"Smithy is an American original, worthy of a place on the shelf just below your Hucks, your Holdens, your Yossarians." —Stephen KingEvery so often, a novel comes along that captures the public’s imagination with a story that sweeps readers up and takes them on a thrilling, unforgettable ride. Ron McLarty’s The Memory of Running is this decade’s novel. By all accounts, especially his own, Smithson "Smithy" Ide is a loser. An overweight, friendless, chain-sm...

Smithson Ide's life so far has led him nowhere. He's 43 years old, weighs 279 pounds, and keeps himself numb with food and alcohol. His only emotional ties are to his parents and to the memory of his older sister, Bethany, who has been missing for 20 years. Then his parents die in a car crash and he learns of Bethany's death in LA County. Suddenly there isn't enough beer in the world to keep Smithy from his feelings.Drunk and bereft, he takes his old Raleigh bicycle and starts cycl...

"McLarty's storytelling skills shine in this ribald, riotously funny, but also poignant novel." —David BaldacciWith his first two novels, Ron McLarty won acclaim for fashioning authentic characters that hook readers from the first page. With Art in America, McLarty has invented another unforgettable protagonist in one failed writer, Steven Kearney. Hired by the Creedemore Historical Society to write and direct a play about the rural Southern Colorado town,...

From the author of The Memory of Running-a beautifully crafted story of a man who returns home to discover the truth about his pastFeaturing the warmth and authenticity that made The Memory of Running such a major success, Traveler wraps a beautifully written ode to friendship within a compelling mystery. Jono Riley is an aging bartender and part-time actor in Manhattan who is compelled to return to the working-class neighborhoods of East...

Jono Riley is an aging bartender and part-time actor struggling to make ends meet in Manhattan. But news of the sudden death of his childhood friend and first true love, Marie D'Agostino, compels Jono to return home for her funeral. As he journeys to Rhode Island, Jono revisits his shadowy past - his three best friends and a series of mysterious shootings that occurred all that time ago.Once home, Jono finds himself drawn into an attempt to find the person responsible for the shoot...

Award-winning actor and playwright Ron McLarty (http://www.ronmclarty.com) is well known for his performances of Recorded Books favorites like A Walk in the Woods and Travels With Charley. What fewer people realize is that he's also an accomplished author. In this wonderfully quirky novel-available exclusively as an audiobook-McLarty takes readers on a quest to find hope and redemption with an unlikely hero. Smithson Ide is 43 years old and weighs 279 pounds when his parents die in an acci...

After the death of his mother, Albert "Shoe" Horn is left to provide for his alcoholic father and look after his younger brother Bobby—a teenager with the mind of a child. After Shoe inadvertently kills a man in a fight, he must try to balance the need to protect his brother and his desire to protect himself. Shoe’s story unfolds against the 1922 union strikes in England, as he must choose between living his father’s life, with his brother, or a new life in America, alone.

From the author of The Memory of Running-a beautifully crafted story of a man who returns home to discover the truth about his pastFeaturing the warmth and authenticity that made The Memory of Running such a major success, Traveler wraps a beautifully written ode to friendship within a compelling mystery. Jono Riley is an aging bartender and part-time actor in Manhattan who is compelled to return to the working-class neighborhoods of East...

Ironworker Wayne Colson and his spirited wife Carmen are witnesses to a shakedown scam—witnesses who must be eliminated. Enter Armand Degas (aka Blackbird), the brains of the operation, and his partner Richie Nix, an ex-con whose highest goal is to rob a bank in every state. After the Colsons enter the Federal Witness Security Program, a lively chase ensues—with two bumbling but determined killers on Wayne and Carmen's trail.With its dead-on dialogue, memorable characters, and abso...

President George W. Bush describes the critical decisions of his presidency and personal life.Decision Points is the extraordinary memoir of America’s 43rd president. Shattering the conventions of political autobiography, George W. Bush offers a strikingly candid journey through the defining decisions of his life.In gripping, never-before-heard detail, President Bush brings listeners inside the Texas Governor’s Mansion on the night of the hotly cont...

Don't miss King's #1 chilling classic, now a major motion picture from Warner Bros. Pictures. Available in cinemas (UK and Germany) or stream on MAX from October 2024.'Salem's Lot is a small New England town with white clapboard houses, tree-lined streets and solid church steeples. Of course there are tales of strange happenings - but no more than in any other such town.Ben Mears has returned to the Lot to write a novel and exorcise the terrors that have haunted him since c...

Special Agent Puller's brother is the country's most wanted criminal, but his conviction points to a cover-up--and a dangerous enemy bent on burying the truth in this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller.It's a prison unlike any other. Military discipline rules. Its security systems are unmatched. None of its prisoners dream of escaping. They know it's impossible...until now.John Puller's older brother, Robert, was convicted of treason. His inexp...