Free Audiobooks, Excerpts, Samplers, and Exclusive Author Events

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

By: Leo Tolstoy
Narrated by: Michael Beck
Length: 2 hours 41 minutes

This psychological masterpiece dives into the mind of protagonist Ivan Ilyich as he questions the meaning of life, the significance of death, and his own misguided beliefs and ideas.  Leo Tolstoy describes the mental and emotional journey of Ilyich as he is suddenly confronted with his own mortality and must question his entire way of... Read more about The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Anne of Green Gables

By: L.M. Montgomery
Narrated by: Sandra Churchill
Length: 10 hours 46 minutes

A favorite and a classic for all ages, Anne of Green Gables, has warmed hearts and brought joy to generations of readers. This nostalgic coming of age story tells the timeless tale of a spunky, lovable, adventurous young girl who desires greatly to find a place she can call home. Sent away from her family and unwanted by the relatives who... Read more about Anne of Green Gables

The Shore Road Mystery

The Hardy Boys

By: Franklin W. Dixon
Narrated by: Caleb Summers
Length: 4 hours 5 minutes

When teenage brothers Frank and Joe Hardy hear about a string of car thefts on Shore Road, they can’t resist diving into the case. But what starts as an intriguing mystery becomes personal when their friend, Jack Dodd, is accused of being involved in the crimes. Determined to prove Jack’s innocence, Frank and Joe uncover a secret—a long-lost... Read more about The Shore Road Mystery

The Hidden Staircase

Nancy Drew Mysteries

By: Carolyn Keene
Narrated by: Emma Nossal
Length: 3 hours 48 minutes

A friend of Nancy Drew’s hopes to use her sleuthing skills to solve what seems to be a strange haunting at her aunt’s house! Hearing strange creaking, eerie thumps, and even music, the secretive mansion seems to be hiding something sinister. At the same time, Nancy’s father is warned of a dangerous situation - he must find a missing... Read more about The Hidden Staircase

The Girl in the Plane

A Short Story

By: Katherine Center
Narrated by: Katherine Center
Length: 52 minutes

From Katherine Center, New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away, comes a short story The Girl in the Plane, featuring Cassie Hanwell, the courageous female firefighter at the heart of Things You Save in a Fire.

This audio edition is read by the author. Read more about The Girl in the Plane

How to Resist Amazon and Why

Concrete Steps for Booksellers

By: Danny Caine & Joe Biel
Narrated by: Danny Caine & Joe Biel
Length: 55 minutes

Booksellers naturally understand the dangers of Amazon and the need to resist its growing power, but what can they do about it? How do we have conversations with our customers and communities about resisting Amazon without alienating potential allies in the fight for small businesses? Join Danny Caine and Microcosm Publishing founder Joe Biel to... Read more about How to Resist Amazon and Why

Crossings

By: Betty Lambert & Claudia Casper
Narrated by: Emma Campbell
Length: 10 hours

Vicky, a writer in Vancouver in the early 1960s doesn’t consider herself the type of woman who would end up in a bad relationship. Struggling to come to terms with herself, she navigates an emotionally abusive relationship with Mik, a violent logger and ex-con. Mik and Vicky’s physical, often violent affair offers an honest and unflinching... Read more about Crossings

The Guy at the Wedding

By: Katherine Center
Narrated by: Katherine Center
Length: 1 hour 16 minutes

From Katherine Center, New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away, comes a short story, The Guy at the Wedding.

**This audio edition is read by the author** Read more about The Guy at the Wedding

Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors (2024)

Sample "The Long In-Between," from the 2024 collection

By: Grist
Narrated by: Ron Butler
Length: 27 minutes

Grist's Imagine 2200 climate fiction contest celebrates stories featuring vivid, hope-filled, diverse visions of climate progress. Climate fiction can invite us to look beyond the current moment to envision the world that could be, and empower us to work toward it. The stories in this 2024 collection -- Imagine's third -- are not afraid to... Read more about Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors (2024)

Deathstroke

By: Richard Kelley
Narrated by: Will Damron
Length: 20 hours 49 minutes

*After watching the movie Jaws, you stayed out of the water. *
*After reading Deathstroke, you'll stay out of the forest.*

"Hurry! It's coming!" A desperate young mother shoves her infant son deep into a crevice between two logs. Will her baby survive? Will anyone? "Hurry! It's coming!"

That scene, and the hundreds of others like it, are everything... Read more about Deathstroke

The Velveteen Rabbit

By: Margery Williams
Narrated by: Xe Sands
Length: 22 minutes

The bestselling children's classic with millions sold around the world. This version, read by Xe Sands, will delight listeners of all ages with its story of wisdom and boundless love. "What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having... Read more about The Velveteen Rabbit

What Happened to You? (16-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged

Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

By: Oprah Winfrey & Bruce D. Perry
Narrated by: Bruce D. Perry & Oprah Winfrey
Length: 14 minutes

"[Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry] are both capable, likable narrators who are sincerely engaged with their subject matter...The performances of these two humanitarians make this a must-hear for anyone recovering from their traumatic past." -- AudioFile Magazine

This program is read by the authors.

Our earliest experiences shape our lives far... Read more about What Happened to You? (16-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged

Grit (44-Minute Excerpt)

By: Angela Duckworth
Narrated by: Angela Duckworth
Length: 44 minutes

In this must-listen audiobook for anyone striving to succeed, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows parents, educators, students, and business people—both seasoned and new—that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a focused persistence called “grit.” Read more about Grit (44-Minute Excerpt)

It Happened One Summer (29-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged

A Novel

By: Tessa Bailey
Narrated by: Charlotte North
Length: 29 minutes

USA TODAY BESTSELLERTessa Bailey is back with a Schitt’s Creek-inspired rom-com about a Hollywood “It Girl” who’s cut off from her wealthy family and exiled to a small Pacific Northwest beach town... where she butts heads with a surly, sexy local who thinks she doesn’t belong. As seen on E!Online, PopSugar, CNN, EliteDaily, Vulture,... Read more about It Happened One Summer (29-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged

Quarantine Session #67: Zakiya Dalila Harris + Brit Bennett

By: Zakiya Dalila Harris
Narrated by: Brit Bennett
Length: 1 hour 1 minute

Author Zakiya Dalila Harris alights at Greenlight to launch her debut novel The Other Black Girl, a whip-smart thriller and crackling social commentary on the trials of being a Black woman in an overwhelmingly white industry. Harris talks with Brit Bennett (bestselling author of The Mothers and The Vanishing... Read more about Quarantine Session #67: Zakiya Dalila Harris + Brit Bennett

Island Queen (37-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged

A Novel

By: Vanessa Riley
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
Length: 37 minutes

“Richly detailed, vividly depicted, and sweeping in scope, Island Queen is historical fiction at its absolute finest. A stunning must-read!”—Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba
A remarkable, sweeping historical novel based on the incredible true life story of Dorothy Kirwan... Read more about Island Queen (37-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged

Afterparties (43-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged

Stories

By: Anthony Veasno So
Narrated by: Jason Sean
Length: 43 minutes

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA Roxane Gay's Audacious Book Club Pick!Named a Best Book of Summer by: Wall Street Journal * Thrillist * Vogue * Lit Hub * Refinery29 * New York Observer * The Daily Beast * Time * BuzzFeed * Entertainment Weekly A vibrant story collection about Cambodian-American life—immersive and comic, yet... Read more about Afterparties (43-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged

Morowa Yejidé: Creatures of Passage

By: Morowa Yejidé
Narrated by: Mary Kay Zuravleff
Length: 58 minutes

River Bend hosted a virtual event celebrating the release of Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejidé. The event featured authors Morowa Yejidé and Tananarive Due in conversation with Mary Kay Zuravleff. A discussion of magical realism, horror, and contemporary Black literature. Read more about Morowa Yejidé: Creatures of Passage

The Reading List (23-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged

A Novel

By: Sara Nisha Adams
Narrated by: Tara Divina, Sagar Arya & and Paul Panting
Length: 22 minutes

A BEST OF SUMMER READ ACCORDING TO NEWSWEEK, PARADE MAGAZINE, NBC NEWS, LITHUB, AND POPSUGAR!"The most heartfelt read of the summer...a surprising delight of a novel."--ShondalandAn unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people... Read more about The Reading List (23-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged

Razorblade Tears 21-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged

A Novel

By: S. A. Cosby
Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
Length: 21 minutes

“Superb...Cuts right to the heart of the most important questions of our times.” —Michael Connelly,
#1 New York Times bestselling author

A Black father. A white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance.

Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at... Read more about Razorblade Tears 21-Minute Excerpt) - Abridged