Megan's Recs

The Anthropocene Reviewed

Essays on a Human-Centered Planet

By: John Green
Narrated by: John Green
Length: 10 hours 42 minutes

“This delightful collection of essays by John Green is an antidote to the cynicism and negativity we encounter in all varieties of media. Green offers his view of hope for the world and its inhabitants, and I appreciate his heartfelt opinions. Read more

Slow Dance

A Novel

By: Rainbow Rowell
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
Length: 11 hours 30 minutes

“Shiloh and Cary quickly became two of my favorite characters ever. Rowell uses dual POV and a non-linear timeline to explore a stunning relationship between two utterly flawed, brilliantly eccentric best friends. Read more

All We Can Save

Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis

By: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson & Katharine K. Wilkinson
Narrated by: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Katharine K. Wilkinson, Cristela Alonzo, Sophia Bush, Kimberly Drew, America Ferrera, Jane Fonda, Ilana Glazer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Janet Mock, Bahni Turpin & Alfre Woodard
Length: 15 hours 5 minutes

“I wasn’t expecting this collection of essays and poetry from women on the frontlines of the climate movement to be so energizing and symphonic…My favorite contributors were a climate scientist who had to convince her husband that climate change was real, a Black church leader hosting community discussions, a student suffering from climate grief,... Read more

The Modern Fairies

A Novel

By: Clare Pollard
Narrated by: Kathryn Drysdale
Length: 7 hours 56 minutes

“Quietly whimsical, tense, and infused with real historical players and farce, Claire Pollard details the disquieting history of French fairy tales, the Affair of the Poisons, and womanhood during Le Grand Siècle of France. Read more

A Shore Thing

By: Joanna Lowell
Narrated by: Ros Watt
Length: 13 hours 12 minutes

“Macho bicycle jousting, trans joy, a super steamy bathtub scene, seaweed inspections - what a delight! This charming romp of a queer Victorian romance will have you cycling across the British seaside with an enterprising botanist and the rakish artist she needs to illustrate her upcoming lecture. This is what I love to have in a historical... Read more

In the Garden of Beasts

Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

By: Erik Larson
Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
Length: 12 hours 51 minutes

“If you’re concerned about democracy and curious about comparisons to 1930s Germany, this worthwhile read follows America’s first ambassador to Nazi Germany and his family’s response - particularly his daughter, whose dalliances included the Gestapo chief and a Soviet spy - to the rise of Hitler. The result is a revealing, disturbing, and... Read more

The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands

A Novel

By: Sarah Brooks
Narrated by: Katie Leung & Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Length: 9 hours 13 minutes

“RF Kuang’s Babel meets Alice in Wonderland in this Victorian-era world, where the Wastelands stretch between China and Russia, traversed only by a gigantic, steam-powered train that promises luxury but requires passengers to sign waivers for injury or death. As the train faces troubles and the Wastelands’ eerie wonders unfold, passengers and... Read more

The Universe in Verse

15 Portals to Wonder through Science & Poetry

By: Maria Popova
Narrated by: Maria Popova & Lili Taylor
Length: 1 hour 28 minutes

“Fifteen short essays on science and nature, intended to inspire a sense of awe and wonder, are each paired with the work of a brilliant poet and a beautiful illustration. Popova's extraordinary collection is a poignant, beautiful little gift book perfect for reminding us of how strange and wild it is that we get to exist and perceive this most... Read more

Buried Deep and Other Stories

By: Naomi Novik
Narrated by: Frankie Corzo, Nicholas Guy Smith, Imani Jade Powers, Simon Vance, Elizabeth Knowelden, Saskia Maarleveld, Lauren Fortgang, Ell Potter, Billie Fulford-Brown, Steve West, Lisa Flanagan, Bronwen Price, Anisha Dadia & Naomi Novik
Length: 12 hours 46 minutes

“This collection of short stories by one of my all-time favorite authors is a true, glittering dragon’s hoard for fans and newcomers alike! Gender-defying pirates, Greek myth retellings, a mushroom witch at the Scholomance, Pride and Prejudice and DRAGONS, Buried Deep has a gem of a story for every fantasy lover - and extra thrilling, it ends on... Read more

Jesus and John Wayne

How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

By: Kristin Kobes du Mez
Narrated by: Suzie Althens
Length: 12 hours 3 minutes

“This 75-year-spanning study by a Christian historian traces American evangelicals’ takeover of the Republican Party and shows how their highest values - militarism and masculinity, patriarchy and patriotism - turned a modest Jesus Christ into a macho John Wayne, and made voting for Donald Trump not a necessary evil, but a natural conclusion. As... Read more

The Hidden Life of Trees

What They Feel, How They Communicate

By: Peter Wohlleben
Narrated by: Mike Grady
Length: 7 hours 32 minutes

“I don’t know how I could ever look at trees the same way again after reading this book. Wohlleben writes with such warmth, sincerity, and enthusiasm, and it makes what would usually be a slow read for me a wonder, transportive. I feel like I live in a different world after finishing this - one with more wonder, mystery, and magic. I was hoping... Read more

A People's History of the United States

By: Howard Zinn
Narrated by: Jeff Zinn
Length: 34 hours 9 minutes

“What this classic, alternative, and, yes, overtly leftist history of the United States most impressed upon me is that the history of American protest is just as vital and as old a tradition as the stars and stripes. The American people have always protested, gone on strike, marched - for suffrage, abolition, labor rights, civil rights,... Read more

First, We Make the Beast Beautiful

A New Journey Through Anxiety

By: Sarah Wilson
Narrated by: Sarah Wilson
Length: 9 hours 5 minutes

“First, We Make the Beast Beautiful evokes the strange and magical feeling of having discovered a personal journal in a public place. It is first and foremost a memoir that tackles difficult subjects, touching on many experiences, both traumatic and constructive, that the author feels have affected her journey through anxiety. A great deal of the... Read more

Get a Life, Chloe Brown

A Novel

The Brown Sisters: Book #1

By: Talia Hibbert
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
Length: 10 hours 41 minutes

“LOVE THIS BOOK, THE CHARACTERS, AND THE WRITING! A romance where everybody owns up to their own bs and actively works on themselves and the relationship. More please! Read more

The Bear and the Nightingale

A Novel

Winternight Trilogy: Book #1

By: Katherine Arden
Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
Length: 11 hours 47 minutes

“#1 recommendation for fans of Uprooted by Naomi Novik! Deep in 14th Century northern Rus’ (Russia) lies a village surrounded by a forest as thick with magic as it is with snow, and in that village, a fearless girl caught between the old household gods and the Holy Trinity. Katherine Arden’s debut novel is a brave-hearted, richly woven tale that... Read more

Spinning Silver

A Novel

By: Naomi Novik
Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
Length: 17 hours 56 minutes

“Oh, Naomi Novik, is there anything you can’t do? This beautifully written blend of Jewish and Russian folklore, fantasy, and faerie tale will absolutely enchant and delight you. Though not a sequel to Uprooted, it has that same unique take on classic faerie stories that Novik is so very good at spinning. Identity and the nature of what makes a... Read more

Uprooted

By: Naomi Novik
Narrated by: Julia Emelin
Length: 17 hours 43 minutes

“Every ten years, a girl is chosen from the valley to live with the wizard in the tower, the Dragon. The villagers don't like it, but the Dragon is the only defense between them and the dangerous, vindictive forest on the edge of the valley, where every year, more and more people disappear, never to be heard from again. Or worse, returned to... Read more

Big Magic

Creative Living Beyond Fear

By: Elizabeth Gilbert
Narrated by: Elizabeth Gilbert
Length: 5 hours 5 minutes

“I love Elizabeth Gilbert’s earnestness, sincerity, and enthusiasm. Gilbert speaks about inspiration as a magical, living being, and she also instructs us to be responsible adults, to not torture ourselves or others, and to play. I like the mix of pixie dust and house dust in this book, perfect for anyone who is in a rut, doubting their creative... Read more

Love Is a Mix Tape

Life and Loss, One Song at a Time

By: Rob Sheffield
Narrated by: Rob Sheffield
Length: 5 hours 41 minutes

“My 1994 Pontiac Bonneville has a tape deck, and I plan on driving with a tape popped in for Renee Sheffield this winter. Rock and pop culture critic for Rolling Stone magazine Rob Sheffield’s memoir of his late wife, lost after only 5 years of marriage, is of course, a heartbreaker of a book. But Love is a Mix Tape is also full of wisdom (though... Read more

All Over But the Shoutin' - Abridged

By: Rick Bragg
Narrated by: Rick Bragg
Length: 2 hours 41 minutes

“This is a book to make you cry, slap your knee laughing, look around with new eyes at the bitter-sweetness, tragedy and dignity in life. Bragg writes gorgeously and there were so many passages I had to stop and read out loud, but even more importantly, he writes with so much humility, respect, and love for his family, his people, and humanity at... Read more