Otillia's Staff Picks

James

A Novel

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

“A retelling of Huckleberry Finn through the eyes of Jim, or more appropriately, James. A crystalline examination of one of our nation's greatest sins through the lens of its foundational literature. Everett is a true giant of American letters. Read more

The Bluest Eye

By: Toni Morrison
Narrated by: Toni Morrison
Length: 7 hours 5 minutes

“Beautiful, gothic, and read by Morrison. Her voice is so wonderful in this audiobook. The use of repetition and imagery in this book is amazing!!! Read more

The Yellow Wallpaper

By: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Narrated by: Tony Walker
Length: 32 minutes

“The Yellow Wallpaper is a great example of women receiving neglected health treatment while men’s health is even today further examined. It’s obvious the main characters is not receiving help, though she displays so many symptoms throughout the story. This story is also a big comment on the harmful affects of the vibrant, colorful wallpaper... Read more

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

By: Mark Manson
Narrated by: Roger Wayne
Length: 5 hours 17 minutes

“Focus on the important things to care about in life, not the little things what are meaningless. It’s not the more we have, embrace the negative not the positive. We learn from the negative. Mason very well put it that our metrics and values determine how we live - instead of thinking how well do I want to live, think how much pain am I willing... Read more

Barracoon

The Story of the Last ""Black Cargo""

By: Zora Neale Hurston
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 3 hours 49 minutes

“Barracoon would be a significant document were it only about Cudjo (Kossola) Lewis, the last survivor of the last recorded slave ship to the US. His memories, recounted orally, preserve a trans-atlantic history that has long-been suppressed. But Barracoon is also a story about Zora Neale Hurston, the Harlem Renaissance, and the reclamation of... Read more

Beloved

By: Toni Morrison
Narrated by: Jane Santos
Length: 11 hours 52 minutes

“Once again Toni Morrison writes in a way that just reaches deep into my soul. Jazz is another favorite of mine, and has that same beautiful, distilled pain in it. There is a sense of mothering one’s children in every aspect of the book. It is clear she is writing to redefine how the African American experience fits into the American experience.... Read more

The Raven and Other Poems

By: Edgar A. Poe
Narrated by: Don Aday & Diana Aday
Length: 28 minutes

“The narrator is emotionally aware of the loss of his beloved Lenore, but rather unconsciously still in search of the lost object that he had lost in himself. The reader gets a sense of symbolism and haunting stylization while reading. Read more

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

By: Shirley Jackson
Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
Length: 5 hours 32 minutes

“Deeply eerie and deeply beautiful! Shirley Jackson sustains a mood and turns a phrase like no other. This book also features one of the best opening lines of all-time...! Read more

The Shining

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Campbell Scott
Length: 15 hours 49 minutes

“You may think you know this story because you have seen the classic Kubrick film based on this book. I assure you this book is worth the read and will surprise you with how rich, deep, and different it is from the movie. Wait until you read the ending! Read more

The Haunting of Hill House

By: Shirley Jackson
Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
Length: 7 hours 27 minutes

“The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is THE book to read if you want to feel like you're losing it bit by bit with every page you turn. Eleanor is a fantastically unreliable narrator and I loved how Hill House served as both the villain and the love interest. Read more

Metamorphosis

By: Franz Kafka
Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
Length: 2 hours 12 minutes

“You get a sense of pure sadness, anxiety, and rejection when reading this story. Our work should not define us as people. Also, when you take into consideration that he wrote this story during a brief period when his lover, Felice Bauer, stopped writing him, it’s understood why he had the urge to write this story in 1912. The feeling that the... Read more

Jazz - Abridged

By: Toni Morrison
Narrated by: Toni Morrison
Length: 3 hours

“One of my favorite books of all time - Toni Morrison is one of the greatest writers to have ever lived in my opinion. Jazz opens by telling the reader everything, and picking the pieces apart throughout the book. Violet is the main character that tries to make sense of tragedy at home and growing older. As the reader we feel sorry for her... Read more

The Monk

By: Matthew Lewis
Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
Length: 14 hours 58 minutes

“One of the earliest and best gothic novels exposing this Catholic Church. There is a very clear storyline in this book and it is very easy to follow and remember. I can recall every part of this book because of how organized it is. Though there are a lot of surprises, and it ends just the way you want it to - get ready for it. Read more

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

By: Mark Twain
Narrated by: Bryan Matthews
Length: 7 hours 17 minutes

“Mark Twain hits home for me - I grew up in Missouri for most of my young adult life. He writes in that creative, detailed way that ties all of his novels together in one central location, similar to William Faulkner. These ideas he writes about of midwestern culture is so accurate, even to this day: the hypocrisy of adulthood, owning property... Read more

Milk and Honey

By: Rupi Kaur
Narrated by: Rupi Kaur
Length: 1 hour 19 minutes

“This is such a poetic/painful recollection of the female experience. Through early sexual abuse to navigating adult pair bonding, Kaur have compiled poems that feel like my own experiences. I’m sure others can relate to this as well - unifying her personal experiences with the readers. Read more

The Will to Change

Men, Masculinity, and Love

By: bell hooks
Narrated by: Janina Edwards
Length: 6 hours 5 minutes

“A book which wonderfully articulates how contemporary perceptions and internalisations of unexamined masculinity are damaging men, how men are themselves victim of patriarchal structures too, and how the rest of society suffer because of it. A fantastic read for anyone who man exploring feelings of angst, anger, and isolation. Read more

Wise Blood

By: Flannery O’Connor
Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
Length: 4 hours 56 minutes

“This is one of my favorite books of all time - southern gothic fiction is my go to. Wise Blood is one of those books that has such a distinctive climax, and leaves you shocked. With comments on religion and conformity it is clear that O’Connor hints at her own struggles as a Southern Catholic writer. There is a sense of devout idiocy between all... Read more

Tender is the Flesh

By: Agustina Bazterrica
Narrated by: Joseph Balderrama
Length: 6 hours 43 minutes

“This book is very descriptive of the processing process, not unlike in Upton Sinclair's THE JUNGLE, except with humans instead of animals. It's enough to make one uncomfortable, and raises a lot of moral questions about how living beings, be they animals or humans, are treated in general; and how something that should be unthinkable is made... Read more

Arguably

Essays by Christopher Hitchens

By: Christopher Hitchens
Narrated by: Simon Prebble
Length: 28 hours 20 minutes

“As an atheist I really connect with what Hitchens has to say. I certainly do not believe in religious persecution - and as a former Catholic have chosen to see the world through a non religious perspective. These essays are short and to the point. I love to pick this book up and read a few here and there. Recently I read Political Animals and... Read more

As I Lay Dying

By: William Faulkner
Narrated by: Marc Cashman, Robertson Dean, Lina Patel, Lorna Raver & Jesmyn Ward
Length: 7 hours 3 minutes

“I will try to express just how much I love this book. Growing up in Missouri, with relatives from the Midwest/South, I can say that without a doubt my elders spoke similarly to the characters in this book. Faulkner does such a great job of overlapping time between different character viewpoints in this book. The moment I started reading it I... Read more