← Book Talk, etc.
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- [00:00]
Tina
This is the most disgusting cover I've ever seen. Have you seen this?
- [00:04]
Hannah
Yeah. I don't like that. I don't like that.
- [00:08]
Tina
I showed it to Lily. We were both like, gagging. I'm like, this is absolutely horrifying.
- [00:13]
Hannah
I don't like that at all.
- [00:14]
Tina
I know. Sorry about that.
- [00:15]
Hannah
That's okay. I've seen that cover before. Like, the eyeballs that, like. I see why. It's scary, but it's not for me. Like, it's not triggering at all.
- [00:23]
Tina
But the worms. Mine is wings. I don't like wings.
- [00:29]
Hannah
I deserved that because I showed you that swarm cover.
- [00:32]
Tina
Yeah.
- [00:32]
Hannah
Your worst nightmare.
- [00:33]
Tina
You did. And now I've. That one's disgusting, though. I don't know why. Anyway, welcome to Book Talk Etc. A podcast bound to grow your tbr. Hi, I'm Tina from TBR Etc.
- [00:57]
Hannah
And I'm Hannah from Hand Picked Books.
- [00:59]
Tina
This is a conversational podcast about books and more from two Midwest Mood readers who are easily distracted by new releases. And today we're talking about our favorite audiobook narrators.
- [01:10]
Hannah
If you enjoy listening, we'd love for you to follow us on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. And if you have a quick minute, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on social media. It truly helps us connect with other book lovers.
- [01:22]
Tina
Hey everyone. It's the start of a new month so we wanted to take the time to invite you to join us on Patreon. Patreon's an online membership platform that gives you a way to financially support our podcast for $5 a month and for your membership you get access to all of our bonus content, anything we put out now, and all of our backlist bonus content. You also get an invite to our Patreon community, which is our favorite favorite thing. And if you've ever wanted your reading to be more of a social experience, this is a great way to find that connection. For $5 a month you get access to two bonus episodes in one recorded event and invites to our Book Talk Etc Discord server and Facebook group. We also host a monthly community read on our Discord, which is a text based book club that feels like a big group chat without the pressure of being on camera. For February we are going back to some Book Talk etc classics. We are doing our what's in the Mailbag where Hannah and I will share a collection of books that have recently made their way into our homes. We're also doing a niche novels episode and Mood reader happy hour. Our community read is good dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson, and we'll discuss that at the end of the month. So if this sounds like something you are interested in, we'd love to have you join us. Head to patreon.com booktalk etc or look for the link in our show notes. Thank you so much for your support. Hey, Hannah.
- [02:48]
Hannah
Hey, Tina. Happy Friday.
- [02:50]
Tina
Happy Friday to you. And happy February in the future. You know.
- [02:55]
Hannah
I know. Tomorrow as we're recording.
- [02:57]
Tina
Yes, finally, I was.
- [02:59]
Hannah
January's finally over.
- [03:00]
Tina
January's finally over. But boy, oh, boy, did I take advantage of the 600 days because I read. I think I'm gonna finish one more tonight, which I'll probably count for February, But I finished 16 books. I, like, lost my mind.
- [03:13]
Hannah
Good. That's a good way to lose your mind.
- [03:15]
Tina
It is. It's. Yes, it's productive.
- [03:18]
Hannah
Anyway, I started off really strong, and now I kind of need to crank up the speed a little bit. But that typically happens with me, where I'll read, like, four or five books in one week, and then the next week I'll read one.
- [03:28]
Tina
Right. And you're like, well, it was fun while it lasted.
- [03:31]
Hannah
It was.
- [03:32]
Tina
Now, are you somebody who at the end of the month has to finish all those books that you were reading in that month, or are you OK with bringing one into the next month?
- [03:40]
Hannah
I have to be okay with it because I can't.
- [03:44]
Tina
You're like, honestly, I'm not. But, like, I also have to let that one go. Yeah, I feel you.
- [03:49]
Hannah
Yeah. I would love to be that way. And, like, ideally, that would greatly please me. I mean, I. I love the idea of, like, a fresh start. I love starting from a clean slate, especially if the first of the month is on a Monday. That is chef's kiss.
- [04:04]
Tina
I know.
- [04:05]
Hannah
But I really have a hard time, like, pushing through. Like, if I have, you know, 50 pages left of a book on the last of the month and I just have to read it at night. First of all, I feel like my, like, non. Like the non compliance in me can kind of take over sometimes. And also, I just get very sleepy if I have at night to read.
- [04:25]
Tina
Yeah.
- [04:25]
Hannah
It's like, if I can get it, if I can make it happen during the day, I can usually make it happen. But if my time is at night, I'm just falling asleep.
- [04:32]
Tina
Right. It's hit or miss. You never miss. I like to base the number if I have a choice. Sometimes you don't. But I do a collage each month on Instagram, and this month, 15 is really easy. To do for my book. Collage 16, not so much. So we are calling it anyway.
- [04:49]
Hannah
There you go.
- [04:50]
Tina
I don't know. I know it's a thing that people, you know, have very strong opinions about. But I will kick off our episode as we always do with our loving lately. Now, I told you, I'm on a low buy, so I'm still not buying anything under these certain categories. But this was something that Jonathan purchased at the end of last year and we desperately needed new kitchen knives, but we didn't want to spend the many hundreds that it could get. If you're buying like a new knife set, I trust him implicitly. He's great at doing research and he came up with these knives called Kiwi knives. Kiwi is the brand and the specific one we got is the kiwi knife Cook, utility cutlery, steak, wood hand. Listen, they're throwing all these little words in here, but basically it came in a set of two. And they're steak knives. Knives essentially, but like big ones. Right. So he got that and he got another one. And we'll link to both of them in the notes. In case you're curious, the reason why I'm bringing these versus any other sort of knife set, like, right, there's millions of knives out there. These ones are very inexpensive. The price points were really good for two. It was like under $20. And what I love is that they're extremely thin, very thin blade, very sharp blade. And they're also very lightweight. So I don't feel like I'm like, oh, you know, my wrist is going to give out if I'm like cutting a bunch of things. I eat a lot of cherry tomatoes. It's like one of my favorite foods. John jokes. I could literally eat tomatoes and cheese and bread and like be good forever.
- [06:17]
Hannah
Pretty healthy.
- [06:17]
Tina
And it's true, you know, not too bad. But cherry tomatoes, if you got a bad knife, you're squirting all over the place. These are perfect for that. So they're really thin, like I said, really thin. They cut through produce really well. Now, I can't speak for anything tougher, like actual steak. I'm sure they would cut it just fine. But like for everyday, you know, general cooking, celery cuts apples really well, you know, that sort of stuff. These are a plus. Also. You cannot beat the price point. So I'm really happy about these. I'm glad he grabbed them. So my loving lately has been our new kitchen knives by Kiwi.
- [06:54]
Hannah
Nice. I feel like too, if you have little kids, you're Constantly cutting apples, celery, tomatoes, like blueberries.
- [07:00]
Tina
Cut little bloobs in here, the grapes. Exactly. And these are really, really good for that specific thing. Even though I'm sure people that are trained in knife skills are like, that's not how you cut that. But like, for, I don't know, many.
- [07:13]
Hannah
People trained in knife skills.
- [07:15]
Tina
Well, we have a culinary school at the university I work at. So I think about that. Cause I'm like, wow, I'm probably doing this all wrong and I know there's a right way to do it, but like this gets the, gets the job done.
- [07:25]
Hannah
Hey, your house is supposed to be functional for you, so these knives work for you. That's great.
- [07:30]
Tina
Sure do.
- [07:31]
Hannah
Perfect. So my loving lately is a toy, a kid's toy. And these are great. They're called the Blockaroo Magnetic Foam Builders. And we have been using this in our family for a while. Since my now 7 year old has been a toddler. And now I have a three year old, three and a half year old. My seven year old and my three and a year olds still play with these. Not in the same way that they used to, but why I like these so much is that they're magnetic. Right. So when your child is like first learning how to build things or like wants to build something really creative, they can actually stick together and build. They come in all different shapes. There's like triangles, squares, circles, little knobs. They even come with like some dangly pieces. So if your kiddo wants to make like a crane or something like that, that's an option too. I also love that they're made of foam, but the foam is like really tough and thick. So again, if you have a toddler that's like constantly gnawing on the toys or something like that, they're not going to go anywhere again. We've had these for a long time. A couple of them have some teeth marks in them, but they're really, really durable. And they're educational, they're fun, they're easy. They can also be used as a bath toy because there's nothing like mechanical about them that doesn't work for the bath. And the kind of foam that they're made out of, like the water, it's water resistant. The water will just kind of like float off of them. And I actually, I didn't think about them being perfect for the bath until I was like putting together notes for our show. And I was looking at them and looking at the listing and I saw that they were available as bath Toys. And I was like, that is a great idea. We're gonna play with these in the bath. And it was great because my kids are so bored of their bath toys, so. So this was perfect. But anyway, this has been a staple in our house. We actually recently got a second set because they play with them so much that we were like, let's get more so they can build bigger things. But anyway, that is the blockaroo magnetic foam locks.
- [09:41]
Tina
This is a great recommendation and I've added it to our baby wish list for Lily's birthday or whenever. And I'm sure they were so delighted that you were like, yeah, we can put these in the bath. They were probably like, what? Cause they're like, usually not bath toys.
- [09:55]
Hannah
So anything that you can put in the bath that's unexpected is a game changer for kids. You want some kitchen utensils in the bath this time? They're like, what?
- [10:04]
Tina
Seriously?
- [10:05]
Hannah
I know.
- [10:06]
Tina
That's a good one. Okay, well, it's time for latest read and we have the same one today because it is our community read for January that we are discussing. We read Home Seeking by Carissa Chen, and boy am I glad that we chose this.
- [10:20]
Hannah
Me too.
- [10:21]
Tina
I have to say we did a good job with this pick because it was also picked up as a GMA book club pick and I loved it. I'm pretty sure every patron that came to the chat last night loved it. Like, I think people across the board thought that this one was a winner. And it's always so enriching to discuss with our patrons no matter what, even if it's not one that everybody loved. Like, they're just so thoughtful and it's just a fun time. Anyway.
- [10:47]
Hannah
Agreed.
- [10:48]
Tina
This is the thing we're talking about when we say community read on Discord. If you want to chat with us. $5 a month. That's what we're talking about. But the book is about Hywin and Suchi and I love how they set this up. It just says Hywin is buying bananas at a 99 Ranch Market in LA when he looks up and sees sushi. His sushi, for the first time in 60 years. Hyewin is recently widowed and it feels like a second chance. But SUU Kyi has only survived by refusing to look back. And then it talks about how they met, because they first met when they were seven back in Shanghai and he was a violinist. And that's how they sort of came to know each other. And their childhood friendship blossomed into a soul deep love. But Hyewin then enlists in the army, and it sort of goes from there. So this book is basically about these two lovers that get separated for six decades throughout tumultuous Chinese history, as war, famine, and opportunity take them separately to the song halls of Hong Kong, the military encampments of Taiwan, to New York to California, and it tells their story. I'm going to shut up and let Hannah talk in a minute. But what I thought was so smart with this was the storytelling. How we get to see Suchi's point of view from the past through now and Hyewin's point of view from now. It kind of works backward to the past. You get these really interconnected points of view. And she did such a good job with this. What did you think about it?
- [12:17]
Hannah
I completely agree. And again, echoing what Tina said in our discussion, I don't think anyone rated it less than, like, four, 4.5 stars. And I definitely think that this is a very universal. Like, it's the kind of book that I feel like I could really universally recommend to a lot of people, whether they, like, love stories, historical fiction, stories with war, you know, stories with a lot of, like, emotional depth and character depth, but also a lot of plot. And so I feel like this is just one of those books that would be great for book club because there's a lot to discuss. I just thought that it did a really great job. And it did some unique things, too, with the way it played with multiple pov. I feel like a lot of books, especially in historical fiction, do that, dual timeline and dual point of view. But this one found a unique way to do it that I felt like worked really, really well for the story. And I thought that that was, I don't know, a way for it to add some originality to something that we do see in literature a lot that I like. I don't think it's overused, but I do like that she kind of was brave and played with that a little bit.
- [13:28]
Tina
I agree. And what I love is that we get so much time with them together. Because a lot of times you're reading these love stories or these stories in general that have characters that are going to reunite eventually, but you to get through 200, 300 pages of them separate before you get to see them. But because she told the story in this way, they're together in the past, they're together in the present. You really got to see them on both sides. I primarily did the audio. I cannot recommend the audio enough. It's perfect for our audiobook episode because she uses a lot of language. Chinese, she uses. You know, she kind of switches dialect and uses different languages. And the narration was just fantastic because I was like, I feel so enriched being able to hear these words, how they're meant to be spoken. I love what the author says about language and how she basically invites readers at the very beginning of the book to, you know, think about. If you're feeling for a moment that you're confused by language, you know, think about what it would feel like to be somebody who has to deal with that every day, who's learning second, third languages and what that feels like. I just thought she did such a good job. It was sweet, but sad, but not saccharine at all. Also not gratuitous. It didn't feel like she used the war. And somebody in the discord said this. It did not feel like trauma porn. And I agree. I. I think you could have easily gone that way because of all that happened throughout these several decades, but she just did it in a way where you got just enough. I am somebody who can get confused, especially if I'm primarily doing audio. I'm like, who's this? What point of view are we in? I was never lost. Which is such a testament to how well she was telling this story. I was invested on each and every sort of turn and new thing that the two had to navigate. I also feel like I learned a fair amount. I have to admit. I did not know much about Japan's occupation of Shanghai and the civil war in China and the complicated histories between Hong Kong and Taiwan. I didn't know a ton about that specific part of history. And I love books that give you just enough via these characters. And so it made me want to learn more and kind of okay. Even at the end of the chat, we were like, what other books can we recommend that have, you know, similar themes and where we can immerse ourselves more? I loved it. This is a debut. It did not read like a debut. I think it's so well done. And I'm mad because only 2,700 people have put this on their Goodreads. And I'm going to need more people to read this because it's excellent.
- [15:58]
Hannah
I agree. It was excellent. I completely loved it as well. And I will speak to the other side of what you said in that I was feeling a little lost in the beginning. But I do think that it's one of those books where if you are someone who does struggle with starting a book, especially if there are a lot of names a Lot of places and a lot of pieces to kind of keep track of in terms of time and place. Just keep listening or reading. And it does come together. And eventually I was like, I don't know why I was ever confused. I know exactly who these characters are. I know exactly where we are. She provides a ton of context and yeah, you definitely get there. So if you're someone like me who struggles to start with books, especially if there are a lot of moving parts, hang in there because it does all come together really beautifully.
- [16:47]
Tina
Yeah, it's a, it's a really sharp novel. There are characters that I'm going to remember. I also love that we get characters that are later in life and, you know, grappling with what might have been and you know, can you look back what all those things? Right. Such a good story and highly recommend from me.
- [17:05]
Hannah
Agreed. Highly recommend from both of us. A cosign.
- [17:08]
Tina
A cosign. That one is Home Seeking by Carissa Chen. I love when it works out like that, you know, Me too.
- [17:14]
Hannah
Yeah, I love when it works out. And I feel like we really needed a win. We had, yeah, we, we definitely had. And this happens with a lot of the book clubs that I follow where they're like, wow, I can't pick a book that I actually like for my book club.
- [17:27]
Tina
Yes.
- [17:27]
Hannah
And I feel like we were kind of dealing with that a little bit with some of our picks last year, which no fault to either of us. Sometimes they're winners and sometimes they aren't, but. And that happens too when we haven't read the books. You know, for a lot of book clubs, the hosts have read them before and so it's a little bit easier that way. I think it is important to both of us to have that experience of reading alongside our patrons and I love doing that. And it's always such a bonus when we also get to love the book that we're reading together.
- [17:56]
Tina
Exactly. And this year we did it a little differently. We picked the first six months books ahead of time before we would announce it, like the kind of two or three at a time. But now we've got a full six month lineup. We're already looking at the second half of the year and I think we're picking books that we're both just genuinely like. I don't care how popular this is. These are ones I want to read with our patrons.
- [18:16]
Hannah
So anyway, that Tina and I both want to read because we don't always, you know, sometimes it's like, I'll let you have that one you'll let me have this one. Because we alternate, we get some overlap. So it's nice for those books where it's like, no, both of us will be reading this this year. Let's. Maybe we'll pick it for a community read. Why not?
- [18:34]
Tina
Exactly. I know. And then we don't feel bad, like, oh, I'm gonna bring it. You're gonna bring it to the show. We're not fighting. You know what I mean? Fist fighting. Behind the scenes.
- [18:41]
Hannah
We fight a lot.
- [18:42]
Tina
Oh, tons. Because you can tell we're both very type 8. No, we're quite laid back.
- [18:49]
Hannah
But yeah.
- [18:50]
Tina
At any rate. So what we're talking about today is one of my favorite topics. I truly could write a full dissertation on audiobook narration. Not that I know what I'm talking about, but I know what I like when I hear it. And we thought it would be fun to talk about what makes a good narrator, share a couple of our favorite narrators, maybe some, I don't know, fussier opinions that we have about audiobook narrators, platforms, and just things that we love about audiobooks. Now, please stay with us. Even if you're not somebody that listens to audiobooks. Maybe one, this could be an entry point. But two, the books are still, if we like them, good for me. I loved one, and I don't know if I want to say hated, but really disliked another one. So that'll be fun to unpack of.
- [19:33]
Hannah
The books that you're bringing today.
- [19:34]
Tina
Yes, yes.
- [19:35]
Hannah
Ooh, fun. No, I love that because I feel like it adds more to the conversation.
- [19:39]
Tina
Yeah. I think whether or not you love audiobooks or maybe you're new to them, I think we can agree that a good narrator can really make or break a reading experience. You've got single narrators, you've got books that are dual narrators. You have books that are full cast narration. And actually, Renee and I made an audiobook narrator guide a couple years ago at this point that patrons still can access with a couple of our favorite audiobook narrators and some recommendations. I don't know. I'm curious to know how you chose your books for me. I just thought, okay, top of my head, who are my favorite narrators? And then I went in and sort of played around with their catalog on Libro FM to see which books that they had narrated. And then I gave myself a couple of options. Maybe not the best way to do it, but I did come up with some.
- [20:24]
Hannah
Yeah, no. And I feel like if you listen to a lot of audiobooks, which I know you and I both do. I mean, I have not like, an extensive list of narrators that I love and trust, but I have a pretty decent list of ones that I do and don't like. So I did pretty much the same thing where I. I have a Google sheet with my, you know, favorite narrators and how they've kind of ranked over time. Because some narrators that I used to love when I was first listening to audiobooks, I actually don't prefer any, but there are some that have ended up really solid over time. I'm bringing one of those today for one of my picks who is like my top narrator. But, yeah, a good audiobook and a narrator that you really like and connect with, kind of their storytelling style can really make or break an audiobook reading experience. And as someone who almost exclusively listens to audiobooks right now, I would say in the past it was like 50, 50. And then last year, it was like almost 80% of my reading was audiobooks. And so I really need to really like my narrator because otherwise, I mean, I have had books that I think I would have really liked, but the narrator.
- [21:37]
Tina
No good.
- [21:38]
Hannah
Was no good. Well, and. Or I didn't like them. Right. Like, I didn't like their storytelling style. So. Yeah.
- [21:43]
Tina
Cause it's art. It's not. Just like anybody can, you know, narrate an audiobook. I know I couldn't because of the Chicago accent. Nobody wants to hear this. Maybe they do. Maybe a very specific group of people wouldn't mind a small, real heavy Chicago accent. But by and large, right. I'm not an actress. Oftentimes the narrators are actors, and they are able to give that vocal production. I don't like when authors read their own books. Usually on occasion, I can get down with it. Especially fiction. Fiction, it's a very specific narrator that can pull it off or author that can pull it off. Nonfiction, I can be a little more loose with. Some have been great. Especially, like, I'm thinking Viola Davis, Find me. Obviously, it was fantastic.
- [22:28]
Hannah
She's an actor.
- [22:28]
Tina
Cause she's an actor. Exactly. But, yeah. Others, I'm like, oh, you should probably hired somebody for this. I didn't need to hear that from you.
- [22:36]
Hannah
Well, and some. Now this isn't an actor. But like Britney Spears with her memoir, she didn't narrate it, A, because it was. She mentioned this is gonna be too traumatic for me to read. And B, like, she's a singer. She's not a narrator. She's not a voice actor. And so she was like, I don't have the voice for that. So someone else is going to narrate my memoir. A. Because I just don't have, like, that specific talent or expertise. And also, it's a traumatic story, and I don't want to relive it through reading it. I already wrote the thing, so we can call it good there. But yeah, there have been specifically, you know, to your point, of authors of fiction who have narrated their own books. I listened to the sentence by Louise Erdrich, and this is partially what had me thinking about, like, oh, the narrator is really important. Because I have since read and even listened to other Louise Erdrich books who have been narrated by my favorite narrators. Like the Mighty Red, one of my favorite narrators narrates that book. I want to say it's Marin, Ireland. And, yeah, so good. And I loved it. And then the Roundhouse, I read that. I loved it. The sentence has been the only one I haven't enjoyed by her. She narrates it and I listened to it. And now I'm like, well, I know that I love this author. So if I were to go back and read it in print, would I really like that book? Because it kind of ticks all my reader boxes. So why didn't I like it? Well, I didn't like the narrator.
- [24:03]
Tina
It could be. Yeah, I knew exactly what you were talking about, too, because I listened to it as well, and I can still hear it. Like, I knew I had that same sort of reaction.
- [24:11]
Hannah
It wasn't ideal.
- [24:12]
Tina
I love, though, when a narrator has a very unique voice that fits the story. I'm thinking of Moon of the Crusted Snow by Wabashik Rice, which is narrated by Billy Morasty, and he has this very unique voice that. So it's an own voices book and an own voices audiobook narrator. And it fits so incredibly and. But I don't know that I would have, like, it's not the voice itself. It just fits the characters. It fits like, kind of the accent and everything I think that the author was going for, but I don't know what other. I don't think he does any other books, actually.
- [24:47]
Hannah
It almost adds to the distinctness of the book, makes you remember it more because it's not a voice that you hear all the time, and so it stands out in your memory. I have a couple like that, too. The narrator for Carly Fortune's books, A.J. bedell or A.J. briddell is her name. She doesn't narrate, like, basically anything else. Yeah, I love the narration of those books. And I've been like. I'm like, okay, when is she gonna come out with another narration? Because I feel like narrating romance specifically is really hard. I don't love listening to romance, partially because I feel like unless the narrator is really good, it adds to the cringiness of the saccharine parts for me. So I was like, why can't she just narrate more romance? She only does Carly Fortune's books. I don't know why.
- [25:35]
Tina
Interesting. I know that's funny, but I know there are a lot of narrators that sort of do that. So we're talking about good narrators, and it's so subjective. I feel like there are some that are widely loved right where the public by and large agrees. For me, though, honestly, if I don't notice the audiobook narrator, that's a good thing most of the time. Because if I don't notice it in one way or another, if it doesn't stick out in a bad way, if it's just kind of generally neutral, I'm like, great. This is fine. Like one of the books I listened to this week, I'm like, oh, I couldn't tell you anything about the narration, but that's good, because when I can tell you, unless it's by and large awesome, this one has male characters and female characters, and there's only one narrator. But that's good. That means whoever's doing it's doing both male and female voices in a way that's not off putting. That's really important to me. There's also, of course, the production itself. Like I was saying, I've said this last, you know, in a previous episode, but Horror Story by Paul Tremblay was such a good production. You hear the pages turning, you hear all of this, that it, like, elevated the reading experience. I love multimedia in audiobooks. I'm thinking the Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson. That one has podcast elements. And just. It's just so. It brought it alive. Like, I can't imagine. More recently, the favorites by Lane Fargo, like, those are the types of books where I'm like, don't read it. Don't read it in print. Do the audio if you can, because it just brought everything alive. It brought the reading experience. It kind of elevated it.
