Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Golden Voice narrators are the stars of the narrating universe. Today host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten are celebrating Adjoa Andoh, a 2022 Golden Voice narrator, renowned actor on stage and screen, and narrator of more than 150 audiobooks with versatile performances and a mastery of accents. For listeners of fantasy, historical fiction, nonfiction, mysteries, literary fiction, and classi...

Kevin R. Free approaches the narration of Maraniss’s biography of baseball player Glenn Burke with dignity and an engaged tone. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Free’s skillful narration of Burke’s biography, available from June 2-8, 2022, through AudioFile’s SYNC program, which provides free audiobooks for teens all summer long. Having played in the 1970s, Burke is remembered fo...

Golden Voice narrator Soneela Nankani does double duty breathing life into the characters of Rani and Ria. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this impressive fantasy title for teens, one of the many available through AudioFile’s SYNC summer program for free teen audiobooks. Soneela displays an impressive array of vocal abilities as she tells the story of a princess and an orphan wh...

Get ready for ALL the feelings. AudioFile’s Emily Connelly and host Jo Reed discuss Alice Oseman’s story of the British prep school boyfriends who readers and viewers fell in love with in HEARTSTOPPER. Narrators Huw Parmenter and Sam Newton bring listeners up to date on Charlie and Nick’s relationship as the end of the school year approaches. As Nick talks more about being excited to go to univers...

Neo Cihi narrates Xiran Jay Zhao’s action-packed middle-grade audiobook with dramatic emphasis. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this contemporary fantasy packed full of Chinese mythology and history. Zachary Ying is swept into a supernatural quest across China when he’s possessed by the spirit of a 2,000-year-old Chinese emperor through his high-tech gaming device. He joins fel...

Narrator Cassandra Morris’s bright and youthful tone fits Annabelle, a sixth-grader growing up sheltered in a small Washington town. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Kyle Lukoff’s excellent writing and Morris’s lively narration that work seamlessly to bring Annabelle and the well-rounded characters to life. Annabelle fears that this school year will be the same as all the others...

Poet Elizabeth Acevedo’s narration of her groundbreaking spoken-word poem resonates with love, understanding, and heartbreak. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Acevedo’s breathtaking narration of INHERITANCE, her poem originally titled “Hair” that achieved viral fame during her 2014 slam poetry circuit. With a thrumming rhythm and exquisitely placed pauses, Acevedo celebrates the...

Amani Minter’s quiet and heartfelt narration grounds the listener in the story of an all-consuming friendship and fierce first love. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Ashley Woodfolk’s novel in verse centered around the relationship between two unnamed Black girls. Minter’s pleasantly husky voice recounts a tense and emotional day when the pair set fires, intentionally and not, w...

Frank Bruni narrates his audiobook in a tone of calm wisdom. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss how Bruni, a columnist and critic for THE NEW YORK TIMES, became partially blind after a stroke. As the medical establishment struggled to discover what exactly happened, Bruni learned to adapt to his new reality. He expands the work to reflect on the nature of aging and the va...

Nicola Barber’s expressive narration captures the inner life and scientific mindset of Rosalind Franklin, the great English biophysicist. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss how Barber is a wonderfully expressive reader of Marie Benedict’s historical novel. The plot follows the real-life Franklin on her epoch-making research into the structures of DNA, RNA, and viruses. Ba...

Dion Graham gives a virtuoso performance of fictional bluesman Manfred (Man) Banks. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Graham’s interpretation of this 25th anniversary edition of Clarence Major’s novel. Graham sings, riffs, wails, and weeps as he takes listeners into the soul of the protagonist, a bluesman with the can’t-win-for-losing blues. Man travels from Chicago to Omaha, and...

Pete Cross reads Brian Kateman’s polemical audiobook thoughtfully and with good pace and a sure sense of its complexity and meaning. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss how Cross delivers the arguments and manages to balance the audiobook’s informal tone and informational content. Kateman shares his own story and takes on the issues surrounding the raising of cattle, the production...

