Author: Vanessa Diaz

Hola, Audiophiles!

I’m gonna give it to you straight: Winter Institute? So absolutely incredible. The particular variety of flu that I came back with? Would not recommend! I’ve got a real bone to pick with whomever is out here doing reckless brujeria on my immune system. I cannot buy another tissue box or bag of cough drops, nor take the ‘Oh no, you’re still sick?” look from the guy at my local pharmacy. Dios mio!

In better, cheerier news, it’s that time again: new month, new audiobooks! Let’s get straight to some of the fantastic titles comin’ at yer ear holes in February and find ourselves some happy. Let’s audio!

Sponsored by Princeton University Press Audio

We solve countless problems—big and small—every day. With so much practice, why do we often have trouble making simple decisions—much less arriving at optimal solutions to important questions? Are we doomed to this muddle—or is there a practical way to learn to think more effectively and creatively? In this enlightening, entertaining, and inspiring book, Edward Burger shows how we can become far better at solving real-world problems by learning creative puzzle-solving skills using simple, effective thinking techniques. Start Listening Now!

New Releases

Publisher’s description in quotes, release dates in parentheses

Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star Trilogy, Book 1) by Marlon James, narrated by Dion Graham (February 5)

We ain’t ready for this greatness, y’all. From the Man Booker Prize-winning author of A Brief History of Seven Killings comes an African Game of Thrones, the first novel in the Dark Star trilogy. “Myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child.

Drawing from African history and mythology and his own rich imagination, Marlon James has written a novel unlike anything that’s come before it: a saga of breathtaking adventure that’s also an ambitious, involving read. Defying categorization and full of unforgettable characters, Black Leopard, Red Wolf is both surprising and profound as it explores the fundamentals of truth, the limits of power, and our need to understand them both.”

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, narrated by Bahni Turpin (February 5)

Yaaaasssss, it’s time! Angie Thomas’ highly anticipated second novel is upon us wherein we meet sixteen-year-old Bri, the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before his career could take off. Now Bri has big dreams to become one of the greatest rappers of all time herself.

“But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral…for all the wrong reasons.

Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri doesn’t just want to make it—she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.”

The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison, narrated by Bahni Turpin (February 12)

Two words: Toni. Morrison. “The Source of Self-Regard… is divided into three parts: the first is introduced by a powerful prayer for the dead of 9/11; the second by a searching meditation on Martin Luther King Jr., and the last by a heart-wrenching eulogy for James Baldwin. In the writings and speeches included here, Morrison takes on contested social issues: the foreigner, female empowerment, the press, money, “black matter(s),” and human rights. She looks at enduring matters of culture: the role of the artist in society, the literary imagination, the Afro-American presence in American literature, and in her Nobel lecture, the power of language itself.”

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde, narrated by Thomas Hunt (February 12)

I am a huge fan of the Thursday Next books and can’t wait to dive into this standalone from Jasper Fforde! And TBH, it kind of gives me the creeps and I’m here for it: a world where for four months every winter, the entire human population hibernates.

It’s Charlie Worthing’s first season with the Winter Consuls, a group of dedicated misfits who are responsible for the safety of the sleeping masses. He’s investigating an outbreak of viral dreams, dreams that suddenly start to kill people. Then Charlie starts to have the dreams and they start to come true what the heck is even real anymore?

“But teasing truth from the Winter is never easy: You have to avoid the Villains and their penchant for murder, kidnapping, and stamp collecting, ensure you aren’t eaten by Nightwalkers, whose thirst for human flesh can only be satisfied by comfort food, and sidestep the increasingly less-than-mythical WinterVolk. But so long as you remember to wrap up warmly, you’ll be fine.”

The Last Thing You Said by Sara Biren, narrated by Julia Knippen (February 12)

“Lucy always loved summers on Halcyon Lake—sunning on the lake raft, relaxing on the boat, and spending every possible minute with her best friend, Trixie, and Trixie’s brother, Ben, Lucy’s lifelong crush. Until last summer, when one tragic event turned their idyllic world upside down. Now nothing is the same. This summer, Trixie is gone, and Ben is distant, numbing his pain with parties and a string of interchangeable girlfriends. Lucy does her best to move on and avoid this cold new Ben. She throws herself into babysitting, waitressing, and a sweet new romance with the renter next door. But in their small lake town, forgetting the past—and Ben—proves impossible. He still seems to be everywhere: at work, at the movies . . . and in Lucy’s heart. Lucy so wants to move on, but how can she forgive when she can’t forget?”

The Black Coats by Collen Oakes, narrated by Eileen Stevens (February 12)

“The enigmatic Black Coats have been exacting vengeance on men who have hurt girls and women for years. The killer of Thea’s cousin went free, and Thea has just received an invitation to join the Black Coats’ balancings—acts of revenge meant to teach a lesson. Justice for Natalie has never felt so close.

But as the balancings escalate in brutality, Thea’s clear-cut mission begins to unravel and she must decide just how far she is willing to go for justice.

Because when the line between justice and revenge is paper thin, it’s hard not to get cut.” So… anyone else wanna be a Black Coat with me?

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole, narrated by Karen Chilton (February 19)

“While her boss the prince was busy wooing his betrothed, Likotsi had her own love affair after swiping right on a dating app. But her romance had ended in heartbreak, and now, back in NYC again, she’s determined to rediscover her joy—so of course she runs into the woman who broke her heart.

When Likotsi and Fabiola meet again on a stalled subway train months later, Fab asks for just one cup of tea. Likotsi, hoping to know why she was unceremoniously dumped, agrees. Tea and food soon leads to them exploring the city together, and their past, with Fab slowly revealing why she let Likotsi go, and both of them wondering if they can turn this second chance into a happily ever after.”

The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America by Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman, narrated by various (February 19)

I’ve been working my way through an advanced copy of The Good Immigrant for about a month and do not have the words to say what a powerful read it is. “An urgent collection of essays by first and second-generation immigrants, exploring what it’s like to be othered in an increasingly divided America.

From Trump’s proposed border wall and travel ban to the marching of White Supremacists in Charlottesville, America is consumed by tensions over immigration and the question of which bodies are welcome. In this much-anticipated follow-up to the bestselling UK edition, hailed by Zadie Smith as “lively and vital,” editors Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman hand the microphone to an incredible range of writers whose humanity and right to be here is under attack.”

Savage Feast: Three Generations, Two Continents, and a Dinner Table (a Memoir with Recipes) written and narrated by Boris Fishman (February 26)

Beautiful, moving memoirs about food always get me right in he feels and this sounds solidly like one of those reads. “The acclaimed author of A Replacement Life shifts between heartbreak and humor in this gorgeously told, recipe-filled memoir. A family story, an immigrant story, a love story, and an epic meal, Savage Feast explores the challenges of navigating two cultures from an unusual angle.” 

From the Internets

Audio Ever Rising – You know and I know that audiobooks are life. But how life are they? According to this article from Verge, Scribd alone went from 700,000 subscribers to over 1,000,000 in a year. Take that!

Over at the Riot

Women Getting It Done – Rioter Heather set a goal for herself to read at least 50% books by women in 2018 and used audiobooks to surpass that goal. She shares some of her favorite audiobooks both written and narrated by some pretty phenomenal women.

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 (except probs not this week because #swineflu).

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Hola, Audiophiles!

I took a quick break from packing to put the newsletter together this week: I’m hopping on a plane to Albuquerque for ABA’s Winter Institute! It’s my first time attending and I’m super jazzed to learn some things, meet other booksellers, and go nuts in the galley room. Did I mention one of the keynotes is by Erin Morgenstern AND Margaret Atwood? Wish me luck!

Sponsored by Princeton University Press Audio

More than 2,500 years ago, long before medieval automata, and centuries before technology made self-moving devices possible, Greek mythology was exploring ideas about creating artificial life—and grappling with still-unresolved ethical concerns about biotechne, “life through craft.” In this compelling, richly illustrated book, Adrienne Mayor tells the fascinating story of how ancient Greek, Roman, Indian, and Chinese myths envisioned artificial life, automata, self-moving devices, and human enhancements—and how these visions relate to and reflect the ancient invention of real animated machines. Start Listening Now!

Listens to Look For

The week leading up to this trip has been low on sleep and high on work-related reading of the non-audio variety, so today’s newsletter isn’t going to feature my latest listens. Instead, here are a few books coming out this week and next that weren’t in the new books edition at the top of the month.

(Publisher’s descriptions in quotes)

99 Nights in Logar by Jamil Jan Kochai, narrated by Ali Nasser (January 22)

It’s been six years since twelve-year-old Marwand visited Afghanistan. When he returns to this place that’s supposed to be home, he tries to make friendly with the terrifying but treasured dog that guards his family’s compound in the rural village of Logar. The dog isn’t just some beloved family pet you can stride right up to though, a lesson learned when Marwand gets his finger bit off and the dog dashes off into the night.

