Greetings, earthlings!
A novel called Where the Forest Meets the Stars has recently captured my imagination. In it, a young girl claims to have come from another planet. She doesn’t reveal too many specifics about what it was like, but she does drop some tantalizing hints. It made me wonder what kind of planet I would create for myself if I had the power to make up my own interplanetary origin story. My mind first went to lush greens, waterfalls, and maybe having the ability to fly. But, in reality, I’m here on Earth, which is perfectly fine. I have an easy escape in the stories I listen to… and luckily March will be a stellar month with plenty of tales to choose from.Happy listening,
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A Mind of Her Own
- By: Paula McLain
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 26,354
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23,406
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Story4 out of 5 stars 23,378
Marie Sklodowska, 25, is studying science at the Sorbonne—one of the only universities in the world that has begun to admit women. A thousand miles from her native Poland, with no money and the odds stacked against any woman daring to pursue a career in such a rigorous field, Marie throws herself into her studies. She’s certain that to succeed in a man’s world, she will have to go it alone.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Based on a true story
- By Kingsley on 03-01-19
From modern-day manifestos to heartfelt memoirs
’March is Women’s History Month, and we have a whole host of listening recommendations across all genres. And while I can personally always appreciate a well-performed memoir or work of cultural criticism, it’s the fiction that gets me the most excited. Whether based on historically real people, or works of pure imagination, it’s where I so often have discovered the deepest truths about what it is to be a woman in the world.
Listen to Women
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Where the Forest Meets the Stars
- By: Glendy Vanderah
- Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14,029
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12,412
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,385
After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises. The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable. Which "story" version is true...
- By Christina on 03-16-19
Quite possibly a perfect story
As I hinted at above, Where the Forest Meets the Stars is my favorite audiobook so far this year. I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say it’s one of those stories that hooked me right away and kept me 100% invested until the bitter end (yes, there were tears). The characters will capture your heart—in large part due to Lauren Ezzo’s performance. My god, can she transition from adult to child with ease and skill. She will make you believe that eight-year-old Ursa is a very real little girl (and possibly a genius alien).
Reach for the Stars
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Golden Child
- A Novel
- By: Claire Adam
- Narrated by: Obi Abili
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 228
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 209
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Story4 out of 5 stars 208
Rural Trinidad: a brick house on stilts surrounded by bush; a family, quietly surviving, just trying to live a decent life. Clyde, the father, works long, exhausting shifts at the petroleum plant in Southern Trinidad; Joy, his wife, looks after the home. Their two sons are twins but nothing alike: Paul has always been considered odd, while Peter is widely believed to be a genius, destined for greatness. When Paul goes walking in the bush one afternoon and doesn't come home, Clyde is forced to go looking for him, this child who he has never really understood.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Underwhelmed
- By L. Boedeker on 02-04-19
Interview with author Claire Adam
Audible editor Abby had the opportunity to talk to debut author Claire Adam about her novel Golden Child and a country very close to her heart, Trinidad. It’s the story of twin brothers, Peter and Paul, who could not be more opposite: one is bright and destined for great things, the other is seemingly bound to disappoint. A painful family saga ensues, and where it all happens is fundamental to the story. Trinidad is the backdrop for all this family drama, and Claire Adam will transport you to the West Indian island in an authentic and satisfying way.
Listen to the Conversation
New Releases
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The Victory Garden
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,536
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,204
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,191
As the Great War continues to take its toll, headstrong 21-year-old Emily Bryce is determined to contribute to the war effort. She is convinced by a cheeky and handsome Australian pilot that she can do more, and it is not long before she falls in love with him and accepts his proposal of marriage. When he is sent back to the front, Emily volunteers as a “land girl,” tending to the neglected grounds of a large Devonshire estate. It’s here that Emily discovers the long-forgotten journals of a medicine woman who devoted her life to her herbal garden.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Ridiculously bad
- By mary on 03-23-19
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The Far Field
- A Novel
- By: Madhuri Vijay
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 583
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 536
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Story4 out of 5 stars 533
In the wake of her mother's death, Shalini, a privileged and restless young woman from Bangalore, sets out for a remote Himalayan village in the troubled northern region of Kashmir. Certain that the loss of her mother is somehow connected to the decade-old disappearance of Bashir Ahmed, a charming Kashmiri salesman who frequented her childhood home, she is determined to confront him. But upon her arrival, Shalini is brought face to face with Kashmir's politics, as well as the tangled history of the local family that takes her in. And then life in the village turns volatile and old hatreds threaten to erupt into violence.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Very morose
- By Amy Lanman on 06-08-19
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The Night Tiger
- A Novel
- By: Yangsze Choo
- Narrated by: Yangsze Choo
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,269
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,483
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,475
Quick-witted, ambitious Ji Lin is stuck as an apprentice dressmaker, moonlighting as a dance hall girl to help pay off her mother’s Mahjong debts. But when one of her dance partners accidentally leaves behind a gruesome souvenir, Ji Lin may finally get the adventure she has been longing for. Eleven-year-old houseboy Ren is also on a mission, racing to fulfill his former master’s dying wish: that Ren find the man’s finger, lost years ago in an accident, and bury it with his body. Ren has 49 days to do so, or his master’s soul will wander the earth forever.
