Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine
Find your next great audiobook on our podcast, Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine. Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile Editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. All in 6 minutes or less. It’s short, sweet, and just what your ears need. Want more? Listen to our bonus episodes featuring conversations with the best voices in the audiobook industry.
1601
WE ARE GRATEFUL: OTSALIHELIGA by Traci Sorell, ...
Follow a year of Cherokee celebrations with this read-along for the award-winning picture book. Five narrators lend their voices to a story of contemporary Cherokee life while crackling campfires, lively music, and quiet conversations add ambience.
4 min
1602
BROKEN PLACES & OUTER SPACES by Nnedi Okorafor,...
An inspiring memoir narrated with confidence by a masterful writer. Now known for her Africanfutirist fiction for teens and adults, Okorafor tells the story of the surprising source of her passion and skill for creating fictional worlds.
5 min
1603
THE NICKEL BOYS by Colson Whitehead, read by JD...
Elwood Curtis is an earnest high school student on his way to college classes when he’s sentenced to serve time at Nickel Academy, a segregated reform school. Whitehead’s new novel is a haunting tale of America’s buried legacy of racism and violence.
5 min
1604
MRS. EVERYTHING by Jennifer Weiner, read by Ari...
Two narrators deliver a long, lush story of two sisters who grew up in a Jewish household in Detroit from the 1950s up to 2016. As their paths diverge, listeners think about women and how they move through all the challenges in their lives.
4 min
1605
BUNNY by Mona Awad, read by Sophie Amoss
A scholarship student doesn’t connect with her rich female classmates, until—against her better judgment—she goes to one of their parties. Narrator Sophie Amoss get an Earphones Award for her animated performance that enhances the story’s emotional punch.
5 min
1606
WHISPER NETWORK by Chandler Baker, read by Alma...
A Reese’s Book Club pick. The narrator’s skill and energy ease this intense listen about women who triumph over injustice in the workplace. Four women are determined to make sure that a man known to sexually harass women isn't chosen as their next CEO.
5 min
1607
STAY SEXY & DON'T GET MURDERED by Karen Kilgari...
Are you a fan of the true crime podcast MY FAVORITE MURDER? The dual memoir by hosts Kilgariff and Hardstark offers a combination of not-so-happy moments in their lives with laughs. A section recorded in front of a live audience is a standout.
5 min
1608
CONVICTION by Denise Mina, read by Cathleen McC...
Mina’s latest darkly funny suspense is captured in Cathleen McCarron’s Scottish lilt. Anna is betrayed by her best friend, who runs off with her husband and her children. Then a true crime podcast triggers a surprising connection to her past life.
4 min
1609
EVVIE DRAKE STARTS OVER by Linda Holmes, read b...
Pop Culture Happy Hour host Linda Holmes’s debut novel is the story of a widow who doesn’t miss her husband and how she builds a new life with a baseball pitcher who has lost his skill. Julia Whelan’s performance is lively and bright.
4 min
1610
RANGE by David Epstein, read by Will Damron
Sports writer David Epstein’s message on why it is better to be a jack-of-all-trades than a specialist is a fascinating exploration in our culture of experts and diverse and broad learning. He uses anecdotes about sports heroes, musicians, and scientists.
4 min
1611
GHOSTS OF GOLD MOUNTAIN by Gordon H. Chang, rea...
Photos of the “Golden Spike” immortalize the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. Chang’s serious history reveals the contributions of thousands of Chinese workers, “the Railroad Chinese,” to the building of modern America.
4 min
1612
GREEK MYTHOLOGY EXPLAINED by Marios Christou, D...
Listeners are reminded why the Greek myths have endured through centuries of tellings and retellings. Six classic tales are explored with a modern retelling brilliantly presented by Derek Perkins and an insightful short essay after each tale.
5 min
1613
BIG SKY by Kate Atkinson, read by Jason Isaacs
PI Jackson Brodie encounters the grim crimes of human trafficking and child abuse in Atkinson’s fifth outing with the lonely British detective. Narrator Jason Isaacs plays Brodie in the BBC series “Case Histories.”
5 min
1614
CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller, read by Jay O. Sanders
Rediscover the absurdist classic recently adapted for the small screen by George Clooney. Actor Jay O. Sanders narrates the large cast of characters with a friendly and earnest tone as they examine questions of rationality, sanity, war, and peace.
6 min
1615
MIDNIGHT IN CHERNOBYL by Adam Higginbotham, rea...
The 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl is illuminated through this detailed account. Jacques Roy’s masterful narration enhances Higginbotham’s stark and terrifying history of one of the world’s greatest disasters.
4 min
1616
THIS STORM by James Ellroy, read by Craig Wasson
It’s 1942, and L.A. is experiencing torrential storms—and is caught in the storm of WWII. The gritty story picks up after PERFIDIA, with dirty cops, lost gold, found bodies, racist propaganda, and Japanese internment camps creating a dark atmosphere.
4 min
1617
ZORA AND LANGSTON by Yuval Taylor, read by Bahn...
Explore the friendship and collaboration of two luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Huges. Golden Voice Bahni Turpin gives voice to Hurston and Huges as listeners learn about their deep friendship and their falling out.
5 min
1618
THE PORPOISE by Mark Haddon, read by Tim McInnerny
A powerful modern retelling of Shakespeare’s PERICLES made even more compelling by Tim McInnerny’s dramatic narration. In this new novel by Mark Haddon, we meet a young woman whose harsh entry into life foreshadows more hardships to come.
5 min
1619
VIRAL by Ann Bausum, read by Vikas Adam, Ann Ba...
Essential nonfiction listening for teens and adults alike. Ann Bausum revisits the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and Vikas Adam narrates with urgency and sincerity. Listeners will be drawn in and motivated to learn more.
4 min
1620
LIGHT FROM OTHER STARS by Erika Swyler, read by...
Kyla Garcia launches listeners into a story that ranges across space and time. Eleven-year-old Nedda is determined to be an astronaut, and she’s devastated by the Challenger explosion. She then discovers her father’s invention triggered a catastrophe.
5 min
1621
ON EARTH WE'RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS by Ocean Vuong,...
A stunning debut novel from an award-winning poet. Ocean Vuong narrates with a devastating delivery as he tells the story of Little Dog, a gay Vietnamese boy growing up in America. It’s tender and raw, and made all the more so by his poetic narration.
4 min
1622
NATURALLY TAN by Tan France, read by Tan France
Queer Eye’s resident fashion expert narrates his memoir with the perfect cheeky delivery. Fans will love listening to his unique accent as they get to know more about his road to living life on his own terms.
4 min
1623
Interview with January LaVoy Golden Voice Narrator
Newly honored as a Golden Voice January LaVoy is a skilled narrator who draws listeners into whatever she's performing, whether it's a thrilling mystery or a compelling history. January talks about her passion for books and audiobooks.
32 min
1624
CITY OF GIRLS by Elizabeth Gilbert, read by Bla...
Perfect summer listening. Bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert dazzles in her novel set in 1940s Manhattan. Vivian moves in with her aunt at her crumbling theater and discovers the joys of living with gusto. Blair Brown’s lively voice makes it shine.
5 min
1625
STEFAN RUDNICKI: Golden Voice Narrator
Golden Voice Stefan Rudnicki has a distinctive baritone voice. His confident world-building in many fantasy and sci-fi audiobooks—from Ben Bova to BATTLEFIELD EARTH—is legendary. His performances of literary works make them approachable.
6 min