by Brian Klaas ; read by Brian Klaas ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 23, 2024
In this philosophical but accessible audiobook, social scientist Brian Klass explains how individual actions fit into the chaotic chain of events that determine what happens in the world. He narrates with pitch and phrasing variations that make these arresting ideas fun to hear. He says the random incidents that can cause world wars or lead to huge life changes are interconnected--but not in the way we think. With our minds wired to think that large events have simple causes, we overlook the cumulative force of numerous random events and the power of the daily decisions we make. This riveting audiobook will make listeners think more realistically about their day-to-day actions and their inescapable place in the web of causes that make the world what it is.
Pub Date: Jan. 23, 2024
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797172323
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
by Bruce Feiler ; read by Bruce Feiler ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 19, 2026
Feiler’s heartfelt performance emphasizes his message that rituals are key to forging community.
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Feiler is interested in how we use rituals to connect with others in an age in which fewer people than ever are baptized, get married, or are eventually buried. He casts a wide net: filing down teeth for coming-of-age ceremonies, divorce parties, placenta burials, gender reveals, and more. Feiler isn’t a professional narrator, but his authenticity and gentle humor are clearly apparent in his voice, which lends the whole endeavor the feeling of a memoir. That seems appropriate, given that Feiler travels the world participating in Vegas weddings and Nordic cold plunges and develops his own new rituals with his family to celebrate beating cancer.
Feiler’s heartfelt performance emphasizes his message that rituals are key to forging community.Pub Date: May 19, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 27 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217336692
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
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by Lauren Kessler ; read by Lauren Kessler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2026
A resonant, gut-wrenching memoir that may inspire listeners to hit a dusty trail of their own.
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Kessler, prolific author of nonfiction, intrepidly narrates this immersive memoir of her 500-mile pilgrimage on the Camino Francés after the devastating loss of both her husband and her daughter in the same year. Kessler’s tone is clear, even during the more heartbreaking chapters that revolve around her husband’s cancer and daughter’s drug use. Her tale, which toggles between the depths of grief and musings on consumerism or finding “uncomplicated joy in a Spanish tortilla,” exhibits the kind of harmonious braiding that makes a memoir soar. At the end of some longer sentences, Kessler’s delivery frays with a slight tiredness, but that lends to the big-picture experience of what is, indeed, a really long walk.
A resonant, gut-wrenching memoir that may inspire listeners to hit a dusty trail of their own.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 42 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668654361
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: April 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
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