Favorites of 2023

The Fox Wife

A Novel

By: Yangsze Choo
Narrated by: Yangsze Choo
Length: 14 hours 36 minutes

“Folklore, mystery, and romance result in a beguiling tale of foxes and humans. An aging detective with a talent for discerning the truth is hired to find the identity of a young woman found dead. His journey leads him in many unexpected directions and to meetings with a multitude of fascinating and sometimes quite mysterious people. Yangsze has... Read more

Eastbound

By: Maylis De Kerangal
Narrated by: Jennifer Pickens
Length: 2 hours 23 minutes

In this gripping tale, a Russian conscript and a French woman cross paths on the Trans-Siberian railroad, each fleeing to the east for their own reasons



Eastbound is both an adventure story and a duet of two vibrant inner worlds.



In mysterious, winding sentences gorgeously translated by Jessica Moore, De Kerangal gives us the story of two unlikely... Read more

The Wager

A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

By: David Grann
Narrated by: Dion Graham & David Grann
Length: 8 hours 28 minutes

“Gripping and thrilling, this story dives into the making of a mutinous voyage that inspired adventurers and authors for centuries to follow. Spanning the course of several decades, Grann's ability to blend handwritten accounts and perspectives of a handful of men in order to paint a complete picture of a historical shipwreck & the ensuing... Read more

Day

A Novel

By: Michael Cunningham
Narrated by: Julianne Moore
Length: 6 hours 37 minutes

NATIONAL BESTELLER • An “exquisite” (The Boston Globe) exploration of love and loss, the struggles and limitations of family life—and how we all must learn to live together and apart—from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hours

“The only problem with Michael Cunningham’s prose is that it ruins you for mere mortals’ work. He is the most... Read more

VenCo

A Novel

By: Cherie Dimaline
Narrated by: Michelle St. John
Length: 11 hours 10 minutes

“VenCo, by indigenous author Cherie Dimaline, is a feminist fantasy filled with badass, strong women, goddess magic, and a story that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. When Lucky St. James, a Metis millennial living with her willful, stubborn grandmother suffering from the early stages of dementia finds an odd spoon engraved with a witch... Read more

Monsters

A Fan's Dilemma

By: Claire Dederer
Narrated by: Claire Dederer
Length: 8 hours 14 minutes

“As a reader and a bookseller and a lover of all kinds of art, I’m confronted daily by the question of how to reconcile my love with the sometimes horrible artists who created those works. This intelligent essay collection gave me a lot to think about and was even comforting in the end. Read more

The Postcard

By: Anne Berest
Narrated by: Barrie Kealoha
Length: 13 hours 5 minutes

“This is a heartbreaking and thrilling mystery story of the Holocaust -- the author's own family stars in her true crime investigation. This book is both completely compelling and hard to get through, and the narrator's performance is unforgettable! Read more

Family Lore

A Novel

By: Elizabeth Acevedo
Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo, Sixta Morel & Danyeli Rodriguez del Orbe
Length: 9 hours 49 minutes

“Excellent family epic. The sisters and their daughters are a joy to spend time with. Read more

The Rachel Incident

A novel

By: Caroline O'Donoghue
Narrated by: Tara Flynn
Length: 9 hours 22 minutes

“Last night I finished The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue and I just can’t stop thinking about it. In the tradition of a Curtis Sittenfeld or a Sally Rooney novel, The Rachel Incident is the story of best friends, lovers, Ireland in chaos and a young woman desperately trying to navigate all three. I can’t wait to put a copy of it in your... Read more

Shark Heart

A Love Story

By: Emily Habeck
Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Shaun Taylor-Corbett & Soneela Nankani
Length: 7 hours 46 minutes

“Shark Heart is fascinating. The premise — some people genetically mutate into wild animal species — is told through stunning, poetic prose. Wholly original, heartbreaking yet hopeful, it explores how one woman meets loss with love. Read more

Absolution

A Novel

By: Alice McDermott
Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky & Rachel Kenney
Length: 10 hours 2 minutes

