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.
1651
MY LOVELY WIFE by Samantha Downing, read by Dav...
This debut thriller has an astonishing premise: a happily married couple whose hobby is killing innocent women. Narrator David Pittu gives a subtle, seemingly effortless performance that draws listeners completely into the charade.
4 min
1652
MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE by Lori Gottli...
Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb describes her experiences helping clients and shares a few of her own issues—like how to help others when you find your own life in disarray. Narrator Brittany Pressley stays true to the author’s intent.
4 min
1653
LIGHTS ALL NIGHT LONG by Lydia Fitzpatrick, rea...
Ilya is an exchange student from Russia who comes to Louisiana and leaves behind a brother. Narrator Michael Crouch takes this fascinating novel and makes it downright riveting as an audiobook.
4 min
1654
NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney, read by Aoife Mc...
Set in Ireland, Sally Rooney’s subtle writing and engrossing plot work with narrator Aoife McMahon’s nimble, witty performance and gorgeous Irish accent in this story of Connell and Marianne’s special relationship.
4 min
1655
LATE BLOOMERS by Rich Karlgaard, read by Fred S...
Early achievers get all the attention—the prodigy, the phenom, the superstar. The author explores alternative narratives with this look at “The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement,” and narrator Fred Sanders makes it accessible to listeners.
5 min
1656
STONY THE ROAD by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., read ...
Historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr., creates a complex meditation on black identity in a racist America from Reconstruction to the Harlem Renaissance. Narrator Dominic Hoffman draws in listeners with his deep voice and smooth delivery.
4 min
1657
AMERICAN MOONSHOT by Douglas Brinkley, read by ...
As the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing approaches, American historian Douglas Brinkley celebrates the Kennedy administration’s role in the nascent aerospace industry. An excellent listening introduction to space history.
4 min
1658
THE PIONEERS by David McCullough, read by John ...
This history of the settlement of the Northwest Territory is a worthy companion to David McCullough’s other histories of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal. Narrator John Bedford Lloyd gives an engaged narration of this unique saga of the making of America.
4 min
1659
CEMETERY ROAD by Greg Iles, read by Scott Brick
Two murders, one town, a lifetime of secrets—Bienville, Mississippi. Greg Iles’s thriller is both an absorbing crime story and an in-depth exploration of grief, betrayal, and corruption. Scott Brick masters this narration.
4 min
1660
PASTA, PANE, VINO by Matt Goulding, read by Wil...
Does the world need another book about Italian food? Food writer Matt Goulding asked Anthony Bourdain this question before starting the book. Listeners will say “yes” and “thank you” to Goulding and narrator Will Damron.
4 min
1661
WOMEN ROWING NORTH by Mary Pipher, read by Suza...
Mary Pipher, author of REVIVING OPHELIA, offers a memoir-like study of the various ways women transition into their later years. Suzanne Toren captures her highly personal style of writing.
3 min
1662
THE LITTLE FOXES by Lillian Hellman, read by Wi...
This classic American drama about gender politics and greed in a Southern family at the turn of the 20th century has had multiple film and stage adaptations. It’s just as powerful as an audiobook performance.
4 min
1663
RUN AWAY by Harlan Coben, read by Steven Weber
Great suspense with unexpected twists from thriller master Harlan Coben and a perfect performance by narrator Steven Weber. A couple’s search for their missing daughter takes unexpected turns.
3 min
1664
LESSONS FROM LUCY by Dave Barry, read by Dave B...
Lucy—Barry’s old dog and best friend—inspires his trademark humor. The author’s natural wry, understated presentation style is totally in sync with his writing. Barry treats us to good listening as he ruminates on old dogs and aging.
4 min
1665
THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR by Nicola Yoon, read by ...
Natasha is doing everything she can to keep her family from being deported to Jamaica. Daniel’s desperate for his Korean-American parents to take his dreams seriously. Three narrators tell their story. Listen before you see the movie.
4 min
1666
HORIZON by Barry Lopez, read by James Naughton
Barry Lopez’s autobiographical reflections cross broad swaths of time and boldy travel the world, and narrator James Naughton proves a worthy guide. The author of ARCTIC DREAMS tells of his concerns for our planet’s future, based on his own explorations.
3 min
1667
QUEENIE by Candice Carty-Williams, read by Shvo...
Laugh and cry through this hilariously honest novel about Queenie, a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman who just broke up with her long-term boyfriend and tumbles from one bad decision to another. Shvorne Marks’s narration will leave you in stitches.
4 min
1668
SAL AND GABI BREAK THE UNIVERSE by Carlos Herna...
When faced with a bully, Sal doesn’t take the usual tactics—he pulls a dead chicken from another universe and stuffs it in the bully’s locker. Listeners will love following Sal’s story as he meets friends in his new school, including the delightful Gabi.
4 min
1669
THE OTHER AMERICANS by Laila Lalami, read by Mo...
Driss, a Moroccan American, is killed in a hit-and-run in the Mojave desert. The tragedy resonates in his community, and a cast of narrators pieces all of the perspectives together as his daughter tries to find out why.
4 min
1670
DAISY JONES & THE SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid, r...
A trip back to the ’70s with the story of a fake rock band in the real world. A star-studded cast recounts the band’s meteoric rise to fame and mysterious fall from grace as an oral history.
4 min
1671
SYNC Free Audiobooks for Teens
AudiobookSync starts an exciting tenth season this week. The free summer listening program lasts 14 weeks, offering audiobooks for teens—2 titles each week. This week’s theme: the tensions of friendships. More at AudiobookSYNC.com
5 min
1672
REDEMPTION by David Baldacci, read by Kyf Brewe...
In the latest Memory Man thriller, Amos Decker confronts a mistake he made in one of his first cases as a rookie detective. A dual narration by Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy puts listeners front and center.
4 min
1673
KADDISH.COM by Nathan Englander, read by Rob Sh...
Larry, formerly an observant Orthodox Jew, refuses to say Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer, for his recently deceased father. He uses an Internet-based alternative to avoid his obligation. An Earphones Award winner.
4 min
1674
NOTES FROM A YOUNG BLACK CHEF by Kwame Onwuachi...
Nominated for Rising Star Chef of the Year, Onwauchi narrates his own memoir with compelling emotion and passion. He dishes on the restaurant industry as he weaves the tale of his upbringing and career ups and downs.
4 min
1675
THE IMPOSSIBLE CLIMB by Mark Synnott, read by M...
A personal history of Synnott’s obsession with climbing since he was a teenager—through professional climbing triumphs and defeats. Alex Honnold’s “free solo” ascent of El Capitan is the central act he uses to explore the ethos of climbing.
4 min