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Sep 13, 2016 12:02PM
Do you doubt that the best-selling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing would have an effect on you? Well, listen to its impact on narrator Emily Woo Zeller! https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20...
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So what happens when a new mother performs a book about a new mother? When we read the rave AudioFile review of How to Party with an Infant, we asked Joy Osmanski that very question. "As a new mom, I appreciated narrating Kaui's fantastic prose from a whole new perspective. HOW TO PARTY WITH AN INFANT made me laugh out loud and also required me to take some breaks so I could wipe my eyes. Just like motherhood."
Soundclip and review: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi....
Let's hear it for outspoken women in this Behind the Mic blog post from Kirsten Potter about performing Anne Tyler's newest Vinegar Girl! Spot on and funny: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....
AudioFile wrote: " Let's hear it for outspoken women in this Behind the Mic blog post from Kirsten Potter about performing Anne Tyler's newest Vinegar Girl! ..."Vinegar Girl was already on my my wishlist but knowing Kisten Potter is narrating it would have made me want it :-)
Margo wrote: "AudioFile wrote: " Let's hear it for outspoken women in this Behind the Mic blog post from Kirsten Potter about performing Anne Tyler's newest [book:Vinega..."Wonderful! Both terrific women combined in one book, that's what I say.
@ Margo--Ditto regarding Anne Tyler's 'VINEGAR GIRL'! I was not aware the extremely talented Kirsten Potter narrates the AB, although it was already on my TBR list! Bumped up it goes! ;)
Michael Urie is magical in this Behind the Mic blog post about performing the happy/sad/uplifting Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....
Meet Susan Ericksen in an eloquent Behind the Mic blog piece about what is was like to narrate Annie Dillard's amazing new essay collection, The Abundance: Narrative Essays Old and New. https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20...And guess what, she won an Earphones Award for her performance! Here's the sound clip and review: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi.... Enjoy.
Vikas Adam and Josh Hurley just won an Earphones Award for their joint narration of the delightful middle-school novel Save Me a Seat. Turns out they've worked together before, which was key. Even more important was channeling their inner 10 year old. Here's their interview: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/narr....
Adenrele Ojo just won an Earphones Award for The Mothers: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi...Oh my, did she have a good time giving it voice! Here's what she said - THE MOTHERS just kept me on my toes with one twist after another. I was always rooting for my lead characters at all cost, and just when I thought I could relax with them, Bennett would take me someplace else and put me back on the ride. But 'The Mothers' and their sass, maturity, and eclectic personalities, I absolutely loved. One of my favorite parts to record was the 'ain't-shit man' monologue. Imagine an ol' hat-wearing church lady saying that. We just laughed after that. This was just a great story to tell.
Mark Deakins did an excellent job with Jonathan Lethman's intriguing newest novel, A Gambler's Anatomy: A Novel: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi.... And he had to learn German to do it!"Lethem's writing is intelligent, quirky, and packed with cultural references and crossovers. This sometimes makes for challenging -- but never boring -- reading. For instance, there are whole passages of German in this novel. I speak decent English and fair French. A word or two of German? No problem. But paragraphs of conversational and medical German? That's a steep learning curve, and I'm sure native speakers will cringe, but hopefully it's passable for the unpracticed ear! Lethem creates some of the most eccentric characters and situations I've ever encountered, and that's just flat-out fun."
Here's a beautifully moving Behind the Mic blog post by Lisa Renee Pitts on what it was like to voice the much-discussed debut novel Grace, for which she won an Earphones Award. https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20.... She's literally behind the mic as she films the post, which is extra fun. The post includes a link to a sound clip and the review.
Ready for a new fantasy series by breakout author Michael J. Sullivan? Of course we are. Well, here's narrator Tim Gerrard Reynolds in a Behind the Mic blog post about teaming with the author on Book 1 of Age of Myth: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....He won an Earphones Award for the performance. Way to go, Tim! http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi...
Now seems the time to ponder how we humans communicate (or not). Meet narrator David Marantz in this amusing Behind the Mic blog video about his experiences performing The Mind Club - "Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters". It and he are a kick: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....
So, how do narrators remember which character is which? In this Behind the Mic video blog, Robert Petkoff shares his solution, and lots more about performing Michael Koryta's Those Who Wish Me Dead: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....
Wow, this is a lovely, heartfelt Behind the Mic audio-blog post by Alyssa Bresnahan about her narration of Eileen, which won the 2016 PEN/Hemingway Award-winning for debut novel and was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20...
This is Aurelia with a reminder that you can subscribe to AudioFile's free e-newsletter, and receive the hottest audiobook reviews without waiting for me to post a few of them. Sign-up is easy (and renegotiable): http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/emai....
IF you subscribed, you'd have known before now that Sherlock Holmes has teamed up with Kolchak, the Night Stalker. In Sherlock Holmes & Kolchak the Night Stalker: Cry of Thunder by Joe Gentile, Johnny Heller delivers an improbable and wonderful mystery with loads of pizzaz. http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi...
American Gods by the amazing Neil Gaiman is coming to the small screen sometime in 2017. Until then, lucky audiobook listeners can hear one (or both!) of two great full-cast performances AND read an AudioFile In the Studio interview with the producers. Take a glance: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....
American Gods is another one on my wishlist!
Margo wrote: "American Gods is another one on my wishlist!"Fantastic! Well, both version are good. Have fun.
I really enjoyed American Gods with the full cast. I actually enjoyed Anansi Boys--if not a sequel per se, a sort of follow on--with Lenny Henry as narrator even more.
Jeanie wrote: "I really enjoyed American Gods with the full cast. I actually enjoyed Anansi Boys--if not a sequel per se, a sort of follow on--with Lenny Henry as narrator even more."Aurelia here. Thanks for the recommendation, Jeanie. I didn't know about Anansi Boys, although as an AudioFile editor (and member of the reading public), I'm sure I should have. It sounds great actually. In 2006, our reviewer loved it and Lenny Henry's performance as much as you did. Here's the review, for interest's sake: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi....
Thanks for the link to the review, Aurelia. It didn't strike me that any of Lenny Henry's voices sounded like Yoda at the time, but I bet I'll hear it next time I listen! ;) Neil Gaiman has said that he had Lenny Henry's voice in his head while he was writing it... his author's voice has perfect pitch. I so enjoy Gaiman's writing style and his humor. This one often has such a British style of humor that some Americans find it passing them by--only a British writer could have thought of the thing with the lime! The ending to this one is both surprising and then charming and sweet... a real treat overall.
Anansi Boys made me laugh. It's one of my favorite Neil Gaiman books.
Jeanie wrote: "Thanks for the link to the review, Aurelia. It didn't strike me that any of Lenny Henry's voices sounded like Yoda at the time, but I bet I'll hear it next time I listen! ;) Neil Gaiman has said th..."All right! It's now definitely on my to-listen list. :)
I love learning about authors who appreciate an actor/narrator's voice and write while 'hearing' them. I once interviewed Barbara Mertz/Elizabeth Peters for AudioFile, and learned that she worked surprisingly closely with her longtime narrator, Barbara Rosenblat. Here's a section of that interview in a remembrance of Mertz, just in case it's of interest: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/auth....
Jeanie wrote: "I really enjoyed American Gods with the full cast. I actually enjoyed Anansi Boys--if not a sequel per se, a sort of follow on--with Lenny Henry as narrator even more."I agree completely I also enjoyed Anansi Boys more than American Gods and just an FYI Neil Gaiman has said that it was Lenny Henry's voice he heard in his head while writing so that is why he narrated the audiobook not Neil himself.
AudioFile wrote: "Jeanie wrote: "Thanks for the link to the review, Aurelia. It didn't strike me that any of Lenny Henry's voices sounded like Yoda at the time, but I bet I'll hear it next time I listen! ;) Neil Gai..."Thanks for the second link about the two "creators" of Amelia Peabody. Sweet, charming, and inspiring. I love that listening to the audiobooks helped the author refine her own writing.
Aurelia here with a reminder that anyone interested in a guaranteed great listen can browse the section of audiofilemagazine.com that's devoted to Earphones Award winners (or just listen to everything on the list, beginning with A...): http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi....
A while ago, we Audiofile editors realized that audiobooks should have audio reviews, so we started SoundReviews, posting a new audio review on our website every day. You get a description, review, and a nice long clip of the performance. Here's today's review of Don Juan - yup, the one by Lord Byron: https://soundcloud.com/audiofilemagaz....And here's the website page listing all the recent SoundReviews (including The Mirror Thief, read by Edoardo Ballerini, a personal favorite of Aurelia's): http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/soun....
Outlander, the superbly popular book and audiobook and television series by Diana Gabaldon, has been narrated from the beginning by audience-favorite and AudioFile Golden Voice, Davina Porter. In the latest AudioFile blog, Davina shares her thoughts on the series and the role of Clare: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....And for added fun, here's an interview with Diana Gabaldon. Can you spot the Dr. Who connection? http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/auth...
Narrator Johnny Heller had a great time bringing the new crazy-fun Kolchak the Night Stalker and Sherlock Holmes mystery to life. Sherlock Holmes & Kolchak the Night Stalker: Cry for Thunder. He's gone Behind the Mic to tell us all about it: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....
In AudioFile's newest (free) e-newsletter, narrator Angela Lin told us:"I thought I knew everything there was to know about China in the 20th century, but I was so very wrong. Do Not Say We Have Nothing opened my eyes and drew me in so emotionally, I found myself needing to stop to blow my nose a few times as I cried while recording."
She won an Earphones Award for her stellar performance of Madelaine Thien's haunting novel, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Here's a sound clip and review: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi....
Aurelia here, excited to let everyone know that AudioFile's own Robin Whitten (founder and editor) will be Tom Ashbrook's guest on WBUR's On Point today at 11:30. She and Matthew Rubery, author of The Untold Story of the Talking Book, will be talking all things audiobook. It's a call-in program, so here's your chance to weigh in on our shared passion! Here's the link: http://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2016/11/1....
AudioFile wrote: "Aurelia here, excited to let everyone know that AudioFile's own Robin Whitten (founder and editor) will be Tom Ashbrook's guest on WBUR's On Point today at 11:30. She and Matthew Rubery, author of ..."I was listening. . . good job Robin!
Aurelia here with a great Behind the Mic video visit with Xe Sands, who visited recently as a guest on Goodreads Narrator's Corner. Xe performed Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt, and what a story she has to tell about it. Take a look: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....
How are you feeling today? I ask, because according to this great Behind the Mic visit with narrator Suzanne Toren, many emotions weren't even named until about 1830. She learned this, and much else, while giving an Earphones Award-winning performance of the fascinating The Book of Human Emotions: An Encyclopaedia of Feeling from Anger to Wanderlust by Tiffany Watt Smith. Take a look and read the review (sound clip included): https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20...
Narrators have so many skills. In this latest Behind the Mic video blog, Katherine Kellgren talks about composing melodies (!) for Grayling's Song by Karen Cushman. She won an Earphones Award for it. Take a peek and a listen:https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....
At AudioFile, we like to look at mysteries on Monday - goodness knows what that says about us. Well, this morning it says that we have the ever wonderful Jayne Entwistle in a Behind the Mic video dishing about the newest Flavia de Luce. Yes! https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....
We have a fantastic two-for-one on Behind the Mic this morning! Narrator Johnathan McClain and author Graham Moore together talking about Moore's best-selling The Last Days of Night and McClain's Earphones Award-winning performance. They're a kick: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....
Romantic Times recently interviewed AudioFile's own Managing Editor, Jennifer M. Dowell, about the ins-and-outs of audiobook reviewing and behind the scenes tidbits. This is definitely a keeper: https://www.rtbookreviews.com/bonus-c....
The wonderful Adenrele Ojo won an Earphones Award for her performance of The Mothers. And now, it's been named one of AudioFile's Best Books of 2016! Meet the irresistible Adenrele in this Behind the Mic video blog: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/20....
This is Aurelia with a shout-out to Bahni Turpin, who is frequently lauded here on Goodreads. She's done a wonderful job with Ann E. Burg's Unbound: A Novel in Verse, which made me want to 'meet' her again. Here's the link to Bahni, including a sound clip of new work: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/narr.... And here's the review plus sound clip: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi....
Aurelia here with a fun new way for you to while away a few minutes. Plug your headphones in and listen to sound clips from some of your favorite narrators - yes, including Barbara Rosenblat - now posted on our Narrators landing page: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/narr....
AudioFile's Tuesday blog is all about romance, and yesterday it posted the hot (in every way!) upcoming titles. Have fun: https://blog.audiofilemagazine.com/ca....
Aurelia here. Nathan Hill's The Nix, read by the amazing Ari Fliakos has made AudioFile's Best of 2016 list (and many other lists besides). I interviewed Fliakos for AudioFile December/January issue. He was a delight. Here you go: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/narr....And here's the review for his Earphones Award-winning performance: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi...
Aurelia here to say that it's not just us on Goodreads who love audiobooks. Here's a fun, heartening column from the Huffington Post about why everyone is discovering what we've long loved. As you read, make sure to look out for the exclusive hot link to Scott Brick's newest video blog, created just for us: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/denise-....
English narrator David Timson is a kick, and he has the breath control to handle Gibbon, which is a feat. He's now won an Earphones Award for a very different book than the rise and fall of Rome - Dickens' delightful Christmas Stories! Meet the man http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/narr... and take a look at the review (sound clip included) http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi....
Cassandra Campbell just did an ace job performing Dava Sobel's newest popular history, The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars. Plus, she had a great time doing it -"What a privilege to narrate this gem of a book that weaves a mix of scientific discovery and cataloguing of the stars with a story of women's entry and eventual recognition in the field of astronomy. I am determined now to visit the archives of the Astronomical Society at Harvard to view the glass plates!"
Here's the review: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi....
And a bit about Cassandra: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/narr....
This is Aurelia with a reminder that you don't have to wait for me to mention my own favorites from AudioFile's free e-newsletter. You can look for yourself! It shows up 3 times a month - no more, no less - and there are way more books on it that I can tell you about. Sign up is easy: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/emai....
So many routes to becoming an audiobook narrator! Carrington MacDuffie was a singer before becoming an award-winning audiobook actress. Here's what she has to say about her newest work, In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper, edited by Lawrence Block -""There's a noir cast to these stories, but it's subtle, so narrating them actually required quite a bit of restraint, as opposed to a flair for drama. This approach can actually take me deeper into the literature."
Here's the link to a sound clip and review: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi....
And more about MacDuffie, including sound clips: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/narr....
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