Tag: Audiobooks Landing Page

Bestselling Author Kevin Kwan Discusses Musical Inspiration and How Places Can Become Characters Too

June 19, 2024

Kevin Kwan is one of the most distinguished authors of our time, and has captivated fans with his international bestsellers, Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend, and Rich People Problems. The trilogy commanded the top three positions of the New York Times bestseller list for several weeks in 2018. The film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians became one of Hollywood’s highest-grossing rom-coms, leading to Kevin being named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. 

For the Record sat down with Kevin to learn more about his creative process and the musical inspiration for his newest novel, Lies & Weddings. 

What’s your earliest memory of stories being read aloud to you?

It would have been in kindergarten in Singapore, and I remember that the teacher would read to us from books while we sat on the floor around her. My grandfather also read to me from “The Monkey God” series of books that he had in his library. I remember sitting on his lap and marveling at all the amazing illustrations in the book as he read.

What’s your writing process like? Where do you get inspiration?

The inspiration for my new novel Lies & Weddings first came to me on the Big Island of Hawaii.  I stayed in a little bungalow on the beach and suddenly words filled my head and I began writing a chapter a day. I write chronologically, without any outlines, and I let the story take me where it wants. As the plot revolved around destination weddings, I continued to move—to Los Angeles, London, Morocco, and Venice for more inspiration. The places really begin to become characters in my books.

Does a narrator reading your words aloud change the experience for the listener?

Absolutely! Audiobooks need to be performed, there’s an art to it. The Lies & Weddings audiobook is read by Jing Lusi, a wonderful actress who was in the Crazy Rich Asians movie.  Jing did an incredible job—she made the story riveting and brought all the characters to life in the most gripping and hilarious way.

Can you tell us about the playlist you made for your new novel, Lies & Weddings?

I designed this playlist to set the mood for different scenes and echo the emotional journey I take my readers on throughout the book. “Songbird” by Fleetwood Mac is the pivotal song that helped me get to the heart of the emotions that my heroine Eden experienced when she was feeling most lost. “I Can See For Miles” by Kathleen Smith is a gorgeous love ballad that I picture during the wedding scene that takes place in a hot air balloon ride over the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Then there’s Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You.” It’s the song I imagined Rufus and Eden would listen to as they drove down a beautiful desolate highway on a moonlit night.

What are you listening to or reading right now?

I’m listening to lots of classic Björk, the jazz piano stylings of Joey Alexander, and I recently discovered the music of the Ethiopian Jazz legend Mulatu Astatke. And I’m reading Lea Carpenter’s latest novel, “Ilium.”

Stream Kevin’s Lies & Weddings playlist and experience the musical journey for yourself 

Mental Health Matters: Embrace Self-Care With These Audiobook and Podcast Listens

May 16, 2024

May is Mental Health Awareness month, a time to recognize those living with mental health concerns and reduce the stigma many experience. Mental health struggles impact everyone to some degree, and methods of self-care can vary. To that end, here are some recommendations from Spotify’s editors of audiobooks and podcasts focused on mental health, well-being, and self-care:

Audiobooks:

The Mountain is You

Brianna Wiest

Narrated by Stacey Glemboski

For centuries, the mountain has been used as a metaphor for the big challenges humans face, especially those that seem impossible to overcome. To scale our own personal mountains, we must do the deep internal work of excavating trauma, building resilience, and adjusting how we show up for the climb. In the end, it is not the mountain we master, but ourselves.

In The Mountain is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage into Self-Mastery, Brianna Wiest explores the reasons people often resist efforts to evolve and explains why extracting crucial insights from our most damaging habits can help us build emotional intelligence, better understand our brains and bodies, and release past experiences at a cellular level. Wiest’s book walks through the ways in which learning to act as our highest-potential future selves can help us step out of our own way. 

Permission to Come Home

Jenny Wang

Narrated by Jenny Wang

As Asian Americans investigate the personal and societal effects of longstanding cultural narratives suggesting they take up as little space as possible, Permission to Come Home takes readers on an empowering journey of Asian Americans’ reclaiming liberty over their mental health. More than 18 million people of Asian descent live in the United States today; however, they are the racial group least likely to seek out mental health services.

Calling on her personal narrative as a Taiwanese American, her insights as a clinician, and evidence-based tools, Dr. Jenny T. Wang explores a range of life areas that call for attention, offering readers permission to question, feel, rage, say no, take up space, play, fail, and grieve. She suggests a return closer to home, a place of acceptance, belonging, healing, and freedom. For Asian Americans and the diaspora, this book is a necessary roadmap for the journey to wholeness. 

Check out the full Listens for the Mind playlist here:

The Art of Living

Thich Nhat Hanh

Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Gabra Zackman

 Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh—one of the world’s most revered spiritual leaders—explores an “art of living” in mindfulness that seeks to help readers answer some of life’s deepest questions and move toward experiencing greater happiness and freedom.

Combining the essence of the Buddha’s teachings and the author’s own poignant, timeless, and clarifying prose, The Art of Living explains seven transformative meditations that open up new perspectives on our lives, our relationships, and our interconnectedness with the world around us. Drawing on intimate examples from his own life, Thich Nhat Hanh demonstrates how these seven meditations can free us to live a happier, more peaceful, and more active life.

Decolonizing Wellness

Dalia Kinsey

Narrated by LaNecia Edmonds

A lack of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ representation in the fields of health and nutrition has a demonstrably negative impact on people with those identities. In Decolonizing Wellness, registered dietitian and nutritionist Dalia Kinsey explores how the body-positivity movement emphasizes cisgender, heteronormative, and Eurocentric standards of beauty and ignores the intersectional challenges of anti-Blackness, colorism, homophobia, transphobia, and generational trauma when it comes to wellness and self-care.

A roadmap to body acceptance and self-care for queer people of color in particular, the book encourages readers to embrace “food freedom”: viewing food as a source of pleasure instead of shame. It’s filled with practical eating practices, journal prompts, affirmations, and mindfulness tools and is a guide to throwing out food rules in exchange for internal cues. Readers learn how to adopt a self-love-based approach to eating and make mealtime into a time for celebration and healing.

Check out the full Wellness Essentials playlist here:

Mindful Mr. Sloth

Katy Hudson

Narrated by Erin Ruth Walker

Sasha has one speed: fast. She loves to do lots of things all at once, as fast as possible. Mr. Sloth has one speed: slow. He loves to do things one at a time at a nice, easy pace. Can Mr. Sloth’s mindful ways teach Sasha to slow down and enjoy life? Bestselling author Katy Hudson gently weaves a mindfulness theme into this unlikely friendship tale between an energetic girl and a sloth, encouraging children to stop, breathe, and be present in every moment.

Hattie Harmony: Opening Night

Robbie Arnett, Elizabeth Olsen

Narrated by Robbie Arnett, Elizabeth Olsen

In this sequel to the number-one New York Times bestselling Hattie Harmony: Worry Detective, Hattie shares new tools for managing anxiety, just in time for opening night of the school play. That night, there are plenty of nerves to go around! It’s a good thing Hattie Harmony is ready to help her friends soothe their worries with everything in her trusted tool belt. Will Hattie be able to settle the preshow jitters before curtain call? The authors—acclaimed actress Elizabeth Olsen and esteemed musician and writer Robbie Arnett—narrate this relatable tale that introduces the youngest reader to the importance of self-care.

Check out the full Kids’ Mental Health playlist here:

Podcasts:

The Liz Moody Podcast

Hosted by bestselling author and longtime journalist Liz Moody, this research-backed wellness podcast is all about helping you live your healthiest, happiest life. Each week, Liz sits down with some of the world’s best functional doctors, researchers, authors, journalists, and various other leaders in their fields to tackle the hacks, tips, and tricks that make a healthier life easier. Topics include what to eat to fight disease, how to take control of your finances, tips for fighting anxiety and depression, productivity and career advice, advice for making friends as an adult, the best skincare routines, healthy cooking secrets, and so much more. 

Oversharing

Relationship enthusiast Jordana Abraham teams up with her sister, licensed clinical therapist Dr. Naomi Bernstein, to answer your questions and try to get to the bottom of the things that bother us most. Think of Jordana and Dr. Naomi as your BFF and your therapist sitting side by side at the brunch table trying to help you get through your problems. Each week they respond to listener emails and tackle difficult ethical questions.

