Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Diane Seuss reads her own work at a stately pace. Some listeners may find this hard to get used to, but it gives them the opportunity to think about the poems, rather than just experiencing them. They are a portrait of the author--who she is and how she became that person. Her love of Keats (the man and his work) is a theme, and the title poem is a... Read More

Author Nicholas Meyer's introduction sets the scene for David Robb's excellent narration of this WWI story. In 1916, Watson and Holmes reunite after several years apart. Watson has been treating wounded soldiers, while Holmes has been undercover, extracting information from an imprisoned traitor. Germany has a diabolical plan to "starve England into surrender," and it's up to... Read More

Rick Bass delivers these essays--old and new--at a deliberate pace and a careful tempo. His voice sounds kindly and literary. Reared in Texas, he retains a slight twang and the long vowels of that region ("fi-er", "why l" and "e-quator"). That he is soulful, sincere, and aspirational matters more. A fiction writer and essayist, he is also an environmental activist, and a number... Read More

Award-winning English author Olivia Laing's pleasant, light voice suits her narration of her newest work, a mix of memoir and nonfiction essay. Structured around her restoration of an eighteenth-century walled garden--yes, she acknowledges Frances Hodgson Burnett's A SECRET GARDEN--the book explores her delights and frustrations while working with plants, the history and... Read More

Narrator Sarah Welborn informs listeners about synchronized swimming. Part history lesson, part commentary on the evolution of sports, this well-researched audiobook begins with vaudeville aquatic performances and travels the sport's growth over the last 40 years. Welborn pulls listeners in and keeps them engaged with stories about people listeners may be familiar with--like... Read More

Michael Taylor traces the history of the conflicts between the Bible and theories of evolution, particularly those considering dinosaur fossils. He considers thinkers--including Charles Darwin and Thomas Huxley--as he traces the evolving views and the many fossil discoveries that fueled those shifts. Michael Langan's British-accented narration poses the questions of the past... Read More

Hannah Choi captures the thrill of learning to fly as she opens Ankeny's account of Hazel Ying Lee's experiences with flight training during WWII. The story of Lee, the first Asian American woman to earn a pilot's license, is fascinating as it contrasts her former efforts at invisibility as an elevator operator with the freedom she found in flight. As the story expands to... Read More

Asa Siegel narrates this memoir of discovering both the personal and international impact of the accordion. Growing up, Noe Alvarez knew little about his grandfather except that he played the accordion and was the family pariah. As an adult, Noe explored the impact of accordion music on various cultures and then journeyed to Mexico, where the story of his grandfather revealed... Read More

This informative and insightful audiobook history of the Mississippi River and its regions quickly and necessarily focuses on questions of protection and preservation. The Mississippi is the center of American prosperity but is difficult to control and at every point is vulnerable. Narrator Gabriel Vaughan is a steadfast guide through a tangled history of levy building and... Read More

On the face of it, an audiobook about the publication of and critical reaction to Charles Darwin's ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES wouldn't appear to be engaging. But Mike Cooper's smooth narration and charming British accent make this audiobook more accessible than its print cousin. Nonetheless, a rudimentary knowledge of Darwin's life and theories is necessary to understand the... Read More

Andre Bellido skillfully narrates this story of writers, generational trauma, and magical realism. Aureliano Más returns to Mexico City at the behest of his aunt. She has secured him a writing fellowship she hopes will give him direction and help him stop drinking. But Aureliano's alcoholism, rooted in his mother's haunting disappearance and his best friend's suicide, has a... Read More

Christine Rendel thoughtfully introduces this gentle story. Listeners meet 83-year-old Helen Cartwright, a widow who is returning to England after many years in Australia, and the tragic death of her son. Helen, who is just waiting for the end, exists on radio, TV, tea, and toast. She avoids human contact. Rendel's friendly style enhances the backstory of Cartwright's life as a... Read More

Hollywood romance meets time travel in this rom-com from the husband-and-wife team of Kate and Danny Tamberelli. Narrators Mara Wilson and Danny Tamberelli portray Beatrix and Rocco, who are working on a film together. Suddenly, they find themselves catapulted 17 years into the past. Wilson's pleasant, emotive voice fits Beatrix as she works through complex emotions of grief... Read More

Narrator Stacy Gonzalez brings to life the docks, bars, and streets of 1800s Tacoma in Washington Territory in this queer historical romp. Alma Rosales has set up a good life for herself as opium smuggler Jack Camp. But when two men are found dead in a bar her crew frequents and several newcomers--known and unknown--come to town, Alma's situation is threatened. Gonzalez's deep... Read More

Narrator Chloe Davies delivers the second audiobook in the DC Morgan series. Seven contestants find themselves in the mountains of Wales for what they've been told is a "Survivor"-like TV show. They quickly discover that the premise of the show, called "Exposed," is to uncover the deepest, darkest secret of each person involved. When a contestant goes missing, Detective Ffion... Read More

Alexandra Cohler has the right tone, tempo, and style for this polemical and highly informed audiobook. She can sound like she's reporting on a real-life scene or immersed in a sci-fi setting. Her narrative approach works well with this provocative work by journalist/science fiction novelist Newitz, who challenges preconceived notions about messages and messaging. The subject... Read More

Narrator Elizabeth Wiley is a gifted enunciator, adept at delivering the full weight and value of every word. For this expansive survey of how theories of prehistory have shaped thinking and events over the past three centuries, she maintains a steady pace and a level tone. In these ways she keeps grounded a narrative that takes enormous leaps in time and locale. Wiley proves... Read More

Golden Voice Cassandra Campbell narrates this emotional story about justice. Eight-year-old Ruth fought with and abandoned her friend Ceely in the woods; then Ceely was murdered. The trauma and guilt caused Ruth to develop unending adult issues: alcoholism, failed marriages, and fractured relationships. When the unnamed murderer comes back to town years later, Ruth seeks to... Read More

Christopher Douyard impressively recounts the meteoric rise and fall of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, as told by veteran CHICAGO TRIBUNE reporter Gregory Royal Pratt--and everyday Chicagoans themselves. Listeners meet the Black, gay, extremely confident Lightfoot as she sweeps 70% of votes, based on her campaign promise of ending Chicago's reputation for corruption, racism, and... Read More

In this compendium of essays and conversations, Maggie Nelson reflects on the art and artists who have shaped, inspired, and changed her. Senn Annis's narration is a mixed bag. Her rhythmic cadence is sometimes a bit stilted. She uses the same inflection for most sentences, and it gives her performance a feeling of recitation, rather than liveliness. She's at her best when... Read More

Cindy Kay's narration captures this unique take on a jewelry heist. Her voice masterfully conveys the urgency of Rune Sarasin's dilemma: Should she dump the jewels she has stolen or help find her boyfriend's missing sister? Listeners are drawn into a whirlwind of danger and intrigue. Kay seamlessly transitions between the gritty back alleys of Bangkok and the opulent auction... Read More

In this informative and entertaining audiobook, Erika Howsare uses deer as a way to explore humanity's fraught and constantly shifting relationship with the natural world. Her narration--even, measured, and relatively unobtrusive--suits the book well. Howsare's observations are so nuanced that a dramatic narration would detract from them. She shares fascinating stories,... Read More

Rupert Brooke, Alan Seeger, Isaac Rosenberg, Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, and Wilfred Owen were arguably the greatest poets writing in English during WWI. Malcolm Hillgartner delivers Michael Korda's biographies of them, telling the story of how the attitudes of poetry--and to a lesser extent of the British public--shifted as the war went on. From Brooke's glorification of... Read More

Nell Greenfieldboyce is an NPR science reporter, so it's no surprise that she has clarity of both argument and speech in her performance of her personal essays. Topics range from the miniscule--fleas, cosmic dust--to the life changing--her difficulty in getting pregnant and her husband's polycystic kidney disease. But all are filled with wit and self-deprecating humor. When her... Read More

Rebecca Lam unfolds the incredible events behind Anna May Wong's rise to fame as the first female Chinese actor in American cinema. Lam smoothly transports listeners to the glamorous, tumultuous world of Hollywood in the 1920s. With precision and clarity, Lam captures Wong's journey from her early struggles to her rise to stardom. She recounts the challenges Wong faced as an... Read More

