Audiobooks 6/11

Hola Audiophiles!

Hey friend, yes you. It’s almost Friday and you made it. I know we’re all feeling a lot of ups and downs right now between working on anti-racism and getting our hearts broken by once-beloved fantasy authors. I see you, I honor you, and I invite you to take a moment today to breathe, stretch, hydrate, perhaps meditate or take a nap. Thank you for spending some of your precious time with me today – let’s do this audiobook thing.

Ready? Let’s audio.

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New Releases – June 9th  (publisher descriptions in quotes)

The Secret Women Sheila Williams by Sheila Williams, read by Zakiya Young (fiction) – Elise isn’t feeing very namaste: she recently lost her mother, her marriage has fallen apart, and this 90 minute yoga class just isn’t where its at today. After an epic faceplant in downward facing dog, she gets to chatting with two other women who aren’t feeling it today either. They strike up a conversation and end up going for dinner after class. Over tacos, margaritas, laughs, and then tearful confessions, a friendship between these three members of the Daughters of Dead Mothers Club is formed.

Narrator Note: Zakiya Young is an experienced theater actress and relatively new to the audiobook thing. Her narration is unsurprisingly wonderful!

Rebel Chef: In Search of What Matters by Dominique Crenn, read by Hope Newhouse (biography/memoir) – Dominique Crenn is the owner and executive chef at renowned San Francisco restaurant Atelier Crenn. This memoir begins with chronicle of her childhood in Brittany, France, starting with her adoption at 18 months and her early indoctrination into the world of food. We then follow Crenn on her journey to becoming a chef, breaking down barriers and developing her own unique philosophy of food before finally opening up her own restaurant and becoming the first woman in America to earn a two Michelin star rating. Fun fact: she’s also currently the only one with a three star rating.

Bonus: Watch her episode of Chef’s Table on Netflix for a fun dive into her restaurant’s artistic concept. There are absolutely some who will find this kind of cuisine pretentious (and little snobby towards “simple” food, I’ll give you that). But Crenn’s passion and creativity are undeniable and so fun to watch.

Narrator note: I confess I wish Dominque Crenn had narrated this herself because I love her French accent so much, but Hope Newhouse does a great job. She reads a ton of Laura Bradbury’s work if you’re familiar with those.

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon, read by Je Nie Fleming (romance, fiction) – Samiah is a software engineer who’s on a hot garbage date and live-tweeting its awfulness for the world to see. Those tweets go viral and then one women but TWO women are all, “Ummmm, why is my man on a date with another woman?” They show up at the restaurant, confront his three-timing ass, and then the three wronged women ride off together into the friendship sunset. Over a round of Moscow mules, they make a pact to take a break from dating and focus on themselves. As luck would have it though, the new hottie at the office puts a twinkle in Samiah’s eye. Should she stick to the plan or take a chance on love? And is this new guy keeping secrets of his own? I have been leaning hard into romance for joy in these times and enjoyed this one on so many levels: strong female friendships, an office romance, the struggles of Black women in the workplace and specifically in STEM. So good!

Narrator Note: Je Nie Fleming is an actor, singer, and writer who brings those acting skills to her narration. She has this rich, lower-pitched tone that I find absolutely scrumptious.

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho, read by Catherine Ho (fiction) – This is pitched as Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones’ Diary, to which I say thank you. Andrea Tang is 33 and living the dream; she’s a successful lawyer, has fun-loving friends, her social life is poppin’ and she has a posh condo in Singapore. All she has to do now is make partner at her firm, though her family thinks she’s incomplete because she’s unmarried and childless. Then a chance encounter with a charming and wealthy entrepreneur offers her a glimpse of an easy life in the lap of luxury that would also satisfy her family. But…. she can’t stop thinking about her office rival, the last man her family would approve of.

Narrator Note: You may recognize Catherine Ho from books like How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang or Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler.

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier, read by Jeena Yi (fiction) – Our main character is 18 years old, pregnant, and working as a pizza delivery girl in suburban LA. She’s grieving the death of her father and in denial about her unhappiness, avoiding the attempts at support from her loving mother and boyfriend. Then she meets Jenny, a stay-at-home mom new to the neighborhood who depends on weekly pickled-covered pizza deliveries in order to feed her young son. “As one woman looks toward motherhood and the other toward middle age, the relationship between the two begins to blur in strange, complicated, and ultimately heartbreaking ways.”

Narrator Note: Jeena Yi is one of the narrators in the cast for Frances Cha’s If I Had Your Face which has been on my list!

Latest Listens – HA!

My focus is all over the map right now, but that’s okay. What I’ve prepared instead is a list of audiobooks to celebrate both queer and Black voices (including several Black queer voices). Again, went with a list sans descriptions in the interest of getting lots of selections on the page. Look em up, read em up.

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson, read by Alaska Jackson

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, read by Avi Roque (out September 2020)

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock, read by the author

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, read by the author

The Clancys of Queens by Tara Clancy, read by the author

Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore, read by Vikas Adam, Mia Barron and Almarie Guerra

A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney, read by Jacob York, Jeanette Illidge, and Matthew Barnes

Homie by Danez Smith, read by the author

You Can’t Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson, read by the author

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, read by the author

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn, read by Sharon Gordon

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, read by Ramon de Ocampo

Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson, read by Keylor Leigh

Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi, read by the author

Small Doses by Amanda Seales, read by the author

All My Mother’s Lovers by Ilana Massad, Rebecca Lowman

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, read by Shvorne Marks

Wade in the Water by Tracy K. Smith, read by the author

Everything Under by Daisy Johnson, read by Esther Wane

From the Internets

Audiofile suggests these seven historical fiction audiobooks for kids and teens

I’m really excited for Libro.fm’s Summer Listening Challenge! Play Audiobook Bingo for a chance to win Libro.fm swag and a year’s worth of audiobooks!

Also up on the Libro.fm blog now: interviews with Brit Bennett and Nicole Dennis-Benn and a list of audiobook recs from Black bookstagrammers.

Audible has a roundup of playlists up now: classic lit by Black authors, Black voices in romance, International Black authors, and a top 10 list of Black audiobook narrators

I missed that it’s Audiobook Month because…. well, look around. Thanks to Kobo for reminding me.

Nerd Daily invites you to #ReadWithPride with these audiobook recommendations

Over at the Riot

6 of the Best Audiobooks by Black Authors

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Thanks for hanging with me today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with your burning book club questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the Audiobooks newsletter, catch me once a month on the All the Books podcast, and watch me ramble about even more new books every Tuesday on our YouTube channel.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa