Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Barbara Rosenblat is honored as a Golden Voice, AudioFile's lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators. Barbara is an audiobook superstar. She creates an energy field around her that extends to everyone she meets and electrifies each audiobook she records. She is superb with accents, unfailingly accurate and consistent. Her performances are legendary—from the Bronx to Bridget Jones, plus m...

Simon Prebble is honored as a Golden Voice, AudioFile's lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators. Over a long career, Simon has given listeners exceptional performances of multi-volume mystery and romance series, literary fiction, and history. From Sherlock Holmes to Shackleton, Simon’s distinctive British voice and keen facility with accents define the craft of audiobook narration. Brow...

Narrator Scott Brick celebrates his 20th year as an audiobook narrator this June. He received the honor of Golden Voice 15 years ago as his prolific career took off quickly—he credits producers Dan Musselman and Stefan Rudnicki, but Scott’s own passion for books and stories is equally a cause. Scott’s affinity for and knowledge of science fiction has kept that genre high on his favorites list. Sco...

In June 2019, Suzanne Toren was honored as a Golden Voice, AudioFile's lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators. Suzanne’s career as a voice actor has spanned more than 20 years. Listeners have been engaged by her narrations of history, literary fiction, biography, and children’s audiobooks. Browse her full audiography, and explore her AudioFile profile page. Essential Listens: “REMEMBER...

Audiobook narrator Johnny Heller was honored as a Golden Voice in June 2019. AudioFile’s lifetime achievement honor is given to top narrators who exemplify the very best in audiobook talent. With audiobooks as diverse as private-eye thrillers, serious history, or hilarious children’s stories, Johnny’s performances have delighted listeners of all ages and interests. Browse his full audiography, and...

In June 2019, Bahni Turpin was honored as a Golden Voice, AudioFile's lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators. Bahni has narrated audiobooks across a wide range of subjects and genres—many are female-driven, and they often feature African-American characters. Bahni’s work has been celebrated with multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and Audie Awards—including the 2019 Audiobook of the Ye...

Audiobook narrator Edoardo Ballerini was honored as a Golden Voice in June 2019. AudioFile’s lifetime achievement honor is given to top narrators who exemplify the very best in audiobook talent. Edoardo has created exceptional audiobook performances across a wide variety of subjects and genres. Browse Edoardo’s full audiography, and explore his AudioFile profile page. Essential Listens: BEAUTIFUL...

In June 2019, January LaVoy was honored as a Golden Voice, AudioFile's lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators. January has made invaluable contributions to the craft of audiobook narration. She manages to straddle the worlds of stage, screen, and teaching, and still records many audiobooks a year. January has won multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and Audie Awards. Browse her full aud...

Actor Tembi Locke narrates her memoir in a smooth, warm voice that carries the listener through her story of falling in love with Saro, an engaging Sicilian chef, his early death from cancer, and how time with his family helped heal her intense grief. Locke's memoir frequently shifts timeframes, alternately voicing the devastation of his death and the joy of their life together. Locke captivates a...

For a story built on first impressions, perceptions, and secrets, tonal variety is key. Narrator Soneela Nankani does a beautiful job with the nuances in this fresh take on the Jane Austen classic. Chef DJ Caine is hospitable but steely to Dr. Trisha Raje after their disastrous initial meeting. The two are thrown together constantly by a series of circumstances, and there’s an underlying heat to t...

Narrator Ramón de Ocampo brings out all the emotion in this tender, serious, funny, and warmly hopeful love story. Smart, snarky Alex Claremont-Diaz, first son of the United States, is about to graduate from Georgetown and is eager to work on his mother’s reelection campaign. Then he falls headlong into a whirlwind and very secret romance with England’s Prince Henry. De Ocampo beautifully conveys...

Author Elizabeth Acevedo sounds natural and authentic as Emoni, an immensely likable Philadelphia high school senior with a 2-year-old daughter and a gift for cooking. In both her writing and her narration, Acevedo warmly depicts the loving and supportive people in Emoni’s life—her Puerto Rican abuela, who helps take care of baby Emma; her best friend, Angelica; and Malachi, a new transfer student...

Emily Woo Zeller narrates a deeply moving love story between two passionate and strong-willed individuals from its emotionally devastating lows to its profoundly satisfying conclusion. Khai Diep is convinced he is incapable of feeling, and, therefore, has no need of a wife. Esme Tran, despite numerous obstacles, jumps at the chance to meet a potential husband who is American. Zeller perfectly capt...

In deep tones that will be familiar to viewers of Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” social worker and cultural commentator Karamo Brown narrates his debut audiobook. Blending memoir with inspirational lessons, he recounts the joys and challenges of his life, including his unorthodox routes to fame and fatherhood, his experiences with addiction and abuse, and his ambitious drive. He describes how each of thes...

Narrator David Pittu’s smooth, soft delivery is the perfect contrast to the unnamed protagonist in this domestic thriller about a happily married couple whose hobby is killing innocent women. The story is told mostly through the voice of the husband, who describes his relationship with his wife and problems with his kids, as well as details of the couple’s secret life and growing concerns about ge...

Brittany Pressley performs this audiobook at a fast pace that will be familiar to listeners who live in large, bustling cities. But she knows how to moderate her energy for the tender sections, and her overall performance sounds authentic, conversational, and true to the core intentions of the author’s story. Lori Gottlieb, a psychotherapist, describes her experiences trying to help a variety of c...

With remarkable vocal agility, narrator Michael Crouch takes a fascinating novel and makes it downright riveting. No matter what appears in the audiobook, Crouch is game. Ilya is an exchange student from Russia who is living in Louisiana. Fluent accents emerge without hesitation or exaggeration. The cast of characters expands, time shifts between past and present, and a mystery involving Ilya’s br...

In this memorable audiobook, Connell and Marianne, both smart, odd, and socially at sea, are deeply connected to each other and too young to know how rare their bond is. Everyone at their village high school in Sligo knows that Connell’s mother cleans house for Marianne’s family, so they feign indifference. At university, everything changes, then reverses, then changes again. Aoife McMahon, a skil...

Our culture values early success and achievement. Karlgaard’s message: It’s simply wrong to assume that success in life must begin early and that, past a certain age, we should not expect much of ourselves. This inviting audio will make listeners in their later years rethink how they want to spend their lives. Narrator Fred Sanders offers a steady narration that engages listeners. Published by Ran...

Harvard Professor and PBS regular Henry Louis Gates, Jr., explores how people of color navigated their lives, identity, and culture from the period of Reconstruction to the rise of segregation and the Harlem Renaissance. Dominic Hoffman gives a natural and compelling narration of Gates’s complex meditation on black identity in a racist America. Published by Penguin Audio. Read the full review of S...

President John F. Kennedy made an astonishing announcement in May 1961. He announced his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Douglas Brinkley’s history takes listeners to the 1960s to bring together the extraordinary political, cultural, and scientific factors that fueled the birth and development of NASA and the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo projects. Narrator Stephen Graybi...

Count the works of David McCullough among the richest listening experiences. The acclaimed historian has read many of his own audiobooks, but this history of the settlement of America’s Northwest Territory is presented by narrator John Bedford Lloyd. Lloyd possesses many of McCullough’s familiar virtues, in particular, a deep-throated calm and a balanced tone, making this an Earphones-worthy liste...

Bienville is not a sleepy Mississippi town. When journalist Marshall McEwan returns to care for his ailing father, he renews relationships with former lovers and others while also uncovering dark secrets about the Poker Club and others who control every aspect of the town. Narrator Scott Brick gets every nuance of accent and pacing, giving listeners an Earphones Award performance. Published by Har...

Food writer Goulding offers mouth-watering essays that go region by region around Italy. It’s not a cookbook, though it was a James Beard Award finalist, but it will make you want to book a trip to Italy to follow in his footsteps. Will Damron narrates with energy, poise, and precision. Published by Tantor Media. Read the full review of PASTA, PANE, VINO at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free aud...

Psychology professor and therapist Pipher invites listeners into her life with engaging observations and advice. Suzanne Toren’s mature pitch and thoughtful phrasing are perfect for this memoir-like study of the various ways women transition into their later years. Published by Audible, Inc. Read the full review of WOMEN ROWING NORTH at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendation...