Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books.Each fortnight Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write.David Tatel is a recently retired US Federal Appeals Court judge who has spent a lifetime championing equal justice for all.During nearly 30 years’ service on America’s second most powerful court, he ruled on many landmark cases and earned a reputation for his clear-sighted legal opinions.Diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa aged 15, he has been legally blind for his entire adult life. Now in his 80s he has published his autobiography, Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice, in which he not only looks back over his career but also reflects on the years he spent denying and working around his sight loss, before finally embracing it as an essential part of his identity.

Bestselling novelist Helen Simonson revels in setting strength of character against small-minded social convention.While her debut, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, was a contemporary romantic satire, her latest book, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club, transports the reader back to the summer of 1919, and an English seaside town emerging from the trauma of World War One and the Spanish Flu pandemic.But for the women who did their bit to aid the war effort, and the men disabled by the conflict, the battle for respect and equality is far from over. With Helen’s trademark blend of wit and poignancy, and her sharp eye for historical detail, the novel joyfully skewers pomposity, celebrates those who defy convention, and extols the timeless beauty of the Sussex landscape.Join Helen and Red as they discuss biplanes, committees, prejudice and the little-known story of a submarine stranded on a Sussex beach…

Alissa York is a Canadian author whose novels and short stories have won her international acclaim.Her latest book, Far Cry, immerses the reader in the harsh conditions of a salmon cannery on the remote north west coast of British Columbia in 1922.It’s a haunting tale of survival, forbidden love, addiction, and jealousy, with a mystery at its heart and the Canadian wilderness all around.Join Alissa and Red as they explore the history of Canada’s working class, and man’s often jagged interaction with nature.

Throughout the history of talking books, the question of how to bring illustrations to life has posed problems for authors and audio producers. But it’s a challenge that artist James Norbury was eager to meet.Following the international success of his illustrated book Big Panda and Tiny Dragon, James set about adapting his story to bring its message of friendship, hope and acceptance to a listening audience.It is a craft that he has honed in Big Panda’s sequel, The Journey, and perfected in his latest book The Cat Who Taught Zen. And, as we’ll hear, it all began in a second-hand bookshop!Join James, Red, and a litter of kittens, as they explore mindfulness and the power of words to change the way we think.

Valerie Jerome’s grandfather John “Army” Howard was Canada’s first Black Olympian, and her brother Harry Jerome was one of the most recognizable Black athletes of the 1960s. He set a total of seven world records, earning him the title of the world's fastest man, and competed at three Summer Olympics, including Tokyo in 1964 where he won bronze in the 100m.Valerie herself became Canadian senior women’s champion in the sprints and long jump at the age of 15 and went on to represent Canada at the 1960 Rome Olympics.In her memoir Races: The Trials and Triumphs of Canada’s Fastest Family, Valerie gives the inside track on her family’s remarkable history, and the racism that they fought along the way – from their community, the press, their country, and even within their home.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Szell for the latest episode of AMI-audio's My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. Since the publication of her debut, The Secret of the Ninth Stone, Kylie Fitzpatrick has established a reputation as a historical novelist that has won her fans around the globe. Her latest novel, Under the Black Mountain, is written under the pen name KT Fitzpatrick and blends history with mystery, to transport the reader back to 1919 and far northern Queensland, Australia. It's a tale that reveals how the shockwaves of the First World War radiated to affect even that remote corner of the world. Join Kylie and Red as they discuss the shell shock, narcotics and strange goings-on in the outback.

For this episode, Red is joined by Canadian author Erum Shazia Hasan, whose compelling debut novel, "We Meant Well," explores the complex moral and emotional landscape of international aid work. Set in an unnamed post-colonial failed state, the book grapples with timely questions about what it means to be charitable, who deserves what, and who gets the power to decide.With her background as a Sustainable Development Consultant for various UN agencies, it’s a world that Erum is well qualified to discuss. Join Red and Erum as they explore the contradictions and consequences of Western intervention in the developing world..

