Yessie

Why we think it’s a great listen: Some books are meant to be read; others are meant to be heard – Water for Elephants falls into the second group, and is one of the best examples we have of how a powerful performance enhances a great story. Nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski reflects back on his wild and wondrous days with a circus. It's the Depression Era and Jacob, finding himself parentless and penniless, joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.

Most people don't know that Benjamin Franklin almost killed himself trying to electrocute a turkey; the Wright brothers were not the first to fly an airplane; there was a 14th state that the original 13 wouldn't let join the Union; and that Benedict Arnold helped save the American Revolution. All this and more is revealed in That's Not in My American History Book.

One of the 20th century's most challenging novels of ideas, The Fountainhead champions the cause of individualism through the story of a gifted young architect who defies the tyranny of conventional public opinion. The struggle for personal integrity in a world that values conformity above creativity is powerfully illustrated through three characters: Howard Roarke, a genius; Gail Wynand, a newspaper mogul and self-made millionaire; and Dominique Francon, a devastating beauty.

After earning a graduate degree in creative writing from the University of East Anglia, Tracy Chevalier was immediately recognized for her literary talent. In Girl with a Pearl Earring, she recreates the 17th-century world of Johannes Vermeer.

In Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez's delicious new novel, three friends, each a Latina in her late 20s, take Los Angeles by storm. Marcella, Olivia, and Alexis have bonded not only over trouble with men but about how tough it is to make life work in L.A. no matter what you do.