Essays Anthology

A Sardinian wedding feast, the search for the perfect seaside pasta with wild fennel, meeting a risotto master: Laura Fraser journeys from the SpaghettiOs of her American childhood to savor the best of Italian cuisine and the culture that cooked it up. Using the same dreamy, delicious type of prose that made An Italian Affair a best-selling memoir, these essays will delight listeners who loved that book and all who love Italian food and culture.

A selection from the John Updike audio collection

A selection from the John Updike audio collection. These extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful.

Cuando despertó se sentía mejor de lo que se había sentido en muchas semanas: simplemente no se sentía enfermo. Se apoyó un momento en el marco de la puerta que separaba su dormitorio y el baño hasta que estuvo seguro de que no se había mareado. Ni siquiera un poco, ni siquiera cuando se puso a buscar una zapatilla debajo de la cama.

Granna is ex-primary school teacher and grandmother Anna Gammond, who has been telling stories to countless numbers of children in her own warm distinctive style for more than 40 years. Here she brings her personal touch to Beauty & The Beast as well as two other classic stories, The Emperor's New Clothes and Three Billy Goats Gruff.

"From nothing to nothing is no time at all." (John Steinbeck) Two men discuss their New Year's resolutions shortly after midnight on December 31, 2014. The discussion is inspired by a piece of minimalist piano music by Steve Reich and turns to the meaning and nature of time, drawing on John Steinbeck's famous quote.