Biography & Memoir Audiobooks

Main Character Energy: How to own the narrative of your life

"Bianca Hunt has hosted TV shows, rocked runways, given multiple TEDx talks and founded a talent agency - all before her mid-twenties. But while her ambition was to take centre stage in her own life, limiting expectations hadn't always given Bianca top billing in her own story. Not content with the narrative other people had written for her, Bianca embarked on a journey to write her own. Main Character Energy is that story - a witty and relatable ride through her twenties, refreshingly free of traditional timelines and milestones. From creativity, confidence and career to fame, joy and relationships, this not-a-how-to-guide covers all the hot topics without writing the script for you. Being the main character doesn't mean being the loudest or most successful person in the room. It's about tapping into the power of being true to who you are and not compromising on your identity. This is your life, and it's time to live it with main character energy - revising, changing and starting new chapters whenever you want. So, if you're ready to take the wheel and pursue your own narrative, Main Character Energy will put you in the driver's seat."

Bianca Hunt (Author), Bianca Hunt (Narrator)

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The Prophet: The Life of Leon Trotsky

"This three-part biography of Leon Trotsky was hailed by Graham Greene as one of 'the greatest . . . in the English language'—a must listen for those interested in the history of Soviet Russia and international communism. Few political figures of the twentieth century have aroused such intensities of fierce admiration and reactionary fear as Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. His extraordinary life and extensive writings have left an indelible mark on the revolutionary consciousness. Yet there was once a danger that his life and influence would be relegated to the footnotes of history. Published over the course of ten years, beginning in 1954, Deutscher's magisterial three-volume biography turned back the tide of Stalin[s propaganda, and has since been praised by everyone from Tony Blair to Graham Greene. In this definitive work, now reissued in a single volume, Trotsky's true stature emerges as the most heroic, and ultimately tragic, character of the Russian Revolution."

Isaac Deutscher (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

Audiobook

On James Baldwin

"Acclaimed Irish novelist Colm Tóibín first read James Baldwin just after turning eighteen. He had completed his first year at an Irish university and was struggling to free himself from a religious upbringing. Inspired by the novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, Tóibín found a writer who would be a lifelong companion and exemplar. From On James Baldwin: Baldwin was interested in the hidden and dramatic areas in his own being, and was prepared as a writer to explore difficult truths about his own private life. In his fiction, he had to battle for the right of his protagonists to choose or influence their destinies. He knew about guilt and rage and bitter privacies in a way that few of his White novelist contemporaries did. And this was not simply because he was Black and homosexual; the difference arose from the very nature of his talent, from the texture of his sensibility. 'All art,' he wrote, 'is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story, to vomit the anguish up.' On James Baldwin is a magnificent contemporary author's tribute to one of his most consequential literary progenitors."

Colm Toibin (Author), Gary Furlong (Narrator)

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Mother Lode: Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver

"'. . . makes you feel as though a kindred soul is speaking to you.' —Readers' Favorite At the age of sixty, Gretchen Staebler promises to spend one year in her childhood home caring for her stubbornly independent ninety-six-year-old mother—sort of a middle-aged gap year. Then her mother will move to assisted living and she will return to her own life. It doesn't go as planned. Rather than a retrospective, this mother-daughter story unfolds in real time with gripping honesty, bringing the listener along with the narrator through the struggle, doubts, and complexities of caregiving and daughterhood—and the beacons of light. Penetrating the fog of her mother's advancing dementia and myriad health issues with humor, frustration, and compassion, Staebler slowly comes to accept and respect the mother she got, if not the one she wished for. In the process, she manifests non-negotiable self-care and learns more than she wants to know about aging, cognitive loss, and the healthcare system. Any listener who is looking for a road map in caring for a family member, has ever had a mother, or is looking aging in the eye will find company on the journey in this candid, multi-award-winning memoir."

