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MARCH 15, 2019
Literate tenacity pays off, literally.
While certain editors on our team would never win such a contest (OK, we’ve already outed serial incompletist Courtney), a schoolteacher’s tenacity with contractual fine print was richly rewarded. Never one to skim, Donelan Andrews was overjoyed to come across these words buried in the document: “It pays to read.” It was part of an insurance company’s contest, which gave $10,000 to a lucky winner who made it that far. We can’t offer a similar prize for knowing the answer to the question “What are the final words at the end of every Audible listen?” but when you hear them, it means you get to check off another listen on your #TBLT list—and eagle-eyed readers will notice we’ve hidden them somewhere in this newsletter!Hindsight is 20/20.
Editor Abby is all the way here for The New York Times’ current penchant for reckoning with its distant past and noting mistakes. First they remedied the fact that many notable women, such as writer Emily Bronte and photographer Diane Arbus, didn’t garner obits at the time by giving them one now. And this week they pointed out the many scathing reviews of books that would go on to become classics. From calling J.D. Salinger a “short-story guy” as thinly veiled disdain for A Catcher in the Rye, to saying that Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 lacked “craft and sensibility,” they were misses that burn brightly today. Seriously. Who could ever give Anne of Green Gables short shrift?Romance has no love for plagiarism.
The romance community is saying “thank you, next” to Brazilian author Cristiane Serruya, who is being accused of plagiarizing from popular authors such as Courtney Milan, Tessa Dare, and more. Fans quickly rallied around the affected authors, calling attention to the issue on social media using the hashtag #CopyPasteCris. Serruya is blaming the incident on a ghostwriter she hired, but she’s since left social media and her books are being removed from major retail sites. There’s plenty of love in Romancelandia to go around—when authors use their own words!Authors spoke out on the higher-ed scandal…
Though it makes for an interesting premise in fiction, using money and privilege to game the university system is all too real, as we saw when the country’s largest college admissions scandal came to light this week. Federal prosecutors charged 50 people in the scheme involving bribes, fake test taking, and more. We were riveted to see two best-selling authors, Anand Giridharadas and Tressie McMillan Cottom, appear on MSNBC to talk about how their books Winners Take All and Lower Ed address this issue at both ends of the economic spectrum.…while a smaller, furrier scandal played out underground.
Mass transit has its tradeoffs. While it’s convenient and environmentally friendly, it can also be dirty and overcrowded. And then, dear reader, there are the subway rats. Earlier this week, New Yorkers bonded over video of a rat who’d gotten herself trapped inside a metro card machine. Inside!!! Now, most subway riders have spotted a subway rat or two in their day, but this is next level. At the Audible offices, our editors were divided: Is this the grossest thing ever, or maybe just a tiny bit cute? Editor Rachel, for one, is fond of the little subway critters and points to the litany of adorable fictional rodents to help make her case.And in a more welcome animal invasion:
Butterflies swarmed the skies of Southern California this week, delighting West Coasters and getting inadvertently squashed by them in equal measure. It felt like the opening to a Stephen King novel, noted the best-selling authors otherwise known as the Fug Girls; others might have been forgiven for wondering if the insects were a somewhat romantic sign of apocalypse. Actually, the annual migration of painted ladies is simply much more noticeable this year as the population has indeed exploded, which is good news for California’s butterfly crisis. Add another species to our list of Nature’s Movers & Shakers!—the audible editors
Audiobooks in This Edition
-
How the Internet Happened
- By: Brian McCullough
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,334
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,141
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,139
The Internet was never intended for you, opines Brian McCullough in this lively narrative of an era that utterly transformed everything we thought we knew about technology. In How the Internet Happened, he chronicles the whole fascinating story for the first time, beginning in a dusty Illinois basement in 1993, when a group of college kids set off a once-in-an-epoch revolution with what would become the first "dotcom".
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Critically empty history
- By Keith on 12-19-20
-
Wuthering Heights
- An Audible Exclusive Performance
- By: Emily Brontë, Ann Dinsdale - introduction
- Narrated by: Joanne Froggatt, Rachel Atkins - introduction
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,303
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5,707
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,683
The unapologetic intensity with which Emily Brontë wrote this story ensures that it will forever be considered one of the greatest works of English literature. A passionate tale of a chaotic and often violent love, Wuthering Heights transcends your average romance and, with its Gothic undertones, takes the listener on a journey through one man's lustful hunt for revenge.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Almost Peerless
- By Brad Simkulet on 02-04-18
-
Diane Arbus
- Portrait of a Photographer
- By: Arthur Lubow
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
Diane Arbus brings to life the full story of one of the greatest American artists of the 20th century, a visionary who revolutionized photography and altered the course of contemporary art with her striking, now iconic images. Arbus comes startlingly to life here, a strong-minded child of unnerving originality who grew into a formidable artist. Arresting, unsettling, and poignant, her photographs stick in our minds. Why did these people fascinate her? And what was it about her that captivated them?
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not Enough About Her Photography
- By al on 11-15-16
-
Three Early Stories
- By: J.D. Salinger
- Narrated by: Mike Dennis
- Length: 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 264
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 234
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 232
A young and ambitious writer named Jerome David Salinger set his goals very high very early in his career. He almost desperately wished to publish his early stories in The New Yorker magazine, the pinnacle, he felt, of America’s literary world. But such was not to be for several long years and the length of one long world war. But other magazines were quick to recognize a new talent, a fresh voice at a time when the world verged on madness....
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great narrator, plotless stories
- By K. April Holgate on 07-14-14
-
Catch-22
- By: Joseph Heller
- Narrated by: Jay O. Sanders
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,945
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,378
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,380
Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy - it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he's assigned, he'll be in violation of Catch-22.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Stop randomly adding music
- By Kenneth S. Clark on 08-31-18
-
The Godfather
- 50th Anniversary Edition
- By: Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola - introduction, Anthony Puzo - note, and others
- Narrated by: Joe Mantegna, Anthony Puzo, Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 11,937
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10,739
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 10,722
With its brilliant and brutal portrayal of the Corleone family, The Godfather burned its way into our national consciousness. This unforgettable saga of crime and corruption, passion and loyalty continues to stand the test of time, as the definitive novel of the Mafia underworld. A #1 New York Times bestseller in 1969, Mario Puzo's epic was turned into the incomparable film of the same name, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is the original classic that has been often imitated, but never matched.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Huge fan of the movie, loved this audiobook!
- By Dana on 10-04-13
-
How the Internet Happened
- By: Brian McCullough
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,334
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,141
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,139
The Internet was never intended for you, opines Brian McCullough in this lively narrative of an era that utterly transformed everything we thought we knew about technology. In How the Internet Happened, he chronicles the whole fascinating story for the first time, beginning in a dusty Illinois basement in 1993, when a group of college kids set off a once-in-an-epoch revolution with what would become the first "dotcom".
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Critically empty history
- By Keith on 12-19-20
-
Wuthering Heights
- An Audible Exclusive Performance
- By: Emily Brontë, Ann Dinsdale - introduction
- Narrated by: Joanne Froggatt, Rachel Atkins - introduction
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,303
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5,707
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,683
The unapologetic intensity with which Emily Brontë wrote this story ensures that it will forever be considered one of the greatest works of English literature. A passionate tale of a chaotic and often violent love, Wuthering Heights transcends your average romance and, with its Gothic undertones, takes the listener on a journey through one man's lustful hunt for revenge.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Almost Peerless
- By Brad Simkulet on 02-04-18
-
Diane Arbus
- Portrait of a Photographer
- By: Arthur Lubow
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
Diane Arbus brings to life the full story of one of the greatest American artists of the 20th century, a visionary who revolutionized photography and altered the course of contemporary art with her striking, now iconic images. Arbus comes startlingly to life here, a strong-minded child of unnerving originality who grew into a formidable artist. Arresting, unsettling, and poignant, her photographs stick in our minds. Why did these people fascinate her? And what was it about her that captivated them?
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not Enough About Her Photography
- By al on 11-15-16
-
Three Early Stories
- By: J.D. Salinger
- Narrated by: Mike Dennis
- Length: 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 264
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 234
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 232
A young and ambitious writer named Jerome David Salinger set his goals very high very early in his career. He almost desperately wished to publish his early stories in The New Yorker magazine, the pinnacle, he felt, of America’s literary world. But such was not to be for several long years and the length of one long world war. But other magazines were quick to recognize a new talent, a fresh voice at a time when the world verged on madness....
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great narrator, plotless stories
- By K. April Holgate on 07-14-14
-
Catch-22
- By: Joseph Heller
- Narrated by: Jay O. Sanders
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,945
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,378
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,380
Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy - it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he's assigned, he'll be in violation of Catch-22.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Stop randomly adding music
- By Kenneth S. Clark on 08-31-18
-
The Godfather
- 50th Anniversary Edition
- By: Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola - introduction, Anthony Puzo - note, and others
- Narrated by: Joe Mantegna, Anthony Puzo, Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 11,937
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10,739
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 10,722
With its brilliant and brutal portrayal of the Corleone family, The Godfather burned its way into our national consciousness. This unforgettable saga of crime and corruption, passion and loyalty continues to stand the test of time, as the definitive novel of the Mafia underworld. A #1 New York Times bestseller in 1969, Mario Puzo's epic was turned into the incomparable film of the same name, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is the original classic that has been often imitated, but never matched.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Huge fan of the movie, loved this audiobook!
- By Dana on 10-04-13
-
Anne of Green Gables
- By: Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Narrated by: Rachel McAdams
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 21,651
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 19,675
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 19,573
With all of the pluck and charm of its eponymous young hero, Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, Spotlight, Midnight in Paris) delivers a spectacular reading of Montgomery's beloved bildungsroman. In moments both funny and bittersweet, McAdams' voice is imbued with the spark that has made Anne a much-loved symbol of individualism and cheer for over a century.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing. Listen to this book.
- By Jennifer F. on 12-01-16
-
Winners Take All
- The Elite Charade of Changing the World
- By: Anand Giridharadas
- Narrated by: Anand Giridharadas
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,122
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,693
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,657
Former New York Times columnist Anand Giridharadas takes us into the inner sanctums of a new gilded age, where the rich and powerful fight for equality and justice any way they can--except ways that threaten the social order and their position atop it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Profound.
- By Amazon Customer on 10-10-18
-
Lower Ed
- The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy
- By: Tressie McMillan Cottom
- Narrated by: Lisa Reneé Pitts
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
More than two million students are enrolled in for-profit colleges, from the small family-run operations to the behemoths brandished on billboards, subway ads, and late-night commercials. These schools have been around just as long as their bucolic not-for-profit counterparts, yet shockingly little is known about why they have expanded so rapidly in recent years - during the so-called Wall Street era of for - profit colleges.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Now that's a dissertation
- By Mira Krishnan on 09-20-19
-
The Royal We
- By: Heather Cocks, Jessica Morgan
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,487
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,240
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,235
An American girl finds her prince in this "fun and dishy" (People) royal romance inspired by Prince William and Kate Middleton. American Bex Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister Lacey was always the romantic, the one who daydreamed of being a princess. But it's adventure-seeking Bex who goes to Oxford and meets dreamy Nick across the hall - and Bex who finds herself accidentally in love with the heir to the British throne. Nick is wonderful, but he comes with unimaginable baggage.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I deserve a medal for getting to the endless end.
- By Anne on 09-30-17
-
Married with Zombies
- By: Jesse Petersen
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,406
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,245
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,243
A heartwarming tale of terror in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. Meet Sarah and David. Once upon a time, they met and fell in love. But now they’re on the verge of divorce and going to couples’ counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things: the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client’s throat. Meet the zombies....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining
- By R. Wyatt on 02-06-11
-
The Admissions
- A Novel
- By: Meg Mitchell Moore
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 453
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 400
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 404
The Hawthorne family has it all. Great jobs, a beautiful house in one of the most affluent areas of Northern California, and three charming kids whose sunny futures are all but assured. And then comes their eldest daughter's senior year of high school....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Anything for success
- By JillHen on 09-13-15