Special Collections
Human-Narrated Books for Adults
Description: Please enjoy this collection of Bookshare books, now with human narration! #adults
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The Girl Before
by Jp DelaneyEnter the world of One Folgate Street and discover perfection . . . but can you pay the price?
Jane stumbles on the rental opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to live in a beautiful ultra-minimalist house designed by an enigmatic architect, on condition she abides by a long list of exacting rules.
After moving in, she makes a shocking discovery about the previous tenant, Emma, and Jane starts to wonder if her own story will be a rerun of the girl before.
Finding Me
by Viola DavisFINDING ME is the deeply personal, brutally honest account of Viola's inspiring life, from her coming-of-age in Rhode Island to her present-day career.
In my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life changing decision to stop running forever. This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose and my strength, but also to finding my voice in a world that didn't always see me.
As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. They are bogarted, reinvented to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone who is searching for a way to understand and overcome a complicated past, let go of shame, and find acceptance. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be…you.
Finding Me is a deep reflection on my past and a promise for my future. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.
(P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers
More
by Philip CogganEconomics may seem like a modern field, but its object of study is ancient. Resources have been exchanged and distributed since the dawn of history, and the economies that arose from those transactions were more complex than you might expect. In this panorama of the development of trade and industry, Economist columnist Philip Coggan tracks the development of the world economy starting with the first obsidianblades that made their way from Turkey to what is now the Iran-Iraq border 7,000 years before Christ, and ending with the Sino-American trade war that we are in right now.Taking the history in great strides, More illustrates broad changes by examining details such as the design of the standard medieval cottage, the development in the 12th century of great international trade fairs under the patronage of the Counts of Champagne and Brie, and the stranglehold that Paris's three belt-buckle-making guilds exercised over innovation in the field of holding trousers. Along the way it reveals that historical economies were far more sophisticated than we might imagine - tied together by webs of credit and financial instruments much like the modern economy.Between the chapters making up the grand historical sweep Coggan dives into different facets of the economic world - providing potted histories of migration, finance, energy, and agriculture. In total, he shows how technologies and social systems spread, crosspollinated and created the possibility of new waves of development. And he shows how, at every step of our long journey, it was connections between people - allowing more trade, more specialisation, more ideas and more freedom - that created the conditions of prosperity.
The Librarians of Rue de Picardie
by Janet Skeslien CharlesThe New York Times bestselling author of the The Paris Library returns with a powerful, moving new novel based on the extraordinary true story of Jessie Carson, the American librarian determined to bring books to the children of war-torn France.'This is hands down my book of 2024. A rich, glorious life-affirming ode to the power of books and female solidarity. Simply unforgettable!' KATE THOMPSON'A wonderful story about the power books have not only to inspire, but also to rescue and restore. The characters are so richly drawn... I absolutely loved it' RUTH HOGAN------------------------Under what was left of the roof of the ruined cottage, a girl with pigtails perched on a pile of rubble, hunched over a book...1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France, a group of women determined to rebuild devastated French communities just miles from the front. Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen - children's libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears.1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she becomes consumed with learning her fate. In her obsession, she discovers that she and the elusive librarian have more in common than their work at New York's famed library, but she has no idea their paths will converge in surprising ways across time.*Published under the title Miss Morgan's Book Brigade in the US*'An astonishing novel with the beating heart of courageous women who change the world through books. For every reader who was once told to get their head out of the clouds because they read too many books, this one is for you... A moving novel of sacrifice, heroism, and inspired storytelling immersed in the power of books to change our lives' PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY'Bursting with remarkable characters and filled with heart-in-mouth moments... an enthralling, emotional story rich in historical detail. Janet Skeslien Charles has done real justice to the legacy of these courageous women; this wonderful book is a gift to the reader' LIESE O'HALLORAN SCHWARZ'Bibliophiles are in for a treat' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY'I found myself captivated by this eye-opening book and reminder of the good that comes from dedicated hard work. I am grateful to Janet Skeslien Charles for educating me about the remarkable women of CARD' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Goodreads reviewer 'I love books about libraries and books. The fact that this book is actually based off of real people is amazing. This book celebrates the contributions that these women made when they are usually swept under the rug. I loved Jessie so much, and I will be thinking of these brave women for a long time to come' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Goodreads reviewer
Game On
by Matt CainFrom the author of The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle and Becoming Ted, a brand new enemies-to-lovers romcom for fans of Ted Lasso and Red, White and Royal Blue . . .'Heart-warming and joyful' LORRAINE KELLY 'A great big hug of a book' MICHAEL BALL Toddington FC defender Tom Horrocks is never happier than when he's on the football pitch, but when it comes to love, he's hiding a big secret. Worried about his young daughter and sick father - and with his team finally in the Premier League - he avoids all media.Journalist Cosmo Roberts wants to change the world, so is angry when he's sent to a quiet northern town to cover a sport he sees as anti-gay. Then something about Tom catches his eye.Cosmo hates football. Tom hates journalists.Perhaps this time they've both met their match.'Filled with joy and strength and optimism' RUSSELL T. DAVIES'Romantic and heartbreaking and uplifting' LAURA KAYReader love Matt Cain 'Wonderfully uplifting' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Absolutely brilliant' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'I loved every second of this book' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
All the Young Men
by Ruth Coker Burks"If I have one message with this book it's that we all have to care for one another. Today, not just in 1986. Life is about caring for each other, and I learned more about life from the dying than I ever learned from the living. It's in an elephant ride, it's in those wildflowers dancing on their way to the shared grave of two men in love, and it's in caring for that young man who just needed information without judgement."
In 1986, 26-year-old Ruth Coker Burks visits a friend in hospital when she notices that the door to one of the patient's rooms is painted red. The nurses are reluctant to enter, drawing straws to decide who will tend to the sick person inside. Out of impulse, Ruth herself enters the quarantined space and begins to care for the young man who cries for his mother in the last moments of his life. And in doing so, Ruth's own life changes forever.
As word spreads in the community that she is the only person willing to help the young men afflicted by the growing AIDS crisis, Ruth goes from being an ordinary young mother to an accidental activist. Forging deep friendships with the men she helps, Ruth works to find them housing and jobs, and then funeral homes willing to take their bodies—often in the middle of the night. She prepares and delivers meals to 'her guys,' supplementing her own income with discarded food found in the dumpsters behind supermarkets. She defies local pastors and the medical community to store rare medications for her most urgent patients, and teaches sex education to drag queens after hours at secret bars.
Emboldened by the weight of their collective pain, she fervently advocates for their safety and visibility, ultimately advising Governor Bill Clinton on the national HIV-AIDS crisis, and in doing so becomes a beacon of hope to an otherwise spurned group of ailing gay men on the fringes of society. Ruth kept her story a secret for years, fearful of repercussions within her deeply conservative community. But at a time when it's more important than ever to stand up for those who can't, Ruth has found the courage to have her voice—and the voices of those who were stigmatised, rejected and abandoned—heard.
Letting in the Light
by Charlotte BettsFrom the award-winning author of The Apothecary's Daughter comes the next book in the Spindrift Trilogy - a beautifully evocative, family drama, perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicles.
1914 Spindrift House, Cornwall
Edith Fairchild's good-for-nothing husband, Benedict, deserted her when their children were babies. Now the children are almost adult, Edith and Pascal, her faithful lover of two decades, are planning to leave their beloved Spindrift artists' community and finally be together.
But an explosive encounter between Benedict and Pascal forces old secrets into the light, causing rifts in the happiness and security of the community. Then an assassin's bullet fired in faraway Sarajevo sets in motion a chain of events that changes everything. Under the shadow of war, the community struggles to eke out a living. The younger generation enlist or volunteer to support the war effort, facing dangers that seemed unimaginable in the golden summer of 1914.
When it's all over, will the Spindrift community survive an unexpected threat? And will Edith and Pascal ever be able to fulfill their dream?
Truly, Madly, Deeply
by Alexandria Bellefleur'You can never go wrong with an Alexandria Bellefleur novel' BuzzfeedThe new steamy queer rom-com from bestselling author, Alexandria Bellefleur - perfect for fans of Ashley Herring Blake, Casey McQuiston and Talia Hibbert.As a bestselling romance novelist, everyone thinks Truly Livingston is an expert on happily-ever-afters. Except she just caught her fiancé cheating, her parents are separating and her entire view on love has been shaken to the core.Already committed to recording a podcast sharing relationship advice, Truly hopes it will be the perfect distraction . . . until she meets her co-host. Her first impression of Colin McCory is . . . hot. But then he opens his extremely kissable mouth. Bickering with a cynical divorce lawyer is the last thing Truly needs - so she walks out, with no plans to return.When Colin tracks her down, begging for a fresh start, she reluctantly agrees. And as they turn from enemies to friends, she discovers they have more in common than she ever imagined, including their shared queerness. With their mutual attraction reaching a fever pitch, Truly feels happy for the first time in years. Yet she can't help but wonder . . . is Colin truly, madly, deeply in love with her? Or is it all too good to be true?Why readers love Alexandria Bellefleur . . . 'Everything I want from a rom-com: fun, whimsical, sexy' Talia Hibbert'I was hooked from the very first page!' Christina Lauren'This book is a delight' New York Times Book Review'Sparkles with a delightful mix of wit, humour and good-natured sarcasm' Mia Sosa
The Massacre of Mankind
by Stephen BaxterIt has been 14 years since the Martians invaded England. The world has moved on, always watching the skies but content that we know how to defeat the Martian menace.
Machinery looted from the abandoned capsules and war-machines has led to technological leaps forward. The Martians are vulnerable to earth germs. The Army is prepared.