Marwand isn’t much fazed though; he “must get the dog back, and the resulting search is a gripping and vivid adventure story, a lyrical, funny, and surprisingly tender coming-of-age journey across contemporary Afghanistan that blends the bravado and vulnerability of a boy’s teenage years with an homage to familial oral tradition and calls to mind One Thousand and One Nights yet speaks with a voice all its own.”

Golden State by Ben H. Winters, narrated by Kiff VandenHeuvel (January 22)

The Golden State is “a nation standing where California once did, a place where like-minded Americans retreated after the erosion of truth and the spread of lies made public life and governance impossible.” Hey! So! Apparently y’all are all coming to my state sometime soon? Cool cool cool. See ya soon.

Laszlo Ratesic is a veteran of the Speculative Service in the Golden State, where knowingly contradicting the truth is the greatest crime and it’s his job to stop it. “But the Golden State is less a paradise than its name might suggest. To monitor, verify, and enforce the truth requires a veritable panopticon of surveillance and recording. And when those in control of the facts twist them for nefarious means, the Speculators are the only ones with the power to fight back.”

No Human is Illegal: An Attorney on the Front Lines of the Immigration War by J. J. Mulligan Sepulveda, narrated by Robertson Dean (January 22)

The practice of referring to undocumented immigrants as “illegals” just… sets my teeth on edge. It’s no surprise then that I was naturally drawn to this title, an account of lawyer J.J. Mulligan Sepulveda’s fight for immigrants and asylum-seekers in the thick of rising xenophobia and build-the-wall stupidity. Mulligan Sepúlveda’s quest is personal, the son and husband of Spanish-speaking immigrants himself. He shares his experience “visiting border detention centers, defending undocumented immigrants in court, and taking his services to JFK to represent people being turned away at the gates during Trump’s infamous travel ban.” My heart hurts just thinking about the stress of this vocation, and swells with gratitude for all those who undertake it.

99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne, narrated by Jayme Mattler (January 29)

Photographer Darcy Barrett has known that Tom Valeska was her dream man since the ripe old age of eight. The problem is that Tom is her twin brother Jaime’s BFF, and in spite of her efforts at seduction, Tom has chosen to remain loyal to his buddy. When Darcy and Jaime’s grandmother passes and leaves them a run down cottage and instructions for its restoration & sale, guess which super successful house-flipper is down to pitch in? I have a feeling some sexy hijinks may ensue.

Side note: I think I’m a liiitle too fresh off my bedridden Game of Thrones marathon because I definitely made a face when I realized this book featured a twin named Jamie. *shivers* Don’t worry, no apparent twincest here.

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo, narrated by Lauren Fortgang (January 29)

It’s Leigh Bardugo, y’all. Just do it.

Fine. A description: “Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war – and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.  

Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha Squaller, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren’t meant to stay buried – and some wounds aren’t meant to heal.”

From the Internets

Wintery weather got ya down? The Washington Post suggests these three audiobooks to cuddle up with & stave off the winter blues. I don’t have any right to claim said blues since my version of cold here in San Diego is a lot of y’all’s “f*ck yeah! Shorts!” weather. The post did however teach me that 2019 marks 100 years since P.G. Wodehouse introduced to the world to Jeeves!

Hallmark Enters the Audio Game – Hallmark has announced a partnership with Dreamscape Media to produce and distribute audiobooks. Twenty titles are set to release over the summer, but the first title will be a Valentine’s Day themed production called The Secret Ingredient. Sounds cozy!

Over at the Riot

Audiolibros + Language – Want to hear me talk real fast and geek out over books too? I put together a quick YouTube video about using Spanish audiobooks to practice your Spanish. Audiobooks are a great tool to accompany your language study, no matter your level of comprehension or pronunciation.

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

Hola, Audiophiles!

Happy Thursday! I can’t tell you how happy I am to report that my coughing is at a very bare minimum at last and that my sinuses are juuuuust about ready to cooperate too. Eureka!!! I am so ready to ditch the inhaler and cough drops (you do not want to know how many bags of them I’ve gone through… ay ay ay) and to live life without having to map out my nearest tissue box and hand sanitizer.

I’ve also finally begun to read and listen at my usual pace and have been devouring some pretty amazing titles. I’ll share some of those with you here as well as the latest audio buzz on the Riot and interwebs at large.

