Kevin R. Free has narrated 118 audiobooks on Listento.it by 107 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.7★ across 3,191 ratings. The most-rated is The Sun Does Shine.
The Sun Does Shine
Summary
Oprah's Book Club Summer 2018 Selection "An amazing and heartwarming story, it restores our faith in the inherent goodness of humanity.” - Archbishop Desmond Tutu This program includes a forward written and read by Bryan Stevenson The Sun Does Shine is an arresting audiobook memoir of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading, written by a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn't commit In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free. But with no money and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution. He spent his first three years on Death Row at Holman State Prison in agonizing silence—full of despair and anger toward all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon—transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates, fifty-four of whom were executed mere feet from his cell. With the help of civil rights attorney and bestselling author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015. With a foreword by Stevenson, The Sun Does Shine is an extraordinary testament to the power of hope sustained through the darkest times. Destined to be a classic memoir of wrongful imprisonment and freedom won, Hinton’s memoir tells his dramatic thirty-year journey and shows how you can take away a man’s freedom, but you can’t take away his imagination, humor, or joy. Please note: Though the audio states there is a PDF to accompany this title, no PDF is currently available from the provider.
©2018 Anthony Ray Hinton, foreword copyright 2018 by Bryan Stevenson (P)2018 Macmillan Audio
All Systems Red
Summary
All Systems Red is the tense first science fiction adventure novella in Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries. For fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. All Systems Red tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans. In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn't a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied 'droid - a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as "Murderbot." Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.
©2017 Martha Wells (P)2017 Recorded Books
The Raven Boys
Summary
"There are only two reasons a nonseer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve," Neeve said. "Either you're his true love... or you killed him." It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them - not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He has it all - family money, good looks, devoted friends - but he's looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore. From Maggie Stiefvater, the best-selling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we've never been before.
©2012 Maggie Stiefvater (P)2012 Scholastic Audio
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
Summary
The Instant New York Times Best Seller Who has the right to change the world forever? How will we live online? How do we find comfort in an increasingly isolated world? The Carls disappeared the same way they appeared, in an instant. While the robots were on Earth, they caused confusion and destruction with only their presence. Part of their maelstrom was the sudden viral fame and untimely death of April May: a young woman who stumbled into the Carls' path, giving them their name, becoming their advocate, and putting herself in the middle of an avalanche of conspiracy theories. Months later, April’s friends are trying to find their footing in a post-Carl world. Andy has picked up April’s mantle of fame, speaking at conferences and online; Maya, ravaged by grief, begins to follow a string of mysteries that she is convinced will lead her to April; and Miranda is contemplating defying her friends’ advice and pursuing a new scientific operation...one that might have repercussions beyond anyone’s comprehension. Just as it is starting to seem like the gang may never learn the real story behind the events that changed their lives forever, a series of clues arrive - mysterious books that seem to predict the future and control the actions of their readers - all of which seems to suggest that April could be very much alive. In the midst of the search for the truth and the search for April is a growing force, something that wants to capture our consciousness and even control our reality. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is the bold and brilliant follow-up to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. It is a fast-paced adventure that is also a biting social commentary, asking hard, urgent questions about the way we live, our freedoms, our future, and how we handle the unknown.
©2020 Hank Green (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
Summary
Benjamin Franklin is the founding father who winks at us - an ambitious urban entrepreneur who rose up the social ladder, from leather-aproned shopkeeper to dining with kings. In best-selling author Walter Isaacson's vivid and witty full-scale biography, we discover why Franklin turns to us from history's stage with eyes that twinkle from behind his new-fangled spectacles. In Benjamin Franklin, Isaacson shows how Franklin defines both his own time and ours. The most interesting thing that Franklin invented, and continually reinvented, was himself. America's first great publicist, he was consciously trying to create a new American archetype. In the process, he carefully crafted his own persona, portrayed it in public, and polished it for posterity. His guiding principle was a "dislike of everything that tended to debase the spirit of the common people". Few of his fellow founders felt this comfort with democracy so fully, and none so intuitively. In this colorful and intimate narrative, Isaacson provides the full sweep of Franklin's amazing life, from his days as a runaway printer to his triumphs as a statesman, scientist, and Founding Father. He chronicles Franklin's tumultuous relationship with his illegitimate son and grandson, his practical marriage, and his flirtations with the ladies of Paris. He also shows how Franklin helped to create the American character and why he has a particular resonance in the 21st century.
©2003 Walter Isaacson (P)2011 Simon & Schuster
Artificial Condition
Summary
The follow-up to the hugely popular science fiction action-adventure All Systems Red Artificial Condition continues The Murderbot Diaries, a science fiction series that tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics. It appeals to fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans. "As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure." It has a dark past - one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself "Murderbot." But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more. Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don't want to know what the "A" stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue. What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks.
©2018 Martha Wells (P)2018 Recorded Books
The Serpent's Shadow: The Kane Chronicles, Book 3
Summary
When young magicians Carter and Sadie Kane learned how to follow the path of the Ancient Egyptian gods, they knew they would have to play an important role in restoring Ma’at (order) to the world. What they didn’t know is how chaotic the world would become. The Chaos snake Apophis is loose and threatening to destroy the Earth in three days’ time. The magicians are divided. The gods are disappearing, and those who remain are weak. Walt, one of Carter and Sadie’s most gifted initiates, is doomed and can already feel his life force ebbing. Zia is too busy babysitting the senile sun god, Ra, to be of much help. What are a couple of teenagers and a handful of young trainees to do? There is possibly one way to stop Apophis, but it is so difficult that it might cost Carter and Sadie their lives, if it even works at all. It involves trusting the ghost of a psychopathic magician not to betray them, or worse, kill them. They’d have to be crazy to try it. Well, call them crazy! With hilarious asides, memorable monsters, and an ever-changing crew of friends and foes, the excitement never lets up in The Serpent’s Shadow, a thoroughly entertaining and satisfying conclusion to the Kane Chronicles.
©2012 Rick Riordan (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Network Effect
Summary
Martha Wells' New York Times and USA Today best-selling Murderbot series exploded onto the scene in 2017, and the world has not been the same, since. Murderbot returns in its highly anticipated, first full-length stand-alone novel, Network Effect. You know that feeling when you’re at work and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you're a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you're Murderbot. Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable AI you’ll listen to this century. I’m usually alone in my head, and that’s where 90-plus percent of my problems are. When Murderbot's human associates (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action. Drastic action it is, then.
©2020 Martha Wells (P)2020 Recorded Books
The Throne of Fire
Summary
Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister, Sadie, have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command; but the devious gods haven't given them time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, a training ground for young magicians. And now their most threatening enemy yet - the Chaos snake, Apophis - is rising. If they don't prevent him from breaking free in a few days' time, the world will end. In other words, it's a typical week for the Kane family. To have any chance of battling the forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god, Ra. But that would be a feat more difficult than any magician has ever accomplished. First they have to search the world for the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is, exactly? Narrated by two different wisecracking voices, featuring a large cast of new and unforgettable characters, and with adventures spanning the globe, this second installment of the Kane Chronicles is nothing short of a thrill ride.
©2011 by Rick Riordan. (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Summary
The Instant New York Times Best Seller Everyone is talking about! An addictive, must-hear mystery with shades of Serial and Making a Murderer about an investigation turned obsession, full of twists and turns and with an ending you'll never expect. Everyone in Fairview knows the story. Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town. But she can't shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer? Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent...and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn't want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger. And don't miss the sequel, Good Girl, Bad Blood! "The perfect nail-biting mystery." (Natasha Preston, number one New York Times best-selling author)
©2019 Holly Jackson (P)2020 Listening Library
Letters from an Astrophysicist
Summary
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has attracted one of the world’s largest online followings with his fascinating, widely accessible insights into science and our universe. Now, Tyson invites us to go behind the scenes of his public fame by unveiling his candid correspondence with people across the globe who have sought him out in search of answers. In this hand-picked collection of 100 letters, Tyson draws upon cosmic perspectives to address a vast array of questions about science, faith, philosophy, life, and of course, Pluto. His succinct, opinionated, passionate, and often funny responses reflect his popularity and standing as a leading educator. Tyson’s 2017 best seller Astrophysics for People in a Hurry offered more than one million readers an insightful and accessible understanding of the universe. Now, revealing Tyson’s most candid and heartfelt writing yet, Letters from an Astrophysicist introduces us to a newly personal dimension of Tyson’s quest to understand our place in the cosmos. The full list of narrators includes Victor Bevine, Gabriel Vaughan, Lauren Fortgang, Neil Hellegers, Kevin Free, Vikas Adam, Nick Sullivan, Gabra Zackman, Allyson Johnson, Brandon Rubin, and Piper Goodeve.
©2019 Neil deGrasse Tyson (P)2019 Audible, Inc.
Rogue Protocol
Summary
The third thrilling book in the increasingly popular Murderbot Diaries, which began with All Systems Red. Sci-fi's favorite antisocial AI is back on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah's SecUnit is. And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good. Martha Wells' Rogue Protocol is the third in the Murderbot Diaries series, starring a humanlike android who keeps getting sucked back into adventure after adventure, though it just wants to be left alone, away from humanity and small talk. Listen to Rogue Protocol and find out why Hugo Award winner Ann Leckie wrote, "I love Murderbot!"
©2018 Martha Wells (P)2018 Recorded Books
Exit Strategy
Summary
The fourth and final part of the Murderbot Diaries series that began with All Systems Red. Murderbot wasn't programmed to care. So its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right? Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah - its former owner (protector? friend?) - submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit. But who's going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue? And what will become of it when it's caught?
©2018 Martha Wells (P)2018 Recorded Books
The Buddha and the Borderline
Summary
Kiera Van Gelder's first suicide attempt at the age of 12 marked the onset of her struggles with drug addiction, depression, post-traumatic stress, self-harm, and chaotic romantic relationships - all of which eventually led to doctors' belated diagnosis of borderline personality disorder 20 years later. The Buddha and the Borderline is a window into this mysterious and debilitating condition, an unblinking portrayal of one woman's fight against the emotional devastation of borderline personality disorder. This haunting, intimate memoir chronicles both the devastating period that led to Kiera's eventual diagnosis and her inspirational recovery through therapy, Buddhist spirituality, and a few online dates gone wrong. Kiera's story sheds light on the private struggle to transform suffering into compassion for herself and others, and is essential listening for all seeking to understand what it truly means to recover and reclaim the desire to live.
©2010 Kiera Van Gelder (P)2017 Post Hypnotic Press Inc.
Ali
Summary
The definitive biography of an American icon, from a New York Times best-selling author with unique access to Ali's inner circle He was the wittiest, the prettiest, the strongest, the bravest, and, of course, the greatest (as he told us over and over again). Muhammad Ali was one of the 20th century's greatest radicals and most compelling figures. At his funeral in 2016, eulogists said Ali had transcended race and united the country, but they got it wrong. Race was the theme of Ali's life. He insisted that America come to grips with a black man who wasn't afraid to speak out or break the rules. He didn't overcome racism. He called it out. "I am America," he once declared. "I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me - black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own. Get used to me." Ali went from being one of the most despised men in the country to one of the most beloved. But until now, he has never been the subject of a complete, unauthorized biography. Jonathan Eig, hailed by Ken Burns as one of America's master storytellers, breaks new ground and radically reshapes our understanding of the slippery figure who was Muhammad Ali. Eig had access to all the key people in Ali's life, including his three surviving wives and his managers. He also had access to thousands of pages of new FBI and Justice Department files as well dozens of hours of newly discovered audiotaped interviews from the 1960s. Jonathan Eig's Ali breaks bold new ground, revealing Ali in the complexity he deserves, shedding important new light on his politics and his neurological condition. Ali is a story about race, about a brutal sport, and about a fascinating man who shook up the world.
©2017 Jonathan Eig (P)2017 Recorded Books
Something Like Summer
Summary
The sexy and sweet coming-of-age romance novel that inspired a movie! The hot Texas nights were lonely for Ben before his heart began beating to the rhythm of two words; Tim Wyman. By all appearances, Tim had the perfect body and ideal life, but when a not-so-accidental collision brings them together, Ben discovers that the truth is rarely so simple. If winning Tim's heart was an impossible quest, keeping it would prove even harder as family, society, and emotion threaten to tear them apart. Something Like Summer is a love story spanning a decade and beyond as two boys discover what it means to be friends, lovers, and sometimes even enemies. Each Something Like... book follows a different gay character on their quest for love. Central to the plot is the troubled relationship between Ben and Tim, high school sweethearts who continue to meet at different stages of their lives, their chemistry changing with each encounter. Surrounding them are a wealth of friends and enemies, each with their own story, resulting in an immersive universe filled with optimism and hope, heartbreak, and healing. While the series doesn't shy away from sexual content, it also focuses deeply on emotion, promising an experience that will stay with you long after the final chapter. The Something Like... series: Something Like Summer Something Like Autumn Something Like Winter Something Like Spring Something Like Lightning Something Like Thunder Something Like Stories - Volume One Something Like Hail Something Like Rain Something Like Stories - Volume Two Something Like Forever Something Like Stories - Volume Three
©2011 Jay Bell (P)2013 Jay Bell
Any Known Blood
Summary
Author of the #1 best-seller The Book of Negroes, Lawrence Hill is a writer of immense talent—and his literary reputation grows with each new work. Canadian Langston Cane V finds his writing career (and, indeed, his life) in stasis until inspired by his mentor to write about an ancestor who purportedly died fighting alongside John Brown at Harpers Ferry. Traveling to Baltimore, the latter-day Cane delves into history and in so doing awakens to new possibilities.
©1997 Lawrence Hill (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC
The Ballad of Black Tom
Summary
People move to New York looking for magic, and nothing will convince them it isn't there. Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his black skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their trained cops. But when he delivers an occult page to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic and earns the attention of things best left sleeping. A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break?
©2016 Victor LaValle (P)2016 Macmillan Audio
The Lost City: An Epic LitRPG Adventure
Summary
Book 2 of The Realms, and the sequel to the best-selling fantasy LitRPG novel Barrow King. "I cannot believe that idiotic plan worked." The only thing Gryph wanted when he entered the Realms was to find his missing sister. Then he pissed off a power-hungry god, got stuck in the undead hell dungeon known as the Barrow and nearly had his soul consumed. Then things trended upwards, and with the help of a ragtag group of companions, Gryph escaped to a verdant paradise of magic and wonder. But when his exposed secrets lead to betrayal and murder, Gryph is forced to accept an insane quest or his new friends will face the headsman's axe. Now, to stop a world-conquering zealot from capturing an ancient weapon of incredible power, Gryph must become the one thing he never wanted to be, a leader. Standing in his way are a group of crazed cultists, an army of deadly magical machines, and friends who no longer trust him. And he is still no closer to saving his sister. The Lost City is the sequel to the breakout LitRPG hit Barrow King, an overflowing cauldron of leveling, world building, humor, and action. Click "Buy" and continue your quest into the number one best-selling Epic GameLit Fantasy series. WARNING: Welcome to your new favorite genre. LitRPG/GameLit is genre that incorporates gaming elements from tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder with epic RPG video games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and MMO's like World of Warcraft and sets them in a fantasy or science fiction setting. It generally has leveling, skill progressions, crafting, and base building. If you're newto LitRPG or GameLit, then The Realms is the perfect place to start. Prepare to lose sleep. You have been warned. The Realms - An Epic LitRPG/GameLit Fantasy Series. Suggested Listening Order: Order* - Barrow King - The Lost City - Killing Time - Dead Must Die (A Side Quest) - Scourge of Souls - The Forsaken God - Chaos Rising - The Ravaged Land (Coming Soon)
©2018 C.M. Carney (P)2018 C.M. Carney
Something Like Winter
Summary
There are two sides to every story. When you're Tim Wyman, sometimes there are three. Tim hoped moving to Texas would mean a new beginning, but he soon finds himself falling into the same tired patterns. Until he meets recklessly brave Benjamin Bentley, who introduces Tim to a world of love, sex, and warmth. Certain that society won't understand what he and Ben have together, Tim struggles to protect their relationship, even if it means twisting the truth. Buried beneath his own deceptions, Tim must claw his way to the surface in the hopes of learning to fly. Something Like Winter, the companion novel to Something Like Summer, tells the story from Tim Wyman's perspective, revealing new private moments and personal journeys.
©October 23rd, 2012 Jay Bell (P)2014 Jay Bell