In this return to the dystopian world of Oryx and Crake, the "Waterless Flood" predicted by Adam One, founder of the environmentalist God's Gardeners cult, has come to pass in the form of a manmade viral apocalypse. The only survivors are two women, former fast-food employee Toby and sex worker Ren, who escaped their fate through sheer luck. However, plenty of transgenic organisms remain, from the lethal liobams (lamb-lion hybrids) to pigs with human DNA. Should Ren and Toby venture out of their respective safe havens to search for other humans? And if they stay put, will they be any safer? For a haunting glimpse of an all-too-plausible future, check out The Year of the Flood.

In these autobiographical essays, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon reflects on what it means to be a man. Tackling an array of subjects from both his past and his present, Chabon examines his experiences as a husband and father and how these have shaped his life. From serious topics such as sex, drugs, and religion to lighter musings on (among other things) comic books and baseball, Chabon provides insights and observations that anyone--man or woman--can relate to.

Obsessive fan Duncan has spent 20 years researching reclusive singer-songwriter Tucker Crowe (who disappeared in 1986), while his long-suffering partner Annie wonders if she's wasted the best years of her life. When Duncan obtains a demo of "Juliet, Naked," Crowe's acoustic reimagining of his classic album "Juliet," a frustrated Annie listens to it first and posts a less-than-glowing review of the music online. To everyone's surprise, Annie receives a response from Crowe himself...which grows into an e-mail correspondence in which the two reveal aspects of their very different lives. Fans of High Fidelity will enjoy Nick Hornby's latest story to feature music-obsessed characters.

This follow-up to Jeannette Walls' memoir The Glass Castle focuses on Walls' maternal grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. Born in 1901, Lily grew up breaking horses on her father's west Texas ranch. At 15, she embarked on a 500-mile journey to take up a teaching post--despite having no high school diploma. A first marriage to a bigamist and a second to a kindred spirit change Lily's life in ways she never imagined, as she went on to earn a college degree and worked briefly as a bootlegger. Don't miss this rousing tale of a spirited and fiercely independent woman.

In this supernatural take on Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, a toddler escapes the man who murders his entire family by taking refuge in a nearby cemetery. Adopted by its ghostly denizens, Nobody "Bod" Owens grows up in the graveyard, where his mysterious mentor Silas teaches him everything he needs to know to survive. But even a graveyard full of friends may not be enough to protect him from the killer, who's still searching for him. Read by the author, The Graveyard Book is fun listening experience for all ages. Winner of the 2009 Audie Award Audiobook of the Year.

After Edgar Freemantle loses his arm in a work-related accident and his wife during his rehabilitation (she leaves him after his uncontrollable rages turn violent), he decides to start over by moving to Duma Key. Once he sets up house on the lush, largely uninhabited Gulf Coast island, Edgar develops a strange compulsion to create art--and some unusual abilities to go along with it. Are these changes the result of his accident, or is there a more sinister force at work? This chiller by Stephen King will appeal to fans of his other works, such as The Shining. Winner of the 2009 Audie Award in the Fiction category (Tie).

Not long after the end of WWII, London newspaper columnist Juliet Ashton receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a farmer on the small Channel Island of Guernsey. Soon his letters are joined by those of the island's other inhabitants, who write to Juliet to tell her about the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a book club hastily invented during the German Occupation that soon became a defiant celebration of friendship and community during a dark time in history. Don't miss this story, which is "truly perfect on audio" (Audiofile). Winner of the 2009 Audie Award in the Fiction category (Tie).

Set in the Soviet Union in 1953, Child 44 is the story of MGB (State Security Force) officer Leo Demidov, an honest man whose promising career is derailed by politics. Demoted and dispatched to a remote village in the Ukraine, Leo uncovers the existence of a serial killer who's targeting local children. But in Stalin's Russia, where things like serial killers are not supposed to exist, it's a crime against the State to suggest that one is on the loose. If you like thrillers with detailed historical settings, you'll love this suspenseful and atmospheric debut by Tom Rob Smith. And don't miss Smith's second Leo Demidov book, The Secret Speech. Winner of the 2009 Audie Award in the Thriller/Suspense category.

Friedman proposes an ambitious national strategy to address key issues in climate change and energy shortages, identifying the factors that have contributed to current circumstances while outlining an American-led revolution of clean-technology solutions.  Narrator Oliver Wyman deftly reflects Friedman's intelligence, passion, and, perhaps most importantly, impartiality when discussing such hot-button issues as Middle Eastern petro politics, third-world deforestation, and China's skyrocketing demand for energy. Winner of two 2009 Audie Awards for both Non-Fiction and Politics.

Pausch, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.  "Singer gets across the 'live in the moment' philosophy that Pausch embraced and creates an audio experience that honors him. Worth multiple re-listenings and sharings." (Audiofile)  Winner of the 2009 Audie Award in the Biography/Memoir category.

A new installment in a popular health-care series makes recommendations for promoting optimal health and longevity after age thirty, in a reference that likens the aging process to the maintenance of city systems. "Johnny Heller makes this down-to-earth lesson fun with his energetic delivery." (Audiofile) Winner of the 2009 Audie Award in the Personal Development category.

Twelve previously unpublished writings on war and peace, released to commemorate the first anniversary of the author's death, include such pieces as an essay on the destruction of Dresden, a story about the first-meal fantasies of three army soldiers, and a meditation on the impossibility of shielding children from the temptations of violence. "Vonnegut does not mince words, and the material is thought-provoking, captivating, and humorous." (Audiofile) Winner of the 2009 Audie Award in the Short Stories/Collections category.