Showing results by narrator "Samara Naeymi" in All Categories

A small-town waitress, awestruck by dreams of a bigger world, looks forward to the biggest break of a budding career in this darkly comic short tale of what happens when innocence collides with cynicism. Eighteen-year-old Keridee is done with high school, her cheating boyfriend, her jealous friends, and Nowhere, Florida. She’s determined to do something with her life, and her small-time modeling agent has already scored her a gig. She’s working an event for a real estate mogul who happens to own a huge modeling agency. What if he’s dazzled by her smile and makes her a star?

Lauren is angry enough that her mother couldn’t find time to show up to the opening of her new art gallery. But when she gets home and discovers the gift her mother has sent instead, Lauren comes undone in the face of a temptation that will push her to the edge, closer to her demons and the bitter taste of a mother’s love.

A young novelist trapped in a bad relationship takes the first step toward true pleasure and tenderness…but does she have the courage to be swept off her feet? It doesn’t matter how many people read and like her new book, there’s only one man’s opinion that matters to Clara…or at least that’s what she thinks. But when a chance encounter at a film premiere introduces her to someone new - someone who understands her in a way the first man can’t - Clara finally discovers the validation she really wants and needs.

Heidi is writing a script to explain the financial industry, based on how the men within it approach romance. Her clueless heroine is looking for a Wall Street husband, but who’s the best option? The trader? The investment banker? The venture capitalist? Scene by sizzling scene, Heidi considers their assets. What she wants for certain is a happy ending - but when she hits a dead end, it might take a real-life finance guy to show her what a long-term investment really looks like.

It’s Rashin’s first day of school in America! Everything is a different shape than what she’s used to: from the foods on her breakfast plate to the letters in the books! And the kids’ families are from all over! The new teacher asks each child to imagine the shape of home on a map. Rashin knows right away what she’ll say: Iran looks like a cat! What will the other kids say?

Spark may be a cute and cuddly teddy bear, but she’s also a fierce protector. After rescuing her human owner - a budding young filmmaker named Loretta - from a hideous monster, everything seems to be returning to normal in their quiet household. But then Spark is summoned before the mysterious Grand Sleuth, the high council of teddy bears, who task her with a dangerous mission: locating the portal to the monster’s domain. During her daring search, Spark discovers a terrible secret. 

Private Matthew Petticrew arrives in France as part of the American Expeditionary Forces, an arrival that a war-weary France desperately hopes will help to end the turmoil. Having faced unthinkable things on the front, he is captivated by the sound of a lullaby, sung by a voice so pure he knows he must have imagined it. But rumors sweep through the trenches like wildfire, dubbing the voice "The Angel of Argonne", a mysterious presence who leaves behind wreaths on unmarked graves and footprints in the war-pocked soil. 

Code of Silence tells the story of federal court employee Cathy McBroom, who had to flee her job as a case manager in Galveston, Texas, after enduring years of sexual harassment and assault by her boss—US District Judge Samuel Kent. Investigative reporter Lise Olsen charts McBroom’s assault and the aftermath, when McBroom was thrust into the role of whistleblower to denounce a federal judge. With the help of other federal judges, Kent was being protected by a secretive court system that has long tolerated or ignored complaints about corruption, sexism, and sexual misconduct.

It's time to go, but no one can find Hannah! That’s because she’s in the park with too much to do. She needs to collect caterpillars and sticks, make a bow and arrow, and build a bed out of leaves. Deep in the shrubs, she sets up a secret hideout where she can hunker down over the campfire, lost in her own little world. But for how long? When a voice cuts through the branches, Hannah realizes someone is still looking for her. Can she find her way out of the shrubs, or will she stay wild forever?

1960s New York, and Emma Bowden seems to have it all - a glamorous Manhattan apartment, a loving husband, and a successful writing career. But while Emma and her husband, Jonathan, are on vacation at the Hamptons, a child drowns in the sea, and suspicion falls on Emma. As her picture-perfect life spirals out of control and old wounds resurface, a persistent and monotonous voice in Emma’s head threatens to destroy all that she has worked for....

A frustrated lawyer finds release where she least expects it - and where she needs it most - in this exhilarating, sexy romp through the finest gluten-free indulgences in a New York City grocery store. After another long workday, the only thing Meredith wants is a big bowl of paleo maple-pecan coconola. But the hour-long checkout line at 7:00 p.m. at an all-organic supermarket stands between her and satisfaction, and the yupster mob is working her last nerve. Then, out of nowhere, a spontaneous flirtation with a stranger shows her there’s a lot more than coconola waiting for her.

Famous Arabic translator Oona Noor receives a mysterious manuscript from Cairo entitled The Seductive Lady Vanessa of Manhattanshire and realizes she has discovered a masterpiece. The book, written by an unknown author named Aisha Benengeli, spins the tale of Maxine More, a divorced, romance-novel-obsessed New Yorker who envisions herself as a Georgian Lady and sees the world entirely through the prism of her beloved books. Designating her cleaning lady Magdalena Cruz as her lady-in-waiting, Lady Vee embarks on a series of misadventures.  

Hafiz's Little Book of Life is a lush collection of more than 250 selections from his lifework (his divan). Alongside a Quran, a copy of his divan can be found in average homes in Iran—where stars can be heard singing his poetry on the radio, and lines from his poems are quoted on the street. His poetry is sure to strike a chord in the hearts of readers everywhere. This vital collection of mystical poetry focuses on the issues we encounter in everyday life. Each brief poem may be savored as an oasis of clarity in the hurried literacy of our time, or the entire book enjoyed in one sitting. 

In this exceptional book, inclusion leader Annahid Dashtgard shares her experiences looking for and teaching about belonging in our divided world. Through moving and deft interlocking stories, Dashtgard examines what it means to belong—to a country, in a marriage, and in our skin—and the price we pay when that belonging is absent.

Many Americans imagine refugees as threatening outsiders who will steal jobs or be a drain on the economy. But across the country, refugees are rebuilding and maintaining the American Dream. In City of Refugees, journalist Susan Hartman shows how an influx of refugees helped revive Utica, New York, an old upstate manufacturing town that was nearly destroyed by depopulation and arson. 

Setting out from her classroom, Jessica Lander takes the listener on a powerful and urgent journey to understand what it takes for immigrant students to become Americans. A compelling listen for everyone who cares about America’s future, Making Americans brims with innovative ideas for educators and policy makers across the country. 

After her girlfriend breaks up with her for being too emotionally stifled, Jo Miller is trying to become more expressive. But then her boss calls her into his office for a private meeting and sexually assaults her. His parting words are, “you won't want to talk about this Jo. You think you do now, but trust me, you won’t.” Jo had been ready to go straight to the police, but every time she tries to talk about what happened, live insects crawl up her throat and into her mouth. 

It’s not because she hates weddings. It’s not because the groom is her boyfriend’s dad (although yuck). It’s not even because Vegas weddings are cliché as hell. It’s because her mom is an evil incarnate vamp known as The Executioner. Nothing good can come of someone marrying a person named The Executioner. Nothing.