This Is the Author

S5 Ep 36: In this episode, meet Tenzin Priyadarshi, Tammy Mastroberte, and Galen Guengerich. A spiritual path is rarely straight forward, and each one of these authors has written about how experiences in their own lives, together with help from important guides and mentors, have lead them to where they are today. Listen in to hear them talk about recording their audiobooks. Plus, find out which author speaks five languages, but feels most comfortable in silence.

Running Toward Mystery by Tenzin Priyadarshi and Zara Houshmand: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/605250/running-toward-mystery/

The Universe is Talking to You by Tammy Mastroberte: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/646565/the-universe-is-talking-to-you/

The Way of Gratitude by Galen Guengerich: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/576834/the-way-of-gratitude/

S5 Ep 35: In this episode, meet the three hosts of The LadyGang podcast: Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin, and Jac Vanek. In the Gang’s audiobook Act Like A Lady, they each share blissfully BS-free anecdotes from their lives so that you don’t feel so alone when you think about… whatever-it-was-you-did-that-one-time. Listen in to hear the Gang’s behind-the-mic realizations that only recording their audiobook revealed, plus get their most recent listening recommendations.

Act Like a Lady by Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin and Jac Vanek: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/617780/act-like-a-lady/

S5 Ep 33: In this episode, meet Michael Pollan, Judith Warner, and Conor Knighton. These three authors use their audiobooks to take listeners on journeys of discovery: discovery about the food we eat, about how adolescence shapes adulthood and how we parent, and discovery about National Parks throughout the country. And while all of these authors are avid audiobook listeners themselves, discover which one says that being able to record their own audiobook was just as thrilling as getting their first book published.

Food Rules by Michael Pollan: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/305288/food-rules/

And Then They Stopped Talking to Me by Judith Warner: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/534339/and-then-they-stopped-talking-to-me/

Leave Only Footprints by Conor Knighton: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/600367/leave-only-footprints/

S5 Ep 34: In this episode meet Liam Vaughn, Barton Gellman, and Jung H Pak. From the story of a trading prodigy who triggered the fastest US market crash in history to gripping profiles of whistle-blower Edward Snowden and North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un, real people and events inspired these authors’ books. Although they each found the audiobook narration process to be more challenging than expected, find out which author was reminded of their childhood experiences in choir as they recorded their audiobook.

Flash Crash by Liam Vaughan: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/565970/flash-crash/

Dark Mirror by Barton Gellman: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/316047/dark-mirror/

Becoming Kim Jong Un by Jung H. Pak: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/604727/becoming-kim-jong-un/

S5 Ep 31: In this episode, meet entrepreneur Meredith Fineman, technology reporter Alex Kantrowitz, and attorney Adrienne Lawrence. Each of these authors has taken a hard look at how engrained company cultures and established hierarchies can deeply and often negatively affect everything from worker productivity and innovation to employees’ basic ability to grow and thrive. Listen in to learn what it means to “brag better,” how to apply the internal structures of tech giants to your own work place, and how to survive and thrive after serious workplace harassment. Plus, hear what it was like for each of these authors to record their audiobooks, and who may think twice before ever using “so many letter p’s in a sentence again.”

Brag Better by Meredith Fineman: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/617868/brag-better/

Always Day One by Alex Kantrowitz: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/607065/always-day-one/

Staying in the Game by Adrienne Lawrence: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/609265/staying-in-the-game/

S5 Ep 32: In this episode, meet novelist Maya Shanbhag Lang, writer Benjamin Taylor, and co-authors Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez. Each of these authors has combed through history—whether it’s of a personal relationship with a loved one or the cultural history of the Drag community—to create and share true stories of connection, inspiration, and love. Plus, discover which author rehearsed reading chapters of their book out loud for the month before their recording session began.

What We Carry by Maya Shanbhag Lang: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/588770/what-we-carry/

Here We Are by Benjamin Taylor: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/575729/here-we-are/

Legendary Children by Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/611526/legendary-children/

S5 E30: In this episode, meet journalist Andy Boyle, psychologist Rick Hanson, and speaker John O’Leary. Discover how each of these authors started asking big questions---of others and of themselves—in an effort to uncover how we grow into the people we are, and what we can do when we’re ready to change as adults. Plus, find out whose experience narrating took him back to his “high school musical theater nerd” days!

Big Problems by Andy Boyle: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/566539/big-problems/

Resilient by Rick Hanson, Ph.D. and Forrest Hanson: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/549678/resilient/

In Awe by John O'Leary: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/611803/in-awe/

S5 E29: In this episode meet children’s book authors and educators Torrey Maldonado and M. Evan Wolkenstein. Using their own personal experiences of growing up, both writers create heartfelt, relatable tales that touch on universal issues of self-image and belonging. Each of the audiobooks will bring joy to young listeners, and provide opportunities for families to talk about empathy, connection, and what it means to be understood. Listen in to hear how each author felt stepping into the studio….one for the second time! And find out who one author turned to for listening inspiration as he prepared.

What Lane? by Torrey Maldonado: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/588591/what-lane/

Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/610884/turtle-boy/

S5 Ep 25: In this special episode of This Is the Author, we meet bestselling authors Erik Larson and Lisa Wingate. You can hear them narrate an author’s note on their respective audiobook productions. Both authors used history as the basis for their books although one is fiction and one is non-fiction. In Erik Larson’s riveting narrative nonfiction work, The Splendid and the Vile, he explores Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz of WWII. Lisa Wingate’s historical fiction bestseller The Book of Lost Friends, was inspired by real advertisements for “Lost Friends” from the post-Civil War era.

Listen as they each share special memories about reading and libraries as well as why they each love audiobooks.

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/606795/the-book-of-lost-friends/

Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/98112/isaacs-storm/

S5 E26: In this episode, meet authors Teju Cole, Nina Renata Aron, and Karla Cornejo Villavicencio. Step into the studio to hear each of them reflect on recording their audiobook, and particularly their thoughts on revisiting difficult or intimate scenes on the page and how voicing those scenes affected their narration. Plus, find out who once listened to an audiobook on a road trip while the sun was coming up.

Open City by Teju Cole: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/29908/open-city/

Good Morning, Destroyer of Men's Souls by Nina Renata Aron: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/586540/good-morning-destroyer-of-mens-souls/

The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/558229/the-undocumented-americans/