How Stella Got Her Groove Back
By Terry McMillan, read by the author
Penguin Group
Diet, career change, new boyfriend, a dog that doesn’t get into the trash every night–’tis the time of year for resolutions and new beginnings. In “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” a divorced career-obsessed mom heads to Jamaica for some R&R and ends up frolicking with a much younger gentleman. As the tropics release Stella from her uptight self, she re-evaluates what is most important in life. Saucy, liberating and sexed up, this audio book might have you rearing for an early spring break. Here are a few other audio books that feature characters who recast their lives.
The Great Gatsby
By F. Scott Fitzgerald, read by Tim Robbins
HarperCollins
The classic tale of transformation. Tim Robbins’ oral rendering is fabulous, as is this edition’s added bonus of Robert Sean Leonard reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s letters about the selling of “Gatsby” to publishers.
Black and Blue
By Anna Quindlen, read by Lili Taylor
Random House Audio Publishing Group
A gripping account of a woman’s attempt to escape domestic abuse by disappearing with her young son in tow.
She’s Come Undone
By Wally Lamb, read by Kathy Najimy
Simon & Schuster Audio
A young obese woman–the victim of numerous betrayals–spends her life eating junk food and second-guessing herself. She drifts aimlessly until she finally decides to take one last stab at pulling herself together in this sharp novel.
Interview With a Vampire
By Anne Rice, read by F. Murray Abraham
Random House Audio Publishing Group
Through no real fault of his own, this guy gets bitten by a vampire and must morph into one himself. There’s no greater reinvention than that of the reluctant undead.