Gretchen Staebler (Author), Linda Jones (Narrator)

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Always Winning

"Brought to you by Penguin. FROM THE STAR OF THE PHENOMENAL NETFLIX SHOW, ADOLESCENCE, COMES A POWERFUL MEMOIR, PACKED WITH INSPIRING STORIES AND HARD-EARNED WISDOM FOR LIFE'S MOST CHALLENGING MOMENTS. “I wanted to write this book for that person who feels like the world doesn’t understand what life is like for them. I want to be honest about where I have been and how I have got to where I am. Because we can’t be what we can’t see.” – Ashley Walters From Adolescence and Top Boy to So Solid Crew, Ashley Walters’ explosive on-screen performances and trailblazing music has always explored the same conflicting forces that have governed his life. Born and raised in Peckham, his father in and out of prison, Ashley found the gang culture in inner city London inescapable. At 15, he was stabbed in the neck and left for dead. At 18, he had a gun held to his head as he cradled his newborn son. At 20, he was sentenced to eighteen months in prison. In this brave and inspiring book, Ashley opens up about his turbulent past. He writes candidly about his battles with identity, addiction, family and fame, and the realisation that, after years of struggle, only he could change his future. ‘Always Winning’ is the framework Ashley developed to turn his life around. Revealed for the first time in this book, explored through powerful stories from his life and career, he shares the principles of this philosophy and shows how anyone can use them to overcome their own challenges, helping them to align a true sense of purpose with inner happiness and personal success and fulfilment. ‘An icon of British and wider Black British culture.’ GQ 'A raw and inspiring testament to resilience.' STEVEN BARTLETT 'A deeper truth that speaks to our whole time and culture, and offers us all a way forward.' AFUA HIRSCH © Ashley Walters 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Ashley Walters, Chris Isaie (Author), Ashley Walters (Narrator)

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A Hoopoe on the Nispero Tree: Our Andalusian Adventure Continues

"With their Andalusian guesthouse ready to welcome visitors, Robert and Sabina face new challenges. They battle through a snowy winter and face another year of drought. With few bookings, no water, and very little money left, they start looking back and doubt their decision to leave their cushy jobs in the Middle East for the harsh reality of life in the countryside. Was moving to Andalusia a big mistake? At times, it's hard to see how they can continue on this adventure. Learning the ropes of the hospitality business is riddled with stress. Held captive by guest reviews, they endure numerous customer indiscretions in order to put their guesthouse on the map. Instead of the gracious hosts that they had imagined themselves becoming one day, they become somewhat disillusioned with it all. It's not all sangria and castanets. But while their journey is filled with setbacks, burdens are made lighter thanks to new friendships and the kindness of their neighbors, whose families had lived in the valley for generations. Written with a wry sense of honest humor, this story is filled with events that will make you laugh out loud, moments when you might shed a tear, and situations that will make you ask: What were they thinking?"

Sabina Ostrowska (Author), Jennifer Walden (Narrator)

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Meet the Kellys: The True Story of Machine Gun Kelly and His Moll Kathryn Thorne

"How did a small-time, hip-pocket bootlegger become one of the most notorious gangsters in the country? For George 'Machine Gun' Kelly, the answer was simple: a woman. Her name was Kathryn Thorne, a charming, strong-minded beauty who had family connections in the crime world. By the time she met Kelly, she was already an experienced criminal herself, divorced twice, and ready to marry a man who could give her the posh life she always dreamed of. With that in mind, she bought Kelly his first machine gun. And the rest is history . . . George Kelly wasn't a natural-born gangster and never carried a weapon bigger than a revolver. But Kathryn changed all that. She pushed her husband to commit greater crimes, introducing him to her friends in the underworld and convincing him to join in a series of bank robberies. Soon, the Kellys were living large, with a house in Texas, expensive jewelry, the works. But it wasn't enough, and eventually the couple hatched a daring plot to kidnap oil tycoon Charles Urschel. Their plan worked. They collected the ransom—and captured the attention of the nation, the world . . . and the FBI. A shocking story of ambition and greed, crime and punishment, Meet the Kellys offers a fascinating portrait of a reluctant gangster named after a machine gun and a scheming moll as driven as Bonnie Parker and Ma Barker."

Chris Enss (Author), Wendy Tremont King (Narrator)

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Maria Theresa: Empress: The Making of the Austrian Enlightenment

"A major new biography of Maria Theresa, the formidable Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa was the single most powerful woman in eighteenth-century Europe. At the age of just twenty-three she succeeded to the Habsburg domains only to find them contested by almost every power in Europe. Over the next forty years, she became a fierce leader and opponent, as well as a devoted wife and mother to sixteen children. In this engrossing biography, Richard Bassett traces Maria Theresa's life and complex legacy. Drawing on hitherto unpublished sources, Bassett reveals her keen sense of moderation and tolerance, innovative ideas on free trade and finance, and studied reluctance to resort to policies of territorial expansion. Yet Maria Theresa's modernization policies were not entirely progressive. Antisemitism and an enduring suspicion of Protestantism greatly affected the lives of her subjects. This is a gripping study of one of the world's most influential leaders, revealing how Maria Theresa confounded gendered expectations and left a lasting mark on Europe."

