Essays bestsellers

The Anthropocene Reviewed

Essays on a Human-Centered Planet

By: John Green
Narrated by: John Green
Length: 10 hours 42 minutes

“How do you find the words to describe a book that repeatedly took your breath away? That kept knocking you on your ass? That made you stop multiple times to dutifully type out quotes to text to your friends? I don't know, but I know this is the book I needed right now. It's probably the book you need right now, too. I give THE ANTHROPOCENE... Read more

Crying in H Mart

A Memoir

By: Michelle Zauner
Narrated by: Michelle Zauner
Length: 7 hours 22 minutes

“This is a beautiful memoir and it totally lives up to the hype! Zauner offers an honest account of her struggle with her Korean American upbringing and her relationship with her dying mother, and what the loss of her meant in the end. The shared experience of cooking and enjoying Korean food was central to their relationship, and her vivid... Read more

The Message

By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Narrated by: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Length: 5 hours 20 minutes

“Three powerful and necessary essays on writing, politics and colonialism. Coates reports with subtlety and meaning on three different topics : his first trip to Africa, visiting Dakar, his experience with the books ban and American history, and finally his trip to Palestine and the realizations he made there, and back home. And he does it all... Read more

On Tyranny

Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

By: Timothy Snyder
Narrated by: Timothy Snyder
Length: 1 hour 47 minutes

“On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder is a concise yet powerful exploration of the lessons history teaches us about the nature of tyranny and the fragility of democracy. Drawing from historical examples, particularly from Europe during the 20th century, Snyder outlines twenty practical lessons aimed at helping... Read more

How Far the Light Reaches

A Life in Ten Sea Creatures

By: Sabrina Imbler
Narrated by: Sabrina Imbler
Length: 5 hours 40 minutes

“This utterly absorbing collection of essays merges marine biology and memoir, diving into such subjects as disordered eating via a starving mother octopus, the power of queer spaces through the science and survival of deep sea wildlife, gendered violence and the Sandstriker (formerly named after Lorena Bobbit), being mixed-race and rainbow fish... Read more

I'll Have What She's Having

By: Chelsea Handler
Narrated by: Chelsea Handler
Length: 6 hours 12 minutes

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In hilarious and tender essays, Chelsea Handler shares her unforgettable story of becoming the woman she always wanted to be.

“A raw and raucous exploration of Handler’s ongoing search for self . . . [She’s] disarming us with humor to get at our softest selves and meeting us with her own.”—Oprah Daily

There’s a... Read more

On Animals

By: Susan Orlean
Narrated by: Susan Orlean
Length: 10 hours

“Listening to the audiobook was like listening to a podcast on animals, episodic and entertaining. New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean writes about animals in such a loving way. The personalities of each creature shines through. Highly recommend if you love creatures big and small. Read more

Kitchen Confidential

Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

By: Anthony Bourdain
Narrated by: Anthony Bourdain
Length: 8 hours 18 minutes

“Bourdain begrudgingly offers, among other things, a cracked and battered pair of rose-colored glasses through which to view the world. Read more

Sitting Pretty

The View from My Ordinary, Resilient, Disabled Body

By: Rebekah Taussig
Narrated by: Rebekah Taussig
Length: 7 hours 33 minutes

A memoir-in-essays from disability advocate and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty Rebekah Taussig, processing a lifetime of memories to paint a beautiful, nuanced portrait of a body that looks and moves differently than most.Growing up as a paralyzed girl during the 90s and early 2000s, Rebekah Taussig only saw disability depicted... Read more

Gathering Moss

A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses

By: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Length: 7 hours 46 minutes

“Very helpful for the construction of my moss habitat! Read more

Sucker Punch

Essays

By: Scaachi Koul
Narrated by: Scaachi Koul
Length: 6 hours 14 minutes

“This collection of essays highlights the reality of life and how we cannot control everything. While real and unfortunately relatable, Scaachi uses humor to portray some of life’s struggles as a woman, a daughter of immigrants, a wife, and a human in a world full of unexpected changes. This glimpse into Scaachi’s experiences is raw and... Read more

Ten Steps to Nanette

A Memoir Situation

By: Hannah Gadsby
Narrated by: Hannah Gadsby
Length: 13 hours 47 minutes

“My first exposure to Hannah Gadsby was watching Nanette on Netflix. Nanette is funny, witty, heartbreaking, and excruciatingly well crafted. Gadsby’s memoir about the experiences that led her there is no different. Ten Steps to Nanette is many things. Gadsby elegantly synthesizes the narrative threads of her childhood, family, queerness, and... Read more

Strong Female Character

By: Fern Brady
Narrated by: Fern Brady
Length: 6 hours 43 minutes

“Fern Brady is a hilarious Scottish comedian who is autistic. In this memoir she tells us about her life, upbringing, and career. She discusses what it’s like for her to be an autistic woman, and to not be believed by many about her autism diagnosis. I first came to know her through the British comedy game show “Taskmaster” but you definitely... Read more

Inciting Joy

Essays

By: Ross Gay
Narrated by: Ross Gay
Length: 8 hours 20 minutes

“Reading Ross Gay makes me feel (to paraphrase Emily Dickinson on poetry) like the top of my head’s been blown off…in the most exciting, nourishing, comforting, challenging ways. Here, he muses on the power of community and connection to incite joy, touching on gardening and grief, mutual aid, masculinity, mental health, even skateboarding and... Read more

Lifeform

By: Jenny Slate
Narrated by: Jenny Slate, George Saunders, Vanessa Bayer & Will Forte
Length: 4 hours 57 minutes

“Perhaps not surprisingly from the author of Little Weirds and creator of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Jenny Slate’s Lifeform is wild, funny, and just a little weird. In these pages you’ll find fantasies of revenge and power, the beloved dead, true love, pregnancy and birth, and drunken nights, witches, the weirdness of bodies, imposter... Read more

Want

Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous

By: Gillian Anderson
Narrated by: Gillian Anderson & Anonymous
Length: 11 hours 59 minutes

“A really thoughtful and moving exploration of sexuality, fantasy, and desire. This book is a collection of anonymous essays featuring true stories about women and nonbinary people. What do people have to say about sex when no one can hear? In what ways are feminine presenting people expected to perform in the bedroom? And what do they really... Read more

Good Soil

The Education of an Accidental Farmhand

By: Jeff Chu
Narrated by: Jeff Chu
Length: 9 hours 11 minutes

A profound meditation on nature, heritage, and belonging, from an accomplished journalist who left New York City for life on a working farm

“I needed this book. I think you need it, too.”—Maggie Smith, New York Times bestselling author of You Could Make This Place Beautiful

In his late thirties, Jeff Chu left his job as a magazine writer and found... Read more

The Best of Me

By: David Sedaris
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 13 hours 8 minutes

“As if there is anything greater than a new David Sedaris, it's listening to David Sedaris read the new David Sedaris. This self-edited collection of essays from his prolific 25-year career is exactly what we need to boost the morale of 2020 and remind ourselves what a crazy world we've always lived in when viewed through Sedaris's keen... Read more

Hijab Butch Blues

A Memoir

By: Lamya H
Narrated by: Ashraf Shirazi
Length: 7 hours 32 minutes

“Lamya H details their life from early childhood through adulthood in juxtaposition to stories in the Quran. In doing so, they deliver a profound and masterfully crafted memoir with nuances about their immigrant and queer identity. Hijab Butch Blues is such a beautiful memoir that from the opening chapter felt like a story demanding to be heard... Read more

Happy-Go-Lucky

By: David Sedaris
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 7 hours 30 minutes

“This was my first experience listening to David Sedaris. It was great. His stories are always smart and funny, sometimes disturbing, but always make me think. Wonderful to hear him tell them authentically. Read more