Christina Delaine's deep, rich voice makes for a mostly easy listen as she narrates this cat-and-mouse thriller. Listeners may find Delaine's slow-paced and low-pitched delivery a bit monotone in contrast to the adrenaline-fueled scenes. The story is told mainly from the perspectives of the hired assassin, Leo Sealy, and his target, smart and well-trained security expert... Read More

Hillary Huber narrates the story of Lacey and Edith, former friends from different worlds who come together to face and heal their forty-year estrangement. Hummel's powerful prose is brought to life by Huber's lyrical voice. Lacey, the child of immigrants who escaped from Germany in the 1930s as Hitler came into power and found success in California, befriended Edith, daughter... Read More

This moody coming-of-age novella was a bestseller when it appeared in Japan decades ago. Now it is newly translated and appears in the audio format, narrated by Kathleen Li. She convincingly delivers 19-year-old Yayol's angst, feelings of dislocation, and vulnerability as she seeks answers about her past by trying to uncover lost memories. Li's narration is often precise and... Read More

Jaime Lincoln Smith skillfully narrates this long overdue biography. Smith's relaxed pacing, rich tone, and understated swagger embody Calvin Peete, one of the best Black golfers in history. This fascinating audiobook takes listeners from Peete's early days as the child of migrant laborers with limited opportunities for education to his incredible success in the PGA despite his... Read More

British narrator Graham Mack brings listeners into the ocean with François Sarano, who once accompanied Jacques Cousteau on the CALYPSO. Sarano wants to bring humans closer to sharks, if only metaphorically. Mack sternly catalogs the current dire threats to sharks, such as the market for their fins. Switching gears, he makes swimming with sharks seem like a normal, even... Read More

Malcolm Hillgartner epitomizes a fine nonfiction narrator. He lets these often disturbing stories of road ecology (annals of roadkills) reveal themselves in an understated way. A master of pace and cadence, his tone works with the dramatic statistics provided: About one million wild animals perish daily from cars, 40 million miles of roads ring the planet, and the fires in... Read More

Maria Pendolino performs this short collection of essays featuring Dr. Ashley Shew's concept of "technoableism," a type of ableist belief that technology can, and should, "cure" disabled people. Shew uses her experience as a chronically ill, hard-of-hearing cancer survivor and amputee to illustrate how technology helps assist her in her everyday life. But, at the same time,... Read More

Narrator Johnny Heller solidly maintains the author's intriguing premise: A mobster from Chicago is hiding as a rabbi in Las Vegas. Whether David Cohen--aka Sal Cupertine--will be found out by those who are after him is the mystery. Heller understands how to shape characters with voices that fit their personalities. It's a challenge, with the handful of heavies, but Heller--an... Read More

UK-born-and-bred author Fuchsia Dunlop adds zest to her ardent narration of her epicurean adventures around China and the history of Chinese food. A year-long academic scholarship in Sichuan, China, led to an invitation to study at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine. Her acceptance, which stemmed from a love of food, cooking, and a desire to spend more time in the city,... Read More

Paul Boehmer's thoughtful, well-paced narration encourages close listening to this beautifully written personal memoir and guide to the seventeenth-century Dutch master painters. When Pulitzer Prize-winning author Benjamin Moser relocated to the Netherlands, he sought to understand his place in a foreign country by delving into the lives and work of Rembrandt, Fabritius,... Read More

The unnamed narrator of Madievsky's latest novel has always been drawn to big sister Debbie's exciting, chaotic lifestyle. The night of the narrator's high school graduation, she accompanies Debbie to Salvation, an L.A. bar filled with energy healers, hopeful actors, and misfits. Thus begins her journey into addiction. Moniqua Plante gives the protagonist a strong but detached... Read More

This rom-com is expertly performed by Mara Wilson and Nickelodeon star Danny Tamberelli. Lucy doesn't feel like she's going anywhere in life, and Rudy wants a relationship with someone who doesn't care that he was a 90s TV star. When they go on a date, it ends with a grave prediction from a psychic: Their romance will be equally rewarding and disastrous. For a romance heavy on... Read More

Curtis Michael Holland portrays Noah York, who is kind of a jerk. A struggling not-so-young artist and the son of a Pulitzer-winning poet, he spends the several days of the story trying hard not to grow up despite the pressure of events. And those days are full of a remarkable number of events, including deadly disease, long-lost relatives, felonies, and romantic entanglements.... Read More

Tanya Eby performs this unusual fictionalized biography of the Brontë family, particularly Anne, Charlotte, and Emily and their brother, Bramwell. She acts out the various vignettes that imagine the Brontës' lives as children, teens, and then adult writers. The stories are set in time periods that range from the mid-nineteenth century to the late twentieth (long past their... Read More

As this audiobook begins, David Stifel depicts a scene in which the author watches an octopus disappear into kelp, still visible though camouflaged. Scheel brings both personal experiences such as this one and his knowledge from 25 years of study to his writing on these creatures, which Alaskan Natives call "many things under a rock." Stifel has a touch of gravel in his voice,... Read More

Listening to Tove Danovich is like spending time with a deeply enthusiastic and knowledgeable chicken-loving pal. Journalist and hen-keeper Danovich offers pleasantly playful but informative accounts of our long fascination and relationship with chickens--set against the backdrop of her own suburban hen keeping. She moves from whimsical tones to those conveying deep curiosity... Read More

Christopher Brown's timbre may sound less than ideal to some listeners, but his interpretations are clear, and he's in sync with the author's passion for the intelligence he sees in the incredibly diverse plant kingdom. Paco Calvo argues that plants may not have centralized brains like higher animals but often have communication systems that allow them to adapt, remember,... Read More

Judy Rakowsky recounts her thirty-year search for her long-lost relative, Hena, the only survivor of a family that was killed one night in Poland near the end of WWII. Investigative journalist Rakowsky has the perfect skills to follow her older cousin, Sam, a Holocaust survivor, on this journey. Rakowsky candidly expresses her frustration with waiting for translations, Sam's... Read More

Mike Chamberlain's believable tone and unhurried pace make him a great choice to narrate this audiobook subtitled "Climate and the Science of Denial." He animates the author's controlled irony and subtly brings out the frustration that runs through Lipsky's discussion. This is a long story of facts versus falsehoods and the climate-change deniers who have benefitted from both... Read More

Narrator Patricia Santomasso takes us to Italy in the 1960s. When American actress Silvia finds that the film she was supposed to shoot in Italy is canceled, she and her mother are left almost penniless. Silvia then travels to the castello of her eccentric aunt, Gabriella, once a famous actress, hoping to borrow some money. The castle is chosen as the location for a new horror... Read More

Kelly Burke beautifully channels Sylvia Plath in this fictional memoir. As the last few months of Plath's life unfold, Burke gives voice to the emotional swings the poet might have endured as she struggled with a difficult pregnancy, the isolation of the Devon countryside, and her husband Ted Hughes's inattention and infidelity. Even though the sad facts of Plath's last days... Read More

Derek Dysart brings an announcer's voice to this history of road construction and its effects in the U.S. He clearly guides listeners through complicated issues related to the development of our freeways and interstate highways. Dysart speaks urgently as he voices the fears of downtown merchants as businesses moved to the suburbs. His tone softens sympathetically as he narrates... Read More

Rachel Louise Snyder's trauma and empathy are powerfully present in her narration of this memoir. Snyder's mother died when she was 8; two years later her father remarried and violently forced strict evangelical principles upon her family. Kicked out of school and her home at 16, she could barely manage her life; she was too young for a lease or bank account. Snyder's voice is... Read More

Dianne Seuss narrates her collection of poems with a deliberate cadence. Her tone suggests an intimate public performance and creates a deeply disarming and personal listening experience. Her topics include ruminations on mortality, with the constant refrain of a life lived and paths not taken. Seuss reflects on suicidal ideation, difficult relationships, sex, and the powerful... Read More

