Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine
1,567 episodes - English - Latest episode: 18 days ago - ★★★★★ - 123 ratingsFind your next great audiobook on our podcast, Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine. Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile Editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. All in 6 minutes or less. It’s short, sweet, and just what your ears need. Want more? Listen to our bonus episodes featuring conversations with the best voices in the audiobook industry.
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Episodes
Interview with Marisa Blake: 2020 Best Audiobooks
December 04, 2020 09:00 - 14 minutesIn today’s special edition of Behind the Mic, narrator Marisa Blake shares her thoughts on one of this year’s Best YA Audiobooks, WE ARE NOT FROM HERE by Jenny Torres Sanchez. She and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss the challenging and powerful audiobook that tells the story of three teenagers escaping a gang leader in Guatemala and making their way to America. Published by Dreamscape. 2020 Best Young Adult Audiobooks: THE BLACK FLAMINGO by Dean Atta, read by Dean Atta KENT STATE by Debora...
Interview with T. Ryder Smith: 2020 Best Audiobooks
December 03, 2020 09:00 - 15 minutesNarrator T. Ryder Smith joins AudioFile’s Robin Whitten to talk about narrating FIRE IN PARADISE, Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano’s study of the devastating 2018 Northern California fire. Listen to hear how Smith balanced narrating the fire science and California history with voicing the dramatic personal portraits of the California residents. Published by Recorded Books. 2020 Best Nonfiction & Culture Audiobooks: CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson, read by Robin Miles FIRE IN PARADISE by Alastair Gee...
Interview with David Pittu: 2020 Best Audiobooks
December 02, 2020 09:00 - 8 minutesOn today’s episode, narrator David Pittu joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss THE LAST TOURIST. Olen Steinhauer’s CIA thriller is one of AudioFile’s Best Mystery Audiobooks of the year. David tells Michele about narrating an unsettling, immersive audiobook, and his work on the Milo Weaver series. Published by Macmillan Audio. 2020 Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks: ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE by Louise Penny, read by Robert Bathurst HI FIVE by Joe Ide, read by Zeno Robinson THE LAST TOURIS...
Interview with Marin Ireland: 2020 Best Audiobooks
December 01, 2020 09:00 - 14 minutesAudioFile is celebrating the best audiobooks of the year, and in this special episode narrator Marin Ireland joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND. Rumaan Alam’s fascinating audiobook exploring race, class, family, and global catastrophe is one of AudioFile’s Best Fiction Audiobooks of the year. Listen to the episode to hear Marin’s thoughts on the audiobook -- and add it to your wish list. Published by Harper Audio. 2020 Best Fiction Audiobooks: AFTERLIFE by Julia...
AudioFile’s 2020 Best Audiobooks
November 30, 2020 09:00 - 16 minutesAudioFile Magazine is celebrating the best in this year’s audiobooks! Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten give a peek behind the scenes in the making of the 2020 Best Audiobooks list. In a year where audiobooks have meant so much to so many of us, choosing the titles that stood out above the rest was a difficult task. There are timely, heartfelt, and joyful audiobooks to dive into, all narrated with skill. Many of this year’s titles can provide you with an escape -- and others will pus...
MAKE ME RAIN by Nikki Giovanni, read by Nikki Giovanni
November 27, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesNikki Giovanni’s slightly raspy, slightly sibilant voice draws listeners into this important collection of poetry and prose. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Giovanni’s skill at wringing out all the humor, anger, and sorrow in her poetry. Warm tones express themes of quilts and songs and love, and her poet’s sense guides her tempo as she explores her perspectives on being Black in America. Her palpable anger recalls the death of Michael Brown in “Ferguson: the Musical,” and...
MAYA AND THE RISING DARK by Rena Barron, read by Soneela Nankani
November 26, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesLooking for something to entertain younger listeners -- or the whole family? Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Rena Barron’s middle-grade fantasy audiobook that shines thanks to Soneela Nankani’s animated performance. Maya has loving parents, good friends, and a welcoming community in Chicago. She also has just discovered that everyone’s been hiding a huge secret -- they have magic! Maya and her friends find dangerous magical creatures lurking in their neighborhood, and a si...
APPLE (SKIN TO THE CORE) by Eric Gansworth, read by Eric Gansworth
November 25, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesEric Gansworth is poetic, intense, and defiant as he delivers his coming-of-age story in verse, telling of his life growing up in an Onondaga family in the Tuscarora Nation. AudioFile’s Emily Connelly and Host Jo Reed discuss this moving, hilarious, and heartfelt memoir for young adult listeners. Gansworth traces how the government boarding schools divided his family, the impact of the Vietnam war on his older siblings, and his struggles to fit in both on the reservation and off. He adopted p...
THE MIDNIGHT BARGAIN by C.L. Polk, read by Moira Quirk
November 24, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesMoira Quirk’s lively voice draws listeners into a magical Regency-inspired tale. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss C.L. Polk’s new fantasy audiobook that is sure to provide all the distractions you need right now. Beatrice Clayborn is a young ingénue entering her first “bargaining season” where eligible suitors vie for her hand. Once married, Beatrice will be forcibly cut off from any access to magic -- but she is desperate to become a sorceress. Quirk uses dramatic pacing a...
WE ARE NOT FREE by Traci Chee, read by a full cast
November 23, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesAn outstanding full cast of narrators captures the experiences of fourteen teenagers who grew up together in San Francisco -- and were forced into incarceration camps because of their Japanese ancestry during WWII. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Traci Chee’s National Book Award finalist for Young People’s Literature, one that truly is a must-listen. Interconnecting chapters trace the lives of teenagers from 1942-1945 as they are uprooted from their homes, separated from f...
WOMEN IN THE KITCHEN by Anne Willan, read by Imogen Church
November 20, 2020 09:00 - 8 minutesImogen Church’s lively narration pairs well with Anne Willan’s informative and playful survey of women cookbook writers who changed culinary history. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Church’s deliciously entertaining and painlessly educational performance that serves up fascinating insights about food and its preparation. Trace changes in kitchens from Hannah Wooley’s hearth fires in the mid-1600s to today’s stovetops presided over by Julia Child and Alice Waters. Church’s a...
VIRGA & BONE by Craig Childs, read by Rick Adamson
November 19, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesRick Adamson presents naturalist and adventurer Craig Childs’s essays about the deserts of the American Southwest in a fitting gruff, masculine voice. AudioFile’s Robin Whitten tells host Jo Reed about this audiobook for those who love deserts -- and those who long to visit them. During a pandemic, this might be exactly the listening experience many are after. Adamson narrates the journeys to deserts in Arizona, Utah, and the Monument Valley with a balance of restraint and enthusiasm, and the...
SERPENTINE by Philip Pullman, read by Olivia Colman
November 18, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesActress Olivia Colman is a new voice to the His Dark Materials series, and she slips easily into Lyra’s boots. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this puzzle piece of an audiobook that helps to complete the full picture of Pullman’s fantastic world. Set after the events of THE AMBER SPYGLASS, this short story serves as an effective bridge between that book and the second in Pullman’s new Book of Dust trilogy, THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH. Colman captures Lyra and Pan’s rapid-fire, ...
V2 by Robert Harris, read by David Rintoul
November 17, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten share their thoughts on Robert Harris’s latest audiobook V2, narrated with a detached air by David Rintoul. Wernher von Braun and his team of rocket scientists are on the verge of defection to the U.S. The story, told from the opposing perspectives of two fictional characters, von Braun’s colleague Dr. Rudi Graf and WAAF officer Kay Caton-Walsh, traces the impact of Hitler’s decision to unleash powerful V2 rockets on London and Antwerp. This audioboo...
THE PRACTICE by Seth Godin, read by Seth Godin
November 16, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesEntrepreneur, bestselling author, and speaker Seth Godin is back to narrate his newest audiobook on engaging our creativity. AudioFile’s Robin Whitten shares with host Jo Reed all that she loves about listening to Godin’s audiobooks. In this latest, Godin turns his attention to individual creativity with high-impact advice on how to share your art with the world. His narration is quiet but intense, assertive but not pushy, a combination that really holds your attention. Published by Penguin A...
AND NOW SHE'S GONE by Rachel Howzell Hall, read by Je Nie Fleming
November 13, 2020 09:00 - 8 minutesNarrator Je Nie Fleming’s soft voice is a good match for this mystery audiobook. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss a story about Grayson Sykes, a new private eye excited for her first serious case finding a doctor’s missing ex-girlfriend. Fleming highlights Gray’s frustrations at making rookie mistakes, her growing suspicion of foul play, and her conflicted feelings for her male boss. Fleming adds intensity to the dialogue as Gray gets closer to the truth. The story deals with...
THE SILENCE by Don DeLillo, read by Laurie Anderson, Jeremy Bobb, Marin Ireland, Robin Miles, Jay O. Sanders, Michael Stuhlbarg
November 12, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesA group of people is meeting in New York for Super Bowl 2022 when the world’s electronics go down. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss a multicast audiobook that chronicles a return to a world without modern technology. Listen as survivors of a plane crash are treated in a clinic also impacted by the blackout. Neighbors are forced to interact, and DeLillo reflects on the nature of humanity and who we’ve become. Marin Ireland’s centering narrative anchors the stellar performances...
THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY by Matt Haig, read by Carey Mulligan
November 11, 2020 10:00 - 7 minutesEnglish actress Carey Mulligan narrates a wondrous audiobook about a woman’s existential journey between life and death. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this moving audiobook about what it means to have a good life. Nora Seed’s life has taken a dark turn—no job, many losses, and a relationship not worth continuing. When she attempts suicide, she wakes up in the Midnight Library which, much like a real library, contains many stories—all of which are hers. Carey Mulligan is a ...
GOODNIGHT BEAUTIFUL by Aimee Molloy, read by Val Toomey, George Newbern, Marin Ireland, Joel Froomkin
November 10, 2020 10:00 - 5 minutesSam and Annie are a young couple moving to upstate New York for a quieter life, and to support Sam’s mother—and then Sam disappears. Don’t read too much about this audiobook before you start listening, AudioFile’s Michele Cobb advises host Jo Reed—just jump right in. The multicast aspect of this audiobook is perfect for all the plot twists you experience, and the casting makes for an engaging listen. Published by HarperAudio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Supp...
CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 by Lisa Unger, read by Vivienne Leheny
November 09, 2020 10:00 - 6 minutesVivienne Leheny’s narration captures each character’s outward persona and true self in this captivating thriller. In today’s episode, host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb confess their love for a good thriller. Seatmates Selena and Martha swap confessions on a stalled train ride. Selena believes her husband is having an affair with the nanny, and Martha is having an affair with her boss. When the nanny disappears, Selena remembers that conversation, which leads to a shocking unraveling o...
SNOW by John Banville, read by John Lee
November 06, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesNarrator John Lee does a masterful job bringing a devilish mystery to life. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this historical mystery set in rural Ireland in 1957. Listeners hear Lee’s pitch-perfect renditions of the locals and the Protestant gentry’s upper crust speech. He smoothly voices detective inspector Strafford, who like the people he is investigating, comes from the gentry. But Lee’s most memorable and affecting imitations are the local police and the innkeeper, his ...
A LIFE ON OUR PLANET by David Attenborough, Jonnie Hughes, read by David Attenborough
November 05, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesDavid Attenborough is best known for his BBC nature documentaries, with their stunning scenes of wild animals and their habitats around the globe. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff share thoughts on how Attenborough’s many skills at documentary filmmaking translate to the audiobook. His elegant prose and rounded tones serve his purpose to make a witness statement to his long broadcast career sharing the mysteries of the planet -- but much of the audiobook is a warning and prescriptio...
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X by Malcolm X, Alex Haley, read by Laurence Fishburne
November 04, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesActor Laurence Fishburne expertly modulates his tone and suits his cadence to the scenes and dialogue in this audiobook following the life of Malcolm X. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff share their thoughts on this new narration of an outstanding life. The Black rights champion and faithful believer could not have a more compelling narrator. Fishburne’s extraordinary vocal talents elevate this classic critique of white privilege. He captures Malcolm X’s anger and commitment as the f...
HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON by Jon Meacham, John Lewis [Afterword], read by JD Jackson, Jon Meacham
November 03, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesThis stirring audiobook offers a memorable merging of author, subject, and narrator. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss how JD Jackson voices John Lewis with an authenticity and nuanced nod to the Congressman’s rural Alabama roots. His powerful retelling of John Lewis’s life’s work fighting to bring civil and voting rights to Black Americans stays with the listener. Famed for overcoming the beatings he received and his many arrests for sit-ins, Lewis comes across in Meacham’s ...
THE FRAGILE EARTH by David Remnick, Henry Finder [Eds.], read by Kaleo Griffith, Gabra Zackman, Cat Gould
November 02, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesAudioFile’s Alan Minskoff and host Jo Reed discuss an eye-opening collection of climate change nonfiction from THE NEW YORKER magazine. Kaleo Griffith, Gabra Zackman, and Cat Gould narrate with engagement, clarity, and an admirable mix of insistence and calm. Written by many of the magazine’s most well-known authors, including Elizabeht Kolbert, Bill McKibben, Burkhard Bilger, Kathryn Schulz, and Ian Frazer, the pieces focus on “how we got here, where we are, and what we can do now.” The narr...
TRISTAN STRONG DESTROYS THE WORLD by Kwame Mbalia, read by Amir Abdullah
October 30, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesListeners who loved the first TRISTAN STRONG audiobook are in for a treat -- Amir Abdullah has returned to narrate the next chapter. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly talk about this middle-grade fantasy series that is packed with action and adventure and bursting with larger-than-life characters. Tristan, a Black seventh-grader, is helping on his grandparents’ farm when creatures from Alke burst onto the scene and the sinister Shambleman steals his grandmother away. Tristan, with h...
A PLACE AT THE TABLE by Saadia Faruqi, Laura Shovan, read by Nikhaar Kishani, Caitlin Kelly
October 29, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesSaadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan collaborate on a timely story about first-generation immigrants finding their place as they navigate the challenges of sixth grade. Nikhaar Kishani is the voice of Sara, daughter of Pakistani immigrants and a recent transfer from a small Islamic academy to a huge public school. Nikhaar smoothly narrates Pakistani words used in the text and uses subtle accents for Sara’s family, and listeners will feel for Sara as she uses sarcasm as a shield to hide her loneline...
BLACK SUN by Rebecca Roanhorse, read by Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, Kaipo Schwab, Shaun Taylor-Corbett
October 28, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesThis epic fantasy that includes political upheaval, taboo magic, and a hint of romance is voiced by four talented narrators who shape the intensity of the story. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Rebecca Roanhorse’s enthralling audiobook inspired by Pre-Columbian American civilizations. The narrators read four overlapping storylines, with each voice distinct and amplifying the action to drive the story forward. Nicole Lewis smoothly narrates as Xiala, a Teek woman hired to c...
SPOILER ALERT by Olivia Dade, read by Isabelle Ruther
October 27, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesIsabelle Ruther narrates a charming IRL romance between online friends--one of whom happens to be famous. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the fun of listening to Olivia Dade’s audiobook about love found through fandom and a viral Twitter post. April Whittier has been active in fandom for years, and no one in her real-life circle knows until an interaction with TV star Marcus Caster-Rupp goes viral and the two end up on a date. Ruther gently teases out Marcus’s reluctance a...
LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn, read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt
October 26, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesJoniece Abbott-Pratt’s dynamic narration draws listeners into a contemporary fantasy audiobook packed with ancient magic, Aurthurian mythology, and family legacies. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly talk about Tracy Deonn’s debut YA audiobook featuring a secret magical society that you don’t want to miss. Bree is a 16-year-old Black girl whose grief and anger over her mother’s death drive her to find the truth about the Order of the Round Table -- and she discovers so much more than...
THE SEARCHER by Tana French, read by Roger Clark
October 23, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesFans who've been anticipating Tana French’s next audiobook will not be disappointed. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Roger Clark’s standout performance. His American-Irish-British background makes him uniquely qualified to narrate a tense story of a Chicago cop trying to solve a mystery far out of his jurisdiction. He’s longing for a quiet retirement in the Irish countryside but is drawn into the disappearance of a local youth, and soon discovers that his quiet retreat hold...
LAST BREATH by Sally Rigby, read by Clare Corbett
October 22, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesNarrator Clare Corbett flawlessly creates the accents and settings of Lenchester, England, while introducing Detective Chief Inspector Whitney Walker and her polar opposite, psychologist Georgina Cavendish. Host Jo Reed and AudioFIle’s Robin Whitten discuss a new British mystery from Sally Rigby, where an unlikely pair investigating a copycat serial killer discover an unconvicted murder suspect from 35 years earlier may have a role in the current case. This well-rendered step-by-step procedur...
MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN by Kate McAll [Adapt.], read by a full cast
October 21, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesPerfect Halloween listening, guaranteed to give you chills. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten share their thoughts on a classic adapted for the stage -- MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN. It’s a riveting adaptation of a story within a story, as told by Mary Shelley, that is startlingly different from more familiar movie adaptations. Stacy Keach’s deep voice is perfect for the monster, who is self-educated and sophisticated, but still a creature of Dr. Frankenstein. Seamus Dever’s placid to...