 Balanced Black Girl

Les Alfred founded the Balanced Black Girl podcast and blog in 2018, dedicated to helping you feel your best. Tune in for approachable health, self-care, personal development, and well-being advice from the perspective of Black women in wellness. Balanced Black Girl extends a bridge for folks to easily connect with experts, gurus, and a mindful community. 

Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris

When journalist Dan Harris had a panic attack on live national television, it led him to try something he otherwise never would have considered: meditation. Harris went on to write the bestselling book 10% Happier, and on the same-titled podcast, he interviews eminent meditation teachers, top scientists, and even the occasional celebrity. He covers subjects that range from enlightenment and psychedelics to productivity and relationships to science-based techniques for addressing anxiety.

Raising Good Humans

Most parents have probably wished, at one time or another, that someone would whisper some realistic and trustworthy support into their ears. That’s just what Dr. Aliza Pressman, developmental psychologist, parent educator, assistant clinical professor, and cofounder of both Mount Sinai Parenting Center and SeedlingsGroup, is here for. She’s a mom who’s trying to raise two good humans. In each episode, Dr. Pressman speaks with experts and parents to share the most effective approaches and tools and talk about the important bigger picture of raising good humans. 

 Real Pod

Victoria Garrick Browne, Forbes 30 Under 30 and TEDxTalk speaker, is known for her refreshing vulnerability and relatable candor. She hosts Real Pod, the podcast that dives into the heart-to-heart conversations we’re all craving. She has inspired millions to embrace their authentic selves and feel confident doing it. Are you ready to look at yourself, your relationships, and your life in a new way?

Check out the full Self-care podcasts section on Spotify here. 

In Their Own Words: Audiobooks To Explore During Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May 13, 2024

May is Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (APIHM), a time to reflect and celebrate the important role that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders play in our shared history. It’s also the perfect time to explore a biography or memoir from a member of these communities. Here are some recommendations from Spotify’s audiobooks editors:

Making a Scene

Written and narrated by Constance Wu

As a child growing up in suburban Virginia, actress Constance Wu was often scolded for having big feelings or strong reactions. “Good girls don’t make scenes,” people warned her. Community theater became her refuge, and acting later became her vocation. At 18, she moved to New York, where she spent the next 10 years of her life auditioning, waiting tables and struggling to make rent before her two big breaks: the TV sitcom Fresh Off the Boat and the hit film Crazy Rich Asians.

This raw, relatable memoir goes beyond tracing Wu’s rise to Hollywood fame to offer an intimate portrait of a living life out loud, on one’s own terms.

 We Were Dreamers

Written and narrated by Simu Liu

In this honest, inspiring memoir, the star of Marvel’s first Asian superhero film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, shares his own origin story. Simu Liu chronicles his family’s journey from China to the bright lights of Hollywood with razor-sharp wit and humor—from growing up as an immigrant in Canada, to his battles with cultural stereotypes and his own identity, to becoming a TV star and landing the role of a lifetime.

We Were Dreamers is more than a celebrity memoir, it’s a story about growing up between cultures, finding your family, and becoming the master of your own extraordinary circumstances.

Sigh, Gone

Written and narrated by Phuc Tran

 Sigh, Gone is an irreverent, funny, and moving tale of displacement and assimilation, perfect for anyone who can relate to feeling as if they don’t belong.

During the fall of Saigon, Phuc Tran and his family immigrated to America, landing in Carlisle, Pennsylvania—a small town where the Trans struggled to assimilate into their new life. In this coming-of-age memoir told through the themes of great books such as The Metamorphosis, The Scarlet Letter, The Iliad, and more, Phuc navigates the push and pull of finding and accepting himself despite the challenges of immigration, feelings of isolation, and teenage rebellion. In his journey for self-discovery Phuc ultimately finds refuge and inspiration in the art that shapes—and ultimately saves—him.

What My Bones Know

Written and narrated by Stephanie Foo

This New York Times-bestselling memoir by journalist Stephanie Foo investigates the little-understood science behind complex PTSD and how it shaped the author’s life.

By age 30, Stephanie had her dream job as a radio producer at This American Life, but she was having panic attacks at her desk every morning. Eventually, she was diagnosed with complex PTSD, a condition that occurs when trauma happens continuously over the course of years. In this deeply personal and thoroughly researched account, Stephanie interviews scientists and psychologists, tries a variety of innovative therapies, and returns to her hometown to investigate the effects of immigrant trauma on the community. Powerful, enlightening, and hopeful, What My Bones Know reckons with the hold of the past over the present and the mind over the body. It also examines one woman’s ability to reclaim agency from her trauma.

Why We Swim

Bonnie Tsui

Narrated By Angie Kane

Swimming is an introspective and silent sport in a chaotic and noisy age. It’s therapeutic for both the mind and body. It’s an adventurous way to get from point A to point B. And it’s also one route to that elusive, ecstatic state of flow.

Why We Swim is propelled by stories of Olympic champions, a Baghdad swim club that meets in Saddam Hussein’s palace pool, modern-day Japanese samurai swimmers, and even an Icelandic fisherman who improbably survives a wintry six-hour swim after a shipwreck. New York Times contributor Bonnie Tsui, a swimmer herself, dives into the deep, from the San Francisco Bay to the South China Sea, investigating what it is about water—despite its dangers—that seduces us, tempting us to come back to it again and again.

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant

Written and narrated by Curtis Chin

In the 1980s, Detroit was a volatile place to live. But above the fray stood a safe haven: Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine, where anyone—from the city’s first Black mayor to the local drag queens, from a big-time Hollywood star to elderly Jewish couples—could sit down for a warm, home-cooked meal.

Beneath the restaurant’s bright-red awning and surrounded by his multigenerational family, filmmaker and activist Curtis Chin learned to embrace his identity as a gay ABC, or American-born Chinese. He realized just how much he had to offer the world, to his beloved family, and to himself. Structured around the very menu that graced the tables of Chung’s, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant is both a memoir and an invitation to step inside one boy’s childhood oasis, scoot into a vinyl booth, and grow up with him—and perhaps even share something off the secret menu. 

A Daughter of the Samurai

Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto

Narrated By Siho Ellsmore

In the late 19th century, after Japan was restored to imperial rule, the samurais were no longer the seat of power and the families who were impacted by this shift lost wealth and power. 

Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto was the daughter of one such samurai, and had begun her life on a track to become a Buddhist priestess. But as the family lost their position in society, her path changed, and she was eventually sent to the United States to be in an arranged marriage to an American man. A Daughter of the Samurai is her personal memoir of her life and perspective on the differences between Japanese and American lifestyles, the value of women in each society, and the influence that evolving cultures had on different classes of society.

Check out the ‘Amplifying API Stories’ audiobooks shelf on platform, and view the full list of biographies and memoirs here:

Never Miss a New Release With Countdown Pages for Audiobooks

May 6, 2024

Spotify is making it easier for booklovers to count down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until a new audiobook releases. With Countdown Pages for audiobooks, listeners can pre-save audiobooks prior to a book’s release date—and authors, publishers, and narrators can promote their upcoming titles ahead of launch. This new feature will help ensure that users never miss their next great audiobook listens and help authors and publishers drive streams. 

We’ve seen the success and momentum Countdown Pages can have for musical artists and fans, with artists like Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Justin Timberlake, Kacey Musgraves, Billie Eilish, and others trying it out for album launches with great results: On average, nearly 70% of users who pre-save an album listen to it in the first week. We’re now excited to introduce this feature to another content vertical on Spotify as part of our ongoing effort to improve the overall experience for our users.

How to use Countdown Pages for audiobooks

Beginning today, you can try out Countdown Pages for audiobooks by following these simple steps: 

  1. Search for the title of an upcoming audiobook on Spotify, or browse our editorial “Coming Soon” shelf in the audiobooks section.
  2. Click the “pre-save” button on the audiobook’s Spotify page and see the timer count down to its release. 
  3. We’ll then add the audiobook to your Spotify library and notify you as soon as it’s released.
  4. You can also view the “More like this” tab to browse similar books that you can start listening to right away. 

Countdown Pages for audiobooks is available to both free and Premium users in all markets where Spotify audiobooks are available.

Celebrate May the 4th With Special ‘Star Wars’ Playlists, Audiobooks, and More

May 1, 2024

Spotify’s Star Wars celebrations are in full Force starting today, and this May the 4th—aka Star Wars Day—fans will discover playlists with exclusive interactive content and new ways to explore audiobooks from the iconic franchise.

In our Best of Star Wars playlist—which has been streamed over 70 million times to date—multiple lightsabers have been hidden throughout our collection of the most-iconic Star Wars songs. Those intrepid enough to find them all will be rewarded with special Easter eggs featuring beloved characters from the Star Wars universe.

In addition, Spotify Audiobooks today launched its new Sci-Fi & Fantasy Essentials hub, which includes a number of Star Wars classics for fans to listen along to, in addition to new and quintessential sci-fi and fantasy titles such as The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, and Black Shield Maiden by Willow Smith, releasing May 6.

Ready to listen for yourself? Just follow these simple steps.

How to celebrate Star Wars Day with Spotify:

  • Lightsaber Scavenger Hunt (Mobile Only): Listen to Spotify’s Best of Star Wars Playlist to begin unlocking hidden lightsabers in the tracks. As specific songs are played, listeners will receive a message from characters announcing they have unlocked a lightsaber. Once a listener has collected all five, they can check back later for a special message coming from a galaxy far, far away. 
  • Intergalactic Audiobooks: Spotify Premium users across the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand have access to 15 hours of monthly audiobook listening time—check out titles from the Essential Legend Collection including Yoda: Dark Rendezvous or Timothy Zahn’s top-streamed Heir to the Empire (Star Wars Legends). 

Star Wars fans show their love on Spotify

While May the 4th is a banner day for Star Wars-related streams each year, Spotify data reveals that fans listen to their favorite Star Wars hits on Spotify all year long: 

The art of Star Wars soundtracks

Last (but certainly not least), For the Record spoke with composer Kevin Kiner who, alongside his children Sean and Deana, has created the scores for fan-favorite shows like Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and most recently, Ashoka. Keep reading to discover what makes a Star Wars song a Star Wars song, his creative approach to Star Wars shows, and his experience of watching Star Wars for the very first time. 

Kevin Kiner

How does it feel to be a part of the Star Wars universe? Were you always a fan?

It means everything to me. It’s the crowning achievement of my career to be part of Star Wars, and in my opinion, having themes that are now canon in the Star Wars universe is one of the greatest honors a composer can have.  

But to fully answer the question, I was always a fan. I went to every midnight showing I could. I don’t think there was a midnight showing in 1977, but I do remember when I first saw Star Wars. When I first saw that giant Star Destroyer and I first heard John’s magnificent theme, it changed my life, musically speaking.

Your work spans many different genres and worlds. How do you add in elements that bring those various places to life in a score?

It’s hard to talk about being eclectic and cohesive at the same time when the very definition of being eclectic often involves not being cohesive. I feel that all of the music we do for Star Wars still has a largeness of scope to it in the same way John Williams’ compositions do. If you take his “The Imperial March,” for example, it’s a giant piece of music in terms of not being subtle and being extremely bold. 

Boldness is one of the hallmarks of Star Wars music. That’s what we strategically have in mind when we are writing. So even if we are using unusual flutes or dark synths, they are all bold sounds that hearken to the spirit of the Star Wars universe. 

How do you get into the right creative mindset when you start work on a new Star Wars soundtrack?

For Ahsoka, Sean, Deana, and I put together a playlist of 20-25 tracks that we thought were really groundbreaking and unusual. The list included everyone from Joe Hisaishi to John Williams, with many other composers in between. 

Then, we sent those to Ashoka creator Dave Filoni and got feedback from him as to what he liked. But mostly, we just let those percolate in our brains a little bit. My personal technique for preparing is I go to the piano every morning and I start working on ideas.  

After a while, those ideas start to gel into different themes. Also, sometimes a theme just comes while I’m in the middle of writing a cue. Many times, that winds up being the best theme in the show.

The second season of Ahsoka is in development. Any fun musical surprises the fans can expect?

I actually don’t know a thing about Season 2 yet. Purposely, I have asked Dave to keep us in the dark, unless we need to develop a theme that happens later on in the arc of a series. 

I like to be surprised when I first watch a show or a film because thoughts and ideas come to me as a visceral reaction to what I’m watching. So that’s a long way of saying that I have no idea if there are musical surprises. But I’m sure there will be something that surprises even me!

Kick off your May the 4th celebrations with the Lightsaber Scavenger Hunt in our Best of Star Wars playlist!

Spotify Premium Listeners in Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand Can Soon Access More Than 250,000 Audiobooks

April 2, 2024

Attention booklovers in Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand! Listening to your favorite audiobooks is about to get even easier. Beginning April 9, Spotify Premium users in these markets will have access to up to 15 hours of audiobooks per month, seamlessly integrated alongside music and podcasts, on a single platform through a unified subscription. 

