The Art & Literature category has 653 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.7★ across 1,594 ratings. The most-rated is Inheritance.
A Russian Journal
Summary
Steinbeck and Capa's account of their journey through Cold War Russia is a classic piece of reportage and travel writing. Just after the Iron Curtain fell on Eastern Europe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Steinbeck and acclaimed war photographer Robert Capa ventured into the Soviet Union to report for the New York Herald Tribune. This rare opportunity took the famous travelers not only to Moscow and Stalingrad - now Volgograd - but through the countryside of the Ukraine and the Caucasus. Hailed by the New York Times as "superb" when it first appeared in 1948, A Russian Journal is the distillation of their journey and remains a remarkable memoir and unique historical document. What they saw and movingly recorded in words and on film was what Steinbeck called "the great other side there... the private life of the Russian people." Unlike other Western reporting about Russia at the time, A Russian Journal is free of ideological obsessions. Rather, Steinbeck and Capa recorded the grim realities of factory workers, government clerks, and peasants, as they emerged from the rubble of World War II - represented here in Capa's stirring photographs alongside Steinbeck's masterful prose. Through it all, we are given intimate glimpses of two artists at the height of their powers, answering their need to document human struggle. This edition features an introduction by Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw.
©1948 John Steinbeck (P)2014 Penguin Audio
Chanel's Riviera
Summary
Far from worrying about the onset of war, in the spring of 1938 the burning question on the French Riviera was whether one should curtsy to the Duchess of Windsor. Few of those who had settled there thought much about what was going on in the rest of Europe. It was a golden, glamorous life, far removed from politics or conflict.
Featuring a sparkling cast of artists, writers and historical figures including Winston Churchill, Daisy Fellowes, Salvador Dalí, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Eileen Gray and Edith Wharton, with the enigmatic Coco Chanel at its heart, Chanel's Riviera is a captivating account of a period that saw some of the deepest extremes of luxury and terror in the whole of the 20th century.
From Chanel's first summer at her Roquebrune villa La Pausa (in the later years with her German lover) amid the glamour of the prewar parties and casinos in Antibes, Nice and Cannes to the horrors of evacuation and the displacement of thousands of families during the Second World War, Chanel's Riviera explores the fascinating world of the Cote d'Azur elite in the 1930s and 1940s.
Enriched with much original research, it is social history that brings the lives of both rich and poor, protected and persecuted, to vivid life.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our desktop site.
©2019 Anne de Courcy (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group
I Have Something to Tell You
Summary
On the eve of Christmas and a proposal, Natalie Appleton discovers she doesn't want to settle for sevens and starts over. So, she abandons everything in Alberta for Bangkok. Along the way, with startling illumination, honesty, and humor, Natalie unpacks the past that caused her to flee: cheating hearts, small-town suffocation, a tattered family, and a genetic disposition to madness. In Bangkok, Natalie kills an albino gecko, crawls into bed with a lamp seller, and nearly calls off her quest when she's almost attacked by a leather vendor. And then, at a grimy guesthouse one year after arriving in Thailand, everything changes. I Have Something to Tell You is a lyrical, vulnerable exploration of the meaning of love, family, home, and the magic of the universe. It's also a captivating window into two equally exotic worlds - the oil-patch-laden prairies and the resplendent Thailand. This is a story for anyone who remembers feeling lost in their 20s, for anyone who has been afraid to leave - a crummy partner or town or job - and for anyone who has ever wondered, "What if?"
©2018 Natalie Appleton (P)2019 Natalie Appleton
Giovanna Fletcher
Summary
Author, actress, blogger and vlogger Giovanna Fletcher joins Robin Morgan in the Audible Studios to discuss her first nonfiction book, Happy Mum, Happy Baby.
©2017 Audible Studios (P)2017 Audible Studios
The Lives of the Artists
Summary
An Italian Mannerist architect and painter, Giorgio Vasari was acquainted with many of the most famous artists of his day. He is best-known today for his biographies of artists including Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian and Giotto. This recording is read with clarity and authority by Neville Jason.
©2008 Naxos Audiobooks (P)2008 Naxos Audiobooks
Jane Asher
Summary
Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about playing the role of Mrs Hubbard in Murder on the Orient Express is lauded British actress Jane Asher. A key figure of the 1960s, Asher has worked extensively across TV, film and stage throughout her career, starting from childhood. Her most notable roles include Annie in Alfie, Angel Samson in the 2001 revival of Crossroads and Celia Ryder in the 1981 television version of Brideshead Revisited. Aside from acting, Asher is an accomplished entrepreneur, having published dozens of cake books and set up the Jane Asher Party Cakes shop in Chelsea. Here Asher talks to us about her lifelong acting career, how she prepares for her roles and what we can expect from her take on Mrs Hubbard.
©2018 Audible Ltd (P)2018 Audible Ltd
Pippa Malmgren
Summary
Pippa Malmgren is a market economist, high-tech entrepreneur, and former presidential advisor. She has launched a video series called Fifty Shades of Economics which explores economics in an accessible way, and is the author of the new book Signals; The Breakdown of the Social Contract and the Rise of Geopolitics, which she discusses in this exclusive Audible Sessions interview.
©2016 Audible Ltd. (P)2016 Audible Ltd.
The Seven Good Years
Summary
A brilliant, life-affirming, and hilarious memoir from a "genius" (The New York Times) and master storyteller. The seven years between the birth of Etgar Keret's son and the death of his father were good years, though still full of reasons to worry. Lev is born in the midst of a terrorist attack. Etgar's father gets cancer. The threat of constant war looms over their home and permeates daily life. What emerges from this dark reality is a series of sublimely absurd ruminations on everything from Etgar's three-year-old son's impending military service to the terrorist mind-set behind Angry Birds. There's Lev's insistence that he is a cat, releasing him from any human responsibilities or rules. Etgar's siblings, all very different people who have chosen radically divergent paths in life, come together after his father's shivah to experience the grief and love that tie a family together forever. This wise, witty memoir - Etgar's first nonfiction book published in America, and told in his inimitable style - is full of wonder and life and love, poignant insights, and irrepressible humor.
©2015 Etgar Keret (P)2015 Penguin Audio
Giovanna Fletcher - November 2017
Summary
Joining us in the Audible Studios for the second time to discuss her fifth novel, Some Kind of Wonderful, is the talented author, presenter, blogger and columnist Giovanna Fletcher. With a biography that includes screen actress, accomplished author, presenter, blogger and vlogger, Giovanna’s talents are widespread as she publishes her next romantic fiction novel, which follows on from her Sunday Times best-selling title Happy Mum, Happy Baby. Adding YouTube star and columnist for Hello! magazine online to her list of achievements, Giovanna manages to navigate her illustrious career with being a mum of two and wife to McFly band member Tom Fletcher, with no signs of slowing down. Giovanna talks to us about her latest novel, her own inspirations within romantic fiction and what she’s been up to since we last spoke to her earlier this year.
©2018 Audible Ltd (P)2018 Audible Ltd
Rory Sutherland
Summary
Joining us at Audible Studios is British advertising executive Rory Sutherland, whose TED talks have been viewed nearly seven million times. He has recently released his book Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense. In many areas of our lives, reason plays an infinitesimal part. We are driven by unconscious desires. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd, such as tiny bottles of fragrance. If you want to influence people's choices, you have to bypass reason. The best ideas make you feel more than they make you think, and the best ideas are irrational. We spoke to Rory about the difference between perception and reality, why you shouldn’t design things objectively and why King’s Cross has a really long champagne bar.
©2019 Audible Ltd (P)2019 Audible Ltd
Alexandra Heminsley
Summary
Journalist, author and conqueror of fears Alexandra Heminsley joins Robin Morgan in the Audible Studios to discuss the process of writing and narrating her latest book, Leap In.
©2017 Audible Studios (P)2017 Audible Studios
Joanna Cannon
Summary
Joining us at Audible Studios is the author of the Sunday Times best-selling debut novel The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, Joanna Cannon. She has recently released Breaking and Mending, a memoir of her life as a junior doctor. Cannon walks us through the wards, from attending her first postmortem to sitting beside a patient as they passed away. The small acts of kindness and connection that intersperse hospital life taught Cannon that the heartbeat is not the only essential part of a human being - emotional care and mental health are also critical. In Breaking and Mending, the human side of doctors and patients are brought to life, and it illustrates why doctors are in need of so much care. We spoke to Joanna about her experiences as a junior doctor, her life as an author and what her plans are for the future.
©2019 Audible Ltd (P)2019 Audible Ltd
Featherhood
Summary
“I loved every single page.” (Elton John) “The best piece of nature writing since H Is for Hawk.” (Neil Gaiman) ?In this moving, critically acclaimed memoir, a young man saves a baby magpie as his estranged father is dying, only to find that caring for the mischievous bird saves him. One spring day, a baby magpie falls out of its nest and into Charlie Gilmour’s hands. Magpies, he soon discovers, are as clever and mischievous as monkeys. They are also notorious thieves, and this one quickly steals his heart. By the time the creature develops shiny black feathers that inspire the name Benzene, Charlie and the bird have forged an unbreakable bond. While caring for Benzene, Charlie learns his biological father, an eccentric British poet named Heathcote Williams who vanished when Charlie was six months old, is ill. As he grapples with Heathcote’s abandonment, Charlie comes across one of his poems, in which Heathcote describes how an impish young jackdaw fell from its nest and captured his affection. Over time, Benzene helps Charlie unravel his fears about repeating the past — and embrace the role of father himself. A bird falls, a father dies, a child is born. Featherhood is the unforgettable story of a love affair between a man and a bird. It is also a beautiful and affecting memoir about childhood and parenthood, captivity and freedom, grief and love.
©2021 Charlie Gilmour. All Heathcote Williams’s unpublished writings reproduced by permission of the Estate of Heathcote Williams. © Heathcote Williams 2020. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Orion Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Rachel Clarke
Summary
Doctor, journalist and author Rachel Clarke joins Audible Studios to discuss her semiautobiographical audiobook, Your Life in My Hands. A poignant and honest depiction of the daily challenges faced by junior doctors on the NHS front line, the audiobook has been praised and applauded by the likes of Jon Snow, Alastair Campbell and Professor Neena Modi. In this interview, Rachel addresses the difficult working conditions she’s had to endure as an NHS doctor, the overcrowding and underfunding of the institution she dedicates her life to and her hopes for a future in which the National Health Service stands strong once again.
©2018 Audible Ltd (P)2018 Audible Ltd
Kate Rhodes
Summary
Kate Rhodes is a self-professed crime novel enthusiast who loves nothing better than a free afternoon accompanied by a rousing novel from the classical and contemporary crime genres. Her own crime novels feature a forensic psychologist called Alice Quentin who finds herself caught up in a succession of gruesome murders. The latest in the Alice Quentin series is A Killing of Angels. She joins Robin Morgan in the Audible Studios to discuss her crime novels, her writing process, and the books that have inspired her writing.
©2016 Audible Ltd (P)2016 Audible Ltd
Daniel Todman
Summary
Dr Daniel Todman is a senior lecturer in history at Queen Mary University in London. He has particular interest in the social, military and cultural history of Britain. He discusses the first in an ambitious 2-volume work on Britain's role in the Second World War in Britain's War: Volume 1, Into Battle, 1937-1941.
©2016 Audible Ltd (P)2016 Audible Ltd
Deborah Frances-White
Summary
Joining us in the Audible Studios to talk about her book The Guilty Feminist is writer and comedian Deborah Frances-White. Creator of the hit BBC Radio 4 show Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice and host of the podcasts The Guilty Feminist and Global Pillage, Deborah packs a busy schedule along with her seminar work talking about charisma, diversity and inclusion. Her latest book is The Guilty Feminist, a frank and funny look at modern feminism. Deborah Frances-White talks to us about the formation of her well-loved Guilty Feminist podcast, we speak about getting to know refugees and she shares what she hopes listeners will take away from the book.
©2018 Audible Ltd (P)2018 Audible Ltd
Ben Ryan
Summary
Joining us in the Audible Studios is former England and Fiji sevens coach Ben Ryan to discuss his latest book, Sevens Heaven. Ben Ryan is best known for coaching the Fiji sevens team to two Sevens World Series titles and a gold medal in sevens rugby at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Guiding the Fiji sevens team to historic achievements and setting the highest ever record of tournament titles won by a sevens coach, Ryan is arguable the most successful men’s rugby coach in the world. His latest book, Sevens Heaven, was published in May 2018. Ben Ryan talks to us about his book, the most noteworthy moments throughout his respected career and how it feels to be revered in Fiji.
©2018 Audible Ltd (P)2018 Audible Ltd
I'll Tell You in Person
Summary
Flailing in jobs, failing at love, getting addicted and un-addicted to people, food, and drugs - I'll Tell You in Person is a disarmingly frank account of attempts at adulthood and all the less than perfect ways we get there. Chloe Caldwell has an unsparing knack for looking within and reporting back what's really there, rather than what she'd like you to see.
©2016 Chloe Caldwell (P)2017 Tantor
As Consciousness Is Harnessed to Flesh
Summary
This, the second of three volumes of Susan Sontag’s journals and notebooks, begins where the first volume left off, in the middle of the 1960s. It traces and documents Sontag’s evolution from fledgling participant in the artistic and intellectual world of New York City to world-renowned critic and dominant force in the world of ideas with the publication of the groundbreaking Against Interpretation in 1966. As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh follows Sontag through the turbulent years of the 1960s—from her trip to Hanoi at the peak of the Vietnam War to her time making films in Sweden—up to 1981 and the beginning of the Reagan era. This is an invaluable record of the inner workings of one of the most inquisitive and analytical thinkers of the twentieth century at the height of her power. It is also a remarkable document of one individual’s political and moral awakening.
©2012 David Rieff (P)2013 Audible, Inc.