- [27:03]
Hannah
Yeah, I think for me, what makes a really good narrator, it's hard for me because there are things I feel like specifically I don't like more than I do. And I think that kind of speaks to your point of if I don't notice it. That is probably a good thing for me. I feel like in general, I have a really hard time with nasally voices. Like, Cassandra Campbell is a really popular audiobook narrator. I really struggle with her voice because it's kind of flat and nasally, in my opinion. She's a really popular audiobook narrator though, and she's narrated a ton of books. And Cindy K. Is a little bit the same way. Again, really popular narrator narrates a ton of books and it's very well liked and does a good job. But I have a hard time with kind of the more like monotonous cadence and nasally tone. I also really have a hard time when female narrators go too deep with male voices. If they do that. It's kind of an immediate, like, I can't think about anything else. I can't think about anything else in terms of like a really good audio performance. I really love it when one narrator can do a multimedia or multiple POV and have it, like sound like a full cast. One that I'm thinking of in particular is Fantastic Land by Mike Bakavin. One narrator literally sounded like basically a full cast. They did such a good job making each narration unique. I really like that. And yeah, I love multimedia too. I think it's really great when there can be extra production things that are added to it, like pages turning, etc. I don't like a ton of that. I feel like it's fun sparingly. Sparingly makes it a really nice production.
- [28:44]
Tina
Yes. It's funny you mentioned narration for romance. I was trying to think. I don't really have a ton of audiobook narrators that are hard. No, that come to mind. Except for this one. Her name is Erin Mallon and her thing is that she really bites off the end of her words. Like, it's just so stark. Like everything is so over enunciated. It makes me batty. Like I couldn't. I couldn't listen to it. In fact, I remember I picked up a second book that she had narrated and I was like, is this the same author or that same narrator? And I like, went back and I confirmed. I'm like, oh, got it. So this is just not for me. Again, a lot of people, she's very popular, so I'm sure a lot of people really enjoy it. But I was like, something about it, just not for me.
- [29:32]
Hannah
Yeah, well, it's interesting too, because as individuals, we're going to pick up on different things sensory wise or just observance wise, et cetera. So that's interesting. I don't think that I like. I can't think of any books that I've listened to by that narrator. I've heard that name, but she's not one that stood out to me. So, again, speaking to what bothers certain readers and what won't bother other readers.
- [29:58]
Tina
But no, I don't know what it is. It just. Anyway, and I re. Listened to a little bit of a book earlier just as I was prepping for this, because I was like, did you really dislike this? I was like, oh, no, I did. Yes, indeed. The ones. There's so many that I love. If you've listened to this show for any amount of time, you already know. In fact, I was telling Jonathan what we're talking about, and I was like, oh, it's our favorite narrators. He goes, oh, Ari Falacos. It's like, yep, yep. So he is one. He narrated a book that I'm bringing today. And the other one I'm bringing today is January Lavoy, who I. The first one I picked for this episode was actually Saskia Marleveld, who I love. She does a lot of Kate Quinn's books, but I wasn't feeling historical fiction, and then I thought, oh, my gosh, January Lavoy, she. Anyway, so she narrates my second book. Other favorites are JD Jackson slash Jacoby dm who are one and the same. He narrates the romance books under a kind of an alias. I love Dionne Graham and I love Bonnie Turpin. Those are my favorite. You also mentioned Marin Ireland, which I would add.
- [31:00]
Hannah
Yeah, I also love January Lavoy. I have yet to listen to a book by her that I have had any negative feelings about. I just. I think, A, she narrates books that kind of fit into my wheelhouse, and B, she has a really lovely, deep, smooth, buttery voice.
- [31:17]
Tina
So good, which I love.
- [31:19]
Hannah
I agree. Bonnie is great.
- [31:21]
Tina
She does good dirt, by the way, so.
- [31:23]
Hannah
Oh, well, I'll be listening to it.
- [31:24]
Tina
If you want to listen to it this month. She does good dirt.
- [31:27]
Hannah
Another one that I really love that I don't hear a ton of people talking about is Joniece Abbott Pratt. I think she does a really excellent job. Jennifer Pickens is another one that just has that really smooth, buttery voice. I really enjoy her cadence and just her storytelling style. And then some others that work really well for me are one that I'm bringing today. So I don't always love male narrators. I don't not, you know, anything to Do I just. I don't always prefer their voices. Richard Armitage.
- [32:02]
Tina
Yes.
- [32:02]
Hannah
Is one that I love. I love him. I think he does a really good job. And yeah. Merrin Ireland, which I've always said Mare in Ireland. And I feel like, I swear in other books that I've listened to, I've heard, like, when it introduces the narrator, they're like, narrated by Marin Ireland. But then recently in one of the books I'm bringing today, when it introduced her, they said, oh, how do they pronounce her first name?
- [32:25]
Tina
Marin.
- [32:26]
Hannah
Marin. They said Marin Ireland. So I don't know, maybe I need to go back and make sure I'm pronouncing that right. But it might be Marin Ireland.
- [32:35]
Tina
Either way, she's great.
- [32:37]
Hannah
She's great. Love it. Love her. Does a great job. But yeah, those are, like, when I think of, off the top of my head, narrators that I absolutely love, those come to mind.
- [32:47]
Tina
Yeah. And it's very easy, too. Your favorite audiobook listening platform. It could be either be. It could be Libby, I think does it. I know Libro FM does it. That's where I go. You can just type in the narrator's name and then it pops out. With all of the books that they've narrated, I've literally picked up books that Ari Falacos has narrated just because he read them. But my favorite for him, he does the Knicks and he does all of Nathan Hill's audiobooks. He did the Knicks and then the more recent one by Nathan Hill. And he's just so, so good. And I swear, listening to the Knicks. It came out in 2016. That's. I remember where I was, I was driving on a long road trip and there's this one scene with a professor talking to one of his students. And the female student's just losing her mind, but, like, obviously, like manipulating the professor. And it's just such a frame, funny, insane scene. And I'm like, who's reading this? Who is this person? Because this is the funniest thing I've ever heard. And that's when I sort of hit me that people can really like. You can read a book based on who's reading it. Like, that's like a 500 plus page novel. I didn't feel it because I was like, he's the best and I love listening to his voice. Exactly.
- [33:57]
Hannah
Yeah. And then I'll add that my one kind of fussier opinion where it's like, I like her sometimes and I don't like her other times is Julia Whelan. Which, if you're an audiobook listener, you've heard of Julia Whelan. And she is so beloved. And I can listen to her do anything but romance. If it is romance, I can't do it. I mean, like, I really don't like it. Like, I, I will not. Like, I won't.