Our Premium audiobook catalog, already available in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, is one of the largest subscription-based audiobook-streaming platforms at 250,000 titles and growing—we’re already up from 200,000 titles since late last year. We’re excited for more listeners than ever to discover and engage with books, and to mark the occasion we asked authors from these markets—Canada’s Carley Fortune, New Zealand’s Chloe Gong, and Ireland’s Rosemary Mac Cabe—to share some of their favorites.

Carley Fortune

Canadian Carley Fortune is the best-selling author of Every Summer After and Meet Me at the Lake. Her new book, This Summer Will Be Different, will be published May 7.

What are three of your favorite audiobooks? 

What do you love most about audiobooks?

I’m not sure if this is a positive trait, but I’m a multitasker, and I love to figure out ways to use my time efficiently. I’m a full-time writer and a parent to two young, energetic boys—I will never be able to read all the books I’d like to, but audiobooks help! I can squeeze in reading while I’m driving or washing the dishes. But it’s not just that audiobooks help me read more. A truly excellent audiobook elevates the reading experience, absorbing you in the story and bringing the emotion to life. And they’re so accessible. Listening to an audiobook is reading: Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. 

Chloe Gong

Raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Chloe Gong is the best-selling author of the Secret Shanghai novels and the Flesh and False Gods trilogy.

What are three of your favorite audiobooks?

What’s your earliest memory of stories’ being read aloud to you, audiobooks or otherwise?

In primary school, we would read a class-selected book quietly, and then we would come together for the teacher to read it aloud while we sat cross-legged on the mat. It was one of the most joyous parts of my day as a five-year-old. I developed such an appreciation for how class read-aloud time held my attention, and I grew more and more intrigued by the act of storytelling until I became an avid reader myself and eventually an avid writer.

Rosemary Mac Cabe 

Irish author and journalist Rosemary Mac Cabe was raised in Dublin and published her book, This Is Not About You: A Menmoir, in summer 2023.

What are three of your favorite audiobooks?

What’s your earliest memory of books’ being read to you? 

One of the few books from my very early childhood that I remember is Smoke and Fluff, a Ladybird book written and illustrated by AJ McGregor, a fact I didn’t even have to look up because it’s now on nightly rotation in my house. I ordered a secondhand copy online for my two-year-old pretty much the month he was conceived.

Opening it up again after so long was weird, though. I hadn’t seen or read it in probably three decades. I remembered it almost word for word. The illustrations were almost as familiar to me as my childhood bedroom, or a scarf my mum has worn every winter for my whole life.

There’s something about reading this same book—which is quite long, for a children’s book—every single night that reminds me just how much time goes into parenting. It makes me feel close to my own mum, too, who put in this same time, this same love, when she read it to me over and over so many years ago. I live in the U.S. now, while she’s still at home in Ireland, but when I’m reading this it’s like she’s there with us.

Spotify’s New Audiobooks Access Tier Gives Booklovers More Listening Options

March 1, 2024

Spotify is continuously innovating to provide the best possible offering for every kind of audio fan. Since launching Audiobooks in Premium, we’ve seen a 45% increase in free users searching for and interacting with Audiobook content each day. Now we are introducing a new plan option to give our listeners a variety of choices.

Starting today, the Audiobooks Access Tier provides booklovers in the U.S. with 15 hours of listening from our audiobooks catalog of over 200,000 titles for $9.99 a month. With this plan and in one app experience, listeners can continue to tune into music and podcasts on our free, ad-supported service, offering a great option for literary enthusiasts who are looking for more audiobook-specific content. 

Spotify offers several subscription plans tailored to fit a variety of users’ preferences and will continue to invest in giving our listeners more options to cater to their unique needs.

For more information on our available plans, visit our audiobooks page. To stay up-to-date on the latest news from Spotify, follow @SpotifyNews.    

Creators Kevin Norman and Hina Talk Romance Fiction, Audiobooks, and Finding Community Online

February 27, 2024

Be it a steamy contemporary novel, a charming historical romp, or fantasy with a passionate twist, romance holds a special place in many readers’ hearts. On Spotify, you can find audiobooks that cover everything from classic romance (hello, Pride and Prejudice) to viral modern picks (Red, White & Royal Blue, anyone?) and everything in between. With recommendations, curated playlists, and more, our on-platform Spicy Audiobooks hub is an easy way to start exploring.

