9780063033504
Play Sample

Leave the World Behind audiobook

  • By: Rumaan Alam
  • Narrator: Marin Ireland
  • Category: Fiction, Suspense, Thrillers
  • Length: 7 hours 26 minutes
  • Publisher: HarperAudio
  • Publish date: October 06, 2020
  • Language: English
  • (90887 ratings)
(90887 ratings)
33% Cheaper than Audible
Get for $0.00
  • $9.99 per book vs $14.95 at Audible
    Good for any title to download and keep
  • Listen at up to 4.5x speed
    Good for any title to download and keep
  • Fall asleep to your favorite books
    Set a sleep timer while you listen
  • Unlimited listening to our Classics.
    Listen to thousands of classics for no extra cost. Ever
Loading ...
Regular Price: 20.99 USD

Leave the World Behind Audiobook Summary

Soon to be a Netflix film starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans and Kevin Bacon. Written for the Screen and Directed by Sam Esmail. Executive Producers Barack and Michelle Obama, Tonia Davis, Daniel M. Stillman, Nick Krishnamurthy, Rumaan Alam

A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!

Finalist for the 2020 National Book Award in Fiction

One of Barack Obama’s Summer Reads

A Best Book of the Year From: The Washington Post * Time * NPR * Elle * Esquire * Kirkus * Library Journal * The Chicago Public Library * The New York Public Library * BookPage * The Globe and Mail * EW.com * The LA Times * USA Today * InStyle * The New Yorker * AARP * Publisher’s Lunch * LitHub * Book Marks * Electric Literature * Brooklyn Based * The Boston Globe

A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong.

From the bestselling author of Rich and Pretty comes a suspenseful and provocative novel keenly attuned to the complexities of parenthood, race, and class. Leave the World Behind explores how our closest bonds are reshaped–and unexpected new ones are forged–in moments of crisis.

Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older couple–it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area–with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service–it’s hard to know what to believe.

Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple–and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one other?

Other Top Audiobooks

Leave the World Behind Audiobook Narrator

Marin Ireland is the narrator of Leave the World Behind audiobook that was written by Rumaan Alam

About the Author(s) of Leave the World Behind

Rumaan Alam is the author of Leave the World Behind

More From the Same

Leave the World Behind Full Details

Narrator Marin Ireland
Length 7 hours 26 minutes
Author Rumaan Alam
Category
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date October 06, 2020
ISBN 9780063033504

Subjects

The publisher of the Leave the World Behind is HarperAudio. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is Fiction, Suspense, Thrillers

Additional info

The publisher of the Leave the World Behind is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780063033504.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Roxane

June 28, 2020

A white family is vacationing in the Hamptons when the black owners of the home they are renting show up. Together the families must figure out what’s going on, because something terrible is clearly happening. This is an exceptional examination of race and class and family and what the world looks like when it’s ending—not at all different from the world we are in now. Finely o served details throughout.

Nilufer

August 02, 2022

Get ready to watch this book’s adaptation on Netflix. Such an amazing team on the board: Homecoming and Mr. Robot’s director Sam Ismael and fabulous cast including Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts!!! I cannot wait !!!Oh noooo!!!! This is smart, thrilling, riveting suspense and family drama but it’s not a great choice to read it during your quarantine and chill times because it’s claustrophobic, dark, suffocating, apocalyptic story. Something going on outside and you gotta stay in your house to save yourself but maybe sometimes taking risk and leave the world behind, getting out of your shelter to see the things with your own eyes would be the best alternative! The story terribly reminded me Jordan Peele’s “Us’: Family with two kids renting a vacation home and but another family appears at the door. Thankfully they are not their evil twins to come for replacing them like Us’ plot-line. This story is mostly psychology suspense, it is not a horror story! It starts Amanda and Clay- a lovely couple wants to escape from their city life and rents a vacation home at Hamptons for reasonable price as weekend getaway with their two kids. Everything starts quite relaxing, entertaining, peaceful like the silence before the storm or happiness before the approaching disaster as like all those thriller movies’ beginning. Suddenly they hear the banging on the door and meet with G.H. and Ruth, house’s real owners escaped from NY because of blackout and came to their second home to use their shelter. The internet, television, cell service are shut down as a proof of their story. So they let them in. Of course the thought balloons start to appear above your head: are these people really the real owner of the house? What the hell is happening outside? Is this the apocalypse? How long to families need to stay together and do they trust each other? Should they do that? High tension, family drama, class-race differences mixed with uncertainty of their situation and growing claustrophobia and feeling trapped in one location.I could really give this book 5 stars because of great plot-line. But the perplexing language style, complex vocabulary choices and the way of story-telling were a little exhausting and complex for me. It broke my concentration at few times. Ending was okay but it could be more surprising and shocking. Those facts lowered my points to 3.5 but I still rounded them up to 4 because the promising premise and high tension story-building were delightful. It was still exciting, heart throbbing page-turner.Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers/Ecco for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review.bloginstagramfacebooktwitter