PAGING ALL BOOK LOVERS! Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. Tyler LeBlanc was working as a bicycle tour guide when a chance encounter led him to look into the history of his name. Growing up on the south shore of Nova Scotia, he’d been unaware of his Acadian roots. But the discovery that he could trace his family all the way back to the Acadian Expulsions parked a curiosity that has transformed the way he views identity, family and the place he calls home. Painstakingly researched, his book, Acadian Driftwood, pieces together the lives of his ancestors after they were shattered by their enforced removal from their homeland by the British in 1755. Join Tyler and Red as they explore the history behind and legacy of Le Grand Dérangement.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio's My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. A week-long retreat on a beautiful country estate with no phones and no wi-fi might sound like the perfect getaway, but not in Rebecca Thorne's book. The Grief House is a spine-chilling mystery that blends psychological suspense with supernatural terror. Cut off from the outside world, a small group of guests and the couple who run the retreat find themselves battling not only their own demons but rising flood waters and a sense of menace that threatens to engulf them. As the reader is led deeper into the recesses of each character's mind, we too discover that "There is nothing like the cold that freezes from within." Join Rebecca and Red as they discuss the psychology of fear and the realm of spiritualism in the lives and literature of those who dare to explore them. My Life in Books airs Mondays at 1 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio, or download the podcast from your favourite podcast provider.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. Femi Kayode’s debut novel, Lightseekers, introduced the world to Philip Taiwo, a U.S.-trained forensic psychologist investigating crime and corruption in Nigeria. It became an international bestseller and its sequel has been eagerly anticipated. Gaslight certainly doesn’t disappoint. Like Lightseekers, it’s a tense thriller inspired by real events, this time revolving around a Nigerian megachurch with a global reach. By turns hard-hitting and emotionally sensitive, the book not only probes the underbelly of Nigerian society but also explores wider questions of faith and identity. Join Femi and Red as they discuss the corruption of power and the portrayal of diversity in fiction.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. It was the most costly and destructive disaster in Canada’s history. The 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire reduced Alberta’s fourth-largest city to ash, displaced 90,000 people and took 15 months to put out. Miraculously the death toll was extremely low, but as John Vaillant argues in his internationally best-selling book, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast, the inferno that consumed Fort McMurray is a harbinger of our near future. Combining a flair for storytelling that reads like the screenplay of a disaster movie, and a searing examination of mankind’s exploitation of fire and the fossil fuels that feed it, John explains how we have supercharged our atmosphere and now live in a world that is more explosively flammable than at any time in human history. Join Red and John as they discuss the history of fire, the role of the fossil fuel industry in global warming, and some of the extraordinary stories of those caught up in the Fort McMurray fire.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. In 2008, award-winning food and travel writer Sylvie Bigar accepted an assignment to write about cassoulet, France’s ancestral bean and meat stew. Little did she know that this seemingly bland story would lead her to re-examine her privileged but dysfunctional childhood in Switzerland and force her to reckon with her identity and her own dramatic family history. Her resulting memoir, Cassoulet Confessions: Food, France, Family and The Stew that Saved My Soul, has garnered rave reviews around the world. And with three recipes for the famed French stew, it’s a feast for the body and the mind. Join Sylvie and Red as they discuss heritage, heartache and beans!

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by N.V. Peacock, who by her own admission has "a curiously dark mind" that is driven by a fascination with the "What if" question. In her latest thriller, The Brother, she asks, what if you found out you were adopted and that one of your blood brothers was a serial killer? What follows is a fast-paced game of cat and mouse, as her protagonist tries to establish which of her new-found siblings is a murderer. It’s full of twists and turns and references to the true crime cases that first inspired Nicky Peacock to pick up the pen. And with dual first-person narratives, it’s ideally suited for audio. Join Red and Nicky as they discuss the fascination of true crime, and the power of psychological profiling and forensic genealogy to solve cases.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode Red is joined by Christine Higdon, a Canadian author whose latest novel, "Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue," is a vivid portrayal of life in Vancouver during the early 1920s. It tells the story of four working-class sisters living in the wake of the First World War and the ensuing Spanish flu pandemic that robbed them of their only brother. It’s a man’s world of speakeasys and strict codes of conduct, bootleggers and back-room abortions, where having a child out of wedlock or being gay is considered a crime. As the sisters struggle to find justice, agency, and love in this often hostile world, Christine Higdon invites us to examine questions of choice and inclusion in our society 100 years later. Join Christine and Red as they discuss the power of historical fiction to cast light on contemporary issues, and the place of talking animals in literature!

