THE 2024 Page158 Books Staff Picks

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead

A Novel

By: Emily Austin
Narrated by: Emily Tremaine
Length: 7 hours 46 minutes

“After Gilda, an extremely anxious lesbian, is accidentally hired as a secretary at a Catholic church, a series of unfortunate events are set in motion. As you fall deeply into Gilda’s mind, you can’t help but root for her to set her story on the right course. This book made me laugh, feel validated, and a lot less alone. Read more

The Fifth Season

The Broken Earth: Book #1

By: N. K. Jemisin
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 15 hours 27 minutes

“Maybe one of the best science fiction/fantasy novels I've ever read! No wonder the entire trilogy won three consecutive Hugo Awards. I loved: the masterfully crafted nonlinear storytelling that kept me guessing til the very end, the unparalleled world building, the strong characterization, the high stakes action/adventure, the diversity of... Read more

Moonbound

A Novel

By: Robin Sloan
Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
Length: 10 hours 40 minutes

“Moonbound is a fantastically imagined epic adventure, with wizard geneticists, dragons made of code living on the moon, and talking beaver ecologists who commune with sentient plants, to cite a few wild examples. Did I mention this madcap tale is also a sideways Arthurian Sword In The Stone retelling? Moonbound is a great story - fun, smart, and... Read more

A Happier Life

By: Kristy Woodson Harvey
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Devon Sorvari & Fred Sanders
Length: 12 hours 16 minutes

“Meet the Saint James House -- a clapboard home built 250 years ago in Beaufort, NC -- passed on through generation to generation of the Saint James Family. Until one day, the family disappeared, leaving the home trapped in the 1970s. Today, Keaton travels to Beaufort to get the home ready to sell. But she's looking for something more: a second... Read more

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern

A Novel

By: Lynda Cohen Loigman
Narrated by: Gabra Zackman & Lynda Cohen Loigman
Length: 9 hours 39 minutes

“The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern magically captures the power of first loves and second chances; the balance between science and magic; and the struggle with choosing to trust your heart over your mind. This will leave you rooting for yourself to be a hopeful, feisty, lovable eighty-year-old. Read more

The Frozen River: A GMA Book Club Pick

A Novel

By: Ariel Lawhon
Narrated by: Jane Oppenheimer & Ariel Lawhon
Length: 15 hours 5 minutes

“This book not only describes the struggles of a colonial midwife, it also reveals the court system of early American New England. The author weaves in excerpts of Martha’s diary entries that tell the story of this admired woman. As a History lover, I couldn’t put this book down. Read more

Just for the Summer

By: Abby Jimenez
Narrated by: Christine Lakin, Zachary Webber & Abby Jimenez
Length: 11 hours 42 minutes

“A "top 5 of 2024" listen!! Read more

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

A Vera Wong Novel: Book #1

By: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Narrated by: Eunice Wong
Length: 10 hours 41 minutes

“When a man is found dead in Vera Wong’s tea shop, the aging Vera uses it as an excuse to expand her limited horizons. Lonely in a shop with no customers and a son too busy to visit, Vera vows to find the murderer - even when no foul play is detected. In trying to lure the killer back to the scene of the crime, she instead attracts three people... Read more

The Way of Kings

Book One of the Stormlight Archive

The Stormlight Archive: Book #1

By: Brandon Sanderson
Narrated by: Michael Kramer & Kate Reading
Length: 45 hours 29 minutes

“An epic fantasy novel unparalleled in the genre. The Way of Kings follows a few characters, Kaladin, Shallan, and Dalinar as they navigate war, slavery, magic, and much more. A must read that I couldn't put down, and Sanderson keeps cranking them out! Read more

Lost and Lassoed

A Rebel Blue Ranch Novel

Rebel Blue Ranch

By: Lyla Sage
Narrated by: Jason Clarke, Samantha Brentmoor & Lyla Sage
Length: 8 hours 46 minutes

“The third book of the Rebel Blue series and all of their characters feel like coming home. It's no secret that Teddy and Gus love to bicker and get on each other's last nerve at every chance possible, but when Gus needs help taking care of his daughter and Teddy needs a job they are forced together in a whole new way. This book had me screaming... Read more

Men Have Called Her Crazy

A Memoir

By: Anna Marie Tendler
Narrated by: Anna Marie Tendler
Length: 8 hours 39 minutes

“Tendler flays with loving care the scabs of our childhood & young adult years. Exposing the raw underbelly with a grace and poetry befitting an artist of her caliber, while maintaining a level of relatability many fail to achieve. Read more

I Who Have Never Known Men

By: Jacqueline Harpman
Narrated by: Nikki Massoud
Length: 6 hours 10 minutes

“What does it mean to be “human”—what is “humanity” when all we’ve used to define it is stripped away or was never there at all? Maybe that sounds trite, but no! This was a beautiful, isolating, and unexpectedly tender story that will stay with me for a long time and has become a new personal favorite. I’d especially recommend this to fans of... Read more

Convenience Store Woman

By: Sayaka Murata
Narrated by: Nancy Wu
Length: 3 hours 21 minutes

“Keiko loves rules. Having worked a part-time job in a Japanese convenience store for 18 years, she loves having a corporate script to recite, sales goals to reach, and a list of tasks to complete. What she doesn't love - or even understand - are the more complicated rules of society at large. She doesn't want a husband, or children, or a real... Read more

The Storm We Made

A Novel

By: Vanessa Chan
Narrated by: Samantha Tan
Length: 10 hours 52 minutes

“Stunning. Horrifying. Raw. Gritty. Luscious. The WWII novel you haven't seen before. Read more

The Next Mrs. Parrish

A Novel

By: Liv Constantine
Narrated by: Raquel Beattie, Scott Brick, Suzanne Elise Freeman & Erin Bennett
Length: 10 hours 50 minutes

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The thrilling sequel to the million-copy-bestselling Reese’s Book Club pick The Last Mrs. Parrish!
 
“Delicious and shocking.”—Jeneva Rose
“A brilliant page-turner.”—Lisa Gardner
“One hell of a ride!”—Andrea Bartz
 
CBS NEW YORK BOOK CLUB PICK • Daphne and Amber Parrish are thrust back into each other’s lives upon... Read more

The Boyfriend

A Psychological Thriller

By: Freida McFadden
Narrated by: Victoria Connolly & Robb Moreira
Length: 9 hours 19 minutes

“When you meet someone who’s just too good to be true… Tom was a teenager in a home of alcoholism and violence, in love since he was 4, but dreaming dark dreams as girls have been disappearing at night... Now, Sydney has been on one too many bad dates, lost her best friend—but maybe has finally met the one? Exploring the perils of modern dating... Read more

The Wedding People

A Novel

By: Alison Espach
Narrated by: Helen Laser
Length: 11 hours 37 minutes

“Alison Espach's newest novel hits pretty hard pretty fast, with suicidal ideation attempted suicide (but make it "let's not take ourselves too seriously.") I wasn't sure how to take this cavalier attitude toward such a heavy topic but I'm happy I stuck with it. At first glance, the titular "Wedding People" appear self-absorbed and typical of a... Read more

Same As It Ever Was

A Novel

By: Claire Lombardo
Narrated by: Emily Rankin
Length: 18 hours 21 minutes

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NAMED A BEST BOOK BY PEOPLE AND PARADE • The New York Times bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had (“wonderfully immersive…deliciously absorbing”—NPR) returns with another brilliantly observed family drama in which the enduring, hard-won affection of a long marriage faces imminent derailment from events both past... Read more

The God of the Woods

A Novel

By: Liz Moore
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
Length: 14 hours 34 minutes

“Family dramas, mystery and twists! The perfect book to listen to. Read more

All Fours

A Novel

By: Miranda July
Narrated by: Miranda July
Length: 10 hours 13 minutes

“Well, this might be the best book I've read so far this year. For all the flutter of "quirkiness" that surrounds July, she is a stone cold serious artist, in whatever form she chooses, and this is a capital-N Novel in all the best ways: morally serious, formally surprising and ambitious, and frigging hilarious. Imagine a character somewhat like... Read more