Best Audio Books

FEATURED Pride and Prejudice (Blackstone Audio Classics Collection)

[This new audiobook edition by Blackstone Audio is read by Carolyn Seymour.]

The provincial Bennet family, home to five unmarried daughters, is turned upside down when a wealthy bachelor takes up a house nearby. Mr. Bingley enhances his instant popularity by hosting a ball and taking an interest in the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane. Meanwhile, Mr. Darcy, Bingley’s even wealthier friend, makes himself equally unpopular by his aloof disdain of country manners. Yet he is drawn in spite of himself to the spirited and intelligent Elizabeth Bennet, who proves to be his match in both wit and pride. Their sparkling repartee is a splendid performance of civilized sparring infused with unacknowledged romantic tension.

Pride and Prejudice delightfully captures the affectations and rivalries of class-conscious English families in an age when status and security for women hung entirely on matrimonial ambitions. Austen’s characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England. It is also the source of some of the most memorable characters ever written, from the fatuous Mr. Collins, whose proposal to Elizabeth is one of the finest comic passages in English literature, to the beloved heroine Elizabeth, whom the author herself deemed ”as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print.”“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

Next to the exhortation at the beginning of Moby-Dick, “Call me Ishmael,” the first sentence of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice must be among the most quoted in literature. And certainly what Melville did for whaling Austen does for marriage–tracing the intricacies (not to mention the economics) of 19th-century British mating rituals with a sure hand and an unblinking eye. As usual, Austen trains her sights on a country village and a few families–in this case, the Bennets, the Philips, and the Lucases. Into their midst comes Mr. Bingley, a single man of good fortune, and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who is even richer. Mrs. Bennet, who married above her station, sees their arrival as an opportunity to marry off at least one of her five daughters. Bingley is complaisant and easily charmed by the eldest Bennet girl, Jane; Darcy, however, is harder to please. Put off by Mrs. Bennet’s vulgarity and the untoward behavior of the three younger daughters, he is unable to see the true worth of the older girls, Jane and Elizabeth. His excessive pride offends Lizzy, who is more than willing to believe the worst that other people have to say of him; when George Wickham, a soldier stationed in the village, does indeed have a discreditable tale to tell, his words fall on fertile ground.

Having set up the central misunderstanding of the novel, Austen then brings in her cast of fascinating secondary characters: Mr. Collins, the sycophantic clergyman who aspires to Lizzy’s hand but settles for her best friend, Charlotte, instead; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy’s insufferably snobbish aunt; and the Gardiners, Jane and Elizabeth’s low-born but noble-hearted aunt and uncle. Some of Austen’s best comedy comes from mixing and matching these representatives of different classes and economic strata, demonstrating the hypocrisy at the heart of so many social interactions. And though the novel is rife with romantic misunderstandings, rejected proposals, disastrous elopements, and a requisite happy ending for those who deserve one, Austen never gets so carried away with the romance that she loses sight of the hard economic realities of 19th-century matrimonial maneuvering. Good marriages for penniless girls such as the Bennets are hard to come by, and even Lizzy, who comes to sincerely value Mr. Darcy, remarks when asked when she first began to love him: “It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.” She may be joking, but there’s more than a little truth to her sentiment, as well. Jane Austen considered Elizabeth Bennet “as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print”. Readers of Pride and Prejudice would be hard-pressed to disagree. –Alix Wilber

FEATURED Of Mice and Men (Penguin Classics)

Nobel Prize winning author John Steinbeck, one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, offers a powerful but tragic tale in “Of Mice and Men”. ‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place’. George and his large, simple-minded friend Lennie are drifters, following wherever work leads them. Arriving in California’s Salinas Valley, they get work on a ranch. If they can just stay out of trouble, George promises Lennie, then one day they might be able to get some land of their own and settle down some place. But kind-hearted, childlike Lennie is a victim of his own strength. Seen by others as a threat, he finds it impossible to control his emotions. And one day not even George will be able to save him from trouble. “Of Mice and Men” is a tragic and moving story of friendship, loneliness and the dispossessed. “A thriller, a gripping tale that you will not set down until it is finished. Steinbeck has touched the quick”. (“New York Times”). Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck is remembered as one of the greatest and best-loved American writers of the twentieth century. His complete works are published by Penguin and include “Cannery Row”, “The Pearl”, “The Winter of Our Discontent” and “The Grapes of Wrath”.

FEATURED In the Tall Grass

Mile 81 meets “N” in this collaboration between Stephen King and Joe Hill, now available from Simon & Schuster Audio.

As USA TODAY said of Stephen King’s Mile 81: “Park and scream. Could there be any better place to set a horror story than an abandoned rest stop?” In the Tall Grass begins with a sister and brother who pull off to the side of the road after hearing a young boy crying for help from beyond the tall grass. Within minutes they are disoriented, in deeper than seems possible, and they’ve lost one another. The boy’s cries are more and more desperate. What follows is a terrifying, entertaining, and masterfully told tale, as only Stephen King can deliver.

FEATURED The Best of Me

“Everyone wanted to believe that endless love was possible. She’d believed in it once, too, back when she was eighteen.”

In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in the small town of Oriental, North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths.

Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back to Oriental for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew — about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear — was not as it seemed. Forced to confront painful memories, the two former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?

Q: What was your inspiration for writing The Best of Me?

A: I suppose the inspiration was two-fold. It had been a long time since I’d done a “reunion” story (like The Notebook) so it was time to do another. At the same time, I wanted it to be different than The Notebook in almost every way. At the same time, I wanted to write a novel about characters in their forties. At that age, people are coming to terms with the decisions and choices they’ve made in the past. The Best of Me was essentially a combination of those two ideas.

Q: This book deals with falling in love for the first time and how sometimes that love is so strong it can cross the span of time and space no matter what happens. Is that something you believe in?

A: Yes, I believe it’s possible. First love is always powerful, and for some people, that love really does last forever. The problem with that, however, is that over time, the love often becomes romanticized. I wanted to write a novel that explored that concept as well. Neither Dawson nor Amanda are the same people they’d been when they were younger, and little by little, that romanticism diminishes over the course of the story. For them, however, the new reality nonetheless left them feeling the same way about each other as they once had. And yet, they fell in love once more. Or maybe, phrasing it differently, they never fell out of love in the first place.

Q: Former high school sweethearts Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole reconnect after 25 years when their mentor, Tuck Hostetler, dies and they are summoned back to Oriental, North Carolina for his funeral. One of things that drove Amanda and Dawson apart was that they were from the opposite side of the tracks. Are class differences still a part of everyday life in a town like Oriental, North Carolina?

A: Class differences aren’t as powerful as they once were, but they’re still prevalent. I don’t know, however, if it’s limited to places like Oriental, and nor do I see it as entirely and without question a terrible thing. People who intend to spend their lives together should have things in common, and like it or not, class is, and always has been, part of that, because it shapes the people that we are.

With Amanda and Dawson–and many others in the real world, of course–the class differences were less important than their similarities. Neither one of them got along with their parents, both were intelligent, both had dreams, and over the years, both of them had disappointments.

Q: Today, we can easily reconnect with people from our past via Facebook and other social networking sites. How often do you think people try to find their first love on these sites?

A: It’s very common. I know people who’ve reconnected with someone from their past then later married them, but that’s probably less common than simply reaching out via social media to an old boyfriend or girlfriend simply to find out what’s been going on in their lives. I can understand the draw: First love is powerful because it’s a first, and it’s almost impossible to forget.

Q: At the point when Amanda and Dawson reconnect, Amanda has been married almost twenty years and it’s clear she is having problems in her marriage. Having been married for 22 years yourself, what would you say is the key to a successful marriage?

A: For every couple, it’s different, because every couple faces different challenges, and every person has differing abilities when it comes to meeting those challenges. The key to any successful marriage is to realize that the commitment you once made to each other is the most important aspect to keep in mind. That simple truth, if truly felt, should be enough to make you realize that you can’t put that commitment at risk. If your partner feels the same way, he or she wouldn’t put that commitment at risk either.

At the same time, it’s important to understand that all marriages have challenging periods. No one is perfect, after all. But if the commitment to each other–which sometimes requires a commitment to change–is truly felt, then most likely, that marriage will be successful.

Q: This book has a large, spiritual component to it. Tuck sees Clara, his dead wife, and Dawson sees a man in a blue windbreaker, although he is not sure who he is and the reader does not find out until the end. Do you believe in ghosts?

A: I think I do. I had an experience much like the one Dawson described: at times, I could see unexplainable movement from the corners of my eyes. Quick, instantaneous movements that vanished before I could turn my head. If you talk to the owners of the house where those events occurred, they will swear it was a ghost. Other events occurred in that house as well before the “ghost”–or whatever it was–was finally exorcised from the premises. But that’s a longer story for another time.

Q: There is an absolutely stunning scene that unfolds when Amanda and Dawson go to Tuck’s country cottage for the first time. It’s very reminiscent of a scene that happens in The Notebook. Would you say this book, which examines young love versus middle age love, is the book closest in sentiment to The Notebook?

A: Without question, this is closest in sentiment–at least through the majority of the story – when compared to The Notebook. I wanted to do exactly that. At the same time, I wanted to make everything else about the story completely different as well, and I’m hopeful I did that as well.

Q: Tuck writes letters to Amanda and Dawson to be read after he is dead. They are wise and beautifully written. In this day and age of constant, electronic overload, do you lament the lost art of letter writing?

A: I do. I love letters as opposed to e-mail. But I’m old-fashioned that way.

Q: Warner Bros. has already bought the film rights to The Best of Me. You will be a producer on this film along with Denise DiNovi. How often is an author also a producer for the movie version of a book he/she has written? Is this unprecedented?

