Craig Wasson mans the mic like a jazz poet in this second installment of Ellroy’s L.A. WWII trilogy that began with PERFIDIA. The audiobook sizzles with the slang and accents of wartime Los Angeles in a story full of murder, missing gold, and fire set against a backdrop of war and racist paranoia. Wasson delivers Ellroy’s lyricism while also presenting the harsh language of humanity's underbelly. Published by Random House Audio.

Read the full review of THIS STORM at audiofilemagazine.com.

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On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine contributor Jonathan Smith.

Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library.

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Golden Voice narrator Bahni Turpin engages the listener with a complex biography of two luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. Explore the friendship and collaboration of writers Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes in the 1920s and 1930s. Turpin’s narrative skills stand out in passages in which she gives voice to the boisterous Hurston and mercurial Hughes. Learn more about their friendship, and their falling out. Published by HighBridge Audio.

Read the full review of ZORA AND LANGSTON at audiofilemagazine.com.

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On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine contributor Jonathan Smith.

Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library.

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Listen as the beautiful yet brutal powers of author Mark Haddon and narrator Tim McInnerny collide in awesome display. In a retelling of Shakespeare’s PERICLES, we meet Chloe, a young woman whose harsh entry into the world merely foreshadows an even more disturbing life to come. Once you begin on the voyage of this novel, you won’t be able to stop. Published by Random House Audio.

Read the full review of THE PORPOISE at audiofilemagazine.com.

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On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine contributor Jonathan Smith.

Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library.

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Essential listening for teens. In this well-researched audiobook, Ann Bausum lays out the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and Vikas Adam narrates with the urgency and sincerity required to convey the story. Young listeners can listen to be informed about this devastating history and the continuing crisis. Published by Listening Library.

Read the full review of VIRAL at audiofilemagazine.com.

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On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Assistant Editor Emily Connelly.

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Kyla Garcia skillfully steers listeners through a story that leaps across decades. Nedda Papas is on a mission to save humanity by colonizing a distant planet when her ship’s life support system starts to go haywire. In flashback chapters we hear an 11-year-old Nedda breathlessly anticipating the Challenger launch, then devastated by its explosion. Then Nedda discovers that her father’s invention to alter the fabric of time has triggered a catastrophe. An atmospheric science fiction audiobook that will appeal to fans of AREA X and SEVENEVES. Published by Audible, Inc.

Read the full review of LIGHT FROM OTHER STARS at audiofilemagazine.com.

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On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Assistant Editor Emily Connelly.

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A lyrical exploration love, pain, survival, and redemption. Ocean Vuong narrates his autobiographical novel with a poetic rhythm and a devastating delivery. The novel is written as a compellingly honest letter from a young Vietnamese immigrant to his mother, despite the fact that she cannot read. Vuong will keep listeners hooked as the main character, Little Dog, discovers what it means to be young, gay, and Vietnamese while growing up in America. Published by Penguin Audio.

Read the full review of ON EARTH WE'RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS at audiofilemagazine.com

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On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Assistant Editor Emily Connelly.

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Queer Eye’s resident fashion expert narrates his memoir with the perfect cheeky delivery. Tan France speaks openly about the difficulties of growing up South Asian in rural England, the importance of fashion to his self expression, falling in love with his husband in Salt Lake City, and getting cast for Queer Eye. Fans will love listening to his unique accent as they get to know more about his road to living life on his own terms. Published by Macmillan Audio.

Read the full review of NATURALLY TAN at audiofilemagazine.com.

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On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Assistant Editor Emily Connelly.

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Narrator January Lavoy was recently honored as a Golden Voice by AudioFile. January is a skilled narrator who draws listeners into whatever she's performing, whether it's a thrilling mystery or a compelling historical audiobook. We wanted to know more about January's journey to becoming an audiobook narrator, the differences between narrating in the booth and acting on stage, and all of the work that she does to inhabit so many dynamic characters.

January has narrated hundreds of engaging audiobooks, including THE DIVINERS series by Libba Bray, Coretta Scott King's memoir MY LIFE, MY LOVE, MY LEGACY, and the L.A. Theatre Works production of NATIVE GUARD by Natasha Trethewey. Discover even more of January's audiobooks on her audiography page.

For more audiobooks narrated by January LaVoy, browse her audiography at audiofilemagazine.com

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On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and Golden Voice narrator January LaVoy.

Support for AudioFile’s Sound Reviews comes from Penguin Random House Audio and Listening Library. 

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Dive into a perfect summer audiobook from bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert. Vivian is a 95-year-old seamstress who came of age during WWII. Blair Brown narrates with a remarkably friendly demeanor as she recounts Vivian’s youthful escapades in New York City during the summer of 1940. The conversational storyline works well on audio, and the many dynamic characters come to life with Brown’s lively range of voices and accents. Published by Penguin Audio.

Read the full review of CITY OF GIRLS at audiofilemagazine.com

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Stefan Rudnicki is honored as a Golden Voice, AudioFile's lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators. Stefan’s deep baritone voice is distinctive and engaging. His many performances of literary work have a classic feel informed by his scholarship, yet are still approachable for listeners. His confident world-building in many fantasy and sci-fi audiobooks—from Ben Bova to BATTLEFIELD EARTH—is legendary.

Browse his full audiography, and explore his AudioFile profile page.

Essential Listens:

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On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Publisher Michele Cobb.

Support for AudioFile’s Sound Reviews comes from Oasis Audio, home to The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers, read by LeVar Burton and nominated for the 2019 Audie Awards Audiobook of the Year.

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