Page 1 Books Staff Picks!

Martyr!

A novel

By: Kaveh Akbar
Narrated by: Arian Moayed
Length: 10 hours 39 minutes

“Do not speed this one up! Narrator Arian Moayed is meant to be heard at 1.0. His reading performance is brilliant and so is the book. I listened to this one in two days, walking, running, baking -- anything to not have to hit stop. The writing is beautiful, the dialogue a treat, and the characters fully realized. Read more

Carmilla - Unabridged

By: Sheridan Le Fanu
Narrated by: Sara Nichols
Length: 3 hours 9 minutes

“Loved this melodramatic, gothic, gift of a novella as a queer person, loved it as a horror fan, loved it as a classics enjoyer. Yay! Lesbian vampire! She did it first. Read more

Howards End

By: E. M. Forster
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
Length: 11 hours 51 minutes

“An eternally clever and nuanced novel about sisterhood, houses, and Beethoven's Fifth. Also, a cautionary tale about standing under too-full bookshelves. Read more

All The Beauty in the World

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me

By: Patrick Bringley
Narrated by: Patrick Bringley
Length: 6 hours 3 minutes

“A truly lovely book that captures the sort of reverence and passion I feel for art museums. If you know me, you know that taking me to any art museum is bound to result in a whole day spent there. Bringley's memoir and his musings here are entertaining, moving, and resonate deeply. Read more

The Language of the Night

Essays on Writing, Science Fiction, and Fantasy

By: Ursula K. Le Guin
Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan & Michael Crouch
Length: TBA

“Delightful, refreshing, composed of words most warm and ever-welcoming. As a lover of all things Le Guin, even I expected this collection to be a rather dense, academic read (she is, after all, a brilliant mind, and essays on writing by such an author...I was excited for the challenge). I feel very humbled, by her humility. My surprise feels a... Read more

Grey Dog

By: Elliott Gish
Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
Length: 10 hours 52 minutes

“Grey Dog, a diary-style narrative, offers a gripping exploration of one woman's descent into madness and subsequent liberation, akin to a blend of A24's Midsommar and M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. Gish's adept characterizations and captivating prose make it a must-read, leaving me in breathless anticipation for her future works. Read more

Matrix

A Novel

By: Lauren Groff
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
Length: 8 hours 51 minutes

“Absolutely amazing. The audio book is perfectly narrated by Adjoa Andoh. Her singular voice brings each of the characters to life, channeling their personalities, quirks, accents, etc. Marvelous job. Powerful and elegantly written by Groff. I loved this book so much I am tempted to start it all over again. Read more

James

A Novel

By: Percival Everett
Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
Length: 7 hours 48 minutes

“Percival Everett’s retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s point of view is an amazing, heartbreaking, and painfully honest look at life from a slave’s viewpoint. Dominick Hoffman did an amazing job of bringing Jim to life and making me feel like he was speaking directly to me. Read more

The Song of Achilles

A Novel

By: Madeline Miller
Narrated by: Frazer Douglas
Length: 11 hours 14 minutes

“Madeline Miller's retelling of the Iliad is beautifully written. From page one, I was sucked into the story, and it never let me go. Frazer Douglas' narration is impeccable, bringing the story to life in ways that I'd never dreamed possible. Such a beautiful audiobook, through and through. I can't count how many times I've listened to this... Read more

Devotions

The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver

By: Mary Oliver
Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
Length: 6 hours 19 minutes

“Reading any collection of beautiful poetry in a short period of time is immersive, dare I say life-altering. Reading Devotions is somehow more intimate than even that. Oliver’s way of viewing the world is so crystal-clear, so inviting. Every poem is like taking a step outside and breathing in a lungful of crisp, clean, cold air. Her way of... Read more

On Beauty

By: Zadie Smith
Narrated by: Peter Francis James
Length: 18 hours 48 minutes

“"All is fair in love and...academia." On Beauty is an unflinching, harsh, full-bodied approach to family, politics, and academia. In this novel, a microcosm of opinionated, muddled, chaotic people unravels; their high-and-mighty ideals are called into question. Smith's novel is a challenging read; while scrutinizing the Belseys and the Kipps,... Read more

This Is How You Lose The Time War

By: Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell & Emily Woo Zeller
Length: 4 hours 15 minutes

“I want to eat every sentence in this book. I think it's possibly some of the most poetic narrative prose I have ever read in my life; I want to read it for the first time again and again. One of the reviews on the back says something along the lines of Hopkins having his hands in the inspiration for the novel, but I found it resonated more... Read more

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

By: David Sedaris
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 6 hours 18 minutes

“I will read everything this man ever writes. Read more

Transitional

In One Way or Another, We All Transition

By: Munroe Bergdorf
Narrated by: Mia Juul
Length: 4 hours 17 minutes

“Munroe ❤️ This book is gorgeous. Bergdorf's honesty and vulnerability in telling her story made me feel like a trusted confidante. She delivers her personal experiences with the edge of an activist showing her audience how all the dots connect, how her experience is not unique because the path she had to walk was formed by institutionalized... Read more

Let's Talk About Hard Things

A Guide for Difficult Conversations

By: Anna Sale
Narrated by: Anna Sale
Length: 8 hours 3 minutes

“Let’s Talk About Hard Things by Anna Sale, host of the Death, Sex and Money Podcast, is an in depth look at how to talk about difficult topics with those closest to young and also complete strangers. Sale takes an empathetic and thoughtful approach to some of life’s most personal, difficult, yet universal conversations. The conversations... Read more

What I Ate in One Year

(and related thoughts)

By: Stanley Tucci
Narrated by: Stanley Tucci
Length: 7 hours 46 minutes

“Stanley Tucci's humanity, dry humor and love of great food come through loud and clear in this diary detailing a year of his life and meals. Read more

Private Rites

A Novel

By: Julia Armfield
Narrated by: Hannah van der Westhuysen
Length: 8 hours 28 minutes

“How do you carry on with daily life when you live in a disaster? I started Private Rites because I’ll try anything that references King Lear. It was a moody, thoughtful novel blending individual flaws of the three sisters and their wider family drama. The end had my jaw on the floor. Read more

Parable of the Sower

Earthseed: Book #1

By: Octavia E. Butler
Narrated by: Lynne Thigpen
Length: 12 hours 2 minutes

“A definite classic! This acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author pairs well with 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale. Read more

Butter Honey Pig Bread

By: Francesca Ekwuyasi
Narrated by: Amaka Umeh
Length: 12 hours 10 minutes

“Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi follows Kambirinachi and her twin daughters Kehinde and Taiye in alternating points of view. Although they love each other, their familial relationship is complicated and often painful. The story, while it meanders into the particulars of each main character’s life, follows the thread of their... Read more

The Sweetness of Water (Oprah’s Book Club)

A Novel

By: Nathan Harris
Narrated by: William DeMeritt
Length: 12 hours 7 minutes

“"Sometimes, just sometimes, hope was enough." The inhabitants of Old Ox, a Georgia town undergoing Reconstruction, feel painfully and impossibly real; they will bemuse, inspire, and challenge you. Read more