A: I’m sure other authors have served as a producer of their work; some have even directed. But it was somewhat unprecedented for Warner to agree to that – and purchase the novel–before I’d written a single page.

Q: Of all the movies based on your novels, which is your favorite?

A: I’ve been fortunate in that all the movies have been well-done and all have been successful, so I don’t have a personal favorite. I can say, however, is that, at the current time, The Notebook seems most likely to become a classic.

Photo by Nina Subin

FEATURED The 7th Month: A Detective D. D. Warren Story

In Lisa Gardner’s first-ever short story following thirteen bestselling novels, The 7th Month takes listeners between the books and into a day in the life of Boston Detective D. D. Warren. In her seventh month of pregnancy, D.D. should be taking it easy. Instead, she accepts a small consulting role on the set of a serial killer film shooting in Boston. D.D. figures she’ll be useful to someone for at least one night, serving as a police expert and making a little extra money in the bargain. It seems like a simple task — until the previous film consultant, a former Boston cop, is found beaten to death. Suddenly D.D.’s date with Hollywood gets serious. Extremely pregnant, on the trail of a killer, and surrounded by a hundred and four murder suspects in the middle of a graveyard, D.D. must quickly unravel a tangled web of lies. As another cast member is attacked, D.D. realizes that like it or not, her priorities have changed — and her last desperate hope is that she can catch a killer before she and her unborn baby face mortal danger. Packed with the suspenseful storytelling that has turned Gardner’s novels into New York Times bestsellers, The 7th Month reveals new insights into a beloved series heroine.

FEATURED Identity (Eyes Wide Open, Book 1)

Eyes Wide Open is the mind-bending thrill ride from New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker which can be experienced THREE different ways. You choose:

1. As an episodic story. Read Eyes Wide Open as four shorter sequential “episodes” much like your favorite TV show. The ride starts with IDENTITY which is FREE in ebooks. Think of it as the pilot, offered free. If you like the story, continue with MIRRORS, UNSEEN and the grand finale, SEER. Begin the story for FREE now. Or…

2. As a single, novel length eBook. Don’t want to read four episodes? No problem. At any point, you can get the entire story in one digital edition that collects all four episodes into one seamless story called EYES WIDE OPEN. Or…

3. As a paperback or audiobook. For those who love the smell and feel of paper, Eyes Wide Open is also available in paperback. For those who love to listen instead, there’s also an audiobook.

FROM THE BACK COVER:

Who am I? 

My name is Christy Snow. I’m seventeen and I’m about to die. 

I’m buried in a coffin under tons of concrete. No one knows where I am. My heart sounds like a monster with clobber feet, running straight toward me. I’m lying on my back, soaked with sweat from the hair on my head to the soles of my feet. My hands and feet won’t stop shaking.

Some will say that I m not really here. Some will say I’m delusional. Some will say that I don t even exist. But who are they? I’m the one buried in a grave. 

My name is Christy Snow. I’m seventeen. I’m about to die. 

So who are you? 

In a return to the kind of storytelling that made Black, Showdown and Three unforgettable, Ted Dekker drags that question into the light with this modern day parable about how we see ourselves. 

Humming with intensity and blindsided twists, Eyes Wide Open is raw adrenaline from the first page to the last pure escapism packed with inescapable truth. Not all is as it seems. Or is it? Strap yourself in for the ride of your life. Literally. (Young Adult)

Identity (Eyes Wide Open, Book 1)

To Kill a Mockingbird

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FEATURED To Kill a Mockingbird

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. The explosion of racial hate and violence in a small Alabama town is viewed by a young girl whose father defends a black man accused of rape.“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow…. When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out.”

Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus–three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.

Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale; we first meet the Finches the summer before Scout’s first year at school. She, her brother, and Dill Harris, a boy who spends the summers with his aunt in Maycomb, while away the hours reenacting scenes from Dracula and plotting ways to get a peek at the town bogeyman, Boo Radley. At first the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a drunk and violent white farmer, barely penetrate the children’s consciousness. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well–in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout’s hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind “when you really see them.” By turns funny, wise, and heartbreaking, To Kill a Mockingbird is one classic that continues to speak to new generations, and deserves to be reread often. –Alix Wilber

To Kill a Mockingbird

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• ▼  2013 (16)
  • ▼  February (16)
    • Pride and Prejudice (Blackstone Audio Classics Col...
    • Of Mice and Men (Penguin Classics)
    • In the Tall Grass
    • The Best of Me
    • The 7th Month: A Detective D. D. Warren Story
    • Identity (Eyes Wide Open, Book 1)
    • To Kill a Mockingbird
    • SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 4 GB MP3 Player (Black)
    • Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3)
    • The Holy Bible, King James Version (KJV) with Sear...
    • Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According t...
    • Pride and Prejudice - Book and AudioBook (for Down...
    • Great American Stories: Ten Unabridged Classics
    • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1)
    • Magic Tree House Collection: Books 1-8
    • The Forgotten

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