Here, in no particular order, are some new audiobooks recently acquired by the Dick Smith Library. Many of these won
Audies or other prestigious awards. You can find them on the lower level of the Dick Smith Library in the Audiovisual Collection.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, call number AV-Audio PR6063 .A438 W65 2009, was the 2009 winner of the
Man Booker Prize for "the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland." It also won the 2010 Audie Award for Literary Fiction. It's a novelization of the life of Thomas Cromwell, chief minister to Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540.
Wolf Hall is first in a trilogy and was followed by
Bring Up The Bodies, call number AV-Audio PR6063 .A438 B75 2012. Mantel tells the well-known story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn from Cromwell's viewpoint. This book also won the Man Booker Prize, in 2012. The third book in the trilogy,
The Mirror and the Light, is expected to be published in 2015.
Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter, call number AV-Audio PZ7 .S53822 CLE 2011, is a well-written young adult novel (that will also appeal to adults who like historical fiction) about the only daughter of the famous queen Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius, Cleopatra Selene II.
The Round House, call number AV-Audio PS3555 .R42 R68 2012, won the 2012
National Book Award for Fiction. It highlights a major issue in Native American tribal law - the "difficulty of prosecuting crimes of sexual violence on reservations," according to author Louise Erdrich, who is Native American herself.
A Good American, call number AV-Audio PR6107 .E53 G66 2012, is historical fiction written in memoir style. The fictional memoir is by James Meisenheimer, and he's telling his family's story. His grandparents, Frederick and Jette, immigrated from Hanover, Germany, in 1904, and due to a series of mishaps, wound up in (fictional) Beatrice, Missouri, on the Missouri River. They settle down there, have a family, run a bar. But life - and historical events - intervene. This debut novel is by Alex George, himself an immigrant from England.
Set in Texas in late 1899,
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, call number AV-Audio PZ7 .K296184 EVO 2009B, was a
Newbery (for the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children") Honor Book in 2010. This historical fiction about a young girl interested in science was written by another debut author, Jacqueline Kelly. The audiobook was also a 2011 finalist for the Children Ages 8-12 Audie.
The One and Only Ivan, call number AV-Audio PZ7 .A6483 ON 2013, is based on a real animal - the infamous "Ivan the Shopping Mall Gorilla," who spent 27 years alone in a small cage in a shopping mall in Tacoma, Washington. This fantasy won the 2013 Newbery Medal and was written by Katherine Applegate.
Another fantasy,
The Graveyard Book, written and read by Neil Gaiman, call number AV-Audio PZ7 .G1273 GR 2008B, was the Newbery Medalist in 2009. That year it also won the Audie Award for Children Ages 8-12 and was named the Audiobook of the Year.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, call number AV-Audio D805 .J3 Z364 2010B, is the inspiring true story of Louis Zamperini, Olympic athlete and World War II hero, who spent 47 days on a raft in the Pacific and over two years in a Japanese prison after his plane crashed.
Check out our
Pinterest board on audiobooks for more ideas!
