Hello again audiophiles,
I missed you! What have you been listening to?What did you have to stop listening to because it was so boring/awful/gruesome? Tell me all the things either on Twitter at msmacb and katie@riotnewmedia.com. A note on emails: I love when you send them and I read them all eagerly. I try to respond to all of them but time and the death of a horrifying number of brain cells in my errant youth sometimes prevent me from doing so. But I swear on the life of my fat little dog who you all know I love more than anything in the world, I read and cherish each and every one.
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A stunning novel-in-verse written and performed by award-winning slam poet, Elizabeth Acevedo
OK SENTIMENTALITY OVER
What I’m listening to: well, two things. Here’s what happened: I started listening to American War, which came out last year and has long been getting rave reviews. Here’s the problem: narrator Dion Graham has the goddamn sexist voice I’ve ever heard. Like, it is distractingly sexy. I couldn’t pay attention to what was happening in the book; it’s the first time that’s ever happened. SO, I moved on.
Now, I’m listening to Educated by Tara Westover. Westover’s family was Mormon and survivalist–-she didn’t set foot in a traditional classroom until she was 17 years-old. She’s now a PhD and Educated is the story of how she got there. I’ve just started but so far the narration (Julia Whelan) is great and I’m completely intrigued by the story.
New March Audiobooks
The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus; narrated by Jenna Lamia
Release date: 03-06-18
I haven’t seen the movie The Shape of Water but everyone I know who has, raves about it. I didn’t realize it was also a book until I started looking at the new releases but the site io9 claims it’s just as good. “Most movie novelizations do little more than write down what audiences see on the screen. But the novel that’s accompanying Guillermo del Toro’s new movie The Shape of Water is no mere adaptation. Co-author Daniel Kraus’ book and the film tell the same story, of a mute woman who falls in love with an imprisoned and equally mute creature, in two very different ways.”
Raw: My Journey into the Wu-Tang written and read by Lamont “U-God” Hawkins
Release date: 03-06-18
One of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan tells his story of how he went from a kid in Brooklyn, New York, to a founding member of one of the biggest hip-hop groups in history. U-God says, “It’s time to write down not only my legacy, but the story of nine dirt-bomb street thugs who took our everyday life – scrappin’ and hustlin’ and tryin’ to survive in the urban jungle of New York City – and turned that into something bigger than we could possibly imagine, something that took us out of the projects for good, which was the only thing we all wanted in the first place.”
Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure
written and read by Amy Kaufman
Release date: 03-06-18
I am immersed in pop culture enough to know that I am in the vast MINORITY of people who have never seen an episode of any of the Bachelor(ette) shows. BUT I am very, very pro guilty pleasures. And while I am not a member of Bachelor nation, the description of this book from the publisher kinda makes me think maybe I should be. “Bachelor Nation is the first behind-the-scenes, unauthorized look into the reality television phenomenon. Los Angeles Times journalist Amy Kaufman is a proud member of Bachelor Nation and has a long history with the franchise – ABC even banned her from attending show events after her coverage of the program got a little too real for its liking. She has interviewed dozens of producers, contestants, and celebrity fans to give readers never-before-told details of the show’s inner workings: what it’s like to be trapped in the mansion ‘bubble’; dark, juicy tales of producer manipulation; and revelations about the alcohol-fueled debauchery that occurs long before the fantasy suite.” Sounds a little like the Fire and Fury of the Bachelor-house, no (which I mean in the best possible way)?
The Nowhere Girls
by Amy Reed; narrated by Rebekkah Ross
Release date: 03-13-18
I am a huge fan of Amy Reed’s YA books and this one is about as timely as you can get. Following the rape of a classmate, three misfit students band together to avenge the crime and transform the misogynist culture around them. Man oh man, between the Time’s Up movement and the students in Parkland’s awesome activism, Nowhere Girls is a perfect listen.
Fisherman’s Blues written and read by Anna Badkhen
Release date: 03-13-18
The best journalism zeroes in on the micro to tell a story about the macro, and that’s exactly what this Fisherman’s Blues does. The impact of climate change on the planet is, and will continue to be unequivocally devastating. Anna Badkhen looks examines the devastation of a Senegalese Fishing community, whose economy and way of life has been decimated by overfishing and climate change. LitHub calls the book, “A[n] intimate, urgent, and compassionate narrative about how human and natural landscapes are being interrupted by the Anthropocene.”
Ginger Kid: Mostly True Tales from a Former Nerd written and read by Steve Hofstetter
Release date: 03-20-18
I’m super excited about this book for two reasons: I think there needs to be more YA nonfiction in general and there can never be too many books about kids and teens who feel like they just don’t fit in. If you can get a comedian or otherwise very funny person to write one of those books? Icing on the cake. “In Ginger Kid, popular comedian Steve Hofstetter grapples with life after seventh grade…when his world fell apart. Formatted as a series of personal essays, Steve walks his listeners through awkward early dating, family turbulence, and the revenge of the bullied nerds.”
Did I miss any exciting new releases? What are you looking forward to getting in your ears? Were you able to listen to American War without falling in love with a voice? Let me know!
Until next week,
~Katie