Top 50 Best Sellers in Audiobooks for this Week
June 25, 2008 – 8:31 pmIf I Had My Life to Live Over, I Would Pick More Daisies
These poignant writings about the defining moments in many women’s lives represent a variety of different cultural, ethnic, religious, and social backgrounds. Each woman reflects on the difficult choices she’s had to make, and whether she’d do things differently if given the chance. The evocative, universal stories of challenges and conflicts touch on issues we can all relate to, including marriage, children, relationships, aging, and career choices.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Four Corners of Night
It’s 9:00 am in an unnamed Midwestern city. Bank Arbaugh and Mack Steiner have just come off a typical night shift - patrolling the city, scaring off prostitutes, shaking up the usual suspects. Sitting in Denny’s, waiting for bacon and eggs, they get a call over the radio: a teenage girl is missing. With a glance - the 2 cops - best friends since childhood, as close as brothers - know their lives have shifted off balance, because 7 years before, Bank’s own daughter went missing and has not been found to this day.
Two parallel stories: 2 girls from opposite sides of town, 7 years separating them. As evidence mounts, one case begins to illuminate the other, until finally, the inevitable conclusion is revealed. Craig Holden takes us on a harrowing journey into the night, and exposes not only the heart of a tattered American city, but also the relationship of 2 men whose lives are intertwined in loss, envy, and love.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Grow Old Along with Me, the Best Is Yet to Be
How do we look to each other as we grow older? This uplifting collection asks men and women to answer this provocative question. The answers, in the form of evocative poetry and prose, reveal the pleasures of growing older and teach us how to remain active and proud, living out our older years to the fullest potential. You’ll delight in learning how the changes that we experience in later life can provide wonderful benefits and newfound happiness.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Girlfriends
This collection of tales is a tribute to the unique bond of the woman-woman relationship called girlfriends. Often the most valuable relationships in women’s’ lives, girlfriends make each other laugh, always lend a supportive shoulder, and sometimes know each other better than they know themselves. The inspiring and revealing tales told here explore the values these relationships are built upon - acceptance, forgiveness, loyalty, honesty, and much more.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Women in the Material World
These candid interviews with women from Albania, Brazil, Israel, Mali, South Africa, and other countries cover every aspect of women’s lives in our increasingly crowded world. Each woman in this program shares her feelings on family, children, money, love, sex, marriage, and other topics. Faith D’Aluisio, a former TV news producer, and Peter Menzel, author of Material World: A Global Family Portrait, have created a truly stunning program that puts a human face on international issues and gives a voice to the half of humanity that often remains silent.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
I Am Becoming the Woman I’ve Wanted
This vibrant, provocative collection from the publishers of the best selling, award-winning When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple is a compelling anthology of poems and short stories through which women candidly reveal their hidden feelings about their bodies. They delve into such compelling topics as budding sexuality, childbirth, physical strength and weakness, menopause, and aging. Read with passion, energy, and empathy by legendary actresses Ellen Burstyn, C.C.H. Pounder, and Alfre Woodard, I Am Becoming the Woman I’ve Wanted articulates the physical aspects of being female with disarming honesty and remarkable emotion.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Random Acts of Kindness
What if, all of a sudden, everyone started performing good deeds every day? This inspiring collection presents many true stories of people who’ve committed, received, and observed voluntary acts of kindness. Hearing their stories reveals how these simple, small acts of goodness can have a profound positive effect in the world. As explained in the text, “every hand we extend, every act of kindness we commit, sends a ripple out into the world that is magnified by every life it encounters.” The unprecedented success of this work has not only inspired many individuals, but also led Congress to declare a National Random Acts of Kindness Week in February 1995. The heartwarming anecdotes contained in Random Acts of Kindness will continue to inspire good deeds in all who experience its message.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple
This award-winning anthology of poetry and prose takes a new look at being a woman - particularly an aging woman - in a society that prizes and glorifies youth. The works are by both younger writers looking forward in time and writers who have experienced the joys and challenges of growing older. This international best seller was put together by editor Sandra Martz who selected the collection’s pieces from thousands of submitted manuscripts.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Bound Feet and Western Dress
While Pang-Mei Natasha Chang was a Chinese Studies major at Harvard University, she stumbled across the name of her 83-year-old great aunt Chang Yu-i in a history book. Over the next several years, Pang-Mei spent long afternoons drawing forth her aunt’s story. Born in Shanghai to a well-to-do family, Chang Yu-i lived a life of defiance, continually breaking class and culture barriers. Her saga, told touchingly by her first-generation, American-born niece, includes her marriage to the preeminent Chinese poet Hs| Chih-Mo, how she ran the Shanghai Women’s Savings Bank in the 1930s, and how she endured the anguish of China’s first Western-style divorce.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind
In 1979, 24-year-old Irish-American Maura O’Halloran moved to Japan and became the first woman ever admitted to Toshoji Temple. Soshin-san (O’Halloran’s monastic name) labored through 3 hard years of intense work and study in preparation for becoming a dharma teacher. Her life ended abruptly during a trip to Thailand, and today Soshin-san is revered as a Buddhist saint. The writings in this program are from her private and heartfelt journals and letters. They eloquently describe the rigors, hardships, and ultimate joys of Zen training and temple life, while providing a unique insight into the soul of a beloved, spiritual woman.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Genesis
Critic and author Robert Alter presents a new translation of Genesis that reveals the complexity, depth, and eloquence of this beloved biblical Book. Alter’s perceptive translation is both contemporary and literary, revealing the meaning of the ancient Hebrew text through language that is both modern and strikingly poetic. From Adam and Eve to Noah and the Great Flood, to the covenant with Abraham, Genesis contains some of the most sacred stories of Western civilization. Alter uses his literary genius to evoke these stories in all their epic splendor, philosophical weightiness, and powerful beauty. This audio also includes an exclusive interview with Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, in which he discusses the meaning of Genesis for today’s generation.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Dark Frigate (Unabridged)
In 17th century England, a terrible accident forces orphaned Philip Marsham to flee London in fear for his life. Bred to the sea, he signs on with the Rose of Devon, a dark frigate bound for the quiet shores of Newfoundland.
Philip’s bold spirit and knowledge of the sea soon win him his captain’s regard. But when the Rose of Devon is seized in mid-ocean by a devious group of men plucked from a floating wreck, Phlip is forced to accompany these “gentlemen of fortune” on their murderous expeditions. Like it or not, Philip Marsham is now a pirate - with only the hangman awaiting his return to England.
With its bloody battles, brutal buccaneers, and bold, spirited hero, this rousing tale will enthrall all listeners in search of seafaring adventure.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Girlfriends Talk About Men
The authors of the best selling Girlfriends share their secrets for great relationships with boyfriends. They explore what they honestly think about men, the agony and ecstasy of dating, falling in and out of love, what long-term relationships really offer us, and how to travel blissfully along the road of male-female relationships. From recognizing the right man to deciding when to get serious, surviving infidelity, and dividing household chores, you’ll get some insights to the perpetual question: What makes a great relationship?
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Before Women Had Wings
If only 9-year-old Bird Jackson could fly away from her life of poverty and abuse, in which violence and despair seem to overwhelm hope and love. Instead young Bird must face her struggles and limitations. How to overcome them becomes clearer when she meets Miss Zora, a mysterious and kindly black healer whose prayers over the bones of winged creatures are meant to guide their souls to heaven. Miss Zora’s wisdom sheds light on Bird’s world, facilitating her journey of self-discovery and allowing her to meet the challenge of her name.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Duino Elegies and The Sonnets to Orpheus (Unabridged)
The poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke addresses the issues of God, death, and “destructive time.” Rilke tries to transform these problems into an inner world, what he calls “a whole inner world as if an angel, comprehending all space, were blind and looking into himself.” Eminent author and translator Stephen Mitchell brings these ideas vividly to life in this new translation of Rilke’s most transcendent works.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Picasso
Discover the many sides of Pablo Picasso - a brilliant painter and sculptor, a bohemian, a sexual sadist, a betrayer, a loyal Communist, a seducer, a father, and, ultimately, a tragic figure. In preparing this in-depth biography, author Arianna Huffington conducted extensive research into the renowned artist’s life and character. Through interviews with Picasso’s daughter Maya and his former lover Françoise Gilot, she received intimate insights into the artist’s personality. Later adapted into the film Surviving Picasso, this compelling biography paints a fascinating, complex portrait of the artist and his life.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Like Water for Chocolate
The last of 3 daughters, Tita is saddled with a terrible responsibility that tradition carries down: in well-born Mexican families, the youngest daughter must remain unmarried and stay at home to care for her mother in old age. When she falls in love, Mama Elena refuses to bend the rules, and forces Tita to reject her suitor and assume the role of family cook. The result is a clash of wills that brings magic, love, sex, and fabulously good food to a previously unknown level of enjoyment.