The first chapters of this family drama will be hard to bear if the listener has recently lost a loved one. In a gentle, sympathetic voice, narrator Brenda Scott Wlazlo tells the story of Instagram superstar Bree Boyd, whose glamorous life is cut short by cancer. Jodie Boyd commits to completing her late sister's bucket list while being followed on Instagram in return for... Read More

Polly Lee has a lot of fun narrating this new series about a novice detective, and it is infectious. Tabitha Knight, a fictional neighbor of Julia Child (yes, that Julia), finds herself at the top of the suspect list when a dead body is found in the cellar--with a note in her handwriting. Lee excels at evoking the wide-eyed wonder of this American in Paris. She balances this... Read More

Audrey Niffenegger's time-traveling love story, first published in 2003, is made even better by entertaining performances from Fred Berman and Phoebe Strole. Librarian Henry DeTamble has no control over his time traveling. Clare is only 6 years old when Henry first appears to her from the future. Clare's life continues in a linear path as Henry drops in, mostly unexpectedly.... Read More

Dan Calley narrates this historical mystery set in London and Paris in 1769. Henry Hunt and Robert Hooke of the Royal Society and Hooke's niece, Grace, team up once more. Hunt, now an intelligencer for the Royal Ordnance, undertakes several missions. He must find whoever is impersonating the Queen's dwarf, locate a missing diamond, and foil the plot to kill England's Queen... Read More

Kathleen Li warmly, effectively, and efficiently narrates Hoang's well-researched glimpse behind the proverbial curtain of the shadow economy that offers global elites opportunities to invest in risky frontier markets. While the content is revealing, at times shocking, Li's narration remains deliberate, measured, and unadorned. Those who have wondered about the use and purpose... Read More

Peter Berkrot portrays PI Harry Duncan with a confident authority that reflects Duncan's intelligence, street smarts, ingenuity, and caring. Perry fans will recognize the mix of innocents needing defending, seriously bad guys, and tense chase scenes. Duncan is hired by his ex-wife, a U.S. attorney, to investigate what appears to be organized crime moving into small Midwestern... Read More

Paul Heitsch is the perfect narrator for this mystery packed full of dark humor and intrigue. PI Tony Casella's goal of living a quiet, solitary life is turned upside down when an apparent chance meeting on a train draws him into the business of murder for hire. Heitsch's strong characterization creates a highly believable and likable lead character in Casella, a man who is... Read More

Priscilla Gilman begins narrating her memoir by expressing concern about her ability to fully capture the complexity of her father and their relationship. Her wary tone doesn't continue long. Soon she, and listeners, are engaged in stories about her life with her famous dad, writer, theater critic, and Yale School of Drama professor Richard Gilman. The author delivers... Read More

Nicol Zanzarella's narration lends elegance and gravitas to the exquisite orchid plant, which has an impressive international history and continues to evoke the passions of an ever-growing fan club. Much more than a detailed explanation of orchid care, this audiobook is a comprehensive dive into the orchid's influence on culturally significant people--rulers, like China's 1860s... Read More

Chin's debut novel, a unique coming-of-age story, introduces listeners to Leah, who was once "the youngest and very best fortune teller in the world." Sarah Skaer keeps listeners engaged as she recounts Leah's journey to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance when she was 6. Now 21 and an outcast in the world, she's planning her suicide when a knock at her door changes... Read More

It takes some doing to get inside Miles, this audiobook's screwed-up protagonist (using the term loosely). Yet narrator Justin Price smoothly dissects this lead character as he unravels. Miles has been coasting as a star creative at a virtual-reality corporation, but then he becomes a pariah receiving death threats, thanks in large part to a change in company policy. A person... Read More

The journey begins with a grumpily drawled entry from "Thibault's Log." A moment later, listeners learn that Thibault is a cat with AI modifications. The story is told from the flippant point of view of Cooper Douglas, who makes his living through "pre-salvage," otherwise known as theft. Douglas stumbles on a mast that could take him to a new area of space--if he can get his... Read More

Graham Robb cycles his way through French history from the Gauls to Charlie Hebdo in these unconnected historical essays. Narrator Tom Lawrence has his work cut out for him with all the French names and terms and dense details that don't always have a clear context. Lawrence has a lovely English accent, an attractive lilt, and good energy. But sometimes he sounds a bit too... Read More

Ottessa Moshfegh, author of several audiobooks, one of which she narrates, steps in to deliver this new production of the late Leonard Cohen's early fiction, written in the 1950s. The 16 short stories and a novella are a snapshot of the period and the artist's development of his voice. Cohen focuses on themes of violence, deeply intimate sex, rejection, the betrayals of old... Read More

Narrator Matt Addis taps into his agility with accents to perform the many English, Irish, and American characters in this well-plotted thriller. The story opens with an explosion in a London tube station, where listeners are introduced to Irish-born Constantine (Con) Lindow, a research scientist who is arrested for the bombing. To prove his innocence, he agrees to work with... Read More

This year's Booker Prize novel is also one of its most compelling audiobooks. Set in a violent phase of Sri Lanka's recent history, the story is often grim--but also deliciously ingenious and suspenseful. The narrator, recently murdered, addresses himself as "you," reconstructing a storyline in which the afterlife exists simultaneously with the living world and the victim... Read More

It's safe to say that you'll never look at the humble pigeon the same way again after hearing this fun and fascinating audiobook. Mosco is unmistakably fond of her subjects, and Janet Metzger reflects that in her informative narration. She sounds interested and engaged as she shares facts about everything from pigeon biology and behavior to famous pigeons in history. But the... Read More

This collection of short stories by Banana Yoshimoto features five women and centers on the common theme of recovery from life-changing events. These include consuming a poisoned curry meant for someone else; encountering the ghosts of a kindly, elderly couple; and finding hope for new romance following a sexual assault. Narrator Kathleen Li matches Yoshimoto's spare,... Read More

This is the first book, first audiobook, and first audiobook narration by British journalist James Vincent, and his history of measurement is informative, enriching, and unexpectedly lively. This is one of those rare audiobooks that makes one look at the world fresh, and whole. For American ears, Vincent's distinctive British vowels and syllabication may require some... Read More

Kaipo Schwab narrates this sweeping history of North America, which is focused primarily on the territory that would become the United States. It is told from the vantage point of Indigenous peoples, who first arrived in around 10,000 BCE. Its emphasis is on the time period beginning with the first Europeans' "discovery" of the continent, and it continues through the latter... Read More

Ann Richardson performs this snowy mystery, which revolves around a daughter's search for the truth. Marietta goes missing after she's accused of murdering a man. Her daughter, Lena, is determined to find out what really happened. In a series of transcripts, articles, and descriptions, listeners follow Lena's investigation, slowly putting together the full picture of that snowy... Read More

Piper Goodeve's talents are showcased in this young adult fantasy. Charged with safeguarding a portal to the Otherworld, Jack has dutifully performed his job for hundreds of years. Things change when he crosses paths with the young witch Ember O'Dare. When Ember slips Jack's protection and finds her way into the Otherworld without his help, he leaves his post to save her.... Read More

Kim Niemi's delivery of this memoir takes a potentially emotional situation and, as the author does, expresses it with a neutrality that is based more in thought than emotion. Whether this work is considered a short memoir or an extended essay, it reflects the author's continual adjustments through 11 years of caring for her mother, for whom she did not have wholly positive... Read More

Mozhan Marnò brings a sensitive, evocative tone to this intergenerational story of the women in an Iranian American family. Mitra, the family rebel, is given a strong demeanor that will have listeners rooting for her as she grapples with tradition and grief at the loss of her sister. Her mother, Shireen, is torn by competing loyalties to her children and her husband. Marnò does... Read More

Israeli American author Moriel Rothman-Zecher delivers a dazzling narration of his novel of trauma, identity, and sexuality in 1930s Philadelphia. The story centers on three characters: recent arrivals to America Leyb and Gittl, who are the only Jewish survivors of a pogrom in their Ukrainian village, and Charles, a Black intellectual whom Leyb meets in a gay bar. Charles, who... Read More

Roman Howell's narration makes the true story of Barnum Brown, the fossil-hunting scientist from Kansas who found the first Tyrannosaurus rex, seem like an adventure novel. Howell sounds excited and fascinated by Brown's ability to uncover fossils in what was becoming a crowded field. As dinosaurs became popular, the paleontologist from New York's American Museum was always... Read More

Claire Keegan's short story is enhanced by Aoife McMahon's exquisite narration. Her soft, melodious accent is the voice of the young, unnamed narrator from an impoverished Irish-Catholic family. Her voice is hurt and unsure as her father drops her off at the home of distant relatives without a suitcase, an explanation, or a goodbye--just an admonishment: "Try not to fall into... Read More

In terse tones, author/narrator Elizabeth Crane gives raw insight into the dissolution of a 15-year marriage and what happens afterward. Crane is stunned the day her husband admits point-blank that he is not happy. In a deadpan tone, she then proceeds to recount the ups and downs of their history together. In darkly funny moments she sarcastically speculates on what caused the... Read More

Iranian author Mandanipour has written a beautiful and tragic book of short stories, and Fajer Al-Kaisi's narration makes them even more urgent and visceral. Modern Iranian life--including graphic descriptions of warfare and urban sectarian violence--is often juxtaposed with the beauty of the ancient Persian way of life, or at least the imagined versions of many of the tortured... Read More

Narrator Ruth Urquhart takes on this long-winded tale of a mysterious disappearance and the hunt for a missing lad on a sparsely populated Scottish island. Leigh Welles, depressed and disappointed with life, believes in the mysterious sluagh--legendary, bloodthirsty, soul-stealing Celtic creatures who haunt the island in October. When a local boy goes missing, Welles searches... Read More

Devon Sorvari gives a stunning performance of this timely and powerfully affecting audiobook about a young family in dire circumstances. Tuck; her husband, Paul; and their young daughter, Agnes, squat in her late grandmother's home on a remote Maine island, which has been willed to Tuck's long absent father. The family's meager funds are being depleted by Paul, who is addicted... Read More

With his flawless pacing, Paul Woodson's excellent narration is the perfect match for this engaging listen. The second book in the Austin Grant series brings back the retired Scotland Yard detective; his daughter, Rachel; and her fiancé, NYPD Officer John Frankel. When Frankel's ex-wife is found murdered in his apartment just weeks before his wedding to Rachel, Grant heads to... Read More

This powerful work of historical fiction follows the fortunes, actually misfortunes, of the Majewski family, who are trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto during the early years of WWII. Kelli Tager's matter-of fact presentation captures the cruelties of the Nazis, as well as the resilience of the victims. Three women, each smoothly differentiated by Tager, are featured: Hanna, the... Read More

Narrator Jessica Marchbank is a classically trained vocalist, and that shows in her performance of this audiobook focused on two women in early-twentieth-century New Orleans. Constance Halstead is a young widow; Alice Butterworth may as well be, as her husband has simply disappeared. But their backgrounds are different. Constance has a trust fund, while Alice has only her... Read More

Lisa Renee Pitts delivers a spirited narration of this coming-of-age debut. Malaya Clondon is a young Black girl growing up in Harlem in the '80s and '90s who faces continual fat shaming. At age 8, she is forced to attend Weight Watchers with her mother, and she suffers harsh judgments and pressures at school, as well as from her hypercritical grandmother. In contrast, Malaya's... Read More

Narrator Kyla Garcia offers an engrossing performance of this thoughtful audiobook in translation, which examines gender expectations. Feliciana, voiced lyrically, with a slight Mexican accent, is a world-famous traditional healer whose transfem cousin and teacher, Paloma, has been brutally murdered. Zoe, a young journalist from Mexico City sent to cover Paloma's death, is... Read More

Winston Churchill led a life that would be hard to believe in a fictional account. Churchill's lineage--he was descended from John Churchill, the bane of Louis XIV--all but assured that he would be a character of legend--a politician and a warrior, or so it seems. His career in politics, which covered a span of more than a half-century, is enough to demand notice. Jonathan... Read More

Trust the author/narrator when he says this memoir is a confessional--because it is. And there may be some things about Fitzgerald's life listeners would prefer not to know. Nonetheless, this is an interesting listen about a person who's led a fascinating, if at times, shocking, life. Fitzgerald had a troubled upbringing and shares some heartbreaking stories of violence and... Read More

Novelist and poet Jesse Ball seems to be completely honest in this memoir, so much so that he comes across as arrogant, neurotic, and, frankly, unpleasant. The structure of the audiobook is quite unusual, making it difficult for narrator James Patrick Cronin to develop characters in any of the usual ways. The text jumps around in seeming free association rather than a... Read More

Sasha LaPointe is an Indigenous artist--a descendant of the Upper Skagit and Nooksack Indian tribes--as well as a poet and now an author/narrator. She voices her coming-of-age memoir in soft, melodic tones while recounting a nomadic childhood full of identity conflict. LaPointe is an engaging storyteller who shares her various journeys, which range from expanding her... Read More

Narrator Saul Reichlin stays calm, but listeners will get caught up in the chaos that starts and ends this audiobook. The mystery--concerning the connection between a missing computer hacker and a realtor's big deal--takes awhile to unfold, but that's to allow for character development. The South African accents are fully comprehensible as Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido, two... Read More

Laural Merlington narrates with intelligence, clarity, good pace, and timing that suits this scientific send-up of how farming practices have devolved. Her serious yet approachable tone and sure cadence work for this detailed and demanding manifesto on regenerative farming. Merlington does especially good work on the profiles and interviews that underpin the husband-and-wife... Read More

Soft-voiced Anne Flosnik narrates this fourteenth-century tale of a convent in England. In the aftermath of the Black Death, the aging Mother John, abbess of Gaerdegen, leads her nuns, using the controversial Book of Ursula, much to the dismay of the local priest-confessor. Flosnik's steady voice allows this story, filled with long-winded backstories of the nuns' lives, the... Read More

Narrator Eric Martin's deliberate narration makes listening to this unusual novel about life's challenges both intriguing and troubling. The story of Benjamin, an elderly father, and his estranged daughter, Helen, explores what happened when she disappeared in Mount Rainier National Park at the age of 11. Martin plumbs the crevices of the father-daughter relationship and also... Read More

Kyla García performs Maria Gainza's brief, richly detailed jewel of a novel with just the right touch of insouciance to capture the essence of the duplicitous unnamed narrator. The story takes place in the clandestine world of art forgery in Buenos Aires and features the lives of its eccentric artists and would-be forgers. García delivers the story as if the narrator, an art... Read More

This detailed history of how economics swayed public policy during the last 60 years has sentences and conceptual threads that would challenge any voice pro. Narrator Suzie Althens has a pleasing vocal tone and melodic pitch range that any narrator would envy. But occasionally her vocal flourishes and placement of pauses interrupt a sentence or conceptual thread that needs more... Read More

Mike Lenz narrates in a thoughtful style and measured tone that work well for this history of nineteenth-century Manhattan. His thoroughly professional performance lets the dozens of compelling anecdotes tell themselves. The listener is engaged by the sometimes chaotic, often revealing stories of fires, riots, diseases, famous people such as John Jacob Astor and P.T. Barnum,... Read More

This postapocalyptic novel is sparse with concrete details, leaving out dates and place names. Only one city is identified, Toronto, and only two countries, the U.S. and Canada. Nor are most of the characters named. The world being painted is one in which the future is uncertain for American exiles, and exile is the only safe course of action remaining for Americans, including... Read More

Author/narrator Melissa Febos delivers a rousing manifesto on the transformative power of personal storytelling. This part-memoir, part-writing guide is presented as a series of candid essays that explore writing about traumatic experiences. Febos draws listeners in with her clear, unapologetic narration of practical advice about how to write about ourselves and/or others. She... Read More

Sandro Galea's analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic is a public health call to action, and narrator Roman Howell capably conveys this message. After each solemn chapter title announcement, Howell amps up the urgency as he describes the pandemic's effects on geography, politics, economics, racism, and history itself. Howell's narration reinforces Galea's tenet: Medicine and... Read More

Matthew Lloyd Davies’s performance is intelligent, honest, and compelling in this intriguing story filled with spycraft and surprises. Robert Harland, ex-British spy, currently works for the UN secretary- general. After surviving a plane crash, which was possibly sabotage, he’s drawn back into intelligence work. Years earlier, as an agent in Czechoslovakia, Harland’s career and... Read More

