Bookseller picks

Lisbon

By: Neill Lochery

Narrated by: Robin Sachs

Length: 8 hours 30 minutes

Abridged: No

Throughout the Second World War, Lisbon was at the very center of the world’s attention and was the only European city in which both the Allies and the Axis powers openly operated. Portugal was frantically trying to hold on to its self-proclaimed wartime neutrality but in reality was increasingly caught in the middle of the economic, and naval,... Read more

Zone One

By: Colson Whitehead

Narrated by: Beresford Bennett

Length: 9 hours 57 minutes

Abridged: No

In this wry take on the post-apocalyptic horror novel, a pandemic has devastated the planet. The plague has sorted humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead.

Now the plague is receding, and Americans are busy rebuild­ing civilization under orders from the provisional govern­ment based in Buffalo.... Read more

The Scorpio Races

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Narrated by: Steve West & Fiona Hardingham

Length: 12 hours 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Some race to win. Others race to survive. It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die. At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has... Read more

Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King

By: William Joyce & Laura Geringer

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Length: 3 hours 24 minutes

Abridged: No

Forget naughty or nice—this is a battle of good vs. evil.

Discover the origins of St. Nick and follow along as the Guardians start their quest to rid the world of nightmares in the first Guardians chapter book from Academy Award winner William Joyce that inspired the beloved film, The Rise of the Guardians.

Before SANTA was SANTA, he was North,... Read more

The Language of Flowers

By: Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Narrated by: Tara Sands

Length: 10 hours 49 minutes

Abridged: No

A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey... Read more

A Sea of Troubles

By: Donna Leon

Narrated by: David Colacci

Length: 8 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Dona Leon has amassed devoted fans around the world for her atmospheric and intelligent Commissario Brunetti series. A Sea of Troubles offers a rare glimpse into the scrupulous Commissario’s personal life. When Brunetti investigates the murder of two local fishermen on the island of Pellestrina, the small community closes ranks, forcing him to... Read more

Stone Arabia

By: Dana Spiotta

Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers

Length: 7 hours 3 minutes

Abridged: No

Stone Arabia is about family, obsession, memory, and the urge to create—in isolation, at the margins of our winner-take-all culture.In the sibling relationship, "there are no first impressions, no seductions, no getting to know each other," says Denise Kranis. For her and her brother Nik, now in their forties, no relationship is more... Read more

Silver Sparrow

By: Tayari Jones

Narrated by: Rosalyn Coleman-Williams & Heather Alicia Simms

Length: 10 hours 22 minutes

Abridged: No

With the opening line of Silver Sparrow, “My father, James Witherspoon, is a bigamist,” author Tayari Jones unveils a breathtaking story about a man’s deception, a family’s complicity, and two teenage girls caught in the middle. Set in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon’s two families—the public one and the secret... Read more

Beauty Queens

By: Libba Bray

Narrated by: Libba Bray

Length: 14 hours 33 minutes

Abridged: No

From bestselling, Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray, the story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on a desert island.From bestselling, Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray, the story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on a desert island.Teen beauty queens. A "Lost"-like island. Mysteries and dangers.... Read more

Embassytown

By: China Miéville

Narrated by: Susan Duerden

Length: 12 hours 22 minutes

Abridged: No

China Miéville doesn’t follow trends, he sets them. Relentlessly pushing his own boundaries as a writer—and in the process expanding the boundaries of the entire field—with Embassytown, Miéville has crafted an extraordinary novel that is not only a moving personal drama but a gripping adventure of alien contact and war.

In the far future, humans... Read more

The Snowman

By: Jo Nesbo

Narrated by: Robin Sachs

Length: 15 hours 37 minutes

Abridged: No

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Inspector Harry Hole tracks a Norwegian serial killer in this “fiendishly complex and terrifically entertaining” (The New York Times Book Review) installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

"Maddeningly addictive.” —Vanity Fair

One night, after the first snowfall of the year, a boy named Jonas wakes up and... Read more

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

By: Jeanne Birdsall

Narrated by: Susan Denaker

Length: 7 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: No

With over one million copies sold, this series of modern classics about the charming Penderwick family from National Book Award winner and New York Times bestseller Jeanne Birdsall is perfect for fans of Noel Streatfeild and Edward Eager.

When summer comes around, it's off to the beach for Rosalind . . . and off to Maine with Aunt Claire for the... Read more

Passing Through

By: Colin Channer

Narrated by: Robin Miles, Simon Prebble & Dion Graham

Length: 11 hours 59 minutes

Abridged: No

From the national bestselling author of Waiting in Vain and Satisfy My Soul comes a sexy, witty collection of connected stories set on San Carlos, a tiny island with an old volcano in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning the early 1900s up to modern times, the stories trace the intersecting lives of travelers, expatriates, and local folks in ways that... Read more

Please Look After Mom

By: Kyung-Sook Shin

Narrated by: Various

Length: 7 hours 56 minutes

Abridged: No

A million-plus-copy best seller in Korea—a magnificent English-language debut poised to become an international sensation—this is the stunning, deeply moving story of a family’s search for their mother, who goes missing one afternoon amid the crowds of the Seoul Station subway.

Told through the piercing voices and urgent perspectives of a... Read more

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

By: Jordan Sonnenblick

Narrated by: Joel Johnstone

Length: 4 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: No

From first-time novelist Jordan Sonnenblick, a brave and beautiful story that will make readers laugh and break their hearts at the same time.Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey.... Read more

The Vampire Archives

By: Otto Penzler

Narrated by: Various

Length: 61 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

The Vampire Archives is the biggest, hungriest, undeadliest collection of vampire stories, as well as the most comprehensive bibliography of vampire fiction ever assembled. Dark, stormy, and delicious, once it sinks its teeth into you there’s no escape.

Vampires! Whether imagined by Bram Stoker or Anne Rice, they are part of the human ... Read more

Thalia Book Club: Emma Donoghue's Room

By: Emma Donoghue

Narrated by: Michael Cunningham, John Connolly & Maria Tucci

Length: 1 hour 28 minutes

Abridged: No

Emma Donoghue discusses her extraordinary new novel with author Michael Cunningham (The Hours and By Nightfall). This wondrous book is told from the point of view of a five-year-old boy who lives with his mother in an 11-by-11 foot room. Performance playlist: Reading by Michal Friedman, a conversation between Emma Donoghue and Michael... Read more

Unbroken

By: Laura Hillenbrand

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

Length: 13 hours 55 minutes

Abridged: No

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The incredible true story of survival and salvation that is the basis for two major motion pictures: Unbroken and Unbroken: Path to Redemption.

“Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.”—The Wall Street Journal

Hailed as the top nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine • Winner of the Los... Read more

Ramona the Pest

By: Beverly Cleary

Narrated by: Stockard Channing

Length: 2 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

Newbery Medal-winning author Beverly Cleary expertly depicts the trials and triumphs of growing up through a relatable heroine who isn't afraid to be exactly who she is.Ramona Quimby is excited to start kindergarten. No longer does she have to watch her older sister, Beezus, ride the bus to school with all the big kids. She's finally old enough... Read more

In the Bleak Midwinter

By: Julia Spencer-Fleming

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

Length: 12 hours 57 minutes

Abridged: No

Clare Fergusson, Saint Alban's new priest, fits like a square peg in the conservative Episcopal parish at Miller's Kill, New York. She is not just a "lady" but also a tough ex-army chopper pilot—and nobody's fool. Then a newborn infant left at the church door brings her together with the town's police chief, Russ Van Alstyne, who is also ex-army... Read more

Reckless

By: Cornelia Funke

Narrated by: Elliot Hill

Length: 6 hours 44 minutes

Abridged: No

Beyond the mirror, the darkest fairy tales come alive. . . .

For years, Jacob Reckless has enjoyed the Mirrorworld’s secrets and treasures.

Not anymore.

His younger brother has followed him.

Now dark magic will turn the boy to beast, break the heart of the girl he loves, and destroy everything Jacob holds most dear. . . .

Unless he can find a way to... Read more

World Made by Hand

By: James Howard Kunstler

Narrated by: Jim Meskimen

Length: 9 hours 39 minutes

Abridged: No

In The Long Emergency, celebrated social commentator James Howard Kunstler explored how the terminal decline of oil production combined with climate change had the potential to put industrial civilization out of business. In World Made by Hand, an astonishing work of speculative fiction, Kunstler brings to life what America might be, a few... Read more

The Passage

By: Justin Cronin

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 36 hours 46 minutes

Abridged: No

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This thrilling novel kicks off what Stephen King calls “a trilogy that will stand as one of the great achievements in American fantasy fiction.”

NOW A FOX TV SERIES!

NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST HORROR BOOKS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE YEAR BY TIME AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The... Read more

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer

By: John Grisham

Narrated by: Richard Thomas

Length: 5 hours 2 minutes

Abridged: No

The thrilling young mystery series from internationally bestselling author John Grisham!

In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life... Read more