JanB

September 23, 2020

4.5 starsA middle-aged white couple and their two teenage children have their vacation at a luxurious, secluded Airbnb interrupted by a late night knock at the door. The black owners of the home are at the door with a story of a major unknown event that knocked out the power along the east coast. Over the course of the next few days, tensions surface between the two families and fear is the overriding emotion. There is no cellphone, radio, or tv reception, leaving them totally cut off from the world with no idea what is happening beyond their four walls. It is clear a cataclysmic event took place, and the third person omniscient point of view allows the reader brief glimpses into what is happening in the outside world. The lack of details and the unknown adds to the overriding sense of menace. (The same type of technique that made Bird Box so terrifying.)The author give the reader a look into the thought processes of all involved, which reveals hidden biases. The underlying themes of age, class, race, and the blindness of modern life bubbles beneath the surface. I give credit to the author for respecting the intelligence of his readers by handling them all with a light touch, which makes more of an impact. The beginning chapters meanders along and what looks at first glance to be mundane filler, such as the vacationer’s grocery list, is very revealing, as is later made clear. Atmospheric, character-driven, and thought-provoking, this is a literary mix of genres that totally worked. The writing is sharp and smart. My two complaints are worth overlooking: the occasional use of obscure words, and TMI with some personal details. I read this book in two sittings, and when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. In fact, I finished it last week and I’m still thinking about it. The ending is not tied up in a neat bow, which will bother some readers, but I thought it was perfect and fitting. This won’t be for everyone, but it was certainly for me.A Netflix movie, starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, is in the works. I can totally see this story playing out on the screen.*I received a digital copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.*Publication date 10/6/2020 by Ecco Press, HarperCollins

Emma

June 23, 2021

4.5

Elyse

October 13, 2020

Audiobook.... read by Marin Ireland“Love goes on after a bomb”....And....“All anyone really wanted was home and food”..... ....Sausage pasta, wine, Chardonnay, whiskey, carrots and hummus, eggs, cereal, chips, cokes, desserts, cakes, ice cream, donuts, cookies, salty goldfish crackers, hamburgers, hotdogs, orange slices, cheese & crackers, strawberries, zucchini, blueberries, yogurt, bread,, tuna, beans, cans of soup,Sliced turkey, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, cakes, more vodka, more whiskey, more beer,more sweets....Add cigarettes, board games, movies, electricity would be nice, cell phones with power connection, first aid, household & cleaning supplies... toilet paper, Advil, garbage bags, bleach, duct tape, laundry detergent.. etc. I hope readers aren’t hungry when they read this HOT BUZZ thriller.... which borders on ‘horror’.... and completely ridiculous. It’s definitely an addictive read....even my husband joined in on the fun.... but he thought it was idiotic mind-f^~king wacky... yet he was interested enough to keep listening. Paul and I both found many nonsensical sentences—and others that needed ‘fact-checking’ ...For example - NPR doesn’t air X-rated podcasts that a 13 girl needs to be protected from....but this book doesn’t get its hype from logic. The best way to enjoy this book is hop on the ‘belief-suspension’ train... and enjoy the ride. ( or avoid it altogether is another solution)...but once a reader begins, even if you’re rolling your eyes like crazy.... ( not only about the disasters themselves in the plot...but for lots of nonsensical writing). ... which maybe is supposed to be part of the fun, too?/!/? However... ....this is one of those addicting thriller-types with great premise potential which tried to be too many things. Again, I’m not sure if it matters....Readers are going to read this book whether they like it or don’t. Thriller readers will be too curious about this one. I was too. There’s definitely an audience for it and I’m not sorry I read it, but after the buzz dies down and I have a few conversations with my friends.... I’ll easily move on....We come to know all six main characters - by name - quickly ( makes the readers feel smart and comforted)...We even know the contractor’s name down the street, (readers will feel even smarter), but we really never get to know any of the characters ‘well’. Does it matter? Maybe not. The world was ending so why not eat drink, dance, clean, and have sex... Everything else is Cowboys and Indians. It’s one GOOFY BOOK!!! Thousands of deer, flamingos, an unexplained sound....four adults, two children, trust issues,survival issues, new friends ( ha),pink vomit, a nightmare vacation....The author throws in a little of everything including the kitchen sink....sex, semen on the sheets, cleaning, drinking, eating, smoking, mystery suspense, *gross* graphic descriptions of a sick kid, a missing kid, a contractor, racial issues, lots of inner chatter, andunexplainable disaster happenings. It’s a NUTTY BOOK!!! but....I took something away which I’ll be thinking about longer.When Paul and I thought about having children, we thought about whether or not we felt we were in a position to do so financially and if we were ready....But we really didn’t think much about what the world was going to be like for our daughters once they were grown. I am now.... and it’s an unsettling thought.

Elle

November 30, 2022

I don’t know how to talk about this book. It’s just so out of left field. I don’t even know if I liked it. But I’ll try to vaguely review it here, as just about everything that I want to say could be considered a spoiler. The biggest feeling I had while reading was one of tension. There’s something constantly bubbling underneath the surface and you’re never quite sure what it is. And that tension keeps building towards a climax, but it doesn’t ever seem to reach it. I’m left with more questions at the end than I have answers.This is a character-driven story that is probably going to read differently for different people. For this reason I think it’d work better as a screenplay; there’s a few instances where it’s hard to figure out the author’s intent. I *will* say this is a book that hits you very distinctly after 9 months of quarantine than it would have otherwise. For the most part I liked the writing, but I know some are going to find it a little too descriptive.My advice is to go into it blind. Stop reading about the plot and go in without expectations. At the very least, you’ll have a strong reaction by the end either way.And for those unaware, there’s an adaption currently in the works that’s set to star Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts, which I’m positive is going to be amazing.*Thank you to Ecco Books & HarperCollins for an advance copy!**For more book talk & reviews, follow me on Instagram at @elle_mentbooks!

Holly

April 15, 2021

 Literary suspense with a whisper of horror. A family is vacationing in a exclusive, remote neighborhood tucked away in the woods, when someone knocks on the door in the middle of the night! They freak out! What should they do? What would I do?Inquiring minds want to know, and my curiousity was piqued to the point that I just had to finish and fast. Only 241 pages, it was a quick read. There are some vivid descriptions, nakedness, and other bodily happenings that were freakish. Some downright bizarre scenes. Claustrophobic and wildly unimaginable.Strange things occur ....uninvited guests, unsettling sounds, screaming, the television beeping and hissing, abated wind, animals acting strangely, and a chill in the air "They wanted something to happen, but something was happening. They did not know it, and it did not involve them, not really." It does not have a tidy ending,but for me it was brilliant! After all, every day is a gift and no one really knows what the future will bring. This was a library loanAn upcoming Netflix movie coming starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. No idea when, but can't wait!

Jessica

June 11, 2020

I thought I knew what a Rumaan Alam novel meant, but wow was I wrong. It is still so much of what I expected: the granular, sharp detail and the observations on a particular strain of comfortable, liberal white people. AND YET. I will not be the only one to have this experience, and in a way it's a sly bit of marketing to just talk about this like it's going to be a "strained relationships under pressure" novel of manners with some extra suspense kind of thing. For a reader like me, it is an absolute delight to be slowly, oh so slowly, moved from a place of comfort to a place of physical horror. But a lot of readers are going to be really really mad at this book for tricking them so I would just like to start off by saying that if you do not like being deeply unsettled, maybe move along. Or at least know going in that this is not going to be a book that takes care of you.I feel like making grand pronouncements about this book. It is the first real Pandemic Lit. There has been much speculation about what novels about this era will look like, and who knew the first one would be written before any of it started. It is a Trump Era Novel. It is both of these things, because what it is really doing is taking that feeling of dread you (hopefully) experienced on November 8, 2016, everything that suddenly felt so precarious, all the horrors that now seemed possible, all the structures that in a moment looked ready to topple, and channels all of it into this compact story in a vacation house in Long Island.It is a horror novel because it is about fear. The fear of strangers, the fear of the unexplainable, the fear of harm coming to your children. This is the book in a nutshell. Well, it is the book eventually.At first, we are setting the stage and that is when you have that Ah yes, a Rumaan Alam novel feeling. From the moment you meet Amanda and Clay you already know everything about them. They live in Brooklyn, she works in advertising and he is more of a professorial/writer/intellectual type, they have more money than most but not enough to feel like they are truly comfortable. When rich people ask them where they are from, Amanda lies and says a nicer neighborhood than they actually live in. They are a relatively happy family. They have rented a house on Long Island to take a break from the city and have a family vacation. In one scene, Alam follows Amanda to the grocery store and catalogs each purchase and I was riveted. Even though it was a menial thing, it was also immediately revealing, every purchase a signal she is sending to herself and her family about who they are and what they are going to do with this vacation.Then things start to get weird. After a few days of lounging, letting you get comfortable with these people and this setting, there is a knock at the door. And you think you know where you're at. It is an older Black couple, and oh now we will get into the good stuff, yes? Yes. But also. This is just the tiniest tip of the iceberg.Alam is so smart here, keeping the focus on this family, the "intruders," and the house itself. But every so often just slipping in a tiny bit of what is happening outside of this small setting. Just enough so that we realize our characters are in deeper than they know, to raise the stakes and have us even more troubled than they are. It builds this sense of urgency. Horrible things are happening, they must be happening, even if we are not sure exactly what they are, but here are Amanda and Clay staying up late, speculating, heating up leftovers and drinking vodka. Remember how we all said that the thing so many apocalypse novels got wrong about it is how boring it is? This book gets it. It gets the intricacies of the day, how they continue on, how we downplay and rationalize and insist that everything is fine. How when we do feel threatened we don't know how to respond, how when the crisis is no longer something you can ignore you can lose all sense of propriety.The closest comparison I have for this book is 2019's THE NEED, which also bridges the Horror and Literary divide, and also involves parental fear and a deep feeling that something is Wrong. The style is quite different and so is the story, but the way both books mess with your head and your sense of security is quite similar. Alam's granular detail only intensifies the pacing as the book moves along. Once I was 70% of the way through my e-book I knew there was no going back, I was sitting there until I was done.If you enjoy this kind of dark and deeply unsettling surprise, this will be a real win for you, like it was for me. But this isn't a book I'll recommend lightly. It definitely belongs in the subgenre I call "WTAF?!" and not everyone is comfortable there. I also recognize that some readers are going to have to give this one a pass until the world feels a little less precarious. (If that ever happens.)

