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Articles by Heather Booth
Thank you to those who tuned into my live video with today! Wasn’t she just incredible? If you missed it I urge you to watch. Heather is living history, but she’s also a jawdropping source of inspiration today. Enjoy! Oh, by the way, Heather’s new org is Battleground Alliance. The documentary about her early reproductive heath work is The Janes.
Top 10 First Novels on Audio
FEATURE. First published November 1, 2023 (Booklist). Fine narrations of first novels bring promising literary voices to a broader audience. From all-star casts to superb accent work, each of these 10 narrations is notable. Amazing Grace Adams. By Fran Littlewood. Read by Claire Skinner. 2023. 10hr. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250899415).
Talking With Camille T. Dungy
FEATURE. First published June 1, 2023 (Booklist). Camille T. Dungy, author and narrator of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, first turned to audiobooks to prepare for teaching a class in 2016. “These were classics I’d read multiple times, but I loved the fact that I could fit reacquainting myself with beloved novels into my busy schedule. While commuting to work, or gardening, or doing the dishes, I immersed myself in the worlds these great writers created.
By Heather Booth.
FEATURE. First published June 1, 2023 (Booklist). The 2023 Odyssey Winner for Children, Stuntboy, In the Meantime, was produced by Taryn Ocko Beato for Simon & Schuster Audio. A lifelong book-lover with a background in media studies and production, Beato says producing audiobooks “felt like coming home.” Booth: How did the concept for this audiobook emerge?
Top 10 Biographies & Memoirs on Audio: 2023
FEATURE. First published June 1, 2023 (Booklist). “Read by the author” are three words you’ll see a lot of on this list of standout memoirs and biographies featuring actors, authors, athletes, and more. Biting the Hand: Growing up Asian in Black and White America. By Julia Lee. Read by the author. 2023. 7hr. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250882585).
Top 10 Mysteries and Thrillers for Youth on Audio: 2023
FEATURE. First published May 1, 2023 (Booklist). Great narration can add a suspenseful element, and keen mystery listeners might even hear a few clever clues. These titles for youth are audiobook standouts in recent years. Drew Leclair Gets a Clue. By Katryn Bury. Read by Devon Hales. 2022. 6.5hr. HarperAudio, DD (9780358669357). Gr. 5–8. Drew, a true-crime fan, encounters her own mystery when an online bully takes over her middle school. Hales gives Drew a snarky, gumshoe voice. Firekeeper’s Daughter.
Top 10 Mysteries and Thrillers on Audio: 2023
FEATURE. First published May 1, 2023 (Booklist). Historical settings and connections to true-crime podcasts are notable trends among these top 10 mystery and thriller audiobooks, reviewed in Booklist from May 1, 2022, to April 1, 2023. All the Dangerous Things. By Stacy Willingham. Read by Karissa Vacker. 2023. 10hrs. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250880871). In an attempt to find her missing son, Isabelle connects with a true-crime podcaster, but all is not as it seems.
Top 10 Relationship Fiction on Audio
FEATURE. First published April 15, 2023 (Booklist). The emotions at play in the relationship fiction titles listed belowcome through vibrantly thanks to narrations that are keenly attuned to their characters’ experiences and the interactions among family members, friends, and lovers. All titles were reviewed in Booklist from May 1, 2022, to April 15, 2023. Alone with You in the Ether. By Olivie Blake. Read by a full cast. 2022. 10hr. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250890726).
Now Hear This: Edoardo Ballerini
FEATURE. First published April 15, 2023 (Booklist). The only difficulty in crafting a list of must-listen audios narrated by Edoardo Ballerini is choosing just those that fit in this column. He is the voice behind everything from picture books to the Bible; he’ll also lull you to sleep on the Calm app and engage you with today’s topics in The Daily from the New York Times. Listeners will never be let down by a Ballerini narration.
By Heather Booth.
FEATURE. Welcome to the Shelf Care Interview, an occasional conversation series, where Booklist talks to book people. This Shelf Care Interview is sponsored by Dreamscape Media. In this episode of the Shelf Care Interview, Heather Booth talks to author Andrea Beaty and audio book narrator Bahni Turpin. Andrea Beaty is the author of the bestselling QUESTIONEERS series, among other children’s titles. She lives just outside Chicago.
