Sponsored by HMH.
An intimate memoir by the controversial and outspoken, Oscar-winning director and screenwriter about his complicated New York childhood, volunteering for combat, and his struggles and triumphs making such films as Platoon, Midnight Express, and Scarface.
Hola Audiophiles! Straight up: I went on and on (and on) about my latest listen so this newsletter will run a little long. The book is so good though and I want you to read it, so let me keep this intro short and sweet!
Ready? Let’s audio.
New Releases – July 21 (publisher descriptions in quotes)
Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson, read by Neil Shah and Shayna Small (historical fiction) – This is being billed as The Night Circus meets The Underground Railroad and those are some big words! It’s an alternate history set in Manhattan at the dawn of WWII wherein a young woman from Harlem is hired as a secret assassin. Ten years later, she’s given everything up–her past, her dreams, even the love of her life. But her past isn’t quite ready to let her go, so she’s sucked back into her former life and faced with an impossible set of choices to protect the people she loves.
Narrator Note: Shayna Small has blown me away back to back with her performances of Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half and Jacqueline Woodson’s Red at the Bone, I’m obsessed with the timbre of her voice!
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson, read by Brianna Colette (fiction, horror)- Immanuelle Moore is a young woman living in Bethel, a puritanical society where her very existence as a biracial woman is blasphemy. She does her best to keep her head down and follow Holy Protocol, but a mishap lures her into the forbidden woods where four witches were once chased and killed by the first prophet. The witches’ spirits still live there and bestow Immanuelle with a revelatory gift: a journal that once belonged to her dead mother that proves she once consorted with these witches. It leads Immanuelle on a path of grim discovery into the Church’s history.
Narrator Note: Brianna Colette is known for her voiceover work on Grand Theft Auto, so this is a different lane for her. I dig samples of this book so far, her voice is very soothing.
10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon, read by Vikas Adam and Soneela Nankani (YA romance) – Pinky is a social justice warrior who hasn’t met a cause she won’t champion, much to the annoyance of her conservative parents who she kiiiinda likes to annoy. Her frenemy Samir is a Harvard-bound mama’s boy who really likes lists, order, and predictability. When Pinky’s parents give her an earful for the poor dating decisions she’s made, Pinky comes up with a plan: she’ll convince Samir to be her fake boyfriend for the summer. He only agrees because she promises to hook him up with an internship. They bicker at first, but then those sparks start to fly…
Narrator Note: Soneela Nankani is close to being bumped to auto-listen status for me. I’ve liked her since her emotional performance of Internment by Samira Ahmed, and she has sooo much more work to her name.
Latest Listen
I picked up Take A Hint, Dani Brown after hearing about it on the last episode of When in Romance. Dani Brown is driven, confident, and working on her PhD when she finds herself in a sexy times slump. So she asks the goddess Oshun for this one thing: the perfect no-strings-attached partner with whom to do the horizontal polka. It would appear that Oshun has granted her wish when sexy security guard and former pro rugby player Zafir Ansari rescues Dani in a fire drill gone wrong. A video of the rescue goes viral and a hashtag is born as the internet assumes the two are a couple.
Zafir, who has a massive secret crush on Dani, gets the surprise of a lifetime when Dani agrees to engage in a fake relationship with him, parlaying the non-couple’s newfound fame into some free publicity for Zaf’s sports charity for kids. At first it’s all for show, but then they’re like, “You’re sexy and I’m sexy, let’s join our sexy and hop into this bed.” They agree they’ll only sleep together for the duration of their fakelationship: yeah sure, great idea! Could the fact that Dani is emotionally distant and Zaf wants a relationship possibly be a problem here? Sit back, friends, and watch these two try to boink away their feelings (got that one from Talia herself and was *this* close to making it the subject of the newsletter).
There is so much to love about this book, and so much of it boils down to representation. Dani is Black, bisexual, and curvy; Zaf is Muslim and listens to romance novels, and it’s fine because no one has time for toxic masculinity; Zaf very openly discusses grief and his struggles with mental health following the deaths of his dad and brother; Dani owns her sexuality and stands up in it. And of course, the sexy times are straight fire. I know I said I listened to that podcast, which means I heard Trisha and Jess say these books are sexy, but I… forgot? This is how I ended up playing this book kinda loudly in my car, listening to a bit about Dani’s throbbing clitoris just as a family in a Subaru (#ThisIsPortland) pulled up to my right. Whoops!
Aaaand lastly because I’ve been going on forever, Ione Butler does a fantastic job with this performance. She seamlessly slips between Zaf’s deep, brooding, Northern English (I think?) accent and Dani’s assured and playful tone. The sex scenes feel real and the dialogue never forced. A++ all around, I had a lot of fun with this one and hope you do too.
From the Internets
Audiofile Magazine shared this list of audiobooks with love in the spotlight, and would you look at that: my latest listen is front and center! They also have a cool interview with Frankie Corzo, who takes us behind the scenes of recording Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic.
Eyyyyy it’s another road trip audiobook list! Here’s the latest one from Fodor’s and I will say: it isn’t just more of the same. Dunno if I would listen to I’ll Be Gone in the Dark if you’re driving *alone* on that road trip, but that’s coming from me, confessed weenie.
I’m digging this list of audiobooks for escapism, because again, it’s not a roundup that looks like everyone else’s. We Ride Upon Sticks in particular gets the Book Riot staff cosign.
Over at the Riot
Check it out, Hamilfans: these audiobooks are narrated by members of the original Hamilton cast.
Did you know that July is Disability Pride month? Celebrate and learn a few things with this listening list.
Thanks for hanging with me today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with with all things audiobook or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the In The Club newsletter and catch me once a month on the All the Books podcast.
Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa