Each month, our friends at AudioFile Magazine share a curated list of the best audiobooks for your literary listening pleasure.
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JULY FICTION
All This and More by Peng Shepherd| Read by Helen Laser
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 15.5 hrs.]
Helen Laser gives an extraordinary performance of this inventive story. Marsh is a forty-something divorced woman with an unsatisfying career, an unhappy romantic life, and a complicated relationship with her teenage daughter. Then she’s selected to star in a reality TV show that gives her the opportunity to redo her life through “quantum bubble” technology.
With this interactive audiobook, listeners can choose to hear the story chronologically or skip around the narrative, following one of several “paths.” Laser is astonishing as she shifts tone, timbre, and accents to portray a huge cast, including online commenters.
The Sons of El Rey by Alex Espinoza| Read by Gisela Chípe, Tony Chiroldes, Lee Osorio, André Santana
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Simon & Schuster Audio | 10.5 hrs.]
This riveting audiobook delves into the lives of three generations of luchadores, masked Mexican wrestlers, who are grappling with love and family secrets in Mexico City and Los Angeles. Narrators Gisela Chípe, Tony Chiroldes, Lee Osorio, and André Santana bring depth and authenticity to their characters.
Their nuanced performances enrich Espinoza’s poignant narrative, making this audiobook a captivating exploration of heritage, identity, and familial bonds.
Toward Eternity by Anton Hur| Read by David Lee Huynh, Nicky Endres, Zoleka Vundla, Katherine Littrell
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 7 hrs.]
David Lee Huynh, Nicky Endres, Zoleka Vundla, and Katherine Littrell skillfully portray eight different characters in this speculative novel set in the near and extreme futures. Yonghun, a researcher who teaches poetry to an AI, is cured of cancer after nanotherapy replaces his human cells with android cells.
All who receive the miraculous cure become immortal, changing the human and AI worlds drastically as generations pass.
Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi| Read by Ariel Blake
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Macmillan Audio | 13.75 hrs.]
This splendid romantic adventure, loosely based on the Persephone myth, receives a sterling performance by Ariel Blake. In the fifteenth century, Òdòdó is a member of the women’s blacksmith’s guild in Timbuktu, where conditions are terrible for her and other women. When Timbuktu falls, Òdòdó is abducted and spirited away to the Royal City, where her life changes forever.
Blake is adept at describing romantic moments, sumptuous palace finery, and bloody battles. Her characters have depth and personalities, and speakers are easily identified. Òdòdó is an original character, and Blake invests her with gravitas and dignity.
The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma| Read by Junior Nyong’o
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Random House Audio | 13.75 hrs.]
Junior Nyong’o’s low-key narration is exactly what this mystical story demands. In the 1960s, during the brutal Biafran-Nigerian civil war, Kunle, tormented by guilt over an accident that nearly killed his brother years ago, learns that his brother is now in Biafra. Kunle volunteers with the Red Cross, since only they can cross the Nigerian blockade into Biafra.
With incredible care, Nyong’o presents a clear-eyed look at the devastating cost of war for both the combatants and the innocents caught in the maelstrom.
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JULY NONFICTION
Hip-Hop Is History by Questlove, Ben Greenman [Contributor]| Read by Questlove
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Macmillan Audio | 11.5 hrs.]
Questlove is an established musician, musicologist, DJ, and narrator of his latest audiobook. Here, he recounts the fifty-year history of hip-hop with exuberant joy. The result is a fascinating journey from the coastal cities in the early 1970s, where historians believe hip-hop started, to the current state of the art.
He weaves personal stories of record collecting and the pleasure of discovering new artists while delivering deeper discussions on the meaning of music. The production is punctuated with brief samples, highlighting key points and enhancing the journey.
The Nature of Our Cities: Harnessing the Power of the Natural World to Survive a Changing Planet by Nadina Galle| Read by Eileen Stevens
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 9.5 hrs.]
Just when dire reports—fire, flood, calving icebergs—are enough to alarm anyone, this audiobook from ecological engineer Galle arrives with a refreshingly positive and heretical assertion that nature and technology can be allied. Narrating convincingly in a youthful tone that suits the author’s optimism, Eileen Stevens earns high praise for her thoughtful, almost conspiratorial, tone. It’s as if she’s saying, “Pay attention, and you’ll be surprised.”
Burn bots, nature apps of all types, and cures for eco anxiety are just a few of the positive insights in this revelatory work.
Clay and Bones: My Life as an FBI Forensic Artist by Lisa G. Bailey| Read by Christina Delaine
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Tantor Media | 8.25 hrs.]
Christina Delaine narrates with such an engaging conversational tone that listeners will feel they’re active participants in this memoir by the FBI’s first female forensic sculptor. One minute Delaine urges listeners to prepare for a grisly discussion of forensics practices; the next she’s describing hostile bullying by a male manager.
The range of the material is broad, and Delaine complements each scene with an apt interpretation. Delaine embraces it all with passion whether the subject is satisfying scientific and artistic breakthroughs, employment discrimination, hypocrisy, or justice.
Grown Woman Talk: Your Guide to Getting and Staying Healthy by Sharon Malone| Read by Sharon Malone
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Random House Audio | 12.25 hrs.]
Dr. Sharon Malone, board certified ob/gyn and a certified menopause practitioner with more than thirty years of experience, serves as both author and narrator. She offers vital advice on managing one’s healthcare and practical tips on following that advice. Throughout, Dr. Malone candidly shares personal stories, family experiences, and relevant case examples that will motivate listeners to take action.
Filled with essential information delivered in a caring manner, this audiobook is a must-listen for women of all ages.
Jelly Roll Blues: Censored Songs and Hidden Histories by Elijah Wald| Read by Mela Lee
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Hachette Audio | 10.5 hrs.]
Before traditional American Black music was sanitized, condensed, and recorded for white listeners, it was as raunchy and X-rated as anything in today’s gangsta rap, according to this lively history by a prolific music journalist. Elijah Wald’s meticulous research is roughly organized around the early-twentieth-century barroom musician Jelly Roll Morton and is performed here with exceptional talent and verve by L.A. narrator Mela Lee.
She’s great fun to hear—full of expressive energy that resonates with the storyline but never distracts from the author’s writing and keen sensibilities.
