Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Nicola Barber’s expressive narration captures the inner life and scientific mindset of Rosalind Franklin, the great English biophysicist. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss how Barber is a wonderfully expressive reader of Marie Benedict’s historical novel. The plot follows the real-life Franklin on her epoch-making research into the structures of DNA, RNA, and viruses. Barber’s first-person narration provides an insider’s feeling of the challenges experienced by a female scientist in the world of 1950s genetic research. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Audible, Inc. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dion Graham gives a virtuoso performance of fictional bluesman Manfred (Man) Banks. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Graham’s interpretation of this 25th anniversary edition of Clarence Major’s novel. Graham sings, riffs, wails, and weeps as he takes listeners into the soul of the protagonist, a bluesman with the can’t-win-for-losing blues. Man travels from Chicago to Omaha, and trouble follows. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Penguin Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pete Cross reads Brian Kateman’s polemical audiobook thoughtfully and with good pace and a sure sense of its complexity and meaning. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss how Cross delivers the arguments and manages to balance the audiobook’s informal tone and informational content. Kateman shares his own story and takes on the issues surrounding the raising of cattle, the production of meat, and the environmental cost of eating meat. Worthy listening for anyone interested in the future of food. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Dreamscape. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erin Bennett narrates the late Lori Zabar’s insider history of a New York institution with the right blend of appreciation and conviction. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss this fascinating history of the famed Jewish deli Zabar’s—and its recipes. Lori Zabar, who was the granddaughter of immigrant founders Lou and Lilly, shares the past, warts and all. This engaging audiobook leaves the listener hungry for a toasted bagel with Nova and a schmear. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Random House Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the talents of narrator Angela Dawe, the author’s extensive research and strong writing propel listeners through an account of the 1924 murder committed by teenagers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this YA true crime audiobook that explores the lives, relationships, and motives of the two teenagers and their hopes to pull off the “perfect crime.” The story is disturbing, and Dawe’s narration is gripping. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Listening Library. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chloé Cooper Jones’s memoir is made even more personal with her narration of the audiobook. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this exploration of the author’s physical disability and her fight to thrive in spite of the constant judgment, pity, and prejudice of others. Jones offers a profoundly honest examination of society’s standards of beauty and desirability and insightfully explores disability, parenthood, relationships, and more. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Schur and the cast of “The Good Place” collaborate once more, this time to ponder today’s toughest moral questions. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the fun of listening to the audiobook, hearing the author’s own words along with the many actors who join for the performance. Schur delivers hilarious sarcasm as he tackles ethics and explains balancing morality and achieving virtue. A fun companion for fans of the show—and for listeners intrigued by the ideas of morality and philosophy. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Viola Davis’s audiobook captures the voice of a woman with a fascinating, heartbreaking lived experience. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the power of hearing Davis perform for listeners, telling her story honestly and emotionally. Davis describes her childhood growing up in a family struggling with poverty, her hard work and talent that brought her to Juilliard and beyond, and finding success in the arts. Her voice is vulnerable and strong, and the result is electric. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Australian stand-up comedian Hannah Gadsby narrates her memoir wonderfully. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this excellent memoir from the woman who shot to fame with her Netflix special “Nanette.” Her work combines humor with personal accounts of the brutal realities of her life as a queer autistic woman, and how her experiences informed her career and the memorable “Nanette.” She delivers the audiobook the same way she performs on stage, demonstrating a mastery of expression and pacing that allows her words and stories to have the maximum impact. A don't-miss audiobook of the year. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Random House Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sura Siu captivates as she narrates Christina Soontornvat’s breathtaking seafaring adventure. AudioFile’s Emily Connelly tells host Jo Reed about listening to this exciting audiobook with her children—multiple times! Sai is a bright-voiced and bold 12-year-old girl hoping to set a new course for her life and leave her past behind. She’s thrilled when her assistantship to mapmaker Paiyoon yields a chance to join an expedition charting the Southern seas. Soontornvat’s Thai-inspired fantasy world is one listeners will adore exploring, and Siu brings it to life beautifully. She amps up the pace as Sai faces storms, betrayal, and maybe even dragons on the high seas. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by OrangeSky Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrators Amanda Ronconi and Zachary Webber are utterly convincing as two seatmates who hit it off on a crowded and eventful bus ride. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the fun of listening to this audiobook-first romance packed with a full cast of narrators, believable sound effects, and audible chemistry between the two leads. Ronconi conveys Gwen’s lively snark and enthusiasm beautifully as Gwen draws the quieter Sam out of his shell. Webber makes Sam’s caring and lovable nature—and every goofy laugh—seem completely real. An addicting treat for listeners. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Audible, Inc. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five talented narrators continue an epic fantasy story of political upheaval, magic, and destiny in the Meridian. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the audiobook that takes listeners into the tense weeks after the explosive ending of BLACK SUN. Serapio, narrated with intensity and vulnerability by Shaun Taylor-Corbett, is struggling to maintain his humanity after becoming a living avatar of a god. Each character wants something from the Crow God, and the narrators propel the story forward in turn, expertly conveying the tangled fears and ambitions of the many players. Listeners will be left anticipating part three of this tense series inspired by pre-Columbian societies. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Whelan’s dynamic performance will have listeners savoring every word of Emily Henry’s newest romance audiobook. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the latest audiobook from the duo who brought BEACH READ and PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION to listeners. Nora is unlucky in romantic love but adores her work as a book agent, her life in New York City, and her younger sister, Libby. During a month-long vacation in rural North Carolina, Nora runs into a rival colleague, the enigmatic Charlie. Whelan conveys all of the rapid-fire insults and the flirty banter perfectly. Listeners will discover a compelling romance as well as a beautiful story of sisterhood, grief, and finding home. Learn more about the audiobook from Julia Whelan in our recent narrator webinar. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Penguin Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The four narrators who deliver Emily St. John Mandel’s newest novel create a mesmerizing listening experience full of time shifts. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the audiobook full of interlocking storylines that call back to the author’s STATION ELEVEN and THE GLASS HOTEL. John Lee effortlessly transports listeners to 1918 British Columbia, while Dylan Moore brings a perfect mix of malaise and inertia to her characterization of a woman living in 2020 New York. Kirsten Potter shines as she takes listeners on an ill-fated book tour at the start of a 2200s pandemic, with insights that cut close to home. And Arthur Morey’s beautiful, haunting narration of a man from a moon colony ties the story together. Curious listeners can learn more about the audiobook from Arthur Morey in AudioFile’s recent narrator webinar. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Random House Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AudioFile’s Robin Whitten and host Jo Reed discuss a new initiative to help I’m Your Neighbor Books grow their signature project, The Welcoming Library. The Welcoming Library is a touring collection of 30 picture books that connects readers with stories of immigrant families. Robin and Jo discuss the need for incorporating authentically-voiced audiobooks into the collection, and how Playaway’s Wonderbook editions allow for seamless reading and listening experiences. AudioFile is proud to support this important community project, and we invite you to support it, too. Learn more about AudioFile’s collaboration with I’m Your Neighbor Books. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. In Moscow an unknown author approaches a publisher, asking him to read and publish his manuscript. The narrator agrees to read it before the author returns three months later. At the heart of the story in the manuscript is a love triangle and themes of corruption, concealed love and fatal jealousy. When one of the central characters is discovered dead, the narrative becomes a murder-mystery as the search for the culprit begins. Written by Chekhov in his early twenties, The Shooting Party is his only full-length novel. It is read by the prolific and popular narrator Nicholas Boulton. To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Khristine Hvam brings energy to her narration of Amber and Andy Ankowski’s audiobook of tips and tricks for parents hoping to raise children with an appetite for reading. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss the playful and practical advice that will resonate with young parents—and possibly grandparents. Hvam’s bright and encouraging performance makes the activities she describes sound accessible and entertaining. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Tantor Media. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Peter Wickham reads Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Best known for its star-studded 1951 film version, Quo Vadis was first published in 1896 and contributed to the author’s Nobel Prize for Literature of 1905. Set in the latter years of the reign of Roman Emperor Nero, the plot concerns the love between a young Christian woman, Lygia, and a Roman patrician, Marcus Vinicius. Sienkiewicz was said to have been inspired to write the novel when visiting the Chiesa del Domine Quo Vadis, and the novel is strongly imbued with a pro-Christian sentiment, along with many detailed descriptions of the opulence and debauchery of Nero’s Rome. It is informative, exciting and ultimately uplifting! To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tune in as host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten celebrate 1,000 episodes of Behind the Mic! Listen to hear why we decided to create a podcast to recommend the best audiobooks to listeners. Jo and Robin also share thoughts and highlights from favorite author and narrator interviews from over the years. Find thousands of audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Listen to Leon Nixon’s AudioFile Earphones Award-winning performance of My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass. In My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) Douglass lays bare his story, illuminating the plight of slaves, the overwhelming prejudices of the time, and the dignity and determination that led to his emancipation. To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Robinson, daughter of the late Sir Ken Robinson, narrates this concise version of their strategy to revolutionize education. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Robinson’s vision to unlock creative energy and human potential. Kate speaks precisely in a standard English accent, but despite the academic nature of the topic, her admiration for her father and her confidence in their educational philosophy ring through. Father and daughter enthusiastically urge academia to cultivate individuality and adopt new educational paradigms designed to empower students to create a sustainable future. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Penguin Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Margery Allingham, already a successful crime writer, was living quietly in the Essex village of Tolleshunt D’Arcy (‘Auburn’) when the Second World War broke out. Her house became an Air Raid Wardens’ post and a First Aid centre, and Allingham herself became responsible for 275 East London evacuees in a rural community of just over 600. Commissioned by American publishing friends to recount what life was like, she began The Oaken Heart in the autumn of 1940, when the Battle of Britain gave way to the London Blitz. An evocative first-hand account of day-to-day realities in a small community upended, The Oaken Heart is read by Georgina Sutton. To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a warm voice filled with wonder, poet Kevin Young reads his ode to finding peace and belonging in nature. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss the special gift of sharing an audiobook with children. Kevin Young is a celebrated poet, the New Yorker’s poetry editor, and now director of the National Museum of African American Culture in Washington, DC. In this story, Emile is a young boy who falls in love with a field and chronicles its changing seasons as he spends time there. Young listeners should follow along with the picture book to appreciate the illustrations, and to be inspired to seek out their own magical corners of the natural world. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Listening Library. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Narrated by Adam Sims, Looking Backward is a dynamic rejection of industrial capitalism, and presents a depiction of a socialist utopia. The novel’s protagonist, aristocrat Julian West, falls into a deep hypnotic sleep in 1887 and wakes up in the year 2000 to find a very different Boston from the one he knows. In Dr Leete he finds a guide who explains the humane and efficient society in which he now finds himself – its transformation made possible by political and technological advances. To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A gifted mimic and clever narrator, Rupert Degas brings Orwell’s classic satire vividly to life. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss Degas’s marvelous narration. What stays with the listener is his ability to endow Orwell’s animal characters with their own distinct sounds and accents — their individuality elevates the narration. This witty and engaging send-up of authoritarianism’s perils comes at an opportune time. These days Orwell’s anti-Stalinist fable rings true, and the audiobook satisfies on every level. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Dreamscape. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. The Book of Margery Kempe is the extraordinary account of a medieval wife, mother and mystic from Norfolk. Known as the earliest autobiography in the English language, it contains intimate portraits of people and places, and a remarkable eye for detail, as it traces the transformation of a self-described ‘sinful wretch’ to a holy pilgrim. It is read by Lucy Scott. To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A quartet of narrators excels in delivering Gish Jen’s linked stories, which chronicle the years since Nixon’s 1972 visit to China. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss how each narrator inhabits their characters well, bringing the interwoven stories to life for listeners. Their deliveries of these immersive and clever works match just the right voices, cadences, and tones to their stories. It makes for a rewarding listening experience. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Random House Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Today in Literary History – April 21, 1816 – Charlotte Brontë is born. The eldest of the three Brontë sisters, her novels include The Professor, Shirley, Villette and Jane Eyre. One of the greatest love stories ever written, Jane Eyre is the tale of a young woman entangled with the powerful Mr Rochester. What lurks in the attic at Thornfield, the ancestral home of the surly Mr Rochester? Will the governess Jane Eyre discover his secret – and having discovered it, live to regret that knowledge? Find out in Amanda Root’s captivating recording. To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cynthia Farrell’s crisp voice suits Megan Kate Nelson’s fascinating history of Yellowstone, the world’s first national park. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Farrell’s intelligent narration of this history of the Reconstruction era. It is told through three central figures: the financier Jay Cooke, the geologist Ferdinand Hayes, and the courageous Sitting Bull, who led his Lakota people in resisting the incursions on their lands. Farrell narrates with intelligence, a careful cadence, and an actor’s dramatic style. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Sir Francis Bacon, sometimes known as the father of empiricism, was one of the major political figures of his day. Bacon wrote widely, but it is the Essays for which he is best known. Deftly written and often displaying a cutting wit, they cover a wide range of subjects including death, love, marriage, ambition and atheism. The Essays are read by the celebrated narrator David Timson. To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former ambassador and long-term Foreign Service officer Marie Yovanovitch narrates with a clear purpose and a sure sense of pacing and timing. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss Yovanovitch’s narration of her memoir on her 33 year career in the foreign service. He explains that it acts as a kind of primer for recent history, with a focus on Russia and Ukraine. Both authoritative and prescient, she supplies the backstory on how the invasion came to be. It’s a compelling listen. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. The Poetic Edda is the most important collection of Norse-Icelandic mythological and heroic poetry, covering the creation of the world and the coming of Ragnarok, The Doom of the Gods. The mythological poems are an exploration of the wisdom of gods and giants, and tell of the adventures of the god Thor, against hostile giants, and rivalries amongst the gods. Many of the poems pre-date the conversion of Scandinavia to Christianity and give us a glimpse of the pagan beliefs of the North. Gunnar Cauthery (himself of Icelandic heritage) reads Carolyne Larrington’s revised translation. To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The performance of Jennifer Egan’s new novel is exceptional. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss this unusual and absorbing audiobook full of interwoven stories. Michael Boatman narrates the opening chapter, capturing the interior life of the enigmatic Bix Boughton who invents a world-altering technology central to the plot. The time-traveling chapters reprise some of the characters from Egan’s award-winning A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD, but this novel has a wider timeframe, a greater trajectory, and a more complex plot. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Leighton Pugh narrates The Republic by Plato. In it Socrates is asked the question ‘What is justice?’ In order to answer this, he draws a long and detailed analogy between the individual and the city. AudioFile said: ‘[The Republic] can be complex, but [Leighton] Pugh’s fine voice, natural pacing and thoughtful expressiveness help keep the meaning clear, and the 19th-century translation is both graceful and lucid. Pugh’s reading demonstrates that philosophy not only can be comprehensible in audio but also enjoyable.' To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrators Kimberly Farr and Cassandra Campbell perform most of Kim Fay’s epistolary novel, and they couldn’t be better. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Sandi Henschel discuss this story filled with friendship, love, and deep emotions. Imogen’s column in Seattle’s NORTHWEST HOME & LIFE inspires Joan in L.A. to send a fan letter and a packet of saffron from her travels. Their correspondence grows into a close friendship. Farr gives Imogen a genial voice, and we hear a cheerful smile behind her words. Campbell captures Joan’s youth and enthusiasm. This audiobook is comfort food for difficult times. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Penguin Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. April 16th marks 60 years since the publication of The Golden Notebook, the breakthrough novel of Doris Lessing, the 2007 Nobel Laureate for Literature. Read by Juliet Stevenson, it is a brilliantly realised narrative of fragmentation – social, political, personal and sexual –, and is considered to be one of the most important books of the growing feminist movement of the 1950s. Learn more at NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lee Kravetz’s fictional account of Sylvia Plath and her circle of confessional poets is wonderfully performed. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Sandi Henschel discuss a story of three notebooks containing handwritten notes of Plath’s THE BELL JAR. Points of view shift between Estee, curator of a contemporary auction house; Boston Rhodes, Slyvia’s literary rival; and Ruth Barnhouse, Plath’s psychiatrist. Reed’s cultured tones provide Estee with intelligence and dignity, while Linden’s voice drips poisonously as Rhodes reveals her venomous side. Vacker’s Dr. Barnhouse is forward-thinking, determined, and sympathetic. Well-written and well-read, this is choice listening. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. The Blazing World is part fiction and part feminist text in which a lady is shipwrecked and seeks to ensure that the Blazing World in which she finds herself is transformed into a Utopia – free of war, sexual discrimination and religious discord. Lucy Scott narrates this fascinating and extravagant combination of what the author herself calls ‘romancical’, ‘philosophical’ and ‘fantastical’. Learn more at NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrator Patricia R. Floyd’s honeyed voice offers exactly the right warmth for this family saga about siblings with secrets and the powerful woman who raised them. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Sandi Henschel discuss ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s novel of a family’s estrangement. Something more sinister than the usual family resentments are at play, and Mama Pearly’s sudden illness forces Maxine to contact her sisters to call them home. As deeply hidden secrets make their way to the surface, Floyd’s mellifluous voice and honest performance will captivate listeners. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Recorded Books. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Read by Robert G. Slade, Two Years Before the Mast is Richard Henry Dana Jr’s captivating account of life as a common sailor on board a merchant ship in the early 1830s. An iconic maritime memoir said to have influenced Herman Melville, it gives a fascinating snapshot of pre-Gold Rush California and remains one of America’s greatest and most vivid seafaring tales. Learn more at NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A superb cast of narrators animates Peng Shepherd’s exciting tale of friendships and betrayals, a cartographer’s cabal, maps, murder, and towns that may not be there. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Sandi Henschel discuss this thrilling literary and cartographic mystery. Emily Woo Zeller narrates as the main character, Nell, a cartographer who discovers what appears to be a worthless map among her late father’s effects. However, the map hides secrets as well as a “phantom settlement” known only to The Cartographers. The additional cast members provide perceptive interpretations of other fascinating, believable characters. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Nicholas Boulton narrates Hide and Seek, Wilkie Collins’s third published novel. Combining charm and excitement, and containing many elements of Collins’s later sensationalist fiction, Hide and Seek follows a mysterious deaf and mute girl known as Madonna, who is rescued from her life as a circus performer. Learn more at NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This wonderful audiobook is a special treat for those who know and love actor, writer, and director Harvey Fierstein. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Sandi Henschel discuss his narration, his distinctive voice, and his singular perspective. Fierstein’s writing is frequently poetic, always awake and aware, smoothly blending with the coarser street speech of his childhood. His wit is without peer. Fierstein recounts his larger-than-life personal and artistic triumphs and failures, telling wildly funny anecdotes throughout. This is a must-listen. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Random House Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. The 16th-century Spanish Carmelite nun St Teresa of Ávila was a prominent figure in the Catholic Reformation, and her writings have continued to inspire philosophers, theologians, historians and countless others interested in Christian spirituality and mysticism. She distilled her own experience into the beautifully direct and accessible ‘living book’, The Way of Perfection, a guide for nuns in her convent, with practical advice on how to approach the spiritual life. It is narrated by Lucy Scott. You can find it at NaxosAudiobooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When she was only four, actor and comedian Molly Shannon lost her mother and baby sister in a tragic auto accident that would change her life forever. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the powerful, natural narration Shannon brings to her memoir right from the start. Shannon describes her father’s unique approach to parenting, her career path in acting and comedy, and the creation of some of her most famous characters. Her wholehearted performance in this memoir will inspire listeners with her comedic talents and great success despite the devastating tragedy in her life. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Published in 1791, A Simple Story is Elizabeth Inchbald’s page turner about illicit desire. It concerns Miss Milner, who announces her passion for her guardian, a Catholic priest, thereby breaking through the barriers of his religious vocation and society’s standards for proper female behaviour. A Simple Story anticipates the writing of Jane Austen, especially in Inchbald’s concise and ironic style. It is given a delightful reading by the acclaimed actress Juliet Stevenson. find it at NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrator Marnye Young inhabits J.C. Bidone’s twisted thriller with flawless pacing and a compassionate tone. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this tense coming-of-age listen. Alexa leaves the claustrophobic care of her parents to take a job and move to New York City. But something’s wrong, and there’s an ominous feeling suggested by Young’s performance that deepens when Alexa is reunited with her estranged sister, Beth. Young adds palpable tension as the story reveals a dark incident linking the siblings. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Greenleaf Book Group. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. The first part of Willa Cather’s Great Plains trilogy, O Pioneers! follows the tragedies and triumphs of Alexandra Bergson, a strong and independent young woman who inherits the family farm following the death of her father. Alexandra’s passion and shrewd instinct guide her towards success as she resists the challenges imposed by the harsh Nebraskan prairie. Different challenges await her when a former love resurfaces and her brother becomes romantically involved with a married woman. Narrated by Laurel Lefkow, O Pioneers! is a compelling portrait of love versus duty, and the indomitable spirit of America’s pioneer families. You can find it at NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor Valerie Bertinelli gives an affecting narration of her heartfelt memoir about love, family, grief, and food. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the impact of hearing Bertinelli sharing her story on audio. Bertinelli reveals her relationships to food, to her son, and to her late ex-husband, Eddie Van Halen. She is a delightful storyteller as she shares anecdotes about her television work and remembrances of cooking with her family. A rewarding listen. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Mariner Books. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Set in the literary and journalistic buzz of late 19th-century London, New Grub Street, narrated by Andrew Wincott, depicts a world that George Gissing knew inside out. Elements of his own experience are diffused in different characters as he explores the sense of crisis for writers at the time: the gulf between aesthetic integrity and commercial success. The Times says: ‘Andrew Wincott captures the multitude of contrasted characters with consummate skill.’ Find it at NaxosAudioBooks.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Florence Williams intertwines journal entries, conversations with experts and friends, therapy sessions, and nature sounds to provide an honest and intriguing description of the phenomenon of heartbreak. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the many approaches Williams took to heal from the physical and psychological impacts of her marriage ending after 25 years. Williams explains with honesty and courage the wisdom that can be learned from love lost and loneliness. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Pushkin Industries. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for Behind the Mic comes from Naxos Audio Books. A leading example of the Gothic novel, The Beetle was published in 1897 and significantly outsold Dracula, which appeared in the same year. A polymorphous Egyptian creature – the Beetle – seeks revenge on an eminent British politician for crimes committed against the disciples of an ancient cult. The action takes place within a three-day period in an undisclosed year in the 1800s and is told from the perspectives of four different characters. It is narrated by Gunnar Cauthery, Jonathan Aris, Natalie Simpson and Andrew Wincott, with John Foley. You can find it at NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrators Marin Ireland and Karissa Vacker dazzle as they deliver this twisted domestic thriller from literary duo Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb talk about the fantastic narrations that make the thriller even better on audio. Ireland expertly embodies Avery, a razor-sharp therapist who has lost her license for her unconventional methods. Vacker’s layered, emotionally driven portrayal of Marissa, the mysterious other half of the “Golden Couple,” keeps listeners on the edge of their seats. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Macmillan Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. Leighton Pugh narrates Poetics/Rhetoric by Aristotle. The Art of Rhetoric, a guide on the principles behind oratorical skill, is a core text on the art of persuasion. Aristotle contends that rhetoric is one of the key elements of philosophy – along with logic and dialectic. The Poetics, the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory, has exerted a huge influence on Western drama and literature. It demonstrates how plot, character and spectacle can be combined to produce maximum impact in drama – and tragedy in particular. Find out more at NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celebrated Australian author and narrator Morris Gleitzman spoke with host Jo Reed for today’s bonus episode of Behind the Mic. The Australian Children’s Laureate from 2018-2019 is perhaps best known for his series of books that begins with ONCE, which concluded last year with the heartfelt ALWAYS. Listen to the conversation to gain insights into his moving, humorous, and hopeful books for young listeners, and on narrating his own audiobooks. Discover reviews of Morris’s audiobooks at AudioFile’s website. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. April is National Poetry Month. Celebrate with The Great Poets: Walt Whitman– an excellent introduction, and an AudioFile Earphones Award winner. Read by Garrick Hagon, this audiobook contains some of Whitman’s greatest poems, including Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, and When the Lilacs Gently Bloomed. Find out about it at naxosaudiobooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nile Bullock captures the goofy energy of Justin A. Reynolds’s hilarious middle-grade audiobook. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the charming Eddie, a 12-year-old who tells listeners all about his perfect plan to escape his chores this summer—and how it goes horribly wrong. Listeners will be laughing as he describes the horrors of laundry (and basements), the sadness of being left behind as everyone else goes to the big Beach Bash (or so he thinks), and the alarm he feels at the power going out (leaving him with nothing to wear but swim trunks). Eddie speaks directly to listeners, and Bullock narrates with a fast, bouncy pace, happily taking listeners down Eddie’s many meandering tangents, and off on an adventure around the neighborhood. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Scholastic Audiobooks. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. April is National Poetry Month. Celebrate with The Great Poets: Walt Whitman– an excellent introduction, and an AudioFile Earphones Award winner. Read by Garrick Hagon, this audiobook contains some of Whitman’s greatest poems, including Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, and When the Lilacs Gently Bloomed. Find out about it at naxosaudiobooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amanda Alcántara’s vivacious narration embodies the sarcastic voice of 12-year-old Pilar Ramirez in an audiobook that blends the poetry of images and the music of language. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the fun of listening to Julian Randall’s middle-grade debut packed full of adventure. Pilar dreams of finding her missing cousin, who disappeared as a teen in the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo dictatorship. While investigating for her documentary, she’s magically transported into a supernatural world called Zafa full of fantastical beings—and dangerous villains. Alcántara makes dialogue sparkle, humor warm, action speedy, villains threatening, and Pilar an unforgettable, bighearted heroine. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Listening Library. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A stellar trio of narrators delivers the alternating viewpoints in Sabaa Tahir’s contemporary young adult novel. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this moving story from the author of the EMBER IN THE ASHES series. Narrator Kamran R. Khan portrays Salahudin, whose vulnerability and poet’s soul shine as he tries to handle his father’s drinking and family debts—and his own tangled relationship with his ex-best friend Noor, played beautifully by Kausar Mohammed. Narrator Deepti Gupta’s deep voice expresses the graceful personality of Misbah, Salahudin’s mother, who also has lovingly guided Noor toward adulthood. The story shifts through their three perspectives, weaving a powerful story about pain, forgiveness, love, and hope. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Listening Library. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrator Grace Rolek draws listeners into Traci Chee’s Japanese-inspired fantasy for teens packed with spirits, adventures, and danger. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the fun and thrills of this audiobook. Otori Miuko has never lived up to her father’s expectations, or those of the restrictive patriarchal society of Awara. Rolek captures Miuko’s spirited voice and longing for more—but when adventure arrives in the form of a transformative curse from a demon, she’s thrust down a new, dangerous path. Rolek enlivens each character, makes the language and world feel real, and keeps up with the fast-paced narrative. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kristen DiMercurio gives a spirited performance of Ashley Herring Blake’s funny, sexy, and heartwarming queer rom-com. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this story of coming back to a dreaded hometown, and finding love—while also causing a fair amount of chaos. Photographer Delilah Green fled her hometown as soon as she could, desperate to escape both her stepsister Astrid and painful memories of her late father. When she begrudgingly returns to photograph Astrid’s wedding, she isn’t expecting to fall for Astrid’s best friend, Claire—a sweet single mom who runs a bookstore. DiMecurio smoothly switches between their perspectives, capturing their distinct personalities and leaning into the story’s humor and heart. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Penguin Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rosalyn Landor is a prolific and accomplished narrator with an astounding scope—but she is perhaps best known for her narration of historical fiction and historical romance. Rosalyn sat down with host Jo Reed to discuss narrating Julia Quinn’s beloved BRIDGERTONS series, now in its second season on Netflix, and she speaks about “catching the flavor” of each story to find the right narrative voice. Listen to discover how she got her start in audiobooks and why she adores bringing stories to life for listeners. Discover reviews of Rosalyn Landor’s many excellent works on audio at AudioFile’s website. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.Dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a story set against the backdrop of 1960s Berlin and the height of the Cold War, narrator Jonathan Davis helps build the tension, creating a dark atmosphere of suspicion and suspense. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Davis’s versatile narration of Joseph Kanon’s latest thriller. This audiobook features Martin Keller as he takes part in a spy swap and is moved from an English prison to Berlin, where he hopes to be reunited with his ex-wife and son. Davis’s authentic-sounding pronunciation of names and places sets the scenes, while his excellent pacing amps up the tension. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.Dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and narrator Stacey Vanek Smith provides listeners with a playbook for women to succeed in today’s workplace. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss her advice—Vanek Smith reaches back to the 1500s—to Machiavelli—to set the context and build lessons for contemporary working women. She has a fast-paced, conversational tone to deliver helpful strategies for women to carry out negotiations, garner respect, build confidence, and gain support. Winner of the 2022 Audie Award for Business/Personal Development. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Our Audiobook Break podcast is in its 3rd season, and this time listeners are journeying to Pemberley with narrator Alison Larkin as our guide. Enjoy Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with new chapters each week, free on the Audiobook Break podcast. This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.Dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Positive and genuine, writer Amy Bloom’s husband, Brian, sounds like someone anyone would love to know. Sadly, in 2019 he received an Alzheimer’s diagnosis and called on Bloom’s support as he chose to end his life before the disease could. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Bloom’s memoir, which moves between anecdotes of the past and the journey to Switzerland for the couple’s final days together. Bloom narrates and speaks of her great love and devastating loss with equal parts emotional warmth and quiet composure. Her voice is capable and clear, her narration is remarkable, and the memoir is a loving tribute. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Random House Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.Dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrator Orlagh Cassidy uses her talents with accents and voices to draw listeners into the world of the indomitable Maisie Dobbs. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss the latest historical mystery from Jacqueline Winspear. In addition to masterfully delivering the diverse personalities of the returning characters, Cassidy provides a convincing voice for the visiting American First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Winspear, partnered with Cassidy, dramatically conveys the emotional impact of war on the soldiers and their families, introduces listeners to courageous female WWII pilots, and delves into the ways racism impacted Black soldiers stationed in the UK. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Our Audiobook Break podcast is in its 3rd season, and this time listeners are journeying to Pemberley with narrator Alison Larkin as our guide. Enjoy Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with new chapters each week, free on the Audiobook Break podcast. This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.Dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrator Deepti Gupta is a wonderful choice for Anjali Enjeti’s powerful historical novel about the violent partition of India. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss the moving narration that earned Gupta the honor of Best Female Narrator at the 2022 Audie Awards. Through her delivery, listeners feel sympathy for young Deepa, who is caught in a moment of personal and national confusion. Listeners go from India in the late 1940s to present-day Atlanta, with Gupta carrying the story forward to Deepa’s estranged granddaughter Shan. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Novel Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.Dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zura Johnson and Caitlin Kelly’s dual narration captures Zhanna Slor’s story of the challenges of immigrant life and the complexities of family. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss the way the two narrator’s voices portray two sisters of an immigrant Russian Jewish family. Johnson reads Masha, called home from Israel to help find her younger sister Anna, played by Kelly, who has vanished from Milwaukee. Her disappearance is at the heart of this literary mystery. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Dreamscape. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. Our Audiobook Break podcast is in its 3rd season, and this time listeners are journeying to Pemberley with narrator Alison Larkin as our guide. Enjoy Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with new chapters each week, free on the Audiobook Break podcast. This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.Dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor Hugh Quarshie is a gifted mimic, and he reads with a measured pace that provides this sad historical novel with a sense of inevitably. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss Quarshie’s skill narrating Nadifa Mohamed’s work, which is based on real events in Cardiff, Wales, in 1952. Quarshie’s Somali-inflected English and his reading of Arabic offer the protagonist, Mahmood Mattan, verisimilitude, and he does Welsh, Jamaican, and English accents well, placing the listener inside the characters’ minds. The performance gives dignity to the falsely accused protagonist. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Random House Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Our Audiobook Break podcast is in its 3rd season, and this time listeners are journeying to Pemberley with narrator Alison Larkin as our guide. Enjoy Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with new chapters each week, free on the Audiobook Break podcast. This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.Dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bob Odenkirk’s timing and comic persona animate this inward-looking memoir. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss Odenkirk’s narration of his story, where his Chicago accent and whip-smart sense of humor permeate his reading. He narrates and writes his work with a self-conscious wit, and his audiobook is a candid story of “try, try, and try again” told with panache and a boatload of insider riffs. Best known for his fine work as Saul Goodman, the likable sleaze on “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” Odenkirk’s memoir is funny and revealing. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Random House Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Our Audiobook Break podcast is in its 3rd season, and this time listeners are journeying to Pemberley with narrator Alison Larkin as our guide. Enjoy Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with new chapters each week, free on the Audiobook Break podcast. This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.Dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrated with clarity and poise by Gilli Messer and Allen Rickman, this audiobook takes more than 35 hours but is worth it. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss Polish Nobel Laureate Olga Tokarczuk’s sprawling historical novel set in the eighteenth century. Both Messer and Rickman capture the tonality of the language and the author’s elegant writing, and the novel teems with unique characters—including a spiritual presence named Yenta who omnisciently hovers over the proceedings. Outstanding and compelling listening. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Penguin Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Our Audiobook Break podcast is in its 3rd season, and this time listeners are journeying to Pemberley with narrator Alison Larkin as our guide. Enjoy Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE with new chapters each week, free on the Audiobook Break podcast. This episode of Behind the Mic is sponsored by the audiobook editions of Sherryl Woods’s Sweet Magnolias series. With the new season available to watch now on Netflix, now is the time to listen to the entire Sweet Magnolias audiobook series, all brought to you by Dreamscape Media. For more information about Sweet Magnolias, please visit www.Dreamscapepublishing.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices