Read by the Author

“I adore our former president and I miss him. Yet I cannot help but be ecstatic that Michelle is coming out with a book about her own life so that I can learn more about this powerful, intelligent, and singularly awesome woman. Barack would be the first to say that his wife is a superstar, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Becoming to read about her in her own words.”

“I read this book non-stop for a week, underlining, reading passages to my friends & recommending it to anyone with a pulse. There are many great stories inside, but their charm & power, really, is all Glennon. She is a spiritual seeker & leader who loves reality tv, a formidable activist on the global scale who gets anxiety sweats when the doorbell rings. Equal parts poetic & conversational, memoir & manifesto. Her love story will make you swoon. Her shamelessness & relentless self-interrogation will make you feel deeply exposed. This is not a "you can do it, girl!" book. It's more like a spiritual marathon that invites you to jump the guardrail & take off.”

“Barbara Kingsolver's UNSHELTERED is exactly what you need: a story to tumble into, characters you want to spend time with, and subtle reflections on our current climate in America. I loved this book and highly recommend it.”

“I really enjoyed this giant love letter from Ruth Reichl to Gourmet Magazine, her co-workers and her family. I’ve always enjoyed Reichl’s voice in her cookbooks and memoirs and this is no different. I listened to this and Reichl read it herself. Just as enjoyable was listening to her read aloud the recipes in the book.the story about how she first joined the magazine and how she changed it was fascinating to listen to. I’ve flipped through Gourmet over the years and made some fantastic dishes from it. It’s a shame and shameful how the powers that be closed the magazine so suddenly and without notice to the staff or readers. It’s time for me to revisit her last cookbook (which she wrote after the magazine shut down).”

“This is a spellbinding memoir that will stand the test of time. Carmen Maria Machado has crafted a memoir that turns the form on its head, that creates a stunning, chilling and winding narrative that stays true to the nature of human beings: complex and nuanced. The LGBTQ archive of intimate-partner violence needed this and helped pave a way for others to explore the violence in their queer relationships.”

“The Witches Are Coming is a timely and engaging collection of essays (read by the author Lindy West in the audiobook version, which I highly recommend). With a great balance of rage, humor, optimism, and urgency, West addresses the state of American culture and how we can move forward, specifically with regard to how women are framed in the narrative that has been written throughout the past hundred years. But she also talks about race, climate change, getting her book Shrill made into a TV show, Adam Sandler, and a number of other topics. West's book is a rally cry for witches; it will make you feel like picking up a broom and flying off to a coven meeting.”

“I really enjoyed this audiobook, and was lucky enough to meet Jason Reynolds at Winter Institute 2020, and he said he hopes this book helps all of us have a full knowledge and a frank discussion about race in America. Reynolds is an engaging narrator, and he deftly reads this remix of Ibram X. Kendi's National Book Award winning Stamped From the Beginning. I learned a great deal from this book, and I have been studying American history my whole life. Reynolds' book will allow adults to educate middle readers -- and all of us -- about the true legacy of America's past, and where we go from here. An absolutely essential book. I can't recommend it highly enough, and am grateful to Kendi and Reynolds for providing an accessible telling of the great irony of the premise on the American truth that all men are created equal.”

“The Collected Schizophrenias is a heartbreaking and honest collection about chronic mental illness and its effects on Wang. Through personal narrative and scientific research, Wang has created a collection of essays that are challenging in the sense that they confront you with the reality of a misunderstood condition. Her mission is not to scare, shock, or make the reader feel sorry for her, but to create an environment where mental illness is better understood and destigmatized within our culture. An eye-opening collection of essays from a truly exceptional writer.”

“I'm really enjoying listening to Stephen Fry's narration of his book Mythos. Told with a wink and a nod, he brings the classical mythologies alive with great zest. Weaving the many personalities and stories into a whole tapestry of delight. Wonderful fun for making that walk longer.”

“When a hunting accident results in the death of his neighbor's son, Landreaux Iron follows native tradition and offers his own son, LaRose, to the bereaved family. Thus begins a powerful story of anger, love, hurt, and joy among a group of families and neighbors living in a small community in the North Dakota hinterland. Erdrich's luminous prose captures each character's struggle to overcome their worst impulses - whether it's a handicapped man's long-nurtured quest for revenge, or the pain of a mother withholding love from her daughter - and reaches into the distant past to reveal the story of the young boy's namesake, the original LaRose. Muted on the surface, but with a heart that beats strong, Erdrich's latest novel is a book to be treasured.”

“Alright 2019, this is the novel to beat. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is the rare novel that makes you experience reading in a slightly different way and shows you that, no matter how many books you’ve read, something new and uniquely beautiful can still be found. The novel takes the form of a letter written by the main character, Little Dog, to his mother — an immigrant from Vietnam who cannot read. The power of Vuong’s poetic writing shimmers with every paragraph, and each phrase is a carefully considered, emotional journey. Grappling with themes of identity, sexuality, addiction, violence, and finding your place in a world where you feel you don’t belong, this book already feels like a modern classic, destined to be read and talked about for years to come.”

“If you're thinking about giving audiobooks a try, I highly recommend starting off your audiobook experience with Malcolm Gladwell's Talking to Strangers. I just finished this last night and love the work Gladwell put into the production of it, and of course Gladwell delivers, as always, an in-depth analysis of a topic that will flip your worldview.”

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