River Readers

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . In this powerful novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel tells the story of two World War II concentration camp survivors, the life they build together, and the son who faces struggles of his own as a first generation American determined to be his own person and achieve success.

"True belonging doesn't require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are." Social scientist Brene Brown, PhD, LMSW, has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives--experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization. With her trademark mix of research, storytelling, and honesty, Brown will again change the cultural conversation while mapping a clear path to true belonging.

There were so many things I learned listening to this final book that I want to have a movie marathon and reread the books! Jim Dale's voice shows so many nuances that I missed I almost felt like it was a whole new book. I recommend listening to this series just to hear him. I miss this series as much now as I did when I read it the first time.

The past comes back to haunt Finn McQuaid, who is brought up short by what seems the reappearance of his former lover, Layla, who vanished 12 years earlier. After being cleared of Layla's murder, Finn gradually became close to her older sister, Ellen, and they were recently engaged. Then the appearance of a set of Russian dolls significant to only Layla, Ellen, and Finn suggest that Layla may be alive and nearby.

Even though I know what is coming in this book, it still hits hard. There is so much happening in this story that is dark and fore-boding, but also such a forecast of the last book. It is fun to see Harry as Quidditch captain and to see the developing relationships. Ready to finish out the series in audio, but may have to take time to re-read them all now.

This is an intense story which has very sad parts. I loved listening to it because I caught all kinds things I missed when I read it and things that aren't in the movie. Jim Dale is so amazing to listen to that I am eagerly making my way through the series!

Jack Reacher is hitchhiking to Virginia when he's picked up by a threesome on their way to Chicago -- all dressed alike, but after noticing curious discrepancies and encountering several police stops, he quickly realizes something is off. Getting away from the group, he finds himself working with the FBI's Julia Sorenson to investigate the murder of a diplomatic attaché . There's less action in this title in the Reacher series, but still includes deduction, a final confrontation, and a verbal puzzle that all combine to make this a page-turner.

Throughout Lee Child's series, readers are told of Jack Reacher's history as an Army M.P. and his past decision to leave the only life he has ever known to become a wanderer. "The Affair" returns to 1997, when Reacher is assigned an undercover role near a secret base in Mississippi run by a powerful senator's son, where a woman has been murdered. Reacher arrives in town and quickly has his cover blown by local sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux who tells him about other women who have been murdered.

Jack Reacher is spending the night as he makes way through rural Nebraska when he's drawn into the problems of a small community. It is run by the Duncan family, who the farmers depend on because of their transportation company and fear because of the college football players who supply their muscle. Reacher's curiosity into the 25-year-old mystery of a little girl's disappearance stirs up trouble that is affecting an important delivery slowly making it's way through Canada and across the border.

When a U.S. Senator and his mistress are in an accident, he calls upon U.S. Marshall Lucas Davenport, who helped him previously, to look into the homicide which he believes was an assassination attempt. The case brings Lucas to Washington and puts him on a collision course with an old nemesis, Taryn Grant, who is attractive, ambitious, and just a little bit crazy -- and with a very real likelihood of a White House run.

U.S. Marshall Lucas Davenport likes to hunt killers and when he comes across a multiple homicide at a drug counting house -- including a child -- he goes on a hunt for Gavin Poole, a killer who's been largely invisible for years.

Set in a lawless Texas about five years after the end of the Civil War, News of the World by Paulette Jiles is the compelling and beautifully written account of a 400-mile journey reluctantly undertaken by Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd. The purpose of the journey is to return a recently rescued child to her aunt and uncle. Ten-year old Johanna Leonberger had been captured three years ago by the same Kiowa Indian tribe which brutally murdered her parents and younger sister.

There were so many things I had forgotten when I listened to this book. I find new facts every step of this listening journey. I can't wait to start the next one.

I am truly enjoying listening to the Harry Potter books. Jim Dale is amazing and I am finding all kinds of small details I didn't catch or didn't remember. Makes me want to have a movie marathon!

U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport has his choice of cases to work, but misses what he does best, hunting the hard-to-catch criminal. A shooting at a drug counting house in Mississippi, one that includes a child, puts him on the trail of Garvin Poole, a vicious killer who has escaped capture for years. Davenport isn't the only one looking, however; the drug cartel wants their money back and has dispatched a pair of killers who torture and kill anyone who might know Poole's whereabouts.