Riot New Media

Hola Audiophiles! I’m back with another audiobook rundown from inside my Portland abode. Most days are pretty good, a few have me feeling like this guy, and while the internet is often scary, the creativity of the youth brings me hope. So much drama in the CDC! Brilliant.

Let’s move on to new releases and my latest listen, shall we? I swear I will move away from cozy stuff sometime soon, but that day is not today, friends. Join me in the cozy place!

Ready? Let’s audio.

New Releases – April 14  (publisher descriptions in quotes)

Antigone Rising: The Subversive Power of the Ancient Myths by Helen Morales, narrated by Gabra Zackman – Mythology nerds, assemble!  This is in part a dissection of the ways in which myths and ancient texts have been used, often deliberately, to support harmful agendas like white supremacy and misogyny. Morales provides both a history lesson and modern parallels (like Beyonce and Ali Smith) to argue that mythology has always been of and fore the people, regardless of class, education, etc, and that we should reclaim these narratives in working towards a more just, equal, and accepting world.

Narrator Note: Go with me here, because this sounds like a diss, but isn’t! Gabra Zackman reminds me of a diluted January LaVoy. I love January, but her style isn’t for everyone. If you’ve ever heard a book read by her and wished it was perhaps a tiny bit less theatrical, look into Gabra Zackman! Her credits include I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, This Is How It Always Is, and Sadie.

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez, narrated by Zachary Webber and Erin Mallon – It’s been two years since Sloane lost her fiancé, but things are looking up when she finds an adorable pup with a “don’t you wanna take me home?” face. She tries to contact his owner but never hears back, so she decides to keep the pooch and falls in love with him, only for the owner to finally send her a text that’s all, “My bad, I’m a musician on tour in Australia, but like… I want my dog back, thanks!” Sloane is like, “Funny story! He’s mine now.” After a lot of back and forth, the messages and calls start to get a little flirty. Could there be something there? Or is Sloane just asking to get hurt again?

Narrator Note: Zachary Webber is a romance audio veteran; he’s the voice the Fifty Shades of Grey books told from Christian’s perspective, lots of Colleen Hoover’s books, and more. Erin Mallon read Abby Jimenez’ The Friend Zone and narrates a ton of Lauren Blakely’s work, plus a ton of Audible originals.

The Unsuitable by Molly Pohlig, narrated by Esther Wane – Yesss gothic fiction! Iseult Wince is a Victorian woman who is quickly approaching spinsterhood. She’s plain and awkward, and oh yes, one more thing: she believes that the mother who died giving birth to her lives in a scar on her neck. Iseult’s cruel and abusive father keeps trying to marry her off, but Iseult scares away suitor after suitor. Then at last, her father finds someone desperate enough to take Iseult off his hands, but Iseult’s (literal) pain-in-the-neck mother becomes more volatile and demanding as the wedding approaches. FYI: I haven’t read this yet, but Liberty covered it with me on this week’s All the Books and gave a strong trigger warning for self-harm.

Narrator Note: Esther Wane also performs Daisy Johnson’s Everything Under and wheeeeeew child, if you haven’t read that flip of the Oedipus myth, do it.

Latest Listens

After reading and loving the first eight of ten books in Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series in print, I avoided the last two books in a sad and stubborn attempt to make the magic last. My tantrum paid off, because the universe knew precisely when I would need the rest of this cozy series to soothe me in these troubled times.

Set in the 50s in and around a small English village called Bishop’s Lacey, this series’ protagonist and amateur sleuth is of course 12-year-old Flavia de Luce. She lives in a dilapidated mansion with her two older sisters and widowed father, opting to live in the cold eastern wing of the house because it contains a big, bad chemistry lab built by her great Uncle Tar. Some of my favorite scenes in the book involve Flavia sitting around the lab swathed in a blanket heating her toast and a soft boiled egg on a Bunsen burner. The best! Flavia has followed in her uncle’s footsteps with her great passion for science, potions, and poison. She’s effortlessly funny, whip smart, and possesses that Marplesque wisdom that comes from keen observation of quotidian life.

I finally listened to everyone who’s ever raved about these books on audio and downloaded the ninth book in the series, The Grave’s A Fine and Private Place. The whole series is read by Jane Entwhistle and she is just a gem! She manages Flavia’s cool, snarky, precociousness in all her glory, delivering her awesome one-liners and smoothly veiled insults just as I always imagined Flavia would. If you’re looking for something relatively low stakes, funny, and overall delightful, check this series out.

From the Internets

Nerdist rounded up a list of ways to audio for free.

I was not aware of the so-called tax on audiobooks in the UK; read this piece if you aren’t aware of its implications either.

Over at the Riot

Four Great YA Audiobooks Narrated by Actors

More Than a Trend: Making Audiobooks Accessible

29 Free Audiobooks for Kids, Or Anyone Else

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, 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