Let’s audio!

Sponsored by Princeton University Press Audio

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, unique tales inspired by traditional literary forms appeared frequently in socialist-leaning British periodicals. Based on familiar genres—the fairy tale, fable, allegory, parable, and moral tale—and penned by a range of lesser-known and celebrated authors, these stories were meant to entertain readers of all ages—and some challenged the conventional values promoted in children’s literature for the middle class. In Workers’ Tales, acclaimed critic and author Michael Rosen brings together more than forty of the best and most enduring examples of these stories in one beautiful volume. Start Listening Now!

Latest Listens

Last week I mentioned that I was going to listen to Roshani Chokshi’s The Gilded Wolves and son of a biscuit-eating bulldog, is it good!! I just can’t get enough of the lush, descriptive details of this dark, glamorous, and mysterious world–the clothing, the decadent gardens, the gorgeous structures adorned with fabricated eye candy. The magical twists work so well with the whole beauty + art & innovation vibe of Belle Epoque Paris. And to top it all off, the characters aren’t all white!!! Talk about wanting to hop into the pages of a book.

I will say one thing, and this isn’t shade towards narrators: I think I might not super love it when narrators do accents. Is that weird? Like, duh, these characters should all be speaking in French since the book takes place in Paris, and obvi that means you’re getting English narration with a French accent in an audiobook that’s published in English. For whatever reason though, my brain doesn’t love the accent thing. I think if the person narrating were actually French, I’d buy it. I dunno. The further into the book I get, the more some of the accents sound a little comical and overdone. Does anyone else have this issue?! Or am I being too judgy? Either way, read this book!

Also–Diane Setterfield’s Once Upon A River was just all kinds of myth/folklore and awesome. I started that one in print and finished it on audio when the sinus infection took up residence in my face–both versions were perfect for curling up with on a sick day (read: daysss) spent in bed.

Listens on Deck

I have a crazy week ahead of me and I’m traveling to Winter Institute next week, so I don’t know how much actual reading & listening I’ll get to. I’m thinking of doing a short businessy book, like Gaby Dunn’s Bad with Money: The Imperfect Art of Getting Your Financial Sh*t Together. I’ve never listened to the Bad with Money podcast but it comes highly recommended as being funny AF, accessible, and not at all stuffy or pretentious. While I’ve definitely made huge progress in money matters over the years, I’m still not where I want to be and could use a good talking to, ya know?

From the Internets

Inspire the Mind through the Ears: It’s still January, so there is still a lot of resolution-solution type of content out there that you’re either cheering for or sick of now. Resolutions and new year hooplah aside, this list of audiobooks for us creative types from My Modern Met is pretty great for goal setting, tidying up, and plain ol’ inspiration.

And Anotha One – Libro.fm’s recent blog post on resolution listens isn’t quite like others I’ve seen and that’s why I’m sharing it here. It features just five titles and yeah, there’s a little bit o’ personal finance and organizational life stuff in there. It’s overall a lot less self-help and strategy-minded and includes both Samin Nosrat’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (you may have heard of it) and Rick Steves’ Travel As a Political Act. So much yes to both of those – more food and travel!

Over at the Riot

Flimflam and Poppycock – I recommend this post on tips for reading more purely because of its A+ word usage. It also gives a shout out to our beloved audiobooks and gives other suggestions for fitting in more book time.

The Audio to Print Conundrum – We’ve all all been there, right? We start a book or series on audio and then switch to print, or vice versa, and suddenly things… don’t… make sense? It’s like, wait that’s how that name is spelled? Wait, who’s that guy? Has he been here all along? What book is this?! Rioter Alex shares their experience flipping from print to audio and how it’s easier to do in some books/series than others.

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

Hola, Audiophiles!

Welcome to the second week of January and to land o’audiobooks, where I am YET AGAIN cooped up in bed with some upper respiratory plague. Friends! What is wrong with my immune system this year?! I remember the days when I could breathe out of both nostrils…. ah yes, those were good times. How I long for those times…

The “good” news is that between extreme sinus pressure and a cough that sounds more like the bark of a sea lion, me and my audiobooks are super BFFs right now. It’s the only way I can get any reading done at all! So take your vitamins, wash your hands, and stay hydrated to avoid whatever virus has set up shop in my chest. Audio because you want to! Not because your fever demands it.

Let’s talk audio.

Sponsored by Libby, the one-tap reading app from your library and OverDrive.

Meet Libby. The award-winning reading app that makes sure you always have something to read. It’s like having your entire library right in your pocket. Download the app today and get instant access to thousands of ebooks and audiobooks for free thanks to your public library and OverDrive.

Latest Listen

Trailblazer: A Pioneering Journalist’s Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America by Dorothy Butler Gilliam, narrated by January LaVoy

In this memoir that I’m so excited to read (ehhemReadHarderresearchehhem), Gilliam shares details from her trailblazing 50-year journalism career. She covered everything from the segregated South, the civil rights movement, feminism, and race relations in America while breaking barriers as a woman, an African American, a mother, and a writer. Her work is fascinating, but so is her very personal narrative of struggle, loss, and intense perseverance. I love that we’re at long last seeing so many stories of the pioneering women of color who shaped history and can’t wait to get to know Dorothy Butler Gilliam a little bit better.

Listen on Deck

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Choksi, narrated by Laurie Catherine Winkel & P. J. Ochlan

I’ve shared with you all how I tend to do mostly nonfiction on audio, and I really am smitten by this super gorgeous cover. Still, I don’t think I can wait too much longer to devour this book and will probs give it a go on audio. Treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie is your guy if you’re looking for the skinny on secrets in Belle Epoque Paris. When an all-powerful society called the Order of Babel enlists his help for their agenda, Séverin can’t really say no. Yo soy intrigued.

I also think I’m going to op for Ibi Zoboi’s Black Enough on audio. With that all star cast of contributors who also narrate their own stories… yeah, I’m in.

From the Internets

How it All Gets Done – We all love audiobooks here, obvi. But how do they come to be a thing? Bustle sat down with Penguin Random House’s Sara Jaffe to get the skinny on how audiobooks are produced. She would know: she does it for a living.

Over at the Riot

Where It All Began – If you’d asked me to take a guess at how audiobooks came to be, I most assuredly wouldn’t have come close to guessing that we owe it all to Dylan Thomas. It turns out his recording of A Child’s Christmas in Wales on the “B” side of an LP is credited with launching this beloved industry here in the states. Who knew?

Going Public – By now you may have heard of the slew of works set to hit the public domain in 2019. This could mean lots of new audio content for which I have all the maracas and muppet arms (you’re picturing that, aren’t you?) Check out some highlights of the books going public here.

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

Hola, Audiophiles!

Happy New Year! It’s the first newsletter of the year but also of the month. You know what that means: time for new books!! It was so hard to pick just ten to highlight today! 2019 is going to be a great year in books, I tell ya.

Let’s get to the listens, shall we?

Sponsored by Princeton University Press Audio.

Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes—good and bad—are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees argues that humanity’s prospects depend on our taking a very different approach to planning for tomorrow. Start Listening Now!

New Releases
Publisher’s description in quotes, release dates in parentheses

Black Enough edited by Ibi Zoboi, narrated by various  (January 8)

After listening to Pride on audio this year, author Ibi Zoboi earned herself a seat in my I’ll Read Anything You Write or Breathe On list. That obvi includes this new collection of stories about what it’s like to be young and black in America. This contributor list is ev-uh-ree-thing. Ready? Justina Ireland, Rita Williams-Garcia, Jason Reynolds, Nic Stone, of course Ibi Zoboi and lots more. Get this now.

The Paragon Hotel by Lindsay Faye, narrated by January LaVoy (January 8)

Guys, did you read Jane Steele?? I will read anything by the woman who reimagined Jane Eyre as a serial killer and it sounds like Miss Faye has spun word gold again. In this historical thriller set in 1921, “Nobody” Alice James is on a cross-country train fleeing for her life after a not-entirely-above-board drug & drink deal goes awry. She needs to get TF out of New York and decides Oregon is where she should go to escape the people who want her dead.

Mouthful of Birds: Stories by Samanta Scwhweblin, narrated by Various (January 8)

Ok, I know we’re talking audio here but THIS COVER, YO. Kind of want it as a background for my phone?? Too bad my baby nephew nabbed that lifetime appointment. But  digress. “Unearthly and unexpected, the stories in Mouthful of Birds burrow their way into your psyche and don’t let go… Schweblin’s stories have the feel of a sleepless night, where every shadow and bump in the dark take on huge implications, leaving your pulse racing, and the line between the real and the strange blur.” Ummm si, por favor.

Sugar Run by Mesha Maren, narrated by Hillary Huber (January 8)

Jodi McCarty was seventeen years old in 1989 when she was sentenced to life in prison. Eighteen years later she’s been released and is smacked by the shock of knowing not what in the hell she’s to do next. “Not yet able to return to her lost home in the Appalachian Mountains, she heads south in search of someone she left behind, as a way of finally making amends. There, she meets and falls in love with Miranda, a troubled young mother living in a motel room with her children. Together they head toward what they hope will be a fresh start. But what do you do with your past—and with a town and a family that refuses to forget, or to change?” This sounds like it’ll break my heart and you know what? It can go on ahead.

None of the Above: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Scandal, Corporate Greed, and the Criminalization of Educators by Shani Robinson and Anna Simonton, narrated by Lisa Renee Pitts  (January 15)

This like required reading these days; we can’t fix a broken system if we don’t confront its enormous failures head on. I confess I knew nothing of the events in this book until recently. That needs to change.

“In March of 2013, 35 black educators in Atlanta Public Schools were charged with racketeering and conspiracy – the same charges used to bring down the American mafia – for allegedly changing students’ answers on standardized tests. The youngest of the accused, Shani Robinson had taught for only three years and was a new mother when she was wrongfully convicted and faced up to 20 years in prison. In None of the Above, Robinson and journalist Anna Simonton explore how racist policies and practices cheated generations of black children out of opportunities long before some teachers tampered with tests.”

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Choksi, narrated by Laurie Catherine Winkel & P. J. Ochlan (January 15)

Treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie is your guy if you’re looking for the skinny on secrets in Belle Epoque Paris. When an all-powerful society called the Order of Babel enlists his help for their agenda, Séverin can’t really say no.

“To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: an engineer with a debt to pay; a historian who can’t yet go home; a dancer with a sinister past; and a brother in all but blood who might care too much. Together, they’ll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.”

The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley, narrated by Jane Entwistle (January 22)

It is with both geekish excitement and extreme sadness that I tell you the tenth and final installment in Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series will release this month. Porqueeeee??? I will however be pleased as punch to read about Flavia and Dogger’s adventures in the world of professional sleuthing, especially since their first case involves the discovery of a human finger in a wedding cake. Did I mention the wedding is her sister Feely’s?

If you haven’t discovered these books yet, do yourself and start with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Get to know my most beloved literary character in all her Harriet the Spy + Sherlock + Marie Curie-esque glory.

Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty, narrated by Soneela Nanani (January 22)

S.A. Chakraborty is back with the sequel to The City of Brass, “conjuring a world where djinn summon flames with the snap of a finger and waters run deep with old magic; where blood can be dangerous as any spell and a clever con artist from Cairo will alter the fate of a kingdom.”

All the Lives We Ever Lived: Seeking Solace in Virginia Woolf by Katherine Smyth, narrated by Brittany Pressley (January 29)

“Katharine Smyth was a student at Oxford when she first read Virginia Woolf’s modernist masterpiece To the Lighthouse in the comfort of an English sitting room and in the companionable silence she shared with her father. After his death – a calamity that claimed her favorite person – she returned to that beloved novel as a way of wrestling with his memory and understanding her own grief.” This debut moves between Smyth’s New England home and the English locales that Woolf called home as Smyth discovers To the Lighthouse in a uniquely personal way. Sounds like a lovely reminder of literature’s ability to help us see our own condition more clearly.

Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig, narrated by the author (January 29)

“When Matt Haig developed panic disorder, anxiety, and depression as an adult, it took him a long time to work out the ways the external world could impact his mental health in both positive and negative ways. Notes on a Nervous Planet collects his observations, taking a look at how the various social, commercial and technological “advancements” that have created the world we now live in can actually hinder our happiness.” Now tell me this doesn’t sound like a book we all need in our lives right now??

From the Internets

All in a Day’s Work – Whether you like your audiobooks on the brief side or are looking for quickie reads o smash those reading goals, this Bustle list of 15 super short audiobooks you can listen to in a day may be of some interest to you.

Over at the Riot

Look at this Show-Off – Just before we sat down to record the first episode of the 2019 Read Harder podcast (!!!), my super awesome co-host Tirzah Price shared how audiobooks helped her read more books this year than she ever has before. She’s far from alone here: Rioter Nikki Demarco smashed her reading goals this year and audiobooks were a part of that journey.

Tis all for 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