School is back in session and fall is just around the corner! We understand that at times it could be a challenge narrowing down your next listen, so we had our acquirers narrow down a few of their top picks for you.
Growing Out of It: Machinations Before Madness
Growing Out Of It is a story of growing up in a certain time and place when anything felt possible, even a bunch of north London lads forming a ska revival band—and becoming one of Britain’s best-loved groups.
Note: Get a head start on your excitement for Madness’s 2022 US tour with the memoir of the band’s iconic saxophonist, Lee Thompson. Before he was gliding through the air in Baggy Trousers and making us want to jump on the Night Boat to Cairo, Thompson was just a “nutty boy” from North London getting into trouble with the group of friends who would eventually form the beloved ska revival band. You will be sure to enjoy Thompson’s journey to fame, his wacky antics, and his fun-loving spirit throughout Growing Out of It: Machinations Before Madness.- Sonia Brand-Fisher
Publishing Date: 9/2/2021
Written by: Lee Thompson and Ian Snowball, foreword by Martin Freeman
Read by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
Storytellers
Bjørn Larssen’s award-winning, Amazon #1 best selling novel is an otherworldly, emotive Icelandic saga—a story of love and loneliness, relief and suffering, hatred . . . and hope.
Note: A story within a story. Different timelines, complex characters, notes of history and culture and secrets to puzzle through- does it get any better? In his debut novel Bjørn Larssen pays tribute to the love of storytelling, a favorite pastime during long Icelandic winters, and Storytellers will keep you asking questions as Larssen brings 20th century Iceland to life. – Lindsey Wood
Publishing Date: 9/7/21
Written by: Bjørn Larssen
Read by: Graham Halstead
Reflections of a Nonpolitical Man
A classic, controversial book exploring German culture and identity by the author of Death in Venice and The Magic Mountain.
Note: A classic book from one of the twentieth century’s most well-known and influential authors. This special New York Review of Books edition contains a new introduction and two additional essays by Mann: Thoughts in Wartime (1914), and On the German Republic (1922).- Aaron Piccirillo
Publishing Date: 9/7/21
Written by: Thomas Mann
Read by: Graham Rowat
Rizzio
From the multi-award-winning master of crime, Denise Mina delivers a radical new take on one of the darkest episodes in Scottish history—the bloody assassination of David Rizzo private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots, in the queen’s chambers in Holyrood Palace.
Note: Denise Mina’s historical crime novella focuses on the assassination of David Rizzio, the private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots. A thrilling, modern exploration into the depths some will descend for love and power.- Kara Stebbins
Publishing Date: 9/7/2021
Written by: Denise Mina
Read by: Katie Leung
Tantor Media 