In a direct, simple, and compelling voice, Laura Esquivel has produced a fresh and innovative work, bringing her own inimitable strengths to a classic love story. It is read by actress, playwright, and performance artist Yareli Arizmendi who played “Rosaura” in the film version of Like Water for Chocolate.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Snakes and Ladders
A series of engrossing sketches reveals an India that may be surprising to many Westerners. Instead of a single country, the listener will discover, India is a nation of several civilizations in different states of development. The author, a well-regarded writer, reporter, and lecturer, covers the country from its ancient cultures to her encounters with the film directors and poets and the complicated machination of the world’s largest democracy.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
For the Sake of Elena
A young student at St. Stephen’s College, the daughter of a professor up for a prestigious post, is found brutally murdered on an isolated jogging path. Unwilling to turn the killing over to the local police, the university calls in New Scotland Yard. Thus Lynley and his partner Havers enter the rarified world of Cambridge University, where academic gowns often hide murderous intentions. For both officers, the true identity of Elena Weaver proves as elusive as the mythical creature whose image decorated her dorm room. Not until they come to terms with the woman she was will they have a line on the killer - who just may kill again.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Repacking Your Bags
Feeling weighed down by all your responsibilities and the constant pressures of your personal and professional life? Well, there’s no time like the present to lighten your load. Let Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro show you how to let go of excess baggage and create your own vision of happiness and success. You’ll learn how to balance work, love, and purpose by “unpacking” your physical, emotional, and intellectual luggage and “repacking” it to make the most of your life’s journey.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Cold Sassy Tree
Cold Sassy, Georgia had never been a whirlpool of excitement. But on July 5, 1906, things took a scandalous turn. E. Rucker Blakeslee, proprietor of the general store and barely 3 weeks a widower, eloped with Miss Love Simpson - a woman half his age and worse yet, a Yankee! On that day, Will Tweedy’s adventures began and an unimpeachably pious, secretly irreverent town came to life.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Book of Job (Unabridged)
Perhaps no other Biblical tale penetrates so deeply into the everyday travails of the common person as The Book of Job. It tells the story of a righteous man beset by torment and misfortune through no fault of his own. This parable of bad things happening to a good person addresses the eternal question of why we are here, and why we suffer. This translation is by Stephen Mitchell.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Gospel According to Jesus
This translation of the life and teachings of Jesus creates an image of not only a great spiritual teacher, but of a real person. Eminent author and translator Stephen Mitchell’s approach to the Gospels has been widely praised for its depth, clarity, and radiance. This is a stunning work for believers and non-believers alike.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Send No Flowers
Since the death of her husband, Alicia Russell has struggled to take care of her 2 young sons alone. Now fiercely independent, she is determined to never again depend on another person. But when a sudden storm threatens to ruin a family camping trip, Alicia finds it hard to say no to a stranger offering a night’s refuge - especially when the man playing hero offers much more than shelter from the storm.
Handsome, sensual, and slightly mysterious, Pierce Reynolds showers much-needed attention on Alicia’s sons - and reminds her, after so many years of solitude, how it feels to be desired. But even as he tempts her to explore her newly reawakened longings, he holds her at arm’s length, his only explanation a silent refusal to share the secrets of his heart.
Torn by the fear that Pierce can’t provide the emotional support she and her children deserve, Alicia returns to Los Angeles and struggles to move on without him. But when a crisis brings Pierce back into her life, Alicia knows she can’t give him up again without a fight. Alicia has learned that life comes with no guarantees. But can she convince the man who’d renewed her hope that love is a risk worth taking?
