Rena

The Birthday of the World: And Other Stories

• UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 32 mins)
• By Ursula K. Le Guin
• Narrated By Ursula K. Le Guin, David Birney, Scott Brick

Six of these tales are set in the author's signature world of the Ekumen, a world made familiar in her award-winning novel The Left Hand of Darkness. The title story was hailed by Publisher's Weekly as "remarkable...a standout." Paradises Lost is a mesmerizing novella of space exploration and the pursuit of happiness. These stories explore complex social interactions, troublesome issues of gender and sex, and the meaning of transformation, religion, and history.

How An Economy Grows And Why It Crashes

• UNABRIDGED (3 hrs and 36 mins)
• By Peter D Schiff, Andrew J Schiff
• Narrated By Peter D. Schiff, Andrew J. Schiff
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes uses illustration, humor, and accessible storytelling to explain complex topics of economic growth and monetary systems. In it, economic expert and bestselling author of Crash Proof, Peter Schiff teams up with his brother Andrew to apply their signature "take no prisoners" logic to expose the glaring fallacies that have become so ingrained in our country's economic conversation.

There's Nothing in This Book That I Meant to Say

• ABRIDGED (5 hrs and 59 mins)
• By Paula Poundstone
• Narrated By Paula Poundstone

What do the lives of Lincoln, Helen Keller, Joan of Arc, and other historical figures have in common with Paula Poundstone? In the hands of this wryly observant and self-deprecating comedian, the answer is outrageously funny and unexpectedly touching. Poundstone compares her crazy life to theirs, as she holds forth on her children, her career, and the time in her life when it appeared she would lose them both.

The Story of Sushi: An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and Rice

• UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 9 mins)
• By Trevor Corson
• Narrated By Brian Nishii

Trevor Corson takes us behind the scenes at America's first sushi-chef training academy, as eager novices strive to master the elusive art of cooking without cooking. He delves into the biology and natural history of the edible creatures of the sea, and tells the fascinating story of an Indo-Chinese meal reinvented in 19th-century Tokyo as a cheap fast food.

River God: A Novel of Ancient Egypt

• UNABRIDGED (24 hrs and 39 mins)
• By Wilbur Smith
• Narrated By Dick Hill

Ancient Egypt. Land of the Pharaohs. A kingdom built on gold. A legend shattered by greed. Now the Valley of Kings lies ravaged by war, drained of its lifeblood, as weak men inherit the cherished crown. On the eve of the festival of Osiris, the loyal subjects of the Pharaoh gather in Thebes to pay tribute to their leader.

Exploding with all the passion and rage of a bygone time, River God is a masterpiece of historical writing.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: A Novel

• UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 8 mins)
• By Helen Simonson
• Narrated By Peter Altschuler
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction.

Broken for You

• UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 50 mins)
• By Stephanie Kallos
• Narrated By Anna Fields
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

When we meet septuagenarian Margaret Hughes, she is living alone in a mansion in Seattle with only a massive collection of valuable antiques for company. Enter Wanda Schultz, a young woman with a broken heart who has come to Seattle to search for her wayward boyfriend. Both women are guarding dark secrets and have spent many years building up protective armor against the outside world.

To the Wedding

• UNABRIDGED (4 hrs and 49 mins)
• By John Berger
• Narrated By Richard Poe
• Whispersync for Voice-ready

In To the Wedding, John Berger offers us a sharply modern situation set in the traditionally pastoral and idyllic background of rural Europe. Beautiful, vibrant Ninon falls in love and becomes engaged to a young Italian, Gino, but soon before their wedding she discovers that she has contracted HIV through a brief encounter several years earlier. She tries to break the engagement but Gino, in an act of passionate and redemptive love, insists that the marriage will occur.

State of Wonder: A Novel

• UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 25 mins)
• By Ann Patchett
• Narrated By Hope Davis

Research scientist Dr. Marina Singh is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have disappeared in the Amazon while working on an extremely valuable new drug. The last person who was sent to find her died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding answers to the questions about her friend's death, her company's future, and her own past.