Literary Criticism Audiobooks | Fiction & Literature

Facing Down the Furies: Suicide, the Ancient Greeks, and Me

An award-winning classicist turns to Greek tragedies for the wisdom to understand the damage caused by suicide and help those who are contemplating suicide themselves In Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus the Tyrant, a messenger arrives to report that Jocasta, queen of Thebes, has killed herself. To prepare listeners for this terrible news, he announces, “The tragedies that hurt the most are those that sufferers have chosen for themselves.” Edith Hall, whose own life and psyche have been shaped by such loss—her mother’s grandfather, mother, and first cousin all took their own lives—traces the philosophical arguments on suicide, from Plato and Aristotle to David Hume and Albert Camus. In this deeply personal story, Hall explores the psychological damage that suicide inflicts across generations, relating it to the ancient Greek idea of a family curse. She draws parallels between characters from Greek tragedy and her own relatives, including her great-grandfather, whose life and death bore similar motivations to Sophocles’ Ajax: both men were overwhelmed by shame and humiliation. Hall, haunted by her own periodic suicidal urges, shows how plays by Sophocles and other Greek dramatists helped her work through the loss of her grandmother and namesake Edith and understand her relationship with her own mother. The wisdom and solace found in the ancient tragedies, she argues, can help one choose survival over painful adversity and offer comfort to those who are tragically bereaved. Edith Hall is a professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham University. She is the author of more than thirty books, including Aristotle’s Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life. She lives in Cambridgeshire, UK.

Edith Hall (Author), Edith Hall (Narrator)

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Run!: My Story of LGBTQ+ Political Power, Equality, and Acceptance in Silicon Valley

Run! tells the story of how LGBTQ+ people in San Jose/Silicon Valley progressed from being political outcasts to becoming a force that gained political power, equality, and acceptance. Having lived and breathed queer activism for almost 40 years, Ken Yeager is uniquely positioned to tell the story of how this happened. The strategies he used and the lessons he learned will serve as a guide for activists organizing to counter the current uptick of anti-gay and anti-trans hostilities in their communities. Run! also serves as a primer for LGBTQ+ people thinking of running for office. As the first openly gay elected official in Santa Clara County who served 26 years in public office, Ken Yeager details his numerous campaigns and provides a checklist for how to achieve electoral victory. Winning by itself isn’t enough. It’s what you do while in office that matters. Known as one of the most effective local elected officials, read how Ken Yeager crafted landmark legislation to improve the quality of life of LGBTQ+ people and all residents of Santa Clara Valley. After reading his book, you’ll be inspired to take him up on his call to Run, Baby, Run! for office. Visit kenyeagerrun.com for more info.

Ken Yeager, Phd (Author), Dave Cavallaro, Dave Cavllaro (Narrator)

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Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out

A hilarious and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a teacher, bibliophile and Thurber Prize finalist We read to escape, to learn, to find love, to feel seen. We read to encounter new worlds, to discover new recipes, to find connection across difference, or simply to pass a rainy afternoon. No matter the reason, books have the power to keep us safe, to challenge us, and perhaps most importantly, to make us more fully human. Shannon Reed, a longtime teacher, lifelong reader, and New Yorker contributor, gets it. With one simple goal in mind, she makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else. In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud-funny collection, Reed shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. From the varied novels she cherishes (Gone Girl, Their Eyes Were Watching God) to the ones she didn't (Tess of the d'Urbervilles), Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature, celebrating the books we love, the readers who love them, and the surprising ways in which literature can transform us for the better.

Shannon Reed (Author), Paige Mckinney (Narrator)

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Horace: A Very Short Introduction

Horace was one of the greatest poets during the reign of Augustus and is seen as mark of cultural sophistication since this time. This Very Short Introduction examines how Horace's poetry has exerted enormous influence but argues that it is best understood within the traditions of ancient literature. Llewellyn Morgan guides the listener through the dizzying vagaries of Horace's biography, which reflects the political and social instability of the period. His poetry, and the life he artfully constructs and presents to us in it, engages both with the greatest crisis that Rome had ever faced, and its resolution by the first Emperor. Horace is Rome's laureate, and through him we experience the anxieties and triumphs of his age. For posterity, Horace has served for a model of the good life, a promoter of enlightened retirement, but has also exemplified poetic artistry, and is the most creative manipulator of the Latin language, even among his remarkable contemporaries.