Richard Bassett (Author), Kitty Hendrix (Narrator)

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Carl Perkins: The King of Rockabilly

"He was the King of Rockabilly, and one of rock and roll's true pioneers. A groundbreaking guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Carl Perkins inspired countless musicians in country, rock, and pop music. Now acclaimed music writer Jeff Apter recounts Carl Perkins's remarkable life story—the triumphs, tragedies, and career highlights that include some of the most pivotal moments in music history. Born in Tennessee to poor sharecroppers, Carl grew up listening to gospel and country music, learned blues guitar from a fellow field hand, and started writing songs at age fourteen. He plied his trade in rowdy honky-tonks, performing with his brothers before beginning his recording career at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis. It was there that Carl became a member of the fabled Million Dollar Quartet, alongside Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1955, he wrote and recorded 'Blue Suede Shoes,' the first record by a Sun artist to sell over a million copies. But then a fateful car crash stalled his career, one of many tragedies in Carl's life. Over the following decades, countless artists performed and recorded his songs and became Carl's friends, collaborators, and champions. Rich with insider detail and background into Carl's private battles, humanitarian work, and personal inspirations, this is a fascinating, in-depth look at his one-of-a-kind legacy."

Jeff Apter (Author), Alex Knox (Narrator)

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Rory Land: The Up-and-Down World of Golf's Global Icon

"Timothy M. Gay writes that four-time major champion Rory McIlroy is 'golf's ageless Opie Taylor,' a superstar whose charm transcends national boundaries and enlivens the game. His swing is so powerful that Tiger Woods is teaching his own son to mimic Rory's action. But a charismatic persona and a pretty swing don't translate into winning championships. Rory has failed to win another major and fallen short of achieving the career Grand Slam. He's become a lightning rod, getting into a smackdown at the '23 Ryder Cup and, after his betrayal by PGA Tour brass, causing confusion by going from an impassioned opponent of a deal with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf to an outspoken proponent. McIlroy is from Northern Ireland, a geopolitical anomaly where religion and patriotism have been used as bloody cudgels. Both sides of his family were battered by the North's sectarian Troubles. Rory is a man essentially without a country, which might explain why he's become so obsessed with the Ryder Cup. Gay argues that McIlroy has invented his own fiefdom, which the author has dubbed 'RORY LAND.' Rory Land tells the saga of a compassionate superstar living in a world where 'money has no conscience.'"

Timothy M. Gay (Author), Brandon Pollock (Narrator)

Audiobook

Broken Brains

"Jamila Rizvi and Rosie Waterland have each suffered significant, debilitating brain injury - one through rare disease and the medical interventions that followed, the other through deep childhood trauma. In this brave and honest book, Jamila and Rosie share their parallel stories of becoming and being sick, alongside the experience and advice of those who've been there before. They reveal that their 'broken brains' have more in common than they initially realised, proving how mental and physical health are inextricably entwined. Part memoir and part investigation, Broken Brains is essential reading for anyone who has been sick or loved someone who has. Together, Jamila and Rosie offer comfort, solidarity and understanding in this sometimes funny, sometimes brutal, but always generous book about living with chronic ill health."

Jamila Rizvi, Rosie Waterland (Author), Jamila Rizvi, Rosie Waterland (Narrator)

Audiobook

Marc Marquez: Everything or Nothing: The Definitive Biography of MotoGP's Superstar

"Marc Márquez is the apex predator of the MotoGP world: arguably the greatest motorcycle racer who ever lived, he is an eight-time world champion. He is the man who dethroned Valentino Rossi, and who changed the sport of MotoGP forever. Márquez's hyper aggressive riding style has made him many enemies, and his epic championship battle with Valentino Rossi in 2015 led to one of the most controversial moments in the history of MotoGP. But his story off the track is just as incredible: devastating accidents, surgeries and recoveries, racing on despite a diagnosis that left him knowing one more head injury could leave him blind. His self-admittedly ruthless personality and desire to win make him an explosive, dominant and at times controversial character. Told by bestselling author Stuart Barker, with the insight of rivals, team members, pundits, managers and many close to his story, this is the a story of pure sporting theatre and white-knuckle speed twinned with real human drama. Marc Marquez: Everything or Nothing is the Márquez told in full for the very first time."

Stuart Barker (Author), Elliot Fitzpatrick (Narrator)

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