So when the signs of launches on Mars are seen, there seems little reason to worry. Unless you listen to one man, Walter Jenkins, the narrator of Wells' book. He is sure that the Martians have learned, adapted, understood their defeat.
He is right.
Thrust into the chaos of a new invasion, a journalist - sister-in-law to Walter Jenkins - must survive, escape and report on the war. The Massacre of Mankind has begun.
Read by Nathalie Buscombe
Basta
by Marco Van BastenTriple European Footballer of the Year. Once World Footballer of the Year. European Champion two UEFA Super Cups, European Champion with the Dutch National Team in 1988 and numerous national championships with both Ajax and AC Milan. Marco van Basten is known as one of the greatest footballers of all time, but his personal life has always remained somewhat of a mystery, until now.
Basta is the raw, honest, but above all gripping autobiography of Marco van Basten.It's the unfiltered story of his rise to fame, from being under the wing of Cruyff and experiencing life as an Ajax player to being propelled into the spotlight following Euros '88 - and scoring the greatest goal ever to win a major final - and playing for AC Milan at the peak of Italian football's popularity.
But despite countless successes, Marco van Basten experienced many low points, including losing a childhood friend, battling with pain after his numerous fluffed operations, and ultimately coming to terms with life after playing football. Basta is his story.
Calling Major Tom
by David M. BarnettCALLING MAJOR TOM is a funny, uplifting tale of friendship and community about a man who has given up on the world... but discovers in the most unlikely way that it might not have given up on him.
We all know someone like Thomas. The grumpy next-door-neighbour who complains to the Residents' Committee about the state of your front lawn. The man who tuts when you don't have the correct change at the checkout. The colleague who sends an all-company email when you accidentally use the last drop of milk.
Thomas is very happy to be on his own, far away from other people and their problems. But beneath his cranky exterior lies a story and a sadness that is familiar to us all. And he's about to encounter a family who will change his view of the world.An irresistible and heart-warming tale of a very unexpected friendship, perfect for fans of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and A Man Called Ove. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you will cheer on all the curmudgeons in your life.
Read by David Thorpe(p) 2017 Orion Publishing Group
Are We There Yet?
by Emily Atack"In the underrated noughties film Crossroads, Britney Spears sang the immortal words 'I'm not a girl, not yet a woman'. Cheers Brit. I too find myself getting stuck somewhere between being an overdeveloped teenager and not quite being a fully functioning adult woman. I have no idea how to back-up my iCloud, I can't drive and I'm pretty bad at stopping men with exciting beards and unbuttoned vintage shirts from taking a big old walk all over me. In fact, not a girl, not yet a woman . . . it sums up my twenties perfectly."
Emily Atack was flung to fame at just 17, as the girl-next-door character in The Inbetweeners. Almost ten years later, she won over the nation on I'm a Celebrity Get Me out of Here with her cracking impersonations, epic bravery in the Bushtucker trials and general positivity.
Now, in her first book, Emily digs deep and reveals the hilarious highs and the heart-breaking lows that rocked the years between. With astonishing courage and her trade-mark humour, she shares stories about her family, first dates (and bad dates), first loves, moments where she's hit rock bottom and how she finally came to realise that it was all going to be okay.
Are We There Yet? is a warm, honest, FUNNY book for women of any age who have ever felt they needed to look a certain way or felt uncomfortable in their own skin. It's about life, love, everything grubby and glamorous in between, and ultimately realising that you're good enough. (Also she bought a laptop specifically to write this book so you better believe it's getting down and dirty :D)
The Last Smile in Sunder City
by Luke ArnoldThe Last Smile in Sunder City is a brilliantly voiced contemporary fantasy for fans of Ben Aaronovitch, Rotherweird or Terry Pratchett's Discworld, and the debut novel from high-profile actor Luke Arnold.
Fetch Phillips fought on the wrong side of a war between humans and magical creatures, and his actions helped to drain the world of enchantment. Now he works on the streets of Sunder City, taking what odd jobs he can while trying to help those whose lives he ruined.
His first case is to find a missing teacher. Professor Rye is a four-hundred-year-old vampire with a heart of gold in a husk of a body. In a world without magic, most vamps have already crumbled into dust, but Fetch is happy to go looking for some dirt with pointed teeth if it gets him his drinking money. Then, when a young siren disappears, Fetch finds out that this dark world still hides some monsters - and he'd better clean up his act before they come into the light.
The Darlings
by Cristina AlgerFrom the author of The Banker's Wife and Girls Like Us comes an explosive drama about family, greed and high society scandal.
The Darlings of New York are untouchable. But no one is safe from a scandal this big.
When Carter Darling's business partner commits suicide, it triggers a huge financial investigation. The allegations are serious. The danger of it exposing their private lives is equally threatening. In times of crisis, the Darlings have always stuck together. But with the stakes so high, how long will their loyalty last?(P) 2019 Penguin Random House Audio