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by Mallory Tater, whose debut novel, The Birth Yard, has attracted both praise and comparisons with The Handmaid’s Tale. Like Margaret Atwood’s classic story, The Birth Yard is a dark and cautionary tale of patriarchal control and the abuse of women’s rights. But Mallory’s novel doesn’t take place in a dystopian future. Instead, it is set firmly in present-day Canada, in a commune cut off from the ordinary world, where women have no agency and serve as brood mares. Join Mallory and Red as they explore cults, misogyny and contemporary Canadian fiction.

This time, Red is joined by Meg Howrey, who was a professional ballet dancer before she took up the pen. Her background in the performing arts is evident both in the subject matter of her novels, and in their deft pacing.Her latest book, They’re Going to Love You, is a pitch-perfect tale of creative ambition, betrayal, and sacrifice.Set across three decades, from New York City during the 1980s AIDS crisis, to present-day Los Angeles, the story unfolds through the memories of its now middle-aged protagonist as she moves towards its final act, revealing the secret that lies at its heart.Meg and Red delve into the choreography of writing a novel, and discover Meg’s comedy thriller side as co-author of the Magnus Flyte books.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by Max Wallace, the Canadian journalist, filmmaker, human rights activist, and best-selling author. Max’s most recent work, After The Miracle: The Political Crusades of Helen Keller, offers a new perspective on an individual who remains an international icon nearly 150 years after her birth. But whereas previous biographers have concentrated on the sentimental story of Keller’s struggles as a deafblind and mute child, portraying her teacher, Annie Sullivan, as a miracle worker and so making Keller a secondary character in her own story, Max focuses on Keller’s achievements as an adult. Join Max and Red as they discuss Helen Keller’s lifelong commitment to racial justice, socialism, and disability rights, as well as her love of movies and dirty jokes!

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by Leah Redmond Chang, a historian with a background in comparative literature and research. Her latest book, Young Queens, is a fascinating and highly insightful historical biography of three Renaissance women exercising power in a world dominated by men. It tells the dramatic and intertwined stories of Catherine de Medici (Queen of France from 1547 to 1559), Elisabeth de Valois (Queen of Spain from 1559 to 1568) and Mary Queen of Scots (Queen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567). Fusing new archival research with rich narrative prose, the book also asks profoundly modern questions about women, gender and power. Join Leah and Red as they explore what it meant to be a queen in Renaissance Europe’s real-life Game of Thrones.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by Canadian writer Curtis LeBlanc, who until recently has been best known for his poetry, but with the publication of his debut novel, Sunsetter, he’s finding a far wider audience. Set over a single weekend when the carnival comes to a post-industrial Canadian prairie town, the book is a mesmerizing blend of crime thriller and literary fiction. Across its pages, Curtis unflinchingly peels back the layers to reveal a community in the clutches of small-town police corruption, designer drugs, and teen disillusionment. And yet, for all this, it’s a novel where hope refuses to lay down and die. Join Curtis and Red as they discuss the lure of the carnival, teenage angst, and the natural beauty of the prairies. My Life in Books airs Mondays at 1 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio, or download the podcast from your favourite provider via this link:https://www.ami.ca/My-Life-Books/recent_episodes

