Literary Criticism audiobooks

Michael Chabon Blends Fact and Fiction to Create ‘a Truth’

By: Michael Chabon

Narrated by: Michael Chabon & Jeffrey Brown

Length: 4 minutes

Abridged: No

In his new book, Moonglow: A Novel, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon blurs the line between truth and fiction, placing historical figures and true stories in a world of fantasy. He delves into a tale about war, family and technology in mid-century America; in doing so, he says he gives his readers “a truth,” if not the truth. Chabon... Read more

The Clothing of Books

By: Jhumpa Lahiri

Narrated by: Jhumpa Lahiri

Length: 58 minutes

Abridged: No

A deeply personal reflection from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Namesake that explores the art of the book jacket from the perspectives of both reader and writer.

How do you clothe a book? Probing the complex relationships between text and image, author and designer, and art and commerce, Lahiri delves into the role of the uniform;... Read more

The Untold Story of the Talking Book

By: Matthew Rubery

Narrated by: Jim Denison

Length: 11 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: No

Histories of the book often move straight from the codex to the digital screen. Left out of that familiar account is nearly 150 years of audio recordings. Recounting the fascinating history of audio-recorded literature, Matthew Rubery traces the path of innovation from Edison’s recitation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” for his tinfoil phonograph in... Read more

Thalia Kids' Book Club: Raina Telgemeier's Ghosts

By: Raina Telgemeier

Narrated by: Madeline Cohen

Length: 55 minutes

Abridged: No

The number one New York Times best-selling author and illustrator of Smile, Drama, and Sisters comes to Symphony Space with her latest graphic novel, Ghosts. Two sisters move to a new town only to learn that it's haunted - and the time of year when ghosts reunite with their loved ones is fast approaching! Fans of Raina Telgemeier will love this... Read more

Thalia Book Club: Ann Patchett's State of Wonder

By: Ann Patchett

Narrated by: Emma Straub & Alan Alda

Length: 1 hour 26 minutes

Abridged: No

The author of Bel Canto and Truth & Beauty talks with Jane Hamilton (A Map of the World; The Short History of a Prince) and delves deeply into the backstory of her latest creation, a thought-provoking literary thriller, set deep in the Amazon jungle, with fascinating characters that defy our expectations, and chockful of suspense, romance,... Read more

Fierce Reads NYC moderated by MashReads

By: Anna Banks, Marissa Meyer, Caleb Roehrig & Emma...

Narrated by: Anna Banks, Marissa Meyer, Caleb Roehrig, Emma ...

Length: 52 minutes

Abridged: No

Four fierce authors of romance, suspense, fantasy, and bestselling series for teens: Anna Banks (The Syrena Legacy series), Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles), Emma Mills (This Adventure Ends), and Caleb Roehrig (Last Seen Leaving) make a stop on their tour to present their latest novels and chat with fans. In conversation with MJ Franklin and... Read more

Thalia Kids' Book Club: Gene Luen Yang's Paths & Portals

By: Gene Luen Yang

Narrated by: Christopher Myers

Length: 50 minutes

Abridged: No

The creator of the bestselling graphic novels American Born Chinese and Boxers & Saints, and now the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, discusses the latest installment of Secret Coders with writer and illustrator Christopher Myers (Fly!). Secret Coders: Paths & Portals is the second book in the wildly entertaining new... Read more

Ruth Bader Ginsburg on becoming 'notorious'

By: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Narrated by: Ruth Bader Ginsburg & Gwen Ifill

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

For the latest NewsHour Bookshelf, Gwen Ifill sits down with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to discuss her new book, In My Own Words -- her first since she was appointed to the court. Ginsburg reflects on the origins of her reputation as “Notorious R.B.G,” how Jimmy Carter diversified the court and how the confirmation process today... Read more

Stephen King wants to reach out and grab you - with his writing

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Novelist Stephen King is best known for his works of horror, but he says what scares him the most is not being able to write. Jeffrey Brown spoke with him at the Library of Congress National Book Festival about his latest novel, End of Watch, the last in a trilogy, and about writing itself -- how he lets the story go where it takes him, his... Read more

Stephen King Wants to Reach Out and Grab You — with His Writing

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Stephen King & Jeffrey Brown

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Novelist Stephen King is best known for his works of horror, but he says what scares him the most is not being able to write. Jeffrey Brown spoke with him at the Library of Congress National Book Festival about his latest novel, End of Watch, the last in a trilogy, and about writing itself -- how he lets the story go where it takes him, his... Read more

A Tale of Love and Darkness

By: Amos Oz

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 23 hours 52 minutes

Abridged: No

Tragic, comic, and utterly honest, this extraordinary memoir is at once a great family saga and a magical self-portrait of a writer who witnessed the birth of a nation and lived through its turbulent history.It is the story of a boy growing up in the war-torn Jerusalem of the forties and fifties in a small apartment crowded with books in twelve... Read more

Understanding the Rise of the Islamic State

By: Lawrence Wright

Narrated by: Lawrence Wright & Jeffrey Brown

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

As a young man, Lawrence Wright first visited the Middle East when he taught English in Cairo. He has spent much of his life since reporting on the region -- documenting culture by sharing the stories of individuals. His new book, The Terror Years, considers the evolution of extremism and the Islamic State since 9/11. Wright sits down with... Read more

William Shakespeare

By: Michael W. Simmons

Narrated by: Jim D. Johnston

Length: TBA

Abridged: No

William Shakespeare was the most brilliant writer in the history of the English language. But his life is a complete mystery to us. No biographies were written for almost a hundred years after his death. His friends, family, and all those who knew him as a poet in London’s theatrical scene died before anyone could ask them: who was Shakespeare?... Read more

The Princess and the Goblin

By: George MacDonald

Narrated by: Stanley Green

Length: 5 hours 1 minute

Abridged: No

The Princess and the Goblin is a children's fantasy novel by George MacDonald. Eight-year-old Princess Irene lives a lonely life in a castle in a wild, desolate, mountainous kingdom, with only her nursemaid "Lootie" for company. Her father the king is normally absent, and her mother is dead. Unknown to her, the nearby mines are inhabited by a... Read more

The Odyssey

By: Homer

Narrated by: Gordon Griffin

Length: 15 hours 28 minutes

Abridged: No

The Odyssey is an epic poem, written by the ancient Greek Philosopher Homer, and is considered to be the second oldest piece of western literature still in existence. Scholars believe it was written at the end of the 8th century BC. Still heavily used in schools because of its unique literary makeup and historical value, the poems follow Greek... Read more

Critics, Monsters, Fanatics, and Other Literary Essays

By: Cynthia Ozick

Narrated by: Donna Postel

Length: 7 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

If every outlet for book criticism suddenly disappeared—if all we had were reviews that treated books like any other commodity—could the novel survive? In a gauntlet throwing essay at the start of this brilliant assemblage, Cynthia Ozick stakes the claim that, just as surely as critics require a steady supply of new fiction, novelists need great... Read more

One Man’s Meat

By: E. B. White

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

Length: 11 hours 48 minutes

Abridged: No

In print for over fifty years, One Man’s Meat continues to delight readers with E. B. White’s witty, succinct observations on daily life at a Maine saltwater farm.Too personal for an almanac, too sophisticated for a domestic history, and too funny and self-doubting for a literary journal, One Man’s Meat can best be described as a primer of a... Read more

Luistercursus Nederlands voor Polen

By: Willy Hemelrijk

Narrated by: Willy Hemelrijk

Length: 3 hours 51 minutes

Abridged: No

Voor anderstaligen die willen of moeten inburgeren heeft Prisma laagdrempelige luistercursussen Nederlands. Hiermee kunnen ze eenvoudig Nederlands leren door te luisteren en na te zeggen. Bij uitstek geschikt dus voor wie niet of nauwelijks Nederlands spreekt of een lage leesvaardigheid heeft. De cursist krijgt in drie delen uitleg en... Read more

The Maximum Security Book Club

By: Mikita Brottman

Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick

Length: 7 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

A riveting account of the two years literary scholar Mikita Brottman spent reading literature with criminals in a maximum-security men’s prison outside Baltimore, and what she learned from them—Orange Is the New Black meets Reading Lolita in Tehran.On sabbatical from teaching literature to undergraduates, and wanting to educate a different kind... Read more

Geek Feminist Revolution

By: Kameron Hurley

Narrated by: C.S.E. Cooney

Length: 8 hours 48 minutes

Abridged: No

Kameron Hurley—one of the most influential young voices in science fiction and geek culture—presents The Geek Feminist Revolution: Essays on Subversion, Tactical Profanity, And the Power of Media. The Geek Feminist Revolution is Bad Feminist for the Comic-Con crowd. This powerful collection of essays is about overcoming misogyny in geek culture,... Read more

The Secret Life of Plants — and ‘Lab Girl’ Author Hope Jahren

By: Hope Jahren

Narrated by: Hope Jahren & Jeffrey Brown

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

When geobiologist Hope Jahren sat down to describe the results of her research, she found that she couldn’t relate her findings without discussing the people who made them possible, herself especially. That revelation led to her new book Lab Girl, both an investigation into the complex and thrilling lives of plants and a deeply personal memoir.... Read more

The Story of Alice

By: Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

Narrated by: Shaun Grindell

Length: 15 hours 51 minutes

Abridged: No

Following his acclaimed biography of Dickens, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst illuminates the tangled history of two lives and two books. Drawing on numerous unpublished sources, he examines in detail the peculiar friendship between the Oxford mathematician Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) and Alice Liddell, the child for whom he invented the Alice... Read more

Mariposa (Integral)

By: Patrícia Baikal

Narrated by: Leobaldo Prado

Length: 6 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Jogos de poder, política e corrupção se cruzam com uma história de amor. Um jovem senador brasileiro, Nicolas, se vê rodeado de grandes mistérios a partir do momento em que uma estranha mulher invade sua casa e lhe dá pistas para incriminar seu rival político. Enquanto se envolve de uma forma apaixonante com esta mulher, de codinome Mariposa,... Read more

Belle du Seigneur d'Albert Cohen (Fiche de lecture)

By: lePetitLitteraire & Oriane Tellier

Narrated by: Denise Dubois

Length: 29 minutes

Abridged: No

Décryptez Belle du Seigneur d'Albert Cohen avec l'analyse du PetitLitteraire.fr !Que faut-il retenir de Belle du Seigneur, ce roman primé par l'Académie française ? Retrouvez tout ce que vous devez savoir sur cette œuvre dans une fiche de lecture complète et détaillée.Vous trouverez notamment dans cette fiche :• Un résumé complet• Une... Read more