Audio Archives - Page 52 of 56

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

09 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Biography, Indian American, Nonfiction, South Asian American

I won't lie: at almost 600 pages (or almost 21 hours if you choose the audible option), Siddhartha Mukherjee's 2011 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction is a Commitment (yes, capitalization intended!). But commitment can come with vast rewards and, in this case, get ready for a massive infusion of...

Three Junes by Julia Glass

05 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

So this is why Julia Glass won the 2002 National Book Award. Nine Junes later, I'm catching up! As I started out disappointed having read her third title first (I See You Everywhere), I admit to letting out one contented long sigh with this one. Glass'...

Intuition by Allegra Goodman

04 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

True confession: Intuition is not my favorite Allegra Goodman title (I remain most partial to Kaaterskill Falls and recently enjoyed The Cookbook Collector). That said, Intuition proved to be a highly useful tool as I happened to read it just before I picked up 2011 nonfiction Pulitzer Prize...

Drown by Junot Díaz

03 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Caribbean American, Fiction, Short Stories

Talk about a surprisingly fortuitous bonus: If you get the audible version of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, included in the deal is Junot Díaz's debut title, Drown, a collection of 10 mostly-related short stories. That both Díaz titles are read with such fluency...

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

02 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Caribbean American, Fiction

Here are a few new things I learned from Junot Díaz's 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winner that many of you already read long ago ...

Netherland by Joseph O’Neill

21 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, British, European, Fiction, South Asian, Turkish

To reduce this rich, complicated, multi-layered story into a few sentences seems almost disrespectful ...

Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell

15 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Southeast Asian, Young Adult Readers

Vassar Spore is every Tiger Mother's dream come true. At 16, she's got her entire overachieving life perfectly planned out with the unwavering support of two control-driven-but-nurturing parents. The three seamlessly work together toward Vassar's goals: a 5.3 GPA – the new 4.0; a degree with...

The Other by David Guterson

14 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

I could cry over The Other. And not tears of the 'I'm so gratefully happy'-variety, alas; I'm talking truly disappointed waterworks. David Guterson writes quietly wrenching novels, including his bestselling Snow Falling on Cedars, and later East of the Mountains, which I actually found more effecting. The Other, too,...

The Keep by Jennifer Egan

11 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

My contrary self is taking me through Jennifer Egan's oeuvre backwards, having started earlier this year with her latest, A Visit from the Goon Squad, just before she deservedly won both the 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award and 2011 Pulitzer for fiction. First things first about Egan's...

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

09 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

Confession: Every once in a while, I do actually read mass-market bestsellers. I'll even admit this is my second Dan Brown – had to see what all the hubbub about The Da Vinci Code was about! Am still rolling my eyes over that one (egads! as if names...

Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea

08 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Latina/o/x

Having read Luis Alberto Urrea's unforgettable Border Trilogy, I began the audible version of this novel that highlights illegal immigration with some trepidation. Alas, Urrea doesn't narrate this title; and although it's read with effective gusto by Susan Ericksen, I've gotten used to Urrea's flow, having...

The Cardturner: A Novel About a King, a Queen, and a Joker by Louis Sachar

01 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Leave it to master storyteller Louis Sachar (National Book Award and Newbery Medalist for his phenomenally successful Holes) to make bridge (yes, bridge! – as in the card game!) heart-thumping fun! Listening to Sachar himself read the audible version is definitely an added bonus, not to mention you get to...

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

28 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Short Stories

Following up two unforgettable novels that earned her a MacArthur Fellows Program "Genius" Award (which comes with a no-strings-attached $500,000 "stipend" over five years!) in 2008 was surely going to be hard work. Last year, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie debuted her first short story collection ...

Room by Emma Donoghue

24 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian, Fiction, Irish, Nonethnic-specific

Room will leave you speechless. Listening to the audible version, pitch-perfectly performed by Michal Friedman, Ellen Archer, Robert Petkoff, and Suzanne Toren, is a chillingly addictive experience; even after you've turned off your device, you won't be able to stop Jack from haunting you. In spite...

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

20 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Afghan, Audio, Memoir, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

I picked up Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's already-bestselling debut title with a mission: after reading too many death-and-destruction books one after another, I needed some inspiration to reverse me out of a downward spiral. Our mutual involvement in a fabulous project which puts us on the same web...

The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea

18 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Latin American, Latina/o/x

If I hadn't had Luis Alberto Urrea himself read the majority of his novel to me via iPod, I would never have known the proper pronunciation of Parangarícutirimícuaro, not to mention a few choice insults! Good thing I also bought the book, because I wouldn't...

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

10 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction, Jewish

Sometimes, nothing satisfies like a sweeping family saga: convincing enough to believe the characters truly existed beyond the bound pages, long enough to feel like they've become a part of your lives, inspiring enough to mourn their company once the words are finished. Thus is Julie Orringer's...

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

26 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

With very good reason, Jennifer Egan's fifth title, A Visit from the Goon Squad, won the 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, announced earlier this month. As with most major award winners, I try to take a look or a listen (forget the cat; curiosity...

The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman

20 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Jewish, Nonethnic-specific

Everything about this multilayered title shouts fraud ...

I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass

19 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

As I've upped my running mileage (doggedly training for Leadville 100 in 2012!), my book consumption via iPod has increased dramatically. One of my favorite audible treats is to listen to the author read to me ...

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