Top audiobooks for 2017

Thursday
Dec 21, 2017 at 9:30 PM

Alan Rosenberg alanrosenbergpj

Five top listens from the year just ending.

1. “Grant,” by Ron Chernow, read by Mark Bramhall. Random House Audio, 48 hours. The author of “Hamilton” redeems a 19th-century president long derided as drunk and corrupt, showing him instead as one of the greatest Americans. The Grant that emerges here is brilliant in war, steadfast in peace, but unable to see through a series of con men who robbed him blind.

2. “The Whole Town’s Talking,” by Fannie Flagg, read by Kimberly Farr. Random House Audio, 12 hours. This charming novel by the author of “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” takes us to a tiny town in Missouri, from its founding by Swedish immigrants in the late 19th century to its prosperity in the 20th and near-abandonment in the early 21st. It’s a loving visit with the town’s residents, both in life and after death.

3. “The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin’s House,” by Daniel Mark Epstein, read by Scott Brick. Random House Audio, 16½ hours. In most accounts of the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin’s only son, William, is a footnote: the illegitimate child who, curiously, stayed loyal to England as royal governor of New Jersey. But here William Franklin emerges full-blown as a significant — and tragic — figure in his own right.

4. “Short,” by Holly Goldberg Sloan, read by Tara Sands. Listening Library, 6½ hours. In this novel for middle-grade kids, Julia Marks is 11, and she’s not growing very much, though she hates the term “short.” But it hits her full force when her mother insists that she try out for a part as a Munchkin in a summer production of “The Wizard of Oz.” And the world of theater opens up to her in a way that’s sweet without being sugary.

5. “Uprooted: The Japanese American Experience During World War II,” by Albert Marrin, read by Marc Cashman. Listening Library, 8 hours. In a book meant for kids but also revealing for adults, National Book Award finalist Marrin tells the story of Japanese-Americans during World War II — over 100,000 American citizens rounded up and sent to prison camps, although not one had been convicted of a crime.

Alan Rosenberg is The Journal’s executive editor.

— arosenberg@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7409

On Twitter: @AlanRosenbergPJ

Thursday
Dec 21, 2017 at 9:30 PM

Alan Rosenberg alanrosenbergpj

Five top listens from the year just ending.

1. “Grant,” by Ron Chernow, read by Mark Bramhall. Random House Audio, 48 hours. The author of “Hamilton” redeems a 19th-century president long derided as drunk and corrupt, showing him instead as one of the greatest Americans. The Grant that emerges here is brilliant in war, steadfast in peace, but unable to see through a series of con men who robbed him blind.

2. “The Whole Town’s Talking,” by Fannie Flagg, read by Kimberly Farr. Random House Audio, 12 hours. This charming novel by the author of “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” takes us to a tiny town in Missouri, from its founding by Swedish immigrants in the late 19th century to its prosperity in the 20th and near-abandonment in the early 21st. It’s a loving visit with the town’s residents, both in life and after death.

3. “The Loyal Son: The War in Ben Franklin’s House,” by Daniel Mark Epstein, read by Scott Brick. Random House Audio, 16½ hours. In most accounts of the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin’s only son, William, is a footnote: the illegitimate child who, curiously, stayed loyal to England as royal governor of New Jersey. But here William Franklin emerges full-blown as a significant — and tragic — figure in his own right.

4. “Short,” by Holly Goldberg Sloan, read by Tara Sands. Listening Library, 6½ hours. In this novel for middle-grade kids, Julia Marks is 11, and she’s not growing very much, though she hates the term “short.” But it hits her full force when her mother insists that she try out for a part as a Munchkin in a summer production of “The Wizard of Oz.” And the world of theater opens up to her in a way that’s sweet without being sugary.

5. “Uprooted: The Japanese American Experience During World War II,” by Albert Marrin, read by Marc Cashman. Listening Library, 8 hours. In a book meant for kids but also revealing for adults, National Book Award finalist Marrin tells the story of Japanese-Americans during World War II — over 100,000 American citizens rounded up and sent to prison camps, although not one had been convicted of a crime.

Alan Rosenberg is The Journal’s executive editor.

— arosenberg@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7409

On Twitter: @AlanRosenbergPJ

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