Nerves of Steel

Nerves of Steel is the captivating true story of Tammie Jo Shults’ remarkable life – from growing up the daughter of a humble rancher, to breaking through gender barriers as one of the Navy’s first female F/A-18 Hornet pilots, to safely landing the severely crippled Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 and helping save the lives of…

The Last True Poets of the Sea

Tavia Gilbert’s expressive narration shows careful attunement to the emotions of 16-year-old Violet, who is sent for the summer to Lyric, Maine, a town noted for her great-great-great-grandmother’s survival of a shipwreck. Gilbert deftly portrays the wreck that is Violet. She’s sarcastic and jaded on the surface but suffering and vulnerable underneath after her brother’s…

A Woman’s Place

Upon her mother’s death from Alzheimer’s, Annie Ernaux embarks on a daunting journey back through time, as she seeks to “capture the real woman, the one who existed independently from me, born on the outskirts of a small Normandy town, and who died in the geriatric ward of a hospital in the suburbs of Paris.”…

Simple Passion

In her spare, stark style, Annie Ernaux documents the desires and indignities of a human heart ensnared in an all-consuming passion. Blurring the line between fact and fiction, an unnamed narrator attempts to plot the emotional and physical course of her two-year relationship with a married foreigner where every word, event, and person either provides…

A Man’s Place

Barely educated and valued since childhood strictly for his labor, Ernaux’s father had grown into a hard, practical man who showed his family little affection. Narrating his slow ascent towards material comfort, Ernaux’s cold observation reveals the shame that haunted her father throughout his life. She scrutinizes the importance he attributed to manners and language…

Sontag

Tavia Gilbert’s narration is empathetic as she conveys the considerable drama in Susan Sontag’s life. Sontag was one of the most interesting thinkers of her time, and Benjamin Moser’s intimate biography helps listeners understand how she created and re-created herself. Gilbert does not attempt to create voices for the many friends, enemies, and relatives who…

Unreasonable Doubts

Part legal suspense, part romance, this audiobook is a stellar debut. Narrator Tavia Gilbert introduces listeners to Liana Cohen, a New York City public defender who is struggling to find meaning and balance. Gilbert transitions seamlessly between the personal and professional challenges Liana faces–how to justify her lack of belief in her clients’ innocence, whether…

Hivemind

At the crossroads between The Shallows and Presence, Hivemind is a provocative look at how communities can sync up around shared ideas, and how this hive mentality is contributing to today’s polarized times.   Hivemind is an engaging narrative about learning to listen, find common ground, and to evolve without the extreme rhetoric that shapes…

The Loyal One

The New York Times bestselling author of the Walnut Creek series crafts a moving and evocative novel of secrets, friendship, and second chances—perfect for fans of Kathleen Fuller and Beth Wiseman.   When Katie Steury hires her old friend Harley Lambright to remodel her rundown old house into a charming bed and breakfast, she does…

The Book Charmer

Three narrators team up to perform this sweet contemporary small-town story. Amanda Ronconi delivers the chapters that focus on local librarian Sarah, who is determined to save her Southern hometown, Dove Pond, from irreversible decline. Grace, portrayed by Tavia Gilbert, has temporarily relocated to the area in an effort to help her found family: an…