Ben Allen has narrated 22 audiobooks on Listento.it by 22 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.3★ across 1,094 ratings. The most-rated is David and Goliath.
David and Goliath
Summary
Audie Award Winner, Non-Fiction, 2014 Malcolm Gladwell, the number-one best-selling author of The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw, offers his most provocative - and dazzling - book yet. Three thousand years ago, on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then the names of David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David's victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn't have won. Or should he have? In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks. Gladwell begins with the real story of what happened between the giant and the shepherd boy those many years ago. From there, David and Goliath examines Northern Ireland's Troubles, the minds of cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms - all to demonstrate how much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity. In the tradition of Gladwell's previous best sellers, David and Goliath draws upon history, psychology, and powerful storytelling to reshape the way we think about the world around us. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2013 Malcolm Gladwell (P)2013 Hachette Audio
Empire in Black and Gold
Summary
Empire in Black and Gold is the first novel in Adrian Tchaikovsky's critically acclaimed epic fantasy series The Shadows of the Apt. The days of peace are over.... The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace and prosperity for decades: bastions of civilisation and sophistication. That peace is about to end. In far-off corners, an ancient Empire has been conquering city after city with its highly trained armies and sophisticated warmaking.... And now it's set its sights on a new prize. Only the ageing Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see the threat. It falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people - as soon a tide will sweep down over the Lowlands and burn away everything in its path. But first he must stop himself from becoming the Empire's latest victim. Empire in Black and Gold is followed by the second book in the Shadows of the Apt series, Dragonfly Falling.
©2020 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2020 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd
Attack of the Bayport Beast
Summary
A twig cracked. I snapped my head to the side, following the direction of the sound, and peered through the greenery. There was nothing there. As I began to turn back around, I caught the slightest motion out of the corner of my eye. Peeking out between clumps of dense vegetation, about 20 feet away, were two eyes. My skin prickled when I realized that they were staring back at me.
©2017 Aladdin (P)2017 Oasis Audio
Tell Me Who I Am
Summary
Now an original Netflix documentary: the best-selling account of the love between brothers and the shocking legacy of a dangerous mother.
Imagine waking up one day to discover that you have forgotten everything about your life. Your only link with the past, your only hope for the future, is your identical twin. Now imagine, years later, discovering that your twin had not told you the whole truth about your childhood, your family, and the forces that had shaped you. Why the secrets? Why the silences? You have no choice but to begin again.
This has been Alex's reality: a world where memories are just the stories people tell you, where fact and fiction are impossible to distinguish. With dogged courage he has spent years hunting for the truth about his hidden past and his remarkable family. His quest to understand his true identity has revealed shocking betrayals and a secret tragedy, extraordinary triumph over crippling adversity and, above all, redemption founded on brotherly love.
Marcus, his twin brother, has sometimes been a reluctant companion on this journey, but for him too it has led to staggering revelations and ultimately the shedding of impossible burdens.
Their story spans continents and eras, from 1950s debutantes and high society in the Home Counties to a remote island in the Pacific and '90s raves. Disturbing, funny, heartbreaking and affirming, Alex and Marcus' determination to rebuild their lives makes us look afresh at how we choose to tell our stories.
©2013 Alex Lewis and Marcus Lewis (P)2013 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Dragonfly Falling
Summary
Dragonfly Falling is the second book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time. Every hero must be tested.... The Wasp Empire’s armies are on the move – and the city of Tark will be first to feel their might. Salma and Totho prepare for battle, alongside their Ant-kinden brethren. And within Tark’s walls, they’ll face a force greater than any Lowlander has ever seen. Stenwold Maker predicted this threat and the Empire's secret service now deems him too dangerous to live. So he’s to be eliminated and his beloved city of Collegium destroyed. For if this centre of learning is lost, it will crush Lowland resistance. As the empire's troops continue their relentless advance, their young emperor pursues another even darker goal. And his success would trigger a reign of blood lasting a thousand years. Dragonfly Falling is followed by the third book in the Shadows of the Apt series, Blood of the Mantis.
©2020 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2020 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd
Klaw of Mork
Summary
The Red Waaagh! has fallen on Alaric Prime, and the mekboys are working on Big Mek Mogrok's cunning and brutal plan - to pull a comet from space with the massive and dangerous 'Klaw of Mork' and bring it down on the heads of the world's human defenders.
©2014 Games Workshop Limited (P)2014 Games Workshop Limited
Salute the Dark
Summary
Salute the Dark is the fourth book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award. As spymaster Stenworld makes a stand in his home city, others must chose where their loyalties lie. All must face the end of days.... Uctebri’s long search for the Shadow Box is finally over. Now the vampiric sorcerer can begin his dark ritual. The Wasp-kinden’s emperor believes this will grant him immortality, but Uctebri has his own plans - for the emperor and the empire. The mighty Wasp armies are on the march. And now war is imminent, spymaster Stenwold can finally separate allies from false friends. For the empire won’t stop until a black and gold flag hangs over Collegium, Stenwold's home city. Tisamon the weaponsmaster could chose to face the Wasp emperor himself with a blade in his hand. But he’d need to abandon friends and family, embracing degradation and loss. Yet is he driven by Mantis-kinden honour or being manipulated by something far more sinister? Salute the Dark is followed by the fifth book in the Shadows of the Apt series, The Scarab Path.
©2021 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2021 Macmillan Publishers International Limited
The Cornish Coast Murder
Summary
The reverend Dodd, vicar of the quiet Cornish village of Boscawen, spends his evenings reading detective stories by the fireside - but heaven forbid that the shadow of any real crime should ever fall across his seaside parish. But the vicar's peace is shattered one stormy night when Julius Tregarthan, an ill-tempered magistrate, is found at his house in Boscawen with a bullet through his head. The local police inspector is baffled by the lack of clues. Suspicion seems to fall on Tregarthan's niece, Ruth - but surely that young woman lacks the motive to shoot her uncle dead in cold blood. Luckily for Inspector Bigswell, the reverend Dodd is on hand.
©2014 Martin Edwards (P)2016 Soundings
Foulsham
Summary
In the aptly named borough of Foulsham, Grandfather Umbitt Iremonger has found a way of making everyday objects assume human shape, and turning real people into objects. Lucy Pennant has been discarded as a clay button, abandoned in the Heaps. Meanwhile, Clod has been turned into a gold coin and is being passed as currency through the town. Everywhere people are searching for Clod, who, it is believed, has the power to bring the mighty Umbitt down.
©2014 Edward Carey (P)2016 W.F. Howes Ltd
Heap House
Summary
The Iremongers are a mean and cruel family, robust and hardworking, living in the Heaps, a vast sea of lost and discarded items. A storm is brewing over Heap House. The Iremongers are growing restless and the whispers are getting louder. When Clod meets Lucy, a girl newly arrived from the city, everything changes. The secrets that bind Heap House together begin to unravel to reveal a dark truth that threatens to destroy Clod's world.
©2013 Edward Carey (P)2016 W.F. Howes Ltd
Blood of the Mantis
Summary
Blood of the Mantis is the third novel in Adrian Tchaikovsky's richly imagined Shadows of the Apt series, following Dragonfly Falling. Stenwold must rally his allies for battle against the Empire, even as it seeks a dangerous artifact of enormous power. A dread ritual casts a deadly shadow.... Achaeos the seer has tracked the stolen Shadow Box to the marsh-town of Jerez, driven by the ghosts of the legendary Darakyon. But he has only days before this magical artifact will be lost to him forever.... Meanwhile, the Empire's dread forces are mustering for their next great offensive. Stenwold and followers have only a short time to gather allies, before the enemy's soldiers march again - conquering everything in their path. If Stenwold cannot hold them back, the hated black and gold flag will fly over every city in the Lowlands before the year's end. And should the Shadow Box fall into the hands of the power-mad emperor, nothing will save the world from his relentless ambition. Blood of the Mantis is followed by Salute the Dark, the fourth book in the Shadows of the Apt series.
©2009 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2021 Macmillan Publishers International Limited
Written in Dead Wax
Summary
He is a record collector and a connoisseur of vinyl, hunting out rare and elusive LPs. His business card describes him as the Vinyl Detective, and some people take this more literally than others. For example, the beautiful, mysterious woman who wants to pay him a large sum of money to find a priceless lost recording on behalf of an extremely wealthy yet shadowy client. And so begins a painful and dangerous odyssey in search of the rarest jazz record of them all....
©2016 Andrew Cartmel (P)2016 W.F. Howes Ltd
We Were on a Break
Summary
Is it a break? Or is it a blip? Liv and Adam are in love. Liv and Adam are supposed to be getting engaged. Until Adam accidently suggests they take a break. And Liv starts thinking.... Friends, family and bystanders all have opinions, and one complication leads to another as Adam and Liv try to muddle through in this hilarious, heartwarming comedy. Are they split up - or are they on a break? What exactly are they allowed to get away with? And, most importantly, what do Liv and Adam really want?
©2016 Lindsey Kelk (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
The Forget-Me-Not Bakery
Summary
From a small town called Port Landon comes a beautiful sweet romance about finding a place to truly call home. Paige Henley has always dreamed of owning a bakery, but her busy life in New York City has never left much room for following her heart. So, when she’s given the chance to move to Port Landon to set up her own bakery, she’s ready to take a leap of faith and make her dreams a reality. When single dad and local veterinarian, Cohen Beckett, enters Paige’s bakery for her grand opening, there’s an undeniable connection, and Paige can’t help but notice an unfamiliar feeling in her chest. But ever since his wife’s tragic death, Cohen has built his own defenses around his heart. The last thing he expects is for a stranger to ignite a spark he thought was lost forever. Yet Paige has a kindness the whole town finds infectious, and soon Cohen realizes that her gourmet cakes aren't the only thing impossible to distance himself from. Will Paige be able to fulfill her dreams and find love in her new home? A heart-warming summer romance perfect for fans of Carolyn Brown, Mary Ellen Taylor and Pamela Kelley!
©2020 Caroline Flynn (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Peaces
Summary
The prize-winning, best-selling author of Gingerbread; Boy, Snow, Bird; and What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours returns with a vivid and inventive new novel about a couple forever changed by an unusual train voyage. When Otto and Xavier Shin declare their love, an aunt gifts them a trip on a sleeper train to mark their new commitment - and to get them out of her house. Setting off with their pet mongoose, Otto and Xavier arrive at their sleepy local train station but quickly deduce that The Lucky Day is no ordinary locomotive. Their trip on this former tea-smuggling train has been curated beyond their wildest imaginations, complete with mysterious and welcoming touches, like ingredients for their favorite breakfast. They seem to be the only people onboard, until Otto discovers a secretive woman who issues a surprising message. As further clues and questions pile up, and the trip upends everything they thought they knew, Otto and Xavier begin to see connections to their own pasts, connections that now bind them together. A spellbinding tale from a star author, Peaces is about what it means to be seen by another person - whether it’s your lover or a stranger on a train - and what happens when things you thought were firmly in the past turn out to be right beside you.
©2021 Helen Oyeyemi (P)2021 Random House Audio
Seal of the Worm
Summary
Seal of the Worm is the 10th and final book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award. An ancient enemy stirs once more.... The Empire stands victorious over its enemies at last. With her chief rival cast into the abyss, Empress Seda now faces the truth of what she has cost the world in order to win the war. The Seal has been shattered and the Worm stirs towards the light for the first time in a thousand years. Already it is striking at the surface, voraciously consuming everything its questing tendrils touch. Faced with destruction, Seda knows that only the most extreme of solutions can lock the Worm back in the dark once again. But if she will go to such appalling lengths to save the world from the Worm, then who will save the world from her? Start the epic journey with Empire in Black and Gold, the first book in the Shadows of the Apt series.
©2021 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2021 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd
War Master's Gate
Summary
War Master's Gate is the ninth book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award. A city makes its last stand.... Relentlessly advancing towards Collegium, the Empire is again seeking to break down the city's walls. The mighty imperial armies have learnt from their failures and Empress Seda will brook no weakness in her soldiers. After all, Stenwold Maker has earned his title and the War Master has strategies to save his city. His aviators rule the skies - but the Wasp Kinden Empire has developed a terrifying new aerial weapon. Yet the campaign may be decided far from marching armies and the noise of battle. In an ancient forest, where Mantis clans pursue their own civil war, the Empress Seda is seeking a lost power of the old world. Cheerwell Maker must stop her, at any cost, but will their rivalry awaken something far deadlier? Something that could make even their clash of nations pale into insignificance.... War Master's Gate is followed by the 10th and final book in the Shadows of the Apt series, Seal of the Worm.
©2021 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2021 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd
The Scarab Path
Summary
The Scarab Path is the fifth book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time. Ancient powers are waking. The war with the Wasp Empire has ended in a bitter stalemate, and Collegium has nothing to show for it but wounded veterans. Cheerwell Maker finds herself broken in ways no doctor can mend, haunted by ghosts of the past. Meanwhile, the powerful Wasp Empress is regaining control over those imperial cities that refused to bow to her. But she draws her power from something more sinister than armies and war machines. Only her consort, the former spymaster Thalric, knows the truth. As assassins seek to end him, he finds his life and his loyalties under threat once again. And in an ancient city beyond the desert, a terrible secret stirs beneath its stones. The Scarab Path is followed by the sixth book in the Shadows of the Apt series, The Sea Watch.
©2020 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2020 Macmillan Digital Audio
Heirs of the Blade
Summary
Heirs of the Blade is the seventh book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award. The greatest foe is the enemy within.... Tynisa is on the run, but she cannot escape the demons of her own mind. Amidst the fragmenting provinces of the Dragonfly Commonweal, her past will at last catch up with her. Her father's ghost is hunting her down. At the same time, the Wasp Empire seeks to conquer the city of Khanaphes, the fallen jewel of the ancient world. Whilst Empress Seda's soldiers seek only conquest and prestige, she sees herself as the heir to all the old powers of history, and has her eyes on a far greater prize. Heirs of the Blade is followed by the eighth book in the Shadows of the Apt series, The Air War.
©2020 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2020 Penguin Audio
The Air War
Summary
The Air War is the eighth book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award. An empress demands her birthright.... All is in turmoil as the world moves towards war. In Solarno, the spies watch each other and ready their knives, while Myna sees the troops muster at its border and emotions run high as it vows never to be enslaved again. In Collegium, the students argue politics, too late to turn the tide. In the heart of the Empire, new pilots have completed their secretive training, generals are being recalled to service and armies are ready to march. Their Empress, the heir to two worlds, intends to claim her birthright. And nothing – either within the Empire or beyond it – will stand in her way. A conflict is coming, the like of which the insect-kinden have never seen. The Air War is followed by the ninth book in the Shadows of the Apt series, War Master's Gate.
©2021 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2021 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd