Author: Nick Johnson

Nick is the Creative Director at Libro.fm. He has wildly varying tastes. For example, you can see him zooming around the Pacific Northwest on either his pristine Italian scooter or his mud-splattered, classic American truck. His tastes in books are just as diverse. He reads (and listens to!) everything to 1950s-era sci-fi to modern YA.

The magic of listening, now through local bookstores

Name a literary artist with a vision so powerful that their words have conjured a theme park based upon the world they imagined. There’s only one: J.K. Rowling. Twenty years after the publication of the first Harry Potter book, her seven-part series chronicling young Potter’s heroic journey to rid the world of the evil Lord Voldemort continues to capture the hearts and minds of not just children, but adults as well. What child doesn’t yearn to attend the hallowed halls of Hogwarts? What parent doesn’t wish they could explore the nooks and crannies of Diagon Alley?

Now Libro.fm has partnered with Pottermore, J.K. Rowling’s digital publishing, e-commerce, entertainment, and news company, to offer eight Wizarding World digital audiobooks through independent bookstores nationwide. This announcement marks the first time independent bookstores in the United States have been able to offer the full Harry Potter digital audiobook collection (seven novels in the series) and the digital audiobook of the Fantastic Beasts Hogwarts Library book to their customers.

Who seeks the Sorcerer’s Stone? What lurks in the Chamber of Secrets? Should we fear or love the Prisoner of Azkaban, or for that matter, the Half-Blood Prince? And who can save New York City from such Fantastic Beasts?

Now you can listen and find out. Learn more at libro.fm/wizardingworld.

Audiobook of the Month: Make Your Bed

On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day. Taking inspiration from the university’s slogan, “What starts here changes the world,” he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life; and he explained how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves-and the world-for the better.

Admiral McRaven’s original speech went viral with over 10 million views. Building on the core tenets laid out in his speech, McRaven’s Make Your Bed, read by the author, recounts tales from his own life and from those of people he encountered during his military service who dealt with hardship and made tough decisions with determination, compassion, honor, and courage. Told with great humility and optimism, this timeless book provides simple wisdom, practical advice, and words of encouragement that will inspire listeners to achieve more, even in life’s darkest moments.

Listen to a preview

Join readers and listeners all month on social media to discuss Make Your Bed. Use the hashtag #MakeYourBed and find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

May 2017 Audiobook Bestsellers

Libro.fm has partnered with hundreds of independent bookstore locations to sell digital audiobooks. We are proud to present the May 2017 audiobook bestseller list that captures what’s selling in independent bookstores nationwide.

Get any of the bestselling audiobooks for $0.99 when you become a Libro.fm member. Choose from over 70,000 audiobooks. Enjoy the superior Libro.fm experience. Support independent bookstores. Start your membership.

Fiction

1. Lincoln in the Bardo

by George Saunders (Penguin Random House Audio)

2. The Women in the Castle

by Jessica Shattuck (HarperCollins)

3. A Gentleman in Moscow

by Amor Towles (Penguin Random House Audio)

4. Norse Mythology

by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)

5. Commonwealth

by Ann Patchett (HarperCollins)

6. The Underground Railroad (Oprah’s Book Club)

by Colson Whitehead (Penguin Random House Audio)

7. Small Great Things

by Jodi Picoult (Penguin Random House Audio)

8. Exit West

by Mohsin Hamid (Penguin Random House Audio)

9. The Woman in Cabin 10

by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster Audio)

10. The Hate U Give

by Angie Thomas (HarperCollins)

 Extended List

Nonfiction

1. Hillbilly Elegy

by J. D. Vance (HarperCollins)

2. The Book of Joy

by Douglas Carlton Abrams, Dalai Lama, and Desmond Tutu (Penguin Random House Audio)

3. Alexander Hamilton

by Ron Chernow (Penguin Random House Audio)

4. Evicted

by Matthew Desmond (Penguin Random House Audio)

5. The Little Book of Hygge

by Meik Wiking (HarperCollins)

6. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

by Mark Manson (HarperCollins)

7. The Stranger in the Woods

by Michael Finkel (Penguin Random House Audio)

8. Nevertheless

by Alec Baldwin (HarperCollins)

9. You Are a Badass at Making Money

by Jen Sincero (Penguin Random House Audio)

10. Feminist Fight Club

by Jessica Bennett (HarperCollins)

 Extended List

The May 2017 audiobook bestseller list is based on sales through more than 300 independent bookstore locations during the month of April 2017.

Audiobook of the Month: The Women in the Castle

Our April Audiobook of the Month is Jessica Shattuck’s The Women in the Castle. Set in a crumbling Bavarian castle that once played host to Germany’s high society, The Women in the Castle is a propulsive, affecting, and ultimately redemptive novel chronicling the lives of three widows whose fates collide in the aftermath of World War II. You can listen to it right now or visit one of 450 participating stores on Saturday, April 29th to get a complimentary audiobook in celebration of Independent Bookstore Day!

“Three war widows and their children help each other survive at the end of World War II in this engaging novel filled with rich period details. Their husbands died as members of the resistance, but aside from that common thread, Marianne, Benita, and Ania bring very different backgrounds to their makeshift home in the castle’s kitchen. They also face repercussions from past choices and current secrets. Jessica Shattuck brings us into their world and shows us that the rules for love and loyalty are different in wartime.”
—Dawn Rennert, The Concord Bookshop, Concord, MA

IBD-Featured-Book-The-Women-in-the-Castle

Listen to a preview of The Women in the Castle

Join readers and listeners all month on social media to discuss The Women in the Castle. Use the hashtag #TheWomenInTheCastle and find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

2017 Audie Award® Finalists for Audiobook of the Year

The Audio Publishers Association (APA) has announced Audie Award® finalists for Audiobook of the Year. The Audiobook of the Year recognizes the audiobook that through quality, innovation, marketing, and sales, has had the most significant impact on the industry. Each nominated title is distinguished by excellence in production as well as their ability to create new interest in the audiobook format through creative marketing.

Listen to the previews below and get any audiobook for only $0.99 with our Libro.fm membership.

This year’s Judges provided their comments and insight into the selection of the Audiobook of the Year Finalists:

Boys in the Trees Enhanced Cover

Boys in the Trees

(Macmillan Audio)

“Musical icon Carly Simon’s revelatory memoir Boys in the Trees is best experienced as an audiobook, read with affecting sincerity by the author and supplemented by more than 400 musical segments. As Simon sings snippets of songs, strums her guitar, shares her childhood memories, and reveals relationships with legends including ex-husband James Taylor, listeners feel she is expressing her deepest feelings directly into our ears. Simon personally advocated for the audiobook through marketing that included a Facebook Live event, promotion on Pandora and the artist’s webpage, plus an audiobook giveaway to audience members during a Late Show with Stephen Colbert appearance.”

The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo Enhanced Cover

The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo

(Simon & Schuster Audio)

“Amy Schumer’s stand-up fans will both laugh out loud and be moved to empathetic understanding as she reads her memoir The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo. Schumer displays her comedic skill and fast-paced timing as she packs raw humor into the narration, while also confiding deeply personal emotions that have shaped her personal advocacy for ending gun violence and promoting healthy relationships and positive self-image. Schumer’s celebrity status and huge social media following expanded the marketing outreach, and a Spoken Word Grammy nomination provided further national recognition for an audiobook that had already achieved dazzling consumer sales.”

hamilton-the-revolution-Enhanced-Cover

Hamilton: The Revolution

(Hachette Audio)

“The phenomenon that is Hamilton the musical spreads to the audiobook world with Hamilton: The Revolution, a must-have insider’s guide to the making of the musical. Read by super-fan Mariska Hargitay, the audio takes listeners on a journey from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pool-side reading of Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton to Broadway success and propulsion into the zeitgeist. Fans will especially appreciate Miranda’s reading of his annotations, from the very first revelation that the distinctive three-note intro mimics a squeaky door. Just as the musical has expanded the audience for musical theatre, this audiobook has won new fans to the world of audiobooks, thanks in no small part to Miranda’s devoted social media following.”

the-underground-railroad

The Underground Railroad

(Penguin Random House Audio / Books on Tape)

“Colson Whitehead’s literary bestseller The Underground Railroad finds the ideal narrator in Bahni Turpin. Voicing a complex cast of characters, Turpin conveys the bitter realities of the antebellum South through evocative accents, emotional resonance, and subtle pacing, enhanced by strong production quality. The marketing campaign highlighted the title’s selection as an Oprah Book Club pick, noted the significance of the audio during Black History Month, and featured Turpin representing the author at the National Book Award annual reading (honoring the title’s selection as the 2017 Fiction award-winner), becoming the first narrator to participate in the ceremony.”

Year of Yes Enhanced Cover

Year of Yes

(Simon & Schuster Audio)

“In Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person, Shonda Rhimes, known to legions of TV fans for her creative productions Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder, highlights the transformative power of saying “Yes” to experiences outside her comfort zone. In a production that is both memoir and self-help, Rhimes reveals the fears and tribulations behind her Hollywood veneer, and her appealing no-nonsense style creates an immediate connection encouraging personal empowerment. Through a social media campaign that appealed to a diverse range of listeners, this audio pulled in both new and returning fans of the audio format.”

Get any audiobook for only $0.99 when you become a Libro.fm member. Choose from over 70,000 audiobooks. Enjoy the superior Libro.fm experience. Support independent bookstores.

Choose indie, every month

The Libro.fm membership is now available! For $14.99 per month, you’ll get to select from 70,000+ audiobooks, including New York Times bestsellers. Discover hidden gems hand curated by expert indie booksellers. Your first month is just $0.99 and you can cancel at anytime, no strings (or bookmarks) attached.

Membership-Features

Why Choose Libro.fm

When you compare our membership to others, you’ll see that it’s no contest:

Features Libro.fm Others
Over 70,000 titles • •
First month for $0.99 • •
$14.99 monthly fee (one audiobook/month) • •
30% off additional audiobooks • •
Free iOS and Android App • •
Membership credits never expire •
Every purchase supports independent bookstores •
DRM-Free (listen on multiple devices) •
Superior audio quality (2X industry standard) •
Recommendations from indie booksellers •
Ad-free browsing and listening •
Pays a fair rate to publishers and authors •

Start Your Libro.fm Membership

Listen to one of our recommendations below for only $0.99.

 

Enhanced-Cover-Lincoln

Lincoln in the Bardo

By George Saunders

Enhanced-Cover-Norse-Mythology

Norse Mythology

By Neil Gaiman

the-underground-railroad

The Underground Railroad

By Colson Whitehead

hillbilly-elegy

Hillbilly Elegy

By J. D. Vance

commonwealth

Commonwealth

By Ann Patchett

You Are a Badass -Enhanced-Cover

You Are a Badass

By Jen Sincero

Big Little Lies-Enhanced-Cover

Big Little Lies

By Liane Moriarty

Hidden Figures-Enhanced-Cover

Hidden Figures

By Margot Lee Shetterly

Send an email to support@libro.fm if you have any questions about membership. We are happy to help you find your first audiobook and get started.

Membership is only valid in the U.S. and Canada.

Book of the Month: Born to Run

Our February Book of the Month is Bruce Springsteen’s #1 New York Times bestseller, Born to Run. In his insightful memoir Springsteen demonstrates the same honesty, humor, and originality found in his song. In addition to his narration, Springsteen recorded musical transitions for the audiobook at Stone Hill Studio in New Jersey. Excerpts from the original studio recordings of Living Proof, Long Time Comin’ and Born to Run are also featured in the audiobook.

“Bruuuuuce! The long-awaited memoir from the Boss has finally arrived, with a whirlwind tour of a life in rock and roll. In Born to Run Bruce Springsteen takes us from his humble beginnings in working-class Freehold, New Jersey, all the way to the pinnacle of his superstar performance at the Super Bowl—and everything in between. Springsteen is not one to shy away from any subject, including his difficult, distant, and sometimes emotionally abusive relationship with his father; failed bands and a failed first marriage, and the deaths of fellow band members and close friends. But mostly, this memoir is about the music: the feeling in his hands of the first guitar he ever bought, those early live shows at run-down, seedy bars on the beaches of Asbury Park, the cutting of each album along the way and what the writing and recording process was like, and the meaning behind many of the characters and lyrics we have grown to love. The prose reads as if you are listening to a Bruce song, sitting in the front row at one of his legendary concerts. It’s a ride you’ll hope never ends.”
— Keith, Politics and Prose

Born-to-Run-3

Watch Bruce Springsteen discuss writing Born to Run

Join readers and listeners all month on social media to discuss Born to Run. Use the hashtag #borntorun and find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Book of the Month: Hillbilly Elegy

Our January Book of the Month is J.D. Vance’s #1 New York Times Bestseller, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. Vance, a former marine and Yale Law graduate, chronicles the struggles of the white working class from the lens of his family’s rust belt and Appalachian roots, in what David Brooks calls, “…essential reading for this moment in history.”

The publication of J.D. Vance’s memoir could not have been more timely. In his account of growing up in a so-called hillbilly family, Vance offers a deeply personal, loving but clear-eyed view of his people, poor whites of Scots-Irish descent, endangered not only by economic forces beyond their control, but by their own fierce insularity and resistance to outside influences…Vance also gives us indelible portraits of family members: a mother struggling with addiction, an absent father’s strict adherence to conservative Christianity, and, most movingly, of his grandmother, known as “Mamaw,” an awesome, gun-owning matriarch who provided the only real stability he knew. Hillbilly Elegy is an engrossing, readable memoir, as well as a necessary perspective on the failure of the promise of American prosperity.

– Ann T., Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington D.C.

Listen to a preview of Hillbilly Elegy.

 

hillbilly-elegy-6

Watch J.D. Vance’s Ted Talk on “America’s Forgotten Working Class.”

Further Watching and Reading

Watch J.D. Vance’s interview on Charlie Rose.

Read Alec MacGillis’s, “The Original Underclass,” from The Atlantic, which discusses Hillbilly Elegy in contrast to other books—both contemporary and historical—that explore similar themes.

Read Oliver Lee Bateman’s, “Being a Bumpkin: Untangling White-Trash Identity,” from The Paris Review, which further contextualizes the discussion surrounding Vance’s memoir.

Join readers and listeners all month on social media to discuss Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. Use the hashtag #hillbillyelegy and find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Top 10 Audiobooks of 2016

2016 marks the first year independent bookstores had the opportunity to sell digital audiobooks. Libro.fm is delighted to announce the Top 10 Audiobooks of 2016 sold through more than 200 indie bookstore locations. Get 20% off all the Top 10 Audiobooks of 2016 when you enter “TOP2016” at checkout.

H-is-for-Hawk

#1

H Is for Hawk

H Is for Hawk is a genre-defying debut from one of our most unique and transcendent voices.

Listen to a Sample

between-the-world-and-me

#2

Between the World and Me

Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis in this bold and personal literary exploration of America’s racial history.

Listen to a Sample

My-Brilliant-Friend

#3

My Brilliant Friend

A rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends by one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors.

Listen to a Sample

the-girl-on-the-train

#4

The Girl on the Train

Hawkins’ bestselling debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people’s lives is now a major motion picture.

Listen to a Sample

When-Breath-Becomes-Air

#5

When Breath Becomes Air

A profoundly moving and exquisitely observed memoir by a young neurosurgeon faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis.

Listen to a Sample

All-the-light-we-cannot-see

#6

All the Light We Cannot See

Doerr’s beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France during World War II.

Listen to a Sample

americanah

#7

Americanah

A powerful, tender story of race and identity by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the award-winning author of Half of a Yellow Sun.

Listen to a Sample

The-Boys-in-the-Boat

#8

The Boys in the Boat

Brown tells the dramatic story of the American rowing team that stunned the world at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Listen to a Sample

The-Nest

#9

The Nest

Sweeney’s warm, funny, and perceptive debut novel about four adult siblings and the fate of their shared inheritance was the #1 Indie Next List Great Read for April 2016.

Listen to a Sample

the-soul-of-an-octopus

#10

The Soul of An Octopus

Montgomery explores the world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans. A National Book Award finalist.

Listen to a Sample

Learn more about Libro.fm and choose to buy from more than 200 indie bookstores.

Book of the Month: The Woman in Cabin 10

Our November Book of the Month is New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Cabin 10. Leaving behind the ill-fated bachelorette weekend of her acclaimed debut In a Dark, Dark Wood, Ware’s newest offering is set on storm-ridden luxury cruise in the North Sea, where her heroine witnesses a passenger being thrown overboard, and must prove that the crime did, in fact, happen. Called an “atmospheric thriller” by The Washington Post, this bone-chilling mystery explores one woman’s struggle with the horror she alone has seen, and what now she must do in response.

“When journalist Lo Blacklock sees someone throw a woman’s body over the side of a small cruise ship, it should be clear that a crime has been committed. The problem? No one is missing. This is far from the travel magazine assignment that brought Lo on board, but she can’t just give up. Something happened and she must find the answer. But can she do so without losing her own life? This is a fun read full of psychological thrills and twists that readers absolutely will not see coming.”
– Linda Bond, Auntie’s Bookstore, Spokane, WA

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Join readers and listeners all month on social media to discuss The Woman in Cabin 10. Use the hashtag #thewomanincabin10 and find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

ruth-ware

Hear Ruth Ware interviewed on NPR

Listen to the interview on npr.org

Bonus: Ruth Ware’s favorite psychological thrillers.

the-secret-history

The Secret History
By Donna Tartt

Although we know from the first pages what crime has been committed, right down to the narrator’s own involvement, Tartt’s skill is to draw us inexorably into a world as tinged with nostalgic pain as Brideshead Revisited, and keep us there, desperate to understand the how, the why, and the consequences of what happens.

gone-girl

Gone Girl
By Gillian Flynn

Toxic marriage, exuberantly nasty characters, twisty plot—what’s not to like?

endless-night

Endless Night
By Agatha Christie

Christie is often (undeservedly, in my view) dismissed as a purveyor of cosy stories about twee detectives, but Endless Night is one of her genuinely creepy and disturbing standalone novels.

we-were-liars

We Were Liars
By E. Lockhart

While it was published as young adult, readers of any age will be gripped by this slow, hypnotic tale of a monied, uptight New England family, and the weight of a secret that unfolds with shocking violence.

rebecca

Rebecca
By Daphne du Maurier

I’m not 100% sure Rebecca qualifies as a thriller, given it’s three parts screwed-up love story and two parts ghost-story-without-a-ghost, but the mystery at the heart of the novel is what happened to Maxim’s first wife, the eponymous Rebecca, and it’s unravelled with the pacing and finesse of the finest psychological thrillers out there.

the-woman-in-white

The Woman in White
By Wilkie Collins

I’m not sure if there’s an agreed-upon “first” psychological thriller, but Collins surely has a claim with The Woman in White, a twisty, gothic tale of mistaken identity and deception that was so popular in Victorian England it inspired perfume and clothing lines in tribute.