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4 out of 5 stars
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very satisfying
- By Ian Macdonald on 03-19-19
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The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls
- By: Anissa Gray
- Narrated by: January LaVoy, Adenrele Ojo, Bahni Turpin, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 573
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 511
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Story4 out of 5 stars 515
The Butler family has had their share of trials - as sisters Althea, Viola, and Lillian can attest - but nothing prepared them for the literal trial that will upend their lives. Althea, the eldest sister and substitute matriarch, is a force to be reckoned with, and her younger sisters have alternately appreciated and chafed at her strong will. They are as stunned as the rest of the small community when she and her husband, Proctor, are arrested, and in a heartbeat, the family goes from one of the most respected in town to utter disgrace.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved It!
- By Amazon Customer on 02-22-19
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The Victory Garden
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,536
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,204
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,191
As the Great War continues to take its toll, headstrong 21-year-old Emily Bryce is determined to contribute to the war effort. She is convinced by a cheeky and handsome Australian pilot that she can do more, and it is not long before she falls in love with him and accepts his proposal of marriage. When he is sent back to the front, Emily volunteers as a “land girl,” tending to the neglected grounds of a large Devonshire estate. It’s here that Emily discovers the long-forgotten journals of a medicine woman who devoted her life to her herbal garden.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Ridiculously bad
- By mary on 03-23-19
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The Far Field
- A Novel
- By: Madhuri Vijay
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 583
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 536
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 533
In the wake of her mother's death, Shalini, a privileged and restless young woman from Bangalore, sets out for a remote Himalayan village in the troubled northern region of Kashmir. Certain that the loss of her mother is somehow connected to the decade-old disappearance of Bashir Ahmed, a charming Kashmiri salesman who frequented her childhood home, she is determined to confront him. But upon her arrival, Shalini is brought face to face with Kashmir's politics, as well as the tangled history of the local family that takes her in. And then life in the village turns volatile and old hatreds threaten to erupt into violence.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Very morose
- By Amy Lanman on 06-08-19
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The Night Tiger
- A Novel
- By: Yangsze Choo
- Narrated by: Yangsze Choo
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,269
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,483
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,475
Quick-witted, ambitious Ji Lin is stuck as an apprentice dressmaker, moonlighting as a dance hall girl to help pay off her mother’s Mahjong debts. But when one of her dance partners accidentally leaves behind a gruesome souvenir, Ji Lin may finally get the adventure she has been longing for. Eleven-year-old houseboy Ren is also on a mission, racing to fulfill his former master’s dying wish: that Ren find the man’s finger, lost years ago in an accident, and bury it with his body. Ren has 49 days to do so, or his master’s soul will wander the earth forever.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
very satisfying
- By Ian Macdonald on 03-19-19
-
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls
- By: Anissa Gray
- Narrated by: January LaVoy, Adenrele Ojo, Bahni Turpin, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 573
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 511
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 515
The Butler family has had their share of trials - as sisters Althea, Viola, and Lillian can attest - but nothing prepared them for the literal trial that will upend their lives. Althea, the eldest sister and substitute matriarch, is a force to be reckoned with, and her younger sisters have alternately appreciated and chafed at her strong will. They are as stunned as the rest of the small community when she and her husband, Proctor, are arrested, and in a heartbeat, the family goes from one of the most respected in town to utter disgrace.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved It!
- By Amazon Customer on 02-22-19
About the Editor
Tricia listens to discover characters and voices that transport her, not to a fantasy world, but to the heart of what it is to be human in this world. Follow her on Twitter @tricia___ford.