Essays bestsellers

The Anthropocene Reviewed

Essays on a Human-Centered Planet

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

“This delightful collection of essays by John Green is an antidote to the cynicism and negativity we encounter in all varieties of media. Green offers his view of hope for the world and its inhabitants, and I appreciate his heartfelt opinions. Read more

Crying in H Mart

A Memoir

By: Michelle Zauner
Narrated by: Michelle Zauner
Length: 7 hours 23 minutes

“This memoir is an unflinchingly honest portrayal of grief as well as a tender look at the complex relationship between a mother and daughter bridging generational and cultural gaps through the comforting creation of food. This book had me simultaneously sobbing and starving. A perfect read. Read more

The Message

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

“Facts that make you feel. A must-read for so many reasons, but in particular if you haven't thought about Israel/Palestine in the last week. Read more

Raw Dog

The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs

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

“Okay, listen...whether or not you *like* hot dogs, you have to read this book. Jamie Loftus is crass, hysterical, and doesn't shy away from her sharp-witted, leftist point of view. The hot dog is simply a gateway to talk about the world at large--everything from food culture, to the meat packing industry, to socioeconomic history, to Loftus's... Read more

How Far the Light Reaches

A Life in Ten Sea Creatures

By: Sabrina Imbler
Narrated by: Sabrina Imbler
Length: 5 hours 41 minutes

“How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler is badass. I never thought I'd walk away from a collection of essays about weird sea creatures with a more crystal-clear understanding of my own gender identity than I have had in years—but curious readers live to be surprised! In winding personal essay with science writing, Imbler gifts the reader... Read more

Forest Euphoria

The Abounding Queerness of Nature

By: Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian
Narrated by: Aven Shore
Length: 6 hours 21 minutes

“This book was both beautiful and uncanny, like remembering something long forgotten. It held a delicate balance of heartbreak and hope, fascination and sorrow. Kaishian masterfully reveals our deep interconnectedness, but only after exposing the ways we’ve chosen disconnection for the comfort of conformity and ease. As a self-proclaimed... Read more

On Tyranny

Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

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

“A quick snippet of a book to keep at the ready. Snyder uses real life examples, references past times in history, and quotes major figures and philosophers, all of this giving the listener even more places to go if the point resonates. And providing some maybe new voices for those in your life whom you want to guide. Set up as key lessons with... Read more

Leslie F*cking Jones

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

“If you loved watching Leslie Jones on Saturday Night Live, you’ll love her memoir. Her brazen and bold self is on full display, unapologetically, while she recalls her upbringing to making her breakthrough. She never shies away from discussing the toughest points in her life but always manages to lighten the mood soon after. Equal parts... Read more

That's a Great Question, I'd Love to Tell You

By: Elyse Myers
Narrated by: Elyse Myers
Length: 5 hours 32 minutes

“This book was like listening to one of Elyse's TikToks and that's why it was perfect! I feel so seen and I loved every second of it! Read more

Adult Braces

Driving Myself Sane

By: Lindy West
Narrated by: Lindy West
Length: TBA

In her most ambitious memoir yet, bestselling author Lindy West takes listeners on a funny and unfiltered cross-country road trip through the most chaotic period of her life. Exclusive self-recorded voice memos captured on the road give this audiobook a raw, real-time immediacy as she rediscovers herself and reinvents her marriage in the... Read more about Adult Braces

Gathering Moss

A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses

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

“I really loved listening to Gathering Moss, written and read by Robin Wall Kimmerer. She perfectly blends science and personal narrative, weaving in rich storytelling. Her love for her Indigenous roots shines brightly and left me wanting more of her voice. Thankfully, she has authored several books- which are at the top of my TBR. Read more

Kitchen Confidential

Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

By: Anthony Bourdain
Narrated by: Anthony Bourdain
Length: 8 hours 19 minutes

“If you want the raw, uncut version of Anthony Bourdain’s cooking life look no further! Kitchen Confidential documents the nitty gritty of the back of house - and how truly at home many cooks feel while sweating and yelling their way through 60+ hour workweeks. Anthony Bourdain is frank with his recount of his rise and fall throughout the ranks... 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

They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us

By: Hanif Abdurraqib
Narrated by: Hanif Abdurraqib
Length: 8 hours 38 minutes

“For anyone who has ever felt our collective beating heart in the crowd of a concert. Read more

Happy-Go-Lucky

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

“Sedaris fans rejoice as the master returns to a depleted, pandemic-ridden world to laugh at us all once again. More than ever Sedaris’s irreverent, no-holds-barred style of writing is welcome, reminding us that nothing is off limits for laughter or tears as he explores not only the political world around him but the deepest conflicts in his own... Read more

These Precious Days

Essays

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

“Many of you love Ann Patchett's Instagram posts, so get ready to spend a few hours listening to her reading her wonderful book of essays, These Precious Days. Ann's voice and her words are exactly what we all need right now. 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

All Creatures Great and Small

The Warm and Joyful Memoirs of the World's Most Beloved Animal Doctor

All Creatures Great and Small

By: James Herriot
Narrated by: Nicholas Ralph
Length: 15 hours 23 minutes

“The classic memoir of a young veterinarian who arrives in the remote Yorkshire Dales region in a changing era, post-WWI. Beautiful descriptions of farming life, workplace hi-jinx, small village society, and of course lovable, memorable animals. Read by the actor who plays James Herriot in the new adaptation on Masterpiece. I might be imagining... Read more

Shit, Actually

The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema

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

“Lindy West makes true observations about movies in ways that will make you laugh out loud, and cause you to re-think some of your 90s/00s favorite films! Her witty commentary is what we all NEED in this post 2020 world, even if you have not seen the films. It’s written by someone smart and hilarious who has strong opinions about things that... Read more

Broken (in the best possible way)

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

“I accidentally didn't heed my friends adamant recommendations to read Jenny Lawson. I generally just prefer fiction. But let me tell you something! I'm a true convert now. I busted out in belly laughs. I held my breath in sorrow. I nodded "YES!" in unity. I'm now a proud, full fledged, card carrying member of the 'Jenny Lawson is My Imaginary... Read more

Inciting Joy

Essays

By: Ross Gay
Narrated by: Ross Gay
Length: 8 hours 21 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

The Harder I Fight the More I Love You

A Memoir

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

“An honest coming of age biography that is both heartbreaking and awe-inspiring. Neko is basically abandoned by her parents but she is scrappy and full of life. She learns many hard lessons that she shares with great storytelling, candor and humor. This is a celebration of perseverance and the power of musical art. Even if you don't know of Neko... Read more

The Disordered Cosmos

A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred

By: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Length: 10 hours 56 minutes

“If this was the science I learned growing up, I would have been way more invested. This is an intersectional look at physics, detailing the dazzling wonder and the stifling social conditions of physics. Read more

World Travel

An Irreverent Guide

By: Anthony Bourdain & Laurie Woolever
Narrated by: Laurie Woolever, Shep Gordon, Christopher Bourdain, Jen Agg, Matt Walsh, Bill Buford, Claude Tayag, Nari Kye, Vidya Balachander & Steve Albini
Length: 12 hours 12 minutes

“There are not words for how much I miss the voice of Anthony Bourdain. A new collection of his writings put together with Laurie Woolever (his assistant for 10 years) details his favorite places on earth and with notes on how to visit them. As we prepare to travel as safely as possible again, it's comforting to have Bourdain as my companion if... Read more

Big Dumb Eyes

Stories from a Simpler Mind

By: Nate Bargatze
Narrated by: Nate Bargatze
Length: 6 hours 56 minutes

“What happens when you take one of the biggest comedians in the country and adapt his deadpan observational humor to the page? You get Big Dumb Eyes, a fun romp of smart, relatable humor, drawing on stories and perspectives from Nate Unit’s life growing up in Tennessee and entering the comedy scene in Chicago and New York. This book is sharp and... Read more

Yes Please

By: Amy Poehler
Narrated by: Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett, Mike Schur & Kathleen Turner
Length: 7 hours 31 minutes

“4 stars for the audiobook. I'm sure the audiobook is much more delightful. I’m wondering how it would read in the physical format as the Amy Poehler narrates and it seems like she added things throughout like a scene from Parks and Rec and had a conversation with Seth Meyers and concluded with a live performance of her reading her last chapter... Read more

Quietly Hostile

Essays

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

“I'm obsessed with Samantha Irby (in a cute way, not a dangerous way). Her books are hilarious, endearing, and a little gross. Walking around the neighborhood listening to this audiobook got me a lot of weird looks as I gasped, gagged, talked back to her (she narrates all of her audiobooks!), and laughed with wild abandon. Read more

The Witches Are Coming

By: Lindy West
Narrated by: Lindy West
Length: 6 hours 27 minutes

“This was recommended to me as a funny political/social commentary read, particularly the audiobook. Lindy West is funny, on the point, and full of rational sense! So many things became clear, like why I no longer watch "funny" movies made by "funny" men. I highly recommend this to anybody who like humor and non-fiction/memoir/stuff. Particularly... Read more

Yearbook

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

“If you are at all a Seth Rogan fan, you will love this. I expected this to be hilarious but I wasn’t expecting it to be this full of warmth and nostalgia. It felt like some of my favorite nights staying up late, swapping stories with friends, and it made my commute go by so much faster this week! I’ll definitely listen to this one again. Read more

Little Weirds

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

“Magical, delightful and amusing book of daydreams with a cupful of nonsense. Read more

Calypso

By: David Sedaris
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 6 hours 39 minutes

“Calypso by David Sedaris is laugh out loud hysterical in true Sedaris fashion. Listening to him read and deliver his stories is like listening to a stand-up comedian. This collection is fairly personal and many stories involve his family and their adventures in his North Carolinian beach house, aptly name the “Sea Section”. Sedaris manages to... Read more

Desert Solitaire

A Season in the Wilderness

By: Edward Abbey
Narrated by: Michael Kramer
Length: 11 hours 31 minutes

When Desert Solitaire was first published in 1968, it became the focus of a nationwide cult. Rude and sensitive. Thought-provoking and mystical. Angry and loving. Both Abbey and this book are all of these and more. Here, the legendary author of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Abbey's Road, and many other critically acclaimed books vividly captures the... Read more about Desert Solitaire

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

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

Everything I Know About Love

A Memoir

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

“The most uplifting memoir for the most confusing time of a person’s life. Reading this as someone in their early 20s, I never felt more reassured about life and its ever-changing moments. I found myself sending pictures to my friends of particularly heartbreaking realizations to which they’d respond, 'I need this book.' This memoir questions... Read more

On Animals

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

“Loved the Libro.fm version of this book! Read by the author, it is engaging and entertaining. It is not deep or heavy, but whether you are an animal enthusiast or not, this book works! 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 about Wow, No Thank You.

Travel as a Political Act

Rick Steves

By: Rick Steves
Narrated by: Rick Steves
Length: 10 hours 14 minutes

“You know Rick Steves from his PBS travel documentaries, where he's a goofy, lighthearted tourist sharing Europe's finest sights. In this book, his approach is more serious as he discusses the way his travels (outside cozy Western Europe) have informed his politics. Updated to reflect recent political trends in the US and abroad, this book looks... Read more

Something in the Woods Loves You

By: Jarod K. Anderson
Narrated by: Jarod K. Anderson
Length: 11 hours 31 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... Read more about Something in the Woods Loves You

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

By: David Sedaris
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 6 hours 18 minutes

“I will listen to anything David Sedaris reads aloud. His humorous views and dry wit are enhanced by his voice and delivery. Read more

Ten Steps to Nanette

A Memoir Situation

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

“In 2017, at the height of the Me Too movement, Hannah Gadsby changed comedy as we know it with her groundbreaking show, Nanette. As a woman, as a lesbian, as a gender-nonconforming person, as a neuro-atypical person, as a victim of trauma, Gadsby mapped out a way forward for comedy that didn't make herself, and people like her, the butt of the... Read more

Against the Machine

On the Unmaking of Humanity

By: Paul Kingsnorth
Narrated by: Owen Hall
Length: 11 hours 5 minutes

““The West is deeply and spiritually ill.” is one of the sentiments that could summarizer Paul Kingsnorth’s AGAINST THE MACHINE. What is the machine you ask? It could be progress, it could be capitalism, it could be industrialism or globalization. It could be AI, smart phones, social media, cars, Door Dash, etc. It could be anything manufactured... Read more

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Essays

Picador Modern Classics

By: Joan Didion
Narrated by: Maya Hawke
Length: 6 hours 23 minutes

“In this snapshot of mid-century American culture, Didion, deliberate and unabashed, takes the reader on journeys across the United States - from Newport, to Sacramento, to Hollywood, to Hawaii, and back to San Francisco - digesting political unrest, youthful buoyancy, and fundamental questions of morality and human responsibility. Her essays... Read more

A Walk in the Woods

Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

By: Bill Bryson
Narrated by: Rob McQuay
Length: 9 hours 44 minutes

The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and... Read more about A Walk in the Woods

Scrappy Little Nobody

By: Anna Kendrick
Narrated by: Anna Kendrick
Length: 6 hours

“My favorite genre of audiobook is comedians reading their own books, and Kendrick's is the best of them. Of course it's funny, but it's way more than that. I walked away from this book feeling like Anna had just confided something in me. It's very, very special. 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 the... Read more about How to Tell When We Will Die

Me Talk Pretty One Day

By: David Sedaris
Narrated by: David Sedaris
Length: 5 hours 51 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 about Me Talk Pretty One Day

The Wonderful World of James Herriot

A Charming Collection of Classic Stories

By: James Herriot
Narrated by: Anna Madeley, Nicholas Ralph & Rosie Page
Length: 12 hours 14 minutes

"This collection gives listeners a peek into Herriot’s life, tracing parallels between his time on rural homesteads and his well-loved tales, and inviting listeners to sit back, relax and reminisce about more peaceful times."—BookPage

This audiobook is read by Nicholas Ralph and Anna Madeley, stars of the PBS Masterpiece television series All... Read more about The Wonderful World of James Herriot

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

By: Annie Dillard
Narrated by: Nan McNamara
Length: 10 hours 31 minutes

“If I had only one book to read for the rest of my life, this is top of my list right now. I can't describe how wonderful it is to be so totally present with Dillard as she is so totally present at Tinker Creek. When was the last time you sat outside and just observed? Has it been years? Me too. I want it back. And I want to read everything Annie... Read more

Wait Til Next Year

By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
Length: 7 hours 56 minutes

By the award-winning author of Team of Rivals and The Bully Pulpit, Wait Till Next Year is Doris Kearns Goodwin’s touching memoir of growing up in love with her family and baseball.

Set in the suburbs of New York in the 1950s, Wait Till Next Year re-creates the postwar era, when the corner store was a place to share stories and neighborhoods were... Read more about Wait Til Next Year