There are numerous online resources that audiobook listeners can use for recommendations, reviews, summaries' discussions, etc. Ramya Amuthan is here today to explore the various options you can use to supplement the audiobook listening experience.

Our friends at the Centre of Equitable Library Access, Karen McKay and Theresa Power join us to talk about why people may be fiction adverse, and prefer non-fiction books. Host Jacob Shymanski and his guests from CELA chat about fiction stories, escapism, and the benefits of reading non-fiction books too! 

Our very own Ramya Amuthan and our regular contributor, Aamer Khan join us for an Audiobook review. Today we review, Reuniting with Strangers: A Novel by Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio

Steve “Dangle” Glynn is a hockey analyst, broadcaster, author and the host of the popular Steve Dangle Podcast. He has a Youtube channel where he uploads post-game reaction videos after every single Toronto Maple Leafs game.He’s also a co-founder of SDPN, a popular sports podcast network.On October 15th, Steve released his new (and second) book, Hockey Rants and Raves. He stopped by the show to chat all about it. 

Emily Ladau is a passionate disability rights activist, writer, storyteller, and digital communications consultant. She was born with Larsen Syndrome, a genetic physical disability. Her career began at the age of 10, when she appeared on several episodes of Sesame Street to educate kids about life with a physical disability. She is the co-host of The Accessible Stall Podcast, and author of Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally.

Ramya Amuthan is back! She joins us for a Rapid Fire Review today! Ramya’s RFR Picks: 1. Big Dating Energy by Jeff Guenther and Kate Happ 2. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom 3. Pet Sematary by Stephen King 4. Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero by Michael Hingson with Susy Flory 5. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

Today we chat with our regular contributor, Sara Hillis about updates on AI Narrated Audiobooks.

Our guest is an avid Audiobook listener. Jeffrey Rainey is back with another edition of Rapid Fire Review. Here are Jeffrey Rainey’s book recommendations: • Car Guys VS. Bean Counters, by Bob Lutz. • The Battle for the Soul of American Business Icons and Idiots, also by Bob Lutz. • George Romney, by Patrick Foster. • The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson by Joseph A. Califano Jr. • The Soviet Union During the Brezhnev Era by Charles River

Joining us today is our audiobook contributor and bookworm, Aamer Khan. Aamer and Jacob will be reviewing The Mars Room By Rachel Kushner The book was shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize. it received the 2018 Prix Médicis Étranger. The title also received a Gold Medal for Fiction from the California Book Awards.

Ryan Hooey is an avid audiobook listener, who also is a regular contributor on Kelly and Ramya on his featured segments called The Chatty Bookshelf.He is here to chat about a couple of things,First, we are reviewing the Pearl by John Steinbeck, a classic novella.And second, we chat about how classic books like these inevitability make it into high school English curriculums and how they can be a huge disservice to young readers.

Premee Mohamed is a Nebula award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. She is an Assistant Editor at the short fiction audio venue Escape Pod and the author of the 'Beneath the Rising' series of novels as well as several novellas. Premee Mohamed is here to talk about her literary award-winning series, “The Annual Migration of Clouds.”

Danielle Bouthillier is a laboratory technician, digital artist, and a science fiction writer. Her debut novel, Hero, work started in 2012 and went through several revisions over the years to create this tension-driven and unconventional superhero story. It is now available in Audiobook format and the plot features a deaf superhero. Her hearing loss makes her one of the best musicians. Plus, she discovers that her powers cannot solve all her problems.

In this edition of AMI Audiobook Review, we speak with Susan Loube, a Director of PAL-Reading Services.Their mission is to provide, upon request, free audio recorded versions of print material, which give persons with vision impairments or other disabilities access to lifelong learning choices. Learn more about PAL-Reading Services online: https://www.palreading.org/Highlights:PAL Reading Services - AMI Audiobook Review Intro (00:00)Introducing Susan Loube, Director at PAL-Reading Services (01:11)The Question of Copyright (01:23)Bespoke Audiobooks (02:39) Susan’s Role at PAL & Experience with Vision Loss (03:12) The PAL Process (04:28) Audiobook Delivery Formats (05:41) PAL Narrators (07:07) Accessible Library Services & PAL (07:50) Niche Reading Requests (09:40) Canadian Copyright Law (11:53) PAL’s Biggest Challenges (14:16)The Importance of PAL Reading Services (15:05)Learning from PAL (16:35) Adapting to Audiobooks (18:39) Accessing PAL’s Services (23:24)Closing Remarks (24:31)

AMI Podcast Coordinator Ryan Delehanty joins us to discuss guilty pleasures, share his Rapid Fire Reviews and discuss the autobiography “Rebel Girl” by Kathleen Hanna.With Rapid Fire Reviews of Find “All Fours” by Miranda July, “Buddy Babylon” by Scott Thompson and Paul Bellini, “Mr. Know It All” by John Waters & “The Kid Stays in the Picture” by Robert Evans.Highlights:“Guilty Pleasures” - AMI Audiobook Review Intro (00:00)Introducing AMI Podcast Coordinator, Ryan Delehanty (00:39)Guilty Pleasures Roundtable Discussion (00:56)Ryan’s Rapid-Fire Reviews (9:36)Rebel Girl by Kathleen Hanna (10:18)All Fours by Miranda July (11:16)Buddy Babylon by Scott Thompson (13:54)Mr. Know It All by John Waters (15:46)The Kid Stays in the Picture by Robert Evans (19:42)In-Depth Chat on Rebel Girl by Kathleen Hanna (20:24)Show Close (27:33)“Rebel Girl” by Kathleen Hanna on: CELA, Audible“All Fours” by Miranda July on: CELA, Audible “Buddy Babylon” by Scott Thompson and Paul Bellini on: Audible“Mr. Know It All” by John Waters on: CELA, Audible“The Kid Stays in the Picture” by Robert Evans on: CELA, Audible

Audiobook contributor Sarah Hillis joins us to review the novel Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay. Find out why it's one of Jacob Shymanski's favourite listens of 2024!Highlights:“Horror Movie” - AMI Audiobook Review Intro (00:00)Introducing Audiobook Contributor Sarah Hillis (00:43)First Thoughts on “Horror Movie” by Paul Tremblay (01:13)Multiple Timelines and Points of View (03:02)Spoiler-Free Story Summary (05:35)Is it Scary? (8:59)“Horror Movie: the Book” versus “Horror Movie: the Movie” (10:30)The Screenplay & the Thin Kid (12:00)Reboots & Remakes (14:51)Why Were 90’s Kids So Mean?!? (16:44)Unreliable Narrators & Distortions of Reality (17:17)Spoilers, Content Warnings & Nisreen’s Questions (20:09)Closing Remarks (25:34)Links:Find “Horror Movie” by Paul Tremblay on: CELA or AudibleAbout "Horror Movie" by Paul TremblayPublisher's Summary- A chilling twist on the “cursed film” genre from the bestselling author of The Pallbearers Club and The Cabin at the End of the World. In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing art-house horror flick. The weird part? Only three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot. The man who played “The Thin Kid” is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions—demons of the past be damned. But at what cost? Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful feat of storytelling genius that builds inexorably to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion.

Jeffrey Rainey is an avid Audiobook listener and he will be joining us for a Rapid Fire Review. Today’s theme for RFR is Baseball book titles! Mentioned book titles: 1. The Soul of Baseball, A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America 2. Ball Four, by Jim Bouton 3. The Big Chair by Ned Colletti, Joseph A. Reaves 4. Hello, Friends! by Jerry Howarth 5. Where Nobody Knows Your Name by John Feinstein, Life in the minor leagues of baseball

On today's Audiobook Review, we’re having a Book Club roundtable. Joining our conversation is our audiobook contributor and bookworm, Aamer Khan. We dive into a book club question that we asked you guys on social media and we will be sharing those answers too. The question is, Who's your favorite character of all time and why?

Audiobook contributor and host of “My Life in Books” Red Széll returns to the show to reflect on his experiences as an author and share his perspective on the writing community.Highlights:AMI Audiobook Review Intro (00:00)Introducing Red Széll, Author and Host of “My Life in Books” (00:14)The Old Man of Hoy (01:29)Interest in Rock Climbing (03:04)Learning of Vision Loss at 19 (05:41)Writing “the Blind Man of Hoy” (06:54)“Blind Trust” – the 1st Novel (09:44)Becoming an Author (10:36)Family, Work & Climbing Balance (13:20)Red Széll on Hosting “My Life in Books” (17:51)Trends in Where Authors Find Inspiration (21:29)Separating the Art from the Artist (23:31)Show Close (27:22)Links:My Life in Books PodcastRed Széll's Website  

Audiobook contributor Aamer Khan joins us for a dive into the career of Karin Slaughter, a suspense thriller author famous for “The Will Trent” Series. The series takes place in Atlanta and features GBI special agent Will Trent, his partner Faith Mitchell, and Angie Polaski.HighlightsShow Intro (00:00)Introducing Aamer Khan (00:23)Author Profile: Karin Slaughter (00:44)“The Will Trent” Series (02:43)Karin’s Writing Style (08:30)Thoughts on the Suspense Genre (15:05)Where to Start with Slaughter’s Works (25:10)Author Bio: https://www.karinslaughter.com/ Karin Slaughter is the author of more than twenty instant New York Times bestselling novels, including the Edgar–nominated Cop Town and standalone novels Pretty Girls, The Good Daughter, and Pieces of Her. She is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. Pieces of Her is a #1 Netflix original series starring Toni Collette, and WILL TRENT, based on her Will Trent series, is on ABC (and streaming on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally). False Witness and The Good Daughter are in development for television. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta. 

Greg David is our Communications Specialist at AMI, and an avid audiobook listener. He joined our host Jacob Shymanski for a ‘Rapid Fire Review’ featuring Canadian history books! Highlights:Show Intro (00:00)Greg David Introduction (1:58)Rapid Fire Review (8:15)The Company, by Stephen R. Bown (8:25) The Inconvenient Indian, by Thomas King (8:57)The Wake: The Deadly Legacy of a Newfoundland Tsunami, by Linden MacIntyre (9:32)Spadina: A Story of Old Toronto, by Austin Seton Thompson (10:11)Etienne Brule: Le fils de Champlain, by Jean0Claude Laroque and Denis Sauve (10:46)In-depth review of ‘The Company’ by Steven R. Bown (11:41)

Two of the bestselling storytellers of all time have created an unforgettable thriller. The master of the techno-blockbuster joins forces with the master of the modern thriller to create the most anticipated mega bestseller in years Ryan Hooey is an avid audiobook listener, who also is a regular contributor on Kelly and Ramya on his featured segments called The Chatty Bookshelf. He is coming on todays show to review the audiobook, Eruption by Michael Crichton and James Patterson.

One of our Audiobook contributors Sara Hillis joins us for another Audiobook review. James McBride's The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store begins with the unsettling discovery of a skeleton in a well in a small town. This eerie opening to the Chicken Hill area of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, creates a sense of mystery as the narrative then shifts back nearly 50 years to delve into the town, its secrets, and its inhabitants.

One of our avid audiobook readers, Michael Feir, joins us to review “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece,” written and narrated by Tom Hanks. The book offers a blend of humour, insight, and a deep dive into filmmaking. A perfect summer read for historical and literary fiction lovers!First, Nisreen Abdel-Majid, the producer of AMI Audiobook Review stops by to preview our feature guest of the episode Michael Feir.Jacob and Michael speak about their favourite and least favourite aspects of Tom Hanks’s novel, and they share their enthusiasm for the audiobook’s full cast of voices! 

The novel Tom Lake by critically acclaimed American author Ann Patchett is a mature and cerebral exploration of parent-children relationships, love and loss And the endless pursuit of happiness, amongst many other heady themes ripe for differing interpretations. No matter how you choose to interpret it, this book will no doubt leave you thinking. Its narration by Emmy award-winning actress Meryl Streep is nothing short of excellence and it alone makes it well worth a listen. Karen McKay, communications manager at CELA, is with Jacob and Ramya for an in-depth review. Below is the link to the book on good reads as well as CELA Good reads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63241104-tom-lake Centre for Equitable Library Access: https://celalibrary.ca/node/24712663

Better reading/audiobook listening comprehension leads to greater enjoyment of books. Do not neglect the quality of book consumption over quantity. These are the messages we want to impart to you in today's episode. Aamer Khan joins Jacob and Ramya to discuss how we can all improve our reading comprehension. The book that sparked today's discussion: How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading, by Mortimer J. Adler Aamer Khan's selections: Past Tense (Jack Reacher, #23), by Lee Child Extinction, by Douglas Preston John Dies at the End, by David Wong

This week, Jacob and Ramya each review a book they've been eager to share. Both titles come with enthusiastic and overwhelmingly positive recommendations. One, a contemporary romance and the other, an epic fantasy series. Ramya reviews the incredibly popular Normal People, by Sally Rooney while Jacob raves about The Liveship Traders series, by Robin Hobb. Plus, in the second half, long-time AMI producer Matt Agnew gets his turn at the rapid-fire review. Below are his recommendations: Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky The Cycle of Arawn, by Edward W. Robertson Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch Heaven's River, by Dennis E. Taylor

This week, our co-worker in AMI's Marketing & Communications department, Cassandra Chaddock, schools us on fan-fiction basics. It's a strange world of boundless creativity with nothing holding writers back from creating the stories they and their readers want. Without the constraints of sales, editors and publishers, the fan-fiction community cranks out truly weird, wildly imaginative and often beautiful stories based on the IPs we all know and love. Behind their eccentricities, there's an undeniably endearing quality to fan-fiction stories. From shipping wars to Wattpad, we take our time unravelling this often forgotten realm of the literature world. Link to the book Jacob mentions: The Fanfiction Reader by Francesca Coppa: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/32072607 Link to Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/

What’s your biggest audiobook pet peeve? That one, seemingly insignificant thing that for whatever reason, drives you crazy. We posed this question to the book club and got *a lot* of answers. From strong beliefs narrators should never do accents to hating misdirection, the book club came through this month. Thank you all for your contributions. If you want to leave us feedback, you can call us at 1 866 509-4545 or leave us an email at [email protected] Plus, in the latter half of the episode, regular contributor Sara Hillis joins us along with her husband, Michael Fehr, to discuss how couples can enjoy audiobooks together. Couples always watch movies together. Why not cuddle up and share an audiobook?

With the help of our friends at CELA, Karen McKay and Theresa Power, Ramya and Jacob are reviewing the latest book from best-selling Canadian author, Carley Fortune. This Summer Will Be Different is a contemporary Canadian romance set in Prince Edward Island. With fantastic relationship writing, great prose and tons of delightful Canadiana, this title has charm but does it have substance? Listen to find out more. Plus, Cora Coady is with us in the second half of the show for another edition of the Rapid-Fire Review. This Summer Will Be Different on CELA: https://celalibrary.ca/node/25106074 This Summer Will Be Different on Audible: https://www.audible.ca/pd/This-Summer-Will-Be-Different-Audiobook/B0CGF7KDHD This Summer Will Be Different on GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/197577126-this-summer-will-be-different Cora Coady's RFR selections: Moon of the Turning Leaves, by Waubgeshig Rice Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, by Cathy O'Neil Warriors: Dawn of the Clans #1: The Sun Trail, by Erin Hunter Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology, edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries, by Heather Fawcett

Homes: A Refugee Story, by Abu Bakr Al-Rabeeah and Winnie Yeung, was recommended to us by our audiobook curator, Aamer Khan, as part of a previous episode where we discussed books that can make us shed a tear... or three. Ramya and I read it and we've reconvened with Aamer to record a proper in-depth review. It's a great, accessibly written, true story about a tight-knit family as they try to find a place to call home. Originally from Iraq, they move to Syria, only to be caught up in the civil war. While they eventually make their way to Edmonton, the time they spend in Syria, anxiously toiling through the refugee process will mark them forever. This book does a lot to humanize the countless refugees around the world, who are too often reduced to simple statistics. Here it is on Audible. Note that it's also available on CELA: https://www.audible.ca/pd/Homes-Audiobook/B07QHG7N5V Plus, Jeff Ryman joins us in the second half for his turn at rapid-fire review. Here are Jeff's selections: - Burke’s Law: A Life in Hockey, by Brian Burke - Colin Kaepernick: Change the Game, by Colin Kaepernick - Runnin' with the Devil: A Backstage Pass to the Wild Times, Loud Rock, and the Down and Dirty Truth Behind the Making of Van Halen, by Noel Monk - I Am Ozzy, by Ozzy Osbourne - The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band , by Mick Mars, Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Neil Strauss

CELA , the Center for Equitable Library Access, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. For over a decade, they’ve been maintaining a massive physical and digital library of books in multiple accessible formats for Canadians with disabilities. We mention them on the show constantly because it’s our primary way of accessing all the audiobooks we discuss on this show. Karen McKay and Theresa Power are long-time employees at CELA and have been regular contributors to this show since the beginning and they’re with us on this episode to demystify the service. Plus, Sarah Hillis informs us on what exactly is up with the Audies, the prestigious audiobook awards. We also go through the 2024 winners that were announced back in March. CELA’s website: https://celalibrary.ca/ The full list of winners from the 2024 Audies can be found here: https://www.google.com/search?q=list+of+2024+Audie+winners&rlz=1C1GCEA_enCA1105CA1105&oq=list+of+2024+Audie+winners+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigAdIBCDc0MTJqMGo0qAIAsAIB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

With over 700 audiobook titles to her credit, Anne Flosnik is a veteran amongst veteran audiobook narrators. When we got the chance to have her on the show, we jumped on the opportunity. In this episode, Anne shares her narration process, advice for aspiring narrators, insights on the industry and unveils many of the unexpected fascinating intricacies of audiobook narration. Visit Anne's website: https://anneflosnik.com/ Link to Anne's Clubhouse page: https://www.clubhouse.com/house/narrator-uplift And here is a link to the first book of the Liveship Traders series by Robin Hobb, which Anne narrated: https://www.audible.ca/pd/Ship-of-Magic-Audiobook/B071HRHRVP

Canadian actress Sarah Desjardins (Yellowjackets, The Night Agent) joins us to talk about her very first work of audiobook narration. She discusses the transition from acting to narrating, the challenges of a first-time narrator and the joys of recording audiobooks. As it so happens, the book she got to narrate is set where she grew up, in Vancouver and Vancouver Island. The Worst of You, by Sarah Richards, is a gripping suspense/thriller told from multiple points of view. Here is the link to this Audible Original: https://www.audible.ca/pd/The-Worst-of-You-Audiobook/B0D1KW16NQ Plus, Spotify recently expanded its audiobook access to premium users in Canada. Is it good value? Can Spotify compete with Audible? Stick around until the 2nd half of this episode to hear our side-by-side comparison

PAL reading services is a non-profit, registered charity service that will record a human narration of any text you submit, no questions asked, at no charge. Perfect for all those titles that don't make it into CELA's library and for all of those hyper-technical science and engineering textbooks that you want but never get made into accessible formats.Long time PAL readers Danielle McLaughlin and Suzan Laube talk to us about their work.Plus, we unpack the answers from the most recent question to the book club: What's the last book that made you cry? Here are a few of the books that were mentioned:Aamer Khan's pick -  Homes: A Refugee Story by Abu Bakr al RabeeahJulie Martin's pick - The Chain by Adrian McKintyKaren Magee's pick - The Notebook by Nicholas SparksThalia Homes' pick - The Fault in Our Stars by John GreenJacob Shymanski's pick - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Link to PAL reading services' website: https://www.palreading.org/PAL-Reading Services Inc. (“PAL”) was founded in 1975 with a small federal grant. Originally named “Periodical Audio Library”, PAL was the idea of Jim Hamilton, a blind student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, now part of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). At that time, no other agency offered an audio recording service for print-challenged students who needed academic journal articles recorded quickly enough to meet weekly study deadlines.Ever since, PAL has provided this much-needed reading service to print-challenged people not only for elementary to post-graduate studies, but also for work and personal use. Since 1975 we have served numerous print-challenged individuals many of whom continue to use our services year after year.

Last week we reviewed Audible’s awesome audio adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984.If you haven’t heard our review, the short version is that we loved it for its great performances, tight writing, original music and outstanding production value.This week, we’re lucky enough to have the writer of this project with us.  Joe White is an award-winning writer of screen, stage and audio. He’s the writer of the hit West End musical The Little Big Things and another popular Audible audio drama, The Knox, among many other things.Link to Audible's 1984 audio adaptation:https://www.audible.ca/pd/George-Orwell%E2%80%99s-1984-Audiobook/B0CRRSC8MH

Audible recently released their full-cast, radio-play adaptation of George Orwell’s classic 1984. Featuring a cast full of recognizable names, original music and incredible production value, it’s safe to say this is a unique project we were excited to get our hands on.Today, we’re finally sharing our review with you. The cast includes Andrew Garfield as Winston, Cynthia Erivo as Julia, Andrew Scott as O’Brian and Tom Hardy as Big Brother.  You can learn more here: https://www.audible.ca/pd/George-Orwell%E2%80%99s-1984-Audiobook/B0CRRSC8MHPlus, in the show's second half, Ryan Hooey joins us for another edition of the popular Rapid Fire Review.   

Karen McKay and Theresa Power of CELA help us better understand the place literary awards hold within the publishing industry, and how they affect everything from sales to author’s careers and even consumer reading habits. And, Sara Hillis recommends the suspenseful pregnancy horror novel "Beware the Woman" by Meagan Abbot.

On today's episode: One of the beautiful things about audiobooks is the flexibility they give us. If you’re reading a print book, you just sit there and look down at your book. With an audiobook, on the other hand, you have both your hands available and you’re free to walk around and do whatever you want while you listen. We want to discuss how we use that extra flexibility.  Plus, Aamer Kahn, our very own audiobook curator, prepared an autobiography trivia game for us.

On today's episode: How much do we really know about the people who've shifted and coloured our histories?We review The Autobiography of Malcolm X, written by American Minister Malcolm X in collaboration with American journalist Alex Haley, narrated by the incredibly performative Laurence Fishburne.Plus, stepping up to the plate for this week's Rapid Fire Review is community member and friend Karoline Bourdeau, who hits us with five very different books with five very intriguing titles.Our conversation with Karoline touches on the difficult choices made by Muslim women living in North America around their bodies and their relationships, as well as our own stories of losing touch with people who've left significant marks in our lives. 

On today's episode: Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan is a  New York Times best-selling romance novel about the healing and transformative power of love. Seeing as romance is not one of Ramya and I’s typical go-to genres, this ended up being a very different listening experience for us.  Alia Abdel-Majid, who initially brought our attention to this one, is with us today for an honest, in-depth review. If you recognize that family name, that’s because she’s none other than our technical producer, Nisreen Abdel-Majid’s sisterAnd later, Rapid Fire Review veteran Greg David is back to show us all how RFR is done.  

On today's episode: Dissecting book sales trends doesn’t just concern the capitalists. It’s also relevant to those of us who love to inspect the deeper implications. Sometimes there’s a direct correlation between the newest sales trends and notable societal changes but often, it leaves us scratching our heads.Karen McKay and Theresa Power from CELA are here to help us analyze the sales data from 2022 to 2023.Plus, Sara Hillis joins us in the second half to share with us her findings on AI-narrated audiobooks. 

On today's episode: Listening to an audiobook, as opposed to reading it in print, is a different experience. Not better or worse, just different. But how exactly does it differ? And how does that change the way we appreciate the story? Yes, we’re not done talking about this.Plus, later, Ted Cooper is here for Rapid-Fire review.  

On today's episode: Did you read a book if you listened to the audiobook version? If you research this question online, you’ll find all sorts of opinion pieces, message boards, and social media posts that make it clear that people have strong feelings on both sides.Why is this such a contentious issue? Why is this seemingly innocuous question always striking such a nerve? There’s a lot at play here and we’re here to talk about it.    Plus, later Ammer Khan, our very own audiobook curator is with us with this month’s batch of specially curated titles, just for you. That’s in the second half of the show.  

On today's episode: First impressions matter, and the title of an audiobook is more than likely going to be the first thing you’ll react to when coming across a potential next read. Sometimes that title is intriguing. Sometimes it’s confusing. Sometimes it sounds dumb as hell. The point is, that titles matter, and we’re prepared to break it down for you. We also have a list of silly, ridiculous, and cringy book titles.Plus, in the second half of the episode, we ask ourselves: is listening to a book the same as reading print?    

On today's episode: The Romantasy genre has blown up in the past few years and Booktok is responsible. What is it about this genre that’s made it so irresistible to its ravenous fanbase? What’s the appeal? Why is it blowing up now? And how does Booktok wield so much influence? Karen McKay and Theresa Power of CELA are here to help us answer these questions. Plus, in the second half of the show, Sarah Hillis joins us to discuss the merits and pitfalls of celebrity narrators.

On today's episode: We’ve spoken in the past about the huge role audiobook producers have over the final product of a project. So many small decisions on their part come together to shape what we end up spending hours eagerly consuming. Our guest this week, Caleb Stoll, is the technical director of the audiobook program at Penguin Random House Canada. He’s involved in many of the stages of production for the audiobooks they produce out of their studios in Toronto. From the technical aspects of sound recording, engineering sessions and directing narrators, Caleb is well placed to shine some light on the behind the scenes of the audio book world.

A huge part of living the audio bookworm lifestyle is constantly seeking out your next read. That means taking tons of recommendations, be it from websites, close friends or coworkers. That said, not all recommendations are made equal. What is it that makes us take recommendations seriously? And how can we do better the next time we recommend an audiobook to our friends? Today we’re talking about the art of the book recommendation, and what better person to have for this discussion than our very own Audiobook curator, Aamer Khan? A little later, we’ll also get to the book club’s input on this topic.

Multi-Voice narration audiobooks offer a product that’s more like an engrossing old-school audio drama when done well. When done badly, though, they can be a disjointed mess of cringe, so say the haters. Sarah Hillis is here to help us break it down. Plus, Natasha Peters is our avid bookworm this week, and a rapid-fire review with Natasha is coming up in the 2nd half of the show.