Literary Criticism audiobooks

Crime and Other Pastimes

By: Mandy Sayer

Narrated by: Casey Withoos

Length: 6 hours 45 minutes

Abridged: No

Blending the popular genre of crime fiction with the art of the short story, Crime and Other Pastimes reveals the interconnecting lives and deaths of unforgettable characters within an inner-city community. After the corpse of a newborn baby is discovered in a nearby laneway, an adopted girl being raised in a funeral home finally appreciates... Read more

On Artists

By: Ashleigh Wilson

Narrated by: Ashleigh Wilson

Length: 1 hour 22 minutes

Abridged: No

The #MeToo movement is overturning a cliché that has forgiven bad behaviour for years: to be creative is to be prone to eccentricity, madness, addiction and excess. No longer can artists be excused from the standards of conduct that apply to us all. But if we denounce the artist, then what becomes of the work that remains? Read more

Shakespeare

By: Ros King

Narrated by: Robert Meldrum

Length: 7 hours 19 minutes

Abridged: No

Whether the fault of tedious teachers or hammy actors, Shakespeare is often seen as dry and impenetrable. In this fast-paced introduction, Ros King sets out to remind us of the sheer beauty and sophistication that can make Shakespeare’s works a joy for any audience. Exploring his invention and wit, along with his uncanny characterisation, King... Read more

On Us

By: Mark Scott

Narrated by: Mark Scott

Length: 1 hour 49 minutes

Abridged: No

How do we step outside our own echo chamber to understand others? What are we losing when we share fewer and fewer national moments? The new media is enabling despots and disempowering democracy. So when every opinion seems to matter equally, On Us offers a few more on choice in a concentrated media world and asks why more information often... Read more

On Indignation

By: Don Watson

Narrated by: Don Watson

Length: 1 hour 8 minutes

Abridged: No

Don Watson takes us on a journey of indignation and how it has been expressed in his forebears. His ire towards US politicians has a new moving target: Donald Trump. The US President's primary pitch had less to do with giving people money or security than it was about vengeance. Trump exploited the anger we feel when we are slighted or taken for... Read more

Salt

By: Bruce Pascoe

Narrated by: Bruce Pascoe

Length: 8 hours 54 minutes

Abridged: No

A collection of stories and essays by the award-winning author of Dark Emu, showcasing his shimmering genius across a lifetime of work. Bruce Pascoe has been described as a ‘living national treasure’ and his work as ‘revelatory’. This volume of his best and most celebrated stories and essays, collected here for the first time, ranges across his... Read more

On Sleep

By: Fleur Anderson

Narrated by: Fleur Anderson

Length: 1 hour 41 minutes

Abridged: No

Part-time insomniac Fleur Anderson ponders the big questions: Why can't I sleep? Do politicians and other high-flyers ever admit they too are exhausted? Do they get enough sleep to make sensible decisions? Where is society heading, and why did I have that glass of cab sav? Read more

The Astral Traveller's Handbook & Other Tales

By: David Michie

Narrated by: David Michie

Length: 5 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

Whatever dreams he was having, Jason knew they had nothing to do with his physical body. His eyes were firmly shut and his consciousness withdrawn from his senses when all this was going on. Yet in his dreams he experienced sights, sounds and even visceral sensations much more intensely than when he was awake. What if you could re-live the... Read more

Watsonia

By: Don Watson

Narrated by: David Tredinnick

Length: 25 hours 44 minutes

Abridged: No

‘When you write speeches for other people for a living, any audience is a good audience. I address walls and poultry: I stand on a wheelbarrow and give after-dinner speeches as the moon rises over the fowl yard. I say, Eight and a half generations of you fowls I have known. The chooks treat it as a diversion, of course. They get on with the main... Read more

Das Märchen von Hänsel und Gretel

By: Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm

Narrated by: Claus Vester

Length: 18 minutes

Abridged: No

Zwei Kinder werden von ihren Eltern im Wald ausgesetzt und finden ein Lebkuchenhaus, das von einer Hexe bewohnt wird, die Kinder frisst. Die Hexe sperrt Hänsel ein und zwingt Gretel, für ihn zu kochen. Doch Gretel kann die Hexe überlisten und in den Ofen stoßen, sodass die Kinder mit den Schätzen der Hexe zu den Eltern zurückkehren. Read more

Das Märchen vom tapferen Schneiderlein

By: Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm

Narrated by: Claus Vester

Length: 21 minutes

Abridged: No

Ein Schneider erschlägt sieben Fliegen auf einen Streich und prahlt damit. Er zieht in die Welt hinaus, wo er dank seines Muts und Einfallsreichtums gegen Riesen und andere Gefahren besteht und schließlich zum König aufsteigt. Read more

Das Märchen von Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot

By: Wilhelm Grimm & Jacob Grimm

Narrated by: Claus Vester

Length: TBA

Abridged: No

Zwei Schwestern, Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot, leben friedlich mit ihrer Mutter in einem Haus am Waldrand. Sie helfen einem Bären, der sich später als verwunschener Prinz entpuppt, und besiegen einen bösen Zwerg, der den Prinzen verflucht hat. Read more

