Every month we like to feature some of what our AudioFile editors are listening to, both to review and for fun! The warmer weather means we’re excited to be listening in the garden and while exploring outside (and, as always, while getting those dishes done in the evening). This month’s staff picks range from audiobooks that will help you escape the stresses of the world to audiobooks to inspire change.
Chime in, and tell us, what audiobooks are you listening to now? We’re all ears!
CIRCE
I’m in the garden with my stunning pink tulips listening to the story of sorcerer CIRCE making her potions from flowers and herbs to enchant her visitors.
—Robin Whitten, Founder & Editor
THE POWER
I love a listen that will draw me into a new situation, which this one certainly did. In this audiobook the world is turned on its head with women discovering new electrical powers (especially resonant with the events of today often making women feel a loss of power). This is an intriguing story with an elaborate set of characters from around the globe. An antidote to feeling disempowered any day. Not that there aren’t pitfalls.
—Michele Cobb, Publisher
THE BURNING MAZE
Rick Riordan’s middle-grade audiobooks are funny, exciting, and full of mythological adventure. I’m especially a fan of the Trials of Apollo series on audio because Robbie Daymond has narrated all three of them, and he so perfectly captures the vain but charming voice of the god Apollo, who has been turned into a powerless teenage boy as punishment from Zeus. The adventure continues in this third entry in the series, THE BURNING MAZE.
—Jenn Dowell, Managing Editor
MINORITY LEADER
Stacey Abrams is making news as the first black woman candidate for Governor for a major party after winning Georgia’s primary last week. Her recently published book, MINORITY LEADER, is a unique guide to developing your leadership skills as a minority. She reads with a clear voice, sharing her stories and others’ to illustrate the obstacles minorities face and strategies to overcome them. Her story is inspiring and extremely helpful, whether you’re planning on running for school board, looking for a promotion at work, wanting to grow as an activist, or ready to take on higher seats of power.
—Emily Connelly, Assistant Editor
MY TWENTIETH CENTURY EVENING AND OTHER SMALL BREAKTHROUGHS
With the Nobel prize for Literature on hold in 2018, we’re lucky to have this recording of author Kazuo Ishiguro performing his acceptance speech for the 2017 prize. Combining autobiography, storytelling, and a narrative pace that kept my unswerving attention throughout, his speech has broad appeal to listeners of many ages, including journalists and beginning authors.
—Francisca Goldsmith, Contributing Editor
