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.
Our July Book of the Month is NYT bestselling author and Grammy nominated audiobook reader David Sedaris’s memoir, Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002). This new offering from one of America’s most celebrated humorists is filled with hilarious, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking entries culled from the diary he’s kept for decades. As the dates suggest, this first volume focuses on Sedaris’s early years, detailing how a drug-abusing dropout with a weakness for the International House of Pancakes and a chronic inability to hold down a real job became one of the funniest people on the planet.
“Theft by Finding is charming, refreshingly unpretentious, and flat-out addictive. Sedaris said in the intro that he meant for readers to dip in and out of this collection of diary entries (the first of two volumes!), but I couldn’t put it down. His pared-down observations are equal parts dark and darkly comedic, concealing and revealing. Theft by Finding surpassed my very high expectations, and I’m already feeling impatient for part two.” Renee P, Powell’s Books, Portland, OR
Read an interview with David Sedaris regarding the book in the NYT Magazine
Join readers and listeners all month on social media to discuss Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002). Use the hashtag #theftbyfinding and find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.
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.
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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
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.