On Merit

By: Paula Matthewson

Narrated by: Caroline Lee

Length: 1 hour 37 minutes

Abridged: No

Merit has very little to do with the increasing dominance of men in the modern in the Liberal Party. Yet Liberal women continue to defend it. Until now. On Merit explores this imbalance, its implications for the party's future, and how a pair of red shoes may spark a rebellion against the merit myth. Read more

On Fairness

By: Sally McManus

Narrated by: Sally McManus

Length: 1 hour 24 minutes

Abridged: No

Most of us believe in fairness. Why then do we have creeping inequality in the land of the fair go? The answer lies in stagnant wage rises, gender pay inequity, insecure work and the lack of real opportunities for all while corporations are still consuming large profits and executives claim record bonuses. Sally McManus confronts these truths... Read more

On Disruption

By: Katherine Murphy

Narrated by: Katherine Tonkin

Length: 1 hour 54 minutes

Abridged: No

The internet has shaken the foundations of life: public and private lives are wrought by the 24-hour, seven-day-a-week news cycle that means no one is ever off duty. On Disruption is a report from the coalface of that change: what has happened, will it keep happening, and is there any way out of the chaos? Read more

On Doubt

By: Leigh Sales

Narrated by: Louise Crawford

Length: 1 hour 43 minutes

Abridged: No

Her classic personal essay carries a message about the value of truth, scrutiny and accountability – a much-needed, pocket-sized antidote to fake news. Donald Trump, the post-truth world and the instability of Australian politics are all examined in this fresh take on her prescient essay on the media and political trends that define our times. Read more

The Best Gallipoli Yarns and Forgotten Stories

By: Jim Haynes

Narrated by: Jim Haynes & Rebecca Macauley

Length: 7 hours 6 minutes

Abridged: No

This is not a history, nor is it an individual soldier's story. Rather Jim Haynes has done what he does so well and pulled together the many yarns and stories and verses written about Gallipoli – everything from the first-hand accounts of being recruited to memories of ordinary soldiers written from the trenches, and accounts of the aftermath –... Read more

On Mother

By: Sarah Ferguson

Narrated by: Caroline Lee

Length: 1 hour 17 minutes

Abridged: No

A mother's love over decades and across continents. The sudden death of Sarah's mother reveals their relationship with poignant clarity and shows her the individual who existed beyond motherhood. Read more

Das Märchen vom Froschkönig

By: Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm

Narrated by: Claus Vester

Length: 9 minutes

Abridged: No

Eine Königstochter verliert ihre goldene Kugel in einem Brunnen. Ein Frosch bietet ihr an, die Kugel zurückzubringen, wenn sie ihm ihre Freundschaft verspricht. Sie willigt widerwillig ein, doch als der Frosch seine Belohnung einfordert, wird sie zuerst abweisend. Später löst sich der Zauber, und der Frosch wird in einen Prinzen verwandelt. Read more

Das Märchen vom Wolf und den 7 Geißlein

By: Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm

Narrated by: Claus Vester

Length: TBA

Abridged: No

Eine Geißenmutter warnt ihre sieben Kinder vor dem gefährlichen Wolf. Dieser versucht dennoch, sie zu täuschen und dringt ins Haus ein, um alle zu fressen, bis auf das jüngste Geißlein, das sich versteckt. Die Mutter kehrt zurück, rettet die Geißlein und füllt den Bauch des Wolfs mit Steinen, sodass er im Brunnen ertrinkt. Read more

Das Märchen vom Rapunzel

By: Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm

Narrated by: Claus Vester

Length: 10 minutes

Abridged: No

Ein Ehepaar muss sein neugeborenes Kind, Rapunzel, einer Zauberin überlassen. Rapunzel wird in einem Turm ohne Türen und Treppen eingesperrt und lässt ihr Haar für die Zauberin herab, damit diese hochklettern kann. Ein Königssohn entdeckt Rapunzel, und sie verlieben sich. Als die Zauberin dies herausfindet, trennt sie die beiden. Nach langer... Read more

Das Märchen von Frau Holle

By: Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm

Narrated by: Claus Vester

Length: 9 minutes

Abridged: No

Ein fleißiges Mädchen springt in einen Brunnen und gelangt in das Reich von Frau Holle, bei der es arbeitet und dafür mit Gold belohnt wird. Ihre faule Stiefschwester versucht es zu imitieren, verhält sich aber schlecht und wird zur Strafe mit Pech bedeckt. Read more

Harpers Young People, Vol. 01, Issue 22, March 30, 1880 (Unabridged)

By: author

Narrated by: Kevin Thompson, Eddie Mcnamara, Travis Cilenti ...

Length: TBA

Abridged: No

Harper's Young People, an illustrated weekly publication for children, includes serialized and one-off short stories, tales from history, poetry, puzzles, and other fun. This 22nd issue of the serial, published on March 30th, 1880, and just in time for April Fool's Day this issue is full of practical jokes! It also includes adventurous stories... Read more

Short Ghost and Horror Collection 040 (Unabridged)

By: et al. Ambrose Bierce

Narrated by: Christine Merrill, Ashley Robinson, Emily Miles...

Length: TBA

Abridged: No

A collection of twenty stories featuring ghoulies, ghosties, long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night. Revenge, fear, petrifying stress, mystery, and a small dose of humor, but don't let your guard down... Expect shivers up your spine, the stench of human flesh, the sound of a monstrous howl, and the occasional touch of wonder.... Read more