An echo of adolescent enthusiasm underlies William Sarris's lively narration--a fitting tone for this history of the world's favorite and most enduring games. Checkers, backgammon, chess, Go, poker, Scrabble, bridge--even before you've finished the first chapter and heard all the possible opening moves in a checkers match, you realize that these are no passing adolescent... Read More

Narrator Eunice Wong delivers an emotionally absorbing performance of this poignant novella and five short stories. This fictional compilation explores complexities of the Asian-American experience, including issues such as assimilation and intergenerational trauma. In the titular novella, HUNGER, Wong magnificently renders the heartbreaking tone and presents authentic... Read More

Listeners often find that an audiobook performance enhances and sometimes redefines the written narrative, and this example is an interesting case in point. The author is male, the narrator female. The point of view is third-person omniscient, but our sympathies are solidly with the novel's beleaguered heroine. Mark Prins's story of a senior professor stifling the career of... Read More

Narrator Joyce Bean, the voice of this series, returns to bring listeners Native American Jane Whitefield. In helping a young woman disappear from a murderous boyfriend, Jane triggers a blood-thirsty pursuit by the Russian mob, pushing her to leverage her well-honed survival skills. Bean portrays Jane with an even-paced, somewhat monotone voice that conveys calm intelligence.... Read More

Aiden Kelly gives a masterful narration of this brief novel, set in a small Irish town in 1985. Bill Furlong, the son of an unwed mother and now a coal merchant with a family, leads a comfortable life. But menace gradually creeps into Kelly's brogue, reflecting the shattering of Furlong's complacency. During a coal delivery to the town's convent, he finds a young woman locked... Read More

Narrator Rachel Coates captures the vitality of Primi Peregrino, a passionate booklover. The Marcos regime has brought the economy in the Philippines to its knees. Primi and her sister are orphans, yet while the world around her is in flux, Primi thinks only of books, sex, books, and more sex--preferably with a book nearby. Primi's creed is "I read, therefore, I am." Although a... Read More

This trio of narrators hits the mark. Poker and crime play a role in these short stories, which come to life with their deft narrations. Many of the authors are well known; for example, Joyce Carol Oates, Laura Lippman, and Michael Connelly. For the characters at a party in "Pitch Black," narrator Keith Sellon-Wright creates an exceptional range of voices, alternating mostly... Read More

Raquel Beattie masterfully engages listeners with her calm, clear voice as she performs this audiobook. For the first-person protagonist, living in Chile during the brutal dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet is like living in another dimension--not unlike the one depicted in the 1960s television series "The Twilight Zone." Nothing is what it seems; people change their names, have... Read More

Narrator Jennifer M. Dixon sets the perfect pace for this clever series debut set at the fictional estate of mystery writer Agatha Christie. Phyllida Bright, Christie's capable housekeeper, channels her boss's famous character, private detective Hercule Poirot, when she investigates the murder of an unexpected guest at a weekend house party. Dixon animates the dialogue,... Read More

Author Eyal Press asks listeners to consider his view that grave moral injuries are being inflicted upon workers in a variety of "dirty" industries. Narrator Neil Shah sounds like a seasoned survival show narrator as he brings seriousness, tension, and concern to the author's probing interviews with a panoply of workers. They include mental health professionals in prisons,... Read More

FROM THE PUBLISHER: Frank and funny, Dr. Jen Gunter debunks misogynistic attitudes and challenges the over-mystification of menopause to reveal everything you really need to know about: perimenopause, hot flashes, sleep disruption, sex and libido, depression and mood changes, skin and hair issues, outdated therapies, breast health, weight and muscle mass, health maintenance... Read More

Narrator Danny Campbell uses a raspy, scratchy timbre to create the voice of a 115-year-old Sam Cunningham, who, on his deathbed, is reviewing his life with God. Sam's remarkable life begins in Louisiana under the thumb of an abusive father. After serving in WWI, Sam begins an illustrious career in journalism. Campbell's expressive voice guides listeners through Sam's reporting... Read More

Listeners who enjoy a moving historical novel will appreciate Peter Berkrot's narration as two California families are shaped by war, bigotry, and disastrously entangled relationships. Berkrot brings to life the Wilsons and Takahashis, whose lives are forever altered by the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Takahashis, tenants of the Wilsons, are sent to an internment camp. Their... Read More

Blake Scott Ball uses subtlety and understatement, much like "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz himself did, to paint a thoughtful portrait of Schulz's life and the political commentary he quietly placed in his renowned comic strip and later animated television specials. Sadly, Johnny Heller's delivery style is more like that of an anchorman. (Think: "Here now--the news!") It... Read More

On one level, this remarkable audiobook focuses on Gala, a trans woman who is looking for meaning in contemporary New Mexico. Deeper focus, however, is given to Gala's quasi-biographical fan letters to (and about) B--, the genius behind 1960s surf band the Get Happies. Intensity mounts as Gala's and B--'s experiences of gender and displacement overlap, and author Jeanne... Read More

Memoirist Diane Wilson's first novel celebrates the role of Dakota women who kept their seeds and culture alive across generations. Narrator Kyla Garcia portrays four generations of women who preserve seeds and stories. She brings Rosalie Iron Wing to life as she struggles to overcome her past as a foster child, live as the wife of a white farmer, and search for her family and... Read More

Narrating this broad history, Susan Ericksen combines respect for the author's work with the tone and phrasing needed to make listening enjoyable. Ericksen's slow enunciation is fitting but will challenge some listeners' ability to track the ideas in longer sentences. But with her grasp of the author's intentions never in doubt, the work holds together with satisfying... Read More

George Newbern's narration keeps listeners focused throughout scenes of heartbreaking choices. His voice sounds just a bit removed; however, this is in keeping with the audiobook's third-person narration and doesn't diminish its impact. Listeners hear how Henry and his 6-year-old son get by living out of a truck. Henry negotiates life based on the fluctuating amounts of money... Read More

Christina Delaine delivers a fable in a tone of childlike wonder as she begins her narration of the story of conservation. The tone continues as author Michelle Nijhuis describes her summer job of watching a desert tortoise. That magical feeling continues to pop up from time to time, as when Delaine describes Nijhuis's first visit to the Smithsonian. Conservation and the people... Read More

Narrator James Cameron Stewart delivers a tongue-in-cheek WWII adventure featuring British spy Basil St. Florian. Listeners meet the real-life code breaker Alan Turing and learn that St. Florian must locate a rare 1789 manuscript called "A Path to Jesus" to crack a code and possibly end the war. Stewart's approach is laugh-out-loud funny as St. Florian gets himself into and out... Read More

This audiobook collection of Russian mystery and crime short stories and excerpts from larger works includes classics from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as some lesser-known works. Authors include Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Bunin, and Nabokov, among others. BJ Harrison provides a spirited and expressive narration of all the works. His voice is clear, and he... Read More

In 1933, a man lost his 13-year-old daughter in a poker game. The girl went off to live with a man she had never met. And so, in an easy Kentucky drawl, narrator Courtney Patterson begins the hardscrabble story of Carol, who unquestioningly takes the world, in all its brutality and wonder, as it comes. The audiobook trades chapters between the voices of Carol and her grandson,... Read More

Goldberg's collection of crime stories has plenty of dark humor, but narrator Johnny Heller never plays it for laughs. Heller stays true to the characters, who may say funny things but are not funny people. The production excels when Heller enters the minds and mouths of the tough guys and gals. (Many appear in earlier Goldberg novels.) Check out Heller as Peaches Pocotillo,... Read More

Narrator Rosemary Benson creates the voices of the major and minor figures in this biography of Levon Helm, drummer for The Band. She delivers a convincing voicing of Helm's soft Arkansas dialect and even mimics incidental characters such as saxophonist Bobby Keys and folk singer Happy Traum. Author Tooze's excellent research keeps the biography interesting (odd fact--Helm... Read More

Courtney Zoffness narrates her reflections on motherhood, gender, and contemporary life with unflinching directness. The questions she raises are not easy, but she introduces them with a frankness that makes them engaging. Listeners who are looking for an interesting mix of topics will find much to admire in these essays, which can be listened to in order or chosen at random.... Read More

Charlie Thurston's performance of Marcia Butler's novel about a wandering moose and the townsfolk of a small mill town in central Maine is a pleasure. Evidently inspired by people she met when visiting the state, the author populates the audiobook with quirky personalities who elicit affection and sympathy without becoming caricatures. Thurston supports the author's choices by... Read More

Suzanne Toren is an experienced narrator, one of the AUDIOFILE's Golden Voices, who confidently takes the listener into this complicated family drama about a girl in provincial France in the early 1900s. Listeners hear the ups and downs of Maud's early years with an absent father and a negligent mother. In dreamy tones, Toren creates sympathy for the young Maud, who tries to... Read More

Narrator Joana Garcia is an excellent choice for this novel about familial and ancestral trauma. She conveys the difficulties Rufina faces as she tries to keep her half-brother, Rafa, alive. Listeners are drawn into this reckoning as the two wrestle with their mother's past. Garcia maximizes the drama in each scene as ghosts and angels populate the narrative alongside the human... Read More

Migrating birds navigate from one end of the earth to the other, somehow knowing exactly where and when to stop for critical food sources. Narrator Mike Lenz captures the author's wonder and inquisitiveness as he follows godwits, hummingbirds, snowy owls, great knots, and many others on their journeys. The recovery of Swainson's hawks after the reduction of pesticide use in... Read More

Machelle Williams is a steady narrator who provides a solid performance of this diverse short story collection. She shifts smoothly between the mostly female characters living in Florida, each of whom is struggling with her own losses. With a melodic intonation Williams presents the deepest dilemmas of mothers, daughters, and other women. From miscarriage to a parent's death,... Read More

Narrator Sarah Mollo-Christensen provides a lovely feminine voice for the free-spirited Emma Lewis Swan, a sculptor who lives in Boston with her husband, Tom, a doctor. When he leaves for France to aid wounded soldiers during WWI, Emma befriends Linton Bower, a handsome artist, and becomes the victim of malicious gossip. Hoping to rekindle her passionless marriage, Emma goes to... Read More

JD Jackson narrates this essay collection about the social effects of the film BLACK PANTHER. The premise is that it is more than a comic- book movie--it is an inspirational work of art that will change the lives of those who see it. In order for this premise to work, the narrator has to sell it, and Jackson brings the gravitas that the audiobook needs. His powerful voice and... Read More

Narrator David de Vries takes a straightforward approach to this journalistic account of how three teenagers--sisters Truus and Freddie Oversteegen and friend Jo Schaft--became actively involved with the Nazi resistance movement based in Haarlem, The Netherlands. De Vries's expressive delivery emphasizes the girls' improvisational training as they learned to lie, steal, plant... Read More

Narrator Elizabeth Wiley provides steady, empathetic guidance through this speculative story featuring time travel and Wild West heroine Annie Oakley. Ruth McClintock continues to work on her theory that Oakley was sexually abused as a child--despite that theory having caused Ruth to fail her doctoral thesis in history. Wiley brings insight and tenderness to disparate... Read More

Narrator Chloe Cannon has a great voice--but not one you'd necessarily choose to describe the dissecting of ancient archaeological sites. Narrator and narrative aren't at odds here, exactly. But neither are they in any way a match. Journalist Annalee Newitz's on-the-spot depictions of Catalhoyuk, Pompeii, Angkor, and Cahokia are close up and personal, and her choices have a... Read More

Performed with grace and care, Daniel Henning's outstanding narration of this fine biography reveals, warts and all, the larger-than-life James Beard. The renowned chef--who was six foot three and 300 pounds-- is considered the dean of American cookery. Henning narrates with intelligence at a good pace, and he gives the elegant prose its due. This is an audiobook filled with... Read More

Jan Morris's piquant, irreverent daily diary about life as a nonagenarian in the 21st century is brought to vibrant life by narrator Jennifer M. Dixon. As she did in her first book of jottings, the famous Welsh author and historian, who died in 2020, observes everything from world politics to neighborhood birds--from aging, family, and love to the pleasures of jam on toast in... Read More

Set in nineteenth-century London, this entertaining mystery is made all the more fun by Charles Armstrong's animated narration. The disappearances of a lord, a clergyman, and several women; the drugging of a young milliner; the suicide of a seamstress; and rumors of an occult society bring together the unlikely duo of Scotland Yard's Inspector Cutter and Cambridge University... Read More

A surprisingly delightful audiobook takes what might be a dry topic--the migrations of forests and trees--and turns it into a compelling listening experience. Part of the credit goes to Daniel Henning's lively narration. He animates this fascinating collection of stories and scientific studies at a steady pace and gives a nuanced performance. Make no mistake--this audiobook... Read More

Narrator Kyla Garcia highlights the mistreatment of Puerto Rican farmers during the Spanish-American War in this tense audiobook. When the Puerto Ricans who were devastated by a hurricane in 1899 migrated to Hawaii in hope of a new life, they didn't expect to be treated inhospitably. Garcia commendably portrays the characters with laid-back pacing. As Vicente Vega, she shows... Read More

Paul Woodson's rapid-fire delivery of this nail-biting work of speculative fiction follows the race to develop rockets and space exploration by way of WWII and Hitler's rise to power. Woodson deftly navigates a melting pot of accents--often within the same scene--to depict major aerospace engineers Wernher von Braun from Germany, Sergei Korolev from Soviet Russia, and the... Read More

Michael Kramer returns to narrate the fourth audiobook in the Butcher's Boy series. Michael Schaefer, a retired hit man, has been enjoying the good life in England with his aristocratic wife. But one Mafia boss, who has a long memory and a particular grudge against him, seeks revenge. Kramer's voicing of Schaefer is easy to listen to and conveys the personality of this smart,... Read More

The dual narration of this audiobook is unique in that both characters are voicing the same character, Will, a forger being extorted into doing a special job. At first, it might take the listener aback, but it does not mar the performance as both voices are woven seamlessly into the story. When Will's wife, Meghan, speaks, Christina Delaine shapes her voice with appropriate... Read More

Charles Constant's narration is earnest and reflective, a good fit for Flynn's confessional memoir, which takes listeners into his memories and experiences at a granular level. The work is centered around the night his mother burned down his family's house and his attempts to understand her actions. He also focuses on his fame after the success of his first memoir, which was... Read More

With vivid descriptions; sharp, authentic dialogue; and a compelling plot, this audio mystery, set in Boston in 1985, is worth the listen. Narrator Keith Sellon-Wright pulls listeners in with his portrayal of former Army Special Forces soldier Andy Roark. Now an investigator, he's trying to figure out what comes next in his life. Sellon-Wright portrays him as smart, dedicated,... Read More

Narrator John Pruden shines in this political thriller. The story centers on a Maryland Congressional election between incumbent Democrat Hugh McKenzie and Republican newcomer Nelson Aguilar, a Hispanic media mogul. With ripped-from-the-headlines subplots and cringe-worthy partisan tactics, the story features an inside look at the highs and lows of political campaigns including... Read More

Nancy Wu provides a crisp, intelligent-sounding voice for historical information on the nation of Taiwan, which is presented alongside the author's personal memories of her childhood there. Wu captures the author's inquisitive spirit as shown through her discovery of family letters and her explorations of the flora, fauna, and history of the island that was once her family's... Read More

In this unusual collection of stories, Pinsker creates tales of the technological and the supernatural. Christina Delaine's performance provides a suitable voice for such explorations. Her pitch is deep and her delivery convincing, with solid dialogue exchanges and patient plot exposition. No matter what unfolds, Delaine is fully immersed in each role, and is confident and... Read More

Narrator Chistina Delaine rises to the challenge of portraying a cast of larger-than-life characters. Ex-CIA officer Valencia Walker is now a high-priced corporate fixer who has been called in to help a top New York law firm with damage control after a young associate loses his phone, which holds important corporate documents. The situation quickly goes from bad to worse as a... Read More

