On the Street Where You Live by Kathryn Nicolai

ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE by Kathryn Nicolai is self-described as a cozy audio (total length about 5 hours) and is narrated by the author and several other performers. Basically, this is almost like a set of short stories as each section (lightly tied together since everyone lives in the same neighborhood) focuses primarily on one person (baker, book seller with a cat named Alphabet, piano teacher, star gazer, historian, novelist, librarian, puzzle maker, innkeeper). The pace is gentle and slow (the author also crafted Nothing Much Happens, a collection of stories “to soothe your mind and help you sleep”) – one can easily listen to this audiobook at 1.5 speed. The characters generally face limited conflict (e.g., what food to make and bring to neighbor) and their actions (e.g., juicing a lemon, searching through photos) tend to be methodical and described in a deliberate manner. Nicolai cleverly interweaves the stories (e.g., a piano student leaves a book behind and returning it introduces listeners to the next character). It looks as though ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE will only be available as audiobook or audio CD. Look for it (release date is July 28) if you would like a gentle, peaceful listen.