Audiobooks Narrated by Joan Allen

LoveReading Top 10

1. The Scent Keeper: A Novel

   Erica Bauermeister, the national bestselling author of The School of Essential Ingredients, presents a moving and evocative coming-of-age audiobook about childhood stories, families lost and found, and how a fragrance conjures memories capable of shaping the course of our lives. Emmeline lives an enchanted childhood on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses. What he won't explain are the mysterious scents stored in the drawers that line the walls of their cabin, or the origin of the machine that creates them. As Emmeline grows, however, so too does her curiosity, until one day the unforeseen happens, and Emmeline is vaulted out into the real world--a place of love, betrayal, ambition, and revenge. To understand her past, Emmeline must unlock the clues to her identity, a quest that challenges the limits of her heart and imagination. Lyrical and immersive, The Scent Keeper explores the provocative beauty of scent, the way it can reveal hidden truths, lead us to the person we seek, and even help us find our way back home.

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2. Shoe Dog

   In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed $8,000 his first year. Today, Nike's annual sales top $30 billion. In an age of startups, Nike is the ne plus ultra of all startups, and the swoosh has become a revolutionary, globe-spanning icon, one of the most ubiquitous and recognizable symbols in the world today. But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always remained a mystery. Now, for the first time, in a memoir that is candid, humble, gutsy, and wry, he tells his story, beginning with his crossroads moment. At twenty-four, after backpacking around the world, he decided to take the unconventional path, to start his own business-a business that would be dynamic, different. Knight details the many risks and daunting setbacks that stood between him and his dream-along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls the formative relationships with his first partners and employees, a ragtag group of misfits and seekers who became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything.

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3. The Foundling: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars

   From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars Two women from different worlds. And a secret that will change everything . . . London, 1754. Six years after leaving her illegitimate daughter Clara at London's Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the child she has never known. Dreading the worst - that Clara has died in care - the last thing she expects to hear is that her daughter has already been reclaimed - by her. Her life is turned upside down as she tries to find out who has taken her little girl - and why. Less than a mile from Bess' lodgings in the city, in a quiet, gloomy townhouse on the edge of London, a young widow has not left the house in a decade. When her close friend - an ambitious young doctor at the Foundling Hospital - persuades her to hire a nursemaid for her daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home and her life. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and tear her carefully constructed world apart. 'Pacy, highly atmospheric and tantalisingly gripping from the very first page. With rich storytelling and a compelling narrative, The Foundling is subtle, satisfying and intensely moving' Laura Carlin, author of The Wicked Cometh 'A compelling tale of love and hope from the vivid streets of Georgian London' Sonia Velton, author of Blackberry & Wild Rose 'If you loved The Familiars, then you won't be disappointed by The Foundling. A gripping and moving read' Libby Page, bestselling author of The Lido

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4. Big Sky

   Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Big Sky written by Kate Atkinson, read by Jason Isaacs. The highly anticipated return of Jackson Brodie, ex-military, ex-Cambridge Constabulary, now private investigator, 'a hero for men and women alike'*. Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village in North Yorkshire, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son Nathan and ageing Labrador Dido, both at the discretion of his former partner Julia. It's a picturesque setting, but there's something darker lurking behind the scenes. Jackson's current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for his suspicious wife, seems straightforward, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him into a sinister network-and back into the path of someone from his past. Old secrets and new lies intersect in this breathtaking new novel, both sharply funny and achingly sad, by one of the most dazzling and surprising writers at work today. *The Times

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5. Saving Missy

   Prickly. Stubborn. Terribly lonely. But everyone deserves a second chance… ‘A touching, deftly written debut that celebrates community and kindness’ Sunday Times Missy Carmichael’s life has become small. Grieving for a family she has lost or lost touch with, she’s haunted by the echoes of her footsteps in her empty home; the sound of the radio in the dark; the tick-tick-tick of the watching clock. Spiky and defensive, Missy knows that her loneliness is all her own fault. She deserves no more than this; not after what she’s done. But a chance encounter in the park with two very different women opens the door to something new. Another life beckons for Missy, if only she can be brave enough to grasp the opportunity. But seventy-nine is too late for a second chance. Isn’t it? ’Bittersweet, tender, thoughtful and uplifting … I loved it’ Nina Stibbe

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6. Happier

   Thousands of Harard University students have discovered that you can become happier. They learned the secret to lasting fulfillment from acclaimed teacher Tal Ben-Shahar's class on positive psychology— a branch of psychology that combines the latest scientific research with good old common sense. Now you can join his class and learn how positive psychology can make you happier right now— no lottery windfall, job promotion, or new love required. Think of Happier as your own personal workbook. As you listen to each chapter's illuminating discussion on happiness and incorporate its simple exercises into your daily routine, you will see every aspect of your life with new eyes and a new sense of purpose. When you learn how to live for today and for tomorrow at the same time, you learn how to balance your immediate personal needs with long-term goals and enjoy life as you never have before.

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7. Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts

   NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The visionary behind the million-strong IF:Gathering challenges Christian women to transform their outlook and their lives by interrupting their spiraling thoughts and realizing their God-given power to think differently.   "A must-have resource for anyone looking to get control of their thoughts."-Lysa TerKeurst, #1 New York Times best-selling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries   Are your thoughts holding you captive? I'll never be good enough. Other people have better lives than I do. God couldn't really love me. Jennie Allen knows what it's like to swirl in a spiral of destructive thoughts, but she also knows we don't have to stay stuck in toxic thinking patterns.   As she discovered in her own life, God built a way for us to escape that downward spiral. Freedom comes when we refuse to be victims to our thoughts and realize we have already been equipped with power from God to fight and win the war for our minds.   In Get Out of Your Head, Jennie inspires and equips us to transform our emotions, our outlook, and even our circumstances by taking control of our thoughts. Our enemy is determined to get in our heads to make us feel helpless, overwhelmed, and incapable of making a difference for the kingdom of God. But when we submit our minds to Christ, the promises and goodness of God flood our lives in remarkable ways.   It starts in your head. And from there, the possibilities are endless.

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8. High Achiever: The Incredible True Story of One Addict's Double Life

   An up-close portrait of the mind of an addict and a life unraveled by narcotics-a memoir of captivating urgency and surprising humor that puts a human face on the opioid crisis.   "Raw, brutal, and shocking. Move over, Orange Is the New Black."-Amy Dresner, author of My Fair Junkie When word got out that Tiffany Jenkins was withdrawing from opiates on the floor of a jail cell, people in her town were shocked. Not because of the twenty felonies she'd committed, or the nature of her crimes, or even that she'd been captain of the high school cheerleading squad just a few years earlier, but because her boyfriend was a Deputy Sherriff, and his friends-their friends-were the ones who'd arrested her.   A raw and twisty page-turning memoir that reads like fiction, High Achiever spans Tiffany's life as an active opioid addict, her 120 days in a Florida jail where every officer despised what she'd done to their brother in blue, and her eventual recovery. With heart-racing urgency and unflinching honesty, Jenkins takes you inside the grips of addiction and the desperate decisions it breeds. She is a born storyteller who lived an incredible story, from blackmail by an ex-boyfriend to a soul-shattering deal with a drug dealer, and her telling brims with suspense and unexpected wit. But the true surprise is her path to recovery. Tiffany breaks through the stigma and silence to offer hope and inspiration to anyone battling the disease-whether it's a loved one or themselves.

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9. The Guest List

   A REMOTE ISLAND. AN INVITATION TO DIE FOR. A gripping, twisty murder mystery thriller from the No.1 bestselling author of The Hunting Party. ‘Lucy Foley is really very clever’ Anthony Horowitz ‘Thrilling’ The Times ‘A classic whodunnit’ Kate Mosse ‘Sharp and atmospheric and addictive’ Louise Candlish ‘A furiously twisty thriller’ Clare Mackintosh ‘Secrets and lies at every turn’ Sarah Pinborough On an island off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year – the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater.   Old friends. Past grudges.   Happy families. Hidden jealousies.   Thirteen guests. One body.   The wedding cake has barely been cut when one of the guests is found dead. And as a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped. All have a secret. All have a motive. One guest won’t leave this wedding alive . . .

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10. More Than Want You

    I'm Maxon Reed-real estate mogul, shark, asshole. If a deal isn't high-profile and big-money, I pass. Now that I've found the property of a lifetime, I'm jumping. But one tenacious bastard stands between me and success-my brother. I'll need one hell of a devious ploy to distract cynical Griff. Then fate drops a luscious redhead in my lap who's just his type. Sassy college senior Keeley Kent accepts my challenge to learn how to become Griff's perfect girlfriend. But somewhere between the makeover and the witty conversation, I'm having trouble resisting her. The quirky dreamer is everything I usually don't tolerate. But she's beyond charming. I more than want her; I'm desperate to own her. I'm not even sure how drastic I'm willing to get to make her mine-but I'm about to find out. Contains mature themes.

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