Michelle

October 06, 2020

4.5 rounded up to 5There's a lot of mystery around what this book is exactly about. Everyone is being deliberately vague and after having read it myself, I can now say that is the right approach. I finished this over the weekend and ever since then, I’ve been trying to think of how many other books made me feel this way. Not many, that’s for sure. This is a book you have to deliberately read (and go blind into) and allow yourself to absorb carefully. I think one of the most genius things about it, is that everyone will have their own reaction and response to it. The reason being is that fear is unique. We aren’t all afraid of the same things for the same reasons. Alam takes that knowledge and puts that on display perfectly. He moves the walls of the room closer and closer and closer until you can only hear the sounds of your own heart beating faster and faster and faster. This book is brilliant and while I know it won’t be a favorite for everyone, it’s a book that asks you a very personal question. What do you become when you’re ability to obtain knowledge disappears???If I read this book in any other year, I would have given it a lower rating. When Rumaan Alam wrote this, he had no idea all the things that would happen in 2020. Particularly, COVID. This book is much more impactful now that we've been living with this virus for 8 months. It's no longer something that sounds awful or allows you the hubris to think, "Man, I'm sure glad I never have to worry about that happening." This is now. This is real life. The disbelief, the feeling of being caught off guard, the need for knowledge, the longing for normalcy - those are all things we are experiencing. Right now! So before 2020, I wouldn't have understood, I wouldn't have "gotten it". But I get it now. I get what this does to people. I get what this does to society. I get what this has done to me.Thank you so much to Ecco Books and Rumaan Alam for my free review copy and to Netgalley for digital copy in exchange for an honest review.Review Date: 10/06/2020Publication Date: 10/06/2020

Debra

October 05, 2020

Do you still have your bearings?Two families forced to spend a weekend together....The book begins as Amanda, Clay and their two children are staying at a luxurious Airbnb home on long island, expecting a quiet weekend away from the hustle and bustle of NYC. One night there is a knock on the door and there are the owners of the home, Ruth, and G.H., who have come to their rental home to escape the blackout in NYC. Soon the internet, electricity, and cable go out. Will no cell service, should Clay and Amanda believe what they are being told? Can the homeowners be trusted? Are they who they claim to be? Can Ruth and G.H. trust Amanda and Clay? Why is there a blackout? Is this remote home truly safe?This book is both atmospheric and claustrophobic. It also feels as if you are going to be reading a horror novel - you are not. What you are reading is a book that is about parenthood, class, race, isolation, and judgment. This book is suspenseful, has a feeling of dread, and had me questioning what the heck was going on, especially in the beginning.Thought-provoking and riveting.Thank you to Harper Collins Publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Terrie

May 07, 2021

"Leave the World Behind" by Rumaan Alam was alarmingly unsettling in so many ways!Amanda and Clay and their two teenagers, Archie and Rose are off to a much needed vacation at an Airbnb on Long Island. The house is beautiful. Very secluded. Amazing. A fully loaded dream home!It's very late in the evening, the kids are in bed, Amanda and Clay are relaxing after a quiet dinner, when they hear unsettling sounds outside. Then, a knock at the door! It's an older African-American couple, Ruth and G.H. Washington who say they are the owners of the home... G.H. and Ruth tell Amanda and Clay of leaving their high-rise apartment in New York City because of a major black-out. No cell service. No TV or radio. No electricity. It was chaotic! They figured they would be safer in their secluded vacation home.Amanda and Clay are suspicious. Are these strangers who they say they are? Should they let this couple in? Or do they just shut and bolt the door?There are thought provoking issues in this story. About race, age, class - but all are touched on lightly and only with innuendo. There are hints about what's happening but few details are given. You want to know more. It begins to make you uncomfortable.Instead the focus is on the characters. I love that it's a character study. The differences between youth and parents and older adults. Their thought processes are so varied. Miles apart. Years apart!A character driven story with chapters of what each character is thinking, feeling and doing. It begins with a lazy family vacation and ends.......it ends by forcing you to use your imagination. I loved that, too! I highly recommend this book. 4.5 stars rounded up for the author's creativity!

Karen

October 15, 2020

This is a story about the end of the 🌎 A white middle class family from Brooklyn goes to vacation on Long Island at a remote Airbnb. Their stay is interrupted at midnight by an older Black couple knocking on the door claiming to be the owners of the house and asking to stay the night because there is a blackout in all of New York City, and they don’t want to stay in their apartment in the city.So... they are all sheltering in place, getting to know each other while an unknown terror is happening beyond this house.This was intense, and addictive.. and yes, claustrophobic.. The author states in Entertainment Weekly that “Thrillers are about seducing and entertaining the reader,”. “I wanted the book to feel sticky, like you just couldn’t get out of it. You’re held in there.” that’s exactly what this story does. Netflix has snatched up the rights to this and there is talk about Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington are being talked about also for roles.

Susanne

November 26, 2020

Dark, atmospheric, eerie and harrowing. A relaxing vacation on Long Island turns out to be anything but for Amanda, Clay and their children Archie and Rose. What at first seemed like the perfect vacation at an Airbnb is disturbed by a knock at the door late one night. It’s the homeowners: G.H. and Ruth Washington and they have news. A Blackout has hit the entire East Coast. At first Amanda and Clay are in disbelief, even when Satellite TV plays the Emergency Broadcast system on all channels and there is no cell reception.G.H. and Ruth were staying in New York City when the blackout hit and then immediately hightailed it out to Long Island, as they knew it would be safer. Now the two families are in this together. Of course, no one knows if they can trust each other. That of course, is the first question.Then strange, terrifying events start happening. In isolation, two families only have each other to rely on. Call it a nail biter. It’s 2020 after all and right now, given what we’ve experienced, this story is somewhat believable.While “Leave the World Behind” starts off a little slow it quickly becomes chilling, clever and creepy. This novel is perfect for those who like character driven fiction. As a disclaimer, this book includes lots of nudity (which I feel was completely unnecessary).What I will say is that the ending is ambiguous which may frustrate some readers - though I personally found it to be brilliant, given, well, everything.A buddy listen with Ms. Kaceey!Thank you to Harper Audio, Libro.FM, Rumaan Alam for the alc. Kudos to the brilliant narrator Marin Ireland for entertaining me yet again.Published on Goodreads on 11.26.20.

Lark

February 16, 2021

I've read Leave the World Behind three times and each time I love it more. It took me a while to get used to its voice--sardonic and even a little bit mean, as well as being outrageously, unapologetically omniscient. It's a voice that I've more or less been schooled to distrust in this postmodern world. Once I tuned myself to this novel's unique rhythms, though, both the story and the storytelling became explosively alive for me. I needed to learn how to read this novel. I needed to overcome my natural likes and dislikes to fully appreciate its genius. For example, one thing I typically don't have patience for in novels is long lists of stuff. Authors seem to like lists a lot but usually they seem kind of lazy and unnecessary to me. Alam uses this technique to perfection in chapter 3, though, when he lists all the things Amanda puts in her grocery cart. It shouldn't be riveting, but it is. Each item Amanda chooses off the shelves gives me one more angle to view her character, and by the end I understand her limitations, and her self-image, and the ways she feels most vulnerable. All from a bunch of food items. It's extraordinary writing.My favorite novel published in 2020. It won me over. It snuck up on me.Note with spoilers 2/16: (view spoiler)[I'm diving in for a fourth time, honestly, I'm fascinated by this novel and how it works. This time I'm listening to the audiobook. The narrator is really good. It's a very complex book in terms of craft. At first it's written in a way that you assume it's one of those big social novels like The Corrections, and then it morphs into something more stark, some kind of an examination of privilege and race and prejudice...and then there are a series of ever-more-horrific encounters, all of which never spill over into the expected violence, AND THEN it leaps into a seriously gorgeous meditation on what-might-be-next if and when the rarified world we live in collapses. I don't say "gorgeous" too often about novels and the way they're written. The flamingos in the pool. The deer moving in huge herds. Rose in the woods, and the little fire of hope the author puts out there for us readers, when he assures us that she'll survive. And that through her something meaningful will survive. (hide spoiler)]

Paul

September 05, 2021

This is unusual – for once I am the nice guy. Usually I one-star or two-star these modern talked-about novels* but not this one, even though my GR friends do exactly that – check out these ringing endorsementsThis novel wins the award for the writer I’d most like to hit in the face with a pie (Leftbanker)I'm so disappointed, I wanted to like this, but I kind of hated it instead (Ann)Did Not Finish - This is my first time to rate a book that I did not finish. I am doing it as a warning to potential readers. (Peacejanz)And at the beginning I was beginning to growl and slather too when – oh no, here come the contorted similesThe kids leaped onto the gravel, eager as StasiHis bony shoulders the pink of undercooked meatThere was a sharp taste, like she had a Kennedy half dollar sitting on top of her tongueHe added Worcestershire sauce like daubing perfume onto a wristAnd the author’s winky smiley knowingness also grated :She looked like the kind of woman you’d see in a television ad for an osteoporosis medication.They were four adults standing about awkwardly as those in the last anticipatory moments at an orgyNone of that is good, but both Rumaan Alam and his editor thought it was. But gradually the book gathers to itself a vague unspecified atmosphere of disaster, and it became very compelling. There has been a major East Coast blackout, all television and phones are off, our (white) modern family on vacation in remote Long Island are beginning to wonder what is going on, they are descended upon by the owners of the Airbnb they are occupying, a black couple, things get creepier, parts of people’s bodies become detached, I don’t want to give too much away.The author’s masterstroke is to throw in flash forwards randomly indicating the terrific scale of the disaster that our six characters suspect might be happening. The flash forwards are really scary. They also tell you that this book is gonna have a cliffhanging ending because to describe this catastrophe would take a thousand and then some pages. I liked that.So this is like a movie where the script is lame, the actors kind of grating, but you could cut the atmosphere of dread with a knife. The message of this book is : none of us know how anything works, so when things stop working we have had it. *Girl A, Gone Girl, Normal People, Antkind

Frequently asked questions

Listening to audiobooks not only easy, it is also very convenient. You can listen to audiobooks on almost every device. From your laptop to your smart phone or even a smart speaker like Apple HomePod or even Alexa. Here’s how you can get started listening to audiobooks.

  • 1. Download your favorite audiobook app such as Speechify.
  • 2. Sign up for an account.
  • 3. Browse the library for the best audiobooks and select the first one for free
  • 4. Download the audiobook file to your device
  • 5. Open the Speechify audiobook app and select the audiobook you want to listen to.
  • 6. Adjust the playback speed and other settings to your preference.
  • 7. Press play and enjoy!

While you can listen to the bestsellers on almost any device, and preferences may vary, generally smart phones are offer the most convenience factor. You could be working out, grocery shopping, or even watching your dog in the dog park on a Saturday morning.
However, most audiobook apps work across multiple devices so you can pick up that riveting new Stephen King book you started at the dog park, back on your laptop when you get back home.

Speechify is one of the best apps for audiobooks. The pricing structure is the most competitive in the market and the app is easy to use. It features the best sellers and award winning authors. Listen to your favorite books or discover new ones and listen to real voice actors read to you. Getting started is easy, the first book is free.

Research showcasing the brain health benefits of reading on a regular basis is wide-ranging and undeniable. However, research comparing the benefits of reading vs listening is much more sparse. According to professor of psychology and author Dr. Kristen Willeumier, though, there is good reason to believe that the reading experience provided by audiobooks offers many of the same brain benefits as reading a physical book.

Audiobooks are recordings of books that are read aloud by a professional voice actor. The recordings are typically available for purchase and download in digital formats such as MP3, WMA, or AAC. They can also be streamed from online services like Speechify, Audible, AppleBooks, or Spotify.
You simply download the app onto your smart phone, create your account, and in Speechify, you can choose your first book, from our vast library of best-sellers and classics, to read for free.

Audiobooks, like real books can add up over time. Here’s where you can listen to audiobooks for free. Speechify let’s you read your first best seller for free. Apart from that, we have a vast selection of free audiobooks that you can enjoy. Get the same rich experience no matter if the book was free or not.

It depends. Yes, there are free audiobooks and paid audiobooks. Speechify offers a blend of both!

It varies. The easiest way depends on a few things. The app and service you use, which device, and platform. Speechify is the easiest way to listen to audiobooks. Downloading the app is quick. It is not a large app and does not eat up space on your iPhone or Android device.
Listening to audiobooks on your smart phone, with Speechify, is the easiest way to listen to audiobooks.

footer-waves