AudioFile Magazine

11/25/2025

🎧 New Episode: Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Laura Rossi highlight three recent Earphones Award-winning audiobooks. AudioFile awards Earphones to exceptional audio experiences—it’s our version of a starred review, specifically for the audiobook. Laura and Jo discuss: winner of the 2025 Kirkus Reviews for FictionTHE SLIP a story about a missing teenage boy, by Lucas Schaefer, read by Shaun Taylor-Corbett and Renata Friedman; WE THE PEOPLE: A History of the U.S. Constitution by Jill Lepore, read by the author; and LIVING IS DYING: How to Prepare for Death, Dying, and Beyond, by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, read by Michael Imperioli. They share why these audiobooks won Earphones, and why they are well worth your listening time.

Read our reviews of the audiobooks at our website:

THE SLIP: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/274189/ Published by Simon & Schuster Audio Simon & Schuster Audio

WE THE PEOPLE: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/279070/ Published by Recorded Books Recorded Books

LIVING IS DYING: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/242915/ Published by Shambhala Publications Shambhala Publications

Thanks for listening to AudioFile's wherever you listen to podcasts.

11/25/2025

Listeners are drawn into a complex story with two time frames in OCTAVO by Marty Neumeier, read by Ellie Gossage, Scott Brick, Mark Sanderlin, Annette Amelia Oliveira, Tania Rodrigues. An winning audiobook, part of the story takes place in Leonardo da Vinci's world, and part of it in the world of today. All the narrators capture the characters' essences: Scarlett, a scientist, and Artie, an art historian, are hired by a nefarious millionaire to authenticate a secret collection of paintings and papers, including the notebooks of Francesco Melzi, da Vinci's devoted pupil. The women form an alliance to steal the manuscript and find a publisher to share it with the world. Listeners hear directly from the two women, the publisher, and, most significantly, from Melzi, through his writings. Listeners will be riveted as they follow the two storylines and gain a deeper appreciation for da Vinci's genius.
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Scott Brick Presents
Books Forward

11/21/2025

RED CLAY, RUNNING WATERS by Leslie K. Simmons, read by Cameron DelGrosso, is a splendid saga rooted in the historical events that led to the forced march known as the Cherokee Trail of Tears. John Ridge, son of a Cherokee leader, finds himself at odds with the Christian values he's learned at a New England school. They don't align with the realities he's come to observe: racism and attempts at sowing tribal division. Narrator Cameron DelGrosso skillfully navigates the many Cherokee phrases throughout the story, bringing authenticity to his performance.

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11/18/2025

🎧 New Ep: Host Jo Reed welcomes AudioFile publisher Michele Cobb to discuss three powerful memoirs, narrated by their authors. Booker Prize–winning writer Arundhati Roy returns with a complex look at her relationship with her challenging and ‘visionary,’ mother in MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME; an unflinching, polarizing memoir about Elizabeth Gilbert’s s*x and love addiction in ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER; and VAGABOND, a restrained dive into the long, varied career of inimitable actor Tim Curry.

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11/14/2025

🎧 Bonus Ep: narrator speaks to AudioFile publisher Michele Cobb about the most recent entry in Patricia Cornwell’s Series, SHARP FORCE. January is a nine-time winner, and she shares what it's like to revisit the voice of enduring character Kay Scarpetta, a forensic pathologist who now must deal with a new nightmare where tech, AI, and murder converge. January discusses how she keeps character voices consistent from book to book, and how she balances narrating technical passages with keeping the pace thrilling for listeners. Hachette Audio Grand Central Publishing
https://bit.ly/AFMpodcast

11/11/2025

🎧 New Ep: Host Jo Reed welcomes AudioFile’s founder and editor, Robin Whitten, to discuss Phillip Pullman’s world and THE ROSE FIELD, read by Michael Sheen, the much anticipated conclusion of the extraordinary epic fantasy. It began in 1999 with THE GOLDEN COMPASS and with the story of Lyra Silvertongue, in an all-time-favorite full-cast performance. Lyra’s story plays out over six audiobooks—a double trilogy, HIS DARK MATERIALS and THE BOOK OF DUST. We could revel in Pullman’s alternate universe for hours, but for this episode, Jo and Robin compare the different narrations and storytelling styles of the audiobooks that bring Pullman’s imagination to us.

Thank you for listening to our new episodes every week on or wherever you like to listen.



Listening Library Penguin Random House Audio

11/07/2025

As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, it’s the perfect time to curl up with an audiobook that stirs wanderlust. This selection of audiobooks will keep you company as the seasons change, whisking you from mysteries in England to an Italian dog’s dreamy escape to memoirs that journey across Asia and Africa. There’s no need to pack a suitcase; just let these audio adventures carry you to faraway places for discovery and reflection.

As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, it’s the perfect time to curl up with an audiobook that stirs wanderlust. This selection of audiobooks will keep you company as the seasons change, whisking you from mysteries in England to an Italian dog’s dreamy escape to memoirs that j...

11/07/2025

🎧 Bonus Ep: Author Brian Andrews, who is, along with Jeffrey Wilson, half of the author duo Andrews & Wilson, speaks with AudioFile publisher Michele Cobb about THE ADVERSARY, the ninth book in the Tier One thriller series, narrated by Ray Porter. In their conversation, Andrews shares his longtime love of audiobooks and talks about his persistence in getting Ray Porter involved as the narrator for the Tier One series. Blackstone Publishing https://bit.ly/AFMpodcast

11/05/2025

R.C. Bray's narration transforms Into The Storms by Nicholas Sansbury Smith into a visceral audio experience. R.C. Bray distinguishes Tyron Red, Sergeant Rodriguez, and Corporal Pepper with subtly varied tones and inflections, making each character instantly recognizable. The plot follows multiple storylines and R. C. Bray’s narration and vocal depth make for a nuanced, fully immersive listening experience - highlighting the stakes (and the humanity) within a world dominated by machines.
Blackstone Publishing https://bit.ly/47vhgFk

11/04/2025

🎧 New Ep: Host Jo Reed welcomes AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff this week to dig into three new audiobooks that delight and satirize, often using humor to shed light on social issues. Three unlikely characters bond in an anger management class in SNAP, a comedic novel by Susin Nielsen, and read by Carol Schneider; a failed poet with a snarky alter-ego struggles with an autoimmune disease and a polyamorous wife in the debut novel OLD SCHOOL INDIAN by , read by Jason Grasl; and a teenage flag-twirler switches sides in the satirical Civil War-era novel HOW TO DODGE A CANNONBALL by , read by William DeMeritt. HarperAudio Macmillan Audio https://bit.ly/AFMpodcast

10/31/2025

🎧 Bonus Ep: AudioFile publisher Michele Cobb speaks with author and illustrator Christy Mandin and narrator Elizabeth Knowelden about the new audiobook MILLIE FLEUR SAVES THE NIGHT. This enchanting story for children, where night-blooming plants come alive, reassures the residents of Garden Glen—and the listener—that the dark is nothing to be afraid of, as long as you're brave enough to turn off the lights and see what wonders are waiting. Scholastic https://bit.ly/4qr3DPX

10/30/2025

Mary Bennet is a young, q***r scientist who finds the real world drab. As her sisters are entering the world of courtship, Mary is more enraptured by her deadliest experiment yet: raising the dead. As Mary struggles with social expectations, Amy Hoggart’s charming narration is relatable, unique, and highly entertaining. Hachette Audio https://bit.ly/4oDtO4n