Hoo-boy, y’all, it has been a tragic couple of weeks. It feels like there have been non-stop tragedies: Hurricanes have done tremendous damage to the U.S. with many in Puerto Rico still in desperate need of basic supplies. The shooting in Las Vegas was horrifying and for the last week and a half, wildfires have been ravaging my beloved state of California. And that’s just a few examples from the United States; there’s no shortage of tragedy globally, either. So I asked readers of this newsletter and my Book Riot pals for soothing narrator recommendations. If you tweeted at me and you don’t see it here, I’m very sorry. I was going to do this last week, but the North Bay fires made things bananas and when I went back through my feed I couldn’t find them. I’m the worst! Feel free to tweet at me again and tell me what a dingdong I am.
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Listen to your book club’s next pick. Visit TryAudiobooks.com/bookclub for suggested listens and for a free audiobook download of The Knockoff!
With fall ramping up, it’s back to juggling busy school and work schedules with social engagements like date nights, yoga with friends, and book club. Luckily, you can listen to your book club’s next pick so you can stay on top of it all.
Before I get to those syrupy-sweet narrator voices, I want to take a second to appreciate firefighters. From the California firefighters who have been going days without sleep to the firefighters from around the country (and world!), who have gathered in California to help us, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Soothing Narrators
So which narrators do listen to when you need to mellow out? Reader (listener?) April recommends the Pulitzer Prize-winning Barbarian Days by William Finnegan. She says it’s “by far my favorite audiobook. The writing is exquisite and his quiet surfer drawl is so calming. Whenever I have trouble sleeping I love to put an earbud in and set my audible sleep timer and let him lull me to sleep.”
If a voice could melt in your mouth, reader Myra says, Caroline Lee’s voice would. She says, “Caroline Lee has one of the most soothing, ‘melt in your mouth’ voices I’ve ever heard. Check out Silver Wattle by Belinda Alexandra.”
If you’re looking for YA with a great narrator, Beth recommends Will Patton’s narration of The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. Want YA that’s a little lighter than that? Beth still has you covered. She says, “I’ll also listen to anything narrated by Rebecca Lowman. I fell in love with her renditions of Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park and Landline.”
When I asked my fellow Book Rioters which narraters make them feel peaceful, Aimee sang the praises of Fiona Hardingham. She says, “I’m listening to The Dark Days Club and she’s so wonderful. I first heard her in The Scorpio Races, where she reads opposite Steve West, who is Elias Viturius. I had heard a lot about the rape-iness of An Ember in the Ashes, so I’d avoided it, but gave it a try solely for Steve and Fiona, and ADORED it. Good narrators are SO good! I wish their performances were listed on IMDB.” <— (ISN’T THIS A BRILLIANT IDEA?! CAN SOMEONE MAKE THAT A THING!?)
Jess echoes Aimee’s love of Hardingham, saying “she’s awesome in The Fair Fight and Sabaa Tahir’s books as well.”
Jamie noted that the audio of When Dimple Met Rishi got her through the days following the election, which is basically the strongest endorsement of “soothing” I can imagine.
Jessica (different from Jess but equally awesome) turns to Toni Morrison for soothing narration. She also wrote this list of books to read when the world is terrible, which we should all probably bookmark immediately…
While we’re talking Book Riot, how would you like $500 to spend at the bookstore of your choice? (Honestly, I find the idea of spending $500 on books LITERALLY AROUSING…) If it sounds pretty good to you, too, enter to win: https://goo.gl/cMpa5g
As for me, I love this recording of For Whom the Bell Tolls. Campbell Scott’s voice fits Hemingway’s prose perfectly–it’s simple, clear, and lovely.
New Release of the Week (publisher description in quotes)
Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together by Van Jones
Longtime progressive activist Van Jones, “offers a blueprint for transforming our collective anxiety into meaningful change. Tough on Donald Trump but showing respect and empathy for his supporters, Jones takes aim at the failures of both parties before and after Trump’s victory. He urges both sides to abandon the politics of accusation and focus on real solutions. Calling us to a deeper patriotism, he shows us how to get down to the vital business of solving, together, some of our toughest problems.”
Famous People Narrating Audiobooks
A famous narrator isn’t always the BEST narrator, but there are some folks you just KNOW will probably be kickass narrators. There are two new audiobooks with famous narrators I’m excited about: Rosario Dawson is narrating Artemis, the second book from The Martian‘s Andy Weir. Read what Dawson has to say about narrating and listen to a clip of the audio here.
And if October is getting you in the mood for mystery, Kenneth Branagh narrates a new version of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Branagh in anticipation of the star-studded film adaptation of the title he’s directing. Fittingly, the audiobook will be available for download on October 31st.
Let me know what you’re listening to, audiobooky things you’d like to see in the newsletter, or send me pictures of baby animals via katie@riotnewmedia.com.
Until next week,
~Katie