November 1, 2019
National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo to self-punishing writers)
The Halloween candy has all been divvied up and the costumes have all been put away, which can only mean one thing: many of your Audible editors have started trying to write 50,000-word novels for National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo. That’s right: a full novel in a month (one with just 30 days, no less). As it turns out, we humans are not alone—several robots will also be attempting 50,000-word novels of their own this November, and AI experts predict they’ll be writing best-selling novels by 2040. (We personally look forward to the first best-selling inter-machine romance written by an AI!) Good luck and happy writing to all you human and robot novelists out there this month.It’s a highly fashionable month, too (says Editor Kat, aka fashion Kat
)
Costumes, schmostumes. Everyone knows fall is the best sartorial season, period. Time to break out the cozy knits, corduroy, and tweed, and generally start dressing like authors. So is it any surprise that writers themselves give the *best* fashion advice? Zadie Smith gave us bicoastal style envy with a think piece on New York vs. London dressing (#TeamNewark, btw!) while Roxane Gay has us re-strategizing our suitcases with a persuasive case for checking a bag. Talk about dressing for the job you want…
…and getting to the job you want
Lyft is giving us all the feels this week with their newly announced Jobs Access Program. Along with partners including United Way, The USO, and more, Lyft will provide free rides to job interviews, training programs, and the first few weeks of work (until paychecks kick in) for those who need it most. We wish all the best to these future commuters!How about a commute all the way across the pond?
We learned a new fun fact that makes Dame Judi Dench even more charming if possible. The beloved actress and Winnie the Pooh narrator is also the president of the Brontë Society, and will be backing the Brontë Parsonage Museum in their bid to acquire one of Charlotte Brontë's handwrittenlittle bookswhen it hits the auction block in Paris this November. The fifth, and apparently final-surviving, little book was penned by Brontë as a teen and includes three stories, one of which features a murderer who lights his bed sheets on fire and reads like a direct precursor to Jane Eyre. With that kind of literary legacy, it's expected to fetch upwards of £650k—we wish Dame Judi and the Brontë Society happy hunting!
Facing a new world
The first African American face transplant has finally happened and its significance goes beyond the obvious. Yes, the major medical moment, which required 45 surgeons and clinical staff, gave inspiring burn victim Robert Chelsea the lips and nose his horrific accident had stolen from him. But this donor face, gifted by the family of a young musician who’d died, was the second one offered. Chelsea’d passed on the first in large part because the skin color was so much lighter than his. The concept of colorism and the importance of skin tone to racial identity is well chronicled in novels such as God Help the Child and Passing, but this real-world moment brings another hue to the conversation.In other news...
Congrats to World Series Champs, the Washington Nationals, underdogs of the century...The Clutter home from In Cold Blood is up for sale—eek!...It’s Native American Heritage month. We’re paying tribute with this collection of native voices...The diaries of the super secretive Patricia Highsmith are finally going public...Does Game of Thrones really need a prequel? Discuss...Who knew this was the most-used emoji?? (We sure didn’t!)Titles in This Edition
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Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques
- By: James Hynes, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: James Hynes
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,289
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,762
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,661
From evoking a scene to charting a plot to revising your drafts, Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques offers a master class in storytelling. Taught by award-winning novelist James Hynes, a former visiting professor at the famed Iowa Writers' Workshop, these 24 insightful lectures show you the ins and outs of the fiction writer's craft.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Good advice and sobering truths
- By William on 01-30-15
-
Grand Union
- Stories
- By: Zadie Smith
- Narrated by: Zadie Smith, Doc Brown
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 37
Zadie Smith has established herself as one of the most iconic, critically respected, and popular writers of her generation. In her first short story collection, she combines her power of observation and her inimitable voice to mine the fraught and complex experience of life in the modern world. Interleaving 11 completely new and unpublished stories with some of her best-loved pieces from The New Yorker and elsewhere, Smith presents a dizzyingly rich and varied collection of fiction.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
In Defense of Zadie Smith
- By Andre on 11-11-19
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Hunger
- A Memoir of (My) Body
- By: Roxane Gay
- Narrated by: Roxane Gay
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,577
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,999
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,972
In her phenomenally popular essays and long-running Tumblr blog, Roxane Gay has written with intimacy and sensitivity about food and body, using her own emotional and psychological struggles as a means of exploring our shared anxieties over pleasure, consumption, appearance, and health. As a woman who describes her own body as "wildly undisciplined", Roxane understands the tension between desire and denial, between self-comfort and self-care.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Dark, thought provoking, sometimes frustrating
- By River Holmes-miller on 06-21-17
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Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 20,414
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 18,672
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 18,593
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Perfect!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-21-16
-
God Help the Child
- A Novel
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,347
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,211
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,195
At the center: a young woman who calls herself Bride, whose stunning blue-black skin is only one element of her beauty, her boldness and confidence, her success in life, but which caused her light-skinned mother to deny her even the simplest forms of love. There is Booker, the man Bride loves, and loses to anger.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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God Help Us All
- By Tzynya Pinchback on 04-24-15
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On Writing
- A Memoir of the Craft
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Stephen King, Joe Hill, Owen King
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 15,158
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12,456
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 12,351
“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Who needs a print edition when King reads King?
- By Cather on 11-18-05
-
Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques
- By: James Hynes, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: James Hynes
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,289
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,762
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,661
From evoking a scene to charting a plot to revising your drafts, Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques offers a master class in storytelling. Taught by award-winning novelist James Hynes, a former visiting professor at the famed Iowa Writers' Workshop, these 24 insightful lectures show you the ins and outs of the fiction writer's craft.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good advice and sobering truths
- By William on 01-30-15
-
Grand Union
- Stories
- By: Zadie Smith
- Narrated by: Zadie Smith, Doc Brown
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 37
Zadie Smith has established herself as one of the most iconic, critically respected, and popular writers of her generation. In her first short story collection, she combines her power of observation and her inimitable voice to mine the fraught and complex experience of life in the modern world. Interleaving 11 completely new and unpublished stories with some of her best-loved pieces from The New Yorker and elsewhere, Smith presents a dizzyingly rich and varied collection of fiction.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
In Defense of Zadie Smith
- By Andre on 11-11-19
-
Hunger
- A Memoir of (My) Body
- By: Roxane Gay
- Narrated by: Roxane Gay
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,577
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,999
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,972
In her phenomenally popular essays and long-running Tumblr blog, Roxane Gay has written with intimacy and sensitivity about food and body, using her own emotional and psychological struggles as a means of exploring our shared anxieties over pleasure, consumption, appearance, and health. As a woman who describes her own body as "wildly undisciplined", Roxane understands the tension between desire and denial, between self-comfort and self-care.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Dark, thought provoking, sometimes frustrating
- By River Holmes-miller on 06-21-17
-
Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 20,414
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 18,672
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 18,593
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Perfect!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-21-16
-
God Help the Child
- A Novel
- By: Toni Morrison
- Narrated by: Toni Morrison
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,347
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,211
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,195
At the center: a young woman who calls herself Bride, whose stunning blue-black skin is only one element of her beauty, her boldness and confidence, her success in life, but which caused her light-skinned mother to deny her even the simplest forms of love. There is Booker, the man Bride loves, and loses to anger.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
God Help Us All
- By Tzynya Pinchback on 04-24-15
-
On Writing
- A Memoir of the Craft
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Stephen King, Joe Hill, Owen King
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 15,158
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12,456
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 12,351
“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Who needs a print edition when King reads King?
- By Cather on 11-18-05
-
Passing
- By: Nella Larsen
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 4 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 488
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 416
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 419
First published in 1929, Passing is a remarkable exploration of the shifting racial and sexual boundaries in America. Larsen, a premier writer of the Harlem Renaissance, captures the rewards and dangers faced by two Negro women who pass for White in a deeply segregated world.
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4 out of 5 stars
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If not for the Ending
- By William M Storm on 04-23-12
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In Cold Blood
- By: Truman Capote
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15,103
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12,404
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,388
On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Still the Best
- By Lisa on 01-10-06
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The Talented Mr. Ripley
- By: Patricia Highsmith
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,734
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,302
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 3,305
In this first novel, we are introduced to suave, handsome Tom Ripley: a young striver, newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan in the 1950s. A product of a broken home, branded a "sissy" by his dismissive Aunt Dottie, Ripley becomes enamored of the moneyed world of his new friend, Dickie Greenleaf. This fondness turns obsessive when Ripley is sent to Italy to bring back his libertine pal, but he grows enraged by Dickie's ambivalent feelings for Marge, a charming American dilettante.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Patricia, Phil, and Pathology
- By Mel on 04-24-13
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A Game of Thrones
- A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1
- By: George R.R. Martin
- Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
- Length: 33 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 146,160
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126,950
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 126,700
Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King's Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert's name. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse - unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season. Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances....
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4 out of 5 stars
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Terrible editing, though...
- By Kristie on 05-09-13
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The Collected Stories of Winnie-the-Pooh
- By: A. A. Milne
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry, Judi Dench, Michael Williams, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,175
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 982
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 982
The Bear of Very Little Brain and his friends from the Hundred-Acre Wood have delighted generations of children since Winnie-the-Pooh was first published in 1926. This anniversary edition of Winnie-the-Pooh is the perfect way to celebrate the enduring popularity of A. A. Milne's classic work. Three cheers for Pooh!
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5 out of 5 stars
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Not a book for children, but all sentient beings.
- By John Campbell on 09-18-15
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A Prayer for Owen Meany
- By: John Irving
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 27 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10,760
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8,948
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,937
Of all of John Irving's books, this is the one that lends itself best to audio. In print, Owen Meany's dialogue is set in capital letters; for this production, Irving himself selected Joe Barrett to deliver Meany's difficult voice as intended. In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys – best friends – are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul ball is extraordinary and terrifying.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding
- By Alan on 03-28-11