Audiobook usage is on the rise, and it’s no wonder they have become increasingly popular–audiobooks are a convenient way to sneak in reading. According to Audio Publishers Association, 81% of audiobook listeners enjoy the audio format because it allows them to multitask, while 75% cited portability as a defining feature. The Peter White has many books on CD available, but you can also listen to audiobooks for free with your library card through Libby, a reading app available to android and apple users alike. So check out a CD Book at the Peter White, download an audiobook to your personal device with Libby, and get reading on-the-go this summer.

“Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink” by Anthony McCarten

Before writing the screenplay for acclaimed film, “Darkest Hour,” Anthony McCarten captured the day-by-day experiences of Winston Churchill during his unexpected rise to Prime Minister in the early days of World War II in his book, “Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought England Back from the Brink.” With European democracies falling one after another and a German invasion of Britain seemingly inevitable, Darkest Hour depicts the doubts, fears, and anxieties of Churchill in the tumultuous weeks of May 1940 and how he overcame them to become the iconic, powerful figure he is remembered as. Not only is it a riveting story, but narrator John Lee’s portrayal of Churchill is impeccable. Lee’s performance as other heads of states and ambassadors is also impressive, perfecting the French, Italian, American, and German accents. Decide if the book was better by listening to this thrilling story, or witness the drama of Churchill’s–and Europe’s– darkest hour for the first time by downloading the book through Libby.

“It Can’t Happen Here” by Sinclair Lewis

Discussing the rise of fascism in Germany, a character in Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 semi-satirical novella remarks, “Nonsense! Nonsense! That couldn’t happen here in America, not possibly! We’re a country of freemen.” Protagonist Doremus Jessup strongly disagrees with this assessment, retorting with a semi-facetious but gripping monologue of the social and political injustices in America history (which is too long to quote here). And unfortunately, in Lewis’ book, Jessup was right. It Can’t Happen Here depicts a dystopian alternate history in which fascism not only can, but does happen in America. Populist, nationalist, and socialist Berzelius Windrip takes advantage of the economic depression and wave of xenophobia to win the 1936 Presidential election, ushering in a fascist dictatorship. This premise was inspired in part by Lewis’ wife Dorothy Thompson’s 1931 interview with Hitler, but spurned by the growing strife in Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Italy in the mid-1930s–although the book was published before the horrors of WWII and the Holocaust. It Can’t Happen Here is nonetheless a timely read, reminding us that democracy is not infallible, that we must remain engaged and diligent in the protection of our freedoms not just abroad, but at home as well.

“Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World” by Neil Gaiman

NEW CDBOOK 153.35 GA

On a more uplifting note, Neil Gaiman reads us four of his inspiring works on art, creativity, and free speech in Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World. The first selection, “Credo,” is a succinct exposition of Gaiman’s stance on the power of ideas and the need for freedom of expression without violence, written in response to Al-Qaeda’s attack on the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, in 2015. “Make Good Art” comes next, Gaiman’s famous 2012 commencement address to the Philadelphia University of the Arts about the virtues of making mistakes and the value of making art no matter what. The third selection is a poem titled “Making a Chair,” in which Gaiman, suffering from writer’s block, makes a chair instead. His experience assembling a chair turns into a poem (and song, with wife, Amanda Palmer), reminding us that inspiration can come from anywhere. Lastly, “On Libraries” praises reading fiction and the important role libraries play in fostering literacy, protecting freedom of expression, and providing access.

“On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes” by Alexandra Horowitz

NEW CDBOOK 158.1 HO

And finally, Alexandra Horowitz reminds us to slow down and appreciate each moment with focus and attention. In our fast-paced lives–always so much to do and so little time–multitasking is certainly convenient. However, taking the time to pause, notice, and reflect has its benefits as well. Horowitz, a psychologist, walks the urban streets of her New York neighborhood with 11 different experts in various fields, discussing how they use tiny, oft-overlooked differences to diagnose passers-by, analyze good and bad fonts, determine road safety measures, and even spot fossils in building bricks. Her meditations provide a new way to look at our surroundings, highlighting the beauty in the ordinary, the joy in the mundane, and the different perspectives by which we all view our world.

By Ali Fulsher

Reference Department