Category: Audiobooks

Happy Thursday, Audiobook Fans,

I’ll get this out of the way: OF COURSE I listened to Fire and Fury. I listened to the whole thing in one day. Do I know if every detail and timeline is 100% accurate? No, I do not. Do I believe it’s an accurate depiction of the way our President’s brain works and the chaos inside the White House? Indeed I do. Either way, the book is bananas.

Warning if you are planning on accomplishing actual tasks while you listen: I was folding laundry while it played and at some point I found myself sitting on the couch, in the middle of the folded laundry, with my head in my hands.

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We’re giving away a stack of our 20 favorite books of the year. Click here to enter, or just click the image below.

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Side note: I think this is a waaayyy better cover for F&F. Agree or disagree?

I’ve been asked what I would’ve done with the ‘Fire and Fury’ cover by some folks who think the existing cover design is a disaster and a missed opportunity, so here is what I might have done with it pic.twitter.com/xV8W3L8oYu

— Edel Rodriguez (@edelstudio) January 7, 2018

The book is narrated by Holter Graham but the author, Michael Wolff, reads the author’s note. Take a listen here.

I’m also listening to Weird in a World That’s Not: A Career Guide for Misfits, F*uckups, and Failures (a very exciting subtitle, as I am always at least one of those three things and very often all three of them at once). It’s written and read by Jennifer Romolini and so far, it’s excellent. I only wish I had read it five or ten years ago, but it was published in 2017 and I have not yet figured out time travel.

As per usual, I have gotten so caught up in my excitement about audiobooks to look forward to (and all the great audiobooks of 2017), that I haven’t covered any audiobook news/links in a while. So instead of just adding some news and links at the bottom of each newsletter (which I haven’t had room to do recently, anyway), I’m thinking I’ll just dedicate one newsletter each month to Cool Audiobook News and Links. Let’s give it a whirl this week and you can tell me if you love it, hate it, or in between it at msmacb on Twitter and/or katie@riotnewmedia.com.

Audible and Kindle Sitting in a Tree, S-Y-N-C-I-N-G

Amazon has just announced Audible audiobook playback will be available on earlier versions of its Kindle ereaders.

As TechRadar explains, “The first generation Kindle Oasis, and the regular old Kindle, can now access Amazon’s audiobook service direct from the devices themselves, and playback content. This includes the Audible storefront, and is facilitated by connecting up to Bluetooth-enabled speakers or headphones, as neither device has a headphone jack.”

I *think* this upgrade/new feature may also be available through the Kindle app now, as well. At least, I downloaded both the audio and the ebook of Weird in a World That’s Not (I went a little nuts with the Amazon gift card I got for Christmas, thanks Grammie!) and my Kindle app knew exactly where in the book I had stopped listening and gave me the option to start there when I reopened the Kindle app on my phone. Pretty freaking cool.

That said, TechRadar raises an issue that might irritate folks who purchased a Kindle Oasis. “It’s an interesting reveal, considering only the June 2016 Kindle device previously has had any mention of Bluetooth functionality. Audible support was a key unique selling point of the 2017 Kindle Oasis, it’s worth noting.”

Speaking of Audible…they just released Stinker Lets Loose!, “an audio dramatization of the outrageous 1977 film…Reimagined by bestselling author Mike Sacks and adapted for audio with director Eric Martin, Stinker…follows a ‘deep-fried fixer’ played by Jon Hamm, sent to deliver a valuable shipment of beer to the president of the United States.” Audible has wrangled quite the cast of narrators, in addition to Hamm, you’ll hear Rhea Seehorn, Andy Daly, John DiMaggio, Paul F. Tompkins, and Andy Richter.

Check out the trailer here.

I wasn’t previously familiar with the story of Stinker (side note, I very much want The Story of Stinker to be the title of my memoir) but I love that audible is exploring ways to put films/plays in a (slightly revised) audiobook form.

Which leads me to my next audiobook-adjacent news item… Penguin Random House Audio and Texas Monthly have partnered to record more than 20 of the most popular features from the magazine’s archives on audio for the first time, from true crime narratives (a bank robber in disguise in The Last Ride of Cowboy Bob) to compelling profiles (of Whole Foods’s CEO in The Shelf Life of John Mackey).

I am all about audio versions of magazine articles. The Atlantic often has the option to listen to audio recordings of their feature articles (I think if you subscribe to Audm, the player/app they use, you can get more than just the current features but I am cheap).

One especially cool thing about the PRH/Texas Monthly audio is that each story is narrated by a native Texan. The first two are available for purchase now and they’ll be releasing more in February and March.

I know you are probably sick of “Best of” lists, but I have a special place in my heart for Library Journal, so I’m going to close out the newsletter with a link to their Best of 2017. Before you skip it–-I’ll just add one more (personally embarrassing) plug: their list had a number of titles I hadn’t heard of (What it Means When a Man Falls From the Sky, Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories, and Letters to a Young Muslim). So while they’ve got all the ones you’ve heard of (Lincoln in the Bardo, What Happened, etc.) you might find a gem you’d previously missed. Take a look and see if any pique your interest!

Library Journal Best Audiobooks 2017

Happy listening and until next week,

~Katie

 

Happy 2018, Audiophiles!

Did you listen to anything good over the holidays? I did. On Christmas day, I drove four hours to-and-from my grandmother’s house and I every minute loved it. Why? Well, first because my grandma is LITERALLY the greatest human being who has ever existed on this planet. And second, because I listened to American Radical on the drive.

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Sponsored by The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

 

For listeners of Gillian Flynn and Tana French comes one of the decade’s most anticipated debuts, to be published in 36 languages around the world and already in development as a major film from Fox: a twisty, powerful Hitchcockian thriller about an agoraphobic woman who believes she witnessed a crime in a neighboring house.

Performed by Ann Marie Lee. BONUS: Includes an interview with author A. J. Finn. Special thanks to Libro.fm for supplying the digital audio downloads to the winners!

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The author of American Radical is listed as Tamer Elnoury, but that’s not his real name. It’s the name he used as an undercover FBI agent when he infiltrated an Al Qaeda.

Tamer’s story of getting into undercover law enforcement, joining the FBI, and infiltrating the terrorist cell reads like a thriller. Except you know it’s real, and it’s freaking awesome. My four-hour drive whizzed by and the first thing I did when I got home was download the ebook and read the rest. I highly recommend it.

Tons of audiobooks are being released this month and I combed the internet to find the ones I am most excited about. (Well, first I looked at this awesome list of January books my fellow Book Rioters are looking forward to. I picked some of the ones I agree with from that list and *then* I combed the internet for other audiobooks coming out in January.)

But first! Don’t forget to enter to win our favorite 20 books of 2017! Click here to enter.

January New Releases

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black; narrated by Caitlin Kelly; Release Date: 01/02/18

Rioter Margaret Kingsbury says, “I absolutely love everything Holly Black writes. My favorite of hers so far has been The Darkest Part of the Forest, but I had an opportunity to hear Black read a portion of The Cruel Prince at a conference last year (and I got to chat with her a bit!), and it sounded just as good (maybe better?). Anyone who’s already read Black knows she writes a lot with the Fae, and this one is no exception. I’m looking forward to all of Holly Black’s trademarks: lots of dark magic, a strong female protagonist, and a plot that will have me reading well past my bedtime.”

Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator; written and read by Gary Noesner; Release Date: 01/02/18

OK, I might be on something of an “inside law enforcement” kick, but you have to admit, if you’re going to get a behind the scenes look into law enforcement, undercover FBI agent and hostage negotiator are among the most intriguing. From the publisher, “In Stalling for Time, the FBI’s chief hostage negotiator takes listeners on a harrowing tour through many of the most famous hostage crises in the history of the modern FBI, including the siege at Waco, the Montana Freemen standoff, and the D.C. sniper attacks. Having helped develop the FBI’s nonviolent communication techniques for achieving peaceful outcomes in tense situations, Gary Noesner offers a candid, fascinating look back at his years as an innovator in the ranks of the Bureau and a pioneer on the front lines.”

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin; narrated by Maggie Hoffman; Release Date: 01-09-18

The Great Liberty Hardy picked this as her most anticipated book for January. She says, “A wonderful, affecting book about four siblings who learn the day they will die, and how this supposed prediction shapes their lives. Would you want to know when you’re going to die? It’s New York City in 1969, and the four Gold children have snuck out to meet a traveling psychic who is rumored to know the date of people’s deaths. What they learn will influence each Gold sibling differently for the next five decades, with each of their existences lovingly detailed by Benjamin with humor and sensitivity.”

Winter by Ali Smith; narrated by Melody Grove; Release Date: 01-09-18

Ali Smith’s Seasonal cycle of books is comprised of four standalone books that are “separate yet interconnected and cyclical (as are the seasons).” Each book explores “what time is, how we experience it, and the recurring markers in the shapes our lives take and in our ways with narrative.” Winter is the second novel in the cycle; the first, Autumn, was a Man-Booker finalist and a New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Financial Times, Southern Living, The Guardian, and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, so it’s kinda impossible to not be excited about the second book.

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey; narrated by Soneela Nankani; Release Date: 01-09-18

Rioter Katie Mclain says, “I’ve been Muppet-arming about this book ever since I read the ARC back in June. It’s a new historical mystery series set in 1920’s Bombai, based in part on the first female attorney to practice in India. Perveen Mistry, the novel’s protagonist, is an intelligent, savvy woman with a legal education from Oxford, a tragic personal history, and a strong devotion to championing women’s rights. And not only does she have to deal with the complications of being a new lawyer, she also has to navigate (and rail against) the difficult cultural restrictions placed on women at the time. This book was a fascinating, thoughtful, compassionate, intelligent mystery with strong feminist themes and I honestly can’t champion it enough.”

Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed; narrated by Soneela Nankani; Release Date: 01-16-18

Rioter Rachel Brittain is excited about this book and it’s not hard to see why. She says, “everything about this book sounds perfect: it’s an #ownvoices novel about an Indian-American Muslim teen and aspiring filmmaker who faces sudden hatred and Islamophobia in the aftermath of an attack by a terrorist who shares her last name. The cover is to die for and the book sounds equally amazing.”

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Asha Bandele; narrated by Patrisse Khan-Cullors; Release Date: 01-16-18

This “poetic audiobook memoir tells the emotional and powerful story of one of the cofounders of Black Lives Matter and how the movement was born.” Activism isn’t easy, Patrisse Khan-Cullors knows that firsthand. In When They Call You a Terrorist, Khan-Cullors and Bandele talk about the challenges of being an activist and the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan; narrated by Julie Teal, Luke Thompson, Esther Wane, Sarah Feathers; Release Date: 01-23-18

From the publisher, “Sophie’s husband, James, is a loving father, a handsome man, a charismatic and successful public figure. And yet he stands accused of a terrible crime. Sophie is convinced he is innocent and desperate to protect her precious family from the lies that threaten to rip them apart. Kate is the lawyer hired to prosecute the case: an experienced professional who knows that the law is all about winning the argument. And yet Kate seeks the truth at all times. She is certain James is guilty and is determined he will pay for his crimes.” Claire Handscombe, Rioter and resident Brit says “I love a good Westminster gossip, and this book has been all over my social media feed for months. Also, it’s particularly exciting and interesting to me when a book like this makes it over for publication in the US.”

This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America; written and read by Morgan Jerkins; Release Date: 01-30-18

Rioter Rebecca Hussey says, “I’m always, always on the hunt for good essay collections, and this one looks both excellent and timely. It’s about the experience of being black and female in America today, and particularly after all the talk about how black women ‘saved’  white America in the recent Alabama election, this seems like a book white Americans, myself included, would do well to pick up. Topics include Rachel Dolezal, therapy, traveling as a black person in Russia, body image, and more.”

Which audiobooks are you eagerly awaiting? Let me know on twitter at msmacb or at katie@riotnewmedia.com.

Until next week,

~Katie

 

Alright Y’all, here it is: the bigass list of all your favorite audiobooks of the year! Because there are so many, I don’t have much room for description, but if you mentioned something specific about the title (that I didn’t mention in the newsletter last week). And thank you, so much, to everyone who wrote in with their favorites.  It was so fun to see what stood out for everyone this year.

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We’re giving away a stack of our 20 favorite books of the year. Click here to enter, or just click the image below.

