AUGUST 23, 2019
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 forA few things that made us go 😮 and 👏 and 🤔
- Listening and reading activate the same parts of the brain.
- The author of The NYT’s 1619 project about slavery’s origins (and lasting effects) is (literally) a Genius.
- Punctuation: so hot right now.
- Body positivity: getting hotter (but could be cooler, says Jennifer Weiner).
- Greenland: also hot.
- People are calling for this untouchably hot author to be fired (for all the write reasons).
—the audible editors
Audiobooks in This Edition
-
If You're in My Office, It's Already Too Late
- A Divorce Lawyer's Guide to Staying Together
- By: James J. Sexton
- Narrated by: James J. Sexton
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,583
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,433
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,424
If You're In My Office, It's Already Too Late. James Sexton knows this. After dealing with over 1000 clients whose marriages have dissolved over everything from an ill-advised threesome with the nanny to the uneven division of carpool duties, he also knows all of the what- not-to-dos for couples who want to build - and consistently work to preserve - a lasting, fulfilling relationship. Described by former clients as a "courtroom gunslinger" and "the sociopath you want on your side", Sexton tells the unvarnished truth about relationships. These usually derive from dishonest communication.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Mind blowing
- By Hollan Hawaii on 04-17-18
-
Rip-Off!
- By: John Scalzi, Jack Campbell, Mike Resnick, and others
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Scott Brick, Christian Rummel, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 1,593
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,436
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 1,439
In Rip-Off!, 13 of today’s best and most honored writers of speculative fiction face a challenge even they would be hard-pressed to conceive: Pick your favorite opening line from a classic piece of fiction (or even non-fiction) - then use it as the first sentence of an entirely original short story.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
When is a rip-off not a rip-off?
- By Julie W. Capell on 11-24-13
-
The Fisher King
- By: Paule Marshall
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
In 1949, jazz pianist Sonny-Rhett Payne left New York for Paris, to be free from racism and his family’s disapproval. Now Sonny’s grandson has come to New York for a memorial concert. There, the 8-year-old begins to understand the forces that drove Sonny into exile. Paule Marshall is an award-winning author and distinguished professor of creative writing at New York University.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I could see this story on my mind
- By Girl 76 on 02-12-22
-
Darkness to Light
- A Memoir
- By: Lamar Odom, Chris Palmer - contributor
- Narrated by: Chris Palmer
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,213
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,045
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,046
The world knows Lamar Odom as a two-time NBA world champion who rocketed to uncharted heights of fame thanks to being a member of both the storied Los Angeles Lakers and the ubiquitous Kardashian empire. But who is Lamar, really? Fans have long praised his accessibility and genuine everyman quality - he is a blinding talent who has suffered a series of heartaches, setback, and loss.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Horrible choice of the narrator
- By Tdub on 07-14-19
-
Bachelor Nation
- Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure
- By: Amy Kaufman
- Narrated by: Amy Kaufman
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 800
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 710
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 711
For 15 years and 35 seasons, the Bachelor franchise has been a mainstay in American TV viewers' lives. Since it premiered in 2002, the show's popularity and relevance has only grown - more than eight million viewers tuned in to see the conclusion of the most recent season of The Bachelor. The iconic reality television show's reach and influence into the cultural zeitgeist is undeniable. Bachelor Nation is the first behind-the-scenes, unauthorized look into the reality television phenomenon.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
So disappointing!!!
- By Ashton T. on 03-15-18
-
Plastic
- A Toxic Love Story
- By: Susan Freinkel
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 126
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
Plastic built the modern world. Where would we be without bike helmets, baggies, toothbrushes, and pacemakers? But a century into our love affair with plastic, we're starting to realize it's not such a healthy relationship. Plastics draw dwindling fossil fuels, leach harmful chemicals, litter landscapes, and destroy marine life. As journalist Susan Freinkel points out in this engaging and eye-opening book, we're nearing a crisis point.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Immensely entertaining and informative
- By Danya on 12-30-12
-
If You're in My Office, It's Already Too Late
- A Divorce Lawyer's Guide to Staying Together
- By: James J. Sexton
- Narrated by: James J. Sexton
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,583
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,433
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,424
If You're In My Office, It's Already Too Late. James Sexton knows this. After dealing with over 1000 clients whose marriages have dissolved over everything from an ill-advised threesome with the nanny to the uneven division of carpool duties, he also knows all of the what- not-to-dos for couples who want to build - and consistently work to preserve - a lasting, fulfilling relationship. Described by former clients as a "courtroom gunslinger" and "the sociopath you want on your side", Sexton tells the unvarnished truth about relationships. These usually derive from dishonest communication.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Mind blowing
- By Hollan Hawaii on 04-17-18
-
Rip-Off!
- By: John Scalzi, Jack Campbell, Mike Resnick, and others
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Scott Brick, Christian Rummel, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 1,593
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,436
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 1,439
In Rip-Off!, 13 of today’s best and most honored writers of speculative fiction face a challenge even they would be hard-pressed to conceive: Pick your favorite opening line from a classic piece of fiction (or even non-fiction) - then use it as the first sentence of an entirely original short story.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
When is a rip-off not a rip-off?
- By Julie W. Capell on 11-24-13
-
The Fisher King
- By: Paule Marshall
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
In 1949, jazz pianist Sonny-Rhett Payne left New York for Paris, to be free from racism and his family’s disapproval. Now Sonny’s grandson has come to New York for a memorial concert. There, the 8-year-old begins to understand the forces that drove Sonny into exile. Paule Marshall is an award-winning author and distinguished professor of creative writing at New York University.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I could see this story on my mind
- By Girl 76 on 02-12-22
-
Darkness to Light
- A Memoir
- By: Lamar Odom, Chris Palmer - contributor
- Narrated by: Chris Palmer
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,213
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,045
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,046
The world knows Lamar Odom as a two-time NBA world champion who rocketed to uncharted heights of fame thanks to being a member of both the storied Los Angeles Lakers and the ubiquitous Kardashian empire. But who is Lamar, really? Fans have long praised his accessibility and genuine everyman quality - he is a blinding talent who has suffered a series of heartaches, setback, and loss.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Horrible choice of the narrator
- By Tdub on 07-14-19
-
Bachelor Nation
- Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure
- By: Amy Kaufman
- Narrated by: Amy Kaufman
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 800
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 710
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 711
For 15 years and 35 seasons, the Bachelor franchise has been a mainstay in American TV viewers' lives. Since it premiered in 2002, the show's popularity and relevance has only grown - more than eight million viewers tuned in to see the conclusion of the most recent season of The Bachelor. The iconic reality television show's reach and influence into the cultural zeitgeist is undeniable. Bachelor Nation is the first behind-the-scenes, unauthorized look into the reality television phenomenon.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
So disappointing!!!
- By Ashton T. on 03-15-18
-
Plastic
- A Toxic Love Story
- By: Susan Freinkel
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 126
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
Plastic built the modern world. Where would we be without bike helmets, baggies, toothbrushes, and pacemakers? But a century into our love affair with plastic, we're starting to realize it's not such a healthy relationship. Plastics draw dwindling fossil fuels, leach harmful chemicals, litter landscapes, and destroy marine life. As journalist Susan Freinkel points out in this engaging and eye-opening book, we're nearing a crisis point.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Immensely entertaining and informative
- By Danya on 12-30-12