Holiday books: Grab a great listen with these audiobooks

After Buddhism

Rethinking the Dharma For the Secular Age

(Blackstone Audio)

The British scholar and teacher reads his treatise on secular Buddhism, positioning Buddha as a "pragmatic ethicist."

The Promise by Robert Crais

(Brilliance Audio)

The latest thriller from bestselling author Crais has private eyes Elvis Cole and Joe Pike join an LAPD cop and his K-9 partner to solve a case that begins in Echo Park.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, read by Elizabeth Gilbert.

(Penguin Random House Audio)

With warmth and humor, the "Eat, Pray, Love" author shares her thoughts on the act of creation and how to get in touch with our creative selves.

“Fates and Furies” by Lauren Groff, read by Will Damron and Julia Whelan

(Penguin Random House Audio)

This book about a married couple's deep secrets, told from their different points of view, is one of the most acclaimed novels of the year.

“Furiously Happy” by Jenny Lawson

(Macmillan)

Popular Internet personality the Bloggess reads her new book, a moving, hilarious chronicle of her long struggle with mental illness.

“Gloria Steinem: My Life on the Road” by Gloria Steinem, read by Debra Winger and Steinem

(Penguin Random House Audio)

A long-awaited memoir from the feminist that looks at her early life and continued activism. Steinem reads her introduction; the rest is narrated by Oscar-nominated actress Winger.

“Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut, read by James Franco

(Audible.com)

Vonnegut's dark, twisted World War II parable is read by Franco, the famously prolific actor, author and filmmaker.

“Lafayette in the Somewhat United States” by
Sarah Vowell

(Simon and Schuster)

An all-star cast narrates Vowell's take on the American Revolution and its famous French supporter, the young Marquis de Lafayette.