SHORT LISTENS
can complete in one sitting.
WINNER: Half Light
Performed by Bahni Turpin
Though expansive, epic-length listens always have a place in our hearts, 2020 may have actually broken our brains. So it was with deep gratitude that we welcomed the rise of shorter listens, which moved, entertained, and challenged us while asking a little less of us in return. A great short listen packs a mighty punch, which is exactly what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Wendy Walker, Tom Morello, and Michael Pollan do in genres as varied as literary fiction, suspense, live performance, and nonfiction. But for our winner, Half Light, it's the old one-two that delivers the knockout: the unbeatable combination of Tayari Jones’s lean, powerful story and the exquisite narration of beloved performer Bahni Turpin. A masterpiece in miniature, this short, timely tale looms long in the memory.
Best of Short Listens: Four More
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Caffeine
- How Caffeine Created the Modern World
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42,261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36,411
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36,243
Michael Pollan, known for his best-selling nonfiction audio, including The Omnivores Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind, conceived and wrote Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World as an Audible Original. In this controversial and exciting listen, Pollan explores caffeine’s power as the most-used drug in the world - and the only one we give to children (in soda pop) as a treat.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
Leaves much to be desired
- By Melody H on 02-02-20
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Zikora
- A Short Story
- By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Narrated by: Adepero Oduye
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,718
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,497
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,486
When Zikora, a DC lawyer from Nigeria, tells her equally high-powered lover that she’s pregnant, he abandons her. But it’s Zikora’s demanding, self-possessed mother, in town for the birth, who makes Zikora feel like a lonely little girl all over again. Stunned by the speed with which her ideal life fell apart, she turns to reflecting on her mother’s painful past and struggle for dignity. Preparing for motherhood, Zikora begins to see more clearly what her own mother wants for her, for her new baby, and for herself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great quick listen.
- By Tally on 11-09-20
-
Speaking Truth to Power Through Stories and Song
- Words + Music | Vol. 5
- By: Tom Morello
- Narrated by: Tom Morello
- Length: 1 hr and 42 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,048
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,731
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,709
Rock god. Justice fighter. Rabble-rouser. Ivy Leaguer. An American renegade and fearless truth teller. Rage Against the Machine’s guitar virtuoso, Tom Morello, is many things; but perhaps, he himself, sums it up best: a one-man revolution. For the first time ever, hear Morello fuse the deeply personal with the political in a rapturous, badass, one-man show that skillfully balances soul-bearing stories with spellbinding guitar fury: Speaking Truth to Power Through Stories and Song by Tom Morello.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
From casual fan to wanting to consume more Tom M.
- By Raymond A. Lukasiewicz on 09-01-20
-
Hold Your Breath
- A Novella
- By: Wendy Walker
- Narrated by: Dylan Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,696
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 4,248
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 4,237
Gabby Ashford has just survived an attempt on her life. Detectives have connected her story to two other cases in the area: Professional women drugged at a bar, brought to their homes, and drowned in their bathtubs. Gabby, who miraculously woke up in her own bathtub unharmed, could be the key to finding a serial killer on the loose - but she has no memory of the attack. Gabby admits herself to a high-end rehabilitation center to recover, and to seek the help of a psychiatrist renowned for his work with memory recovery.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superb!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-02-20
-
Caffeine
- How Caffeine Created the Modern World
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42,261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36,411
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36,243
Michael Pollan, known for his best-selling nonfiction audio, including The Omnivores Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind, conceived and wrote Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World as an Audible Original. In this controversial and exciting listen, Pollan explores caffeine’s power as the most-used drug in the world - and the only one we give to children (in soda pop) as a treat.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Leaves much to be desired
- By Melody H on 02-02-20
-
Zikora
- A Short Story
- By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Narrated by: Adepero Oduye
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,718
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,497
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,486
When Zikora, a DC lawyer from Nigeria, tells her equally high-powered lover that she’s pregnant, he abandons her. But it’s Zikora’s demanding, self-possessed mother, in town for the birth, who makes Zikora feel like a lonely little girl all over again. Stunned by the speed with which her ideal life fell apart, she turns to reflecting on her mother’s painful past and struggle for dignity. Preparing for motherhood, Zikora begins to see more clearly what her own mother wants for her, for her new baby, and for herself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great quick listen.
- By Tally on 11-09-20
-
Speaking Truth to Power Through Stories and Song
- Words + Music | Vol. 5
- By: Tom Morello
- Narrated by: Tom Morello
- Length: 1 hr and 42 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,048
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,731
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,709
Rock god. Justice fighter. Rabble-rouser. Ivy Leaguer. An American renegade and fearless truth teller. Rage Against the Machine’s guitar virtuoso, Tom Morello, is many things; but perhaps, he himself, sums it up best: a one-man revolution. For the first time ever, hear Morello fuse the deeply personal with the political in a rapturous, badass, one-man show that skillfully balances soul-bearing stories with spellbinding guitar fury: Speaking Truth to Power Through Stories and Song by Tom Morello.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
From casual fan to wanting to consume more Tom M.
- By Raymond A. Lukasiewicz on 09-01-20
-
Hold Your Breath
- A Novella
- By: Wendy Walker
- Narrated by: Dylan Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 31 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,696
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 4,248
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 4,237
Gabby Ashford has just survived an attempt on her life. Detectives have connected her story to two other cases in the area: Professional women drugged at a bar, brought to their homes, and drowned in their bathtubs. Gabby, who miraculously woke up in her own bathtub unharmed, could be the key to finding a serial killer on the loose - but she has no memory of the attack. Gabby admits herself to a high-end rehabilitation center to recover, and to seek the help of a psychiatrist renowned for his work with memory recovery.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superb!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-02-20