A LAB OF ONE'S OWN by Rita Colwell, Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, read by Jackie Sanders
October 20, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesJackie Sanders narrates a memoir on sexism in science from Rita Cowell, a leading microbiologist and the first woman to lead the National Science Foundation. Host Jo Reed and Robin Whitten discuss Jackie Sanders’s straightforward narration, mirroring Cowell’s strategy when dealing with obstructionist male colleagues—stay calm and avoid channeling melodramatics or anger. Cowell persevered in her career to make historical discoveries but faced systemic sexism and bias, and she does not shy away...
ALICE'S FARM by Maryrose Wood, read by Dion Graham
October 19, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesDion Graham is pure magic behind the microphone as he narrates a fun family-friendly story about Alice the rabbit and her furry companions. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Maryrose Wood’s new tale that feels like a classic. In the story, Alice makes a deal with other wild animals to grow a garden in order to keep the land from being bulldozed. A new hipster family moves in, unaware that the wild creatures are the ones keeping the farm running. Dion Graham pulls out all the ...
ONE BY ONE by Ruth Ware, read by Imogen Church
October 16, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesImogen Church’s extraordinary narration of Ruth Ware’s newest suspense novel will keep listeners glued to their earbuds, unable to do anything else but listen wide-eyed and rapt. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this thrilling homage to Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. Ware has taken the premise of an isolated house with an unidentified killer, cleverly updated the who, where, and what, and pumped up the dread with parallel first-person narrations. It’s witty, cunn...
THE WHITE COAT DIARIES by Madi Sinha, read by Soneela Nankani
October 15, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesSoneela Nankani creates a memorable portrait of Norah Kapadia, a brilliant medical student who is slightly baffled by the human aspects of patient care. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb talk about this new audiobook from Madi Sinha that’s perfect for fans of medical TV shows. Nankani is fantastic as the narrator, capturing all of the characters perfectly. She seamlessly moves Norah from intern to resident and portrays a person listeners will laugh and cry with as her roller coaster l...
OLDER by Pamela Redmond, read by Sutton Foster
October 14, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesViewers have seen award-winning actress Sutton Foster play Liza Miller in the television show “Younger” but now they can experience her audiobook performance in this highly anticipated sequel. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this audiobook born of a TV comedy that follows Liza two years after she was caught lying about her age to land a job in publishing. Sutton Foster’s voice is engaging and enthusiastic as she makes Liza’s perspective genuine and elicits sympathy during he...
THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS by Jodi Picoult, read by Patti Murin
October 13, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesDawn is thriving as a mom and wife with a fulfilling career when a plane crash leaves her second-guessing her life. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss Patti Murin’s admirable narration of Jodi Picolt’s newest audiobook. Dawn’s near-death experience results in a deep yearning for a life left behind and for her true love, a British colleague. The audiobook gives listeners a chance to see the two different ways her life could go after the crash—does she return home to Boston and h...
LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND by Rumann Alam, read by Marin Ireland
October 12, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesMarin Ireland narrates Rumaan Alam’s stunning audiobook that explores race, class, family, and global catastrophe. AudioFile’s Michele Cobb tells host Jo Reed about the National Book Award finalist performed by one of her favorite narrators. A married couple and their children head out of New York City to a quiet area of Long Island for a family vacation. However, the owners of their rental arrive unexpectedly after fleeing a blackout, and the two families—one white and middle class, the othe...
THE HIDDEN LIFE OF ICE by Marco Tedesco, Alberto Flores D'Arcais, Elizabeth Kolbert [Fore.], read by Joel Richards
October 09, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesJoel Richards emulates the quiet reverential voice of climate scientist Marco Tedesco as he navigates the vastness of ice-covered Greenland. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss an audiobook that illuminates the life work of scientists in the north. Richards’s nuanced, almost hushed narration reveals the exquisite silences, freezing temperatures, and harsh winds of one of the planet’s largest remaining arctic expanses. Published by Tantor Media. Find more audiobook recommendati...
EAT A PEACH by David Chang, Gabe Ulla, read by David Chang
October 08, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesChef David Chang takes listeners on a tour of his personal and professional successes and failures. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this audiobook that will be loved by foodies curious to know more about the founder of the popular Momofuku Restaurant Group and one of the most influential chefs in the world. His narration is brash, fast-paced, and in-your-face. Chang’s infectious passion for cooking comes through loud and clear. Published by Random House Audio. Find more au...
DESERT NOTEBOOKS by Ben Ehrenreich, read by David Bendena
October 07, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesNarrator David Bendena succeeds in animating this provocative, nonlinear audiobook with his careful tone, judicious pace, close reading, and forward-moving cadence. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Ben Ehrenreich’s musings, reports, descriptions, and commentary. Bendena narrates with enough urgency to capture the author’s apocalyptic take on the fate of the planet, the political moment, and his own personal journey. DESERT NOTEBOOKS arrives at a most opportune time. Publishe...
RED PILL by Hari Kunzru, read by Hari Kunzru
October 06, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesHari Kunzru narrates his disturbing novel at a deliberate pace in an eerily calm tone that mimics his protagonist’s diminishing mental state. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this dystopian novel that ends just at the moment of the 2016 election. The protagonist has arrived in Germany after receiving a writing fellowship, but instead of working on the book, he’s drawn into an alt-right filmmaker’s show that unnerves him. Kunzru’s softly intoned English accent gives the audio...
OUTPOST by Dan Richards, read by Dan Richards
October 05, 2020 09:00 - 6 minutesDan Richards narrates his audiobook in a clear English accent that often sounds as if he’s telling the story on a late evening in a pub. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff talk about Richards’s self-effacing, witty, and intimate narration as he tells listeners about the value of remote and often romantic places. Much is to be learned and considered in his wandering to northernmost Norway, Iceland, Scotland, to the Mars Project, and to Desolation Peak. Published by Bolinda Audio. Find...
WAYS TO MAKE SUNSHINE by Renée Watson, read by Sisi Aisha Johnson
October 02, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesNarrator Sisi Aisha Johnson embodies all of the joy and light of fourth grader Ryan Hart. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly talk about the start of this new series from Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Renée Watson. Ryan tries hard to be the leader her parents expect her to be, but her competitive streak keeps getting in her way. Despite struggles, Ryan finds a way to shine. Each family member and friend comes to life with a distinct, realistic voice, but it...
BEFORE THE EVER AFTER by Jacqueline Woodson, read by Guy Lockard
October 01, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesGuy Lockard delivers an outstanding performance of Jacqueline Woodson’s brief, eloquent story of 12-year-old ZJ, whose father, a former pro football player, is suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The story is set in the early 2000s when little was known about the dangers of repeated head injuries in football, and listeners will follow the story of one family’s painful, slow realizations of loss. Lockard gives voice to the exhilarating before time with happy football games a...
OVERGROUND RAILROAD by Lesa Cline-Ransome, read by Shayna Small, Dion Graham
September 30, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesThe rumble of train tracks, warm twangs of a banjo, and soft humming set the scene for this children’s audiobook tracing a family’s journey north during the Great Migration. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly talk about this skillfully layered audiobook that mirrors the richness found in the picture book’s moving illustrations. Narrator Shayna Small embodies Ruth Ellen, a young Black girl who is escaping life on a tenant farm for a new life in New York. Dion Graham calls out as the c...
DEAR JUSTYCE by Nic Stone, read by Dion Graham
September 29, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesPowerhouse author and narrator duo Nic Stone and Dion Graham return to create a moving and hopeful audiobook, a companion to Stone’s debut, DEAR MARTIN. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss a beautifully delivered audiobook that is centered around 16-year-old Quan, a Black boy wrongly incarcerated in a juvenile detention center. Stone narrates her author’s note that frames her story and tells of her inspiration — teens she met who didn’t have the opportunities that her first bo...
¡VAMOS! LET'S GO EAT by Raúl the Third, read by Gary Tiedemann
September 28, 2020 09:00 - 7 minutesRide through the market with Little Lobo and his friends as they gather up a delicious feast for hungry luchadors before their wrestling match begins. AudioFile’s Emily Connelly tells host Jo Reed about the fun and sweet audiobook that has been keeping her family happy (and hungry) together at home. Narrator Gary Tiedemann’s narration brims with delight as he zips young listeners from food truck to elote cart, perfectly matching the fun and busy energy of Raúl the Third’s sequel to ¡VAMOS! LE...