Jess Nahikian’s voice sounds assured, comfortable, and clear, but their real achievement is how well their performance connects with Rainesford Stauffer’s thoughtful perspectives and desire to help young people. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this audiobook all about ambition, hustle, and the burden of the idea that we all need to get ahead. The audiobook is a calm but persistent plea for people to resist societal messages around hustle, and that we should never be satisfied with our accomplishments but always pushing for more. With the help of Nahikian’s comfortable speaking style and support of the author’s intentions, this audiobook is one that will make listeners take a hard look at overly ambitious lifestyles that don’t allow room for imagination, joy, or healthy relationships. 

Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Hachette Audio.

Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com

Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from BOLINDA. A world-leading audiobook and technology company, Bolinda publishes the greatest books you’ll ever hear and inspire people to live their best lives through the power of storytelling.

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Michael Finkel narrates the opening of his audiobook, a memorable portrait of Stéphane Breitwieser, the sly European thief who pilfered nearly $2 billion in art objects. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss Edoardo Ballerini’s smooth, enticing narration of the rest of the audiobook, making it a true-crime listen that is easy to devour. Breitwieser’s story is dramatic, highly cinematic, but ultimately sad. It is a compelling and shocking listen, and Ballerini’s skill and artistry with his narration heightens the mood. 

Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Random House Audio.

Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com

Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from BOLINDA. A world-leading audiobook and technology company, Bolinda publishes the greatest books you’ll ever hear and inspire people to live their best lives through the power of storytelling.

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Jim Meskimen presents Patrick deWitt’s tribute to reading, books, and librarians. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this story of a lonely retired librarian, Bob, whose life is changed when he rescues a lost woman, returns her to her care home, and surprises himself by volunteering there. Meskimen’s unhurried pace is appropriate as Bob reveals his life story, from running away at age 11 to the recent past, when he was betrayed by his wife and best friend. Meskimen flawlessly portrays Bob with heartbreak and humor. A lovely listen with a fitting narration from a talented voice. 

Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Harper Audio.

Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com

Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from BOLINDA. A world-leading audiobook and technology company, Bolinda publishes the greatest books you’ll ever hear and inspire people to live their best lives through the power of storytelling.

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Laura Dern and Diane Ladd’s genre-bending collection of searingly intimate real-life conversations exemplifies everything that is exciting about audio as a medium. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss Ladd and Dern’s conversational memoir. When Ladd is diagnosed with lung scarring, she’s given six months to live and told exercise is her only chance for improvement. Her daughter, Dern, proposes daily walks, with the commitment to leave nothing between them unsaid. Listening to these raw conversations would feel voyeuristic if the emotional themes the women cover weren’t so universal.

Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Hachette Audio.

Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com

Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from BOLINDA. A world-leading audiobook and technology company, Bolinda publishes the greatest books you’ll ever hear and inspire people to live their best lives through the power of storytelling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laurie Anderson, the late Lou Reed’s wife and sometimes collaborator, invites listeners to learn about Reed’s passion for tai chi and how it saved his life. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this audiobook full of interviews and short pieces describing Reed. Ten years after his passing, Anderson and her three co-editors have created a reflective, meditative collage of an artist and his private passion. The audiobook is a realistic, often endearing, portrait of Reed, with interviewees including Iggy Pop, the magician Penn Jillette, and director Darren Aronofsky sharing their thoughts on Reed’s relationship with tai chi. 

Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Harper Audio.

Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com

Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from BOLINDA. A world-leading audiobook and technology company, Bolinda publishes the greatest books you’ll ever hear and inspire people to live their best lives through the power of storytelling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode, host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Kyle Lukoff’s DIFFERENT KINDS OF FRUIT, which Emily highly recommends as family listening. Narrator Cassandra Morris’s bright and youthful tone fits Annabelle, a sixth-grader growing up sheltered in a small Washington town. Lukoff’s excellent writing and Morris’s lively narration work seamlessly to bring Annabelle and the well-rounded characters to life. When Annabelle starts the school year and meets Bailey, her new nonbinary classmate, her world opens wider and she gains new perspectives. She comes to better understand herself, her family, and her community thanks to Bailey’s friendship. A heartwarming listen.

Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Listening Library.

Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com

Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from BOLINDA. A world-leading audiobook and technology company, Bolinda publishes the greatest books you’ll ever hear and inspire people to live their best lives through the power of storytelling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AudioFile is revisiting favorite audiobooks all this week that make for excellent summer listening. In today’s episode, host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss a striking collection of interconnected short stories by debut author Morgan Talty. Darrell Dennis narrates with calculated restraint, empathy, and a sure sense of the author’s voice. Dennis voices central character David, who is Penobscot, with a convincing tone and careful cadence. The stories teeter from funny to sad, capturing the dark corners of life on the reservation, creating an isolated and insular world for listeners.

Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Recorded Books.

Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com

Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from BOLINDA. A world-leading audiobook and technology company, Bolinda publishes the greatest books you’ll ever hear and inspire people to live their best lives through the power of storytelling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode we’re revisiting a favorite audiobook that makes for excellent summer listening. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss MAN O’ WAR, Cory McCarthy’s audiobook narrated perfectly by E.R. Fightmaster. It’s an example of the unique magic that happens when a great narrator is paired with the perfect book. In this young adult novel, River McIntyre spends every spare moment practicing for the swim team as a means to escape their struggle with gender identity—but when they meet and fall in love with another nonbinary teen, they begin to imagine a better future for themself. Fightmaster expertly captures River’s intense internal conflict with their gender and queer identity, voicing the complex emotional depth of River’s experience.

Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Listening Library.

Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com

Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from BOLINDA. A world-leading audiobook and technology company, Bolinda publishes the greatest books you’ll ever hear and inspire people to live their best lives through the power of storytelling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AudioFile is sharing excellent audiobooks for summer listening all this week. On today’s episode, we’re revisiting a conversation between host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten about Elin Hilderbrand’s stellar novel, THE HOTEL NANTUCKET. Erin Bennett gives a great narration of this audiobook set at a Nantucket beach resort. The hotel was destroyed in a 1922 fire, and the new British owner has restored it and is determined to succeed—but a ghost may get in the way. Perfect for listeners looking for an audiobook with a little mystery, a little romance, and quirky characters that feels like a bit of an escape.

Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Hachette Audio.

Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com

Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from BOLINDA. A world-leading audiobook and technology company, Bolinda publishes the greatest books you’ll ever hear and inspire people to live their best lives through the power of storytelling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re sharing our favorite audiobooks for summer listening all this week. On today’s episode, we revisit our conversation between AudioFile’s Michele Cobb and host Jo Reed, talking about Michelle Obama’s bestselling memoir. Obama aims to inspire listeners to become their best selves, and she gives practical advice and uses illustrations from her own life. Her deeply personal stories show how she’s worked through obstacles, and listeners also hear about her family’s life post-White House and how they weathered the early days of the pandemic. Her voice is warm and inviting as she shares words of encouragement that will help listeners feel hopeful and ready to face our chaotic world.

Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Random House Audio.

Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com

Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from BOLINDA. A world-leading audiobook and technology company, Bolinda publishes the greatest books you’ll ever hear and inspire people to live their best lives through the power of storytelling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices