The World Literature category has 530 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 7,472 ratings. The most-rated is Indian Horse.
The Best of Me
Summary
In this New York Times best-selling novel of first love and second chances, former high school sweethearts confront the painful truths of their past to build a promising future - together. "Everyone wanted to believe that endless love was possible. She'd believed in it once, too, back when she was 18." In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in their small town in North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths. Now, 25 years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back home for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined...and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew - about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear - was not as it seemed. Forced to confront painful memories, the former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?
©2011 Nicholas Sparks (P)2011 Hachette
A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses
Summary
Nola Leary would have been content to stay in Kilcairy, Ireland, healing villagers at her family’s clinic with a mix of magic and modern medicine. But a series of ill-timed omens and a deathbed promise to her grandmother have sent her on a quest to Half-Moon Hollow, Kentucky, to secure her family’s magical potency for the next generation. Her supernatural task? To unearth four artifacts hidden by her grandfather before a rival magical family beats her to it. Complication One: The artifacts are lost somewhere in vampire Jane Jameson’s occult bookshop. Complication Two: Her new neighbor, Jed Trudeau, keeps turning up half-naked at the strangest times, a distraction Nola doesn’t need. And teaming up with a real-life Adonis is as dangerous as it sounds, especially since Jed’s got the face of an angel and the abs of a washboard. Can Nola complete her mission before falling completely under his spell?
©2013 Molly Harper White (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
The Water Keeper
Summary
A riveting new story of heroism, heartache, and the power of love to heal all wounds. Murphy Shepherd is a man with many secrets. He lives alone on an island, tending the grounds of a church with no parishioners, and he’s dedicated his life to rescuing those in peril. But as he mourns the loss of his mentor and friend, Murph himself may be more lost than he realizes. When he pulls a beautiful woman named Summer out of Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway, Murph’s mission to lay his mentor to rest at the end of the world takes a dangerous turn. Drawn to Summer, and desperate to find her missing daughter, Murph is pulled deeper and deeper into the dark and dangerous world of modern-day slavery. With help from some unexpected new friends, including a faithful Labrador he plucks from the ocean and an ex-convict named Clay, Murph must race against the clock to locate the girl before he is consumed by the secrets of his past - and the ghosts who tried to bury them. With Charles Martin’s trademark lyricism and poignant prose, The Water Keeper is at once a tender love story and a heartrending search for freedom. "I’m telling you, it’s an action-packed, classic Charles Martin romance novel unlike anything I’ve ever read. And remember...the day you pick up this book is the day you become temporarily unavailable to the world." (Charlie Martin, son of Charles Martin) "Charles Martin fans rejoice, because he’s done it again...a multilayered story woven together with grace and redemption, and packed tight with tension and achingly real characters." (Lauren Denton, USA Today best-selling author of The Hideaway) "In The Water Keeper Charles Martin crafts a compelling story with skill and sensitivity. Open the pages of this book and you’ll enter the world of characters caught up in a real-life drama that grips the heart. As with all of Charles’s books you never finish it - you continue to live there in your own imagination. Current fans won’t be disappointed; new readers will understand why Charles Martin is on the short list of contemporary authors I recommend above all others." (Robert Whitlow, best-selling author) The first story in a new series from Charles Martin. Full-length novel (c. 110,000 words). Also by Charles Martin: The Mountain Between Us, Send Down the Rain, Long Way Gone, When Crickets Cry.
©2020 Charles Martin (P)2020 Thomas Nelson
Dream Wheels
Summary
Rodeo cowboy Joe Willie Wolfchild, riding an explosive bull called See Four and moments away from becoming World Champion, suffers a devastating accident. His parents and grandparents use all their native wisdom to ease him out of his subsequent bitter depression, but without success. Meanwhile, in a distant city, a troubled young kid named Aiden plans a holdup that goes wrong and lands himself in jail. When he emerges, a sympathetic police officer arranges a job at a ranch, where his mother Claire will accompany him in an attempt to restore their relationship. It is the Wolfchild ranch. Supported by the ferocious strength and native spirituality of the Wolfchild women, Joe Willie and Aiden fight through painful transformations, and their physical and mental rehabilitations are mirrored in the age-worn chrome of an ancient pickup truck they restore together. As the two men first clash and then come together in a friendship that helps each overcome the challenge of reentering a world that's forever changed, Claire's eyes are opened to a life she has never hoped for and opens her heart to a love she still can't convince herself she deserves. Written with lyric intensity and a great respect for native teachings, Dream Wheels announces the presence of a major new literary talent, sure to take his rightful place alongside writers like Cormac McCarthy and Jim Harrison as a gifted chronicler of the modern West.
©2006 Richard Wagamese (P)2016 Recorded Books
Kukum
Summary
"C'est un de ces soirs où je trayais les vaches dans la lumière du soleil couchant que je l'ai vu pour la première fois. Un canot est apparu, descendant en silence la rivière. Un homme torse nu, à la peau cuivrée, ramait sans se presser, se laissant pousser par le courant. Il paraissait à peine plus âgé que moi. Nos regards se sont croisés. Il n'a pas souri. Et je n'ai pas eu peur." Ce roman raconte l'histoire d'Almanda Siméon, une orpheline amoureuse qui va partager la vie des Innus de Pekuakami. Elle apprendra l'existence nomade et la langue, et brisera les barrières imposées aux femmes autochtones. Relaté sur un ton intimiste, le parcours de cette femme exprime l'attachement aux valeurs ancestrales des Innus et le besoin de liberté qu'éprouvent les peuples nomades, encore aujourd'hui.
©2019 Éditions Libre expression (P)2020 Vues et Voix
Petit pays suivi d'un entretien avec l'auteur
Summary
À propos de ce titre Prix Goncourt des Lycéens 2016, Prix du premier roman FNAC 2016. "Au temps d'avant, avant tout ça, avant ce que je vais raconter et le reste, c'était le bonheur, la vie sans se l'expliquer. Si l'on me demandait 'Comment ça va ?' je répondais toujours 'Ça va !'. Du tac au tac. Le bonheur, ça t'évite de réfléchir. C'est par la suite que je me suis mis à considérer la question." - G. F. Avant, Gabriel faisait les quatre cents coups avec ses copains dans leur coin de paradis. Et puis l'harmonie familiale s'est disloquée en même temps que son "petit pays", le Burundi, ce bout d'Afrique centrale brutalement malmené par l'Histoire. Plus tard, Gabriel fait revivre un monde à jamais perdu. Les battements de cœur et les souffles coupés, les pensées profondes et les rires déployés, le parfum de citronnelle, les termites les jours d'orage, les jacarandas en fleur... L'enfance, son infinie douceur, ses douleurs qui ne nous quittent jamais. Gaël Faye : "J'ai écrit ce roman pour crier à l'univers que nous avons existé, avec nos vies simples, notre train-train, notre ennui, que nous avions des bonheurs qui ne cherchaient qu'à le rester avant d'être expédiés aux quatre coins du monde et de devenir une bande d'exilés, de réfugiés, d'immigrés, de migrants."
©2016 Éditions Grasset & Fasquelle (P)2016 Audiolib
Five Little Indians
Summary
Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention. Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them. The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission. Fuelled by rage and furious with God, Clara finds her way into the dangerous, highly charged world of the American Indian Movement. Maisie internalizes her pain and continually places herself in dangerous situations. Famous for his daring escapes from the school, Kenny can’t stop running and moves restlessly from job to job - through fishing grounds, orchards, and logging camps - trying to outrun his memories and his addiction. Lucy finds peace in motherhood and nurtures a secret compulsive disorder as she waits for Kenny to return to the life they once hoped to share together. After almost beating one of his tormentors to death, Howie serves time in prison, then tries once again to re-enter society and begin life anew. With compassion and insight, Five Little Indians chronicles the desperate quest of these residential school survivors to come to terms with their past and, ultimately, find a way forward.
©2020 Michelle Good (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?
