These Precious Days
Essays
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
These Precious Days
Buy for $24.29
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Ann Patchett
-
By:
-
Ann Patchett
About this listen
The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays.
"The elegance of Patchett’s prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles, failures, and triumphs alike." —Publisher's Weekly
“Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.
At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a surprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores “what it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self.” When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks’ short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman—Tom’s brilliant assistant Sooki—with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both.
A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer’s eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be.
From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s books (author of The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz’s Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author’s grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.
©2021 Ann Patchett (P)2021 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
-
This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,722
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,541
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,524
Blending literature and memoir, Ann Patchett, author of State of Wonder and Bel Canto examines her deepest commitments: to writing, family, friends, dogs, books, and her husband in This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Together, these essays, previously published in The Atlantic, Harper, Vogue, and The Washington Post, form a resonant portrait of a life lived with loyalty and with love.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining, engrossing, and elucidative essays
- By Bonny on 01-07-14
By: Ann Patchett
-
Bel Canto
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,703
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,398
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 4,400
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Opera Has Charms to Soothe the Savage Guerillas
- By Mel on 03-01-13
By: Ann Patchett
-
The Dutch House
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Tom Hanks
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57,200
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 51,157
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50,824
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not my favorite Patchett
- By Regina on 12-07-19
By: Ann Patchett
-
Tom Lake
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Meryl Streep
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16,918
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 15,658
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15,644
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
So incredibly boring
- By Rhonda Morrison on 08-05-23
By: Ann Patchett
-
Commonwealth
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 7,943
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7,143
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7,142
One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating's christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny's mother, Beverly - thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Patchett and Me--In-sympatico
- By Mel on 09-18-16
By: Ann Patchett
-
State of Wonder
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 8,586
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,922
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 6,900
Research scientist Dr. Marina Singh is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have disappeared in the Amazon while working on an extremely valuable new drug. The last person who was sent to find her died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding answers to the questions about her friend's death, her company's future, and her own past.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Do yourself a favor and listen to this book!
- By F. B. H. In TN on 06-10-11
By: Ann Patchett
-
This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,722
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,541
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,524
Blending literature and memoir, Ann Patchett, author of State of Wonder and Bel Canto examines her deepest commitments: to writing, family, friends, dogs, books, and her husband in This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Together, these essays, previously published in The Atlantic, Harper, Vogue, and The Washington Post, form a resonant portrait of a life lived with loyalty and with love.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining, engrossing, and elucidative essays
- By Bonny on 01-07-14
By: Ann Patchett
-
Bel Canto
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,703
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,398
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 4,400
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Opera Has Charms to Soothe the Savage Guerillas
- By Mel on 03-01-13
By: Ann Patchett
-
The Dutch House
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Tom Hanks
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57,200
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 51,157
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50,824
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not my favorite Patchett
- By Regina on 12-07-19
By: Ann Patchett
-
Tom Lake
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Meryl Streep
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16,918
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 15,658
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15,644
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
So incredibly boring
- By Rhonda Morrison on 08-05-23
By: Ann Patchett
-
Commonwealth
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 7,943
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7,143
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7,142
One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating's christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny's mother, Beverly - thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Patchett and Me--In-sympatico
- By Mel on 09-18-16
By: Ann Patchett
-
State of Wonder
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 8,586
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,922
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 6,900
Research scientist Dr. Marina Singh is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have disappeared in the Amazon while working on an extremely valuable new drug. The last person who was sent to find her died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding answers to the questions about her friend's death, her company's future, and her own past.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Do yourself a favor and listen to this book!
- By F. B. H. In TN on 06-10-11
By: Ann Patchett
-
The Magician's Assistant
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Karen Ziemba
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,389
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,937
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,936
When a gay Los Angeles magician named Parsifal dies suddenly, he leaves behind his heartbroken assistant, Sabine, and a secret past that leads her to Nebraska and a father she never knew he had.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Patchett Has It
- By Pamela Harvey on 06-10-08
By: Ann Patchett
-
Truth & Beauty
- A Friendship
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 880
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 610
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 607
The author of Bel Canto, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Orange Prize, and long-running New York Times best seller, turns to nonfiction in a moving chronicle of her decades-long friendship with the critically acclaimed and recently deceased author, Lucy Grealy.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A grim tale of unrecovered co-dependency
- By Charles on 04-05-05
By: Ann Patchett
-
Uncommon Type
- Some Stories
- By: Tom Hanks
- Narrated by: Tom Hanks
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,838
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,392
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 4,376
A collection of 17 wonderful short stories showing that two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks is as talented a writer as he is an actor. The short stories are surprising, intelligent, heartwarming, and, for the millions and millions of Tom Hanks fans, an absolute must-have!
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Old fashioned romp of stories, some real gems!
- By Lili on 11-13-17
By: Tom Hanks
-
The Patron Saint of Liars
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Julia Gibson
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,339
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,122
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,121
St. Elizabeth’s, a home for unwed mothers in Habit, Kentucky, usually harbors its residents for only a little while. Not so Rose Clinton, a beautiful, mysterious woman who comes to the home pregnant but not unwed, and stays. She plans to give up her child, thinking she cannot be the mother it needs. But when Cecilia is born, Rose makes a place for herself and her daughter amid St. Elizabeth’s extended family of nuns and an ever-changing collection of pregnant teenage girls.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Incomplete
- By Deborah on 04-24-08
By: Ann Patchett
-
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
- A Novel
- By: James McBride
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11,017
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10,218
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10,216
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Multiple Stories Obfuscate Narrative
- By Stephnsea on 08-12-23
By: James McBride
-
Run
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,040
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 692
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 691
It's a winter evening in Boston and the temperature has drastically dropped as a blizzard approaches the city. On this fateful night, Bernard Doyle plans to meet his two adopted sons, Tip the older, and more serious and Teddy, the affectionate dreamer, at a Harvard auditorium to hear a speech given by Jesse Jackson. Doyle, an Irish Catholic and former Boston mayor, has done his best to keep his two sons interested in politics, from the day he and his now deceased wife became their parents, through their childhoods, and now in their lives as college students.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Don't listen to the interview at the end.
- By S. Elder on 12-16-07
By: Ann Patchett
-
The Covenant of Water
- By: Abraham Verghese
- Narrated by: Abraham Verghese
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10,093
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8,824
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,812
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Story Telling At Its Best
- By Regina on 05-06-23
By: Abraham Verghese
-
Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 30,899
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 27,960
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 27,894
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow! It’s a Masterpiece
- By Billy on 10-25-22
-
What Now?
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 70
Based on her lauded commencement address at Sarah Lawrence College, this stirring essay by best-selling author Ann Patchett offers hope and inspiration for anyone at a crossroads, whether graduating, changing careers, or transitioning from one life stage to another. With wit and candor, Patchett tells her own story of attending college, graduating, and struggling with the inevitable question, "What now?"
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A commencement message for life
- By Annie M. on 06-17-08
By: Ann Patchett
-
Greenlights
- By: Matthew McConaughey
- Narrated by: Matthew McConaughey
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 180,959
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 159,778
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 158,754
I’ve been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. How to be fair. How to have less stress. How to have fun. How to hurt people less. How to get hurt less. How to be a good man. How to have meaning in life. How to be more me. Recently, I worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Love this!
- By Nancy on 10-21-20
-
The Anthropocene Reviewed
- Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
- By: John Green
- Narrated by: John Green
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 7,811
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6,839
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6,799
The Anthropocene is the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his groundbreaking podcast, best-selling author John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale - from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
unexpected
- By E. Collins on 05-18-21
By: John Green
-
Hello, Molly!
- A Memoir
- By: Molly Shannon, Sean Wilsey
- Narrated by: Molly Shannon
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,871
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,297
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4,281
At age four, Molly Shannon’s world was shattered when she lost her mother, baby sister, and cousin in a car accident with her father at the wheel. Held together by her tender and complicated relationship with her grieving father, Molly was raised in a permissive household where her gift for improvising and role-playing blossomed alongside the fearlessness that would lead her to become a celebrated actress.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Molly is a superstar!!!
- By Marlene on 04-29-22
By: Molly Shannon, and others
Featured Article: The top 100 memoirs of all time
All genres considered, the memoir is among the most difficult and complex for a writer to pull off. After all, giving voice to your own lived experience and recounting deeply painful or uncomfortable memories in a way that still engages and entertains is a remarkable feat. These autobiographies, often narrated by the authors themselves, shine with raw, unfiltered emotion sure to resonate with any listener. But don't just take our word for it—queue up any one of these listens, and you'll hear exactly what we mean.
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Run
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,040
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 692
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 691
It's a winter evening in Boston and the temperature has drastically dropped as a blizzard approaches the city. On this fateful night, Bernard Doyle plans to meet his two adopted sons, Tip the older, and more serious and Teddy, the affectionate dreamer, at a Harvard auditorium to hear a speech given by Jesse Jackson. Doyle, an Irish Catholic and former Boston mayor, has done his best to keep his two sons interested in politics, from the day he and his now deceased wife became their parents, through their childhoods, and now in their lives as college students.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Don't listen to the interview at the end.
- By S. Elder on 12-16-07
By: Ann Patchett
-
This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,722
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,541
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,524
Blending literature and memoir, Ann Patchett, author of State of Wonder and Bel Canto examines her deepest commitments: to writing, family, friends, dogs, books, and her husband in This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Together, these essays, previously published in The Atlantic, Harper, Vogue, and The Washington Post, form a resonant portrait of a life lived with loyalty and with love.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining, engrossing, and elucidative essays
- By Bonny on 01-07-14
By: Ann Patchett
-
State of Wonder
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 8,586
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,922
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 6,900
Research scientist Dr. Marina Singh is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have disappeared in the Amazon while working on an extremely valuable new drug. The last person who was sent to find her died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding answers to the questions about her friend's death, her company's future, and her own past.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Do yourself a favor and listen to this book!
- By F. B. H. In TN on 06-10-11
By: Ann Patchett
-
The Patron Saint of Liars
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Julia Gibson
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,339
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,122
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,121
St. Elizabeth’s, a home for unwed mothers in Habit, Kentucky, usually harbors its residents for only a little while. Not so Rose Clinton, a beautiful, mysterious woman who comes to the home pregnant but not unwed, and stays. She plans to give up her child, thinking she cannot be the mother it needs. But when Cecilia is born, Rose makes a place for herself and her daughter amid St. Elizabeth’s extended family of nuns and an ever-changing collection of pregnant teenage girls.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Incomplete
- By Deborah on 04-24-08
By: Ann Patchett
-
Truth & Beauty
- A Friendship
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 880
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 610
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 607
The author of Bel Canto, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Orange Prize, and long-running New York Times best seller, turns to nonfiction in a moving chronicle of her decades-long friendship with the critically acclaimed and recently deceased author, Lucy Grealy.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A grim tale of unrecovered co-dependency
- By Charles on 04-05-05
By: Ann Patchett
-
Taft
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: J.D. Jackson
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 116
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 103
John Nickel is a black ex-jazz musician who only wants to be a good father. But when his son is taken away from him, he's left with nothing but the Memphis bar he manages. Then he hires Fay, a young white waitress, who has a volatile brother named Carl in tow. Nickel finds himself consumed with the idea of Taft - Fay and Carl's dead father - and begins to reconstruct the life of a man he never met. But his sympathies for these lost souls soon take him down a twisting path into the lives of strangers.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Patchett's Novel's all Available on Audio Now
- By Murmansk on 09-26-19
By: Ann Patchett
-
Run
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,040
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 692
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 691
It's a winter evening in Boston and the temperature has drastically dropped as a blizzard approaches the city. On this fateful night, Bernard Doyle plans to meet his two adopted sons, Tip the older, and more serious and Teddy, the affectionate dreamer, at a Harvard auditorium to hear a speech given by Jesse Jackson. Doyle, an Irish Catholic and former Boston mayor, has done his best to keep his two sons interested in politics, from the day he and his now deceased wife became their parents, through their childhoods, and now in their lives as college students.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Don't listen to the interview at the end.
- By S. Elder on 12-16-07
By: Ann Patchett
-
This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,722
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,541
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,524
Blending literature and memoir, Ann Patchett, author of State of Wonder and Bel Canto examines her deepest commitments: to writing, family, friends, dogs, books, and her husband in This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Together, these essays, previously published in The Atlantic, Harper, Vogue, and The Washington Post, form a resonant portrait of a life lived with loyalty and with love.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining, engrossing, and elucidative essays
- By Bonny on 01-07-14
By: Ann Patchett
-
State of Wonder
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 8,586
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,922
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 6,900
Research scientist Dr. Marina Singh is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have disappeared in the Amazon while working on an extremely valuable new drug. The last person who was sent to find her died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding answers to the questions about her friend's death, her company's future, and her own past.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Do yourself a favor and listen to this book!
- By F. B. H. In TN on 06-10-11
By: Ann Patchett
-
The Patron Saint of Liars
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Julia Gibson
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,339
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,122
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,121
St. Elizabeth’s, a home for unwed mothers in Habit, Kentucky, usually harbors its residents for only a little while. Not so Rose Clinton, a beautiful, mysterious woman who comes to the home pregnant but not unwed, and stays. She plans to give up her child, thinking she cannot be the mother it needs. But when Cecilia is born, Rose makes a place for herself and her daughter amid St. Elizabeth’s extended family of nuns and an ever-changing collection of pregnant teenage girls.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Incomplete
- By Deborah on 04-24-08
By: Ann Patchett
-
Truth & Beauty
- A Friendship
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 880
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 610
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 607
The author of Bel Canto, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Orange Prize, and long-running New York Times best seller, turns to nonfiction in a moving chronicle of her decades-long friendship with the critically acclaimed and recently deceased author, Lucy Grealy.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A grim tale of unrecovered co-dependency
- By Charles on 04-05-05
By: Ann Patchett
-
Taft
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: J.D. Jackson
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 116
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 103
John Nickel is a black ex-jazz musician who only wants to be a good father. But when his son is taken away from him, he's left with nothing but the Memphis bar he manages. Then he hires Fay, a young white waitress, who has a volatile brother named Carl in tow. Nickel finds himself consumed with the idea of Taft - Fay and Carl's dead father - and begins to reconstruct the life of a man he never met. But his sympathies for these lost souls soon take him down a twisting path into the lives of strangers.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Patchett's Novel's all Available on Audio Now
- By Murmansk on 09-26-19
By: Ann Patchett
-
What Now?
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 70
Based on her lauded commencement address at Sarah Lawrence College, this stirring essay by best-selling author Ann Patchett offers hope and inspiration for anyone at a crossroads, whether graduating, changing careers, or transitioning from one life stage to another. With wit and candor, Patchett tells her own story of attending college, graduating, and struggling with the inevitable question, "What now?"
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A commencement message for life
- By Annie M. on 06-17-08
By: Ann Patchett
-
The Magician's Assistant
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Karen Ziemba
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,389
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,937
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,936
When a gay Los Angeles magician named Parsifal dies suddenly, he leaves behind his heartbroken assistant, Sabine, and a secret past that leads her to Nebraska and a father she never knew he had.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Patchett Has It
- By Pamela Harvey on 06-10-08
By: Ann Patchett
-
Commonwealth
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 7,943
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7,143
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7,142
One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating's christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny's mother, Beverly - thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Patchett and Me--In-sympatico
- By Mel on 09-18-16
By: Ann Patchett
-
Bel Canto
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,703
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,398
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 4,400
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Opera Has Charms to Soothe the Savage Guerillas
- By Mel on 03-01-13
By: Ann Patchett
-
The Dutch House
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Tom Hanks
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 57,200
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 51,157
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50,824
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not my favorite Patchett
- By Regina on 12-07-19
By: Ann Patchett
-
Tom Lake
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Meryl Streep
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16,918
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 15,658
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15,644
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
So incredibly boring
- By Rhonda Morrison on 08-05-23
By: Ann Patchett
-
Escape Goat
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
The Farmer family has a big problem! Every day, their goat escapes, and every day, Mr. Farmer brings him back. So when things start to go awry on the farm, it must be the goat’s fault. Who’s to blame when Mrs. Farmer’s petunias are trampled? Or when all the cupcakes for Archie’s party disappear? And when the whole bucket of paint is spilled? Of course, everyone blames the goat! But is it really his fault?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great story
- By michelle on 11-07-20
By: Ann Patchett
-
Lambslide
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Ann Patchett
- Length: 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 8
Nicolette Farmer is running for class president, and the rest of the Farmer family tells her she’ll win by a landslide. A pack of overconfident lambs mistakenly hear lambslide and can’t believe there’s a slide made just for them. But when they can’t find one on the farm, there’s only one thing left to do: take a vote! They campaign. They bargain. They ask all the other animals if they, too, would like a lambslide.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Short and Sweet. And good.
- By Susanna Goodin on 08-05-23
By: Ann Patchett
-
The All of It
- A Novel
- By: Jeannette Haien
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon, Ann Patchett
- Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
While fishing in an Irish salmon stream one rainy morning, Father Declan de Loughry ponders the recent deathbed confession of his parishioner Kevin Dennehy. It seems Dennehy and his wife, Enda, had been quietly living a lie for fifty years. Yet the gravity of their deception doesn’t become clear to the good father until Enda shares the full tale of her suffering, finally confiding “the all of it.”
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Perfectly crafted story
- By Margot Balboni on 05-25-25
By: Jeannette Haien
-
Small Wonder
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 114
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 114
In her new essay collection, the beloved author of High Tide in Tucson brings to us from one of history's darker moments an extended love song to the world we still have. From its opening parable gleaned from recent news about a lost child saved in an astonishing way, the book moves on to consider a world of surprising and hopeful prospects, ranging from an inventive conservation scheme in a remote jungle to the backyard flock of chickens tended by the author's small daughter.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not much of a Wonder
- By Max on 10-20-06
-
Uncommon Type
- Some Stories
- By: Tom Hanks
- Narrated by: Tom Hanks
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,838
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,392
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 4,376
A collection of 17 wonderful short stories showing that two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks is as talented a writer as he is an actor. The short stories are surprising, intelligent, heartwarming, and, for the millions and millions of Tom Hanks fans, an absolute must-have!
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Old fashioned romp of stories, some real gems!
- By Lili on 11-13-17
By: Tom Hanks
-
Lighthouse Island
- A Novel
- By: Paulette Jiles
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 43
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 42
See the rain forests...northern beauty, misted nights. Come to Lighthouse Island.... In the coming centuries, the world's population has exploded and covered the Earth with endless cities. Animals are nearly all gone. Drought plagues the land and cloudy water is issued by the quart. There are no maps, no borders, no numbered years. On this urban planet the only relief from the overcrowding, the petty informers, and the harsh rule of the big Agencies is the television in every living space, offering dreams of vanished waterfalls and the promise of virtual vacations in green spaces for the lucky few.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not what I expected
- By J. Wolff on 02-28-19
By: Paulette Jiles
Heartfelt Essays, Beautifully Performed
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A must for Ann Patchett fans
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent essays made better by her narration
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
this. And ann narrating - such a treat!
Hung on every sentence
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I wish I could listen for the first time again!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautiful Stories
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I’m looking forward to her next publication.
Wonderful!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A gift for the reader!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderful storyteller!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not every essay will resonate with every reader. The one about her three dads, and the one about her choice not to have children didn't land right for me, they felt a little like she was trying to get back at some people who had annoyed the heck out of her.
But the essay about her husband and his plane was so good, as were many others. But the best of the best is the title essay about her friend Sookie. Wow, stunning, gorgeous, heartbreaking, and so personal and intimate there were times when I almost felt like I had to look away. I am in no way an expert on Ann Patchett's writing, but I have to imagine that that essay is Ann Patchett at her very best.
The title essay is everything 🎨🐕🥒🥦🧅🥕🧘🏽♀️
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.