Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine
1,567 episodes - English - Latest episode: 17 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
YOUR UTOPIA by Bora Chung, Anton Hur [Trans.], read by Greta Jung
February 09, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesGreta Jung performs this collection of science fiction short stories from National Book Award finalist duo Bora Chung and translator Anton Hur. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss how these whimsical stories also possess great depth. In one story, an elevator falls in love with one of the residents in its building. In another, a robot tries to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where humans have almost gone extinct. Jung narrates the audiobook with a deep understanding of ...
AGAINST TECHNOABLEISM by Ashley Shew, read by Maria Pendolino
February 08, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss a collection of essays that centers around Dr. Ashley Shew’s concept of technoableism, a type of ableist belief that technology can, and should, “cure” disabled people. Maria Pendolino narrates and keeps listeners’ attention during technical descriptions while also capturing the emotional heart of Shew’s essays. Shew uses her experience as a chronically ill, hard-of-hearing cancer survivor and amputee to illustrate how technology helps as...
SEX WITH A BRAIN INJURY by Annie Liontas, read by Natalie Naudus
February 07, 2024 10:00 - 8 minutesNatalie Naudus performs this memoir about the author’s experience with a traumatic brain injury and its intense aftereffects. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss how Naudus’s narration enhances an already engrossing story, creating a brilliantly unique listening experience. Annie Liontas receives three concussions in one year, and afterward Liontas grapples with migraines, memory loss, and sensitivity to light and sound. Their relationship with their wife deteriorates, and ...
DIVINE MIGHT by Natalie Haynes, read by Natalie Haynes
February 06, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesIn her latest book of essays, Haynes gives a new, more feminist, perspective on many of the goddesses of Greek mythology—including major figures like Athene, Hera, Demeter, Hestia, and Aphrodite. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss how Haynes balances the emotional weight of the stories with a warm and welcoming conversational style. She discusses their roles and how society has viewed them throughout history. Haynes asks listeners to examine our more traditional assumption...
COME AND GET IT by Kiley Reid, read by Nicole Lewis
February 05, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesNicole Lewis performs this sophomore novel from Booker longlisted author Kiley Reid. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester talk about how Reid excels at writing dialogue, and Lewis’s performance of those conversations takes them to a whole new level. Millie Cousins is a senior resident assistant at the University of Arkansas with big dreams, and when a visiting professor and journalist offers her money in exchange for eavesdropping on her dorm’s residents, she takes the risk. As the ...
IRIS KELLY DOESN'T DATE by Ashley Herring Blake, read by Kristen DiMercurio
February 02, 2024 10:00 - 6 minutesKristen DiMercurio returns triumphantly as narrator of the third Bright Falls romance. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this excellent conclusion to Ashley Herring Blake’s series. Romance writer Iris Kelly is single, and that’s how she likes it — but she’s struggling to find inspiration for her next book. When she meets Stevie Scott, a cute aspiring thespian with generalized anxiety disorder, they have a disastrous hookup. Life gets more complex when Iris and Stevie end up ...
DON'T WANT YOU LIKE A BEST FRIEND by Emma R. Alban, read by Mary Jane Wells, Morag Sims
February 01, 2024 10:00 - 8 minutesTwo debutantes scheme to get their parents to marry only to stumble into love themselves in this romp of an audiobook. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this fun new historical romance from Emma R. Alban with warm and energetic narrations from Mary Jane Wells and Morag Sims. It’s 1857, and London’s season is about to begin. Wells voices Beth, who is full of unsteady emotion as she enters London society—she must find a suitable match or she and her mother won’t have a home. S...
A ROYAL CONUNDRUM: The Misfits, Book 1 by Lisa Yee, read by Cindy Kay
January 31, 2024 10:00 - 8 minutesCindy Kay narrates Lisa Yee’s thrilling adventure full of crime-fighting misfits, jewel thieves, and cats! AudioFile’s Emily Connelly tells host Jo Reed about this fun and action-packed caper that makes for ideal family listening. Olive Coben Zang is alarmed when her parents tell her she’ll soon be attending a new school—the mysterious RASCH, a castle on an island in the middle of San Francisco Bay. But once she’s there, the timid 12-year-old finds adventures galore. Kay’s dynamic tone and pa...
TO SHAPE A DRAGON'S BREATH by Moniquill Blackgoose, read by Charley Flyte
January 30, 2024 10:00 - 8 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss one of Emily’s favorite fantasy audiobooks of 2023. Charley Flyte narrates with a self-assured tone as Anequs, a teen from Masquapaug island who bonds with a dragon egg discovered near her island. She renews her people’s lost relationship with Nampeshiwe, or indigenous dragons, when she bonds with the hatchling, becoming a Nampeshiweisit (dragoneer). Listeners can hear Anequs’s commitment to her cultural knowledge and traditions as she begin...
PROPHET SONG by Paul Lynch, read by Gerry O'Brien
January 29, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesHarrowing, evocative, and timely, Paul Lynch’s 2023 Booker Prize-winning novel is a deep dive into what happens when democracy devolves into totalitarianism. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Gerry O’Brien’s narration of this tense and unforgettable audiobook. Set in Dublin, the story begins when Eilish Stack finds officers from the secret police at the door looking for her husband. An emergency is happening, and people are rapidly losing their rights as reality shifts under...
BROKEN BAY by Margaret Hickey, read by Henry Nixon
January 26, 2024 10:00 - 8 minutesNarrator Henry Nixon builds the panic that listeners will feel intensely as characters are trapped in underwater caves and grow desperate for their next breaths. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Margaret Hickey’s thriller set on South Australia’s Limestone Coast, known for cave diving. While on vacation, Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti is drawn into a complicated investigation that spans decades. The seamless blend of Hickey’s narrative prowess and Nixon’s exemplary performanc...
OATH AND HONOR by Liz Cheney, read by Liz Cheney
January 25, 2024 10:00 - 6 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Liz Cheney’s memoir about the investigation into the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol. It combines an able narration by Cheney with clips of quoted material from news reports and recorded speeches, giving the audiobook a sense of immediacy that can’t be duplicated in print. Because she was a longtime U.S. representative, Cheney knows how to effectively utilize the spoken word, and it makes for an enlightening listen even for well-infor...
MY VENICE AND OTHER ESSAYS by Donna Leon, read by Suzanne Toren
January 24, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesSuzanne Toren’s exquisite enunciation and no-nonsense manner meld beautifully with Donna Leon’s sardonic, witty reflections on Venice and its denizens. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine’s Robin Whitten discuss how American-born Leon has made her home in the watery city for more than 40 years, and the long-running mystery series she’s penned set in Venice. These essays, first published in 2013, explore Venice’s oddity and inscrutability in depth, as well as touching on Leon’s New Jersey chil...
DIVA by Daisy Goodwin, read by Lorelei King
January 23, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesListeners will have a grand time with Daisy Goodwin’s historical novel about famed opera singer Maria Callas, performed with a versatile narration by Lorelei King. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Goodwin’s imagining of Callas’s glamorous and haunting life. King gives Callas a slightly detached, poised tone as she rehearses and performs, and socializes with the rich and famous of the 1950s and ’60s—including Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, and, of course, her longtime lover, ...
INVITATION TO A BANQUET by Fuchsia Dunlop, read by Fuchsia Dunlop
January 22, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesGrab your chopsticks and get ready for a delectable performance by Fuchsia Dunlop. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Dunlop’s tales of epicurean adventures around China, and the history of Chinese food. Dunlop’s narration imparts wisdom and reverence for Chinese culture and China’s diverse cuisine. Her Mandarin accent and satiny voice add to the lyrical descriptions and intricate history of mouthwatering dishes like steamed reeves shad and places like Dragon Well Village. Re...
NORTH WOODS by Daniel Mason, read by Mark Bramhall, Michael Crouch, Jason Culp, Mark Deakins, Jayne Entwistle, Billie Fulford-Brown, Arthur Morey, George Newbern, Kirsten Potter, Simon Vance
January 19, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss an audiobook where the brilliance of the novel is enhanced by the excellence of the performers. Daniel Mason’s novel is expansive, employing a wide array of audiobook narrators. A secluded spot in Massachusetts becomes home to many over a four-hundred-year span. With each tale of shifting inhabitants, the listener is treated to a performance by one of several gifted narrators. The storytelling itself is original, and each narrator is perfectl...
TREMOR by Teju Cole, read by Atta Otigba, Yetide Badaki
January 18, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesAtta Otigba and Yetide Badaki give outstanding performances in Teju Cole’s imagistic, nonlinear novel. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this distinctly postmodern work that captures the complexity of love and marriage. Badaki has precise diction and a lovely artistic tone, while Otigba delivers his parts in a powerful and authoritative voice. Both serve as grand guides to a world of art, history, and criticism. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. P...
THE UPSTAIRS DELICATESSEN by Dwight Garner, read by Christopher P. Brown
January 17, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesChristopher Brown uses the voice of a confidant for this cornucopia of pleasures—literary and gustatory. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Dwight Garner’s text crammed with words, quotes, and anecdotes about food and literature. Brown takes on a conversational style for this audiobook rich with literary figures and family members whose food opinions the author shares. Listening to this audiobook is mouthwatering and mind-expanding. Read the full review of the audiobook on Aud...
ORANGES by John McPhee, read by Grover Gardner
January 16, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesAudioFile Golden Voice narrator Grover Gardner comfortably inhabits McPhee’s curious mind and captures the eloquence of his prose in this splendid rendition of ORANGES. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this short classic that brings together the supreme storyteller and the exceptional story performer. McPhee’s exploration of oranges ranges widely and digs deeply. From grove to glass, McPhee has done the work, and this pleasurable listen is delivered by a master. Read the fu...
THE BEST AMERICAN FOOD WRITING 2023 by Mark Bittman, Silvia Killingsworth [Eds.], read by Elyse Dinh, Will Tulin, Carolina Hoyos, Dylan Moore, Nikki Massoud, Chanté McCormick, Justin Chien, Anthony Rey Perez, Johnny Rey Diaz, Terrence Kidd
January 15, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss a delicious and thoughtful collection of essays narrated by an ensemble cast. Nikki Massoud gives an inspired performance of “Border Lines,” Anya von Bremzen’s nuanced debunking of national dishes. Johnny Rey Diaz uses clear Italian enunciation for John Last’s clever “There is No Such Thing as Italian Food.” Editor Bittman has found remarkable selections from EATER, GRUB STREET, HIGH COUNTRY NEWS, and even the JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. Read ...
ENDEMIC by Monica Gandhi, read by Gabra Zackman
January 12, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss Gabra Zackman’s warm and authoritative narration of Dr. Monica Gandhi’s guide to the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies for managing future pandemics. The audiobook is full of practical research findings and emphasizes the importance of providing harm reduction tools for any virus to make the world more equitable. Zackman’s performance is quietly persuasive, and the clarity of the writing is helped by her pure timbre, natural-sounding diction, a...
SEEK by Scott Shigeoka, read by Scott Shigeoka
January 11, 2024 10:00 - 6 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss a useful and often moving audiobook about promoting curiosity in people, written and read by Scott Shigeoka. His performance is a wonderful vehicle for his altruistic message and charming personal stories. Describing the uses and misuses of inquiry, he shows how we can question the world more intentionally while also being sensitive to others. His examples from the corporate world are especially useful as he details the attitudes and verbal to...
LESSONS FOR LIVING by Phil Stutz, read by JC Mackenzie
January 10, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss a book of essays on improving your life and learning from adversity narrated by JC Mackenzie. L.A. psychotherapist Phil Stutz began his work in prisons, which provided him with fodder for creating an “adversity is good” approach to personal growth and change. JC Mackenzie’s tone connects with the author’s intelligent perspectives on humanity and compassion for the challenges of modern culture. Stutz says living well is less about results and ...
ALL IT TAKES IS A GOAL by Jon Acuff, read by Jon Acuff
January 09, 2024 10:00 - 6 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss an audiobook all about setting goals. Productivity expert Jon Acuff narrates his audiobook with an infectious spontaneity and energy. His hero’s journey is full of optimism and will sound familiar to listeners. His core ideas about goal setting may not be revolutionary, but he adds creative strategies and colorful rationales that will speak to anyone who wants to create a better life. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s websi...
DIALED IN by Dana Sinclair, read by Eunice Wong, Dana Sinclair [Intro.]
January 08, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesAudioFile’s Michele Cobb and host Jo Reed discuss a week of new and favorite personal development and business books, beginning with DIALED IN. After coach Dana Sinclair delivers her introduction with inviting sincerity, Eunice Wong performs the bulk of this captivating audiobook with the perfect blend of authority and spirit. The majority of the power of the audiobook can be found in the success stories that build the credibility of the author’s message: Guidance and support, as well as a st...
ALL THE LITTLE BIRD-HEARTS by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow, read by Rose Akroyd
January 05, 2024 10:00 - 8 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss this Booker Prize-longlisted novel. Rose Akroyd performs as Sunday Forrester, an autistic woman navigating a neurotypical world as a single parent. Sunday lives a quiet life in rural England with her daughter. When a middle-aged couple moves into the neighborhood, Sunday and her teenage daughter become smitten with these sophisticated city people who seem to live much more glamorous and full lives. Akroyd captures Sunday’s straightforward...
THE REFORMATORY by Tananarive Due, read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt
January 04, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesJoniece Abbott-Pratt masterfully re-creates a 1950s Florida reformatory in this story based on a relative of author Tananarive Due and other actual people and events. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss this painful but essential story. Listeners meet 12-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr. after he’s arrested for defending his sister Gloria from a white boy. While in the segregated reform school, Robbie experiences and witnesses unfathomable punishment. Abbott-Pratt expertly port...
THE BEE STING by Paul Murray, read by Heather O'Sullivan, Barry Fitzgerald, Beau Holland, Ciaran O'Brien, Lisa Caruccio Came
January 03, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss Paul Murray’s Booker-shortlisted novel of an Irish family falling apart at its seams, performed by a talented ensemble. Ciaran O'Brien performs the perspective of Dickie, a car salesman whose business is going under after the financial crash. Beau Holland narrates the perspective of Dickie’s shopaholic wife with a scheme to save her husband’s business. The couple’s children, performed by Heather O’Sullivan and Barry Fitzgerald, each have ...
HOW TO SAY BABYLON by Safiya Sinclair, read by Safiya Sinclair
January 02, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesAuthor/narrator Safiya Sinclair emphasizes the poetry of her words as she narrates her memoir. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss this powerful memoir. Sinclair begins by defining “Babylon,” the term that Rastafarians coined to refer to the corrupting influences of Western culture—white oppression, in particular. Her father, a musician, became a strict Rastafarian, and when Sinclair reaches puberty, her rageful father turns on her and rains down abuse. The memoir’s through...
DAY by Michael Cunningham, read by Julianne Moore
January 01, 2024 10:00 - 7 minutesJulianne Moore performs this pandemic novel told in three sections. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester start the new year with this moving family story. Each section is set on April 5th of a different year. In 2019, we meet Isabel; her husband, Dan; and her brother, Robbie—who are all living together in New York City. Each section reveals more about the family members, weaving together the threads of their lives. Moore’s narration is engrossing and moves easily among the different...
KING: A LIFE: AudioFile Favorites
December 29, 2023 10:00 - 7 minutesToday’s episode revisits a favorite biography from this year’s 2023 Best Audiobooks. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this Golden Voice narrator’s captivating performance. Dion Graham captures the Civil Rights leader’s deep, resonant tone; deliberate ministerial intonation; and during offstage moments, his world-weariness. Author Jonathan Eig renders King as a great but flawed man. A monumental biography performed exquisitely. Be sure to listen to our interview with Dion Gra...
A RAKE OF HIS OWN: AudioFile Favorites
December 28, 2023 10:00 - 7 minutesWe’re revisiting favorite listens from our 2023 Best Audiobooks. Today’s episode features a discussion about a fantastical romance from A.J. Lancaster, read with skill by Golden Voice narrator Nicholas Boulton. It’s part fantasy, part murder, part romance, and a total delight. When botanical scholar Marius encounters a murdered colleague in his greenhouse, the enthralling fae, Prince Rakken, is there to investigate. Amid more dead colleagues and adventures in various realms, Marius and Rakke...
SUNSHINE: AudioFile Favorites
December 27, 2023 10:00 - 6 minutesThis year, AudioFile introduced the new Audio Originals category in our 2023 Best Audiobooks list, including Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s moving memoir, SUNSHINE, which recounts his experiences as a counselor at a camp for terminally ill children. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this powerful adaptation of the graphic memoir, with the coordination of more than 50 narrators, carefully selected music, and sound effects that enhance the action. Be sure to listen to our conversation ...
NIC BLAKE AND THE REMARKABLES: AudioFile Favorites
December 26, 2023 10:00 - 7 minutesToday we’re sharing a favorite audiobook for younger readers—and another of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Audiobooks. Magic flows as Joniece Abbott-Pratt brings to life Angie Thomas’s thrilling first middle-grade fantasy novel. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Thomas’s new series, which is perfect for family road trips and young fantasy fans. Nic Blake has just turned twelve, but her dad refuses to start teaching her to use her magical abilities. When Nic discovers shocking secrets...
TOM LAKE: AudioFile Favorites
December 25, 2023 10:00 - 6 minutesWe’re revisiting our favorite audiobooks from 2023. Today’s episode is our discussion of Meryl Streep’s captivating performance of Ann Patchett’s newest novel, TOM LAKE. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss this Earphones Award-winning audiobook, one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Audiobooks, about the Nelson family isolating together at the start of the Covid pandemic. It’s a beautiful warm hug of an audiobook about a mother and the relationship she has with her children. Streep ...
THREE HOLIDAYS AND A WEDDING by Uzma Jalaluddin, Marissa Stapley, read by Ulka Simone Mohanty
December 22, 2023 10:00 - 8 minutesUlka Simone Mohanty narrates a joyous celebration of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Ramadan as two new friends are stranded in scenic Snow Falls, Canada, during a blizzard. Mohanty displays a fun sense of humor as multiple disasters threaten the travelers. While Maryam Aziz helps her family manage her sister’s wedding postponements and reflects on her own desires, and bustling Anna examines her life choices, Mohanty highlights their emotional journeys with a comforting intimacy. They discover a wel...
WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED by Angeline Boulley, read by Isabella Star LaBlanc
December 21, 2023 10:00 - 8 minutesIsabella Star LaBlanc narrates Angeline Boulley’s newest story set in Sugar Island, Michigan. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the thrilling follow-up to Boulley’s FIREKEEPER’S DAUGHTER. Sixteen-year-old Perry Firekeeper-Birch is resentful when she’s forced into a summer internship after wrecking her aunt’s car. LaBlanc captures Perry’s growth into a fierce protector of her community and their history. Perry gets caught up in a murder investigation, plans a heist, and disco...
NEVER WHISTLE AT NIGHT by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. [Eds.], read by Erin Tripp, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Joelle Peters, Kaniehtiio Horn, Lisa Cromarty, Maika Harper, Shane Ghostkeeper, Sheldon Elter, Tara Sky
December 20, 2023 10:00 - 7 minutesSettle in for a riveting collection of stories from 26 Indigenous authors, performed by 9 Indigenous narrators. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss these horror stories packed with fearsome creatures, dangerous spirits, and horrifying humans. Listeners will be shocked, scared, and delighted by stories from well-known and newer authors alike, all narrated with skill. Sheldon Elter’s matter-of-fact portrayal of a frustrated son transforms into very believable terror in Cherie Di...
A POWER UNBOUND by Freya Marske, read by Josh Dylan
December 19, 2023 10:00 - 7 minutesJosh Dylan gives a stand-out performance in this stunning conclusion to Freya Marske’s Last Binding trilogy. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the fantasy romance series that weaves together magic, power, and a whole lot of romantic tension into an explosive listen. Jack Alston lost his magic and his twin sister in a dramatic betrayal years ago. Now, as Lord Hawthorn, he’s drawn back into the world of magic by a group of unlikely allies battling a conspiracy of power-hungry ...
SYSTEM COLLAPSE by Martha Wells, read by Kevin R. Free
December 18, 2023 10:00 - 7 minutesHost Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss a new audiobook in the beloved Murderbot series by Martha Wells. Kevin R. Free is the perfect voice for the rogue security unit who would rather just be watching serials, but is protecting its humans — and having a mental breakdown. In a story that takes place immediately after NETWORK EFFECT, Murderbot, ART, and their humans continue to assist colonists on a planet marked for corporate salvage. Free’s depiction of Murderbot’s unresolved men...
THE CHRISTMAS GUEST by Peter Swanson, read by Esther Wane
December 15, 2023 10:00 - 8 minutesNarrator Esther Wane narrates a thrilling holiday mystery from Peter Swanson. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss the manor house mystery and its ghostly tale. One lonely Christmas night, Emma reads the diary of a fellow student she invited to her family’s English manor house for the holidays thirty years earlier. Wane uses a vague American accent for Ashley’s tale in the diary, full of wide-eyed pleasure at the “Gothic thriller” she feels transported into. With thrills, romanc...
JUNIPER'S CHRISTMAS by Eoin Colfer, read by Olivia Forrest, Eoin Colfer
December 14, 2023 10:00 - 7 minutesOlivia Forrest narrates this magical story of Santa Claus. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss a charming holiday audiobook for children from Eoin Colfer. Santa is grieving the loss of his wife and is fed up with the commercialization of Christmas. Juniper Lane, who is grieving for her dad, seeks to persuade Santa to resume delivering Christmas gifts. Then an evil gang steals and burns gifts intended for the poor. Forrest gives a spirited portrayal of Juniper and enchants as sh...
AudioFile’s Guide to Gifting Audiobooks
December 13, 2023 10:00 - 10 minutesAudioFile’s Robin Whitten talks with host Jo Reed about her tips for gifting audiobooks this holiday season. Listen to hear her thoughts on fun ways to get younger kids listening and more. For ideas on which audiobooks to give, we recommend perusing our list of 2023 Best Audiobooks — there’s something for every listener! Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from HarperAudio. Get up-close to artists you admire with Willie N...
Vikas Adam Interview: Best Young Adult Audiobooks 2023
December 12, 2023 10:00 - 10 minutesNarrator Vikas Adam joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss Abdi Nazemian’s ONLY THIS BEAUTIFUL MOMENT, which he co-narrated along with Fajer Al-Kaisi and Iman Nazemzadeh. It’s one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Young Adult Audiobooks, and each narrator gives a transcendent performance. It explores three generations of an Iranian family and is full of joy and anguish alike. Adam tells listeners about the preparation that went into recording this moving audiobook, working with his co-narrators, an...
Guy Lockard Interview: Best Children & Family Listening 2023
December 11, 2023 10:00 - 14 minutesNarrator Guy Lockard joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss STUNTBOY, IN-BETWEEN TIME, Jason Reynolds’s second audiobook about the adventures of an unforgettable young superhero. It’s one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Children & Family Listening titles and is packed full of sound effects, music, a full cast—and Lockard’s lively narration. Listen to hear Lockard’s thoughts on what makes STUNTBOY so special and his longtime friendship and collaboration with author Reynolds. Read AudioFile’s revi...
Thérèse Plummer Interview: Best Romance Audiobooks 2023
December 08, 2023 10:00 - 11 minutesNarrator Thérèse Plummer joins AudioFile’s Robin Whitten to discuss her narration of LOVE, THEORETICALLY by Ali Hazelwood. It’s one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Romance Audiobooks, and a fun and flirty story set in MIT’s theoretical physics lab. Dr. Elsie Hannaway is miserable in her role as adjunct professor, dreaming of tenure. She poses as a fake girlfriend to make ends meet and meets an infamous experimentalist, Jack Smith. Plummer fully embodies Elsie, making listeners feel every bit of this...
Daniel Henning Interview: Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Audiobooks 2023
December 07, 2023 10:00 - 10 minutesNarrator Daniel Henning joins AudioFile’s Robin Whitten to discuss his narration of T.J. Klune’s IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS, one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Audiobooks. In the audiobook, Henning demonstrates perfect comedic timing and impressive vocal versatility in a sci-fi retelling of “Pinocchio.” It’s a laugh-out-loud and emotional audiobook that asks listeners to question what it means to be human. In this interview, Henning tells listeners about preparing to voice the...
Adenrele Ojo Interview: Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks 2023
December 06, 2023 10:00 - 11 minutesNarrator Adenrele Ojo joins AudioFile’s Robin Whitten to discuss narrating Stacey Abrams’s ROGUE JUSTICE. It’s one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks and an intense listening experience. Ojo returns to portray the smart, feisty Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene. Abrams has written a complex plot that sweeps Avery into a dangerous situation, this time involving a threat to the power grid. Ojo discusses the fun and challenges of narrating mystery series, and what she loves bes...
Grover Gardner Interview: Best Nonfiction & History Audiobooks 2023
December 05, 2023 10:00 - 12 minutesNarrator Gover Gardner joins AudioFile’s Robin Whitten to discuss his narration of John McPhee’s TABULA RASA, one of the 2023 Best Nonfiction & History Audiobooks. It’s an audio collection of essays and sketches that brings two storytellers together for a memorable listen. Gardner discusses the challenges of recording an audiobook that ranges over so many topics, and how McPhee’s storytelling style is so well suited to audio. Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook. Published by Recorded Boo...
Dion Graham Interview: Best Biography & Memoir Audiobooks 2023
December 04, 2023 10:00 - 10 minutesNarrator Dion Graham joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss his narration of KING: A LIFE, written by Jonathan Eig, and one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Biography & Memoir Audiobooks. Listen to hear Graham discussing the research and preparations that went into this narration, and the challenges he faced bringing it to life. It’s a riveting audiobook, and Graham emulates the majestic cadence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches. It’s a monumental biography performed exquisitely by a Golde...