Podcast Talk With Audiobook Reviews

Audiobook Reviews

0.0 (0)
Books

Audiobook Reviews Find your great audiobook on Podcast Talk Show with Audiobook Reviews. Every Thursday, host Jo Reed and her guests discuss what they’ve been listening to and recommend the very best audiobooks. It’s the perfect way to keep up with new releases and hear about the ones you may have missed. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, or wherever you get your podcasts.

6d ago

Sports, Belonging, and Growing Up

Host Jo Reed and Kirkus young readers’ editor Laura Simeon discuss three audiobooks for young listeners that use sports to explore identity, family, culture, and social change. In Medicine Wheels by Byron Graves, narrator Meegwun Fairbrother captures both the turmoil and the exhilaration of an Ojibwe teenager who discovers skateboarding—and a new connection to his late father. Eva Kaminsky brings clarity and urgency to Elizabeth Rusch’s A Greater Goal, a gripping account of the U.S. women’s soccer team’s fight for equal pay and the solidarity that sustained it. Finally, in Malia Maunakea’s The Shark Prince, narrator Noah Keawekane captures the humor and vulnerability of a Native Hawaiian teenager trying to understand both his changing body and his dangerous inheritance as a descendant of the shark king. Together, these audiobooks move beyond the action of skateboarding, soccer, and surfing to explore family ties, cultural identity, and the power of solidarity. Audiobooks Discussed: Medicine Wheels by Byron Graves, read by Meegwun Fairbrother (Harper Audio) A Greater Goal: The Epic Battle for Equal Pay in Women’s Soccer—And Beyond by Elizabeth Rusch, read by Eva Kaminsky (Harper Audio) The Shark Prince by Malia Maunakea, read by Noah Keawekane (Listening Library) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 17

Writing a Life, Reading It Aloud

Audiobook Review Host Jo Reed talks with contributor Stephen Cummings about three celebrity memoirs that reveal the many ways that authors tell their own stories in audio. They begin with Arsenio by Arsenio Hall and Alan Eisenstock, narrated by Hall, whose lively, charismatic performance revisits the groundbreaking years of The Arsenio Hall Show and its cultural impact. Then they discuss Famesick, written and read by Lena Dunham, a candid and often unsettling memoir that examines fame, illness, ambition, and the costs of living in public. Finally, they turn to True Crime, narrated by Patricia Cornwell, whose measured delivery guides listeners through a difficult Southern childhood and the winding path that led her to create Kay Scarpetta. Together, these audiobooks show how memoir narration can become a second act of storytelling, with each author using voice, pacing, and perspective to reshape the stories they tell about themselves. Audiobooks discussed: Arsenio by Arsenio Hall with Alan Eisenstock, read by the Arsenio Hall (Simon & Schuster Audio) Famesick, written and read by Lena Dunham (Random House Audio) True Crime, written and read by Patricia Cornwell (Hachette Audio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 3

New Earphones Award Winners

Audiobook Review Laura Rossi joins host Jo Reed to talk through three recent Earphones Award winners, each offering a distinct listening experience. They begin with Judge Stone by James Patterson and Viola Davis, on which Davis also delivers exceptional narration, bringing authority and emotional precision to a fast-moving legal thriller. Then it’s Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi, where Adjoa Andoh delivers a commanding performance that makes the iconic queen feel regal, immediate, and fully human. They close with Trust No One by James Rollins and read by Simon Vance, who guides listeners across countries and centuries on a suspenseful hunt for a mysterious text said to hold the secret to immortality. Audiobooks Discussed: Judge Stone by James Patterson and Viola Davis, read by Viola Davis (Hachette Audio) Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi, read by Adjoa Andoh (Random House Audio) Trust No One by James Rollins, read by Simon Vance (Harper Audio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 24

Listening to Short Stories That Linger

Audiobook Review Host Jo Reed talks with contributor Kendra Winchester about three inventive story collections that reveal just how expansive audiobook storytelling can be. They begin with Fat Swim by Emma Copley Eisenberg, performed by a seven-person cast including Marin Ireland and Samantha Desz, where stories centered on fatness, vulnerability, and community take on added intimacy through distinct narrative voices. Then they discuss My Dear You by Rachel Khong, narrated by Xiaoling Pan, Rachel Khong, Zhen Zhao, and Annie Q. Riegel, a wildly imaginative collection that moves effortlessly between speculative fiction, satire, emotional realism, and the uncanny. Finally, they turn to Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar, with narrator Rachel Elizabeth Smith bringing warmth, precision, and quiet intensity to stories filled with fairy tales, scholarship, women’s lives, and acts of self-rescue. Together, these audiobooks demonstrate how short fiction thrives in audio—each narrator shaping tone, atmosphere, and emotional texture in ways that make every story feel immediate and distinct. Audio Books Discussed: Fat Swim by Emma Copley Eisenberg, read by Kristen DiMercurio, MW Cartozian Wilson, Marin Ireland, Lindsey Dorcus, Chrysanthy Balis, Samantha Desz, and Kristen Sieh (Random House Audio) My Dear You by Rachel Khong, read by Jialing Pan, Rachel Khong, Jen Zhao, and Annie Q. Riegel (Random House Audio) Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar, read by Rachel Elizabeth Smith (Macmillan Aud Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 12

Still Here: Three Memoirs That Don’t Look Away

Audiobook Review Three women tell deeply personal stories in audiobooks that gain even more force through performance. Michele Cobb joins host Jo Reed to discuss A Hymn to Life by Gisèle Pelicot, who discovered that her husband had drugged her and arranged to have dozens of men assault her over the course of many years. The book recounts her life, the trial, and the reckoning that followed, all narrated by Emma Thompson with remarkable restraint and empathy. Next comes a discussion of The End of My Life Is Killing Me by Annabelle Gurwitch, read by the author with warmth, comic timing, and mischievous candor as she navigates stage 4 lung cancer and divorce. Finally, they discuss You With the Sad Eyes, written and read by actor Christina Applegate, who reflects on childhood trauma, fame, cancer, and living with multiple sclerosis; her unguarded narration—complete with journal entries, cracked laughter, and tearful moments—gives the book unusual emotional immediacy. These memoirs don’t offer neat resolutions, but they do reveal the special intimacy that happens when difficult stories are spoken aloud. Audiobooks Discussed: A Hymn to Life: Shame Has To Change Sides by Gisèle Pelicot with Judith Perrignon; translated by Natasha Lehrer and Ruth Diver; read by Emma Thompson (Penguin Random House Audio) The End of My Life is Killing Me: The Unexpected Joys of a Cancer Slacker by Annabelle Gurwitch, read by the author and Andie MacDowell (Zibby Books) You With the Sad Eyes: A Memoir written and read by Christina Applegate (Hachette Audio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 2 · Bonus

Navigating The Divorce by Freida McFadden

Audiobook Review On this special sponsored episode of Behind the Mic, Kirkus’ Michele Cobb is joined by acclaimed narrator January LaVoy. Together, they go behind the scenes of recording Freida McFadden’s latest bestseller, The Divorce—without spoilers. The novel explores the unraveling of a marriage, and the audiobook is performed by a trio of narrators portraying the three characters at its center: January LaVoy, Edoardo Ballerini, and Marin Ireland. Michele and January discuss the importance of honoring the author’s words, collaborating with her fellow narrators, and how January created the voice for and built the character of Veronica, the other, younger woman. Audiobook Discussed: The Divorce by Freida McFadden, read by January LaVoy, Edoardo Ballerini & Marin Ireland (Dreamscape Media) This episode of Behind the Mic is brought to you by Dreamscape Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 23 · Bonus

Exploring Kathryn Stockett’s The Calamity Club

bit.ly/audiobooksoffer Sign up for Audiobooks.com 30-day free trial and get your first 3 audiobooks free! On this special sponsored episode of Behind the Mic, Kirkus’ Michele Cobb is joined by Amy Metsch, associate publisher and director of audio programming at Spiegel & Grau, to talk about Kathryn Stockett’s highly anticipated new novel, The Calamity Club, narrated by the powerhouse team of January LaVoy and Jenna Lamia. Stockett’s new novel, her first since The Help in 2009, is about female friendship, rising to the occasion in the face of constant adversity, and some of the darker parts of our collective history. Michele and Amy discuss the creation of the audiobook and how Lamia and LaVoy bring to life two distinct narrative voices, 11-year-old Meg and 24-year-old Bertie. Audiobook Discussed: The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, read by January LaVoy & Jenna Lamia (Spiegel & Grau by Spotify Audiobooks) This episode of Behind the Mic is brought to you by Spiegel & Grau Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 15

Three Very Different Roads Through Fiction

bit.ly/audiobooksoffer Sign up for Audiobooks.com 30-day free trial and get your first 3 audiobooks free! From haunted New Jersey suburbs to melancholy Irish landscapes to the contested wilds of the American West, Alan Minskoff joins host Jo Reed to discuss three sharply different works of fiction in audio. Tom Perrotta’s Ghost Town, narrated by Robert Petkoff, blends grief, adolescence, and the supernatural through Petkoff’s nuanced character work, while Derbhle Crotty and Darragh Shannon bring quiet emotional precision to The News From Dublin, evoking the atmosphere of longing and displacement in Colm Tóibín’s story collection. The conversation closes with Taylor Brown’s Wolvers, read by Ramiz Monsef, whose vivid performance captures the tensions between ranchers, militias, environmentalists, and wolves in the modern West. These audiobooks may share little besides the genre of fiction, but each narrator creates a fully realized world listeners can step into and stay with long after the final chapter. Audiobooks Discussed: Ghost Town by Tom Perrotta, read by Robert Petkoff (Simon & Schuster Audio) The News From Dublin: Stories by Colm Tóibín, read by Derbhle Crotty and Darragh Shannon (Simon & Schuster Audio) Wolvers by Taylor Brown, read by Ramiz Monsef (Recorded Books Inc.) Support for Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Savannah Guthrie, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and many more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Audiobook Reviews Find your great audiobook on Podcast Talk Show with Audiobook Reviews. Every Thursday, host Jo Reed and her guests discuss what they’ve been listening to and recommend the very best audiobooks. It’s the perfect way to keep up with new releases and hear about the ones you may have missed. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Creator

Audiobook Reviews
Years Active

2026
Episodes

1K
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Audiobook Reviews 2026