Scott R. Smith has narrated 44 audiobooks on Listento.it by 33 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.3★ across 1,281 ratings. The most-rated is And Then There Were None.
And Then There Were None
Summary
The world's best-selling mystery! "Ten..." Ten strangers are lured to an isolated island mansion off the Devon coast by a mysterious "U.N. Owen". "Nine..." At dinner a recorded message accuses each of them in turn of having a guilty secret, and by the end of the night one of the guests is dead. "Eight..." Stranded by a violent storm, and haunted by a nursery rhyme counting down one by one...one by one they begin to die. "Seven..." Who among them is the killer? And will any of them survive?
©1939 Agatha Christie Limited (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers
Lady in Waiting
Summary
Discover untold secrets with this extraordinary memoir of drama and tragedy by Anne Glenconner - a close member of the royal circle and lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret. Anne Glenconner has been at the center of the royal circle from childhood, when she met and befriended the future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, the Princess Margaret. Though the firstborn child of the fifth Earl of Leicester, who controlled one of the largest estates in England, as a daughter she was deemed "the greatest disappointment" and unable to inherit. Since then she has needed all her resilience to survive court life with her sense of humor intact. A unique witness to landmark moments in royal history, Maid of Honor at Queen Elizabeth's coronation, and a lady in waiting to Princess Margaret until her death in 2002, Anne's life has encompassed extraordinary drama and tragedy. In Lady in Waiting, she will share many intimate royal stories from her time as Princess Margaret's closest confidante as well as her own battle for survival: her broken-off first engagement on the basis of her "mad blood"; her 54-year marriage to the volatile, unfaithful Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner, who left his fortune to a former servant; the death in adulthood of two of her sons; a third son she nursed back from a six-month coma following a horrific motorcycle accident. Through it all, Anne has carried on, traveling the world with the royal family, including visiting the White House, and developing the Caribbean island of Mustique as a safe harbor for the rich and famous-hosting Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Raquel Welch, and many other politicians, aristocrats, and celebrities. With unprecedented insight into the royal family, Lady in Waiting is a witty, candid, dramatic, at times heart-breaking personal story capturing life in a golden cage for a woman with no inheritance. New York Times best seller USA Today best seller The Sunday Times best seller The Globe and Mail best seller ABA Indie best seller The Times (UK) Memoir of the Year One of Newsweek's Most Anticipated Books of 2020
©2020 Anne Glenconner (P)2020 Hachette Books
Above the Bay of Angels
Summary
"...Sweeping and intimate, warm and gripping. I loved it!" (Louise Penny, number-one New York Times best-selling author of the Chief Inspector Gamache novels) A single twist of fate puts a servant girl to work in Queen Victoria’s royal kitchen, setting off a suspenseful historical mystery by the New York Times best-selling author of The Tuscan Child and The Victory Garden. Isabella Waverly only means to comfort the woman felled on a London street. In her final dying moments, she thrusts a letter into Bella’s hand. It’s an offer of employment in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, and everything the budding young chef desperately wants: an escape from the constrictions of her life as a lowly servant. In the stranger’s stead, Bella can spread her wings. Arriving as Helen Barton from Yorkshire, she pursues her passion for creating culinary delights, served to the delighted Queen Victoria herself. Best of all, she’s been chosen to accompany the queen to Nice. What fortune! Until the threat of blackmail shadows Bella to the Riviera, and a member of the queen’s retinue falls ill and dies. Having prepared the royal guest’s last meal, Bella is suspected of the poisonous crime. An investigation is sure to follow. Her charade will be over. And her new life will come crashing down - if it doesn’t send her to the gallows.
©2020 Janet Quin-Harkin, writing as Rhys Bowen (P)2020 Audible, Inc.
Actionable Gamification
Summary
The new era of gamification and human-focused design optimizes for motivation and engagement over traditional function-focused design. Within the industry, studies on game mechanics and behavioral psychology have become proliferate. However, few people understand how to merge the two fields into experience designs that reliably increases business metrics and generates a return on investment. Gamification pioneer Yu-kai Chou takes the listener on a journey to learn his 12 years of obsessive research in creating the Octalysis Framework, and how to apply the framework to create engaging and successful experiences in their product, workplace, marketing, and personal lives.
©2015, 2017 Yu-kai Chou (P)2017 Yu-kai Chou
The Wizards of Once
Summary
The number 1 best seller read by David Tennant. Once there was Magic, and the Magic lived in the dark forests. Until the Warriors came.... This is the story of a young boy Wizard and a young girl Warrior who have been taught since birth to hate each other like poison; and the thrilling tale of what happens when their two worlds collide. Xar is a Wizard boy who has no Magic, and will do anything to get it. Wish is a Warrior girl, but she owns a banned Magical Object, and she will do anything to conceal it. In this whirlwind adventure, Xar and Wish must forget their differences if they're going to make it to the dungeons at Warrior Fort. Where something that has been sleeping for hundreds of years is stirring.... From the best-selling author of How to Train Your Dragon.
©2017 Cressida Cowell (P)2017 Hodder Children's Books
Explaining Postmodernism (Expanded Edition)
Summary
Tracing postmodernism from its roots in Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant to their development in thinkers such as Michel Foucault and Richard Rorty, philosopher Stephen Hicks provides a provocative account of why postmodernism has been the most vigorous intellectual movement of the late 20th century. Why do skeptical and relativistic arguments have such power in the contemporary intellectual world? Why do they have that power in the humanities but not in the sciences? Why has a significant portion of the political left - the same left that traditionally promoted reason, science, equality for all, and optimism - now switched to themes of anti-reason, anti-science, double standards, and cynicism? Explaining Postmodernism is intellectual history with a polemical twist, providing fresh insights into the debates underlying the furor over political correctness, multiculturalism, and the future of liberal democracy. This expanded edition includes two additional essays by Stephen Hicks: "Free Speech and Postmodernism" and "From Modern to Postmodern Art: Why Art Became Ugly".
©2004 Stephen Hicks (P)2018 Stephen Hicks
No Quick Fix
Summary
A retired SEAL is about to face his toughest assignment yet. As a nanny... Fixer. Bodyguard. Advocate. Brann Calder is expected to play all these roles and more as a member of Torus Intercession, a security firm guaranteed to right what’s wrong. In the military, catastrophe was his specialty. Five months out of the service, Brann is still finding his way, so a new assignment might be just what he needs. Unless it includes two things sure to make a seasoned, battle-trained veteran nervous: life in a small town, and playing caregiver to two little girls. Emery Dodd is drowning in the responsibility of single fatherhood. He’s picked up the pieces after losing his wife and is ready to move on now, hopeful that his engagement to a local patriarch’s daughter will not only enrich his community but will grant his daughters some stability, too. The only thing standing in Emery’s way is that he can’t seem to keep his eyes - and hands - off the former soldier he’s hired to watch his girls until the wedding. Emery’s future is riding on his upcoming nuptials, but being with Brann makes him and his family feel whole again. Too bad there’s no way for them to be together. Or is there?
©2019 Mary Calmes (P)2019 Mary Calmes
River Thieves
Summary
At the turn of the 19th century, naval officer David Buchan arrives in the Bay of Exploits with orders to establish contact with the Beothuk or "Red Indians", the aboriginal inhabitants of Newfoundland facing extinction. When Buchan approaches the area's most influential white settlers, the Peytons, for advice and assistance, he enters a shadowy world of allegiances and old grudges that he can only dimly apprehend. His closest ally, John Peyton Jr., maintains an uneasy balance between duty to his father - a domineering patriarch with a reputation as a ruthless persecutor of the Beothuk - and his troubled conscience. When Buchan's peace expedition into "Indian country" goes awry, the rift between father and son deepens and begins to divide those closest to them.
Years later, a second expedition leads to the kidnapping of an Indian woman and the murder of her husband, and Buchan returns to investigate. As the officer attempts to uncover what really happened on the Red Indians' lake, a delicate web of obligation and debt slowly unravels.
An enthralling story of great passion and suspense, vividly set in the stark Newfoundland landscape and driven by an extraordinary cast of characters, River Thieves captures both the vast sweep of history and the intimate lives of those caught in its wake.
©2019 Michael Crummey (P)2019 Doubleday Canada
Breakaway
Summary
Drafted to play for the Jacksonville Sea Storm, an NHL affiliate, 20-year-old Lane Courtnall's future looks bright, apart from the awkwardness he feels as a gay man playing on a minor league hockey team. He's put his foot in his mouth a few times and alienated his teammates. Then, during a rivalry game, Lane throws off his gloves against Jared Shore, enforcer for the Savannah Renegades. It's a strange way to begin a relationship. Jared's been playing minor league hockey for most of his career. He's bisexual and doesn't care if anyone knows. But he's determined to avoid another love affair after the last one left him devastated. Out of nowhere a one-nighter with rookie Lane Courtnall gives him second thoughts. Lane reminds Jared why he loves the game and why love might be worth the risk. In turn, Jared hopes to show Lane how to be comfortable with himself on and off the ice. But they're at different points in their careers, and both men will have to decide what they value most.
©2015 Avon Gale (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press
Seneca - On the Shortness of Life: Adapted for the Contemporary Reader
Summary
De Brevitate Vitae (frequently referred to as On the Shortness of Life in English) is a moral essay written by Seneca the Younger, a Roman Stoic philosopher, to his father-in-law Paulinus. The philosopher brings up many Stoic principles on the nature of time, namely that men waste much of it in meaningless pursuits. According to the essay, nature gives man enough time to do what is really important and the individual must allot it properly. In general, time can be best used in the study of philosophy, according to Seneca. This essay has been carefully adapted into a contemporary form.
©2016 James Harris (P)2016 James Harris
Your Soul's Gift: The Healing Power of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born
Summary
Would you like to understand the deeper spiritual meaning of miscarriage, abortion, caregiving, abusive relationships, sexuality, incest, adoption, poverty, suicide, rape, and mental illness? In his groundbreaking first book, Your Soul's Plan: Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born, Robert Schwartz brought the idea of pre-birth planning into the mainstream. Now, his brilliant sequel Your Soul's Gift delves even deeper by exploring these subjects and others, such as spiritual awakening and even the pre-birth planning we do with our future pets. Working with a team of gifted mediums, Schwartz brings forth great love and wisdom from the other side to explain why such experiences are planned and the deep, soul-level healing they can create. Through the stories in Your Soul's Gift you can: Develop greater self-love as you become aware of the tremendous courage it takes for you to plan a life on Earth and to live the life you planned Emerge from victim consciousness to know yourself as the powerful creator of your life Forgive those who have hurt you and create a lasting inner peace Understand the qualities you came into this lifetime to cultivate and express See profound purpose in experiences that once appeared to be meaningless suffering Develop a heartfelt knowing of your infinite worth, beauty, magnificence, and sacredness as an eternal soul
©2012 Robert Schwartz (P)2018 Robert Schwartz
Save of the Game
Summary
After last season's heartbreaking loss to his hockey team's archrival, Jacksonville Sea Storm goalie Riley Hunter is ready to let go of the past and focus on a winning season. His new roommate, Ethan Kennedy, is a loud New Yorker with a passion for social justice that matches his role as the team's enforcer. The quieter Riley is attracted to Ethan and has no idea what to do about it. Ethan has no hesitations. As fearless as his position demands, he rushes into things without much thought for the consequences. Though they eventually warm to their passionate new bond, it doesn't come without complications. For their relationship to work, Ethan will need to learn when to keep the gloves on and let someone help him, and Riley will have to learn it's okay to let someone past his defenses.
©2016 Avon Gale (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press
Empty Net
Summary
Spartanburg Spitfires' goalie and captain, Isaac Drake, ended last season with an unexpected trip to the playoffs. He's found a home and a family with his coach and mentor, Misha Samarin, and he's looking forward to making a serious run for the Kelly Cup. But things take an interesting turn when Isaac's arch-nemesis, Laurent St. Savoy, is traded to the Spitfires. After Laurent's despicable behavior in the playoffs last year, Isaac wants nothing to do with him - no matter how gorgeous he is. But that changes when Isaac discovers the reason for Laurent's attitude. Laurent St. Savoy grew up the only son of a legendary NHL goalie in a household rife with abuse. He was constantly treated like a disappointment, on and off the ice. When a desperate attempt to escape his father's tyranny sends him to the Spitfires, the last thing Laurent wants is to make friends. But there's something about Isaac Drake that he can't resist. Laurent has an opportunity to explore his sexuality for the first time, but he's cracking under end-of-the-season pressures. When facing the playoffs and a rivalry turned personal vendetta, Isaac's not sure he's enough to hold on to Laurent - or their relationship.
©2016 Avon Gale (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press
Coach's Challenge
Summary
A Scoring Chances Novel It’s been decades since blackmail forced Troy Callahan to retire from playing professional hockey, and he’s built a successful career behind the bench. When he’s offered the opportunity to coach the Asheville Ravens—the most hated team in the ECHL—he’s convinced that his no-nonsense attitude is just what the team needs to put their focus back on hockey. But Troy is disheartened when he finds that the Ravens have signed Shane North, a player known for his aggression. And it only gets worse when Shane’s rough good looks give Troy inappropriate thoughts about a member of his team, even if Shane’s set to retire at the end of the season. Shane’s career in the majors never quite took off. Wanting to quit on his own terms, Shane agrees to a one-year contract with the Ravens and finds himself playing for a coach who thinks he’s an aging goon and with a team that doesn’t trust him, the coach, or each other. Despite his determination to not get involved, Shane unwillingly becomes part of the team… and is just as unwillingly drawn to the gruff out-and-proud coach. As the Ravens struggle to build a new identity, Shane and Troy succumb to the passion that might cost them everything.
©2017 Avon Gale (P)2017 Dreamspinner Press
Power Play
Summary
A Scoring Chances novel. A freak accident during the Stanley Cup Playoffs put an end to Max Ashford's hockey career. Despite everything, Max gets back into the game he loves - only this time, behind the bench as an assistant coach of the Spartanburg Spitfires, the worst team in the entire league. But nothing prepares him for the shock when he learns the new head coach is Misha Samarin, the man who caused Max's accident. After spending years guilt-ridden for his part in Max's accident, Russian native Misha Samarin has no idea what to do when he's confronted with Max's presence. Max's optimism plays havoc with Misha's equilibrium - as does the fierce attraction that springs up between them. They must navigate not only Misha's remorse and a past he's spent a lifetime trying to forget, but also a sleazy GM who is determined to use their history as a marketing hook. But when an unwelcome visitor targets a player, Misha revisits his darkest days, and that might cost him and Max the beginning they've worked so hard to build.
©2016 Avon Gale (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press
Scotty
Summary
Scotty Bowman est une légende. Il a remporté plus de matches et de coupes Stanley que n'importe quel autre entraîneur dans l'histoire de la Ligue nationale de hockey. Il s'est maintenu au sommet du hockey professionnel pendant près de trois décennies: vingt-neuf années séparent sa première et sa dernière coupe! Ses talents de stratège et de meneur d'hommes ont fait de lui le meilleur entraîneur de l'histoire du sport professionnel, toutes disciplines confondues.
©2019 Éditions de l'Homme (P)2020 Vues et Voix
Parent Yourself Again
Summary
Didn’t get the love you desire from your parents? Still craving for their approval? From a young age, we try to impress our parents and make them happy. We behave ourselves and stay out of trouble. We study and work hard to make our parents proud. We did everything we can to please our parents but yet it’s never enough. They still treat us the same. Why is it so difficult to get our parents to love us? Children long for their parents love. They want to be loved and accepted for who they are. But wait a minute...we are adults now. We are no longer children. Why are we still craving for our parents’ approval? No matter how old you are, whenever you are with parents, you automatically become a kid again, and your parents will play their roles. Your relationship with your parents often stays the same. Since you can’t change your parents, the only way to improve your relationship with your parents is to change yourself. Be your own parent. If you are constantly longing for love from someone else such as your parents, partner, or friends, you might want to revisit your childhood. As children, we didn’t receive the love we desire from our parents. So we are still seeking someone to fulfill this void in us. The truth is we have the capacity to love ourselves. We don’t have to wait for someone else to give us the affirmations and validations we need. Changing your parents or hoping they will treat you differently will only leave you disappointed, frustrated, and hurt. The purpose of this book is to help you learn how to love yourself and be your own parent. What your parents failed to do for you in the past, you can do it for yourself now. In this book, you’ll learn: The dynamics of a parent-child relationship How your childhood might have affected your adult life Why is it difficult to change your parents How to grow your inner parent How to heal your inner child and take care of its needs The different protective mechanisms you have adopted subconsciously that prevent you from loving yourself Parent Yourself Again is a simple book for self-reflection and self-exploration. If you want a better relationship with yourself and your parents, listen to this book. Download to get started today!
©2018 Yong Kang Chan (P)2018 Yong Kang Chan
Fall with Me
Summary
As the bassist for the band Caged, the last three years have been one, long non-stop party. Sure, I've had some regrets. Everyone does. But getting trapped in a relationship isn't one of them. I know good and well what happens when the attraction fades. I've seen it firsthand. Love is a zero sum game, so why play? As long as I'm upfront about my feelings, no one gets hurt. Besides, I'm never in one place long enough to worry about tomorrow. That is, until the band decided to take an extended hiatus in our hometown. That's when I met Melody Sullivan. She's the full package. Whip-smart and beautiful, with enough determination to take on anything life has in store. And the best part? Melody shares my philosophy on the fleeting nature of attraction. She doesn't buy into the whole "happily ever after" crap any more than I do. We're perfect for each other. For now. And now is all I want. With the expectations off the table, I can let my guard down and enjoy her company until the spark dies. And we both know it will. In a week, or a month. But until then, we'll just keep having fun. The good kind, with lots of sex and no strings attached. And when it's time to move on, we will. No drawn out goodbyes and no remorse. That's the plan, at least.
©2016 Jayne Frost (P)2017 Jayne Frost
Reconnect to Love
Summary
Do you feel lonely even when you are with people? When we are alone and isolated, many of us think we will feel better once we surround ourselves with friends, family, or a romantic partner. We are constantly looking for someone else to complete us, accompany us, and give us love and attention. But instead of feeling less lonely, we often end up feeling empty and disappointed. Something always seems to be missing from our relationships. We want a deep, meaningful connection with others. However, our relationships usually don’t live up to our expectations. People don’t seem to get us, or we don’t seem to fit in with others. Even those of us who are married or in a love relationship still feel separate and emotionally disconnected from our partners from time to time. Why is this so? The truth is loneliness is not due to a lack of external connection. It’s a result of internal disconnection. When we feel lonely, we have lost our alignment with the love and abundance within. Instead, we are focusing on what’s missing and lacking in our relationships. This book is not about getting rid of loneliness or building better relationships with others. The purpose of this book is about reconnecting to the love that is always available to us from within whenever we feel lonely. By clearing the psychological obstacles that prevent us from feeling connected to others in the first place, we naturally become more spiritually connected with the world and others. Scroll to the top of the page and buy Reconnect to Love now!
©2020 Yong Kang Chan (P)2020 Yong Kang Chan
Myths about Ayn Rand
Summary
Since the 2008 recession began, sales of Atlas Shrugged have surged and the novel (and author Ayn Rand) have landed at the center of American politics, including presidential campaigns. Thousands of articles have been written about Ayn Rand's ideas. A firestorm of criticism has followed. How is one to make sense of all the competing claims about Rand's ideas? What did Ayn Rand believe? Was she a prophetic visionary who sounded a warning bell about creeping socialism and the financial disaster that would follow in its wake? Did she define what is quintessentially American - individualism, self-authorship, achievement, and freedom? Or was she the lowest of the low, a fawning and vapid worshipper of wealthy persons and unbridled power? If someone asked you to explain Rand's basic ideas, could you? This illuminating book reveals the "clockwork" behind many critics' misunderstandings and distortions of her ideas and provides simple and straightforward explanations of prominent "myths" about Ayn Rand. Whether you decide to embrace Ayn Rand's ideas, reject them, or simply want to be able to participate in an informed way in conversations about Rand's ideas, this slim volume will help you understand her revolutionary philosophy and identify the myths circulating about her ideas. In these essays, four authors identify some prominent myths, show why they are false, and state the plain facts that the myths conceal.
©2014 The Atlas Society (P)2016 The Atlas Society