Quietly Hostile

Essays

By: Samantha Irby
Narrated by: Samantha Irby
Length: 9 hours 31 minutes

“Samantha Irby, modern classic pop culture humorist, holds nothing back in her latest essay collection, whose topics range from how to stay relentlessly positive in the face of the incurably judgmental to ways to ruin Sex and the City (she wrote for the reboot) to too-real family (mis)connections to the time she almost died. Irby’s life and... Read more

The Memory Palace

True Short Stories of the Past

By: Nate DiMeo
Narrated by: Nate DiMeo, Jad Abumrad, Daniel Alarcón, Betsy Brandt, Carrie Coon, Hrishikesh Hirway, Dominic Hoffman, Rebecca Lowman, Roman Mars, Robin Miles, Ryan Reynolds, Kai Ryssdal, Lili Taylor & Full Cast
Length: 8 hours 41 minutes

“Podcaster and writer Nate DiMeo has a special talent for finding the most alive and human vein in any historical moment and bringing it to the front in his retellings. This collection of essays is broad in variety and narrow in focus—ranging from unknown farmers to presidents—and so delicately makes moments from the past feel vital and... Read more

How To Tell When We Will Die

On Pain, Disability, and Doom

By: Johanna Hedva
Narrated by: Johanna Hedva
Length: 15 hours 2 minutes

The long-awaited essay collection from one of the most influential voices in disability activism that detonates a bomb in our collective understanding of care and illness, showing us that sickness is a fact of life.   In the wake of the 2014 Ferguson riots, and sick with a chronic condition that rendered them housebound, Johanna Hedva turned to... Read more

Little Weirds

By: Jenny Slate
Narrated by: Jenny Slate
Length: 4 hours 19 minutes

“This dazzling and appropriately titled essay collection from Jenny Slate is everything you might expect from the whip-smart actress/comedian/voice of an anthropomorphic seashell, and probably also a few things you might not. No two vignettes are alike — some are fleeting, some panoramic; there’s effervescence and melancholy and bravery and... Read more

The Harder I Fight the More I Love You

A Memoir

By: Neko Case
Narrated by: Neko Case
Length: 7 hours 1 minute

“Electric, angry, joyful, scrappy, and full of life. The Harder I Fight the More I Love You is a powerful work that is moving even if you are not familiar with Neko’s music. A celebration of the power of art and being our true selves in the world. Read more

Something in the Woods Loves You

By: Jarod K. Anderson
Narrated by: Jarod K. Anderson
Length: 11 hours 30 minutes

An inspiring blend of nature writing and memoir that explores nature’s crucial role in our emotional and mental health

Bats can hear shapes, plants can eat light, and bees can dance maps. When his life took him to a painfully dark place, the poet behind The CryptoNaturalist, Jarod K. Anderson, found comfort and redemption in these facts and the... Read more

Wow, No Thank You.

Essays (Lambda Literary Award)

By: Samantha Irby
Narrated by: Samantha Irby
Length: 10 hours 3 minutes

A new rip-roaring essay collection from the smart, edgy, hilarious, unabashedly raunchy, and bestselling Samantha Irby.

Irby is forty, and increasingly uncomfortable in her own skin despite what Inspirational Instagram Infographics have promised her. She has left her job as a receptionist at a veterinary clinic, has published successful books and... Read more

Calypso

By: David Sedaris
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 6 hours 38 minutes

“If there is a "King of Audiobooks", it has to be David Sedaris. The absolute best way to enjoy the writing of Sedaris is to hear him perform it. Not only is his voice rather odd, immediately putting you in a mood to giggle, but he is such an effortless performer it's impossible not to get caught up in his world. And what a world! In his latest,... Read more

On the Hippie Trail

Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer

By: Rick Steves
Narrated by: Rick Steves
Length: 4 hours 16 minutes

Stow away with Rick Steves for a glimpse into the unforgettable moments, misadventures, and memories of his 1978 journey on the legendary Hippie Trail.

In the 1970s, the ultimate trip for any backpacker was the storied “Hippie Trail” from Istanbul to Kathmandu. A 23-year old Rick Steves made the trek, and like a travel writer in training, he... Read more

These Precious Days

Essays

By: Ann Patchett
Narrated by: Ann Patchett
Length: 11 hours 13 minutes

“I loved absolutely everything about this book and did not want it to end. Ann Patchett's narration is magical and I believe is best way to experience her writing. Though these are essays, they are expertly arranged and together feel like a memoir. Patchett talks about everything from life and death to bookstores and book covers and you... Read more

Broken (in the best possible way)

By: Jenny Lawson
Narrated by: Jenny Lawson
Length: 8 hours 18 minutes

“San Antonio author Jenny Lawson's newest collection was worth the wait! We have giggled over her previous book, FURIOUSLY HAPPY, many times here at the store. Now, we have BROKEN (IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY). Her hilarious, meandering life stories had me laughing in every chapter. Not only does she make comedy out of her (#relatable) social... Read more

Everything I Know About Love

A Memoir

By: Dolly Alderton
Narrated by: Dolly Alderton
Length: 8 hours 34 minutes

“Dolly Alderton gave words to so much of what I felt about my twenties and growing up. A perfect pick for a book club. Read more

I Shouldn't Be Telling You This

(But I'm Going to Anyway)

By: Chelsea Devantez
Narrated by: Chelsea Devantez
Length: 8 hours 54 minutes

“I laughed, I cried, I googled things she told me not to. Chelsea Devantez is a hilarious gift to us all. Read more

The Myth of Sisyphus And Other Essays

By: Albert Camus
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
Length: 5 hours 39 minutes

One of the most influential works of this century, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a meditation on suicide; the question of living or not living in a universe devoid of order or meaning. With lyric... Read more

Neuroqueer Heresies

Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities

By: Nick Walker
Narrated by: Janet Metzger
Length: 6 hours 16 minutes

The work of queer autistic scholar Nick Walker has played a key role in the evolving discourse on human neurodiversity.



Neuroqueer Heresies collects a decade's worth of Dr. Walker's most influential writings, along with new commentary by the author and new material on her radical conceptualization of Neuroqueer Theory.



This book is essential for... Read more

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century

Unabridged Selections

By: Alice Wong
Narrated by: Alejandra Ospina & Alice Wong
Length: 8 hours 1 minute

“Containing dozens of personal stories, this is an absolute must-read for anyone looking to learn about the breadth, diversity, and history of disabled experience(s) from disabled folks themselves. Read more

Surviving Autocracy

By: Masha Gessen
Narrated by: Masha Gessen
Length: 5 hours 45 minutes

“When Gessen speaks about autocracy, you listen.” —The New York Times

“A reckoning with what has been lost in the past few years and a map forward with our beliefs intact.” —Interview

As seen on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and heard on NPR’s All Things Considered: the bestselling, National Book Award–winning journalist offers an essential guide to... Read more

Shit, Actually

The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema

By: Lindy West
Narrated by: Lindy West
Length: 7 hours 16 minutes

“I would give this book a rating of 10/10 DVD copies of The Fugitive. Absolutely hilarious—I laughed out loud several times. I have watched most of the movies she talked about and am going to watch the one's I haven't immediately!! This is the perfect book for anyone who loves trash talking bad movies, pointing out plot holes, and discussing... Read more

Homestand

Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America

By: Will Bardenwerper
Narrated by: Dan Bittner
Length: 10 hours 45 minutes

A poignant memoir exploring small town baseball as a lens into what’s right and wrong with modern America—written by an acclaimed journalist and Army Ranger who, after returning from Iraq to a painfully divided country, rediscovered its core values in the bleachers of a minor league ballpark in Batavia, New York.

What happens when a minor league... Read more

A Very Punchable Face

A Memoir

By: Colin Jost
Narrated by: Colin Jost
Length: 7 hours 40 minutes

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In these hilarious essays, the Saturday Night Live head writer and Weekend Update co-anchor learns how to take a beating.

“I always wanted to punch his face before I read this book. Now I just want to kick him in the balls.”—Larry David

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Cosmopolitan • Vulture • Parade

If there’s... Read more

The Book of Delights

By: Ross Gay
Narrated by: Ross Gay
Length: 5 hours

“This is one of my favorite books to recommend, especially for someone looking for a gift. Poet and avid gardener Ross Gay, who also is the fantastic narrator, reflects on what delights him over the course of a year. Lyrical, humorous, philosophical and sometimes heartbreaking, these essays may be bite-sized but they will fill you up. A great way... Read more

What If? 2

Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

By: Randall Munroe
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
Length: 6 hours 35 minutes

“Whether you are a fan of the original What If book or you have just discovered this series, you find this book informative, intriguing, and at times funny. Randall Munroe is a science lover as well as a comedian. What If 2 takes hypothetical situations and questions, and answers them with scientific facts. What If 2 is read by Will Wheaton. Will... Read more

In My Remaining Years

By: Jean Grae
Narrated by: Jean Grae
Length: 11 hours 40 minutes

In My Remaining Years offers an immersive audio experience, fully sound designed to enhance your enjoyment. Listen out for the sounds of Jean's inner monologue, Dr. Umentary, and New York City with original music composed for this listening experience. Sit back and savor!

This collection of darkly humorous, intensely personal essays is written... Read more

Leslie F*cking Jones

By: Leslie Jones
Narrated by: Leslie Jones & Chris Rock
Length: 16 hours 32 minutes

“The best thing about the book Leslie F*cking Jones is that it is read by...Leslie F*cking Jones. Her bluntness, humor, and authenticity shine through in this moving memoir that is both witty and poignant. Existing fans and new followers will be carried away by Jones' informal and raucous style, telling stories both heartfelt and hilarious that... Read more

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life

Essays

By: Samantha Irby
Narrated by: Samantha Irby
Length: 9 hours 16 minutes

“There are many ways to craft a humorous essay. One of the most straightforward is to harness the clarity to tell it exactly like it is. You know, through the warped lens of personality. Samantha Irby sees all, and she sees it through wickedly potent bifocals. Read more

Raw Dog

The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs

By: Jamie Loftus
Narrated by: Jamie Loftus
Length: 9 hours 38 minutes

“I know you've never actively wanted to know the history of the hot dog, but you should. Using the comfort food as a lens, Jamie Loftus examines all sorts of niche elements of societies and neighborhoods around the US and makes it eye opening, informative, and simply hilarious. Read more

Yearbook

By: Seth Rogen
Narrated by: Seth Rogen & Full Cast
Length: 6 hours 13 minutes

“So funny. I couldn’t stop listening until I had heard all of his anecdotes. Loved it. Read more

Me Talk Pretty One Day

By: David Sedaris
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 5 hours 50 minutes

A new collection from David Sedaris is cause for jubilation. His recent move to Paris has inspired hilarious pieces, including Me Talk Pretty One Day, about his attempts to learn French. His family is another inspiration. You Cant Kill the Rooster is a portrait of his brother who talks incessant hip-hop slang to his bewildered father. And no one... Read more

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey

Crazy Stories about Racism

By: Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar
Narrated by: Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar
Length: 5 hours 21 minutes

“Behold! One of my favorite books AND one of the funniest books I’ve ever read! Ruffin and Lamar have such a phenomenal knack for storytelling! Are these tales hilarious? Yes! Are they also exasperating and ridiculous (and in a few instances downright horrifying)? Also yes! (Truly, the sheer AUDACITY of the people who feature in these stories is... Read more

The Penguin Lessons

What I Learned from a Remarkable Bird

By: Tom Michell
Narrated by: Bill Nighy
Length: 6 hours 2 minutes

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • The extraordinary and inspiring true story about the surprising bond between a young teacher and the small penguin he rescued

“The Penguin Lessons teaches an important truth: that a single act of compassion can be repaid a thousand-fold.”—Sy Montgomery, author of the National Book Award finalist The Soul of an... Read more