Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss a comprehensive study of the devastating 2018 Northern California fire. T. Ryder Smith narrates with dramatic pacing, speeding up during the nail-biting personal stories and slowing down when explaining the fire’s causes and behaviors. Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano have written an outstanding study of how humans create and respond to disaster, wh...

Poet Natasha Trethewey’s emotional delivery adds to the impact of this harrowing memoir. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s memoir about her childhood in Mississippi, and her mother’s childhood in the segregated South. Grief, shock, love, anger, and guilt are all palpable in Trethewey’s voice as she offers listeners a detailed account of her mothe...

Cassandra Campbell gives a stellar performance of this historical fiction audiobook, based on the life of 19-year-old mathematician Charlie Fisk who played a crucial role in creating the atomic bomb. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb talk about Campbell’s performance of Stephen P. Kiernan’s novel, which blends romance, science, and heavier themes. Charlie has to leave his love, Brenda, so...

Narrators Andrea Bang and Yuta Takenaka add refreshing vitality to the voices in this eclectic collection of stories showcasing the perspectives of young Asian-Canadians. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb share their thoughts on Doretta Lau’s debut collection of fiction stories from 2014 that are now available on audio. Bang and Takenaka’s performances turn these engaging slices of life in...

Three narrators deliver a tremendous performance of Kate Reed Petty’s remarkable debut novel about the long-term reverberations of a high school rumor about sexual assault. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb talk about the multiple voices and points of view. Combining multiple styles—thriller, letters, essays, and memoirs—the bulk of the story is carried by Kristen Sieh as Alice, who spends...

Jake Abel’s skilled performance of the famous story told anew from vampire Edward’s point of view is sure to delight fans of the series. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this new take on Stephenie Meyers’s teen series. This is Jake Abel’s first audiobook, and his smooth voice and subtle shifts in tone convey all the emotions of each character. Edward’s frustration over monotonous...

The hosts of the “Call Your Girlfriend” podcast are warm, open, and matter-of-fact narrators as they share personal details about the path their friendship has taken. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss an audiobook that centers around relationships that rarely get their due — friendships. Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman sound comfortable and natural behind the mic as they trade off...

Morag Sims has a bright and lively voice that matches the mood of Olivia Waite’s historical romance perfectly. Agatha Griffin is a widowed owner of a print shop in 1820s London, and is visiting her countryside warehouse when she discovers an alarming surprise — bees have taken up residence. She is pointed in the direction of resident bee expert Penelope Flood, and the two women strike up a friends...

Sisi Aisha Johnson creates a realistic and relatable cast of characters in a middle-grade audiobook about friendship, family, and moving out of your comfort zone. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss a story centered around 11-year-old Jenae, who wishes she were invisible and fears public speaking. When she makes a new friend with an outgoing kid at school and is pushed to debate on...

Two Black teens vote for the first time in an audiobook that takes place all in one day. Host Jo Reed and AudioFIle’s Emily Connelly discuss how the dual narration adds to the fun in Brandy Colbert’s YA novel that features a satisfying blend of character development and lessons about voter suppression, grief, and activism. Robin Eller voices Marva, who is first in line at the polls. When she sees...

Joniece Abbott-Pratt’s evocative narration skillfully complements Jordan Ifueko’s vibrant multilayered fantasy. AudioFile’s Emily Connelly tells host Jo Reed the many reasons she couldn’t hit pause on this audiobook, a coming-of-age story with magic, mystery, and adventure. Tarisai grew up isolated but discovers friends and found family when she joins the crown prince’s council. But she carries a...

AudioFIle contributor Alan Minskoff tells host Jo Reed about his delight with Kristin Kimball’s story of going back to the land, and her expressive narration. Kimball and her husband farm in upstate New York, and the audiobook breathes with the sounds, sights, and smells of their farm. They plow with enormous horses, feed hundreds through their CSA, and act as mentors for young farmers. You’ll be...

