Adult DAISY Audio Books and Online Digital Audio - Non-fiction
Biography
DC31094
Aphrodite: a memoir of the senses by Isabel Allende ; recipes, Panchita Llona ; translated from the Spanish by Margaret Sayers Peden.
1 disc. Narrated by Jennifer Dale and Meagan Marash.
In this memoir written during her fiftieth year, Allende reflects on her relationship with food and eroticism. Combines research with personal experience. Focuses on food as an aphrodisiac and its effects on lovemaking. Includes recipes. Descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 1998.
DC23630
Primo Levi: tragedy of an optimist by Myriam Anissimov ; translated by Steve Cox.
1 disc. Narrated by Peter Gil.
Biography of the Italian chemist and writer Primo Levi (1919-1987). Recalls his sense of duty as a survivor of a Nazi extermination camp to bear witness to the horror of the Holocaust. Describes his Jewish childhood under fascism, his lifelong devotion to family, and his eventual suicide. 1999.
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DC31104
How the West was written: the life and times of James H. Gray by Brian Brennan.
1 disc. Narrated by Lucy Brennan.
James H. Gray was the first Canadian social historian to tackle such previously taboo subjects as the sex lives and boozing habits of the early settlers. This first-ever biography covers his early, poverty-stricken years during WWI in Winnipeg, and his working career before he became a journalist. Eventually, he began writing best-selling histories. 2006.
DC12783
Behind palace doors: marriage and divorce in the House of Windsor by Nigel Dempster and Peter Evans.
1 disc. Narrated by Jon Cartwright.
One of the first complete accounts of the disastrous marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Chronicling their loves, liaisons, marriages, separations, divorces, and remarriages, no one in the Royal family remains unscathed. 1993.
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DC24618
The woman who watches over the world: a native memoir by Linda Hogan.
1 disc. Narrated by Jill Fox.
Reminiscences of Native American novelist about her spiritual journey through physical pain to the triumph of love. Combines her struggles with abuse, illness, and affliction with meditations on the natural world and wisdom in traditional culture. Discusses the healing properties of love and compassion. 2001.
DC25233
The far side of the street by Bruce Hutchison.
1 disc. Narrated by Bryon Johnsen.
This is the 1970s autobiography of the journalist and historian whose life and writing influenced many Canadians. British Columbia-raised, his life spanned some formative years of the province's political history. As a journalist he met and wrote about many prime ministers, and became recognized as an influential thinker. 1976.
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DC23083
The physician and the slave trade: John Kirk, the Livingstone expeditions and the crusade against slavery in East Africa by Daniel Liebowitz.
1 disc. Narrated by Peter Johnson.
Account of the life of Sir John Kirk, who accompanied explorer David Livingstone on his second expedition to Africa in 1858. Kirk, a physician and naturalist, sought to bring Christianity to the continent. Appalled by the slave trade, he later returned to Zanzibar to work towards its elimination. Some violence. 1999.
DC12750
Reba: my story by Reba McEntire, with Tom Carter.
1 disc. Narrated by Pam Ward.
McEntire, an award-winning country music performer, describes her life. A rancher's daughter, McEntire married a fellow rodeo man the year of her first hit record. The marriage collapsed, but her career continued to thrive despite a tragic plane crash that killed members of her band. Marriage to a long-time colleague led to the birth of her first child. Some strong language. 1994.
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Crime
DC35540
Who killed Jackie Bates? by Bill Waiser.
1 disc. Narrated by Shari Vineberg.
On the morning of 5 December 1933, a young RCMP constable discovered a grisly scene in the Avalon schoolyard in rural Saskatchewan. A young boy lay dead in a rented car, an apparent victim of carbon monoxide poisoning; also in the car were his parents, who survived the gas and self-inflicted knife wounds only to face murder charges in their son's death. Waiser reinforces that the Bates were not simply helpless victims of the Depression, but flawed people with complex personalities. Some descriptions of violence. 2008.
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Essays
DC12807
Wouldn't take nothing for my journey now by Maya Angelou.
1 disc. Narrated by Pam Ward.
A collection of short essays in which Angelou discusses the value of charity, her faith in God, and the deaths of loved ones. She shares her thoughts on discovering an authentic personal style, the insidious effects of racism, and pregnancy as an experience shared by a woman and her mate. Angelou also includes reminiscences of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas; of being a single mother; and of dancing with Alvin Ailey. 1993.
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History
DC33957
Biografi: a traveller's tale by Lloyd Jones.
1 disc. Narrated by George Thompson.
A different type of travel book in which the narrator journeys around Albania on a quest for one Petar Shapallo, an erstwhile dentist whose life had been spent impersonating dictator Enver Hoxha. Descriptions of violence. c1993.
DC07425
The siege: the saga of Israel and Zionism by Conor Cruise O'Brien.
1 disc. Narrated by Ralph Lowenstein.
Looks at the international political, religious, social and diplomatic forces affecting the history of the Jews who identified with Zionism and later with the state of Israel. 1986.
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Judaism
DC20433
Who wrote the Dead Sea scrolls?: the search for the secret of Qumran by Norman Golb.
1 disc. Narrated by David Elias.
A scholarly inquiry into the origins of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the first of which was discovered in the Qumran caves in 1947. The author refutes the theory that scribes produced the scrolls in a local Essenean monastery and asserts that the manuscripts were transferred from Jerusalem when the city was under Roman siege. c1995.
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Music
DC34050
A romance on three legs: Glenn Gould's obsessive quest for the perfect piano by Katie Hafner.
1 disc. Narrated by Alexandra MacLennan.
This account of the compulsive search for a highly responsive concert piano by Canadian Glenn Gould combines the parallel histories of one of the most controversial and brilliant pianists of the last century and the instrument on which he played. Presents a biography of Gould, who was known for his quirks, and a history of the German-bred Steinway piano company. It also features the interaction between Gould and Charles Verne Edquist, his nearly blind piano tuner. 2008.
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Parenting
DC23459
The mother of all baby books: an all-Canadian guide to your baby's first year by Ann Douglas.
1 disc. Narrated by Carol Litz.
The sequel to "The mother of all pregnancy books." Contains chapters on preparing for the early weeks of parenthood, getting to know your new baby, coping with the most common new parent worries, and much more. 2001.
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Politics and government
DC31314
The new cold war: revolutions, rigged elections and pipeline politics in the former Soviet Union by Mark MacKinnon.
1 disc. Narrated by Desmond Scott.
While Vladimir Putin cements power in Russia by co-opting now independent neighbouring countries, pro-democracy advocates work with the American government to support Western-oriented movements and political parties in the region. Focusing on the Commonwealth of Independent States and other formerly Soviet-influenced states such as Serbia and Slovakia, MacKinnon chastises both democrats and authoritarians for their actions, like the Western organizations, who while officially nonpartisan, make no secret of their allegiances and goals. 2007.
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Psychology
DC08514
How to raise your self-esteem by Nathaniel Branden.
1 disc. Narrated by Kerry Cundiff.
With the use of personal anecdotes and brief case histories, the author discusses the components of healthy self-esteem. Includes a series of sentence-completion exercises to help readers get in touch with thoughts and feelings that may be blocking actions that would enhance self-esteem. 1987.
DC24005
Your heart's desire: instructions for creating the life you really want by Sonia Choquette ; meditations by Patrick Tully ; foreword by Julia Cameron.
1 disc. Narrated by Patricia McDermott.
Using examples drawn from her students and clients, a teacher interprets spiritual laws and suggests applications. Proposes nine creative principles for achieving miracles, joy, a sense of abundance, security, and peace. Reflects on Jesus' and Buddha's influences in her life. Provides a step-by-step approach to experiencing God's love. c1997.
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Religion (Christian)
DC05963
Another day by Eugenia Price.
1 disc. Narrated by Patricia McDermott.
The author shares her reflections and interpretations on those passages from the Bible that are most meaningful to her. 1984.
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Sea Stories (Non-fiction)
DC06842
The discovery of the Titanic by Robert D. Ballard, with Rick Archbold ; introduction by Walter Lord.
1 disc. Narrated by Randy Atcher.
The author recounts his 12-year quest for the sunken "Titanic", its 1985 discovery by his expedition, and his return a year later to explore and photograph the wreck. Also recounts the events of the fateful night in 1912 when the "Titanic" sunk. 1987.
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Terrorism
DC32693
Witch hunts: from Salem to Guantanamo Bay by Robert Rapley.
1 disc. Narrated by Inga Seelemann.
Arguing that fear was, and still is, a prerequisite to any witch hunt, Rapley believes that the current hunt for terrorists mirrors the witch crazes of the past. He finds many of the same elements repeated in more recent miscarriages of justice, such as the Dreyfus case, and argues that today, the 'witch' lives on in the 'terrorist'. Some strong language. c2007.
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Travel and Culture
DC33971
A place within: rediscovering India by M.G. Vassanji.
1 disc. Narrated by Kunal Shah.
Author M. G. Vassanji was born in Africa, where his Indian grandparents had settled, and his relationship to India had been complex and contradictory. Vassanji describes his many visits to India, encompassing bustling cities, quiet landscapes, fantastic stories and fascinating characters, in this his part travelogue and description, part history and meditation, and above all a quest for a lost homeland. Some descriptions of violence. Winner of the 2009 Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction. 2008.
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Women
DC31679
The feminine mystique by Betty Friedan, with an new introduction and epilogue by the author.
1 disc. Narrated by Maggie Pettet.
This is the book that defined "the problem that has no name," that launched the Second Wave of the feminist movement, and that has been awakening women and men with its insights into social relations. A new introduction by Anna Quindlen traces the book in her own history, we well as how it was prescient on consumer culture and domestic issues. Some descriptions of sex. 2001, c1963.
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