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Cloister Walk
How can an understanding of celibacy strengthen a marriage? How does the mundane task of doing laundry become as sacred as ritual? Let Kathleen Norris explain. For over 10 years, thoroughly Protestant Norris has been an oblate at a Benedictine monastery. During this period, she has gained tremendous insight into the languages, customs, ceremonies, and sexuality of the men and women who have chosen the cloistered life. In this revealing account of the hidden world of the monastics, Norris explores the true monastic life and inspires us to evaluate our own lives and values.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Lives of the Monster Dogs
In the year 2008, a Malamute arrives in New York City, followed by a pack of German Shepherds, Dobermans, and Great Danes, all dressed in grand old Prussian style. They become the toast of Manhattan - Monster Dogs. But who, or what, are they really? Outfitted with voice boxes and prosthetic arms, the dogs are the result of an experiment begun years ago in a tiny Canadian village. But their creators did not anticipate that these decadent dogs would be threatened by a strange, incurable illness. In Lives of the Monster Dogs, Kirsten Bakis has created a haunting parable for our times.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
As Far as You Can Go Without a Passport
Tom Bodett’s nationally syndicated radio show The End of the Road and wildly successful radio ads for Motel 6, as well as his commentary on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, have made his voice a very popular and familiar one to thousands of fans. This audio program features a collection of Tom’s trademark short, witty pieces on small-town life, family life, and everyday experience, all from the perspective of an ex-logger and resident of Homer, Alaska - which is just about as far as you can go “without turning around or running into a foreign language.” There’s a little of all of us and our life in Tom Bodett’s view from the end of the road.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Tidings of Great Joy
Rita Lavender is the last woman to be swept away by a smooth line and a seductive smile. And she’s just beginning to savor the fruits of her success when she meets a man who will change everything. Mayor-Elect Taylor MacKensie is handsome, charming, and charismatic. Still, Rita never imagines that she’ll leave a Christmas party with him, or that, caught up in the magic of a snowfall and a bottle of champagne, she’ll give in to desire. Eight weeks later, Rita knows she’s carrying Taylor MacKensie’s child.
Desperate to spare her baby the pain and stigma of illegitimacy, Rita makes the only decision she can. Suddenly Rita is sharing Taylor’s house, his name, and something infinitely more dangerous to her heart…a tenderness she never expected, a passion she can’t seem to control.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Brothers Karamazov
A father’s murder sets the stage for a riveting tale of intrigue and passion that also explores profound issues of faith and ethics. This classic novel - considered Dostoevsky’s finest work - tells the story of crazed landowner Fyodor Karamazov and his four sons - Dmitry, Ivan, Alyosha, and the illegitimate Smerdyakov. Fyodor’s murder sets the stage for a complex tangle of moral and ethical struggles that involve patricide, betrayal, sacrifice, and glory. A profound psychological study and a penetrating analysis of the search for faith, The Brothers Karamazov explores the most fundamental questions of human nature. This excellent new translation conveys the essence of Dostoevsky’s original Russian.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Cloudsplitter
In October of 1859, John Brown’s raid of Harper’s Ferry set the stage for the Civil War.