Astronomy professor Emily Levesque and narrator Janet Metzger take listeners behind the scenes with professional stargazers. Levesque interviewed numerous colleagues, whose many anecdotes are included in this production. Metzger is subtle in her conveyance of the seriousness and humor found in these stories, which highlight idiosyncrasies among individuals in the field.... Read More

Is contemporary evangelical Christianity Bible-based, or is it more inspired by pop culture and politics? Narrator Suzie Althens lends a compassionate and thoughtful tone to this new audiobook on how Christian media has informed and changed evangelical Christianity. The author also explores how the politics of the 1970s and beyond have inspired changes to the Christian religion... Read More

Narrated by author Sandra Tsing Loh, this hilarious memoir sets a frenetic pace. Right out of the gate, listeners will hear the chaotic thoughts of a 55-year-old woman who is raising two teenage daughters with a partner who seems ambivalent. Loh recounts her medical woes over the year with the appropriate panic and awe as she encounters each new and unwelcome surprise. Finances... Read More

A combination of deep critical analysis and deeply personal meditation, this audiobook presents an image of Walt Whitman as icon, man, poet, and queer activist. It is also, to a large extent, an autobiography of the highly acclaimed contemporary poet Mark Doty, who explores his life in terms of Whitman's life and poetry. Narrator Jonathan Yen is unobtrusive, letting the text... Read More

Narrator Jane Oppenheimer affects an authentic L.A. vibe when voicing this audiobook's many Hollywood elites. Maura Fielder's internal whirlwind begins when she finds her husband viewing a decades-old video of himself sleeping with another woman. Determined to investigate the woman in the video, Maura descends into a Google-frenzied madness that the author crafts into a... Read More

Zehra Jane Naqvi has a youthful sounding voice, which is put to good use as she narrates this novel about a young, unnamed Palestinian woman. Naqvi embodies the confusion, irritation, and rage of the heroine while growing up in Palestine. Naqvi gives voice to the narrator's ruminations about the gender double standards she increasingly confronts in her conservative society.... Read More

Chinese-Thai-American narrator Cindy Kay delivers a powerful performance in this audiobook. With daily negative messages from popular media, it can be easy to classify humans by categories such as refugees and immigrants without seeing the individuals behind them. In this compilation from CATAPULT magazine, the human aspects of those who have taken on those classifications... Read More

Narrator Laural Merlington conveys a sense of urgency as she recounts the contentious history of immigration reform in twentieth-century America. The years between 1924 and 1965 brought unprecedented change to immigration policies, moving from the overtly racist Immigration Act of 1924 to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which finally made it possible for Asian,... Read More

Narrator Rebecca Gibel offers a humorous performance of this collection of satirical essays that provide insight into several political topics. Gibel's crisp and understated yet energetic voice explains how safe spaces coddle American children and deny them the same struggles their parents experienced. With tongue in cheek, Gibel also states the author's "claim" that Trump is a... Read More

In this third collection of poems by the 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Jericho Brown, narrator JD Jackson steadily delivers a heartfelt narration of what Brown describes his book to be about: "the normalization of evil . . . and why these things, as heinous as they are, are normal in our time and in our culture." In this short audiobook, Jackson is clear, moderately... Read More

Narrators David Shih and Cindy Kay lend their voices to Vanessa Hua's compelling short story collection, which reveals the secrets and desires of individuals straddling different cultures. Raised in immigrant families, Hua's characters are torn between their families' expectations and their desire to forge their own unique lives. Shih's fluid narration is tender, imbuing even... Read More

Charlie Thurston's performance transports listeners into a modern fantasy laced with themes of cultural differences, gay romance, and the battle between science and religion. German native Max can bring dead animals back to life with his touch. After moving to Alabama, he enrolls in a Christian school, becomes engrossed in the "boys being boys" culture of the football team, and... Read More

Russ Giguere, the original member of the successful mid-sixties pop group The Association, offers a chatty memoir that serves as a mini-portrait of its evolution. The band is well known for the familiar and tuneful "Never My Love," "Cherish," and "Along Comes Mary." Narrator Peter Berkrot provides a workmanlike performance. His thin voice and matter-of-fact tone are somewhat... Read More

Ojibwa author Dennis Staples's first novel introduces Marion, a young Ojibwa man who has left the res but is often drawn back, searching for his identity and purpose. A mix of family history, mystery, and cultural exploration is unevenly brought to life by narrator Kaipo Schwab. Telling the story in the voice of Marion, Schwab gives listeners the feeling of connecting with this... Read More

Narrator John Lee's strikingly deep voice, crisp accent, and powerful enunciation constitute an admirable and powerful tool, but one that here overpowers his material. The topic is grand--the story of London as the center of British trade and exploration that transformed England from a backwater to a budding empire over the course of the sixteenth century. But it's still... Read More

Narrator Paul Heitsch walks a tightrope in this memoir. He must not tumble into rage or wallow in regret. Kennicott's mother was born to be a concert violinist. The wreck of her career wrecked the mother who survived. "Life gave her little joy, and when she died, it was in anguish, without any sense of peace." As the cancer triumphed, her son listened and listened to a Bach... Read More

In this indictment of the systematic expulsion of 80,000 indigenous people during the 1830s, narrator Stephen Bowlby's empathetic style smartly lets the stories' damning evidence speak for itself. He seamlessly captures the bureaucratic ineptitude and cruel governmental indifference underlying President Andrew Jackson's horrific plan to send the southeastern tribes to less than... Read More

This hypnotically narrated debut tells a dark story that takes place in rural Washington state. Narrator Cassandra Campbell captures unflinching depictions of rural poverty and the oppressions of capitalism as they affect a group of young white friends. Amid the atmospheric Pacific Northwest setting, meth, depression, a myriad of violent acts, and grief saturate the narrative.... Read More

Stockard Channing's eccentric, canny, and wholly absorbing performance is perfect for this quite riveting biography. The poet Honor Moore follows her bestselling life of her father, Episcopal Bishop Paul Moore, with a study of her grandmother, Margarett Sargent, a gifted painter, Boston Brahmin, and society "it" girl. Margarett is compellingly interesting in the way of Zelda... Read More

Doshi's novel is moving and poetic, and narrator Siiri Scott excels with its well-developed dialogue. Following a divorce, Grace Marisola finds herself leaving the U.S. and returning to Pondicherry, India, to cremate her mother and settle her estate. There she discovers she has an older sister who has been institutionalized. Grace's journey is compelling and entertaining as she... Read More

The author examines the fascinating relationship between franchise companies like McDonald's and black communities across the nation over the past half-century. Machelle Williams gives this rich history a straightforward narration that invites listeners to learn more about the resilience and ingenuity of black communities while also highlighting their struggles with fast food... Read More

Narrators Cindy Kay and David Shih unfold the questions behind a woman's death in this slow-moving mystery with elements of magical realism. Ryusei Yanagi falls head over heels in love with his fellow student, Miwako Sumida, a woman whose life has always been kept under wraps. Persistent as he is, she refuses his advances. Then, Miwako is found dead of suicide, having left no... Read More

Hard-boiled private eye Andy Roark has an accent that displays his South Boston roots, but his years around military personnel have given his voice a hint of the American South. Bringing the two speech patterns together sounds challenging, but narrator Keith Sellon-Wright manages to pull it off. Roark is on assignment, tracking down a father who abandoned his family. There are... Read More

The small town in this audiobook is decimated by the horrific aftereffects of a prison breakout. When, after two years, the 12 masterminds behind the breakout remain at large, police officer Leah Hawkins takes a leave of absence to hunt them down and take revenge. Christina Delaine's accomplished narration holds the listener's attention as Leah crosses the country, seeking out... Read More

Narrator Eric Jason Martin guides listeners through an apocalyptic world in which the last two humans on earth, an unnamed man and his unnamed daughter, try to survive in the wild and commune with nature. As this audiobook progresses and reality blurs, Martin remains steadfast and strong with his narration. The girl never seems too surprised by the strange happenings, and it is... Read More

Listeners will be captivated by the emotion in narrator Ramon de Ocampo's voice in this beautifully written account of a young man's life-changing journey. Alvarez sought to understand his own history and future on a run celebrating indigenous history and tradition. At age 19, the son of working-class Mexican immigrants drops out of college to join the Peace and Dignity... Read More

