AUGUST 23, 2019

This end-of-week has us puzzling over life’s pressing questions, like how can a bird look so much like a rabbit (or is it vice versa)? Should we hire a designer to curate our bookshelves? Is it possible to watch 5,000 episodes of a show and keep your job? Can love ever really be forever? Which brings us to…

A belated (for the consciously uncoupled) listening recommendation

It may be too late for the dozens of couples who ended up in the office of one author (whose day job happens to be that of a divorce lawyer), but it doesn’t have to be for you. Editor Courtney’s current obsession is the balm that could’ve saved countless marriages from acrimonious demise: If You’re in My Office It’s Already Too Late. Written and narrated in a lively, often laugh-out-loud funny tone, this how-not-to is chock-full of honest, clear, and ugh-of-course takeaways – we recommend you make it your next listening club, party of two pick, as Courtney has done with her husband. And, no offense to any attorneys who may be reading this, but who knew lawyers could be this (pardon the pun) engaging?

A not-so-great future in plastics

Plastic is kind of a miracle material: it can be bendy, transparent, squishy, and even keep veggies fresh. It also lasts forever, and we use it in everything. From her desk, Editor Rachel can see a computer monitor, office chair, headphones, three-ring binder, ballpoint pen, phone charger, pushpins…the list goes on. But after a recent 60 Minutes segment on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, we’re seeing plastic in a whole new light. Spoiler: it’s filling our oceans and killing our wildlife. But the good news is that inspired environmentalists, like Dutch inventor Boyan Slat, are determined to find a way to clean up all the ocean’s rogue plastic. Plastic: A Toxic Love Story was featured on the segment and just jumped to the top of our listening lists.

Who run the galaxy?

Women do—again! At a ceremony in Dublin in last weekend, Mary Robinette Kowal won the Hugo Award for Best Novel for her sci-fi alternate history novel, The Calculating Stars, the first in her Lady Astronaut series. And nbd, but the novel also won this year’s Nebula and Locus awards, thus completing what Editor Sam is officially dubbing the trifecta of awesomeness in sci-fi & fantasy. This marks the fourth year in a row that a female writer has taken home the top prize (with the amazing N.K. Jemisin winning the last three years in a row for her Broken Earth trilogy) and continues a trend of women sweeping top categories. Fun fact: Kowal’s series has its genesis in a short story The Lady Astronaut of Mars, which was originally penned for the Audible Original collection Rip-Off and also won a Hugo in 2014. Fun fact #2: Kowal is also a narrator who performs not only her own titles, but dozens of others, including all 12 October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. Someone give this woman an award, already!

Another goodbye

The old superstition that deaths come in threes put many folks on watch after Toni Morrison died, and this weekend we received word that at least one other highly impactful and notable author has passed. Paule Marshall may not have the same widespread name recognition as Morrison but as the New York Times noted upon her passing, she’s known as the critical bridge between two important waves of Black women authors, linking the likes of Zora Neale Hurston to Maya Angelou, and more. Marshall, who was also friends with Langston Hughes, gave value to cultural-specific language and stories and indelibly left her mark.

A reality-competition lineup to listen to

What do Lamar Odom, Sean Spicer, and Bachelor Nation’s Alabama Hannah have in common? They’re all going to be competing on Season 28 of Dancing with the Stars! (And they all appear on Audible, too, just sayin’.) Joined by James Van Der Beek, Christie Brinkley, Karamo Brown, and more, ABC has created such a crazy and fantastic lineup that we think we *have* to tune in. We’ll be cheering for Dawson James, and alternating between singing I don’t want to wait… and shouting Welcome to Good Burger! at the screen whenever Kel Mitchell comes on to dance (yes—Kel’s competing too!).

A few things that made us go 😮 and 👏 and 🤔

Till Next Week!
—the audible editors

Audiobooks in This Edition

If You're in My Office, It's Already Too Late Audiolibro Por James J. Sexton arte de portada
Rip-Off! Audiolibro Por John Scalzi, Jack Campbell, Mike Resnick, Allen Steele, Lavie Tidhar, Nancy Kress, Gardner Dozois - e
The Fisher King Audiolibro Por Paule Marshall arte de portada
Darkness to Light Audiolibro Por Lamar Odom, Chris Palmer - contributor arte de portada
Bachelor Nation Audiolibro Por Amy Kaufman arte de portada
Plastic Audiolibro Por Susan Freinkel arte de portada
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