This work of historical fiction tells Brown’s story from the point of view of the fiery abolition’s son. The author recreates the political and social landscape of the antebellum world with riveting scenes of love and of battle, of everyday life and violent death. The listener is left with an unforgettable impression of what life was like at this turbulent time in America’s history.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The End of the Road
As national spokesman for the Motel 6 chain, as a commentator on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, and as creator of the nationally syndicated radio program The End of the Road, Tom Bodett has a voice familiar to millions. Now you can listen, at your pleasure, to his stories about likable, genuine, slightly wacky people who live in the little Alaska town at the end of the road. Follow the romantic misadventures of sixties throwback Tamara Dupree, vegetarian activist and New Age missionary; join Stormy Storbock and Ed Flannigan on their sightseeing tour across America by fire truck; meet local ne’er-do-well Doug McDoogan, who has a bright new future in the arts. Come to Alaska and share in the emergence of a true American humorist - funny, farcical, nostalgic, provocative, and always touching.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Essential Kabbalah
Experience the transcendence of God through this ancient wisdom. For centuries, the Kabbalah, the ancient Jewish mystical tradition, has confounded readers with its symbols, allusions, and multiple layers of meaning. In his translation, Daniel C. Matt returns to the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts to reveal the primary aspects of Jewish mysticism, including the radical transcendence of God, the feminine aspect of God, and the divine attributes.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Breaking Eighty
In the 1980s, editor Lee Eisenberg redefined Esquire magazine and positioned it for its phenomenal popularity. In the ’90s, he took on what was perhaps an even more daunting task: to devote 18 months of his life to the mastery of golf. Breaking Eighty is a witty and practical golf guide that resulted from his crash course, told uniquely not from a teacher’s point of view, but from a learner’s. Millions of weekend hackers will delight in Eisenberg’s pursuit of golf’s holy grail: the elegant, effective, and repeatable swing.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Letters to a Young Poet (Unabridged)
Ranier Maria Rilke challenges you, “…to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answers.” Rilke’s ability to combine the sensual and the spiritual into an inspired vision of the art of living is brought to vivid life in his letters. Through his eyes, the everyday difficulties of love, sex, solitude, sadness, and doubt are seen as the archetypal elements of the drama called life.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Art of Living
Epictetus, one of the greatest of the ancient thinkers, believed that the primary mission of philosophy is to help ordinary people meet the challenges of daily life and deal with losses, disappointments, and grief. His prescription for the good life: master desires, perform one’s duties, and learn to think clearly about oneself and the larger community. This recording includes an interview with philosopher Jacob Needleman on the significance of Epictetus’ work.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Loop (Unabridged)
A pack of wolves makes a sudden savage return to the Rocky Mountain ranching town of Hope, Montana, where a century earlier they were slaughtered by the thousands. Now shielded by law as an endangered species, they reawaken an ancient hatred that will tear a family, and ultimately the town, apart.
At the center of the storm is Helen Ross, a 29-year-old wolf biologist sent alone into this remote and hostile place to protect the wolves from those who seek to destroy them. The Loop charts her struggle, and her dangerous love affair with the son of her most powerful opponent, the brutal and charismatic rancher Buck Calder.
A haunting exploration of man’s conflict with nature and the wild within himself, an epic story of deadly passions and redemptive love set against the grandeur of the American West, The Loop is destined to capture the hearts and imaginations of listeners everywhere.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Scorpio Illusion
Amaya Bajaratt is beautiful, elusive - and deadly. Born in a remote Basque village, she was forced to look on as soldiers brutally killed her parents - and at that moment she vowed death to all authority. Now an accomplished assassin, when the man she loves is killed in a terrorist raid she strikes out in a bold act of vengeance that involves the heads of Israel, England, France, and the United States in one violent act.
Desperate to find her, the intelligence community turns to former naval officer Tye Hawthorne, one of the best until the rain-swept night in Amsterdam when his wife fell victim to the games spies play. Now he is retired and sailing charters in the islands, but the unanswered questions he left behind in Amsterdam still haunt him.
No one knows the deceptive waters of the Caribbean better than Hawthorne. No one except the lethal Bajaratt herself. And as the key to this chilling conspiracy waits on an uncharted island, a clandestine network of wealthy, powerful men and women - the Scorpios - move behind the scenes in the nation’s capital to do Bajaratt’s bidding and amass their own power.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Face of Deception
Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan has a rare - and bittersweet - gift. Her unique ability to reconstruct the identity of the long dead from their skulls has helped bring closure to parents of missing children. For Eve, whose own daughter was murdered and her body never found, the job is a way of coming to terms with her personal nightmare.
When she is approached by billionaire magnate John Logan to reconstruct the face of an adult murder victim, only his promise of a sizable charitable contribution persuades her to accept. It’s a simple bargain, yet its’ the most dangerous one she’ll ever make. The warning signs are clear. There is the specially equipped lab Eve is taken to in a country inn turned high-tech security fortress in rural Virginia. Surveillance cameras monitor her every move. The telephones are tapped. And then there is Logan himself - by turns ruthless, charming, and desperate.
But it’s too late for Eve to walk out. The skull has begun to reveal its shocking identity, trapping her in a frightening web of murder and deceit. To free herself, she has no choice but to expose that identity and to trust Logan, the man who put her life in danger, a man who may see her as an expendable pawn.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Plague Tales
Fourteenth-century physician Alejandro Canches, caught performing a forbidden autopsy in his Spanish homeland, flees through Europe at the time of the Black Death to escape execution for his heretical deed. When he arrives at the Papal city of Avignon, he is conscripted to serve as a Plague Doctor, and sent against his wishes to the court of England’s Edward III.
Unfolding in dramatic counterpoint is the story of American medical archaeologist Janie Crowe, in England at the turn of the twenty-first century to recover from the tragic loss of her family. She digs up a medieval artifact as part of her research, and unwittingly releases a deadly plague bacteria on an unprepared world.
In a future where antibiotics are useless and a past where death is an ever-present fear, these two unwilling heroes from two different centuries are linked by history and defined by circumstance. Here are their stories - the plague tales.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Apocalypse Watch
Deep in the Austrian mountains lies a remote hideaway - the fortresslike nerve center of an ominous movement, the Brotherhood of the Watch. American agent Harry Latham has penetrated this neo-Nazi organization, born in the days after the Third Reich’s defeat and with deadly tentacles reaching the United States and beyond. Now, after three years in deep cover, on the eve of his most spectacular success, Harry Latham has disappeared.
Drew Latham, Special Officer for Consular Operations in Paris, is frantic to discover his older brother’s fate. But when he receives the sudden good news that Harry has surfaced, gut-twisting doubts arise. Has Harry’s cover been blown? And if so, why has the Brotherhood let him live? To find the answers, Drew Latham takes on his brother’s identity, and steps directly into the crossfire between the assassins gunning for Harry - and those who want Drew himself dead.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Dharma Bums
Two friends in 1950s San Francisco Bohemia explore Buddhism Zen - hipster style. On the road to finding Dharma, or truth, the story’s narrator, Raymond Smith comes to a spiritual roadblock. Smith, based on Kerouac himself, discovers a role model in his friend Japhy Ryder, modeled after the real poet-Buddhist Gary Snyder. This autobiographical novel is one of Kerouac’s most popular, and has served as an inspiration to the beat culture, hippies, and dharma seekers since the 1950s. This program is narrated by legendary poet Allen Ginsberg, a friend of Kerouac’s and an early fan of his work.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is a contemporary spiritual masterpiece and one of the world’s most profound sources of sacred inspiration. Sogyal Rinpoche interprets Tibetan Buddhism for Western students, offering new ways to look at life and death. He teaches us to transcend our fear and denial of death, enabling us to discover parts of ourselves that will survive eternally. Rinpoche has a unique ability to explain the simple yet powerful ideas behind Tibetan beliefs and practices, providing rewarding new visions of how we can transform our lives, prepare for death, and help the dying.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Sayings of the Buddha (Unabridged)
Like the Tao Te Ching and the Bhagavad-Gita, this sacred text has guided the inner and outer lives of countless people in the art of living and the struggle for inner transformation. According to tradition, the words in The Dhammapada come directly from the mouth of Buddha. This translation in particular is among the most poetic and spiritually insightful. After it is read, Dr. Jacob Needleman presents his own essay, which compares Buddhism to other religions and explains the significance of The Dhammapada in Buddhism.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Harlot by the Side of the Road
A multitude of Biblical stories have been censored, mistranslated, ignored, and even banned by religious authorities due to their erotic, violent, or mysterious content. In this recording, Jonathan Kirsch recounts some of the most startling and explicit writings from the Old Testament, those that dealt with seduction and revenge, incest and murder, interracial marriage, women’s rights, and other explosive subjects. What emerges is a text whose real power lies in its unflinching view of the contradictions of human nature.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
The Mark of the Assassin
When Michael Osborne of the CIA is called in to investigate the terrorist bombing of an airliner off the coast of Long Island, there is one relevant clue that drives him: A body found in the water, near the crash site, with 3 bullet holes to its face. Osborne recognizes the deadly markings as the work of a world-class assassin - a man whose very existence has never been proven because the only people ever to have seen him became his victims. Among those victims: a young woman Osborne loved years before.
As Osborne gets closer and closer to solving the puzzle of the airline crash - his personal obsessions threaten to consume not only the investigation, but his marriage and family life as well. And when the frightening identity of the assassin’s employers become clear - Osborne puts himself, and his loved ones, into the sights of the most fearsome man on earth.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Tao Te Ching (Unabridged)
The Tao Te Ching, a 6th century B.C. Chinese masterpiece, is one of the world’s most revered sources of spiritual wisdom. This authoritative translation by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English captures the essence of Lao Tsu’s language, bringing the Tao Te Ching’s powerful message to a whole new generation of students. This collection is read by renowned philosopher and author Dr. Jacob Needleman, who also provides illuminating commentary on the text. This ancient classic presents timeless spiritual meditations on wisdom in action, illustrating important lessons that have resonated with its students for centuries.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Why Not Me?
First came Theodore White’s The Making of the President, 1960. Then All the President’s Men. Now the searing chronicle that will forever change the way we view the man and the office…The dramatic rise and dizzying fall of Al Franken, who would become the first Jewish president of the United States.
Follow the Franken campaign from its infancy as the candidate pledges “to walk the state of New Hampshire, diagonally and then from side to side.” As he candidly admits “causing pain in his marriage,” then boldly refuses to dignify any questions from the media regarding past, present, or future sexual behavior.
Go behind the scenes and meet Team Franken, the candidate’s brain trust. Including brother and deputy campaign manager Otto, a recovering sex addict and alcoholic. Campaign manager Norm Ornstein, the think-tank policy wonk who masterminds the single-issue (ATM fees) campaign. Media consultant Dick Morris, who exploits the shocking millennium bug-induced “ATM meltdown” by building an ad campaign around a diabetic woman who loses her right foot after computers erase all her ATM deposits. And former Grizzly Adams star Dan Haggerty.
Cheer as Franken stuns the pundits by defeating Al Gore for the Democratic nomination, then is swept into office with a landslide victory over Newt Gingrich. As he chooses an all-Jewish Cabinet because “America doesn’t want a Cabinet that looks like America, it wants a Cabinet the President is comfortable with.”
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Black Elk Speaks
Explore the origins of Native American culture and humankind’s sacred role in nature through this poignant autobiography of Black Elk, medicine man and Oglala visionary. Black Elk is considered one of the most authentic religious leaders and interpreters of American Indian spiritual tradition. This account of his life reveals the deep meaning and continued relevance of Native American culture within contemporary America.
Available at Audible.com here or try Amazon.com here.
Alias Grace
In the astonishing new work by the author of the best sellers The Robber Bride and The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood takes listeners back in time and into the life and mind of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the 19th century. Grace Marks had been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer, the wealthy Thomas Kinnear, and of his housekeeper and mistress, Nancy Montgomery. Some believe Grace is innocent others think her evil or insane. After a stint in Toronto’s Lunatic Asylum and now serving a life term, Grace herself claims to have no memory of the murders.
Dr. Simon Jordan, an up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness, is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists seeking a pardon for Grace. He listens to Grace’s story, from her family’s difficult passage from Ireland to Canada, to her time as a maid in Thomas Kinnear’s household. And as he brings Grace closer to the day she cannot remember, he hears of the turbulent relationship between Kinnear and Nancy, and of the alarming behavior of Grace’s fellow-servant, James McDermott. Jordan is drawn to Grace, but he is also baffled by her. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories? Is Grace a female fiend, a bloodthirsty femme fatale, or is she a victim of circumstances?
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Sackett’s Land (Unabridged)
Son of a feared fighting man, Barnabas Sackett inherited his father’s fiery temper, sense of justice and warrior skills. Declared an outlaw in his native England, Barnabas set his daring sights on the opportunity of the New World. The ruthless piracy of the open seas and the unknown dangers of the savage American wilderness lay before him. And so did the thrill of discovery and the chance to establish a bold new future if he survived.
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