Host Jo Reed talks with contributor Leslie Fine about three audiobooks that range from memoir to thriller to literary biography. They begin with Unread: A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) To Read on TikTok by Oliver James, where narrator James Shippy brings warmth and enthusiasm to the author’s account of achieving literacy as an adult and discovering the enduring pleasures of books. Then, they turn to Tiffany Crum’s This Story Might Save Your Life. Driven by the energetic, emotionally layered narration of Julia Whelan and Sean Patrick Hopkins, its use of podcast clips, voicemail messages, and layered audio production heightens a suspenseful missing-person mystery. And they end with Judy Blume: A Life by Mark Oppenheimer; Molly Ringwald’s warm, quietly authoritative narration guides listeners through the career of an author whose books have shaped generations of readers. Together, these audiobooks prove that the right narrator can turn a good story into an irresistible listen.

Audiobooks Discussed:

Unread: A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) To Read on TikTok by Oliver James, read by James Shippy (Hachette Audio)

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum, read by Julia Whelan and Sean Patrick Hopkins (Macmillan Audio)

Judy Blume: A Life by Mark Oppenheimer, read by Molly Ringwald and Mark Oppenheimer (Penguin Random House Audio)

Support for Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Savannah Guthrie, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and more.

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