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American Gods by Neil Gaiman (full cast production)

• American War by  Omar El Akkad, narrated by Dion Graham
• Any Dream Will Do by Debbie Macomber, narrated by Mark Deakins & Laurel Rankin
• Artemis by Andy Weir, narrated by Rosario Dawson
• Bleak House by Charles Dickens narrated by Sean Barrett & Teresa Gallagher
• Blood at the Root: A Racial Cleansing in America written and read by Patrick Phillips
• The Bobiverse Trilogy by Dennis E. Taylor, narrated by Ray Porter
• Born a Crime, written and read by Trevor Noah
• The Broken Road written and read by Richard Paul Evans
• Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers, narrated by Rachel Dulude
• Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas, narrated by Kate Reading
• Cork Dork written and read by Bianca Bosker

(Reader says: This wasn’t life-changing, but still a funny listen, especially with the author narrating her own story.)

• Dear Martin by Nic Stone, narrated by Dion Graham
• The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan, narr. Cary Elwes
• Discount Armageddon: InCryptid, Book 1 by Seanan McGuire, narrated by Emily Bauer
• The Diviners by Libba Bray, narrated by January LaVoy
• Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones, narrated by Neil Hellegers
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, narrated by Cathleen McCarron
• Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin…Every Inch of It by Brittany Gibbons, narrated by Lauren Fortgang
• The Fireman by Joe Hill
• The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng, narrated by Anna Bentinck
• Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, narrated by  Nicholas Guy Smith

(Reader says: The book itself is fascinating, and Nicholas has captured the tone and pacing required to convey the “gentleman’s” character.  Beautiful!)

• The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice & Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, narr. Christian Coulson Ghost: Paladin of Shadows, Book 1 by John Ringo, narrated by Jeremy Arthur
• Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach, narrated By Abby Elvidge
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, narrated by Bahni Turpin
• Homegoing: A Novel by Yaa Gyasi, narrated by Dominic Hoffman
• Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne-Jones, narrated by Jenny Sterlin
• Hunger written and read by Roxane Gay

(Reader says: It was a tough listen, I’m not gonna lie, but it was so much more powerful because Gay actually read the audio.)

• I Can’t Make This Up by Kevin Hart

(Reader says: I loved Kevin Hart’s memoir that he read aloud. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it had a lot of good life lessons.)

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and narrated by Thandie Newton
• Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, narrated by Rachel Dulude
• Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott, narrated by Karen White
• Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, narrated by Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, et. al.
• Long Way Down, written and narrated by Jason Reynolds
• Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley, narrated by Vikas Adam

(Reader says: I didn’t see the movie, but was curious about the story. I loved the audiobook.)

• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and narrated by Kristoffer Tabori.

(Reader says: Not new but I just listened to it and loved Tabori’s voice. He managed to make every character sound so unique.)

• Norse Mythology, written and read by Neil Gaiman.
• Noel Diary written and read by Richard Paul Evans
• Not Your Ordinary Wolf Girl by Emily Pohl-Weary, narrated by Kate Rudd
• The One by John Marrs
• The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum, narrated By Coleen Marlo
• Priestdaddy written and read by Patricia Lockwood
• The Right Time by Danielle Steel, narrated by Victoria Bevin
• Slavery By Another Name by Douglas Blackmon, narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris
• Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King, narrated by Marin Ireland
• Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1) by Sylvain Neuvel (full cast narration)
• Solo, written and read by Kwame Alexander
• The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
• A Study in Scarlet by Sherry Thomas, narrated by Kate Reading
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*k by Mark Mason, narrated by Roger Wayne
• This is Just My Face written and read by Gabby Sidibe
• Trying to Live with the Dead: The Veil Diaries, Book 1 by B. L. Brunnemer
• Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel (full cast narration)
• Watership Down by Richard Adams, narrated by Ralph Cosham
• The Weight of Ink by Rachel Cadish, narrated by Corrie James
• What Happened, written and read by Hillary Rodham Clinton
• When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, narrated by Sunil Malhotra

(Reader says: I know that the author died before this book was published, but I couldn’t help feeling like he was reading this book and talking to me. I loved this book so much. I made it through the book without tears, until the epilogue by his widow.)

• When the Dead Come a Knockin’: The Veil Diaries, Book 2 by B. L. Brunnemer, narrated by Carla Mercer-Meyer, Kris Koscheski
• Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries, written and read by Kory Stamper

(Reader says:  This was SO good, and Kory does such a great job narrating. Honestly, it felt like I was having a legit conversation with her she sounded so natural. I feel like that’s the sign of an amazing audiobook, right? You don’t even feel like you are being read to. I primarily listen to nonfiction, so you don’t get that all too often to be honest.)

Alright, folks, how ’bout them audiobooks? Think those will tide you over until January?

As always, feel free to say hello on twitter at msmacb or via email at katie@riotnewmedia.com

Happy Forced Family Time!

~Katie

Hey audiobook lovers,

Y’all came through big time! You sent me your favorite listens of the year and there were so many fantastic responses that I’m splitting them up between this week and next week’s newsletter. This week, I’m highlighting the crowd favorites–-the books that had several votes and next week I’ll give you the whole big honkin’ list. (So I know what I’m doing with my next 60 Audible credits…)

BUT FIRST: You want to win the Rioters’ 20 favorite books? OF COURSE you do! Enter to win them here.

Crowd favorites

There were a few titles that stood out because so many people said they were among their favorites of the year.

Artemis by Andy Weir, narrated by Rosario Dawson

This was at the top of the list for many of you–-and a handful of you had the same reason: Rosario Dawson’s narration. While many of you liked the plot of Weir’s debut novel, The Martian, better but simply raved about Dawson’s narration.

The protagonist of the novel, Jazz, is a resident of the only colony on the moon. But life on the moon is tough (especially if you’re not super rich) and folks do what they need to do to get by. For Jazz, that means sometimes…taking things that don’t technically belong to her.

And then she comes across the opportunity to commit what seems like the perfect crime. Time for a moon heist!

It likely the folks at Audible know they’ve got a hit on their hands because they’ve got a whole bunch of extra stuff on the site to accompany the audiobook, like this “Unofficial Guide to Artemis” PDF.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, narrated by Trevor Noah

This had the most votes of any one book and if you listen to it for roughly 30 seconds, you’ll understand why. Growing up bi-racial in (post?) Apartheid South Africa was tough for Trevor Noah, but he reflects on his childhood with as much warmth as seriousness, and you’re fully on board right away. At the risk of being a cheeseball, it’s also just really inspiring to follow Noah from the kid who feels like he doesn’t fit in, to hosting one of the most popular late-night shows on television. And couldn’t we all use some feel goods these days?

Reader Dana says, “This was excellent for so many reasons, but mainly because of Noah’s narration. He’s wonderful. The story is moving and eye-opening as well. It’s getting a lot of good press and deservedly so. I recommend that anyone who wants to read this book should check out the audiobook. I can’t imagine it without Noah’s voice.”

Gentleman’s Guide to Vice & Virtue, The by Mackenzie Lee, narr. Christian Coulson

“Henry “Monty” Montague wants to have one last hedonistic hurrah before he has to take over his family’s estate. So he and his crush and best friend, Percy, go on a yearlong escapade before they settle into adulthood. “But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.”

As for the narration, one reader says, “I’d listen to Christian Coulson read the back of a shampoo bottle.”

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I’ve raved about this title so many times that I’ll try to keep it brief here. When 16-year-old Star Carter witnesses the murder of her childhood friend at the hands of a police officer, the two worlds she’s been oscillating between collide. It’s a great, important story in its own right It’s an important and compelling story and listen to what the Audible Editors’ have to say about the audiobook.

“Every now and then a book comes along that speaks to your soul. Angie Thomas’ debut novel, The Hate U Give, is one such book. Each editor here has listened, and the feeling afterwards is unanimous – this is one of the best performances we’ve ever encountered…

Narrator Bahni Turpin manages to give voice to such a broad and rich cast of characters, each with their own authentic perspective, demonstrating the power of performance to bring new depth to a complex social issue. We believe this is truly the definition of required listening.”

I honestly don’t think a better review is possible. And it’s well deserved.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, narrated by Jason Reynolds

“An ode to ‘Put the Damn Guns Down’, this is National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestseller Jason Reynolds’ fiercely stunning novel that takes place in 60 potent seconds – the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.” The book is narrated by the author, which is exactly what one reader found so compelling about it. She said, “I specifically wanted to listen to this to hear the author’s narration and I wasn’t disappointed. Such a powerful listen.”

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, narrated by Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, and a million other people

Emily, an editor at Audible says, “the listener finds himself in the Georgetown Cometary, where young Willie Lincoln has been laid to rest and his grieving father (the president) keeps returning in a state of stumbling and stricken shambles, to the shocked confusion of the self-unaware dead. Perhaps most interestingly, the real events of the time (those things happening outside of the graveyard) are depicted entirely through historical snippets and citations so that the listener comes eventually to realize that these are also merely the impressions of the dead, even if not fictional.” As for me, I was sold on this audiobook as soon as I realized Nick Offerman was one of the narrators. One of you said that this was among the books that “weirdly made you look forward to your commute,” which is a ringing endorsement if I’ve ever heard one.

And finally, I’m embarrassed to say that I hadn’t even heard of this series and so many of you raved about it. The Themis series. The first book in the series, Sleeping Giants, is described as “An inventive debut in the tradition of World War Z and The Martian, told in interviews, journal entries, transcripts, and news articles, Sleeping Giants is a literary thriller fueled by a quest for truth – and a fight for control of earthshaking power.” Kirkus said of the book,“This stellar debut novel…masterfully blends together elements of sci-fi, political thriller and apocalyptic fiction….”, and most importantly, a newsletter reader said, “I need the next one ASAP!!”

I’ll get you the full list next week.

Happy holidays/winter/cozy book weather,

~Katie

 

 

 

Hello audiobook lovers!

Thanks to all who have written to let me know what their favorite audiobooks for 2017 are. I’ll put the list together for next week, so if you want to chime in, hit me up at katie@riotnewmedia.com or on twitter at msmacb, and use #BRaudio2017 to let me know which audiobook(s) topped your list in 2017 (they don’t have to have been published in 2017, you just have to have listened to them for the first time this year).

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We’re giving away a stack of our 20 favorite books of the year. Click here to enter, or just click the image below.

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In the meantime, I’ve got a couple of a big, honking list of Book Riot posts for you. There have been so many great pieces about basically any aspect of audiobooking one could hope for, so I decided to go through them all and bring you some highlights from the year.

But first! Did you know we’re giving away a stack of our 20 favorite books of the year! That’s right, the most knowledgeable book people I know put together a list of the 20 best books of the year and YOU CAN GET THEM FOR FREE. Click here to enter.

Without further ado…a selection of my favorite Book Riot audiobooks posts from 2017 (in no particular order…I was trying to go chronologically but that didn’t work out so…no particular order).

Dangers of Listening to Audiobooks at the Gym (Comics)

OK, to be fair, the concept of doing anything at the gym is foreign to me. Because I am a terrible adult. But all of these things have happened to me whilst walking my dog or listening to audiobooks in any number of public places.

When To Play It Big: Q&A with Audiobook Narrator Robin Miles

The narrator of books like  An Untamed State by Roxane Gay,  A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown by Julia Scheeres, and Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks narration secrets with Book Riot’s Erin Burba.

Audiobooks for Short but Loud Commutes

Because commuting is kind of the worst. And audiobooks are kind of the best. (You see where I’m going with this…)

Best Audiobooks of 2017 Thus Far

In June, rioter Jamie put together a list of the best 2017 audiobooks in various categories. Six months later? I’d say her assessment is pretty spot-on. What do you think?

Hilarious Audiobooks for Your Summer Road Trip

Because nothing makes the time go by like laughing so hard that you have to make an emergency bathroom stop.

Audiobooks: My Unexpected Journey to a Happier Life

One of the themes of this list is readers discovering something about themselves (or learning something, or finding comfort about something) through audiobooks.

25 Best Children’s Audiobooks

Got kids? Read this.

 

How Audiobooks Made Me Appreciate Non-fiction

I relate to this so much. I have listened to and enjoyed so many nonfiction audiobooks I don’t think I would have made it through in print. Thank you, audiobooks!

Badass Women in Politics: The Audiobooks Edition

By yours truly. Because the need for more women in politics (and in positions of power everywhere) has perhaps been the defining truth of 2017.

Best Audiobook Apps

Ashley Holstrom put together an amazing post with possibly everything you would ever need to know about audiobook apps.

How to Become an Audiobook Narrator

I’ve gotten a number of questions about how one becomes an audiobook narrator and the truth is, I have no idea. Well, prior to September, I had no idea. Now, thanks to Rebecca Renner and Noah Michael Levine, I do!

Short Nonfiction Audiobooks To Expand Your Mind

Good, because if my mind is going to be expanded, I don’t want it to be for a lengthy period of time. I want short bursts of mind expansion before I go back to rotting my brain with trash. Basically, this is mind expansion for lazy people (yaaaay!!).

Best Spanish Audiobooks for Learning Spanish

I don’t know why it never occurred to me to brush up on my Spanish through audiobooks before but it’s kinda genius, right? (Or should I say genio?)

Free Romance Audiobooks

Free stuff=good. Romance audiobooks=good. Free romance audiobooks=great.

“Audiobooks Don’t Count:” A Suggestion of Extreme Privilege

They do. They do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do they do.

Why I Listen To the Hard Stuff

I loved and related to this piece from Nikki Demarco so much.

Best Full Cast Audiobooks:

Full cast audiobooks always make me feel like I have really terrible seats at a great theater performance. It’s such a treat, especially when you’re not at the theater and you’re sitting in traffic.

Self-help Audiobooks to Untrash Your 2018

As someone whose life is in perpetual need of untrashing, Imma bookmark this post.

Most Popular Audiobooks of the Last 20 Years

Read them all!

That’s all for this week (and don’t forget to send me your favorite listens of the year!)

Thanks for being awesome,

~Katie (and Sally, who I’m shamelessly including a picture of because look how cute she is!)

 

Happy December, Audiobook fans,

It’s that time of year–-Best Of the Year lists. Audible has already kicked things off by announcing their Best of the Year winners in various categories. Among them: The Hate U Give took Audiobook of the Year! YAY! Take a minute to celebrate something good happening in 2017! Jump up and down and clap and shout. I’ll wait.

Seriously, if you haven’t listened to Angie Thomas’s debut novel yet, what are you waiting for? It’s so good and so necessary. You can take a look at all the categories, nominees, and winners  here.

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Sponsored by Penguin Random House Audio

Listening to an audiobook can bring family and friends together this holiday season. Listen to Turtles All the Way Down by John Green on your next family road trip and discuss the important themes of the story. Or, listen to Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak with your friends at book club to prepare for the holiday season. Connect, listen, and discuss with audiobooks from Penguin Random House Audio.

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But I want to know what you all, the readers of this newsletter think! What were the best audiobooks you listened to this year? Don’t worry about if they actually came out in 2017–-if you listened to it for the first time in 2017 and it was your favorite listen of the year, I want to know about it. You can email me at katie@riotnewmedia.com or hit me up on twitter (@msmacb) (but let’s use a hashtag of some kind, shall we? I have the memory of a goldfish and will likely need some way to revisit what everyone said. How about #BRaudio2017? I’ll compile a list for an upcoming newsletter.

Speaking of Audible, what the hell is happening with the audio of Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem? Diane Keaton narrates, which sounds like it would be awesome, right? Not so, according to the reviews. Of course, sometimes Amazon/Audible reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt but these reviews all seem to be written by people who loved the book but hated the narration. But…but… it’s Diane Keaton? Color me confused. If anyone has listened to it and has strong feelings one way or the other, I’m all ears.

So while you are all mulling over your favorite titles of the year, I want to highlight some of the books coming out in 2018 that I am specifically stoked about.

A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa (1-1-18)

Here’s an embarrassing thing about me: most of what I “know” about life inside North Korea I learned from the fictional book The Orphan Master’s Son.  Incredible book, by the way, but fictional. This isn’t entirely my fault–-not a lot of information comes out of North Korea about what daily life is like there. Which is why I am so looking forward to A River in Darkness.

Half-Korean, half-Japanese, Masaji Ishikawa moved from Japan to North Korea when he was thirteen years old. In North Korea, he and his family “unwittingly became members of the lowest social caste. His father, himself a Korean national, was lured to the newly Communist country by promises of abundant work, education for his children, and a higher station in society. But the reality of their new life was far from utopian.”

Ishikawa recounts “the brutal thirty-six years” he spent living under a crushing totalitarian regime, as well as the challenges he faced repatriating to Japan after barely escaping North Korea with his life.

Brave by Rose McGowan (1-30-18)

Before there was #metoo, there was Rose McGowan (and many other survivors of sexual assault and harassment) who spoke out about abuses of power, both against her personally and systematically in Hollywood. After having her reputation smeared simply for speaking the truth, McGowan more than deserves the chance to say exactly what she wants to say, how and when she wants to say it. And I, for one, can’t wait to listen.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (2-6-18)

“Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man.” He moves his family off the grid, to the Alaska. Allbright and his wife and thirteen-year-old daughter begin their new life in a “wild, remote corner of the state.” Initially, it seems like the right decision. The family connects to the small, strong community. But they are unprepared for the rigor of the Alaskan wild. “In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska―a place of incomparable beauty and danger.”

Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride (3-6-18)
Sarah McBride shares what it was like to be frightened teenager struggling with her gender identity, a closeted college student, and tells us about her “heartbreaking romance with her first love and future husband Andy, a trans man and activist who passed away from cancer in 2014, just days after they were married.” But despite (or perhaps because) of those struggles, Sarah became an activist and McBride was the first transgender person to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. More books like this, please.

So Close to Being The Sh*t, Y’all Don’t Even Know by Retta (5-29-18)

I am a Parks & Recreation superfan. Like, I actually fall asleep to it every single night because I love it so much it soothes me to sleep like a lullaby. So while I am quite confident that I know exactly how close to being the sh*t Retta is (so close it may as well be the same damn thing), I am still here for this book. I don’t know much about Retta’s personal story but “making it” in Hollywood isn’t easy for anyone, especially for women of color. So much to look forward to with this one.

 

New Release of the Week (publisher description in quotes)

The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Hadish

I wasn’t familiar with Hadish until her SNL appearance a few weeks ago but I loved her performance on the show. Her story is challenging but inspirational (can you tell I’m a sucker for a good Nevertheless She Persisted story). And this one starts out like a punch to the gut: Hadish’s mother gets a debilitating head injury from a car accident, so Hadish spent much of her childhood in foster care. “As an illiterate ninth grader, Tiffany did everything she could to survive. After a multitude of jobs, she finally realized that she had talent in an area she would never have suspected: comedy.”

Hope those titles give you a little something to look forward to in 2018. Any titles you are particularly excited about? Let me know!