Top 10 Sci-Tech and Environment Audiobooks
FEATURE. First published March 1, 2023 (Booklist). Narrators up to the task of conveying complex and intriguing elements of science are rare gems indeed, as these laudable audiobooks display. Adult The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times. By Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams. Read by the authors. 2021. 6.5hr. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250810663). Renowned primatologist Goodall presents the four pillars that sustain her hopes for the future based in both science and the human spirit.
Top 10 Middle-Grade Fiction on Audio
FEATURE. First published February 15, 2023 (Booklist). Audiobooks for middle-grade listeners sparkle with energy. These Top 10 titles are filled with the heartfelt real-life stuff of middle-graders as well as astounding, fantastical adventures. All received starred reviews in Booklist between April 15, 2021, and February 1, 2023. Allergic. By Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter. Read by a full cast. 2021. 2hr. Scholastic, DD (9781338751048). Gr. 4–6.
By Heather Booth and Abeje Schnake.
FEATURE. First published February 13, 2023 (Booklist Online). Our epic Spring Audiobook Preview, organized monthly by release date and by genre, has something to please every audiobook-listening patron! Classics, full-cast stage productions, audio originals, favorite authors, new voices, and much more await audio selectors in this high-demand list of audiobooks set to release March through August, 2023. The information is supplied by publishers and is subject to change.
Moment that mattered: Roe v Wade is overturned
Interview: Rob Orchard 24th June 2022 (Taken from: #47) “I was horrified, but not surprised,” says Heather Booth, reflecting on the June announcement that the US Supreme Court had overturned Roe v Wade, the 1973 judgement that made access to abortion a constitutional right for women in the US. “I thought, there will be terrible consequences… There are women who will be harmed.
Listen Up: 2022 Debut Narrators
FEATURE. First published November 1, 2022 (Booklist). As we celebrate new voices in our First Novels section, we are also celebrating new voices in audiobooks that we reviewed in 2022. We welcome these notable voice talents and hope to hear more from each of them in years to come. Anthony Cloyd Nigel and the Moon. By Antwan Eady. 5hr. HarperAudio. Gr. K–2.
Top 10 First Novels on Audio
FEATURE. First published November 1, 2022 (Booklist). Brilliantly voiced characters are the hallmark of these standout first novels on audio reviewed in Booklist from November, 2021 to November, 2022. Bindle Punk Bruja. By Desideria Mesa. Read by Frankie Corzo. 2022. 14hr. HarperAudio, DD (9780063056107). Jeepers! Corzo is the bee’s knees narrating a 1920s historical fantasy debut. She transports the listener to a world of flappers, prohibition, magic, and changing social mores.
Listen Up: Sounds like Shakespeare
FEATURE. First published October 15, 2022 (Booklist). There’s something about Shakespeare that begs to be listened to. After listening to L.A. Theatre Works’ new recording of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, keep diving deeper into Shakespearean stories and sounds with these audiobooks. Fools and Mortals. By Bernard Cornwell. Read by Thomas Judd. 2018. 10.5hr. Harper, DD, $26.99 (9780062798404).
Shelf Care Interview: Saadia Faruqi
FEATURE. First published October 4, 2022 (Booklist Online). Welcome to the Shelf Care Interview, an occasional conversation series in which Booklist talks with book people! This Shelf Care Interview is sponsored by Abrams Books. In this episode of the Shelf Care Interview, Heather Booth talks with author Saadia Faruqi, author of Marya Khan and the Incredible Henna Party. You can Listen to this Shelf Care Interview here. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
National View: Older people believe in voting, aren't stuck in the past
The GOP has been flailing a little in recent weeks, as an election once expected to be a typical midterm blowout has tightened considerably. If the GOP expects older voters will bail them out as in elections past, our advice is, think again. The folk wisdom, of course, is that older voters are more conservative, an idea with at least some statistical support. There is an entire media ecosystem geared to rattling the fears of us older people.
Opinion: We’re old, we’re progressive and we vote
The GOP has been flailing a little in recent weeks, as an election once expected to be a typical midterm blowout has tightened considerably. If the GOP expects that older voters will bail them out as in elections past, our advice is, think again. The folk wisdom, of course, is that older voters are more conservative -- an idea with at least some statistical support. There is an entire media ecosystem geared to rattling the fears of us older people.
Commentary: We’re old, we’re progressive and we vote
The GOP has been flailing a little in recent weeks, as an election once expected to be a typical midterm blowout has tightened considerably. If the GOP expects that older voters will bail them out as in elections past, our advice is, think again. The folk wisdom, of course, is that older voters are more conservative — an idea with at least some statistical support. There is an entire media ecosystem geared to rattling the fears of us older people.
Opinion: We’re old, we’re progressive and we vote in big numbers Original
The GOP has been flailing a little in recent weeks, as an election once expected to be a typical midterm blowout has tightened considerably. If the GOP expects that older voters will bail them out as in elections past, our advice is, think again. The folk wisdom, of course, is that older voters are more conservative — an idea with at least some statistical support. There is an entire media ecosystem geared to rattling the fears of us older people.
Not your grandad's grandad
The GOP has been flailing in recent weeks, as an election once expected to be a typical midterm blowout has tightened considerably. If the GOP expects that older voters will bail them out as in elections past, think again. kAm%96 7@=< H:D5@>[ @7 4@FCD6[ :D E92E @=56C G@E6CD 2C6 >@C6 4@?D6CG2E:G6] p? 6?E:C6 >65:2 64@DJDE6> :D 862C65 E@ C2EE=:?8 @=56C A6@A=6] pE u@I }6HD[ H96C6 E96 >65:2?
Commentary: We’re old, we’re progressive and we vote
The GOP has been flailing a little in recent weeks, as an election once expected to be a typical midterm blowout has tightened considerably. If the GOP expects that older voters will bail them out as in elections past, our advice is, think again. The folk wisdom, of course, is that older voters are more conservative — an idea with at least some statistical support. There is an entire media ecosystem geared to rattling the fears of us older people.
Commentary: We’re old, we’re progressive and we vote
The GOP has been flailing a little in recent weeks, as an election once expected to be a typical midterm blowout has tightened considerably. If the GOP expects that older voters will bail them out as in elections past, our advice is, think again. The folk wisdom, of course, is that older voters are more conservative — an idea with at least some statistical support. There is an entire media ecosystem geared to rattling the fears of us older people.
Fighting for Abortion Rights All Over Again
The Supreme Court decision is outrageous, but not surprising. The Court has taken away the ability of people to control their own bodies and lives and turned that power over to politicians. It is outrageous because it is against the popular will, against morality, against precedent, against the expansion of freedom. This is an undermining of the most basic freedom and most intimate decision of a person’s life: when or whether or with whom to have a child. It is against the popular will.
Top 10 Discussable Audiobooks
FEATURE. First published July 2022 (Booklist). A discussable audiobook is one that starts with a great story and has a narration that adds an interpretive layer all its own. These recent titles offer book groups, be they library-run or neighborhood gatherings, fodder for upbeat and engaging conversations. The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times. By Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams. Read by the authors. 2021. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250810663).
Listen-Alikes: High-drama Dual Narrations
FEATURE. First published August 2022 (Booklist). While one narrator is often all it takes to convey a complex novel, employing two voices to narrate dramatic stories like The Other Mother really amps up the contrast between significantly disparate points of view. China Room. By Sunjeev Sahota. Read by Indira Varma and Antonio Aakeel. 2021. 6hr. Books on Tape, DD, $57 (9780593402351).
Listen Up: Family Listening for Summer
FEATURE. First published June 1, 2022 (Booklist). Recommending an audiobook to share across generations and with a range of ages can be a tricky prospect! Guide your listeners to options based first on who is listening, and then find common interests within that age range.
By Heather Booth.
FEATURE. First published June 1, 2022 (Booklist). For the fifteenth season ofthe Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production, the rules have been changed so that one gold medallion goes to a children’s audio title and another to a young adult production. HarperAudio has won both. Boogie Boogie, Y’all and When You Look like Us were both produced on behalf of HarperAudio by Almeda Beynon. This is her first Odyssey win.
Top 10 Biographies & Memoirs on Audio: 2022
FEATURE. First published June 1, 2022 (Booklist). What better way to get to know someone than listening to author-narrators and voice actors who tap into the truth of their subjects’ motivations and experiences? Original music—only available on the audiobooks—further enlivens the memoirs of musicians on this year’s list. All about Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business. By Mel Brooks. Read by the author. 2021. 15hr. Books on Tape (9780593290750).
Top 10 Historical Fiction on Audio for Youth
FEATURE. First published May 15, 2022 (Booklist). Notable on this year’s list are verse novels, new perspectives on classics, and the first appearance of a post-9/11–set title as historical fiction for young listeners. African Town. By Charles Waters and Irene Latham. Read by a full cast. 2022. 7hr. Listening Library, DD (9780593503188). Gr. 9–12.
Listen Up: Words of Encouragement and Good Health
FEATURE. First published April 15, 2022 (Booklist). Self-help is a hugely popular audio genre! Insightful narrations help listeners feel the inspiring, hopeful, health-focused messages through the “just press play” ease of audio. These recent titles will evoke a sense of power and confidence as listeners take steps toward self-acceptance and healthier futures. Already Enough: A Path to Self-Acceptance. By Lisa Olivera. Read by the author. 2022. 6.5hr. Simon & Schuster Audio (9781797133256).
Top 10 Women's Fiction on Audio: 2022
FEATURE. First published April 15, 2022 (Booklist). This year’s Top 10 Women’s Fiction titles on audio tap into the relationships women have with themselves, with each other, and with the larger world around them, all conveyed meaningfully through sensitive narrations. All titles were reviewed in Booklist from May 1, 2021 to April 15, 2022. 30 Things I Love about Myself. By Radhika Sanghani. Read by the author. 2022. 10.5hr. Books on Tape (9780593457627).
Listen Up: Long Summer Listens
FEATURE. First published April 1, 2022 (Booklist). Summer brings lazy days, travel, hours of puttering, and many relaxing moments that can all be enhanced with an audiobook in your ears. Why not take a long dive into an audio adventure sized to match our expansive plans for the summer season? These long-listens will let you soak up fantastic narration and a virtual vacation, even if you never leave your front porch. The Diviners (series)By Libba Bray. Read by January LaVoy. Listening Library. Gr. 9–12.
Teen Links: "But Are You a Parent?"
FEATURE. First published March 2022 (Book Links). There’s no right answer to this unwelcome question. I’ve written about my kids in previous columns, so you likely already know my answer to the above question, but the library patrons who asked it of me, nearly every time I dealt with a book challenge, didn’t.
Newsmaker: Ibram X. Kendi
3d Jared Newman writes: “Whenever someone sends me a question about how to fix their Wi-Fi, I wince. It’s not that I dislike helping people with their router problems. But it’s an art that’s hard to conjure without being physically present. Potential points of failure are everywhere. The best I can do is walk your through how I diagnose Wi-Fi problems myself.
Listen Up: Middle Grade Adventure on Audio
FEATURE. First published February 15, 2022 (Booklist). These exuberant and energetic adventures, set in both recognizable and fantasy worlds, are engaging for tweens and make for great family listening. Real World Audio Adventures The Boys in the Back Row. By Mike Jung. Read by Keong Sim. 2020. Dreamscape, DD (9781662039317). Gr. 4–7. Band geeks and comic fans Matt and Eric are about to have one last adventure before Eric moves.
Voice of Choice: JD Jackson
FEATURE. First published February 1, 2022 (Booklist). His roots as a high school actor and forensics state champion led JD Jackson to a BA in Drama and Speech Communications from Dillard University and an MFA from Temple University in Theater Performance before his acting career—and audiobook narration work—took off in New York City. Jackson, this year’s Voice of Choice narrator, is a listener favorite and has a keen ear for character nuance.
Top of the List Listen-Alikes: Firekeeper's Daughter
FEATURE. First published January 1, 2022 (Booklist). In this year’s Top of the List audio title for youth, Isabella Star LaBlanc is a master of tension: the tension the novel’s main character, Daunis, feels as she is pulled between cultures, the tension of an unfolding crime drama, the tension of strained relationships, and the tension between English and frequent Ojibwe words and phrases.
Top of the List Listen-Alikes: A Master of Djinn
FEATURE. First published January 1, 2022 (Booklist). A great joy in reading sf/f is diving into the rich and detailed setting an author creates. Top of the List winner P. Djèlí Clark’s series opener, A Master of Djinn, boasts such a setting, and narrator Suehyla El-Attar adds yet another layer to his alternate-history, steampunk Cairo that is full of mystery and magic. Her narrative pacing is, by turns, playful, foreboding, tense, and wistful.
Listen Up! Sci-Tech Titles for Youth on Audio
FEATURE. First published December 1, 2021 (Booklist). The wonder and possibility of science and technology are great draws for young readers. Many sci-tech books for youth are enhanced by the inclusion of photos, charts, and eye-catching layouts—none of which translates easily to audio. But even without images, these audiobooks for youth do what the best sci-tech books do in print: capture the attention and offer jumping-off places for learning more. Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry.
Top 10 First Novels on Audio: 2021
FEATURE. First published November 1, 2021 (Booklist). Genre fiction and some familiar names feature strongly in this year’s best debut novels on audio, from reviews published in Booklist from November 2020 to November 2021. Arsenic and Adobo. By Mia P. Manansala. Read by Danice Cabanela. 2021. 9.5hr. Books on Tape, DD, $66.50 (9780593347409). This restaurant-set whodunit and first in a series is elevated by debut narrator Cabanela’s expressive performance.
By Heather Booth.
FEATURE. First published November 1, 2021 (Booklist). This fall, audiobook listeners got quite a treat when Erik Larson’s first novel, No One Goes Alone—an eerie ghost story infused with the kind of historical detail that the nonfiction author’s many fans will love—was released exclusively on audio. HEATHER BOOTH: The characters in No One Goes Alone seek to communicate with the unknown. As an author, do you see yourself as communicating with “the beyond”?
Listen Up: As Seen on TV
FEATURE. First published October 15, 2021 (Booklist). Who hasn’t listened to an audiobook and wondered, “Where have I heard that voice before?” Many actors maintain a healthy balance of on- and off-screen work. Here are some standouts tagged for their television and film roles and role in a recommended audiobook. Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton) The Great Cake Mystery. By Alexander McCall Smith. 2012. 1hr. Listening Library, DD, $17.10 (9780449011430). Gr. 2–4.
Are You Looking for Jane?
Photo credit: Julian Leshay / Shutterstock.com _____ This week, when a Supreme Court majority permitted Texas to eviscerate Roe v. Wade and created a legal path for other states to end legal abortion after six weeks, I dashed off an email to feminist Heather Booth. A lifetime organizer against social injustice, Booth’s work began in the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s. In 1969, she was a founding member of the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union.
Top 10 Book-Group Audiobooks: 2020
FEATURE. First published July 2020 (Booklist). This selection provides book groups with a range of listening experiences to enhance print books or serve as alternatives to print. Believe Me. By JP Delaney. Read by a full cast. 2018. 9.5hr. Books on Tape, CD, $40 (9780525633143). A full cast voices the micro-plays that the main character imagines as scenes unfold around her. A compelling use of the audio format to augment the book’s subtexts. Daisy Jones & the Six. By Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Shelf Care Interview: Barry McGovern, Marcella Riordan, and Roger Marsh
Welcome to the Shelf Care Interview, an occasional conversation series where Booklist talks with book people. This Shelf Care Interview is sponsored by Naxos Audiobooks. In this episode, audio editor Heather Booth talks with the team behind Finnegans Wake: narrators Barry McGovern and Marcella Riordan and composer Roger Marsh. Barry McGovern is a Dubliner. He was born in Eccles Street, graduated with a BA from the University College, Dublin, and lives in Chapelizod.
Shelf Care Interview: Olivia Matthews and Janina Edwards
Welcome to the Shelf Care Interview, an occasional conversation series where Booklist talks to book people. This Shelf Care Interview is sponsored by Dreamscape Audio. In this episode of the Shelf Care Interview, Heather Booth talks to author Olivia Matthews and narrator Janina Edwards, the team behind Murder By Page One. Olivia Matthews is the cozy mystery pseudonym of award-winning author Patricia Sargent.
Top 10 Historical Fiction on Audio: 2021
FEATURE. First published May 15, 2021 (Booklist). In this year’s list—from Booklist starred reviews published between March, 2019 and April, 2021—new and seasoned narrators, a full cast, and an author evoke the interesting lives of their historical subjects. The Age of Light. By Whitney Scharer. Read by Thérèse Plummer. 2019. 12hr. Hachette, CD, $35 (9781549173424).
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