Articles by Robin Whitten

This should come as no surprise to avid listeners, but audiobooks make great gifts! In the digital world, an audiobook gift can be an easy, quick “gift card” option,...

As part of AudioFile’s 30th Anniversary celebrations, we took a look back at all the listeners we have profiled in our signature “Listening With” photo essay...

Congratulations to all of the 2022 Audie Award winners! The competition for the annual awards given by the Audio Publishers Association is a year-long process that involves more...

When we think of the origins of storytelling, we often refer to Homer’s epic stories THE ILIAD and THE ODYSSEY. The classics were originally oral stories told as a way to...

June is Audiobook Month, and this year we welcome three new Golden Voices—Cassandra Campbell, Michael Crouch, and Soneela Nankani. Perhaps they need no introduction and...

Charles Dickens’s birthday on February 7 seemed like the perfect day to launch AudioFile’s new podcast, Audiobook Break. Taking the old idea of serializing novels...

Capping off weeks of planning and indeed a whole year of listening, we're thrilled to announce AudioFile’s 2020 Best Audiobooks. We feature the 51 titles in 9...

We are delighted to kick off June as Audiobook Month by honoring five new Golden Voice narrators—JD Jackson, Julia Whelan, Arthur Morey, Emily Woo Zeller, and Ramón de Ocampo....

While we are hunkered down—staying home, trying to get work done, helping kids have productive learning days, and staying healthy—some days seem interminable and others somehow...

We've got listening time! A silver lining of these turbulent weeks may be that many of us have more time to listen to audiobooks. All of us at AudioFile are working remotely...

The 2020 Audie Awards Gala last week in NYC was a glittery celebration of the APA's annual awards given in 24 categories. Mo Rocca, “CBS Sunday Morning”...

We're in the midst of winter award season with the Golden Globes, Grammys, and Oscars getting a lot of focus. But in our AudioFile world, the American Library Association...

In three recent audiobooks of historic fiction, I found myself lured off to research real-life events and details in these stories. Each detour made the audiobooks even richer....

Would you like to ask Jason Culp, Frankie Corzo, or Rupert Degas what was most memorable about recording one of the 2019 best audiobooks? We did just that for special episodes of...

Each month, AudioFile editors Jennifer Dowell, Emily Connelly, Francisca Goldsmith, and I decide on topics which we can explore with both new titles and older audiobooks mined...

Audiobook publishers have been trying out new ideas in casting voices for several years. Some recent new releases showcase the creative ways producers are taking audiobooks...

Sixteen-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg is crossing the Atlantic on a sailboat on her voyage to the United Nations Climate Change Conference later this year....

Just like listening to a game, the newest crop of baseball audiobooks—biographies, memorable seasons, legendary teams, and baseball trivia—will engage and indulge your love for...

Summer is full of activities for many of us—summer work schedules, family trips and get togethers, travels and adventures, projects that require good weather. For me, summer is...

Celebrating Audiobook Month in June has given us such a great opportunity to give special attention to the narrator luminaries of the audiobook world. Here at AudioFile, each...

AudioFile is aligning the stars this June. If you're reading this, you've probably been seeing that we're going all out this month to celebrate the narrators who have been...

Audiobook listeners are fortunate in a number of ways. The recent stream of memoirs AudioFile has reviewed makes me think of a specific benefit of listening: hearing the authentic...

With events and awards taking the limelight for the last few months, I haven't had a chance to simply highlight some of the most interesting audiobooks we've recently reviewed. A...

We opened SYNC: Audiobooks for Teens's 10th season this week! The lineup of teen titles this year seems like the best ever, including everything from Shakespeare's OTHELLO to...

One of the things I like best about doing my blog posts is the places I go. For the audiobooks I write about here, I follow a wide variety of breadcrumbs and chase bits of...

If I mention THE PRINCE OF TIDES, do you think of Barbra Streisand, or do you think of the audiobook by Pat Conroy and narrated by the iconic Frank Muller? If you've been...

In the pink glow of stage lighting, the 2019 Audie Awards Gala, hosted by Tan France, Queer Eye fashion expert, dazzled a capacity crowd. The AudioFile editorial...