Until next week,

~Katie

Happy Thursday, Audiobook fans,

I loved Carrie Fisher. Unlike many in my generation, I didn’t become aware of Fisher through the Star Wars films. Instead, I became aware of Carrie Fisher in 2009, through her book Wishful Drinking. I had been sober a little less than a year and OH MY GOD it was a relief to read something funny by someone sober. And not only was she sober, she also had a mental illness! It was my US Weekly “Celebs, they’re just like us!” moment because I have a mental illness too! Despite struggling with addiction and bipolar, Fisher was smart, funny, and creative. imply by being honest about her experiences, Fisher made me believe it was possible for me to be all those things, too. So while I still mourn the loss of Fisher, I’m excited because….she’s been nominated for a Grammy for her narration of The Princess Diarist! This is actually her second Best Spoken Word Album narration, the first was for the aforementioned Wishful Drinking in 2009.

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Season 1 of our new podcast series Annotated is complete! Each episode is about 20 minutes long and is great for fans of podcasts like This American Life. Go here to check it out, or just click the image below:

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The Princess Diarist is the result of Fisher coming across her journals from 1977, the year she filmed Star Wars. The book is “Fisher’s intimate and revealing recollection of what happened on one of the most famous film sets of all time – and what developed behind the scenes. And today, as she reprises her most iconic role for the latest Star Wars trilogy, Fisher also ponders the joys and insanity of celebrity and the absurdity of a life spawned by Hollywood royalty, only to be surpassed by her own outer-space royalty.”

Fisher discussed the audiobook recording of the book in an interview on Penguin Random House Audio’s “This Is The Author” podcast, saying: “I don’t know that my mother read a lot to me when I was a kid, probably when I was a little teeny kid…but I was a big reader so she must have read to me sometimes, and I read aloud to my daughter, because I love words. I fell in love with words as a kid and the love goes on.”

Listen to a clip from The Princess Diarist.

Here are a few other Carrie Fisher books I loved (and she narrates all of them! Delightful!) Goodreads description in quotes.

Postcards from the Edge

Fisher’s first book, published in 1987, follows Suzanne Vale, a young actress who finds herself in a “drug hospital” (rehab, or “The ‘Hab,” as I call it). The novel follows Suzanne as she navigates the world of early recovery and, perhaps more dangerous, her relationship with her mother. Bonus: it was made into a movie with two actresses you may have heard of, Shirley MaClaine and Meryl Streep. Check out the trailer here.

The Best Awful

The Suzanne Vale saga continues in The Best Awful. Deciding that her medication is hindering and not helping her, Suzanne decides to stop taking it. “The ‘manic’ side of the illness convinces her it would be a good idea to get a tattoo, cut off her hair, and head to Mexico with a burly ex-con and a stash of OxyContin. As she wakes up in Tijuana, the ‘depressive’ side kicks in, leading Suzanne through a series of surreal psychotic episodes before landing her in a mental hospital. With the help of her movie star mom, a circle of friends, and even her ex-husband, she begins the long journey back to sanity.”

Wishful Drinking

I already gave you my glowing review of this book above but here’s a bit more detail from Goodreads, “It’s an incredible tale – from having Elizabeth Taylor as a stepmother, to marrying (and divorcing) Paul Simon, from having the father of her daughter leave her for a man, to ultimately waking up one morning and finding a friend dead beside her in bed.”

 

New Release of the Week

I might as well call New Release of the Week “Audiobooks that Will Eat All My Audible Credits” because that’s basically what this is. My remaining audible credit this month will likely go to Roberto Bolaño’s By Night in Chile.

This is a new audiobook but not new book–-it was actually the first of Bolaño’s novels available in English. It “recounts the tale of a poor boy who wanted to be a poet but ends up a half-hearted Jesuit priest and conservative literary critic, a sort of lapdog to the rich and powerful cultural elite, in whose villas he encounters Pablo Neruda and Ernst Jünger.

Father Urrutia is offered a tour of Europe by agents of Opus Dei to study ‘the disintegration of the churches’ – a journey into realms of the surreal – and, ensnared by this plum, he is next assigned, after the destruction of Allende, the secret never-to-be-disclosed job of teaching Pinochet, at night, all about Marxism, so the junta generals can know their enemy. Soon, searingly, his memories go from bad to worse.”

The narrator of By Night in Chile, Thom Rivera, has some serious audiobook cred–he’s narrated work by Isabel Allende, Maggie Stiefvater, Marlon James, and Lucia Berlin.

Links for Your Ears

Count on PBS to do a really excellent history of the audiobook.

A short history of the audiobook, 20 years after the first portable digital audio device I’ve been really impressed with Bustle’s audiobook game, this seems like the millionth list I’ve linked to from them. 11 Incredible Audiobooks That Might Actually Be Better Than The Written Version Bustle

I love love love stories about audiobooks and accessibility.

Ten Leading Doctors Share Top Lyme Treatments in New Audio Book ProHealth

That’s all for this week! As always, you can hit me up on Twitter at msmacb or by email at katie@riotnewmedia.com.

~Katie

Happy Thanksgiving, Audiobook fans (or if you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, Happy Thursday)!

I’m listening to Collusion: Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, and How Russia Helped Donald Trump Win by Luke Harding. If you are watching all the Trump/Russia stuff closely, I highly recommend it. Harding is a reporter for The Guardian and former Moscow bureau chief. The narrator is excellent and, to my crude American ears, sounds a little like Jim Dale. And because Thanksgiving is all about giving and sharing (or something) I wanted to share my favorite part thus far. I’m not sure why I found it so amusing will translate without the British accented narration, but here goes: Harding is talking about the primaries when Paul Manafort was still running Trump’s campaign. Harding says:

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Sponsored by Penguin Random House Audio

When there’s a crime that can’t be solved, listen to the experts. Visit http://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/thriller-series/ for a thrilling mystery series that you can get hooked on.

If you are looking for a brassy, independent female protagonist, you’ll love Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum. If you want an experienced ex-CIA man turned President, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan is the man for you. Or, perhaps you’d like a Victorian-era detective; then Clive Cussler’s Isaac Bell is a character you’ll enjoy.

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“The strategy was to try to persuade skeptics that Trump wasn’t the man he seemed. Unlike the brash reality TV showman who trash-talked his rivals, the real Trump was measured, rational, statesmanlike…The problem was that Trump seemed unaware of his impending metamorphosis. Instead, Trump got into an argument during a TV debate about the size of his penis…” at which point I burst out laughing so hard that I woke up my dog, who ran around the house barking frantically at all the windows. It was totally worth it. And it made me so happy I wanted to share it with you, my audiobook-loving friends.

Regardless of if Thanksgiving is your thing, gratitude is always a good thing to have. And I am so grateful for books. They’ve been my companions in the best of times and carried me through the worst of times. So I’m taking this opportunity to sing the praises of some of my favorite audiobooks. I didn’t intend for the list to be all women but I feel pretty great about it.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie

Whenever I read the publisher’s description of this book, I’m always surprised it’s (somewhat) framed as a story about Ifemelu and Obinze because I always think of it as Ifemelu’s story. It’s Ifemelu who we follow through most of the book, from her early relationship with Obinze in Nigeria to her navigating the unfamiliar world of Princeton, New Jersey, and beyond. I’m grateful to this book for offering a perspective on race in the united states that’s so different from my own (as a U.S.-born white person), for depicting what it’s like being a young writer, for being so beautifully written and powerful that it’s almost always the first book I recommend to someone.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I know there was great YA prior to 1999, when Speak was first published, but I consider Speak One Of The Greats. The novel begins at the beginning of Melinda’s freshman year of high school. Ostracized for calling the cops to an end-of-summer party, Melinda has stopped speaking almost entirely. I am grateful to this book for helping so many young survivors of sexual assault feel less alone and find a voice.

Clancys of Queens by Tara Clancy

“Fifth-generation New Yorker, third-generation bartender, and first-generation author Tara Clancy was raised in three wildly divergent homes: a converted boat shed in working-class Queens; a geriatric commune of feisty, Brooklyn-born Italians; and a sprawling Hamptons estate she visited every other weekend.” I am grateful to this book for showing how paradoxical, confusing, and fucked-up family can be, and how much love there can be in all the chaos. I am also grateful that Tara narrates the audiobook because her voice is amazing.

Hunger by Roxane Gay

I am grateful for All Things Roxane Gay and this book is no exception. I am grateful for the bravery, eloquence, and insight Gay brings to literally everything.

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

I know, I know, I have raved about this book no less than 827,937 times in this newsletter, but it’s so good. I’m so grateful for Irby’s humor, her willingness to talk about poop/bowel problems, and for never suffering fools. She’s a national treasure and if you haven’t checked this one out yet, hop on it.

The Good House by Ann Leary

This is another one I have raved about multiple times in this newsletter, but it’s so good–-and I love love love the audiobook. Hildy Good is a real estate agent in a small town on Boston’s North Shore. And she knows everything about everyone. What she doesn’t know–-or at least can’t admit to herself–-is that she has a drinking problem. As a former blackout drunk myself, Hildy’s denial/confusion/fear as her alcoholism gets increasingly out of control is frighteningly accurate. It’s a great book for anyone, but if you’ve ever wondered what alcoholic denial feels like, listen to this book.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I am grateful for The Hate You Give because it’s a story that desperately needed to be told and Thomas hits it out of the freaking park. When 16-year-old Star Carter witnesses the murder of her childhood friend at the hands of a police officer, the two worlds she’s been oscillating between collide. The Hate U Give is brutal, honest, and a book everyone should read.

Lizz Free or Die by Lizz Winstead

In this collection of essays, Winstead writes about how she came to be the influential comedian she is today–-starting with a childhood desire to be a priest, to her penchant for rescuing dogs with gross habits. I am grateful for this hilarious collection of essays because they made me laugh when I really needed to laugh, inspired me when I really needed to be inspired, and made me aware of Lizz Winstead, who is a delight.

Don’t forget to enter to win $500 to your favorite bookstore with our giveaway! Enter to win here.

As always, you can hit me up on twitter at msmacb or say hey at katie@riotnewmedia.com.

Until next week,

~Katie

Happy Thursday, Audiobook fans!

You know what a week from today is in the United States? Thanksgiving. You know what the next month is a lot of places? Time to see your family. Maybe that’s a good thing, maybe that’s a bad thing–-most likely, it’s a bit of both. So, I’ve pulled together a list of books about, among other things, family. Family struggle, family conflict, family grief and, of course, family love.

(I realized after I made the list, there’s a lot of death on here. I’m sorry, that wasn’t my intention. Apparently I just gravitate towards depressing books).

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Penguin Random House Audio

Penguin Random House Audio has audiobooks that are a perfect way to bring your friends and family together this busy holiday season.

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Family Feuds and Fury (publisher description in quotes):

Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Charles M. Blow

In this universally acclaimed memoir from the New York Times columnist, Blow describes growing up in segregated Louisiana in the 1970s. “Charles’s attachment to his mother – a fiercely driven women with five sons, brass knuckles in her glove box, a job plucking poultry at a nearby factory, a soon-to-be-ex husband, and a love of newspapers and learning – cannot protect him from secret abuse at the hands of an older cousin. It’s damage that triggers years of anger and searing self-questioning.” When Blow leaves to attend college, he finds himself in the unfamiliar role of being called on to perpetuate abuse as opposed to being on the receiving end of it.

May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes

“Harold Silver, [is] a historian who’s always been jealous of his successful brother, George. When the hot-tempered George is institutionalized for committing a violent act, Harold finds himself comforting his brother’s wife and children. What follows is a scathing examination of a family so fractured it may never be whole again.”

 

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

“Spanning five decades, Commonwealth explores how a chance encounter reverberates through the lives of the four parents and six children involved. Spending summers together in Virginia, the Keating and Cousins children forge a lasting bond that is based on a shared disillusionment with their parents and the strange and genuine affection that grows up between them.”

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Touted as The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian meets Jane the Virgin,” I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter follows Julia in the wake of her sister Olga’s death. Olga was the perfect Mexican daughter. Or was she? Even as her mother lambasts her for not being Olga, Julia begins to realize some things about her supposedly perfect sister aren’t adding up. Will she figure out who her sister really was? And will she, Julia, the sister who’s still alive, ever be enough?

Where’d You Go Bernadette by Marie Semple

15 year-old Bee is not your average teenager. As a reward for getting straight As on her report card, for example, she asks to go on a family vacation to Antarctica. But then Bee’s mother, Bernadette, disappears. An even more eccentric character than her daughter (by a lot), Bernadette is smart, funny, sarcastic, and terribly discontent. “To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence – creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s role in an absurd world.”

This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

When the patriarch of the Foxman family dies, the whole clan gets together for the first time in years. They sit shiva and “spend seven days and nights under the same roof. The week quickly spins out of control as longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed and old passions are reawakened.” Baby mama drama ensues.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

I haven’t listened to this one yet, but it’s next on my list. Everyone I know has been raving about it and it’s no secret that Ward is a stunningly gorgeous writer. “For Pop and Mam; their daughter, Leonie; and her kids, Jojo and Kayla, life is hard. Mam has cancer, Pop is preoccupied by working their small parcel of land, Leonie has a meth problem, and Jojo and Kayla seek love from their grandparents rather than their absent mother.” When Leonie gets word that the white father of her children is getting released from prison, she embarks on a journey with the children to meet him.

“Confronting the realities of life in the rural South, Ward gives us an epochal story, a road novel through Mississippi’s past and present that explores the bonds of family as tested by racism and poverty.”

New Release of the Week

The Mother of Black Hollywood by Jenifer Lewis

Jenifer Lewis talks about the road to becoming one of the stars of the hugely popular show, Black-ish. “From her first taste of applause at five years old to landing on Broadway within 11 days of graduation and ultimately achieving success in movies, television, and global concert halls, Jenifer describes a road to fame made treacherous by dysfunction and undiagnosed mental illness, including a sex addiction. Lewis tells her outrageous life story with lots of humor, a few regrets, and, most importantly, unbridled joy.”

Don’t forget to enter to win 500 buckaroos to your favorite bookstore with our giveaway. Enter to win here.

Links for Your Ears:

Uncle Joe is joining the ranks of Obama-era Democrats penning a memoir about their political career. There are about 7,339,634 reasons we’ll all cry listening to this one but you should probably do it anyway. Exclusive: Hear Joe Biden Read From New Book, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship and Purpose

Sean Penn has a cool pen name: Sean Penn in process of writing novel under pseudonym ‘Pappy Pariah’

Are you excited about this Philip Pullman novel because I am: Michael Sheen’s Solo Narration of Philip Pullman’s New Novel Is Better Than an Army of Voice Actors

You had me at Helena Bonham Carter: Bonham Carter and Beale read MCB poetry collection

As always, you can hit me up on twitter at msmacb or say hey at katie@riotnewmedia.com.

Until next week,

~Katie

Hey there audiophiles,

You are all so awesome. I mentioned in last week’s newsletter that I really want to listen to audiobooks at a higher speed but it sounded unbearably unnatural to me. As you smart and kind audiobook listeners tend to do, you came through with some excellent advice.

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It was interesting to see some common themes among your responses. Many of you said that listening at a higher speed is something of an acquired taste–-it sounds strange at first, but you gradually become accustomed to it. Narrators also played a role–you said that accents are tough to listen to at a higher speed but slow, southern drawls are often improved by kicking it up a notch. For example, audiobook aficionado Sarah said, “Certain narrators still sound amazing at 2x speed (Juliet Nicholson, Nicola Barber, Simon Vance and Luke Daniels are prime examples), while others have verbal tics that are only accentuated by the faster speed (the author of The Only Street in Paris, and the narrator for The Invisible Library immediately come to mind).”

And then there’s this cool tidbit from Andrea, “I used to work with employees with disabilities who require adaptive equipment to navigate the computer and our programs. People with low or no vision often use Job Access with Speech (JAWS).  This program reads the screen for them, identifying links, buttons, combo boxes or other controls. Power JAWS users often have a high speech rate set for their profile. People who listen to audiobooks at 1.5x may include those who are JAWS users.”

Thank you for being such responsive, interesting readers! You have inspired me to relisten to an audiobook (Stephen King’s On Writing) at 1.25x to see if I can speed up my listening.

New Release of the Week (publisher descriptions in quotes):

The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State by Nadia Murad

When Nadia Murad was 21 years old, Islamic State militants stormed her small village in Northern Iraq, massacring men who refused to convert to Islam and forcing women into sex slavery. Nadia was among those women. Repeatedly beaten and raped, Nadia eventually managed a narrow escape through the streets of Mosul, finding shelter in the home of a Sunni Muslim family whose eldest son risked his life to smuggle her to safety. The Last Girl is, “a call to action, a testament to the human will to survive, and a love letter to a lost country, a fragile community, and a family torn apart by war.”

Audible is celebrating 20 years (how is that even possible? Am I 672 years old?) and they’ve put together a list of their best selling books in a variety of categories. Some titles (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as the Most Repeated Listen) are expected, and others (Fifty Shades of Grey as the best-selling romance title), surprised me. That’s not a judgment about Fifty Shades; I haven’t read it. I just forgot it was ever a thing.

The most anticipated novel is Oathbringer by Brian Sanderson. According to Audible, the sequel to 2014’s Words of Radiance, “has more pre-orders than any other title in Audible’s history to date. In this epic fantasy saga, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the vengeful Voidbringers.” And is it just me, or is there something reassuring about the fact that The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” is the most bookmarked audiobook?

Check out the full list here. Audible is celebrating through November 20th with deals and other shiz happening through November 20th, so hop on them discounts while the getting is good!

Two Cool Things:

The BBC recently launched an interactive story for Amazon’s Alexa called The Inspection Chamber. Listeners are placed into shoes of a character within a story, (though not able to direct the plot or trajectory). According to the folks at Engadget, it’s “genuinely fun and entertaining” and “more Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy than Twilight Zone.” It sounds like it’s more of an audiobook that listeners can interact with, rather than a choose-your-adventure kind of game, but it’s still a pretty awesome idea. We’re living in the future!

The folks behind a project called Ambient Literature have developed an interactive story that takes readers around London. The Irish Times says the story, The Cartographer’s Confession, “encourages users to head to the areas of London featured in the story to unlock new parts of the tale.” Using a free smartphone app, the story “presents audio recordings, letters, notes and photographs to readers as they move both literally and figuratively through the story.”

The A.V. Club reviews Tom Hanks’ new short story collection, Uncommon Type. Although the review is of the print version, the reviewer makes a compelling case for the audiobook. He says, “The story collection also features dialogue that one can’t help but hear in Hanks’ voice, crammed with yowzas and lemmes and cuppa joes. This audiobook should be a bestseller.”

AudioBook Riot Recap

Rioters have been dishing out some excellent recommendations over the past few weeks.

Sarah suggests 12 books to listen to while doing holiday chores; rioter Erin gives you 6 reasons to adore Audible’s new romance package (*cough*); Nikki writes about listening to the hard stuff.

Would you like $500 to the bookstore of your choice? OF COURSE YOU WOULD. Lucky for you, we have just such a giveaway happening now. Enter to win here.

That’s it for this week! As always, you can say hey to me on Twitter, where I’m msmacb or at katie@riotnewmedia.com.

Until next week,

~Katie