders of nature will renew your sense of awe. But more than that, it is an exploration of friendship, mental illness, parenthood, and the messiness of life. The only flaw -- these pages fly by too quickly, leaving you wondering what you could possibly read next that will be just as good.”
Pete Mulvihill, Green Apple Books
The Boys in the Boat
Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
By Daniel James Brown
Narrated by Edward Herrmann / 14 hours 24 minutes
The #1 New York Times–bestselling story about American Olympic triumph in Nazi Germany, the inspiration for the PBS documentary The Boys of '36, broadcast to coincide with the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 80th anniversary of the boys' gold medal race.
For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresistible story about... Read More »
When Breath Becomes Air
By Paul Kalanithi & Abraham Verghese
Narrated by Sunil Malhotra & Cassandra Campbell / 5 hours 34 minutes
When Breath Becomes Air
“With a message both mournful and life-affirming, When Breath Becomes Air chronicles a young doctor's journey from literature student to promising neurosurgeon and finally to a patient in his own hospital after being diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. Always profound, never sentimental, this important book refuses to take refuge in platitudes, instead facing mortality with honesty and humility. Written in engaging prose and filled with penetrating insights, this story is relevant to everyone and will captivate fans of memoir, literature, philosophy, and popular science alike. Lyrical passages of great beauty and vulnerability are deftly balanced by bright, candid moments of joy and even humor. Come prepared with plenty of tissues; over and over again this exquisite book will break your heart.”
Carmen Tracey, Loganberry Books
Stumbling on Happiness
By Daniel Gilbert
Narrated by Daniel Gilbert / 7 hours 25 minutes
A smart and funny book by a prominent Harvard psychologist, which uses groundbreaking research and (often hilarious) anecdotes to show us why we’re so lousy at predicting what will make us happy – and what we can do about it.
Most of us spend our lives steering ourselves toward the best of all possible futures, only to find that tomorrow rarely... Read More »
Shadow Divers
The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II
By Robert Kurson
Narrated by Michael Prichard / 15 hours 39 minutes
In 1991, acting on a tip from a local fisherman, two scuba divers discovered a sunken German U-boat–complete with its crew of 60 men–not too far off the New Jersey coast. The divers, realizing the momentousness of their discovery, began probing the mystery. Over the next six years, they became expert and well-traveled researchers, taught... Read More »
The Screwtape Letters
By C. S. Lewis
Narrated by Joss Ackland / 3 hours 59 minutes
A masterpiece of satire, this classic has entertained and enlightened readers the world over with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life from the vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to "Our Father Below." At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C. S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the... Read More »
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Chronicles of Narnia: Book #5
By C. S. Lewis
Narrated by Derek Jacobi / 5 hours 52 minutes
Narnia ... where anything can happen (and most often does) ... and where the adventure begins.
The Dawn Treader is the first ship Narnia has seen in centuries. King Caspian has built it for his first voyage to find the seven lords, good men whom his evil uncle Miraz banished when he usurped the throne. The journey takes Edmund, Lucy, their cousin... Read More »
The Devil in the White City
Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
By Erik Larson
Narrated by Scott Brick / 14 hours 58 minutes
In The Devil in the White City, the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before.
Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant... Read More »
Inferno
A Novel
Robert Langdon
By Dan Brown
Narrated by Paul Michael / 17 hours 10 minutes
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
With the publication of his groundbreaking novels The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown has become an international bestselling sensation, seamlessly fusing codes, symbols, art, and history into riveting thrillers that have captivated hundreds of millions of readers around the world.... Read More »
Locked On
By Tom Clancy & Mark Greaney
Narrated by Lou Diamond Phillips / 17 hours 25 minutes
Although his father had been reluctant to become a field operative, Jack Ryan Jr. wants nothing more. Privately training with a seasoned Special Forces drill instructor, he’s honing his skills to transition his work within The Campus from intelligence analysis to hunting down and eliminating terrorists wherever he can—even as Jack Ryan Sr.... Read More »
Heat
An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany
By Bill Buford
Narrated by Michael Kramer / 12 hours 15 minutes
From one of our most interesting literary figures – former editor of Granta, former fiction editor at The New Yorker, acclaimed author of Among the Thugs – a sharp, funny, exuberant, close-up account of his headlong plunge into the life of a professional cook.
Expanding on his James Beard Award-winning New Yorker article, Bill Buford gives us a... Read More »
H Is for Hawk
By Helen Macdonald
Narrated by Helen Macdonald / 11 hours 6 minutes
When Helen Macdonald's father died suddenly on a London street, she was devastated. An experienced falconer captivated by hawks since childhood, she'd never before been tempted to train one of the most vicious predators: the goshawk. But in her grief, she saw that the goshawk's fierce and feral anger mirrored her own. Resolving to purchase and... Read More »
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
A History of Nazi Germany
By William L. Shirer
Narrated by Grover Gardner / 57 hours 11 minutes
Since its publication in 1960, William L. Shirer's monumental study of Hitler's German empire has been widely acclaimed as the definitive record of the twentieth century's blackest hours. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich offers an unparalleled and thrillingly told examination of how Adolf Hitler nearly succeeded in conquering the world. With... Read More »
The Dance of the Possible
By Scott Berkun
Narrated by Scott Berkun / 2 hours 26 minutes
This short, fast paced, irreverent guide to creativity is for everyone who wants better ideas and to finish projects they inspire. In 21 short chapters you'll discover a fresh way to understand creative thinking, how ideas work, plus insights from decades of study on both how to be more productive and creative at the same time.
With challenging... Read More »
The Listening Life
Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction
By Adam McHugh
Narrated by Xe Sands / 6 hours 2 minutes
How would our lives change if we approached every experience with the intention of listening first? In this noisy, distracting world, it is difficult to truly hear. People talk past each other, eager to be heard but somehow deaf to what is being said. Listening is an essential skill for healthy relationships, both with God and with other people.... Read More »
Sapiens
A Brief History of Humankind
By Yuval Noah Harari
Narrated by Derek Perkins / 15 hours 17 minutes
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”
One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth.... Read More »