The Bright List

Tristan Taormino on Audio! - Sex Advice from The Woman Who Turned Vanilla On Its Head

 

Down and Dirty Sex Secrets: The New and Naughty Guide to Being Great in Bed, by Tristan Taormino

I’m picky about sex advice, but this is one of the must-have’s. 

Whether you’re happily vanilla or the type who’ll try anything, this book will probably give you a few ideas to make it even more satisfying and fun, either alone or with a partner (or two).

Taormino is without a doubt the hardest-working sex educator today. She’s in the news constantly, a multi-media threat with her feminist porn and educational videos, her VoiceAmerica radio show, or her new Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure. With a devoted and ardent fan base, Tristan is the go-to gal for many women and men who want the real scoop on imaginative, out-of-the-box sex.

Down and Dirty Sex Secrets covers oral sex, multiple orgasms, strap-ons, female ejaculation, erotica, S&M, sex toys, and more. Her warm conversational tone makes the book much more accessible, especially if you’re encountering some of these ideas for the first time.

Even though she speaks with unmistakable authority, I feel like I'm  having a fun chat over lunch!

Narrated by the charming Tristan Taormino herself, along with co-narrators  Madison Vaughn, and Bryce Hamilton,  who specialize in sexuality and romance at Audible.

--Aretha Bright

Melanie Hoffert and The Sound of Silence on the American Prairie

Prairie Silence: A Memoir, by Melanie M. Hoffert

What's the story of an expatriate from rural America like? Here we have a gay woman, who was never seen by anyone in her small North Dakota town as anything but a cipher. She finally left her claustrophobic but compelling rural life behind for downtown Minneapolis.

Now, years later, she wants to go back home to visit.  Everyone from her childhood asks her if she’s found a “fella” yet. Cue the sweaty palms and abrupt subject changes.

Magnificent writing. You’ll understand the true meaning of “prairie silence” in the first chapter. This memoir speaks to anyone who left “back there” for the big city, but realizes they never quite got away.

Narrated by Abby Craden. 

--Aretha Bright

The Man Who Brought the Armed Services Out of the Closet: Allan Berubé

Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II, by Allan Bérubé, Estelle Freedman, and John D'Emilio

Allan’s classic gay history expose is the book that took the Gay/Military debate out of the twilight zone and right into the White House and Pentagon.

It is impossible to imagine “don’t ask, don’t tell” — or all the struggles that followed — without Allan’s pioneering work. His interviews with gay and lesbian vets of WWII will have you crying, laughing, and screaming at their audacity in the face of brutal discrimination.

Allan was one of my best friends and teachers in the early gay liberation movement— I learned everything about “gay family” from him, in so many different ways. When I came to work at Audible as an Editor, his book was one of the first I pursued. I’m honored to produce this edition in his memory.

Narrated by Victor Bevine,  a terrific actor who also narrated "And The Band Played On."

—Susie Bright

How Surfers Go Hunting for The Ghost Wave - Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave On Earth

 

 

Ghost Wave by, Chris Dixon

Ghost Wave is a surf classic.

Listen to Chris's afterword: here!

This is a Melville-style conquest of the Biggest Wave in the World, the story of the men who captured it—and those who were destroyed. This is Sherlock Holmes meets Adventure Thriller par excellence.

Cortes Bank, the fabled land off the North Pacific, has the special elements to make the largest waves in the world. Dixon explains in depth why it's possible, and what it takes to surf it.

You can watch the book trailer below. The trailer is voiced by our intrepid author, who also narrates the audiobook. People who loved Sebastian Junger's work are going to fall in love with Dixon the same way.

 

Narrated by Chris Dixon himself! 

--Aretha Bright

A True David vs. Goliath Feat of Eco-Salvation -- The Story of the NRDC

A Force for Nature: The Story of The National Resources Defense Council and Its Fight to Save Our Planet

by John H. Adams & Patricia Adams

I would like to preface this review by saying: Force for Nature blew my mind.

This is coming from a girl who's as "green" as the next hybrid-driving, recycling-and-composting, loves-state-parks person—but  who never became a full-fledged environmental activist, never wanted to be too "loud" about it, didn't have the right role models.

Until now.

This militant biography of the legendary  NRDC  is NOT about bringing your own tote bags to Trader Joe’s or buying organic shampoo.

This is not some namby-pamby consumerist scold.

Force for Nature has all the humor, back-room deals, politics, and action of ANY Hollywood government conspiracy movie. It's about one of the most influential environmental movements that's ever existed, an organization that rocked the terrestrial boat—a true David vs. Goliath feat of ecological salvation.

If you ever wondered how small communities and neighborhoods conquered what seemed to be inevitable water/air/natural resource destruction, this is the true story of the characters that did it. Absolutely heroic and fearless!

Narrated by Kevin Pariseau.

--Aretha Bright

Lauren Slater: Who Comes First? Your Dog or Your Daughter?

 

The  $60,000 Dog: My Life With Animals, by Lauren Slater

 Don’t be fooled by the adorable puppy cover— author Slater does indeed love animals, but her memoir is anything but soft and fuzzy.

Her memoir with the story of a bleak childhood, dominated first by her mother’s mental illness and then by a foster family that gave her a house, "but not a home." Her love for animals starts here, where she finds refuge in  the countryside and observing the lives of deer, foxes, and insects.

The $60,000 dog of the title is Lila, the family pet who came down with an extremely painful case of glaucoma. The dilemma that Slater faced is one that will resonate with every person who has ever valued an animal as more than just a pet.

As Lila’s medical bills mounted, Slater was faced with choosing between sending her daughter to summer camp or buying the medicines that would ease Lila’s pain. The happiness of her daughter, stacked up against the happiness of her pet.

Slater first wrote of this situation in Oprah magazine, where it was a huge hit and inspired the rest of the book. Animal lovers will certainly relate to the “do anything it takes” approach to save their fuzzy family members.

Slater is great at building tension and intrigue. Her memories of animals that affected her life are beautiful. Be prepared to cry during the scenes at the vet hospital! Especially for the baby swan whose beak was broken off. 

This book will touch every person who has ever thought of animals as their dearest companions.

--Aretha Bright

Chaos, Not the Earthquake, Destroyed San Francisco— Sound Familiar? Listen to the Story!

The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906: How San Francisco Nearly Destroyed Itself, by Philip L. Fradkin

This is the thrilling account of the 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco that literally set the whole town on fire. Author Philip Fradkin argues that most of the damage was done by “people in chaos,” not by the earthquake itself. This book uncovers all the things I didn't learn in 4th grade.

Told in a "you're there as it happens" narration, the stories of the depraved things people did to each other wouldn't seem out of place on AMC's The Walking Dead.

Narrated by Arthur Morey.

—Aretha Bright

Ralph Waldo Emerson's Brightly Burning Fire -- On Audio, at Last!

Emerson: The Mind on Fire, by Robert D. Richardson, Jr.

A masterpiece. Emerson is a benchmark in American biographies.

Devour the vulnerable and era-changing details about the man who was the leading voice of intellectual culture in the U.S.  

As an essayist and poet, Emerson spearheaded the Transcendentalist movement, spoke for the rights of the individual (including opposing slavery), and famously mentored Henry David Thoreau, who wrote Walden while living on Emerson’s land. He was the most influential writer of 19th-century America, and Richardson’s critically-acclaimed biography more lives up to that legacy. A tour de force.

Narrated by audiobook legend Michael McConnohie, who many of you know and love from his narration for Barry Eisler and Stuart Kaminsky's books.

—Aretha Bright and Chris Hall

Gerald Asher on the Dirty World of Wine & Les Politiques de Vendanges

 

A Vineyard in My Glass, by Gerald Asher

and

A Carafe of Red, by Gerald Asher

Gerald Asher is a redoubtable British "wine personality" who has the enviable career of traveling to exotic countries, drinking the best they have to offer, and then writing about it.

A Vineyard in My Glass is the dashing memoir of Asher's vineyard apprenticeship in Europe when he was a young man, plus lots of local history about all the places he visited.

Warning: You will be extremely jealous.

In A Carafe of Red, Asher takes the reader on a spectacular history-road-trip of wine in France, Spain, Italy, California— going back ages. This is not a "where-this-wine-comes-from-blah-blah" kind of book— no, there are all sorts of dirty politics and criminal activities.

Carafe and Vineyard complement each other and I hope the author was enjoying a glass while he wrote them.

Narrated by the the star of "Little Man Tate,"  P.J. Olchan.

—Aretha Bright

How Tony Hillerman Got His Start— Reporting Crime in the Great Taos Bank Robbery

The Great Taos Bank Robbery and Other True Stories of the Southwest, by Tony Hillerman

Yes, it’s Tony Hillerman from his first youthful stories as a cub reporter. He was amazing from the very beginning, when no one knew his name other than the local readers. Immediately, you feel the same quick-witted, careful observation that’s part of his novels; but also, his warmth, humility, humor, and love of New Mexico.

This edition of The Great Taos Bank Robbery has even more stories than the first release, and a foreword written by Hillerman's daughter, who is just as enchanting as her father.

Narrated by the great Western audiobook narrator, Jack Garrett.

—Aretha Bright