Bill Buford narrates his culinary journey, taking listeners with him to Lyon, France, as he seeks to learn classic French cooking methods. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss Buford’s self-effacing, witty, and experiential narrative style, and listeners are treated to an exceptional tour of French food, its history, and the particular joys of Lyon. He narrates as a friendl...

Victoria James narrates her inside account of her remarkable rise to prominence as a sommelier in New York’s fine dining world. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss how James became the youngest sommelier in the U.S. at age 21, and her earnest and persuasive narration as she tells her story. Despite exploitation, harassment, and abuse, she perseveres and prevails, all while...

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss all the science and pseudoscience about what we eat, uncovered by Canadian author Dr. Joe Schwarcz. This audiobook collects essays on nutrition, diet, and eating, in an attempt to apply scientific information about the foods we eat and address some wild internet claims. Narrator Jonathan Yen provides a clear and intelligent narration, an...

Listen to this extraordinary history of salmon from Mark Kurlansky, the author of COD, SALT, and other focused and powerful examinations of the natural world. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss how salmon and the earth share fates, and threats to survival. Kurlansky narrates straightforwardly as he tells the story of the history of salmon, and how people have coexisted wi...

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss Kevin Kwan’s modern adaptation of A ROOM WITH A VIEW, with an enchanting narration by Lydia Look. Food, fashion, and romance all collide in an escapist listen perfect for fans of Kwan’s CRAZY RICH ASIANS. When Lucie meets George at an extravagant wedding, sparks fly. Years later, she must decide between her head and her heart when George re-enters...

A book steeped in math and epidemiology that addresses the basis for how a variety of contagion models — memes, malaria, financial crises — can document why things spread, and one day stop. While this isn’t a book addressing our current COVID-19 crisis, it does provide background information on concepts that will give you a stronger background in understanding what it means for something to go vir...

Narrator Rebekkah Ross handles Megan Miranda’s latest mystery with maximum intensity. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss a mystery with a great premise — a sleepwalking 6-year-old disappears for days and is later discovered in a storm drain, becoming a reluctant celebrity. As the twentieth anniversary of her disappearance looms, her stress level soars, and she starts sleepwalking ag...

Shayla Lawson narrates her collection of autobiographical essays, adding a layer of depth and personalization to her tales of Black girlhood and womanhood. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb talk about her compelling insights on topics as far-ranging as microaggressions at work, American Girl dolls, or the idiosyncrasies of Twitter. Her narration is as varied as the essays, reflecting their...

Dive inside an American family in this Oprah Book Club pick. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss an enthralling true story that features an Earphones Award-winning performance by Sean Pratt. His timing and subtle delivery bring the listener inside the minds of this family of 12 children, half of whom suffer from schizophrenia. This empathetic audiobook explores the toll that mental i...

Robin Miles’s performance channels the type of wise and nurturing voice you’d expect to hear from a child psychologist who aims to help kids in today’s tumultuous world. Gewirtz is an expert in helping families under stress, and has created a highly useful teaching and learning tool. Robin Miles portrays the information as an expert, delivering Gewirtz’s wisdom in an accessible but authoritative m...

Gabrielle de Cuir’s luminous narration transports listeners into the turbulent life of acclaimed nineteenth-century French actress Sarah Bernhardt. AudioFile’s Robin Whitten tells host Jo Reed what she loved about the absorbing historical fiction audiobook, including the colorful and unique characters, descriptions of Paris and events, and lavish Golden Age opulence. De Cuir’s accents are impeccab...

James McAvoy leads an all-star cast in narrating the audio adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s iconic graphic novel series. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this AudioFile Earphones winner, which is full of dark humor, horror, fantasy, satire, and mythology. It’s a total tour de force with a cinematic score, fitting for the epic story. McAvoy, who portrays Morpheus, the King of Dreams, l...

Narrator Grover Gardner breathes life into listeners’ favorite dog-loving lawyer, Andy Carpenter. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this latest mystery, centered around a defense of a man declared dead in a boat explosion — but who reappears when he picks up his dog from Andy’s rescue charity. Gardner has earned multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards for his narration on the series,...