Sound Commentary - Your Wise Guide to Audiobooks and Audio Book Reviews

Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith

ALEXANDER GORDON SMITH lives in Norwich, England. Lockdown: Escape from Furnace is his first novel published in the United States.

Ravens by George Dawes Green

George Dawes Green is the author of the highly acclaimed novel The Caveman's Valentine, as well as a poet whose work has appeared in The Ontario Review, Carolina Quarterly, and other literary publications. He lives in Key West, Florida.

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith was born in northwest London in 1975. White Teeth, was the winner of the Whitbread First Novel Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, and the Commonweatlh Writers First Book Prize. She is currently living in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Crowner Royal by Bernard Knight

Professor Bernard Knight CBE Bernard Knight has been writing for over forty-eight years. He has written crime novels, 'straight' historical novels, and many historical mysteries, as well as biography, medical and medico-legal textbooks, popular books on forensic medicine and on the history of medicine. In addition, he has written many radio and television drama and documentary scripts, as well as acting as technical advisor and presenter of several television series. He is a founding member of the 'Medieval Murderers' promotion group and for many years has regularly reviewed crime books for the Tangled Web site (www.twbooks.co.uk). He is also both a physician and a barrister.

Just Another Hero by Sharon M. Draper

Sharon Draper, a two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winner and popular conference speaker. lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she taught high school English for twenty-five years.

The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau

With a background in cultural anthropology and ESL-teaching, award-winning author Laura Resau has lived and traveled extensively in Latin America.

Chemistry for Beginners by Anthony Strong

ANTHONY STRONG is the author of two previous novels written under the name Anthony Capella--The Wedding Officer and The Food of Love, which has been translated into 22 languages. He lives in the United Kingdom. (from the author's Anthony Capella website)

The Wolf in the Parlor by Jon Franklin

Jon Franklin is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism and the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing, among numerous other awards. He was a science writer for the Baltimore Evening Sun and is now a journalism professor at the University of Maryland. He is also the author of The Molecules of the Mind a New York Times Book of the Year.

Three Hands in the Fountain by Lindsey Davis

LINDSEY DAVIS is the author of the internationally bestselling Falco novels. She lives in London, England.

Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton is the New York Times bestselling author of the Meredith Gentry novels: A Kiss of Shadows, A Caress of Twilight, Seduced by Moonlight, A Stroke of Midnight, Mistral's Kiss, A Lick of Frost, and Divine Misdemeanors, as well as seventeen acclaimed Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, novels. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

Crashed by Robin Wasserman

Robin Wasserman enjoys writing about high school -- but wakes up every day grateful that she doesn't have to relive it. She recently abandoned the beaches and boulevards of Los Angeles for the chilly embrace of the East Coast, as all that sun and fun gave her too little to complain about. She now lives and writes in New York City, which she claims to love for its vibrant culture and intellectual life. In reality, she doesn't make it to museums nearly enough, and actually just loves the city for its pizza, its shopping, and the fact that at three A.M. you can always get anything you need -- and you can get it delivered. Wasserman is also the author of another teen series called The Seven Deadly Sins.

The Case for God by Karen Armstrong

Karen Armstrong is the author of numerous books on religious affairs, including A History of God, The Battle for God, Holy War, Islam, Buddha, and The Great Transformation; and two memoirs, Through the Narrow Gate and The Spiral Staircase. In February 2008 she was awarded the "TED" prize ("Technology, Entertainment, Design:" ideas worth spreading) and is currently working with TED on a major international project to launch and propagate a Charter for Compassion, created online by the general public and crafted by leading thinkers in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. It is to be signed in the fall of 2009 by a thousand religious and secular leaders.

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Jack London (1876-1916), by turns a renegade adventurer, a war correspondent, and an avowed socialist, first achieved fame with The Son of the Wolf (1900), a collection of short stories drawn from his experiences in the Klondike gold rush. "The greatest story Jack London ever wrote was the story he lived, said Alfred Kazin.

Rescue Ink by Dennis Flaim

Comprised of motorcycle and tattoo aficianados, Rescue Ink is a nonprofit animal rescue organization based in Long Island, New York. They have been featured in People and The New York Times. Denise Flaim was a staff writer at Newsday from 1994 to 2008 and is the author of The Holistic Dog Book and Getting Lucky: How One Special Dog Found Love and a Second Chance at Angel's Gate.

Delicate, Edible Birds by Lauren Groff

Lauren Groff was born in Cooperstown, New York, from which she drew inspiration for her first novel, The Monsters of Templeton. Her short stories have appeared in several literary publications, and she has won fellowships to the Vermont Studio Center and Yaddo. She received a Pushcart Prize for her story "Lucky Chow Fun."

The Spire by Richard North Patterson

Richard North Patterson is the author of Eclipse, Exile, and fourteen other bestselling and critically acclaimed novels. Formerly a trial lawyer, he was the SEC liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor and has served on the boards of several Washington advocacy groups.

The Monster in the Box by Ruth Rendell

Ruth Rendell, who also writes as Barbara Vine, is the author of more than 70 books. She has won numerous awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for 1976's best crime novel with A Demon in My View; a second Edgar in 1984 from the Mystery Writers of America for the best short story, The New Girl Friend; and a Gold Dagger Award for Live Flesh in 1986. She was also the winner of the 1990 Sunday Times Literary award, as well as the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger. In 1996 she was awarded the CBE and in 1997 became a Life Peer, a four-time winner of the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger for Fiction award, the recipient of a CBE and in 1997 of a lifetime peerage.

The Disappeared by M.R. Hall

M. R. Hall is a screenwriter, producer and former criminal barrister. English barristers must prosecute as well as defend, and Hall found he couldn't prosecute children so he left the profession. Educated at Hereford Cathedral School and Worcester College, Oxford, he lives in Monmouthshire with his wife and two sons. Aside from writing, his main passion is the preservation and planting of woodland. In his spare moments, he is mostly to be found amongst trees.

Noah's Compass by Anne Taylor

Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1941 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. This is her eighteenth novel. Her eleventh, Breathing Lessons, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Lying Carpet by David Lucas

David Lucas studied illustration at the Royal College of Art. His books have been translated into seven languages.

Kim by Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907 and was wildly popular for his poems, short stories, novels, and children's books. As the British Empire waned, he was dismissed as a "jingoistic imperialist," but in more recent times his reputation has been at least partly rehabilitated. In 1990, for example, Reader's Digest included Kim on a list of "The World's Best Reading," and for those who can accept its old-fashioned language and world view, the book still offers mystery, fun, and a kaleidoscopic view of India in the late 19th century

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Award-winning author Rick Yancey has captivated young adult readers with his popular Alfred Kropp novels, the first of which was named a Best Book for Children by Publishers Weekly and was a finalist for the Carnegie Medal.

Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson

James Patterson is the author of the two most popular detective series of the past decade, featuring Alex Cross and the Women's Murder Club. He has won an Edgar Award--the mystery world's highest honor--and his novels Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider were made into feature films. His lifelong work to promote books and reading is reflected in his new Web site, ReadKiddoRead.com, which helps parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians find the very best children's books for their kids. He lives in Florida. Richard DiLallo is a former advertising creative director. He has had numerous articles published in major magazines. He lives in Manhattan with his wife.

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slades

Arthur Slade was raised in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan (on a ranch) and began writing at an early age. He received an English Honours degree from the University of Saskatchewan, spent several years writing advertising and now writes fiction full time. He is the author of the "Canadian Chills" series of books, "Dust" (which won the Governor General's award), "Tribes," "Monsterology" and "Megiddo's Shadow." He currently lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

A Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton

Born and raised in Detroit, Steve Hamilton graduated from the University of Michigan where he won the prestigious Hopwood Award for fiction. In 2006, he won the Michigan Author Award for his outstanding body of work. His novels have won numerous awards and media acclaim beginning with the very first in the Alex McKnight series, A Cold Day in Paradise, which won the Private Eye Writers of America/St. Martin's Press Award for Best First Mystery by an Unpublished Writer. Once published, it went on to win the MWA Edgar and the PWA Shamus Awards for Best First Novel, and was short-listed for the Anthony and Barry Awards. Hamilton currently works for IBM in upstate New York where he lives with his wife Julia and their two children.

Short Girls by Bich Minh Nguyen

Bich Minh Nguyen [Bit Min Nwin] is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir Stealing Buddha's Dinner.

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Justine Larbalestier is the author of How to Ditch Your Fairy and the acclaimed Magic or Madness trilogy. She was born and raised in Sydney, Australia, and now divides her time between Sydney and New York City.

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by Sid Fleischman

Since his autobiography, The Abracadabra Kid: A Writer's Life, was published in 1996, Sid Fleischman has been stealing the spotlight with his exuberant brand of nonfiction. Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World is Fleischman's fourth true tale, following the widely acclaimed The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West and the best-selling Escape! The Story of The Great Houdini. Fleischman's books have been made into films, performed as plays, and translated into nineteen languages. The author was awarded the Newbery Medal for The Whipping Boy. His most recent novel is The Dream Stealer. Sid Fleischman lives in Santa Monica, California.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Patrick Rothfuss always wanted to be a fantasy author when he grew up. Now that his first novel is published it's generally agreed that he has achieved his dream. However, there is some debate as to whether or not he has, in fact, grown up.

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

From Amazon: Former Contrafilms Director of Development, Gitty Daneshvari is the author of the adult novel The Makedown. This is Gitty's debut children's book, and it was inspired by her many childhood fears. She hoped that one day they'd help her, and, as it turns out, they did. She lives in New York.

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers is the author of six previous books, including his most recent, Zeitoun, a nonfiction account a Syrian-American immigrant and his extraordinary experience during Hurricane Katrina and What Is the What, a finalist for the 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award. That book, about Valentino Achak Deng, a survivor of the civil war in southern Sudan, gave birth to the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, run by Mr. Deng and dedicated to building secondary schools in southern Sudan. Eggers is the founder and editor of McSweeney's, an independent publishing house based in San Francisco that produces a quarterly journal, a monthly magazine (The Believer), and Wholphin, a quarterly DVD of short films and documentaries. In 2002, with Nínive Calegari he co-founded 826 Valencia, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center for youth in the Mission District of San Francisco. Local communities have since opened sister 826 centers in Chicago, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Ann Arbor, Seattle, and Boston. In 2004, Eggers taught at the University of California-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and there, with Dr. Lola Vollen, he co-founded Voice of Witness, a series of books using oral history to illuminate human rights crises around the world. A native of Chicago, Eggers graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in journalism. He now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two children.

Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga

Aravind Adiga was born in India in 1974 and attended Columbia and Oxford universities. A former correspondent for Time magazine, he has also been published in the Financial Times. He lives in Mumbai, India. His debut novel, The White Tiger, won the 2008 Man Booker Prize.

Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving

The Pyramid by Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell is the prizewinning author of the Kurt Wallander mysteries, which were adapted into a PBS television series starring Kenneth Branagh. His novels have been translated into forty languages and have sold thirty million copies worldwide. He is the first winner of the Ripper Award (the new European Crime Fiction Star Award) and has also received the Glass Key and Golden Dagger awards. He divides his time between Sweden and Mozambique.