Llewelyn Morgan (Author), Michael Langan (Narrator)

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Hardy Women: Mother, Sisters, Wives, Muses

'He understands only the women he invents – the others not at all' Thomas Hardy is one of the most beloved and most-read British authors. His influence on literature and the minds of his readers is singular. But how is it that the novelist who created some of the most memorable and modern female characters in literature had such troubled relationships with real women? In this highly innovative book, acclaimed biographer Paula Byrne re-examines Hardy’s life through the eyes of the women who made him – mother, sisters, girlfriends, wives, muses. The story veers from shocking scenes such as his obsession with the sight of a woman hanged, to poignant vignettes of unfulfilled passion, to fascinating details of working women’s lives in the nineteenth century. Hardy Women is the story of how the magnificent fictional women he invented would not have been possible without the hardship and hardiness of the real ones who shaped his passions and his imagination. It is only through understanding and witnessing these hardy women that we can truly enter the heart of this great novelist and poet.

Paula Byrne (Author), Dawn Murphy (Narrator)

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The Art of Libromancy: On Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-first Century

'If books are important to you because you're a reader or a writer, then how books are sold should be important to you as well. If it matters to you that your vegetables are organic, your clothes made without child labor, your beer brewed without a culture of misogyny, then it should matter how books are made and sold to you.' With Amazon's growing power in both bookselling and publishing, considering where and how we get our books is more important now than ever. The simple act of putting a book in a reader's hands-what booksellers call handselling-becomes a catalyst for an exploration of the moral, financial, and political pressures all indie bookstores face. From the relationship between bookselling and white supremacy, to censorship and the spread of misinformation, to the consolidation of the publishing industry, veteran bookseller and writer Josh Cook turns a generous yet critical eye to an industry at the heart of American culture, sharing tips and techniques for becoming a better reader and, of course, recommending great books along the way.

Josh Cook (Author), Justin Price (Narrator)

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How to Read Faster: 7 Easy Steps to Master Speed Reading Techniques, Reading Comprehension & Fast Re

Why read 200 words per minute when you can double that speed with a little practice and the proper techniques? This guide covers everything you need to know about reading comprehension and speed reading. Through painstaking research, we have developed a 7-step strategy to help people double their reading speed! YOU WILL LEARN: • The fundamentals of speed reading. • Factors that affect reading comprehension. • Causes of reading difficulties in children and adults. • Solutions which you can employ to combat reading difficulties. • Benefits you can enjoy by learning to read fast. • Main techniques to improve speed reading. • Tips & tricks to improve your reading speed & comprehension. You will find a lot of practical wisdom in this guide to help you overcome the problem of slow reading and poor comprehension. As a result, you will be able to reverse any wrong reading techniques you may have developed earlier in life and become more skilled at reading fast the right way!

Troye Bates (Author), Emanuel Webb (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Bookshop of One’s Own: How a group of women set out to change the world

The captivating true story of an underdog business – a feminist bookshop founded in Thatcher’s Britain – from a woman at the heart of the women’s liberation movement. What was it like to start a feminist bookshop, in an industry dominated by men? How could a lesbian thrive in Thatcher’s time, with the government legislating to restrict her rights? How do you run a business when your real aim is to change the world? Silver Moon was the dream of three women – a bookshop with the mission to promote the work of female writers and create a much-needed safe space for any woman. Founded in 1980s London against a backdrop of homophobia and misogyny, it was a testament to the power of community, growing into Europe’s biggest women’s bookshop and hosting a constellation of literary stars from Margaret Atwood and Maya Angelou to Angela Carter. While contending with day-to-day struggles common to other booksellers, plus the additional burdens of misogyny and the occasional hate crime, Jane Cholmeley and her booksellers created a thriving business. But they also played a crucial and relatively unsung part in one the biggest social movements of our time. A Bookshop of One’s Own is a fascinating slice of social history from the heart of the women’s liberation movement, from a true feminist and lesbian icon. Written with heart and humour, it reveals the struggle and joy that comes with starting an underdog business, while being a celebration of the power women have to change the narrative when they are the ones holding the pen.

Jane Cholmeley (Author), Jane Cholmeley (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells: Investigations into a Forgotten Mystery Author

The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells is the first biography of one of the "lost ladies" of detective fiction who wrote more than eighty mysteries and hundreds of other works between the 1890s and the 1940s. Carolyn Wells (1862-1942) excelled at writing country house and locked-room mysteries for a decade before Agatha Christie entered the scene. In the 1920s, when she was churning out three or more books annually, she was dubbed "about the biggest thing in mystery novels in the US." On top of that, Wells wielded her pen in just about every literary genre, producing several immensely popular children's books and young adult novels; beloved anthologies; and countless stories, prose, and poetry for magazines such as Thrilling Detective, Life, The Saturday Evening Post, Harper's, and The New Yorker. All told, Wells wrote over 180 books. Some were adapted into silent films, and some became bestsellers. Yet a hundred years later, she has been all but erased from literary history. Why? How? This investigation takes us on a journey to Rahway, New Jersey, where Wells was born and is buried; to New York City's Upper West Side, where she spent her final twenty-five years; to the Library of Congress, where Carolyn's world-class collection of rare books now resides; and to many other public and private collections where exciting discoveries unfolded. Part biography and part sleuthing narrative, The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells recovers the life and work of a brilliant writer who was considered one of the funniest, most talented women of her time.

Rebecca Rego Barry (Author), Laura Jennings (Narrator)

Audiobook

Biographical Notes on the Pseudonymous Bells

A blistering criticism of the literary world in which she lived, Charlotte Brontë's 'The Biographical Notes on the Pseudonymous Bells' contains two fascinating and insightful essays by the author of 'Jane Eyre' addressing her late sisters' Emily and Anne's writing careers (Emily wrote 'Wuthering Heights,' Anne created 'Agnes Grey' and'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'). With surprising frankness and honesty, Charlotte offers a glimpse of the challenges the young women faced when trying to get their respective works published, which included taking on male pen names - Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily), and Acton (Anne) Bell - in an attempt to sidestep the harsher criticism female authors so often received. Charlotte - writing as the sole surviving member of the famous 'Brontë Sisters' writing trio - also explores some of the qualities that distinguish her sisters from each other - and from other writers - and takes the reader behind the scenes to reveal the difficulties they faced in bringing these groundbreaking novels to the world.

Charlotte Brontë (Author), Sara Nichols (Narrator)

Audiobook

Letter to the Shooting Stars Among Us

Dear You, Welcome to your love letter. A letter signed to the secrets and celebrations that brought you here. The found family, and the lost innocence, and the wanderlust, and the returning home again in ways you never thought possible. Not to mention the whiskey and the sobriety and the streetlights and the sweet sleepless nights you danced through on your way to this moment. Welcome to the love letter to your leaving and arriving again. Here. Letter to the Shooting Stars Among Us is a concoction of music and poetry that pushes the boundaries of genre and expectation. Flowing from spoken word poetry and hip-hop roots, it’s a personal and powerful testament to the beauty and heartbreak of wising up and self-discovery. Examining everything from breakups, illness, crustaceans, immigration, supernovas, God, tomatoes, seedy motels, and all those other memories you locked up somewhere safe, this book is a reminder to love deeply, live boldly, and seek beauty in unconventional spaces.

Dylan Thomas Doyle (Author), Dylan Thomas Doyle (Narrator)

Audiobook

George Orwell: The Novelist of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. Eric Arthur Blair, renowned by his pen name George Orwell, stood as an English luminary encompassing the roles of a novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His literary oeuvre bears the distinctive marks of succinct prose, incisive social critique, unwavering advocacy for democratic socialism, and an uncompromising stance against authoritarianism. Orwell's literary canvas was expansive, featuring literary criticism, poetry, fiction, and trenchant polemics in the realm of journalism. Among his masterpieces, 'Animal Farm' (1945), an allegorical novella, and 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' (1949), a dystopian opus, stand prominently. Beyond fiction, Orwell's nonfiction contributions resonate profoundly, with 'The Road to Wigan Pier' (1937) detailing his firsthand experiences as a working-class individual in northern England. Similarly, 'Homage to Catalonia' (1938) vividly recounts his stint as a Republican soldier during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). These nonfiction works stand shoulder to shoulder with his insightful essays exploring politics, literature, language, and culture. In 2008, The Times bestowed Orwell with the esteemed second position in their ranking of 'The 50 best British writers since 1945.' This recognition speaks volumes about the enduring impact of his literary legacy, which continues to reverberate through time. Orwell's linguistic prowess extended beyond traditional boundaries, birthing neologisms that have seamlessly woven into the fabric of the English language. Phrases like 'Big Brother,' 'Thought Police,' 'Two Minutes Hate,' 'Room 101,' 'memory hole,' 'Newspeak,' 'doublethink,' 'unperson,' and 'thoughtcrime' resonate in contemporary discourse. Notably, his influence even gave rise to the term 'groupthink,' encapsulating the pervasive impact of his linguistic innovations.

Kelly Mass (Author), Digital Voice Matt G (Narrator)

Audiobook

Literary Criticism Audiobooks in Fiction & Literature