Expectation: An historical fiction epic with an enthralling main character giving us a window to the realities of life in Communist Russia.
Reality: A pretentious and emotionally distant experience, possibly hindered by the audiobook format.
All in Audiobook
Leave the World Behind – Rumaan Alam
Amanda, Clay and their two teenage children have barely begun to enjoy the secluded AirBnb on Long Island when the home’s owners show up late at night after fleeing New York City. Seemingly cut-off from the rest of society, the group must navigate a sequence of stranger and stranger occurrences while questioning if they are entering the end of times.
Sitting Pretty – Rebekah Taussig
In “Sitting Pretty,” – a candid, raw, funny, accessible and incredibly eye-opening memoir of essays – Rebekah Taussig expertly breaks down this intersectionality and leads the reader/listener through the multiple ways culture – sometimes in well-meaning ways – has cultivated bias against a population that makes up 26 percent of adults in the United States.
Home Before Dark – Riley Sager
What drove Maggie Holt and her family to flee Baneberry Hall after three weeks? Her parents refuse to say, but the best-selling account of the experience - written by her father - is an American horror story of vengeful ghosts and never-ending tragedy. Decades later, Maggie returns to Baneberry Hall determined to uncover the truth and redirect her narrative. But as she slowly unravels the mystery, she finds that her father’s book may not have been a lie after all.
A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom – John Boyne
Immortality? Time traveling? Reincarnation? Honestly, I have no idea what this novel is about.
The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
A gorgeously written but heartbreakingly real portrayal of a woman grappling with mental illness who desperately wants a way out – either by her own hand or through treatment.
The Only Good Indians – Stephen Graham Jones
A group of four friends are starting to reconcile the mental and emotional scars of their experiences growing up Native American when an entity sets out to avenge the events of a hunting trip that happened 10 years prior.
I Have Something to Tell You – Chasten Buttigieg
Chasten, who had the potential to go from middle school teacher to First Gentleman of the United States, was an omnipresent yet restrained presence on the campaign trail. In this memoir, we learn more about the affable and relatable political spouse.
Real Life – Brandon Taylor
As a gay, Black Southerner, Wallace feels like an outsider at the predominately white Midwestern university where he is earning an advanced degree. Over the course of a weekend, a flurry of situations proves that even the best of intentions for inclusion, understanding and meaningful connection can fall short.
The Nix – Nathan Hill
When Samuel Andresen-Anderson’s estranged mother Faye makes headlines for, literally, throwing stones at a political candidate, he’s provided an opportunity to jump start his stalled writing career by telling her story, and in the process learn the motivations behind her departure decades earlier.
The Deviant’s War –Eric Cervini
A sweeping and detailed account of the first efforts to formally organize the gay rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, primarily lobbying against a formidable foe: the United States federal government and its discriminatory hiring and firing practices.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris
Story aside, which is rather enthralling, the execution is stilted and some of the emotion feels forced. Not to mention many situations are not historically accurate even though “based on a true story” is used heavily in the marketing. Proceed with caution.
Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
If you read “Rebecca,” watched “Get Out,” “Hide and Seek” or “Rosemary’s Baby,” then you’ll have déjà vu at various points in “Mexican Gothic,” which is a shame because the pursuit of cheap thrills overshadowed the best part of the novel – Noemí Taboada.
Between The World And Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates
This book made me uncomfortable, sad and angry, but it also, at times, made me smile and feel hopeful, because people like Coates are sharing their experiences so that we can be better, if not for ourselves then for the generations to follow.
The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller
Warrior. King. Lover. In this sprawling epic, we’re exposed to all facets of Achilles, from his early life and training to leadership in the Trojan War, and finally, the love he shared with Patroclus, an exiled prince and his lifelong companion.
The Cabin at the End of the World – Paul Tremblay
On a family vacation at a remote cabin in the New Hampshire woods, seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are confronted by a group of strangers demanding they do the unimaginable in order to save humanity.
Giovanni’s Room – James Baldwin
In 1950s Paris, David begins a love affair with long-lasting repercussions for himself, his lover and his fiancée.
A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara
Jude, Willem, JB and Malcolm form a close bond in college that continues through the many seasons of adulthood. While Jude is the emotional center of the group, he finds it difficult to share with others the terrible abuses he suffered as a child and teen. His adopted parents, physician and friends refuse to give up on him and spend decades trying to help him realize he deserves love, compassion and support.
The Professor and the Madman – Simon Winchester
Although it’s always been part of our lives, the Oxford English Dictionary didn’t just appear one day. It took 70 years of research and collaboration from people all around the world, including a criminally institutionalized former U.S. Civil War surgeon.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home – Carol Rifka Brunt
At the height of the AIDS crisis in America, 14-year-old June loses her beloved artist uncle, Finn, to the disease. While her parents and sister place blame on his long-term boyfriend, Toby, there’s something about him that captivates June. Soon after the funeral, they begin an unlikely friendship built on shared grief and love for the man that loomed large in both of their lives.