Summary
Following his two New York Times best sellers, Brain Droppings and Napalm & Silly Putty, comes George Carlin's third audiobook, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, a riotous journey through the mind of one of America's premiere comic observers. Ranging from his absurdist side (Message from a Cockroach; TV News: The Death of Humpty Dumpty; Tips for Serial Killers) to his unerring ear for American speech (Politician Talk; Societal Cliches; 13 Sections of Euphemisms) to his unsparing views on America and its values (War, God, Stuff Like That; Zero Tolerance; Tired of the Handi-crap), Carlin's legendary irreverence and iconoclasm are on full display as he vainly scours the American landscape for signs of intelligence. He also has a silly side: You know what kind of guy you never see anymore? A fop. A good motto to live by: "Always try not to get killed." I've never seen a homeless guy with a bottle of Gatorade. A lot of gay men stay in the closet because they're interested in fashion. I have an impersonal trainer. We meet at the gym, we don't talk, he works out alone, and I go home. Here's something you can't do by yourself: practice shaking hands. When it comes to God's existence, I'm not an atheist and I'm not an agnostic. I'm an acrostic. The whole thing puzzles me. Good news for senior citizens: Death is near! O.J. Simpson has already received the ultimate punishment: For the rest of his life he has to associate with golfers.
©2004 Comedy Concepts, Inc. (P)2004 Hyperion
Sea of Sand
Summary
He was born anew in a world where martial arts were indistinguishable from magic. He only received a neuronet and meaningless desires from his past life. What lies ahead? He dreamed of adventure and freedom, but those dreams were taken away from him. The same way his mother, father, and sister had been taken away. They took the kingdom, they took his own destiny. But he is willing to wage a war, against the whole world if need be, to bring everything back. Even if the army opposes him, his sword won't waver. Even if the emperor sends the legions, his step won't falter. Even if demons and gods, heroes and enemies alike are to unite against him, he won't bend to their will. His own will is iron itself, unstoppable. His name is Hadjar, and he heeds the call of the dragon heart within him.
©2019 Kirill Klevanski (P)2020 Tantor
Black Sun
Summary
From the New York Times best-selling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn comes the first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic. A god will return When the earth and sky converge Under the black sun In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain. Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created an epic adventure exploring the decadence of power amid the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in the most original series debut of the decade. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Rebecca Roanhorse. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Burning God
Summary
The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang's acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of 20th-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect. After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead. Despite her losses, Rin hasn't given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much - the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges - and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation. Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix's intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?
©2020 R. F. Kuang (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
Your Dad Stole My Rake
Summary
This program is read by the author. It’s hard being a person, especially in a family, and no one knows that better than stand-up comedian, family man, and Live from Here head writer and performer, Tom Papa. How do you deal with a life filled with a whole host of characters and their bizarre, inescapable behavior? Especially when you’re related to them? Tom Papa is here to help you make sense of it all. Your Dad Stole My Rake is a hilarious and warm audiobook that saws deep into every branch of the family tree and uncovers the most bizarre and surprisingly meaningful aspects of our lives. He exposes everyone, from crazy aunts with mustaches, grandparents who communicate by yelling, and uncles who use marijuana as a condiment. Among the topics covered: Tiger Mom v. Ice-Cream Mom Stop Trying to Be Cool In Defense of Family Vacations No Fighting Before Coffee Least Popular Baby Names Wife Lie Detector Your Cat Thinks You’re Too Needy Anyone who has a family, grew up in a family, or has spent time with another human being will love this audiobook.