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by Selina Mills, a British journalist and disability activist. In her new book, Life Unseen, A Story of Blindness, Selina uses her own experience of losing her sight to explore the history of blindness. From the myths of Ancient Greece to the apps of Silicon Valley, her quest reveals the stories and achievements of people who are blind, as well as those of their sighted peers who sought to patronize, demonize and cure them. But as Selina sets out to show that blindness has always been an active force in Western society, she also questions why we, as people who are blind, have always been treated differently. Join Selina and Red as they uncover enduring notions that blindness is a state to be feared and pitied and hear how Selina set about narrating the audiobook version of Life Unseen herself.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by internationally best-selling crime writer Sam Blake. Beginning with her 2016 debut Little Bones, the Irish writer has published a slew of crime novels that have won her acclaim and fans around the world. After the success of Little Bones and its sequels, Sam moved from police procedurals to writing twisty psychological crime thrillers, the latest of which, The Mystery of Four, was published earlier this year. And in case anyone should accuse her of resting on her laurels, this summer also saw the publication of Sam’s first foray into Young Adult fiction, Something Terrible Happened Last Night. Both novels are absolute page-turners, with Sam’s trademark keen eye for character, detail, and country-house hotel settings making it seem as if Agatha Christie had just been resurrected clutching an iPad! Join Sam and Red as they discuss how modern technology can be both a help and a hindrance to crime writers and explore the timeless tropes that continue to thrill readers.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by Canadian author Andrew F. Sullivan. Over the past decade, Andrew has built a reputation as an author of gritty tales for gritty times. His debut novel, Waste, was described by the Toronto Star as "Keystone Cops meet horror in Oshawa." His latest, The Marigold, is set in a post-climate catastrophe Toronto ravaged by extreme weather, unfettered development and a toxic mould that’s rising from the groundwater and becoming sentient. It’s not a tale for the faint-hearted, but in its often grotesquely funny portrayal of a shiny city being consumed by the very land it stands on, it poses serious questions about mankind’s corruption of nature through our relentless desire for growth. Join Andrew and Red as they explore Toronto’s sinkholes, and the pitfalls and possible ramifications of late-stage capitalism. My Life in Books airs Mondays at 1 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio, or download the podcast from your favourite provider via this link: https://www.ami.ca/My-Life-Books/recent_episodes

For this episode, Red is joined by Irish author Sheila Armstrong whose writing has been described as, "elegiac and atmospheric, dark and disquieting." Her debut novel, Falling Animals, was inspired by a real-life mystery and like the sea off the coast of her native northwest Ireland, the tale it tells is alive with undercurrents. Each chapter focuses on a different character caught up in the wake of an unidentified man’s body appearing on a remote Irish beach. It’s a haunting tale which, like Sheila’s short stories, is rich with the landscape and thwarted dreams of a community living on the storm-tossed edge of the world. Join Sheila and Red as they explore the real-life mystery that inspired Falling Animals and how Sheila blurs the lines between the bizarre and the every day through her lyrical prose.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by Irish actor and voice artist Aoife McMahon, who is one of the most in-demand audiobook narrators in the business. Her range is astonishing. She has appeared in leading roles for the Royal Shakespeare Company and in numerous celebrated television dramas on both sides of the Atlantic, including as Mary Bundle Kean in the Canadian TV mini-series Random Passage, for which she won the 2002 Gemini Award for Best Actress in a leading role. Aoife has narrated over 200 audiobooks, holds a degree in English, and is an avid reader and a nascent writer. Her recent accolades include numerous AudioFile Awards and a place in the Top 10 Audiobooks as listed in The Irish Times, The New York Times and Amazon's top picks. Join Aoife and Red as they explore some of the titles narrated by her that will be featured in this series of My Life in Books and discover the narrator’s side of the story. My Life in Books airs Mondays at 1 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio, or download the podcast from your favourite provider via this link: https://www.ami.ca/My-Life-Books/recent_episodes

For this episode, Red is joined by Mat Osman, best known as the bassist and a founding member of the English rock band Suede.But even as their ninth studio album, Autofiction, continues to achieve worldwide success, Mat is also making a name for himself in the world of literary fiction. His second novel, The Ghost Theatre, is a gripping historical fantasy that is set in London in 1601 among a troupe of child actors forced to perform under Queen Elizabeth I’s royal warrant.Join Mat and Red as they discuss this spellbinding tale of double lives and the beguiling effect of performance on both the audience and players.

For this episode, Red is joined by Alka Joshi, whose Jaipur Trilogy of books has become an international sensation. The book that completes the series, The Perfumist of Paris, was published earlier this year. It’s set in the 1970s, amid the highly competitive Parisian perfume industry. The story follows Rada, a young Indian woman with a painful secret, who is determined to forge her own career in an industry dominated by men. The novel richly evokes both a past era, and timeless fragrances, many of which are blended using essential oils sourced from India. With fans around the world and a Netflix series of her first novel The Henna Artist, in production, Alka’s success as an author is proof positive that there is no upper age limit to achieving our dreams. Join Alka and Red as they discuss the power of perfume to evoke sensation and some of the more subtle ways India has long been a part of Western culture.

Raising the curtain on our brand-new series, Red is joined by Emily Urquhart. Based in Kitchener, Ontario, Emily is a journalist with a doctorate in folklore from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her latest book, Ordinary Wonder Tales, is a collection of essays exploring the way in which we weave fables and fairy tales into our own personal narratives, using them to make sense of new or disturbing situations. Often deeply autobiographical, Emily’s essays are meditations on, among other subjects, fear, grief, genetics and memory, that draw universal truths from the stories we tell ourselves. Join Emily and Red as they trace some of the timeless traditional tales that continue to resonate through our own daily narratives.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. Ece Temelkuran is an award-winning author and journalist and one of Europe’s most highly respected political thinkers. Her 2019 book, How to Lose a Country: The Seven Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship, was hailed as an urgent call to action to combat a global rise in populism. Two years later, in a world blighted by COVID-19 and more divided than ever, she might have been excused for publishing a post-mortem. Instead, in Together: 10 Choices for a Better Now, she set out a manifesto for social and political change. "This is not about how we messed things up," she says, "This is about what kind of world we want to live in now, and the joy we can take in finding our dignity again." Join Ece and Red as they discuss the roles of faith, hope, and community in a world of deception, fear and inequality.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. Pamela Mulloy’s debut novel, The Deserters, was published in 2018, and explores the tangled relationship between a lonely wife on a New Brunswick farm and an American soldier who goes AWOL while on leave from Iraq. Whereas The Deserters examines the aftermath of war, specifically post-traumatic stress disorder, Pamela’s follow-up, As Little as Nothing, explores the effects of war’s approach. Set in the south of England in the 12 months leading up to the Second World War, the novel is a vivid portrait of a community still coming to terms with events of the past while also preparing for an uncertain future. Join Pamela and Red as they discuss trauma, resilience and the various ways we reinvent ourselves. My Life in Books airs Mondays at 1 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio, or download the podcast from your favourite provider via this link: https://www.ami.ca/My-Life-Books/recent_episodes

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. By her own admission, Dr. Catherine Raven is more comfortable in nature than among people. The biologist, university lecturer and former U.S. National Park Ranger lives off the grid in the wilderness of Montana. Her prizewinning memoir, Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship, tells the fascinating and moving story of her unexpected and transformative friendship with a wild fox. It is both a hymn to empathy and a reminder that we share more than our habitat with our fellow creatures. Join Catherine and Red as they probe the limits of the scientific method and discuss the role of storytelling and intuition in defining our place in the world. My Life in Books airs Mondays at 1 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio, or download the podcast from your favourite provider via this link: https://www.ami.ca/My-Life-Books/recent_episodes

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. Sara Sheridan is a Scottish author who writes historical novels based on the real-life stories of late Georgian and early Victorian explorers. She has also penned a highly successful series of cozy crime noir mysteries set in 1950s Brighton; and, in 2016, she founded a perfume brand called Reek, whose signature scent, Damn Rebel Bitches, has been called "the first feminist fragrance." "History is a treasure chest of stories,” she says, and her latest novel, The Fair Botanists, is built around a gem of a tale. Set in Edinburgh in 1822, it reimagines the suspense ahead of King George IV’s inaugural visit against the extraordinary background of a parade of full-grown trees being transported through the city on horse-drawn carts, from the old Botanical Garden to their new home. Join Sara and Red as they discuss Enlightenment-era Edinburgh: a hotbed of new money, grinding poverty, shrewd women and botanical espionage My Life in Books airs Mondays at 1 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio, or download the podcast from your favourite provider via this link: https://www.ami.ca/My-Life-Books/recent_episodes

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this, the second of two special episodes focusing on the history of audiobooks, Red is joined by Professor Matthew Rubery. In his book, The Untold Story of The Talking Book, Prof. Rubery not only explores the origins of a form of publishing that grew from the needs of people who are blind, but also examines the relationship between the written and spoken word, and the part narrators play in that dynamic. Join Matthew and Red as they continue their journey through the technological innovations that have made audiobooks more accessible than ever, and the stigma that persists around whether listening to a book is really the same as reading one. My Life in Books airs Mondays at 1 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio, or download the podcast from your favourite provider via this link: https://www.ami.ca/My-Life-Books/recent_episodes

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this, the first of two special episodes focusing on the history of audiobooks, Red is joined by Professor Matthew Rubery. In his book, The Untold Story of The Talking Book, Prof. Rubery not only explores the origins of a form of publishing that grew from the needs of blind people, but also examines the relationship between the written and spoken word, and the part narrators play in that dynamic. Join Matthew and Red as they start their journey at the genesis of spoken word recordings, and meet the extraordinary blind activists on both sides of the Atlantic who wouldn’t take no for an answer when it came to using technology to make books accessible to those who could not see to read. My Life in Books airs Mondays at 1 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio, or download the podcast from your favourite provider via this link https://www.ami.ca/My-Life-Books/recent_episodes

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. Caroline Graham has been dubbed, "Simply the best detective writer since Agatha Christie," and, like Poirot or Miss Marple, she has found a truly global audience through the TV adaptation of her novels. The first five episodes of Midsomer Murders were adapted from Caroline’s Chief Inspector Barnaby novels, and are laced with that same compelling blend of rural English whimsy and macabre malevolence. However, the constraints of adapting a novel into a screenplay did deprive us of Caroline’s flair for writing psychological pen portraits of her characters, and some of the darker aspects of her plots. But now, audiobook fans can enjoy the original stories in all their unabridged brilliance through new recordings of all seven Chief Inspector Barnaby mysteries, with Midsomer Murders actor John Hopkins narrating them. Join Caroline, her son David, and Red for a glimpse behind the scenes of the series that made Midsomer the murder capital of the English shires! My Life in Books airs Mondays at 1 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio, or download the podcast from your favourite provider via this link: https://www.ami.ca/My-Life-Books/recent_episodes

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. Jonathan Whitelaw is an author, journalist and broadcaster with a darkly comic sense of humour and a love of detective fiction. Having worked on the frontline of Scottish politics, he has now turned his skills to writing cozy crime. His HellCorp novels featured the Devil as a beleaguered manager and reluctant gumshoe, and Jonathan’s most recent series centres around a wily group of bingo-playing amateur sleuths from Penrith, in the English Lake District. Jonathan has recently moved to Ontario, so join him and Red as they get their eyes down for a full house of murder and mayhem! My Life in Books airs Mondays at 1 p.m. Eastern on AMI-audio, or download the podcast from your favourite provider via this link: https://www.ami.ca/My-Life-Books/recent_episodes

Ellen Jovin is a self-confessed grammar nerd. So passionate is she that, in 2018, she decided to set up a table outside her New York home to answer questions about the correct use of grammar and other knotty linguistic problems that passers-by might have. It proved an instant success and soon she and her husband took the table, and a selection of reference books, on tour around the United States. In Rebel With A Clause, Ellen documents the most common grammar questions and complaints she encountered and gives examples and guidance for correct usage. If you find yourself wincing at a misplaced apostrophe or puzzling over when and where to use a semicolon, join Ellen and Red around the grammar table.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by Val Wood, an award-winning author of romantic historical fiction, whose work is often compared to that of Catherine Cookson. In Val’s case, she has chosen her seaboard locale of Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire in which to set her books. And her highly evocative sense of place and landscape, coupled with her historical accuracy has won her legions of fans around the world. The parallels with Catherine Cookson don’t end there: Val, too, is a passionate supporter of libraries, literacy, and sight loss charities. All of her 28 novels to date have been recorded as audiobooks, but her commitment to making print accessible to those of us who can’t see to read print goes back much further than that. Join Val and Red as they explore the history of the East Riding of Yorkshire, including its enduring sense of community and charity.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Szell for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by writer and journalist Ed Caesar. In his first book, "Two Hours," Ed explored the quest to run a sub-two-hour marathon, and the men determined to break that seemingly impossible barrier. His follow-up, "The Moth and The Mountain," tells the extraordinary story of Maurice Wilson, a First World War veteran who, in 1933, attempted to fly a Gipsy Moth biplane from England to the foothills of Mount Everest, and then climb the as yet unconquered mountain alone! Join Ed and Red as they explore the extremes of human endurance and the circumstances that drive some people there.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Széll for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by Champion of the Classics, Natalie Haynes. Through her best-selling novels, her sell-out stand-up comedy performances, and eight series of her hit radio show, Natalie has brought the myths of Ancient Greece and Rome to legions of new fans. Her novels The Children of Jocasta and A Thousand Ships retold the Greek myths of Oedipus and Antigone, and the Trojan War respectively, reshaping the stories by placing women at their hearts. And her latest novel, Stone Blind, reveals a new side to the seemingly familiar myth of Perseus and The Gorgon, Medusa. Not only does it put male power under the spotlight but it explores how we create monsters out of our fear of the unknown. And best of all for fans of Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, she narrates the audiobook version of Stone Blind herself! Join Natalie and Red as they discuss petulant gods, sympathetic monsters and blind characters in Ancient Greek literature.

Join writer, broadcaster and blind adventurer Red Szell for the latest episode of AMI-audio’s My Life in Books. Each fortnight, Red invites you to join him in conversation with a renowned author about their work and the books that inspired them to write. For this episode, Red is joined by Marilyn Davidson Elliott, author of The Blind Mechanic. The book chronicles the life of her father, Eric Davidson, one of the most extraordinary survivors of the Halifax Explosion of 1917, which remains the largest non-nuclear man-made explosion in history. It left nearly 2,000 people dead, and 9,000 wounded, many with eye injuries. So many, in fact, that the disaster hastened the formation of the CNIB. Of the people who lost their sight entirely that day, the youngest was two-and-a-half-year-old Eric, who went on to defy both expectation and convention to become a fully qualified automobile mechanic. He was also emblematic of Halifax’s determination to overcome the shock waves. His story and that of the Halifax Explosion have been meticulously researched by Marilyn, and the CELA Library was on hand to ensure that it was recorded as an audiobook. Join Marilyn and Red as they discuss Eric’s quiet determination, astounding automotive ability, and the enduring legacy of the Halifax Explosion.

For this episode, Red is joined by John Keay, a British historian with an international reputation for writing accessible biographies of India, The Far East and China.In his new book, Himalaya: Exploring the Roof of the World, he presents us with a meticulously researched and characterful history of one of the world’s last great wildernesses and, in particular, of the bizarre discoveries and improbable achievements of its pioneers.It has mesmerized scholars and mystics, sportsmen and spies, pilgrims and mapmakers, all of whom have mingled with its farmers and traders on the "Roof of the World." But it is also the portrait of an area, the size of Europe, that continues to be riven by conflict and is under increasing ecological threat.Join John and Red as they discuss Himalaya’s geology, exploration, exploitation and future as one of the world’s most essential and endangered wonders.

This time, Red is joined by Josie Lloyd who, since her debut in 1997, has written a string of best-selling novels, including the international smash hit Come Together, which she co-wrote with her husband Emlyn Rees. Although her books are a celebration of life, love, and friendship, Josie has never shied away from difficult subjects, but she invariably does so with a sense of hope and humour. This was particularly true of her 2021 novel, The Cancer Ladies Running Club, which she wrote in the wake of her own diagnosis of breast cancer. The novel, published in the U.S. as The Brightside Running Club, is now being made into a film of the same name, and its themes of finding positivity through fitness and friendship are continued in Josie’s latest book, Lifesaving For Beginners. Written during the lockdown, it too touches on some dark subject matter but as always Josie’s light touch is there to celebrate some of what the lockdown gave us as well as recognize what it took away. "Literature should be there to hold up a mirror for people to find themselves in, and I always look for the funny in life," she says. Join Josie and Red as they discuss the healing powers of friendship, open-water swimming, and The Very Hungover Caterpillar!

Red is joined by Kate Summerscale, an award-winning author and journalist who achieved international recognition with the publication of "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher." The book was a ground-breaking re-examination of the infamous Road Hill House case, a grisly Victorian murder that became the blueprint for the classic English country house murder story.Since writing "Mr. Whicher," Kate has turned her forensic light onto several other seemingly inexplicable cases, including those of "Mrs. Robinson’s Disgrace" and "The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story." So her most recent book might seem like a bit of a departure. But in "The Book of Phobias and Manias: A History of the World in 99 Obsessions," she offers us a series of fascinating case studies to take us on a tour of our deepest fears and compulsions.Join Kate and Red, if you dare, as they explore foibles from arachnophobia to trypophobia with a touch of Beatlemania thrown in for good measure!

In this episode, Red is joined by Graeme Macrae Burnet who, in his four novels to date, has created a cryptic and compelling sub-genre: false true crime. His second book, His Bloody Project, was a runaway hit, shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize and translated into more than 20 languages.Now, his fourth, Case Study, which has recently been published in Canada, seems destined to equal, if not outperform, it. In its pages, he entwines the fictional biography of Collins Braithwaite, a radical 1960s psychiatrist, with the journal of a young woman who becomes a patient of Braithwaite’s in the belief that he drove her sister to suicide.  "Suicide makes Miss Marples of us all," claims the young woman, who has adopted the name, Rebecca, in a nod to Daphne du Maurier. But as fans of Graeme Macrae Burnet will know, his protagonists are never reliable narrators, and like psychotherapists, it is up to his readers to tease out the truth contained in the stories he presents to us.Join Graeme and Red as they discuss unreliable witnesses, French Existentialism, and the joy of creating puzzles.

For this episode, Red is joined by Kevin J Anderson, the internationally best-selling author of over 170 novels, including the Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I., series and the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns. He has also written spin-off novels for Star Wars, The X-Files, and co-authored the prequels to Frank Herbert’s Dune series.  But perhaps his proudest achievement comes from his collaboration with legendary Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. Their 2012 novel, Clockwork Angels, was written to accompany Rush’s album of the same name. Across its pages, they created a fabulous world of airships and alchemy, clockwork carnivals, lost cities and ruthless pirates, all governed by an autocratic Watchmaker and threatened by his nemesis, the Anarchist. It’s a world they revisited in Clockwork Lives, which is nothing less than a steampunk Canterbury Tales! Sadly, Neil Peart passed away in 2020, but as a tribute to his great friend and the world they created together, Kevin has completed the trilogy with, Clockwork Destiny, which he also narrates for the audiobook version.Join Kevin and Red as they discuss the profound influence Rush and Neil Peart had on Kevin’s writing, and the enduring legacy the audiobook versions of The Clockwork Angels trilogy have created.

For this episode, Red is joined by Ben Macintyre, the award-winning author of over a dozen historical biographies that reveal some of the most fascinating and entertaining true spy stories of 20th-century history. From double agents operating during World War II to legendary Cold War spies such as Kim Philby and Oleg Gordievsky, Ben’s research has given him access to some of the most closely guarded secrets in the history of espionage.  His outstanding biography of Operation Mincemeat, a daring scheme to misdirect the Nazis in 1943, was adapted into a feature film earlier this year. But Ben is not one to rest on his laurels; his latest book explores another remarkable corner of World War II operations. Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis’ Fortress Prison, shines new light on one of the greatest war stories ever told.Join Ben and Red as they discuss tunnels, tradecraft, and the type of character required to be the perfect spy.