Erin Bennett narrates the late Lori Zabar’s insider history of a New York institution with the right blend of appreciation and conviction. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss this fascinating history of the famed Jewish deli Zabar’s—and its recipes. Lori Zabar, who was the granddaughter of immigrant founders Lou and Lilly, shares the past, warts and all. This engaging audi...

With the talents of narrator Angela Dawe, the author’s extensive research and strong writing propel listeners through an account of the 1924 murder committed by teenagers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this YA true crime audiobook that explores the lives, relationships, and motives of the two teenagers and their hopes to pull off the “perfect cri...

Chloé Cooper Jones’s memoir is made even more personal with her narration of the audiobook. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this exploration of the author’s physical disability and her fight to thrive in spite of the constant judgment, pity, and prejudice of others. Jones offers a profoundly honest examination of society’s standards of beauty and desirability and insightfully exp...

Michael Schur and the cast of “The Good Place” collaborate once more, this time to ponder today’s toughest moral questions. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the fun of listening to the audiobook, hearing the author’s own words along with the many actors who join for the performance. Schur delivers hilarious sarcasm as he tackles ethics and explains balancing morality and achieving...

Viola Davis’s audiobook captures the voice of a woman with a fascinating, heartbreaking lived experience. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the power of hearing Davis perform for listeners, telling her story honestly and emotionally. Davis describes her childhood growing up in a family struggling with poverty, her hard work and talent that brought her to Juilliard and beyond, and f...

Australian stand-up comedian Hannah Gadsby narrates her memoir wonderfully. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this excellent memoir from the woman who shot to fame with her Netflix special “Nanette.” Her work combines humor with personal accounts of the brutal realities of her life as a queer autistic woman, and how her experiences informed her career and the memorable “Nanette.” S...

Sura Siu captivates as she narrates Christina Soontornvat’s breathtaking seafaring adventure. AudioFile’s Emily Connelly tells host Jo Reed about listening to this exciting audiobook with her children—multiple times! Sai is a bright-voiced and bold 12-year-old girl hoping to set a new course for her life and leave her past behind. She’s thrilled when her assistantship to mapmaker Paiyoon yields a...

Narrators Amanda Ronconi and Zachary Webber are utterly convincing as two seatmates who hit it off on a crowded and eventful bus ride. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the fun of listening to this audiobook-first romance packed with a full cast of narrators, believable sound effects, and audible chemistry between the two leads. Ronconi conveys Gwen’s lively snark and enthusiasm...

Five talented narrators continue an epic fantasy story of political upheaval, magic, and destiny in the Meridian. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the audiobook that takes listeners into the tense weeks after the explosive ending of BLACK SUN. Serapio, narrated with intensity and vulnerability by Shaun Taylor-Corbett, is struggling to maintain his humanity after becoming a livin...

Julia Whelan’s dynamic performance will have listeners savoring every word of Emily Henry’s newest romance audiobook. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the latest audiobook from the duo who brought BEACH READ and PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION to listeners. Nora is unlucky in romantic love but adores her work as a book agent, her life in New York City, and her younger sister, Libby....

The four narrators who deliver Emily St. John Mandel’s newest novel create a mesmerizing listening experience full of time shifts. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the audiobook full of interlocking storylines that call back to the author’s STATION ELEVEN and THE GLASS HOTEL. John Lee effortlessly transports listeners to 1918 British Columbia, while Dylan Moore brings a perfect...

AudioFile’s Robin Whitten and host Jo Reed discuss a new initiative to help I’m Your Neighbor Books grow their signature project, The Welcoming Library. The Welcoming Library is a touring collection of 30 picture books that connects readers with stories of immigrant families. Robin and Jo discuss the need for incorporating authentically-voiced audiobooks into the collection, and how Playaway’s Won...

Khristine Hvam brings energy to her narration of Amber and Andy Ankowski’s audiobook of tips and tricks for parents hoping to raise children with an appetite for reading. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss the playful and practical advice that will resonate with young parents—and possibly grandparents. Hvam’s bright and encouraging performance makes the activities she describes sou...