Audiobooks narrated by Kirsten Potter

What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice

A modern argument, grounded in philosophy and cultural criticism, about childbearing ambivalence and how to overcome it Becoming a parent, once the expected outcome of adulthood, is increasingly viewed as a potential threat to the most basic goals and aspirations of modern life. We seek self-fulfillment; we want to liberate women to find meaning and self-worth outside the home; and we wish to protect the planet from the ravages of climate change. Weighing the pros and cons of having children, Millennials and Zoomers are finding it increasingly difficult to judge in its favor. With lucid argument and passionate prose, Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman offer the guidance necessary to move beyond uncertainty. The decision whether or not to have children, they argue, is not just a women’s issue but a basic human one. And at a time when climate change worries threaten the very legitimacy of human reproduction, Berg and Wiseman conclude that neither our personal nor collective failures ought to prevent us from embracing the fundamental goodness of human life—not only in the present but, in choosing to have children, in the future.

Anastasia Berg, Rachel Wiseman (Author), Jennifer Pickens, Kirsten Potter, TBD, Zura Johnson (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

Vivian Gordon went out before midnight in a velvet dress and mink coat. Her body turned up the next morning in a desolate Bronx park, a dirty clothesline wrapped around her neck. At her stylish Manhattan apartment, detectives discovered notebooks full of names—businessmen, socialites, gangsters. And something else—a letter from an anti-corruption commission established by Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Led by the imperious Judge Samuel Seabury, the commission had uncovered a police conspiracy to frame women as prostitutes. Had Vivian Gordon been executed to bury her secrets? As FDR pressed the police to solve her murder, Judge Seabury pursued the trail of corruption to the top of Gotham’s powerful political machine—the infamous Tammany Hall.

Michael Wolraich (Author), Kirsten Potter (Narrator)

Audiobook

Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first issues of Weird Tales Magazine, 100 Years of Weird is a masterful compendium of new and classic stories, flash fiction, essays, and poems from the giants of speculative fiction, including R. L. Stine, Laurell K. Hamilton, Ray Bradbury, H. P. Lovecraft, Tennessee Williams, and Isaac Asimov. Marking a century of uniquely peculiar storytelling, each part of this anthology features a different genre, from Cosmic Horror, Sword and Sorcery, Space Opera, to the Truly Weird—things too strange to publish elsewhere, and the magazine’s raison d’etre. Landmark stories such as “The Call of Cthulhu,” “Worms of the Earth,” and “Legal Rites” stand beside original stories and insightful essays from today’s masters of speculative fiction. This visually stunning hardcover edition is a collector’s dream, illustrated throughout with classic full-color and black & white art from past issues of Weird Tales Magazine.

Jonathan Maberry (Author), Bronson Pinchot, Dion Graham, Edoardo Ballerini, Eric G. Dove, Gabrielle De Cuir, Grover Gardner, Hillary Huber, James Anderson Foster, James Patrick Cronin, Joe Hempel, Kimberly Alexis, Kirsten Potter, Natalie Naudus, Neil Hellegers, Peter Berkrot, Ramiz Monsef, Robin Miles, Scott Brick, Simon Vance, Stefan Rudnicki, Vikas Adam, Zura Johnson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dragonlance: Dragons of Fate: (Dungeons & Dragons)

Brought to you by Penguin. A courageous heroine trapped in the distant past is determined to return to her own time-without changing the shape of the world forever-as the New York Times bestselling Dragonlance series continues in the thrilling sequel to Dragons of Deceit. A clash of powerful magical forces sets off the Graygem of Gargath, sending Destina and her companions deeper into the past than she intended-to the age of Huma Dragonsbane and the Third Dragon War. Now, after the Device of Time Journeying shatters, they must find another way back to their own era, before the Graygem alters history irrevocably and the Third Dragon War ends in defeat for the forces of good. With the battle raging on, Destina tries desperately to make amends and prevent disaster. Raistlin and Sturm encounter their heroes, Huma and Magius, and must reconcile the myths with the men. Meanwhile, Tasslehoff-shocked that the Knights of Solamnia have never heard of dragonlances-sets out to find the famed weapons. But as the forces of the Dark Queen close in on the High Clerist's Tower, Destina's party must return to their own timeline together-or not at all. ©2023 Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (Author), Kirsten Potter (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Book of Cold Cases

Brought to you by Penguin. In 1977, in the small town of Claire Lake, two men were murdered with the same gun. Beth Greer was the prime suspect - a rich, eccentric 23-year-old woman, seen fleeing one of the crimes. Ever since her surprise acquittal, she's retreated to her mansion, Greer house, and never commented publicly on the case. 40 years later, Shea Collins is a receptionist by day, and a true crime blogger by night. When she meets Beth by chance, Shea asks her for an interview. To her surprise, Beth says yes. But when they meet in Beth's mansion, Shea immediately senses something isn't right. Things start happening she can't explain. And she could swear she keeps seeing a figure lurking outside the window . . . Is she working with a manipulative murderer, or is there an even darker secret lurking in Greer house? 'Simone St. James knows how to haunt you. The Book of Cold Cases is St. James at the top of her game' JENNIFER McMAHON 'No one writes a ghost story like Simone St. James' LAURA McHUGH ©2023 Simone St James (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Simone St James (Author), Brittany Pressley, Kirsten Potter, Robert Petkoff (Narrator)

Audiobook

More to Say: Essays & Appreciations

As deeply rewarding as her fiction, More to Say presents a selection of Ann Beattie’s essays, chosen and introduced by the author. From appreciations of writers, photographers, and other artists, to notes on the craft of writing itself, this is a wide-ranging, and always penetrating collection of writing never before published in book form. Ann Beattie, a master storyteller, has been delighting readers since the publication of her short stories in the 1970s and her first novel, Chilly Scenes of Winter. But as her literary acclaim grew and she was hailed “the voice of her generation,” Beattie was also moonlighting as a nonfiction writer. These penetrating essays are stories unto themselves, closely observed appreciations of life and art. The listener travels with Beattie to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to learn about the legacy of the painter Grant Wood and his iconic painting American Gothic; to the famed University of Virginia campus with her husband, the painter Lincoln Perry; to Key West, Florida, for New Years with writer and translator Harry Mathews; to a roadside near Boston in a broken-down car with the wheelchair-bound writer André Dubus. There are explorations of novels, short stories, paintings, and photographs by artists ranging from Alice Munro to Elmore Leonard, from Sally Mann to John Loengard. Whatever the subject, Ms. Beattie brings penetrating insight into literature and art that’s both familiar and unfamiliar. Ann Beattie’s nonfiction is a new way to enjoy one of the great writers of her generation. Listeners will find much to love in this journey with a curious and fascinating mind.

Ann Beattie (Author), Kirsten Potter (Narrator)

Audiobook

Lady Violet Finds a Bridegroom

Why must a widow newly emerged from mourning be invited to every wedding in the realm? Lady Violet Belmaine ponders that conundrum while traveling from London to rural Scotland at the invitation of an old friend. Escorted by her dashing physician friend, Hugh St. Sevier, Violet prepares to again subject herself to a nuptial celebration—except that the groom fails to appear. Matters become more interesting when Violet discovers that Sebastian MacHeath is laird of the nearest castle and well acquainted with the bride and her family. Mysterious cousins, surly neighbors, and appearances much at variance with the facts all confound Violet’s efforts to find the missing groom, as well as any designs she might have on her handsome escort!

Grace Burrowes (Author), Kirsten Potter (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Akseli

Simone has hunted and slain psychotic vampires for hundreds of years and desperately needs a change. When the leader of the Immortal Guardians offers her an opportunity to guard ten mortal women who are venturing to another planet, she dives right in and finds traveling into space just as exciting as she'd hoped . . . until an enemy attacks. Simone saves everyone she can before she's thrust into an escape pod and the ship explodes. Despite his fierce reputation and propensity for violating the law, Janwar has formed a friendship with strait-laced Prince Taelon of Lasara. When the prince's ship is destroyed, Janwar joins the Aldebarian Alliance-wide search and rescue mission and soon locates the Gathendien ship that launched the attack. Much to his surprise, someone else has reached the ship first: one of the very Earth women he hoped to rescue. Fascinatingly fierce, Simone bands together with Janwar and his crew to search for her missing friends. The friendship that grows between Janwar and Simone deepens into love. But the enemy warriors they face boast more weapons in their arsenal than the alliance knows. Can Janwar, Simone, and such a small crew vanquish them? Contains mature themes.

Dianne Duvall (Author), Kirsten Potter (Narrator)

Audiobook

Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice

'Black Lives Matter at School is an essential resource for all those seeking to build an antiracist school system.' -Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning and #1 New York Times Bestselling Author. Black Lives Matter at School succinctly generalizes lessons from successful challenges to institutional racism that have been won through the Black Lives Matter at School movement. This book will inspire many more educators and activists to join the Black Lives Matter at School movement at a moment when this antiracist work in our schools could not be more urgent and critical to education justice. Contributors include Opal Tometi, who wrote a moving foreword; Bettina Love, who shares a powerful chapter on abolitionist teaching; Brian Jones, who centers Black Lives Matter at School in the historical context of the ongoing struggle for racial justice in education; and prominent teacher union leaders from Chicago to Los Angeles and beyond, who discuss the importance of anti-racist struggle in education unions. The book includes essays, interviews, poems, resolutions, and more from educators, students, and parents around the country who have been building Black Lives Matter at School on the ground.

Denisha Jones (Author), Kirsten Potter, Lisa Reneé Pitts, Mirron Willis (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dragonlance: Dragons of Deceit (Dungeons & Dragons): Destinies: Volume One

Brought to you by Penguin. The first new Dragonlance novel from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman in over a decade, and featuring fan-favorite characters from the iconic first two trilogies, Dragonlance Chronicles and Dragonlance Legends--books that brought a generation of readers into the fantasy fold. Destina Rosethorn--as her name implies--believes herself to be very much a favored child of destiny. But when her father dis in the War of the Lance, her carefully-constructed world comes crashing down. Not only does she lost her beloved father, but the legacy he has left her: a wealthy fiance, and rule over the family lands and castle. With nothing left in the world to support her but wits and determination, she hatches a bold plan: to secure the Device of Time Journeying she read about in one of her father's books and prevent her father's death. The last known holder of the Device was one of the Heroes of the Lance: the free-spirited kender, Tasselhoff Burrfoot. BUt when Destina arrives in Solace--home not only to Tas, but to fellow heroes Caramon and Tika Majere--she sets into motion a chain of events more deadly than she had ever anticipated: one that could change not only her personal history, but the fate of the entire world, allowing a previously-defeated evil to once again gain ascendancy. © Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (Author), Kirsten Potter (Narrator)

Audiobook

Lady Violet Attends a Wedding

Lady Violet Belmaine is just finding her balance as a widow who has recently put off mourning when she’s summoned to the family seat to celebrate a sibling’s wedding. Hugh St. Sevier’s escort makes the journey somewhat bearable, while Sebastian MacHeath’s presence among the guests is a more dubious blessing. Violet is managing as best she can with her stubborn Papa, difficult brothers, and well-meaning aunties, when the bride goes missing. Tempers flare, old secrets come out at the worst times, and Violet can rely on only St. Sevier and Sebastian to help her find the bride … until she discovers that St. Sevier was the last person seen with the missing lady!

Grace Burrowes (Author), Kirsten Potter (Narrator)

Audiobook

Political Masculinity: How Incels, Fundamentalists and Authoritarians Mobilise for Patriarchy

Men with assault rifles, balaclavas, and Hawaiian shirts pulled over bulletproof vests. Horned warriors with painted faces and fur headdresses draped over their naked torsos. The storming of the Capitol brought together men who had previously come across one another only online in the Manosphere. These were men with a common interest, followers of a male-supremacist ideology, who rioted in order to fight for their privilege. Before then, the world had looked on as devastating attacks were carried out by incels: those who seek to gain unfettered access to women's bodies by redrawing the hierarchy of the sexes in order to ensure the subjugation of women. For all of these men, masculinity is a political project, and the events at the Capitol were one episode in a growing movement. From the US and Canada to New Zealand, from Poland to Brazil, right-wing extremists, religious fundamentalists, and male supremacists are coming together in order to translate their reactionary dreams of male domination into politics, underscoring the masculine roots of the authoritarian backlash.

Susanne Kaiser (Author), Kirsten Potter (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Kirsten Potter