"A breath of fresh air."—BookPage

"Both narrators bring deep emotional tonality...this exceptional listen will foster deep book club discussions." —Booklist

"Alternately gripping, moving, and thought-provoking...this is an audiobook to savor." - AudioFile

A riveting account of women’s lives on the margins of the Vietnam War, from the renowned... Read more

The Vulnerables

A Novel

By: Sigrid Nunez
Narrated by: Hillary Huber
Length: 5 hours 18 minutes

“Part essay, part novel, this book was beautiful. We follow the story of a woman writer during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, while she stays at a friend’s house to take care of her parrot. Intertwined with some anecdotes of bird feeding and sharing the kitchen with an unwanted and unexpected flatmate, she reflects on various topics:... Read more

Nothing Is Missing

A Memoir of Living Boldly

By: Nicole Walters
Narrated by: Nicole Walters
Length: 9 hours 29 minutes

A “captivating and engaging” (Booklist) memoir by Nicole Walters, the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants who became a self-made multi-millionaire by showing others how to recognize their own strengths—and her own harrowing journey to the discover that she was worthy all along of the life of her dreams.

Nothing Is Missing is a “sparkling and... Read more

All the Little Bird-Hearts

A Novel

By: Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
Narrated by: Rose Akroyd
Length: 9 hours 14 minutes

Longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize, this poetic and often funny debut by an author with autism is written from the point of view of an autistic mother as she and her headstrong adolescent daughter are befriended by a glamorous, charismatic couple with dark ulterior motives.

I lived for and loved a bird-heart that summer; I only knew it... Read more

The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac

Stories

By: Louise Kennedy
Narrated by: Brid Brennan
Length: 7 hours 34 minutes

Brilliant, dark stories of women’s lives by “a very major talent” (Joseph O’Connor, Irish Times)

In these visceral, stunningly crafted stories by the author of the much-acclaimed Trespasses, women’s lives are etched by poverty—material, emotional, sexual—but also splashed by beauty, sometimes even joy, as they search for the good in the cards... Read more

Mammoths at the Gates

Singing Hills Cycle

By: Nghi Vo
Narrated by: Cindy Kay
Length: 2 hours 55 minutes

The wandering Cleric Chih returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in almost three years, to be met with both joy and sorrow. Their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died, and rests among the archivists and storytellers of the storied abbey. But not everyone is prepared to leave them to their rest.



Because Cleric Thien was once the... Read more

Land of Milk and Honey

A Novel

By: C Pam Zhang
Narrated by: Eunice Wong
Length: 8 hours 3 minutes

“Brimming with seduction and desire, Zhang's sophomore novel offers a unique look at a dystopian climate future. When the world is covered with a smog that wipes out most of the food chain, simple pleasures like strawberries and a blue sky fade into distant memory. As xenophobia strands the main character, a chef, anywhere but her home country,... Read more

The Puppets of Spelhorst

The Norendy Tales: Book #1

By: Kate DiCamillo
Narrated by: Allan Corduner
Length: 1 hour 39 minutes

“A delightful and charming story for all ages! This would be a perfect choice for a family car ride or any other shared listening time. One of my favorite audiobooks of 2023! Read more

Simon Sort of Says

By: Erin Bow
Narrated by: Will Collyer
Length: 7 hours 39 minutes

“A comedy about a kid who survived a school shooting might sound like a hard sell, but Bow pulls it off. From an animal blessing day gone horribly wrong to faking an alien message with friends, Simon shows there's life, love, and most importantly, humor after trauma in this laugh-out-loud Newberry Honor book. Collyer nails Simon's voice, making... Read more

Running While Black

Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn't Built for Us

By: Alison Mariella Désir
Narrated by: Alison Mariella Désir
Length: 8 hours 2 minutes

A searing exposé on the whiteness of running, a supposedly egalitarian sport, and a call to reimagine the industry

“Runners know that running brings us to ourselves. But for Black people, the simple act of running has never been so simple. It is a declaration of the right to move through the world. If running is claiming public space, why, then,... Read more