audio books

Listen to a clip from The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny, Book 8 in the Inspector Gamache series, read by Adam Sims. Available to purchase via the 'Buy' button above.

On a remote island in Quebec, a monastery stands. The monks there are one of the last surviving groups to sing and keep alive original Gregorian chants, handed down to them from generations before. But now the outside world has affected their peaceful, self-sufficient existence.

A body is found in the abbot's garden. One of the monks has been killed, and presumably by someone within the monastery. So Chief Inspector Gamache and Inspector Beauvoir come to the island to investigate and question. They have no choice but to stay in the lonely, silent monastery until the murderer is brought to light - which soon brings to the surface their own inner turmoil...

Coming soon: Book 9 in the Inspector Gamache series, HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN. 

As a fierce, unrelenting winter grips Quebec, shadows are closing in on Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department and hostile forces are lining up against him. When Gamache receives a message about a mysterious case, he is compelled to investigate -- a woman who was once one of the most famous people in the world has vanished.

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (Chief Inspector Gamache #8)

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

The required reading at Highland Park High School is still in flux. Some parents convinced administrators to remove books with adult material  -- then other parents, alumni and teachers petitioned the administration to reverse that decision.
Mostly missing from the public debate has been the voices of teenage students whose classes have been affected. As part of the KERA Yearbook project, we hear from three students about what English class has been like this fall.  

Highland Park Teens Speak Up For Their Books

Breathing Meditation taken from 'Mindfulness for Creativity: Adapt, Create and Thrive in a Frantic World' by Dr Danny Penman - Track 1

Mindfulness For Creativity Meditation Track 1 - Breathing - By Dr Danny Penman

Meditations from 'Mindfulness for Creativity: Adapt, Create and Thrive in a Frantic World' by Dr Danny Penman

Mindfulness For Creativity Meditation Track 2 - Sounds And Thoughts - By Dr Danny Penman

Speaking in Dallas last month, President Obama said, "We flood communities with so many guns that it is easier for a teenager to buy a Glock than get his hands on a computer or even a book."

Is it true? 

We asked Gardner Selby of PolitiFact Texas. 

Read the fact-check here: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jul/14/barack-obama/barack-obama-offers-flawed-comparison-between-teen/

Is It Easier for Teens to Buy a Glock Than Access Computers or Books?

Performed by Tara Sands

About the Book

Meet Abbie Wu. Abbie is in crisis—and not just because she’s starting middle school or because she’s stuck in a family that doesn’t quite get her or because everyone seems to have a Thing except her. Abbie Wu is always in crisis.

From debut author Booki Vivat, Frazzled dives right into the mind of this hilariously neurotic middle school girl as she tries to figure out who she is and where she belongs. Akin to Smile by Raina Telgemeier, Frazzled is sure to appeal to anyone in the middle of figuring out how to survive the everyday disasters of growing up.

FRAZZLED by Booki Vivat

A download of guided meditations aimed to complement the learnings found in Prof Mark William's and Dr Danny Penman's guide to freeing yourself from the stresses of everyday life. Containing all the meditations that are mentioned in the book this is an invaluable resource to cement their teachings on how to find Mindfulness, and how to keep it.

Mindfulness - Finding Peace In A Frantic World - Guided Meditations

Meditation One: Mindfulness Of Body And Breath

Performed by Adam Lazarre-White

From beloved Newbery Honor winner and three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner Rita Williams-Garcia comes a powerful and heartfelt novel about loss, family, and love that will appeal to fans of Jason Reynolds and Kwame Alexander.

Clayton feels most alive when he's with his grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd, and the band of Bluesmen - he can't wait to join them, just as soon as he has a blues song of his own. But then the unthinkable happens. Cool Papa Byrd dies, and Clayton's mother forbids Clayton from playing the blues. And Clayton knows that's no way to live.

Armed with his grandfather's brown porkpie hat and his harmonica, he runs away from home in search of the Bluesmen, hoping he can join them on the road. But on the journey that takes him through the New York City subways and to Washington Square Park, Clayton learns some things that surprise him.

CLAYTON BYRD GOES UNDERGROUND by Rita Williams-Garcia

Mindfulness Meditations with Mark Williams

20 min Sitting Meditation Mark Williams

Body Scan for Sleep by Vidyamala - Saturating The Body With The Breath

“Want a happier, more contented life? I highly recommend the down-to-earth methods you’ll find in Mindfulness. Professor Mark Williams and Dr Danny Penman have teamed up to give us scientifically grounded techniques we can apply in the midst of our everyday challenges and catastrophes.” Daniel Goleman, bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence

Life can be relentless, frantic and exhausting - but it doesn’t have to be this way.

This is an introduction to Mindfulness, which reveals a set of simple yet powerful practices that you can incorporate into daily life to help break the cycle of anxiety, stress, unhappiness and exhaustion. Mindfulness is based on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), which is recommended by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and is as effective as drugs for preventing depression. But, more importantly, it also works for the rest of us who aren’t depressed but are struggling to keep up with the constant demands of the modern world.

By investing just a few minutes each day, you can learn the simple mindfulness meditations at the heart of MBCT. This audio edition is an introduction to the technique which will give you the tools to put you back in control and able to enjoy life again.

Mindfulness: Meditation 3 - Mindful Movement

Mindfulness: Meditation 4 - Breath And Body

Mindfulness: Meditation 6 - Exploring Difficulty

Meditating in midst of the Coronavirus pandemic is not easy. It can be particularly difficult because many traditional meditations rely on the breath as an anchor, or focal point, for your attention. So the breath becomes the place you return to when the mind inevitably wanders. 

When we meditate on the breath, we settle on a place where we feel the breath moving (such as the nostrils, the chest or the abdomen), or we follow the whole breath in and out. Many will continue to find the breath a great solace and support at this time. But for some people, the breath may be a relatively uncertain anchor: the sensations of the breath don’t feel quite strong enough to hold their attention. This is especially true if you have an asthmatic condition, or a history of panic attacks, or are experiencing symptoms of Covid-19. 

To help you deal with such issues, we have produced a new collection of meditations that will help you explore alternative anchors for your attention; the feet, seat or hands. There are three versions of the Finding Your Ground meditation of different lengths..... Read more here http://franticworld.com/coronavirus/

Frantic World 2.0

10' Finding your ground

Performed by Gail Shalan and Reena Dutt

Set against the backdrop of Karachi, Pakistan, Saadia Faruqi’s tender and honest middle grade novel tells the story of two girls navigating a summer of change and family upheaval with kind hearts, big dreams, and all the right questions.

Mimi is not thrilled to be spending her summer in Karachi, Pakistan, with grandparents she’s never met. Secretly, she wishes to find her long-absent father, and plans to write to him in her beautiful new journal.

The cook’s daughter, Sakina, still hasn’t told her parents that she’ll be accepted to school only if she can improve her English test score—but then, how could her family possibly afford to lose the money she earns working with her Abba in a rich family’s kitchen?

Although the girls seem totally incompatible at first, as the summer goes on, Sakina and Mimi realize that they have plenty in common—and that they each need the other to get what they want most. 

This relatable and empathetic story about two friends coming to understand each other will resonate with readers who loved Other Words for Home and Front Desk.

A THOUSAND QUESTIONS by Saadia Faruqi

Hachette Audio UK is the audiobook imprint of the Little, Brown Book Group. We publish a diverse list with fantastic authors such as J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Mark Billingham, Iain Banks, John Steinbeck, Walter Isaacson and Malcolm Gladwell. Follow us on SoundCloud for pre-publication clips, audio extras and more.  

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (Chief Inspector Gamache #8)

Little, Brown Audio

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