Free Audiobooks: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, October Mourning, and The Count of Monte Cristo

Two audiobooks are available for free from SYNC this week (through July 3rd).

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
by Matthew Quick
In addition to the P-38, there are four gifts, one for each of my friends. I want to say good-bye to them properly. I want to give them each something to remember me by. To let them know I really cared about them and I’m sorry I couldn’t be more than I was–that I couldn’t stick around–and that what’s going to happen today isn’t their fault.

Today is Leonard Peacock’s birthday. It is also the day he hides a gun in his backpack. Because today is the day he will kill his former best friend, and then himself, with his grandfather’s P-38 pistol.

But first he must say good-bye to the four people who matter most to him: his Humphrey Bogart-obsessed next-door neighbor, Walt; his classmate Baback, a violin virtuoso; Lauren, the Christian homeschooler he has a crush on; and Herr Silverman, who teaches the high school’s class on the Holocaust. Speaking to each in turn, Leonard slowly reveals his secrets as the hours tick by and the moment of truth approaches.

In this riveting book, acclaimed author Matthew Quick unflinchingly examines the impossible choices that must be made–and the light in us all that never goes out.

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard
by Lesléa Newman
On the night of October 6, 1998, a gay twenty-one-year-old University of Wyoming student named Matthew Shepard was lured from a bar by two young men, then savagely beaten, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, and left to die. Five days later, Lesléa Newman arrived on campus to give the keynote speech for the University of Wyoming’s Gay Awareness Week. October Mourning is Lesléa Newman’s deeply personal response to the events of that tragic day and its brutal aftermath. This work of poetic imagination explores the impact of the vicious crime through fictitious monologues from various points of view, including the fence to which Matthew was tied, the deer that kept watch beside him, and even Matthew himself. This stunning cycle of sixty-eight poems serves as an illumination for readers too young to remember and as a powerful, enduring tribute to Matthew Shepard’s life and legacy.


The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexander Dumas
Bonus Title: I don't know how long this will be free, but if you're looking for a classic tale of suspense/adventure, check this one out. Also comes with a free e-book. See Note at the top of the description for how to get the book free.

For Edmond Dantes, life couldn't be better. At 19, he is soon to be captain of his own ship and about to be married to his true love, Mercedes. But his life is suddenly turned upside down when on his wedding day he is arrested. Without a fair trial, he is condemned to solitary confinement in the miserable Chateau d'If. Soon, it is clear that Edmond has been framed by a handful of powerful enemies, jealous of his success.

While locked away, Edmond learns from another prisoner, Abbй Faria, of a secret treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo. Faria teaches Edmond history, science, languages, and philosophy, turning him into a well-rounded individual. Edmond concocts a daring and audacious plan: escape and find the treasure. But years pass before Edmond can escape. Once he does, he transforms himself into the Count of Monte Cristo and launches his plan for revenge against those who imprisoned him.

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To get either of the first two audiobooks (or both!), click the link in their title, above, or start at the download page.

For the SYNC audiobooks, you'll need to install the OverDrive® Media Console™ first, but the page walks you through that. The audiobooks have download buttons below the green sync-head thing in the third column of the page.

Enjoy!