Danez Smith IS spoken-word art! This gender-neutral National Book Award finalist is full of funk and flavor, and is fearless in delivering personal poetic narratives. Smith opens by discussing why their audiobook is called HOMIE. This work is definitely not for the faint of heart. It wakes you up. Smith speaks of identity through experiences addressing race, queerness,... Read More

Narrator Matthew Josdal's delivery style--low-key, neutral, and occasionally skeptical--makes him the right voice for this fresh perspective on Donald Trump. The premise: Trump is a brand mascot, not much different than Mr. Clean or Colonel Sanders, who has "jumped off the cereal box" and into the White House. This triumph of brand over man has its roots in TV's populist... Read More

Piper Goodeve is the ideal narrator for this coming-of-age audiobook. The story is mainly told from the first-person perspective of Evie, who is awaiting the return of her fiancé, Liam, who may be lost at sea. Evie lives on an island off the coast of California with her charming but irresponsible father. Her mother has returned for Evie's upcoming wedding after several years'... Read More

JD Jackson's exemplary narration draws listeners into this account of the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is part of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. With his warm and inviting tone, Jackson fully inhabits the thoughtful and perceptive persona of the author, who was the museum's founding director, to such a degree that... Read More

This fast-paced and deftly narrated medical thriller-cum-parable packs an emotional punch with a side of gore. Raj Ghatak narrates the story of a surgeon in rural India who one night is visited by a murdered family of three. The undead visitors come to the surgeon with a desperate request, and over the course of the long night, a series of decisions is made and secrets are... Read More

In April 1962, a fascinating collection of intellectuals and Nobel Prize winners gathered for a White House dinner hosted by President John F. Kennedys and the first lady. With his quintessentially American voice, narrator Tom Perkins delivers this well-researched narrative, which celebrates the achievements of mid-century American scholars, scientists, and literati and their... Read More

The destructive impact of gun violence comes to life in this stirring audiobook, narrated with intensity by Charlie Thurston. Set in the South, this debut novel reads like a documentary, which is an ideal format for Thurston, whose delivery is reminiscent of the best TV anchormen. The audiobook begins when a student kills 12 people at his university library, using his... Read More

Carmen Maria Machado's memoir of psychological abuse by a former girlfriend dissects their relationship from many perspectives, each described within the framework of a highly original metaphor (all of which the author claims are not metaphors). As she opens the doors on her experience, Machado's voice is soft and steady, simultaneously vulnerable and assured. Acclaimed for her... Read More

Narrator Peter Berkrot gives a perfectly pitched performance in this existential take on a midlife crisis. At the funeral of his mildly famous mother, a theologian, Calvin Bledsoe meets his long-lost Aunt Beatrice and embarks on an unexpected adventure across the globe with her. Berkrot's narration is wry and matter-of-fact, providing a counterpoint to the increasingly zany... Read More

In this sci-fi audiobook, two people, both portrayed by narrator Gabra Zackman, are trying to find their way back to each other. In the future, the global economy has collapsed, and the electrical grid has failed. Despite the chaos, Carson is travelling across the country to Beatrix, who is working to build a new way of life in her neighborhood. This is a hopeful... Read More

Traci Odom and Eric Michael Summerer narrate different stories in this collection, but they have something in common. They both are engaging storytellers. These 16 previously published stories gathered together in this audiobook form a disparate vision of the future. Each narrator adopts an easy conversational tone until the stories call for intensity, suspense, or some other... Read More

It is difficult to imagine that this extraordinary story could be even better, but Robin Miles's sublime narration accomplishes that feat. In 1958, just before Jamaica's independence, a childless couple adopts an abandoned infant and names him Moshe. His pale skin, mismatched- colored eyes, and hair brand him as unusual in his community, and his racial definition mirrors... Read More

Narrator Keith Sellon-Wright brings a workmanlike approach to his narration of this brief and balanced guide by Canadian historian Andrew Preston. Preston's writing is well ordered, if dry. Sellon-Wright does little to lift it from the page even when the author describes potentially dramatic challenges in international relations as the U.S. moved from a colony to a republic,... Read More

This engaging audiobook, expertly narrated by Allyson Johnson, sets out to fill a void in the literature about motherhood with stories by, for, and about single black adoptive mothers. When Austin decided to adopt, she found, to her disappointment, few resources for families like hers. Weaving together memoir, history, and critique, she examines the ways society stereotypes and... Read More

For those with a serious interest in the evolution of banking, this audiobook is a must-listen despite narrator Jonathan Cowley's lack of engagement. Walter Bagehot (pronounced "badget") was one of those multitalented Victorians whose ideas have continued to echo in the present. Although he also wrote biography, literary criticism, and political analysis, this audiobook focuses... Read More

A gripping, gorgeous story from start to finish is brought to life by narrator Almarie Guerra. Like author Jaquira Díaz, Guerra was born in Puerto Rico and is bilingual. In a smooth, engaging voice that isn't overly theatrical, she brings a balance of spirit and restraint to her delivery of Díaz's electric memoir. The listener follows Díaz from her childhood in the projects in... Read More

In a deep, gravelly voice, narrator Joe Barrett ably presents this account of the life of George Bird Grinnell, who is arguably the impetus behind the creation of the American conservation movement. A Yale-educated New Yorker, Grinnell was a scholar who excavated dinosaurs on the Great Plains, accompanied Custer in the Black Hills, assisted in mapping Yellowstone, and became a... Read More

Assaf Cohen is a capable narrator for this thorough examination of the many issues plaguing the nascent democracy of Burma. He is academic, earnest, and informative throughout the chapters that outline the promise and limitations facing the nation. Cohen makes clear the complex, intertwined factors of race, government, and economics that compete for dominance. He brings forth... Read More

Neil Shah gives an eloquently unadorned narration of this modern quest novel, set in Syria. On his deathbed, Abdel asks his eldest son, Bolbol, to return his body to his ancestral burial ground. The journey is not far, yet it traverses the most dangerous part of the war-ravaged country. Bolbol enlists the help of his criminally suspect brother, Hussein, and his flighty sister,... Read More

Both author and narrator deliver high-quality work in this audiobook. Kessler is journalist and teacher who went inside Oregon State Penitentiary to teach writing to men serving life terms for murder. Narrator Hollis McCarthy does a good job portraying both the teacher and the inmates. She conveys empathy for the men while evoking deep sympathy for their victims, both the dead... Read More

Narrator Simon Vance works his magic on this well-written WWII novel inspired by the contributions made to the war effort by homing pigeons. Not to worry--listeners will also find plenty of action scenes, terror behind enemy lines, and a sweet romance. Vance masterfully differentiates characters from Maine, several parts of the UK, France, and Germany. The lead female... Read More

Writer David Roberts originally sets out to follow the path of the two Franciscan priests who led an exploration through the U.S. Southwest in 1776. But he soon deviates from his mission, and those deviations show up in Robert Fass's faithful narration of this audiobook. Whether Roberts is waxing nostalgic for maps or grumbling about how little people know about Silvestre Vélez... Read More

Narrator Leon Nixon delivers author Terry's style flawlessly. With his deep voice and, at times, laconic pace, Nixon narrates with a nuanced tone that draws listeners into the internal struggles of a mixed-race young man who grapples to find his place in the world. While routinely alienated by white people, he seems incapable of validating his blackness and finds himself... Read More

Audiobook listeners will find lots to chew on in this compelling examination of the myths and belief systems that uphold patriarchy. Chloe Cannon's cadenced narration lends Doyle's work the gravitas it deserves. From nineteenth-century gothic novels and ancient Irish folklore to classic slasher movies and contemporary true-crime stories, Doyle explores how the myth of female... Read More

Christina Delaine's performance often feels like rock singer Stevie Nicks herself is telling her story. Delaine conjures up visions of Stevie with her melodious voice, which can turn sharp as a knife when the story makes it necessary. And what a story it is: Everyone wanted her, but no one wanted to love her. This audiobook relies heavily on interviews with friends and... Read More