©2018 Tom Papa (P)2018 Macmillan Audio
Scion of Ikshvaku
Summary
Ram Rajya. The Perfect Land. But perfection has a price. He paid that price. 3400 BCE. India. Ayodhya is weakened by divisions. A terrible war has taken its toll. The damage runs deep. The demon King of Lanka, Raavan, does not impose his rule on the defeated. He instead imposes his trade. Money is sucked out of the empire. The Sapt Sindhu people descend into poverty, despondency and corruption. They cry for a leader to lead them out of the morass. Little do they appreciate that the leader is among them. One whom they know. A tortured and ostracised prince. A prince they tried to break. A prince called Ram. He loves his country, even when his countrymen torment him. He stands alone for the law. His band of brothers, his Sita, and he against the darkness of chaos. Will Ram rise above the taint that others heap on him? Will his love for Sita sustain him through his struggle? Will he defeat the demon Lord Raavan who destroyed his childhood? Will he fulfil the destiny of the Vishnu? Begin an epic journey with Amish's latest: the Ram Chandra Series.
©2015 Amish Tripathi (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
The Dao of Magic, Book II
Summary
Full pirate mode. Dungeons to explore. A quest to gather the eight skulls! Drew has finally got it all together. First, there is his pocket dimension, a quickly growing area based around his good buddy, Tree. Then there are his students, six random kids he...liberated. Finally, there is the dragon stalking him. Cultivating, sailing, staying ahead of trouble. That’s his plan as he moves into the creation of his solid Core. Seducing a dragon was a total accident. Nuking an Island? Let’s not focus on the details. They started it. What’s the best thing to do while getting his magical career and development back on track? Play pirate, of course!
©2019 Andries Louws (P)2019 Podium Publishing
The History of Love
Summary
Nicole Krauss' first novel, Man Walks Into a Room, was shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Book Award and her short fiction has been collected in Best American Short Stories. Now The History of Love proves Krauss is among our finest and freshest literary voices. It has been decades since Leo Gursky first surrendered his heart, then wrote a book about it, at the tender age of 10, and he's been in love with the same person ever since. Leo believes his book is lost to time, but what he doesn't know is, not only has it survived 60 years without him, it has also been an inspiration to others. Fourteen-year-old Alma was even named for a character from the book. When she realizes how deeply the story touched her lonely mother, she embarks on a search for answers. The History of Love is an imaginative tale of love and loss that is at once funny, mysterious, and deeply passionate.
©2005 Nicole Krauss (P)2005 Recorded Books, LLC
Lost Children Archive
Summary
"Impossibly smart, full of beauty, heart and insight.... Everyone should read this book." (Tommy Orange) From the two-time NBCC finalist, an emotionally resonant, fiercely imaginative new novel about a family whose road trip across America collides with an immigration crisis at the Southwestern border - an indelible journey told with breathtaking imagery, spare lyricism, and profound humanity. A mother and father set out with their two children, a boy and a girl, driving from New York to Arizona in the heat of summer. Their destination: Apacheria, the place the Apaches once called home. Why Apaches? asks the 10-year-old son. Because they were the last of something,answers his father. In their car, they play games and sing along to music. But on the radio, there is news about an "immigration crisis": thousands of kids trying to cross the Southwestern border into the US but getting detained - or lost in the desert along the way. As the family drives - through Virginia to Tennessee, across Oklahoma and Texas - we sense they are on the brink of a crisis of their own. A fissure is growing between the parents, one the children can almost feel beneath their feet. They are led, inexorably, to a grand, harrowing adventure - both in the desert landscape and within the chambers of their own imaginations. Told through several compelling voices, blending texts, sounds, and images, Lost Children Archive is an astonishing feat of literary virtuosity. It is a richly engaging story of how we document our experiences and how we remember the things that matter to us the most. With urgency and empathy, it takes us deep into the lives of one remarkable family as it probes the nature of justice and equality today. Includes a PDF of visuals from the book. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Valeria Luiselli (P)2019 Random House Audio
Send Down the Rain
Summary
New York Times best-selling author Charles Martin offers us “grace, mercy, and forgiveness in this sweeping love story" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Allie is still recovering from the loss of her family's beloved waterfront restaurant on Florida's Gulf Coast when she loses her second husband to a terrifying highway accident. Devastated and losing hope, she shudders to contemplate the future - until a cherished person from her past returns. Joseph has been adrift for many years, wounded in both body and spirit and unable to come to terms with the trauma of his Vietnam War experiences. Just as he resolves to abandon his search for peace and live alone at a remote cabin in the Carolina mountains, he discovers a mother and her two small children lost in the forest. A man of character and strength, he instinctively steps in to help them get back to their home in Florida. There he will return to his own hometown - and witness the accident that launches a bittersweet reunion with his childhood sweetheart, Allie. When Joseph offers to help Allie rebuild her restaurant, it seems the flame may reignite - until a 45-year-old secret from the past begins to emerge, threatening to destroy all hope for their second chance at love. In Send Down the Rain, Charles Martin proves himself to be a storyteller of great wisdom and compassion who bears witness to the dreams we cherish, the struggles we face, and the courage we must summon when life seems to threaten what we hold most dear. “Charles Martin understands the power of story and he uses it to alter the souls and lives of both his characters and his readers.” (Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times best-selling author) Full-length, stand-alone novel Includes discussion questions for book clubs From the author of The Mountain Between Us and Where the River Ends
©2018 Charles Martin (P)2018 Thomas Nelson
Sita: Warrior of Mithila
Summary
Combining mystery and mythology, this epic fantasy is a global best seller with over 300,000 copies sold. India, 3400 BCE. The ancient kingdom of Mithila is divided by corruption, resentment, and poverty. An abandoned baby is found in a field protected by a vulture from a pack of wolves. Soon adopted by the rulers of the land, she is named Sita, and raised as a princess and beloved daughter. But the neglected kingdom of Mithila continues to face dangerous political troubles due to its selfish, apathetic king. In a bid to stabilize affairs, Sita's mother, Queen Sunaina, sends the spirited young princess away to a gurukul to complete her education. Under the guidance of her guru she discovers her true destiny: to become a warrior who will defend Dharma. A Goddess who will protect her people until the end of time.
©2017 Amish Tripathi (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
Last Tang Standing
Summary
Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones's Diary in this funny and irresistible debut novel about the pursuit of happiness, surviving one's 30s intact, and opening oneself up to love. At 33, Andrea Tang is living the dream: She has a successful career as a lawyer, a posh condo, and a clutch of fun-loving friends who are always in the know about Singapore's hottest clubs. All she has to do is make law partner, and her life will be perfect. And if she's about to become the lone unmarried member of her generation in the Tang clan - a disappointment her meddling Chinese Malaysian family won't let her forget - well, she doesn't need a man to complete her. Yet when a chance encounter with charming, wealthy entrepreneur Eric Deng offers her a glimpse of an exciting, limitless future, Andrea decides to give Mr. Right-for-her-family a chance. Too bad Suresh Aditparan, her office rival and the last man her family would approve of, keeps throwing a wrench in her plans. Now, Andrea can't help but wonder: In the endless tug-of-war between pleasing others and pleasing herself, is there room for everyone to win?
©2020 Lauren Ho (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Interior Chinatown
Summary
A 2020 National Book Award Winner "One of the funniest books of the year...a delicious, ambitious Hollywood satire." (The Washington Post) From the infinitely inventive author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe comes a deeply personal novel about race, pop culture, immigration, assimilation, and escaping the roles we are forced to play. Willis Wu doesn’t perceive himself as a protagonist even in his own life: He’s merely Generic Asian man. Sometimes he gets to be Background Oriental Making a Weird Face or even Disgraced Son, but he is always relegated to a prop. Yet every day he leaves his tiny room in a Chinatown SRO and enters the Golden Palace restaurant, where Black and White, a procedural cop show, is in perpetual production. He’s a bit player here, too, but he dreams of being Kung Fu Guy - the most respected role that anyone who looks like him can attain. At least that’s what he has been told, time and time again. Except by one person, his mother. Who says to him: Be more. Playful but heartfelt, a send-up of Hollywood tropes and Asian stereotypes, Interior Chinatown is Charles Yu’s most moving, daring, and masterly novel yet. "Fresh and beautiful...Interior Chinatown represents yet another stellar destination in the journey of a sui generis author of seemingly limitless skill and ambition." (The New York Times Book Review)
©2020 Charles Yu (P)2020 Random House Audio