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Hola Audiophiles!
Y’all, I failed! Even a 17 hour road trip wasn’t enough to squeeze some reading into my life. First it was the packing, then the exhaustion of the drive, then unpacking and furniture shopping and Ikea assembly and blah blah blah. Santa Madre, my whole body hurts!
Sleep deprivation and all, you know I’ve got you on the audiobook front. Let’s dive into new releases dropping on August 13th plus a smattering of news.
Ready? Let’s audio.
New Releases – August 13 (publisher’s descriptions in quotes)
Inland by Tea Obrecht, narrated by Anna Chlumsky, Edoardo Ballerini, and Euan Morton – From the author of The Tiger’s Wife comes this mythic journey set in the American West in 1893. A frontierswoman awaits the return of her husband and sons while a former outlaw is haunted by ghosts that compel him to travel west. Their paths collide unexpectedly in a story rooted in a history I confess I know very little about.
- Narrator note: I mean zero disrespect here because I know Anna Chlumsky has gone on to do other things, but please tell me I’m not the only one who thought, “My Girl is the narrator!!”
The Swallows: A Novel by Lisa Lutz, narrated by Abby Elliott, Lisa Flanagan, Michael Crouch, Ari Fllakos – This thriller from the author of The Passenger takes us to a New England prep school where a teacher seeks a fresh start from a difficult past. One of her creative writing assignments sparks a gender war and opens a big ol’ messy Pandora’s box of the school’s secrets.
- Narrator note: Full cast! Single-actor narration is great, but give me the chemistry and delivery of a full cast any day. Also, love me some Lisa Flanagan! I stiiiiill haven’t listened to her performance of Spinning Silver, but one of these days!
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, narrated by Beata Pozniak – That’s a title! The premise got me too: Janina is a reclusive woman in a remote Polish village who minds the homes of wealthy Warsaw residents when she’s not studying astrology or translating poetry. Then a neighbor dies, followed by the discovery of several other bodies, and Janina finds herself the object of everyone’s suspicion.
- Narrator note: Pozniak is most well known for her narration of Anthony Marra and Eva Stachniak’s books.
Black Card by Chris L. Terry, narrated by Leon Nixon – Ever heard someone say their “black card” had been revoked? This novel explores what it means to be “black enough.” A “mixed-race punk rock musician indulges his own stereotypical views of African American life by doing what his white bandmates call ‘black stuff.’ After remaining silent during a racist incident, the unnamed narrator has his Black Card revoked by Lucius, his guide through Richmond, Virginia, where Confederate flags and memorials are a part of everyday life.“ Oh I’m aaaall over that.
- Narrator note: I’m totally unfamiliar with Leon Nixon, but he appears to be a jack of all genre trades! His credits spans everything from romance to thrillers to guided meditation.
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder, narrated by Traci Kato-Kiriyama – I miss the days when Orwellian plots seemed way far off and unlikely. Maybe they never were?! “On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses – until things become much more serious. Most of the island’s inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten.”
- Narrator Note: Kato-Kiriyama only has a few audiobook credits to her name, but a sample of her performance of The Darkest Legacy was quite pleasant.
Latest Listens, Sorta
Baahahaa what is reading?! Trying not to judge myself too harshly.
Once I get back to a regular routine, I’ll be making time to listen to Stephen Fry’s Mythos. It comes out on August 27th, is narrated by Fry, and it’s a series of retellings of the Greek myths. You know I hit the “download” button on that audio ARC soooo fast…
What are you excited to listen to!?
From the Internets
WaPo suggests some audiobooks with stellar narration, because we all know it really does matter.
Some books just work better on audio than in print, ya know?
Over at the Riot
I mentioned Ruth Ware’s Turn of the Key in last week’s new releases; if you haven’t queued that up yet, listen to a sample of the audio here.
This piece on audiobooks + walks spoke to me; one of the things I’m looking forward to about living in a walkable neighborhood is throwing on an audiobook while going for a stroll.
Rioter Emily wrote a piece after my own heart on the intersection of audiobooks, podcasting, and storytelling at large.
That’s all I got today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with audiobook feedback & questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the In The Club newsletter, peep the Read Harder podcast, and watch me booktube every Friday too!
Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa