Audiobooks narrated by Holly Palance

Mae West: An Icon in Black and White Audiobook

"Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" Mae West invited and promptly captured the imagination of generations. Even today, years after her death, the actress and author is still regarded as the pop archetype of sexual wantonness and ribald humor. But who was this saucy starlet, a woman who was controversial enough to be jailed, pursued by film censors and banned from the airwaves for the revolutionary content of her work, and yet would ascend to the status of film legend? Sifting through previously untapped sources, author Jill Watts unravels the enigmatic life of Mae West, tracing her early years spent in the Brooklyn subculture of boxers and underworld figures, and follows her journey through burlesque, vaudeville, Broadway and, finally, Hollywood, where she quickly became one of the big screen's most popular--and colorful--stars. Exploring West's penchant for contradiction and her carefully perpetuated paradoxes, Watts convincingly argues that Mae West borrowed heavily from African American culture, music, dance and humor, creating a subversive voice for herself by which she artfully challenged society and its assumptions regarding race, class and gender. Viewing West as a trickster, Watts demonstrates that by appropriating for her character the black tradition of double-speak and "signifying," West also may have hinted at her own African-American ancestry and the phenomenon of a black woman passing for white. This absolutely fascinating study is the first comprehensive, interpretive account of Mae West's life and work. It reveals a beloved icon as a radically subversive artist consciously creating her own complex image.

Jill Watts (Author), Holly Palance (Narrator)

Audiobook

Myrna Loy: Being and Becoming

James Kotsilibas-Davis, Myrna Loy (Author), Holly Palance (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Thin Man: Murder Over Cocktails

The Thin Man films are one of the most highly regarded and successful series of films from Hollywood's classic era. This book looks at the people who populated the films, including full chapter profiles of its stars, William Powell and Myrna Loy, whose chemistry together was a huge reason for the success of the films. As Nick and Nora Charles they knocked the stereotypes of on-screen marriage out of the park and replaced the stiff and formal with fun and sexy. But not to be forgotten are the great character actors who added their own special magic to each and every film. Each chapter includes profiles of these actors as well as the creative teams behind the films. The book offers up detailed synopses of each of the films as well as behind-the-scenes anecdotes and trivia. If you love The Thin Man then this is the book for you!

Charles Tranberg (Author), Holly Palance (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Lives of Edie Pritchard

Edie-smart, self assured, beautiful-always worked hard. She worked as a teller at a bank, she worked to save her first marriage, and later, she worked to raise her daughter even as her second marriage came apart. Really, Edie just wanted a good life, but everywhere she turned, her looks defined her. Two brothers fought over her. Her second husband became unreasonably possessive and jealous. Her daughter resented her. And now, as a grandmother, Edie finds herself harassed by a younger man. It's been a lifetime of proving that she is allowed to exist in her own sphere. The Lives of Edie Pritchard tells the story of one woman just trying to be herself, even as multiple men attempt to categorize and own her.

Larry Watson (Author), Holly Palance (Narrator)

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The Omen

Jeremy Thorn and his wife, Katherine, have just welcomed the newest member of their family to the world: their beautiful son Damien. But as the boy grows, so does the terror surrounding him. Fatal accidents, suicides, and unexplained violence seem to follow the Thorns wherever they go-but why? And how can Damien have anything to do with the carnage and bloodshed? He is only a child. But Damien Thorn is like no child on Earth. He bears the mark of the beast. And his time is at hand.

David Seltzer (Author), Holly Palance, Mark Owen (Narrator)

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Ghost Stories

This is a special audio-only production! Turn down the lights. Let a candle flicker in the dark. Curl up for some spooky tales about ghosts and things unseen. This creepy collection of stories includes classic and modern spins on stories of the dead. There are tales of haunted houses, and haunted individuals. Of places that are beyond the realm of the ordinary. And, of course, the things that go bump in the night. Written by eleven talented writers and performed by engaging narrators. Stories include: "The House" by Tanya Eby. "Performed by Rhett Samuel Price. "She is by the Window" by Anthony Addis. Performed by Marni Coleman. "The Rabbit Hole" by Jack Soren. Performed by Hillary Huber. "Geiststurm" by MK Gibson. Performed by Kyle Tait. "Mr. Goat" by Matt Godfrey. Performed by Amy Landon. "Dreams In Black Static" by Ambrose Ibsen. Performed by Joe Hempel. "The Family Ghost" by Susan C. Hunter. Performed by Holly Palance. "Wendigo" by Molly Coyle. Performed by Lauren Ezzo. "The Clockmaker" by Beth Green. Performed by Danielle Cohen. "The Whimsy" by Petrea Burchard. Performed by Rachel Jacobs. "Starlight Mile" by David Hulegaard. Performed by Tim Campbell. Original artwork for the cover created by Molly Coyle. Produced by Blunder Woman Productions. Copyright 2019.

Ambrose Ibsen, Anthony Addis, Beth Green, David Hulegaard, Jack Soren, Matt Godfrey, Mk Gibson, Molly Coyle, Petrea Burchard, Susan C. Hunter, Tanya Eby. (Author), Amy Landon, Danielle Cohen, Hillary Huber, Holly Palance, Joe Hempel, Kyle Tait, Lauren Ezzo, Marni Coleman, Rachel Jacobs, Rhett Samuel Price, Tim Campbell. (Narrator)

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Love between Equals: Relationship as a Spiritual Path

Learn how to successfully negotiate conflicts and deepen our most intimate relationships in this practical and thoughtful guide by an experienced Buddhist teacher, psychotherapist, and couples counselor. A committed relationship, as most people see it today, is a partnership of equals who share values and goals, a team united by love and dedicated to each other's growth on every level. This contemporary model for coupledom requires real intention and work, and, more often than not, the traditional archetypes of relationships experienced by our parents and grandparents fail us or seem irrelevant. Utilizing the wisdom of her years of personal and professional practice, Young-Eisendrath dismantles our idealized projections about love, while revealing how mindfulness and communication can help us identify and honor the differences with our partners and strengthen our bonds. These practical and time-tested guidelines are rooted in sound understanding of modern psychology and offer concrete ideas and the necessary tools to reinforce and reinvigorate our deepest relationships.

Polly Young-Eisendrath (Author), Holly Palance (Narrator)

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The Bells of Old Tokyo: Travels in Japanese Time

'The best book I have read about Tokyo written this century' David Peace For over 300 years, Japan closed itself to outsiders, developing a remarkable and unique culture. During its period of isolation, the inhabitants of the city of Edo, later known as Tokyo, relied on its public bells to tell the time. In her remarkable book, Anna Sherman tells of her search for the bells of Edo, exploring the city of Tokyo and its inhabitants and the individual and particular relationship of Japanese culture - and the Japanese language - to time, tradition, memory, impermanence and history. Through Sherman's journeys around the city and her friendship with the owner of a small, exquisite cafe, who elevates the making and drinking of coffee to an art-form, The Bells of Old Tokyo presents a series of hauntingly memorable voices in the labyrinth that is the metropolis of the Japanese capital: An aristocrat plays in the sea of ashes left by the Allied firebombing of 1945. A scientist builds the most accurate clock in the world, a clock that will not lose a second in five billion years. A sculptor eats his father's ashes while the head of the house of Tokugawa reflects on the destruction of his grandfather's city ('A lost thing is lost. To chase it leads to darkness'). The result is a book that not only engages with the striking otherness of Japanese culture like no other, but that also marks the arrival of a dazzling new writer as she presents an absorbing and alluring meditation on life through an exploration of a great city and its people.

Anna Sherman (Author), Holly Palance (Narrator)

Audiobook

An Economist Walks into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk

Is it worth swimming in shark-infested waters to surf a 50-foot, career-record wave? Is it riskier to make an action movie or a horror movie? Should sex workers forfeit 50 percent of their income for added security or take a chance and keep the extra money? Most people wouldn't expect an economist to have an answer to these questions--or to other questions of daily life, such as who to date or how early to leave for the airport. But those people haven't met Allison Schrager, an economist and award-winning journalist who has spent her career examining how people manage risk in their lives and careers. Whether we realize it or not, we all take risks large and small every day. Even the most cautious among us cannot opt out--the question is always which risks to take, not whether to take them at all. What most of us don't know is how to measure those risks and maximize the chances of getting what we want out of life. In An Economist Walks into a Brothel, Schrager equips readers with five principles for dealing with risk, principles used by some of the world's most interesting risk takers. For instance, she interviews a professional poker player about how to stay rational when the stakes are high, a paparazzo in Manhattan about how to spot different kinds of risk, horse breeders in Kentucky about how to diversify risk and minimize losses, and a war general who led troops in Iraq about how to prepare for what we don't see coming. When you start to look at risky decisions through Schrager's new framework, you can increase the upside to any situation and better mitigate the downsides.

Allison Schrager (Author), Holly Palance (Narrator)

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The Book of Magic: A collection of stories by various authors

An anthology celebrating the witches and sorcerers of epic fantasy-featuring stories by George R. R. Martin, Scott Lynch, Megan Lindholm, and many more! Hot on the heels of Gardner Dozois's (Rogues, Old Venus) acclaimed anthology The Book of Swords comes this companion volume devoted to magic. How could it be otherwise? For every Frodo, there is a Gandalf...and a Saruman. For every Dorothy, a Glinda...and a Wicked Witch of the West. What would Harry Potter be without Albus Dumbledore...and Severus Snape? Figures of wisdom and power, possessing arcane, often forbidden knowledge, wizards and sorcerers are shaped-or misshaped-by the potent magic they seek to wield. Yet though their abilities may be godlike, these men and women remain human...some might say all too human. Such is their curse. And their glory. In these pages, seventeen of today's top fantasy writers-including award-winners K. J. Parker (The Two of Swords), Megan Lindholm (The Windsingers), John Crowley (The Deep), Tim Powers (Last Call), Liz Williams (Snake Agent), Elizabeth Bear (Eternal Sky Trilogy), George R.R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire), Kate Elliott (The Court of Fives Trilogy), Scott Lynch (The Republic of Thieves), and more-cast wondrous spells that thrillingly evoke the mysterious, awesome, and at times downright terrifying worlds where magic reigns supreme: worlds as far away as forever...and as near as next door.

Gardner Dozois (Author), Holly Palance, Lincoln Hoppe, Mark Deakins, Stephen Mendel, Susan Denaker, To Be Announced (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Holly Palance