- [34:26]
Tina
She's so mad.
- [34:27]
Hannah
Yeah. Like, I, so. But I do like her. Okay. For, like, historical fiction. She narrated the Women, which I listened to last year, and I enjoyed that narration. But yeah, I've also listened to her do romance, and I can't do it. I will never do it again.
- [34:42]
Tina
Never again. Okay. Yeah. I don't have an opinion on that. She's okay. She's good. I know people love her. She's not one that I like, seek out. But when I see that she's narrating and this may be. It's not meant to be an insult. When I see she's narrating, I'm like, okay, so I know it's not gonna be offensive. I know it's gonna be by decent.
- [35:00]
Hannah
So, yes, true. Or like a really buzzy pick. What do you mean, like a really buzz? Like, I feel like she narrates a lot of the really popular.
- [35:07]
Tina
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [35:08]
Hannah
Emily Henry. That's why I won't ever listen. Like, I, I, I typically read the Emily Henry books that come out every year. I will not listen to them. I'll read them on my kindle, usually on NetGalley, or I'll read them when it comes out because I will not listen to them.
- [35:24]
Tina
Oh, my God, that's funny. All right, well, well, let's get into the books we did read for today. Like we said, we picked the narrators and we then picked the books. My first is the one that I had a real problem with. It is I'm starting to worry about this Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargan. And this one is narrated by Ari Falakos. It is said to be a standalone, darkly humorous thriller set in modern America's age of anxiety. It's not a thriller. I don't know why you said that. New York Times. It's definitely not. I thought it was more science fiction than anything else, and I picked it up because one, I really liked the COVID It was eye catching and different. Two, I knew it had been nominated by Goodreads for one of the best science fiction novels. And three, I like the premise. So it says, outside of la, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country to Washington, D.C. of course, there's rules. He can't look inside the box. He can't ask questions. He can't tell anyone. He must leave all his devices behind. As these eccentric misfits hit the road, rumors spread on social media that the box is part of a carefully orchestrated terror attack intended to plunge the USA into civil war. The truth promises to be even stranger and may change how you see the world. I was in it. I was like, this is great. It kind of jumps right into the action. And it was funny in the beginning. I liked it in the beginning. And I was curious. What carried me through this novel was to find out, if we do ever find out what's in this box, if it was going to be nothing but, like, hope or something, I was going to be really upset. There was actually something in the box, and I want to make that clear. Where it lost me is the characters. You find out specifically the main character, Abbott is his name, and he's kind of this guy who still lives at home. He does mukbangs on Twitch and he's a streamer and, you know, whatever. He's got this dad that sort of doesn't understand his son and is verbally abusive. I was like, heck, yeah. All right. This is a hero's story. And there's some charming moments with him. You find out, you know, what things he went through in his life, and then it comes to about 50% of the novel, and you find out he is what's called an incel. And he has some very interesting opinions on women, and he made a lot of false equivalencies. That really pissed me off, if I'm being honest. I was like, damn it, why did you do that? Why did you have to lean so far into it? Because it starts off entertaining enough, right? They're on a road trip. I personally love a road trip novel. I was like, how are they going to pull this off? It was so funny because they don't have their devices. They don't realize that they are now Internet famous. They just think like, oh, they're taking my picture because she recognizes me from Twitch. No, it's because you're on cnn and that was funny to me. This is very political. So, you know, if you don't like politics in your books, don't read this because it's very political. And, Hannah, you would have died because there was so much dialogue. I'm talking pages and pages and pages. However, that's where Filaco's shines. The narration is 10 out of 10. He's so good at it. He really brings their conversations to life. I just didn't like the content. I did not like what they were saying, and I feel like the author wanted to make me mad. And I felt like it was almost purposefully pushing the envelope and throwing it in the face of women. The other character is a. So it's a male and a female. Right. The Lyft driver's a man, and then he picks up a woman, and even she was not like. I'm like, okay, it just wasn't great. Right? You find out what's in the box. I was amused. There's some elements to this that are amusing. There's way too many characters. It's way too long. Overall, I am not the target audience for this, personally. Not for me. Maybe dudes might like this. I don't know. But personally, I don't recommend it. But I'm here to say I read it. That's. I'm starting to worry about this. Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargan now.
- [39:28]
Hannah
Would you say that you enjoyed the audio?
- [39:30]
Tina
Love the audio. Audio's 10 out of 10, but audio's fabulous.
- [39:34]
Hannah
Well, good.
- [39:35]
Tina
So I. And that's the only reason why it kept me through one, because I didn't start to hate it until halfway through, and then it honestly came back up, but I still was hoping. I'm like, okay, we're gonna get a redeeming arc. Obviously, we have to. And we never did. So, yes, the narration, I guess, is like, the downside of a really solid narrator. Right. Is like, he.
- [39:52]
Hannah
You're not gonna DNF it.
- [39:54]
Tina
Not gonna DNF it. Cause I love this narrator. He also doesn't do a ton of books, so I'm like, hey, I've got one in my hand. Let's keep it moving.
- [40:00]
Hannah
Well, I'm glad that you brought it, because it is fun to hear a variety of opinions on books.
- [40:05]
Tina
Hopefully I wasn't too harsh, but I feel strongly about that.
- [40:08]
Hannah
No, I really enjoyed hearing you talk about that. I. You know, for you all listening, I was muted, and I was just enjoying my dinner. Just sitting there, you know, shooting. Shooting it with a friend while she was here, you know, you know, raging, gossiping and raging about this book. I'm just like, good.
- [40:28]
Tina
It's kind of fun to do this. I won't lie. It's really fun to just, like, you should. Listeners call a friend, you know, and just get on the phone if you really did not had big feelings about a book. It's a good time.
- [40:37]
Hannah
Yeah, exactly. That's a good point. Big feelings, whether good or bad. Very good time. And I will go ahead and go on the opposite side of the spectrum and talk about my favorite book that I read for this episode that I absolutely loved, which was nothing to say. See here by Kevin Wilson. And this is a book that Tina also read and loved. I think you said that you read it before you were talking about books on the podcast. So I get to bring it today and I'm so glad that I do. This is narrated by Marin Ireland, and it's one of those books where if I hadn't already read another book by this author and known that I loved it, I don't know if I would have tried it because it has like a magical realism element, which doesn't always work for me. So this is about Lillian and Madison, who were unlikely roommates, but inseparable and unlikely friends at this elite boarding school, which is where the book starts. But then Lillian had to leave the school. She was kicked out in the wake of a scandal. And Madison and Lillian have not kept in touch. So sense then until now when Lillian gets a letter from Madison pleading for her help. Madison has two twin step kids who are moving in with her family. Her husband is in politics. So there's kind of some sticky stuff that Madison is dealing with there. And she wants Lillian to be the caretaker of these two kids with the catch that these twins spontaneously combust when they get agitated. And that is kind of where when I originally was reading about this book, I was like, I don't know, I'm not sure from there. The story just really goes from there. And we follow Lillian as she takes care of these two kids. And ah, I just feel like Kevin Wilson for being a man. He writes about motherhood and guardianship and, you know, female friendship and relationships and women. So well, it's just really a gift. And I was listening to this one, but I had a physical copy and I ended up tabbing some of the pages that I wanted to come back to and annotate because there were so many really, really beautiful one liners in this one about children. And, you know, if you're a parent out there, you know, children just say the darndest thing sometimes that just, you know, give you that like emotional gut punch. And the kids in this book were just so sweet and endearing and they did, they said the darndest things that were actually just really moving. I really liked the Exploration of friendship in this one especially because these two characters are not super likable like in, you know, if you take them out of context and just as two separate people, they're extremely flawed, they're extremely human, they're annoying and, and they make decisions that you're just like, don't, don't do it. Like, that's not the best choice. But for whatever reason, you know, these two people, these two friends are connected through all of their flaws and mistreatments of each other too. And I really liked that because I do feel like, you know, sometimes in life you have these friendships or relationships where even through, you know, some mistreatments or drama or scandal or whatever happens, you just keep crossing paths and kind of remain connected somehow. So I liked the exploration of that. I just loved this one and definitely confirms that I love Marin Ireland. I love character driven stories and stories about found family. And that was Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson.
- [44:16]
Tina
I love that book. I made my mom read it. She had such a funny reaction to it. I was cracking up. But yeah, that's a good, good pick. Another one that I think does funny. Well, it's edgy, subversive, but like does it in a really good way. It's a male writing female characters and it's just, it's lovely.
- [44:32]
Hannah
You'll be like kind of getting emotional and weepy about a scene and then one of the characters or kids will do something and then you're like laughing through tears or whatever because, yeah, it's also really funny. So great point. It was also. There was a lot of levity that kind of added to those deeper moments.
- [44:48]
Tina
So, yeah, it was like really, really good one. I'm bringing things back up though for my second book because the second book that I picked, it took me a while to really land on a book that I wanted to read for this. But I finally found, Believe it or not, the Stepford Wives by Ira Levin. And y'all have heard of this, even though maybe you knew it was a book or not. But this was originally written in 1972, of course, was adapted to a couple films more recently starring Nicole Kidman. And the audiobook, though, was recently redone with January Lavoie as the narrator. And I am so delighted that I read this. I actually have no clue what made me pick this up, other than I think I was surprised to see it. I was like, huh? It's. That's a book. And I knew that it was short. I'm like, okay. And I saw that it was classified as horror. I'm like, all right, you have my attention. And I read like the first couple pages and I was like, okay, I'm happy. I'm giggling. This is it. You may know what this is about, but just in case, you've got Joanna and her husband Walter, and their children who moved to beautiful Stepford, Connecticut to get away from the city and to have a home in a good neighborhood. All of these things, and it seems too good to be true. For behind the town's idyllic facade lies a terrible secret. A secret so shattering that no one who encounters it will ever be the same. This I would call psychological suspense. We often get asked if you want to get into horror, you know, that's not too crazy. What should we read? This is a really good one because it is subtle but creepy and it builds this creeping sense of dreadful. It's only 152 pages, but boy, did he do such a good job getting us through the narrative. I love Joanna as a character and basically she starts to suspect something's up with her neighbors. She would ask them for coffee and they would all be like, no, I'm too busy. You know, I've got this housework. You know how it can be. And she's like, no, let's hang out. And she couldn't get really anybody to respond to her in that way. This book's really clever. It was really well narrated, of course, and it's only a couple of hours and I think it had. It's really prescient, right? This was written in the 70s, but also it was, I imagine, pretty progressive for the time period. It talks about themes of youth and beauty and women's roles and family roles, and it's just subtly brilliant. I loved this book. I really did. I like, you know, I don't watch movies, but now I want to watch the movie. And this book is like Stepford Wives. If you say that to any American, you kind of know what you're talking about, right? You, like, can picture what a Stafford wife might look like. And I think that it really takes a special book to have that sort of cultural impact. I loved it. I immediately ran to put Rosemary's Baby on my spooky TBR because he also writes that. Which has been on my list forever, but I'm just now putting it together. So happy I read this. Loved it. Highly recommend. It's the Stepford Wives by Ira Levin.
- [47:47]
Hannah
Well, I didn't know that Ira Levin wrote Rosemary's Baby also.
- [47:52]
Tina
Indeed.
- [47:53]
Hannah
Same author.
- [47:54]
Tina
Indeed. Now I'M creeped out. Let me double check. I think I'm right. Yep, I'm looking. He did indeed write Rosemary's Baby, and I heard that's freaky as hell, so I can't wait to read it.
- [48:03]
Hannah
Ooh, yeah, I've never read that one either. I know. It's like a horror classic, so I'm excited for you to read that one. If and when you get to it, I'm going to keep things positive with this cozy historical fiction novel that I read that is narrated by Richard Armitage. And if you have listened to other books by Richard Armitage, you know that that is, like, kind of his vibe is cozy. And this is the Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner. So this is a very quaint little story, and it is essentially about a group of people who come together to create a memorial cottage of sorts in order to honor and commemorate Austen's work and her legacy. And I'm going to leave it there. The synopsis kind of goes into a lot of detail about all of the characters that are involved in the story, and there are several. And you're following the story of each of these characters who are impacted by Jane Austen in one way or another. And I am not an Austinite, but I have seen the movies. But that was plenty for me to enjoy this book. The banter and discussion surrounding Austen's work and her characters throughout the novel was just really enjoyable. And I love romance in books anyway, but I loved that between these characters that we're following that there were some romances, you know, throughout the narrative that were reminiscent of Jane Austen romances. I thought that was a really fun, like, meta tie in for this one. I definitely think that if you have read Austen or have enjoyed her work in any capacity, watched her movies, et cetera, you have got to read this. This was just really cozy, really, really sweet, very simple story. I mean, it really just is this motley crue of people who are coming together to kind of celebrate this author's work, and we're just following them throughout their lives and their romances. And I also just feel like I really needed this book, too, because I just needed to read something easy that wasn't just reading it because it was easy. It was also a sweeping historical fiction novel about love stories and about an author who is canon for the romance genre. And I just think that especially with everything going on right now, yes, I think that reading books that explore, you know, heavy political topics and themes, we read books for empathy. We read books to grow and to learn and to fight and resist. But also I'm also a firm believer that rest is resistance. And this book was just what I needed to just rest in a book for a minute before, you know, moving forward with probably a book about trauma, to be honest. But, you know, I needed this one, and I'm really glad that I read it. I think if you're looking for something that's just cozy and sweet and romantic and, you know, English countryside Jane Austen, I don't have much more to say about it other than lovely.
- [51:09]
Tina
Sounds like it was pleasant.
- [51:10]
Hannah
It was just lovely. And that is the Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner.
- [51:14]
Tina
I love when you find a book that just hits you at the right time. Gives you good vibes. Absolutely. All right, well, we'll wrap things up with shelf edition. And mine is actually a literal shelf edition that I just picked up from our March bookstore browsing partner, which is called so Much to the Story. It's a bookstore in North Carolina just outside of Charlotte. We went there and anyway, long story short, I saw this book on the shelf and I know one of you all recommended this to me. It's a motherhood story. So if you were the one that recommended this book to me, show yourself because I want to. Thank you. But the book that I bought was called the Girl Girls We Sent Away by Megan Church, and it turns out she is a local author to that particular bookstore. This one is set in the 1960s. It's historical fiction, obviously, and it's about Lorraine Delford, who has it all. She's got an upstanding family, a perfect boyfriend, and a white picket fence home in North Carolina. Yet every time she looks through her father's telescope, she dreams of the stars. She's got big ambitions, but she's always been exceptional. But when this darling girl next door gets pregnant, she's forced to learn firsthand the realities that keep women grounded. And to hide their daughter's secret shame. The Delford send Lorraine to a maternity home for wayward girls. But this is no safe haven. It's a house with dark secrets and suffocating rules. And as Lorraine begins to piece together a new vision for her life, she must decide if she can fight against the powers that aim to take her child or submit to the rules of a society she once admired. This book explores autonomy, belonging, and agency. And I have got to say, I must be. I vaguely knew this happened, but not that I thought people went away and, like, came back and said, wow, mom had another baby. I didn't realize they Would like, take the children from these young girls. So, anywho, I'm excited to read it. It sounds great. It sounds tough to read, but also one that I want to read, right? I want to rage, and I want to, you know, sort of get into this piece of history. This book was called the Girls We Sent Away by Megan Church.
- [53:22]
Hannah
Oh, yeah, that sounds really good. I am also bringing kind of a heavier one. And this is a book that is coming out on June 3rd of this year. That is the date that it is set for publication as of right now. I say that because sometimes things change. But as it sits right now coming out on June 3rd, it is called Endling by Maria Riva, and this is written by a Ukrainian author. This is her debut novel, but her fiction has appeared in publications like the Atlantic, which I love. The Atlantic. And also the Best American short stories. So this is her first debut novel. It is set in Ukraine in 2022, and we're following Yeva, who is a loner and a maverick scientist who lives in her mobile lab. She scours the country's forests and valleys, and this is where it gets a little absurdist. So bear with me. She's trying and failing to breed rare snails, while her relatives urge her to give up, settle down, and finally start a family of her own. What they don't know is that Yeva already dates plenty of men, but not for love, but to fund her work. And she entertains Westerners who have come to Ukraine on guided romance tours, believing that they'll find docile brides untainted by feminism and modernity. And then we're following Nastya and her sister, and they are also entangled in the booming marriage industry and posing as a hopeful bride and her translator while secretly searching for their missing mother, a flamboyant protester who vanished after years of fierce activism against the romance tours. So we're following these three characters across different storylines and across hundreds of miles. They're three angry women and a truck full of kidnapped bachelors. And Lefty, apparently, who is the last of his kind, snail, with one final shot of perpetuating his species. This sounds like a tour de force coming from an author who is going to hopefully put together a brilliant debut in the absurdist literary tradition. It says that this book is for fans of Percival Everett and George Saunders. So I am really excited to read this. And that is Endling by Maria Rava.
- [55:41]
Tina
All right, well, that's it for today. We did it. Thank you so much for spending a part of your day with us. And you know, if you got any audiobook narrator recommendations, let me know. I'm opening my roster right. I feel like I've read all the good ones, but links to all the books mentioned can be found in the show Notes. If you enjoyed today's episode, you can help us by following us wherever you listen and by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps us get our show out to new listeners and grows our audience. And don't forget, if you'd like access to exclusive bonus content and community, you can join us for $5 a month on patreon.com booktalk etc.
- [56:17]
Hannah
If you'd like to connect with us, you can email us@booktalk etcmail.com you can also connect with us both at booktok etc on Instagram and Tina, TBR Etc and Hannah at handpickedbooks. Talk to you next week. In the meantime, remember, everything's better with books. It's Dustin. Don't worry.
- [56:39]
Tina
I was like, somebody in your room? Hannah, I told you to bring me food. Somebody's in your room. Oh, you were getting hangry. Oh, no, sorry.
- [56:46]
Hannah
I was like, when the food is done, I don't care if I'm still.
- [56:48]
Tina
Recording, I need it now. Yeah, no, I feel you. I get that. Oh, I'm so sorry. It just creeped me out because I'm like, it came from.
- [56:55]
Hannah
I saw it too. But anyway.