Believe it or not,
I have some coworkers who don’t really like Halloween. And a few of them sit near me, which makes me a little self-conscious about wearing my black-cat-ears hairband in the office. For some, it’s the hassle of having to deal with trick-or-treaters, for others it's the stress of costume selection—and a few are legitimately frightened. I love the whole thing, and this is despite me being off sugar for the past four months. But while these few distinguished (yet misguided) colleagues don’t watch horror movies (come on, people! How can you not like Freddie, or Chucky, or Michael?), they do enjoy the occasional ghost story, so I’ve been converting them to embrace the season with Ghostlove, a new Audible Original.October isn’t only about Halloween—it’s also a time of year where we see so many big books published. One that I—and the entire Editorial team—couldn’t wait to listen to is The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This fiction debut comes from an author with a very special gift of language (his memoir Between the World and Me is simply brilliant!). It’s historical fiction with heart, intellect, and an amazing performance by actor Joe Morton.
Happy Listening!
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Ghostlove
- By: Dennis Mahoney
- Narrated by: Piper Goodeve, LJ Ganser, Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 95
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 81
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 80
I’m an occultist living in a haunted brownstone in upstate New York. The building is a ghostly double-image of itself, like a picture painted brightly over an older, weirder picture. It’s an equinox place, my mother once said, where dark and light things are equally in power. I want to tell you, dear strangers, why I was there and what I found.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Like reaching out and connecting
- By Tristan Smith on 10-14-19
Inspired by the screen
I have to admit that, when it comes to horror, I used to go for the movie first. I was discounting the entire genre as somehow lesser-than—the stuff of pure, low-brow entertainment. But this was very short-sighted of me. As you’ll see in this list, horror can also be great fiction, and it makes for captivating listening. Explore listens that are reminiscent of favorite films, and discover Ghostlove, an Audible Original that simply feels like a movie.
Listen With the Lights On
All the possibilities
Did you know October is Disability Awareness Month? Our libraries are chock full of listens that help stamp out ableism and tell the full story of the human experience from all perspectives, backgrounds, and abilities. What follows is a collection of some favorites that give voice to people living with disability. Life’s biggest lessens often come from stories of people overcoming adversity. But mostly, these works of fiction give us true-to-life characters you will be happy to get to know.
Be Inspired
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The Water Dancer (Oprah’s Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Narrated by: Joe Morton
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,938
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 12,299
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,215
Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her - but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known. So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North.
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5 out of 5 stars
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We Must Always Remember
- By Cammie on 09-28-19
In conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates
Award-winning writer Ta-Nehisi Coates recently talked with Audible Editor Abby West about his debut novel’s nuanced and intimate view of slavery, why he focused on developing the female characters, and how he got actor Joe Morton to bring this gem to life. It’s an illuminating exchange you won’t want to miss.
Be Transported
New Releases
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The Dutch House
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Tom Hanks
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56,643
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 50,640
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50,306
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not my favorite Patchett
- By Regina on 12-07-19
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The World That We Knew
- A Novel
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Judith Light
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,253
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,100
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,094
At the time when the world changed, Hanni Kohn knows she must send her 12-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime. Her desperation leads her to Ettie, the daughter of a rabbi whose years spent eavesdropping on her father enables her to create a mystical Jewish creature, a rare and unusual golem, who is sworn to protect Hanni’s daughter, Lea.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Not Her Best
- By Phyllis on 10-05-19
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Everything You Are
- A Novel
- By: Kerry Anne King
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 852
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 755
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 750
One tragic twist of fate destroyed Braden Healey’s hands, his musical career, and his family. Now, unable to play, adrift in an alcoholic daze, and with only fragmented memories of his past, Braden wants desperately to escape the darkness of the last eleven years. When his ex-wife and son are killed in a car accident, Braden returns home, hoping to forge a relationship with his troubled seventeen-year-old daughter, Allie. But how can he hope to rescue her from the curse that seems to shadow his family?
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1 out of 5 stars
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Cursing
- By Leigh Busch on 10-04-19
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The Giver of Stars
- Reese's Book Club (A Novel)
- By: Jojo Moyes
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48,635
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 43,118
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42,836
Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So, when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically. The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything.
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5 out of 5 stars
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About time!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-19
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The Dutch House
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Tom Hanks
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56,643
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 50,640
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50,306
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
Not my favorite Patchett
- By Regina on 12-07-19
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The World That We Knew
- A Novel
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Judith Light
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,253
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,100
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,094
At the time when the world changed, Hanni Kohn knows she must send her 12-year-old daughter away to save her from the Nazi regime. Her desperation leads her to Ettie, the daughter of a rabbi whose years spent eavesdropping on her father enables her to create a mystical Jewish creature, a rare and unusual golem, who is sworn to protect Hanni’s daughter, Lea.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Not Her Best
- By Phyllis on 10-05-19
-
Everything You Are
- A Novel
- By: Kerry Anne King
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 852
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 755
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 750
One tragic twist of fate destroyed Braden Healey’s hands, his musical career, and his family. Now, unable to play, adrift in an alcoholic daze, and with only fragmented memories of his past, Braden wants desperately to escape the darkness of the last eleven years. When his ex-wife and son are killed in a car accident, Braden returns home, hoping to forge a relationship with his troubled seventeen-year-old daughter, Allie. But how can he hope to rescue her from the curse that seems to shadow his family?
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Cursing
- By Leigh Busch on 10-04-19
-
The Giver of Stars
- Reese's Book Club (A Novel)
- By: Jojo Moyes
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48,635
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 43,118
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42,836
Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So, when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically. The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
About time!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-19
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.