Earlier this month, author Toni Morrison turned 88. On her birthday, a new collection of her essays and speeches, THE SOURCE OF SELF-REGARD, was published. Twenty years ago I was...

Maine. Beautiful. Cold, this time of year. Glorious in the summer. Maine is my home, and AudioFile's, and home to generations of extraordinary writers. Every time we review...

The 2019 Audie Awards are joining awards season early this year with Audie nominations announced this week and winners to be announced March 4 at the New York Gala. QUEER EYE...

For more than 80 years, the awards given by the American Library Association have set a high bar in children's literature. The Caldecott and Newbery medals are the best known among...

This humorous redundancy, credited to Yogi Berra, always tickles me. Looking over the new audiobook reviews of the last couple of weeks, I do get the feeling we're heard some of...

Twenty years ago, in February 1999, AudioFile published the review of THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. along with a feature by Maja Thomas, then the director of...

Audiobooks create an immersive and affecting way to understand and celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. His accomplishments will continue to resonate for...

Talking about the Best Audiobooks of the Year can't really be called a distraction, but for the last month we have given top priority to talking about these great titles. If...

One of my favorite times to listen is while I'm cooking, and during the holidays I'm spending more time with my sleeves rolled up. This is when I wish I had a voice-controlled...

We're in the thick of celebrating the 2018 Best Audiobooks and finding new ways to get the word out. In addition to our own podcasts, this week I was a guest at the HarperAudio...

The Editors of this AudioFile blog are a busy lot. Over the last 16 months we have added contributing editors to 8 ongoing categories within the blog. Thanks to master scheduler...

Each week I often "go down the rabbit hole" in pursuit of audiobooks for this blog post. Perhaps this week it's a "foxhole," as my topic is the World War I Centenary—the Great War...

PBS has just concluded a national survey and an eight-part series that explored and celebrated the power of reading, told through the prism of America’s 100 best-loved novels: THE...

How can audiobook listeners help nurture independent bookstores? The next time you visit your favorite indie bookstore, look to see if they are Libro.fm Audiobooks partners. You...

FRANKENSTEIN was the result of a challenge among a group of friends to come up with a new ghost story. In 1816 on a holiday in Italy with friends, Percy Bysshe Shelley, his...

As I prepared our "bonus" podcast episode for this week—Michael Imperioli's interview with Behind the Mic host, Jo Reed—I delighted in the unexpected tidbits and behind the scenes...

With all eyes and ears on the topic of the Supreme Court this week, I thought it would be interesting to see what audiobooks are out there by and about Supreme Court...

As we worked on creating AudioFile's new podcast, Behind the Mic, we planned to have as many "voices" as possible to amplify our audiobook conversations. In our...

How do we choose which audiobooks to feature on the Behind the Mic podcast? We review nearly 50(!) audiobooks each week. Picking for Behind the Mic, we narrow those down to big new...

New projects are often both thrilling and terrifying! Our Behind the Mic podcast has given us a little of each as we wrap up week #2. We're delighted that each of the...

[one_half][/one_half][one_half_last][/one_half_last] At this end of summer,  I'm of two minds—thinking I should have done more, and wishing I had done less. Two audiobooks seem...

[caption id="attachment_23646" align="alignright" width="240"] N.K. Jemisin[/caption] The 2018 Hugo Awards were this week in San Jose, California. The Hugo is a fan-vote award...

I wanted to collect audiobooks about dogs while we're in the "dog days of summer" . . . only to find out that the original meaning has nothing to do with dogs. The Greeks...

Contrasts—dark or light-hearted, subtle or intense, Russia or North Carolina. Going through our new reviews this week, I am struck by the variety of titles and how the audiobooks...

We have so many summer visitors in Maine, and I often hear how much they enjoy browsing our independent bookstores. Here in Portland, Sherman's Maine Coast Book Shops and...

Each summer AudioFile celebrates audiobook narrators with a Maine clambake in Boothbay, Maine. Narrators come from across the country, and sometimes we even have an...

This week marks the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela. With celebrations and tributes happening around the world, I wanted to share 8 audiobooks that offer unique portraits...

[caption id="attachment_22557" align="alignnone" width="960"] Endpapers from OUR TOWNS by James and Deborah Fallows[/caption] Two audiobooks we reviewed this week made me think...

[one_half][/one_half][one_half_last][/one_half_last] Ok, I'll admit it—just looking at the covers of these "icy" audiobooks is helping me cool off! Even if air conditioning is...

During the holiday week of America's Independence Day, along with the barbecue, clambake, and fireworks, add in a few audiobooks. Many of us celebrate with our...

[one_half][/one_half][one_half_last][/one_half_last] This week we reviewed ATTICUS FINCH, a new biography of Harper Lee's father (and how he informed the character of Atticus...

Summer is the perfect time to relax with a great audiobook—and for me, I go first to British mysteries. I try to keep up with authors I don't know well—like Ruth Ware or Anthony...

[caption id="attachment_21782" align="alignright" width="600"] photo by Steve Kagan[/caption] Everyone in the audiobook world had eyes on the NYC conferences and social events...

Last night we attended the 2018 Audies Gala—AudioFile editor Francisca Goldsmith and I were decked out in our finest at the New-York Historical Society for the Audio...

Audiobook listeners know Jim Dale—the voice of Harry Potter, of course, with seven audiobooks and a Guinness World Record for the 146 voices in just  HARRY...

Something I love about audiobooks set outside our current time and place is that the historical details make the listening experience so rich. We get a sense of the history of...

Jazz is on my mind. Just a few weeks ago, I attended the tribute to the 2018 NEA Jazz Masters—Todd Barkan, Joanne Brackeen, Pat Metheny, and Dianne Reeves—at the John F. Kennedy...

[caption id="attachment_20665" align="aligncenter" width="1161"] Photo © The George Bush Presidential Library/ Chandler Arden-Specialties Photography[/caption] Former First Lady...

"Poetry lives everywhere," said Tracy K. Smith, teacher and writer and America's Poet Laureate, as she kicked off April's National Poetry Month a few weeks...

Short stories have often gotten the short straw in audiobooks. With audio publishers producing more titles each season, and podcasts gaining more and more listeners, short story...

VISIONARY WOMEN is made up of four mini biographies of women who changed the way we look at our world. As I thought about this interesting group—Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Jane...

We are still in the chill of winter here in Maine, so these new Scandinavian suspense titles seem right in line. Audiobooks are the perfect medium for Scandi-crime for several...

As you might guess, Women's History is big this month at AudioFile! Each month we brainstorm about audiobook titles that we can recommend  around themes, holidays, or current...

If you are a listener who loves series, one of the worst moments is when a new episode arrives and the long-time narrator is replaced. It's a little like losing old friends . . ....

Listeners can celebrate the Lunar New Year with Grace Lin's THE YEAR OF THE DOG. Recently re-released, Lin's debut novel was first published in the previous year of the dog, 2006....

In the midst of awards season, I'm always looking out for those that specifically celebrate audiobooks, like the Spoken Word Grammy (Carrie Fisher's THE PRINCESS DIARIST) and The...

This week I noticed an impressive crop of nonfiction audiobooks reviewed. Thoughtful and powerful audiobooks on immigration, politics, abuse, and race give us the chance to listen...

Each February we're pleased to find a crop of new audiobooks that chronicle Black History  and celebrate lives of African Americans. Two important history titles in our...

Actor John Lithgow's long career is studded with awards—Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Golden Globe—for his many roles as  varied as the undercover extraterrestrial professor in "3rd Rock from...

Looking at some of the new audiobook reviews this week, I see a theme of personal journeys—some fictional and some biographical. In an original audio adaptation, Susan Trott's THE...

My Roundup this week was going to center on children's audiobooks to bring some welcome counterpoint to the weather and news of the last few weeks. Instead, I share the sad news of...

2018 has roared into Maine with frigid temps and plenty of snow. This is great curl-up-and-read/listen weather. [gallery type="rectangular" ids="18028,18024"] Just what...

When I meet people for the first time and tell them about AudioFile, they often ask, "Do you listen to all the books yourself?" What a thought! I don't even want to calculate how...

Looking this week at our choices for the BEST titles in the Biography & History category, I'm excited that we have the narrators' Behind the Mic videos for so many of these...

If you are looking for audiobooks for Kids & Family listening or for a Teen in your life, our 2017 Best lists have great choices. Last week in my picks from the Nonfiction...

We continue to celebrate the Best Audiobooks of the year, and we appreciate all the shares & retweets from our narrator and publisher friends & audiophile partners—thank...

Today, we're launching our annual celebration of Best Audiobooks. Choosing among ALL of the audiobooks we've reviewed this year, we selected titles that have special resonance as...

One of the great traditions of the season is the many live performances that families can attend. The glamour and excitement of dance events are my favorite. Two new audiobooks...

Chef and restauranteur Barbara Lynch's memoir OUT OF LINE: A Life of Playing With Fire may be just the ticket to inspire your holiday planning while hearing about Lynch's...

For a little listening to lift our spirits this week, I want to highlight this audio-first anthology of stories, poems, and essays, NEVERTHELESS WE PERSISTED, written and...

Baseball season may be over with the conclusion of the World Series, but it's not too late to extend the season if you love baseball history. Joe Barrett's snappy narration of...

Scary listening has been on our minds as we creep closer to Halloween. We're chatting with author Joe Hill and narrator Dennis Boutsikaris in New York this week, and all our...

Topical essays, historical portraits, and short story collections can all give listeners a useful introduction to an author, but also showcase the variety offered with the audio...

When the Nobel Prize for Literature was announced last week, it was a great pleasure to find that so many of Kazuo Ishiguro's books are already available on audio. THE...

One of the great aspects of the National Book Awards is that they often highlight titles that may not be on your radar yet. And as listeners know, audiobooks can be a great way to...

In celebration of AudioFile's first 25 years, we collected a list of 25 Iconic Audiobooks. We asked our reviewers and editors and heard your nominations on our social platforms for...

A week for old friends—that's audiobook friends we've heard before, but we're oh so glad to hear from them again. The newest John le Carré novel, A LEGACY OF SPIES, is a perfect...

My choices from this week's new audiobook reviews seem to have a yin and yang approach. The dark and the light. We have history and biography that stare hard challenges straight in...

Chef memoirs and "foodie" books seem to come in waves . . . we're in the kitchen with Marcus Samuelsson or Ruth Reichl and then the cupboard is bare for months. Happily this week...

As we wrap up summer with a long weekend, the audiobook reviews this week put me in two minds. I want to extend my random "summer listening" choices just a little longer, but also...

So many great listening choices this week, I could make a long list! Astronomy, history, education, political activism . . . it looks like nonfiction is catching my eye. For...

If you're in the mood for a little escapism, this week's audiobook reviews have some great options. The first to catch my eye, and ear, is THE STRANGE CASE OF THE ALCHEMIST'S...

Listeners of mystery series often look forward to the annual event of a new title from their favorite authors. This week’s new reviews will please a lot of listeners. Daniel Silva...

This week's audiobooks shine a light on an interesting mix of cultural icons—not exactly Beyoncé-type icons, but they reflect their own times nonetheless. I love the prospect of...

A couple of the audiobooks in this week’s new reviews have European provenance. THE SECRET DIARY OF HENDRIK GROEN:  83 1/4 Years Old  by Hendrik Groen is a Dutch bestseller...

[caption id="attachment_13661" align="alignright" width="300"] I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool[/caption] This week two new audiobooks that caught my eye, and ear, are...

In the week when I had eyes on the G-20 meeting of world leaders, I should have listened to BEHAVE, Stanford professor Robert Sapolsky’s audiobook on the science of human...

It's hard to stay up with the 40 new audiobook reviews we publish each week, so here are a handful of titles that caught my eye, and ear! Caitlyn Jenner’s memoir THE SECRETS OF...