Xe Sands has narrated 231 audiobooks on Listento.it by 179 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 3,703 ratings. The most-rated is Silent Child.
The Influential Mind
Summary
A cutting-edge, research-based inquiry into how we influence those around us and how understanding the brain can help us change minds for the better. In The Influential Mind, neuroscientist Tali Sharot takes us on a thrilling exploration of the nature of influence. We all have a duty to affect others - from the classroom to the boardroom to social media. But how skilled are we at this role, and can we become better? It turns out that many of our instincts - from relying on facts and figures to shape opinions, to insisting others are wrong or attempting to exert control - are ineffective because they are incompatible with how people's minds operate. Sharot shows us how to avoid these pitfalls and how an attempt to change beliefs and actions is successful when it is well matched with the core elements that govern the human brain. Sharot reveals the critical role of emotion in influence, the weakness of data, and the power of curiosity. Relying on the latest research in neuroscience, behavioral economics, and psychology, the audiobook provides fascinating insight into the complex power of influence, good and bad. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2017 Tali Sharot (P)2017 Macmillan Audio
Becoming His Monster
Summary
Sacrifice your soul? Check. Die to protect those you love? Check. Come back as something the world hasn’t seen since the dawn of mankind? Check. Make those who hurt me wish the Gods had never created them? I’m still working on this one.... Are you ready to play? I’m coming back. I’m more, darker, deadlier, and I’m pissed. Heaven has fallen, Hell has risen and the walls that once protected man from monsters are down. Foes become friends, enemies become lovers, and this world is thrown into chaos unlike anything it’s ever seen before. I’m ready to play now, I’m ready to win. This is the third book in the award winning Playing with Monsters series. Listening order for those who are following the storyline and want the full experience. Fighting Destiny Taunting Destiny Escaping Destiny Seducing Destiny A Demon's Dark Embrace Playing with Monsters Unraveling Destiny Sleeping with Monsters Claiming the Dragon King Oh, Holy Knight Becoming His Monster Series that stand alone: A Guardian’s Diary series Darkest Before Dawn Death Before Dawn Midnight Rising (Coming soon)
©2019 Amelia Hutchins (P)2020 Audible, Inc.
Creed
Summary
Angel was whisked away from a life of abuse as a child when a guardian angel flew her in his arms and gave her to a Lycan couple to raise and love as their own. It was inevitable that she developed feelings for her elusive savior, the GarLycan who protects her pack. As she matured, those feelings deepened to something more after spending time with him, only to be rebuffed by her hero. Dejected, Angel left the pack, moving away to distance herself from the pain. Now, years later, her mother has called her home. Their pack guardian is in need.... Creed is emotionally distant and cold. He's had to become that way to survive his harsh life. His one weakness is Angel. She deserves a happy life, something that he can't give her. He was born into servitude and isn't allowed to take a mate. But, every 30 years he goes into one night of heat. The ravage is upon him, and Angel is determined to be there for him. He'll take her to his lair, chain her down, and finally be able to touch her.... Creed and Angel soon discover their one night of bliss has dangerous consequences.
©2017 Laurann Dohner (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
The Smallest Lights in the Universe
Summary
In this "bewitching" (Anthony Doerr, The New York Times Book Review) memoir, an MIT astrophysicist must reinvent herself in the wake of tragedy and discovers the power of connection on this planet, even as she searches our galaxy for another Earth. "Sara Seager’s exploration of outer and inner space makes for a stunningly original memoir." (Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone) Sara Seager has always been in love with the stars: so many lights in the sky, so much possibility. Now a pioneering planetary scientist, she searches for exoplanets - especially that distant, elusive world that sustains life. But with the unexpected death of Seager’s husband, the purpose of her own life becomes hard for her to see. Suddenly, at 40, she is a widow and the single mother of two young boys. For the first time, she feels alone in the universe. As she struggles to navigate her life after loss, Seager takes solace in the alien beauty of exoplanets and the technical challenges of exploration. At the same time, she discovers earthbound connections that feel every bit as wondrous, when strangers and loved ones alike reach out to her across the space of her grief. Among them are the Widows of Concord, a group of women offering advice on everything from home maintenance to dating, and her beloved sons, Max and Alex. Most unexpected of all, there is another kind of one-in-a-billion match, not in the stars but here at home. Probing and invigoratingly honest, The Smallest Lights in the Universe is its own kind of light in the dark.
©2020 Sara Seager (P)2020 Random House Audio
Beautiful Bad
Summary
In the most explosive and twisted psychological thriller since The Woman in the Window, a perfect love story leads to the perfect crime. Things that make me scared: when Charlie cries. Hospitals and lakes. When Ian drinks vodka in the basement. ISIS. When Ian gets angry.... That something is really, really wrong with me. Maddie and Ian’s romance began with a chance encounter at a party overseas; he was serving in the British army, and she was a travel writer visiting her best friend, Jo. Now, almost two decades later, married with a beautiful son, Charlie, they are living the perfect suburban life in middle America. But when a camping accident leaves Maddie badly scarred, she begins attending writing therapy, where she gradually reveals her fears about Ian’s PTSD, her concerns for the safety of their young son, Charlie, and the couple’s tangled and tumultuous past with Jo. From the Balkans to England, Iraq to Manhattan, and finally to an ordinary family home in Kansas, 16 years of love and fear, adventure and suspicion culminate in the Day of the Killing, when a frantic 911 call summons the police to the scene of a shocking crime. But what in this beautiful home has gone so terribly bad?
©2019 Annie Ward (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers
The Haunting of Brynn Wilder
Summary
From the number one Amazon Charts best-selling author of Daughters of the Lake comes an enthralling spellbinder of love, death, and a woman on the edge. After a devastating loss, Brynn Wilder escapes to Wharton, a tourist town on Lake Superior, to reset. Checking into a quaint boardinghouse for the summer, she hopes to put her life into perspective. In her fellow lodgers, she finds a friendly company of strangers: the frail Alice, cared for by a married couple with a heartbreaking story of their own; LuAnn, the eccentric and lovable owner of the inn; and Dominic, an unsettlingly handsome man inked from head to toe in mesmerizing tattoos. But in this inviting refuge, where a century of souls has passed, a mystery begins to swirl. Alice knows things about Brynn, about all of them, that she shouldn’t. Bad dreams and night whispers lure Brynn to a shuttered room at the end of the hall, a room still heavy with a recent death. And now she’s become irresistibly drawn to Dominic - even in the shadow of rumors that wherever he goes, suspicious death follows. In this chilling season of love, transformation, and fear, something is calling for Brynn. To settle her past, she may have no choice but to answer.
©2020 Wendy Webb (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
The Chicken Sisters
Summary
Instant New York Times Best Seller A Reese's Book Club Pick "A charming, hilarious, feel-good story about the kind of bonds and rivalries only sisters can share. Also, a great present for your sister for the holidays!!" (Reese Witherspoon) Three generations. Two chicken shacks. One recipe for disaster. In tiny Merinac, Kansas, Chicken Mimi's and Chicken Frannie's have spent a century vying to serve up the best fried chicken in the state - and the legendary feud between their respective owners, the Moores and the Pogociellos, has lasted just as long. No one feels the impact more than 35-year-old widow Amanda Moore, who grew up working for her mom at Mimi's before scandalously marrying Frank Pogociello and changing sides to work at Frannie's. Tired of being caught in the middle, Amanda sends an SOS to Food Wars, the reality TV restaurant competition that promises $100,000 to the winner. But in doing so, she launches both families out of the frying pan and directly into the fire.... The last thing Brooklyn-based organizational guru Mae Moore, Amanda's sister, wants is to go home to Kansas. But when her career implodes, helping the fading Mimi's look good on Food Wars becomes Mae's best chance to reclaim the limelight - even if doing so pits her against Amanda and Frannie's. Yet when family secrets become public knowledge, the sisters must choose: Will they fight with each other, or for their heritage?
©2020 KJ Dell'Antonia (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Something to Talk About
Summary
A showrunner and her assistant give the world something to talk about when they accidentally fuel a ridiculous rumor in this debut romance. Hollywood powerhouse Jo is photographed making her assistant Emma laugh on the red carpet, and just like that, the tabloids declare them a couple. The so-called scandal couldn't come at a worse time - threatening Emma's promotion and Jo's new movie. As the gossip spreads, it starts to affect all areas of their lives. Paparazzi are following them outside the office, coworkers are treating them differently, and a “source” is feeding information to the media. But their only comment is "no comment". With the launch of Jo’s film project fast approaching, the two women begin to spend even more time together, getting along famously. Emma seems to have a sixth sense for knowing what Jo needs. And Jo, known for being aloof and outwardly cold, opens up to Emma in a way neither of them expects. They begin to realize the rumor might not be so off base after all...but is acting on the spark between them worth fanning the gossip flames?
©2020 Meryl Wilsner (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Controlling People
Summary
Does this sound like someone you know? Always needs to be right. Tells you who you are and what you think. Implies that you're wrong or inadequate when you don't agree. Is threatened by people who are "different". Feels attacked when questioned. Doesn't seem to really hear or see you. If any of the above traits sounds familiar, help is on the way! In Controlling People, best-selling author Patricia Evans tackles the "controlling personality" and reveals how and why these people try to run other people's lives. She also explains the compulsion that makes them continue this behavior - even as they alienate others and often lose those they love. Controlling People helps you unravel the senseless behavior that plagues both the controller and the victim. Can the pattern, or spell, be broken? Yes! says the author. By understanding the compelling force involved, you can be a catalyst for change and actually become a spell-breaker. Once the spell is broken and the controller sees others as they really are, a genuine connection can be forged and healing can occur. Should you ever find yourself in the thrall of someone close to you, Controlling People is here to give you the wisdom, power, and comfort you need to be a stronger, happier, and more independent person.
©2003 Patricia Evans (P)2012 Tantor
You Look Like a Thing and I Love You
Summary
As heard on NPR's Science Friday, discover the book recommended by Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Daniel Pink, and Adam Grant: an "accessible, informative, and hilarious" introduction to the weird and wonderful world of artificial intelligence (Ryan North). "You look like a thing and I love you" is one of the best pickup lines ever...according to an artificial intelligence trained by scientist Janelle Shane, creator of the popular blog AI Weirdness. She creates silly AIs that learn how to name paint colors, create the best recipes, and even flirt (badly) with humans — all to understand the technology that governs so much of our daily lives. We rely on AI every day for recommendations, for translations, and to put cat ears on our selfie videos. We also trust AI with matters of life and death, on the road and in our hospitals. But how smart is AI really...and how does it solve problems, understand humans, and even drive self-driving cars? Shane delivers the answers to every AI question you've ever asked, and some you definitely haven't. Like, how can a computer design the perfect sandwich? What does robot-generated Harry Potter fan-fiction look like? And is the world's best Halloween costume really "Vampire Hog Bride"? In this smart, often hilarious introduction to the most interesting science of our time, Shane shows how these programs learn, fail, and adapt — and how they reflect the best and worst of humanity. You Look Like a Thing and I Love You is the perfect book for anyone curious about what the robots in our lives are thinking. "I can't think of a better way to learn about artificial intelligence, and I've never had so much fun along the way." (Adam Grant, New York Times best-selling author of Originals) PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Janelle Shane (P)2019 Little, Brown & Company
Deerskin
Summary
The only daughter of a beloved king and queen, Princess Lissar has grown up in the shadow of her parents' infinite adoration for each other - an infatuation so great that it could only be broken by the queen's unexpected passing. As Lissar reaches womanhood, it becomes clear to everyone in the kingdom that she has inherited her late mother's breathtaking beauty. But on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Lissar's exquisite looks become a curse.... Betrayed and abused, Lissar is forced to flee her home to escape her father's madness. With her loyal dog Ash at her side, Lissar finds refuge in the mountains, where she has the chance to heal and start anew. As she unlocks a door to a world of magic, Lissar finds the key to her survival and begins an adventure beyond her wildest dreams.
©1993 Robin McKinley (P)2018 Tantor
The Midwife's Confession
Summary
Dear Anna, What I have to tell you is difficult to write, but I know it will be far more difficult for you to hear, and I'm so sorry. The unfinished letter is the only clue Tara and Emerson have to the reason behind their close friend Noelle's suicide. Everything they knew about Noelle - her calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her friends and family - described a woman who embraced life. Yet there was so much they didn't know. With the discovery of the letter and its heartbreaking secret, Noelle's friends begin to uncover the truth about this complex woman who touched each of their lives - and the life of a desperate stranger - with love and betrayal, compassion and deceit.
©2011 Diane Chamberlain (P)2013 Tantor
Memories of the Afterlife
Summary
Edited by Dr. Michael Newton, the best-selling author of Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls, Memories of the Afterlife is a collection of fascinating true accounts from around the world, handpicked and presented by life-between-lives hypnotherapists certified by the Newton Institute. After recalling memories of their afterlife, the people in these studies embarked on life-changing spiritual journeys - reuniting with soul mates and spirit guides, and discovering the ramifications of life and body choices, love relationships, and dreams by communing with their immortal souls. As gems of self-knowledge are revealed, dramatic epiphanies result, enabling these ordinary people to understand adversity in their lives, find emotional healing, realize their true purpose, and forever enrich their lives with new meaning.
©2009 Michael Newton, Ph.D. (P)2012 Tantor
A Children's Bible
Summary
Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millet's sublime new novel - her first since the National Book Award long-listed Sweet Lamb of Heaven - follows a group of 12 eerily mature children on a forced vacation with their families at a sprawling lakeside mansion. Contemptuous of their parents, who pass their days in a stupor of liquor, drugs, and sex, the children feel neglected and suffocated at the same time. When a destructive storm descends on the summer estate, the group's ringleaders - including Eve, who narrates the story - decide to run away, leading the younger ones on a dangerous foray into the apocalyptic chaos outside. As the scenes of devastation begin to mimic events in the dog-eared picture Bible carried around by her beloved little brother, Eve devotes herself to keeping him safe from harm. A Children's Bible is a prophetic, heartbreaking story of generational divide - and a haunting vision of what awaits us on the far side of Revelation.
©2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC
Good Luck with That
Summary
New York Times best-selling author Kristan Higgins is beloved for her heartfelt novels filled with humor and wisdom. Now, in her newest novel, Good Luck with That, she tackles an issue every woman deals with: body image and self-acceptance. Emerson, Georgia, and Marley have been best friends ever since they met at a weight-loss camp as teens. When Emerson tragically passes away, she leaves one final wish for her best friends: to conquer the fears they still carry as adults. For each of them, that means something different. For Marley, it's coming to terms with the survivor's guilt she's carried around since her twin sister's death, which has left her blind to the real chance for romance in her life. For Georgia, it's about learning to stop trying to live up to her mother's and brother's ridiculous standards, and learning to accept the love her ex-husband has tried to give her. But as Marley and Georgia grow stronger, the real meaning of Emerson's dying wish becomes truly clear: more than anything, she wanted her friends to love themselves. A novel of compassion and insight, Good Luck with That tells the story of two women who learn to embrace themselves just the way they are.
©2018 Kristan Higgins (P)2018 Recorded Books
The End of Temperance Dare
Summary
Haunting and atmospheric, The End of Temperance Dare is another thrilling audiobook from the author reviewers are calling the Queen of the Northern Gothic. When Eleanor Harper becomes the director of a renowned artists' retreat, she knows nothing of Cliffside Manor's dark past as a tuberculosis sanatorium, a "waiting room for death". After years of covering murder and violence as a crime reporter, Eleanor hopes that being around artists and writers in this new job will be a peaceful retreat for her as much as for them. But from her first fog-filled moments on the manor's grounds, Eleanor is seized by a sense of impending doom and realizes there's more to the institution than its reputation of being a haven for creativity. After the arrival of the new fellows - including the intriguing, handsome photographer Richard Banks - she begins to suspect that her predecessor chose the group with a dangerous purpose in mind. As the chilling mysteries of Cliffside Manor unravel and the eerie sins of the past are exposed, Eleanor must fight to save the fellows - and herself - from sinister forces.
©2017 Wendy Webb (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
Euphoria
Summary
From New England Book Award winner Lily King comes a breathtaking novel about three young anthropologists of the '30s caught in a passionate love triangle that threatens their bonds, their careers, and ultimately, their lives. English anthropologist Andrew Bankson has been alone in the field for several years, studying the Kiona river tribe in the territory of New Guinea. Haunted by the memory of his brothers' deaths and increasingly frustrated and isolated by his research, Bankson is on the verge of suicide when a chance encounter with colleagues, the controversial Nell Stone and her wry and mercurial Australian husband, Fen, pulls him back from the brink. Nell and Fen have just fled the bloodthirsty Mumbanyo and, in spite of Nell's poor health, are hungry for a new discovery. When Bankson finds them a new tribe nearby - the artistic, female-dominated Tam - he ignites an intellectual and romantic firestorm between the three of them that burns out of anyone's control. Set between two World Wars and inspired by events in the life of revolutionary anthropologist Margaret Mead, Euphoria is an enthralling story of passion, possession, exploration, and sacrifice fromaccomplished author Lily King.
©2014 Lily King (P)2014 Blackstone Audiobooks
The Ex
Summary
In this breakout standalone novel of suspense in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on a Train, a woman agrees to help an old boyfriend who has been framed for murder—but begins to suspect that she is the one being manipulated. And look for Alafair Burke's latest heart-racing novel of psychological suspense, The Wife, coming in January 2018. Twenty years ago she ruined his life. Now she has the chance to save it. Widower Jack Harris has resisted the dating scene ever since the shooting of his wife Molly by a fifteen-year-old boy three years ago. An early morning run along the Hudson River changes that when he spots a woman in last night’s party dress, barefoot, enjoying a champagne picnic alone, reading his favorite novel. Everything about her reminds him of what he used to have with Molly. Eager to help Jack find love again, his best friend posts a message on a popular website after he mentions the encounter. Days later, that same beautiful stranger responds and invites Jack to meet her in person at the waterfront. That's when Jack's world falls apart. Olivia Randall is one of New York City's best criminal defense lawyers. When she hears that her former fiancé, Jack Harris, has been arrested for a triple homicide—and that one of the victims was connected to his wife's murder—there is no doubt in her mind as to his innocence. The only question is who would go to such great lengths to frame him—and why? For Olivia, representing Jack is a way to make up for past regrets, to absolve herself of guilt from a tragic decision, a secret she has held for twenty years. But as the evidence against him mounts, she is forced to confront her doubts. The man she knew could not have done this. But what if she never really knew him?
©2016 Alafair Burke (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers
All These Beautiful Strangers
Summary
A young woman haunted by a family tragedy is caught up in a dangerous web of lies and deception involving a secret society in this highly charged, addictive psychological thriller that combines the dishy gamesmanship of Gossip Girl with the murky atmosphere of The Secret History. One summer day, Grace Fairchild, the beautiful young wife of real estate mogul Alistair Calloway, vanished from the family’s lake house without a trace, leaving behind her seven-year old daughter, Charlie, and a slew of unanswered questions. Years later, 17-year-old Charlie still struggles with the dark legacy of her family name and the mystery surrounding her mother. Determined to finally let go of the past, she throws herself into life at Knollwood, the prestigious New England school she attends. Charlie quickly becomes friends with Knollwood’s "it" crowd. Charlie has also been tapped by the A’s - the school’s elite secret society well known for terrorizing the faculty, administration, and their enemies. To become a member of the A’s, Charlie must play The Game, a semester-long, diabolical high-stakes scavenger hunt that will jeopardize her friendships, her reputation, even her place at Knollwood. As the dark events of past and present converge, Charlie begins to fear that she may not survive the terrible truth about her family, her school, and her own life.
©2018 Elizabeth Klehfoth (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers
A Cast-Off Coven
Summary
Students are spooked at the San Francisco School of Fine Arts, and Lily is called in to search for possible paranormal activity. In return she's been promised a trunkful of Victorian-era clothes recently discovered in a school storage closet. But Lily finds something else: the body of a wealthy patron of the school. In between running the store and seeing her new boyfriend, Max - a "mythbuster" who is uncomfortable with her witchcraft - she uses her sleuthing skills to try to solve the murder. Soon Lily senses something from the school's vintage clothes, but it's not the smell of mothballs - it's the unmistakable aura of evil intent.
©2010 Juliet Blackwell (P)2012 Tantor