Emily Roberts, Author at AudiobooksNow Blog

Support Iconic Legends or Debunk the Myths…”Bill O’Reilly’s Legends and Lies”, by Bill O’Reilly and David Fisher

Legends and Lies: The Real West is a book by authors Bill O’Reilly and David Fisher, that serves to provide evidence that either supports iconic legends of the Old West, or debunks myths that have taken hold for readers over the years. If the reader has ever wondered about Black Bart, the “gentleman bandit” or Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, then this book is for them. Generations of Americans have grown up hearing about these Western legends in books, movies, and television.

The book is so new that many opinions have yet to be expressed, but the concensus of the opinions given seem to agree that Legends and Lies: The Real West, is a straightforward historical account describing many of the biggest characters of the Old West. O’Reilly’s Killing series of books often raised more controversial questions, but his latest work is a much less complicated explanation of what really happened when the West was won.

Legends and Lies: The Real West debuted on April 7, 2015, and is considered an essential companion for those who plan to watch the historical series (by the same name) which premiered on April 12, 2015. The historical episodic specials will be televised for 10 weeks on the Fox News Channel. The series will include the stories that readers think they already know, as well as others that may be surprising and astonishing.

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“Becoming Steve Jobs”, by Brent Schlender & Rick Tetzeli

Newly published book, Becoming Steve Jobs (March 2015) by authors Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli, is an unauthorized biography about legendary C.E.O. Steve Jobs, who died from complicated liver failure. The sub-title of the book: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart Into a Visionary Leader, gives the reader immediate insight as to the tone of the book. Jobs was known by his fellow executives as a skilled manipulator of many people, and favored those who stayed closest to his way of thinking.

The book strives to more sympathetically picture Jobs as a man misunderstood due to his early explosive years. However, critics seem to agree that this new book does not do much to help Job’s posthumous reputation. But, at least the last chapters show how he cared for his colleagues. In his final days, he especially became more melancholy. For example, just before Jobs was to be announced as a new Board Member of Pixar, he pulled aside Disney C.E.O. Bob Iger to let him know that his cancer had returned and gave him the chance to back out of the deal. Of course, he did not change the agreement and they became friends and had a productive alliance.

A film is due in October 2015 based on Walter Isaacson’s biography, Steve Jobs. The director is Danny Boyle with Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. Jobs will be played by Michael Fassbender.

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Overcoming Discovered Knowledge…”One Wish”, by Robyn Carr

Robyn Carr, delivers another smart, funny and emotional novel about the small Oregon town of Thunder Point. Her main characters, Grace Dillon and Troy Headly, find each other and decide to get to know each other better. Complications from the past make themselves known. They try to overcome the discovered knowledge. Troy tries to help Grace find the life she has always wished for.

Grace was a champion figure skater, but chose to escape to Thunder Point to escape the hectic world of being in the limelight. She found Troy as a friend with benefits, but also as an advocate, who stepped up as a friend first, and then as a lover. Carr’s stories are like “comfort food for the soul”.

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Moraltiy or Survival?….”All the Light We Cannot See”, by Anthony Doerr

Author, Anthony Doerr, wrote a novel about World War II that proved to be very beautiful and very inventive. There have been so many books written about WW II, but this author chooses to base his novel more on the inside lives of the two main characters, and use the war as a backdrop for their story. This book is not read for plot or characters, even though both are beautifully executed. This novel is most appreciated because of the beauty with which Doerr writes.

The two characters who are followed throughout the book are Marie – Louise, a blind girl who resides in France, and a German, Werner, whose skills lead him to be a participant in the most brutal Hitler’s Youth. Their paths cross when they each end up in the coastal city of Saint-Malo. But, they are there for totally opposite reasons. Doerr writes with such an unusual understanding of “the magical obsessions of childhood”.

Werner and Marie – Louise are never considered quaint or sweet, but instead, are powerful examples of average people who are surviving in trying times. “They must decide daily between morality and survival.”

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Who Is She??? Who Is She Not???….”The Girl on the Train”, by Paula Hawkins

New author, Paula Hawkins, has transitioned from her beginnings as a journalist to her debut novel, The Girl on the Train. She has written an intense psychological thriller that follows the engrossing tale of strangers crossing paths with others and the eventual intimate betrayals. It has been likened to Alfred Hitchcock’s, Rear Window, as being that story for a new generation. Another fictional story, Gone Girl, has also been used as a comparison.

The actual girl on the train is Rachel, who commutes from her home to London and back every day. From her window, she has taken interest in a couple along the way in their backyard. She has made up names for the couple, calling them Jess and Jason. One day she sees Jess kissing another man. The next day, Jess is missing. Rachel is so obsessed with what she thought to be the idyllic life of these two people, that it lures her into an investigation of Jess’s disappearance. During the investigation, Rachel comes closer to a better understanding of herself…….who she really is, and is not.

Paula Hawkins debut novel has all the elements of a perfect psychological thriller: lives that are not what they seem, jealousy, betrayal, wounded hearts, obsession, and a haunting unease.

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Which is Good, Which is Evil???…”Prodigal Son”, by Danielle Steel

The New York Times bestselling author, Danielle Steel, has sold more than 800 million books in her career. Her newest novel, Prodigal Son, has debuted at #1. She has been hailed as one of the world’s most popular authors. Besides her well known best sellers, she also wrote a novel about her son’s life and death, a memoir about her work with the homeless, a book about all the dogs she and her family have had, and a children’s book.

Prodigal Son is about twin boys who, even though growing up in the same family and same town, are very different. So different, that they become bitter enemies. They are separated when one twin leaves town and one stays behind. But eventually, the “prodigal son” returns home after twenty years. The relationship between the two seems like old “injuries” had been healed, but eventually the truth of their good and evil comes out. Steel “tells a brilliant, suspenseful story of suspicion, betrayal, and life-and-death struggle for survival………which twin is good and which is evil………the tables turn again and again”.

Prodigal Son is powerful and filled with complexity in subject and characters. It is “a riveting novel of secrets, salvation, and redemption from master storyteller, Danielle Steel.

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Redemption and Healing Through the Power of Love…”Ruby”, by Cynthia Bond

Cynthia Bond is a new American writer among current fiction novelists. She has spent fifteen years teaching at-risk and homeless youth the art of writing in the Los Angeles area. She has studied at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, as well as the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

“Full of life, exquisitely written, and suffused with the pastoral beauty of the rural South, Ruby is a translucent novel of passion and courage.” Ephram Jennings has never forgotten Ruby Bell, the beautiful, young girl from Liberty, Texas. He once described her as “the kind of pretty it hurts to look at”. Ruby is an epic story of a young man trying to protect the woman he has loved forever. He will find himself having to make difficult choices to have a chance at a life with Ruby.

There are unforgettable characters, exciting suspense, and written in exquisite prose. Ruby represents the dark side of human nature with the promise of redemption and healing through the power of love. Ruby is the newest of Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selections.

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“Fifty Shades of Grey”…by E.L. James

British author, E. L. James, published a highly controversial novel about erotic romance. Fifty Shades of Grey is the first in the Fifty Shades trilogy, published in 2011, with the second and third volumes, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, published in 2012. The trilogy follows a maturing relationship between characters, Anastasia Steele, a college graduate, and Christian Grey, a young, billionaire businessman. The novel is noted for it’s explicit mental visual of sexual practices involving “bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadomasochism (BDSM)”.

The series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide. It set a record in James’s own country, the United Kingdom, as the fastest selling paperback of all time. Critics have given mixed reviews of the novel with the sexual content and less than perfect prose. However, the film adaptation is due out on Valentine’s Day 2015.

Fifty Shades of Grey, the movie, is directed by Sam-Taylor Johnson. The novel, which became a global phenomenon, .stars Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey, and Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele. The other two novels in the trilogy have been confirmed to be upcoming sequels to the current movie. The rumor is that Dorman and Johnson (daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, and in her first major role) did not get along very well, so there is a question of whether they will star in the sequels.

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Will She…”Crash & Burn”, by Lisa Gardner

Author, Lisa Gardner, has published another in the series of masterful mysteries. She not only has been a force in the genre, she owns it. Her previous novels in the series include: The Next Accident, The Survivors Club, The Killing Hour, Touch and Go, and Live to Tell. In the same vein, Crash and Burn is based on real life procedure which gives a stronger, authentic edge to the story, which tends to be otherwise complicated. One of her fan – favorite characters, Boston Detective D.D. Warren makes a cameo appearance in this new novel.

“Nicole Frank shouldn’t have been able to survive the car accident, much less crawl up the steep ravine. Not with her injuries. But one thought allowed her to defy the odds and flag down help: Vero.” The possibility is that there is no missing child. Some claim that Nicky has a brain injury, but she most likely does not.

The novel follows Sergeant Wyatt Foster as he tries to work through the frustrating psychological maze that is Nicky Foster’s case. As he digs deeper and deeper into the mystery, he discovers that Nicky has been involved in several “accidents”. The question becomes………..Is someone trying to kill Nicky Frank? With all the unanswered questions for which Sgt. Foster must find answers, and Nicky’s frustration, she wonders if, and when, she will crash and burn.

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New Audio Books Android App by AudiobooksNow

AudiobooksNow has recently launched a new, more responsive, more compatible, more flexible Android app for audio books.

The redesigned app has a new user interface, advanced sort and filtering options, auto suggest, tablet support, and enhanced player. This is AudiobooksNow’s first major redesign of their Android app since the original was launched 3 years ago. Audio books are becoming more and more popular as the growth of portable devices and made it more easier and more convenience than ever.

If you are interested in downloading digital audio books to your Android smartphone or tablet, please see the review of AudiobookNow’s new Android app that was done by AndroidTapp here. If you have any questions about audio books on your mobile Android device, please contact AudiobooksNow.

Get the Audio Books Android App by AudiobooksNow in the Play Store!!!