This February, we’re celebrating romance audiobooks on Spotify with the help of authors like Ana Huang, as well as some of our favorite audiobook experts: Kevin Norman and Hina. For the Record caught up with Kevin and Hina to learn more about their love of reading, the power of social media, and their ideal spice level when it comes to romance novels.

Romance fiction is having a moment. Why is this genre so popular?

Kevin: People have always loved romance novels, but social media has given us a place to talk about them and introduce them to a whole bunch of new readers. As these videos go viral, they have a reach that book marketing never had before.

Hina: Part of why I think this genre is so popular right now is because we are still in the post-pandemic adjustment era. One of the consequences of the pandemic was a global shared feeling of loneliness. A lot of people turned to online spaces to feel the company of others, to feel less alone while we were locked away in our homes and the world was on pause. It makes sense to me that online communities boosted genres such as romance fiction given that collectively, we were all seeking something that made us feel like we could be in a world untouched by disaster.

Kevin, you helped curate editorial content for Spotify’s Spicy Audiobooks hub. Tell us about that experience—how did you determine your selections?

Kevin Norman

Kevin: It has been one of the most surreal opportunities I’ve had as a bookish content creator. I always saw those celebrity playlists, so it’s wild that I now have my own and get to share some of my favorite books. When making my selections, I wanted to be diverse in my choices and ensure I included a little of everything for everyone. I felt like this was an opportunity not just for me, but for all of us in the book community, so I didn’t want to only include books I’ve read and loved. This playlist is for all of us.

What do you hope listeners get out of the hub?

Kevin: I hope that new listeners will fall in love with reading and that they’ll discover their next favorite book. It’s a fantastic opportunity for people to explore a new genre and fall in love with my personal favorite way to read: audiobooks! I hope it spices up their lives, too.

From sweet (🌶️) to scorching hot (🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️), where’s your sweet spot for romance fiction?

Hina: For me, between 1 and 2 is ample, and the book’s spice level is second to the plot. To feel invested in any book, I think the spice needs to feel like it has a purpose and isn’t the propeller of the plot itself.

Kevin: My sweet spot for a romance book is a 3! Not too hot, not too mild. It’s a perfect blend of spice, romance, and plot.

What romance novel would you recommend to someone totally new to the genre?

Kevin: I would pick something by Emily Henry. Her books are a great balance of romance and spice without being too overwhelming for someone new to the genre.

Hina: I really enjoyed Gideon the Ninth from the Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. It’s a romantasy novel with a gothic atmosphere, a creative plot, queer love, and an interesting world. I’d call it “gays in space” if I had to rename it in three words. This was the first romance novel I had ever read, so it stands out to me. The strange relationship dynamics in this book were filled with tension and excitement. I remember how fast I turned the pages just to get to these moments of juiciness.

Hina

What do you love most about audiobooks?

Hina: One night I wanted to draw but also wanted to read, so I gave audiobooks a shot. My life changed forever. Now there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t listen to a book. I still love a physical book, but there’s something about having it read to me that has really charmed me. Hearing how the readers emote and read dialogue sections is particularly fascinating. Sometimes there’s a part of a book I’d read one way in my head, and then hearing it read in a different way can change the tone entirely.

Kevin: I love audiobooks because of how convenient they are for anyone who is busy and on the go. You can listen to them while you drive, cook, clean, etc. Plus, it makes books feel so immersive. My first audiobook experience was Harry Potter when I was in elementary school, and I have been obsessed with audiobooks ever since. Also, they help me focus. I love to read a physical book while listening to the audiobook for full immersion, and to cut out everyday distractions.

Any advice for people who want to get into—or get back into—reading?

Kevin: Honestly, audiobooks! I think they’re perfect for those who might think reading a physical book can be a little daunting. Whenever I feel like I’m in a reading slump, audiobooks always pull me out.

Hina: The most important thing about reading is that you read things that are interesting to you. No matter how much you like to read, you’re not going to enjoy reading something you’re not into. For me, I love sci-fi. Out of the hundreds of books I’ve read in my lifetime, I’d bet at least 70% are sci-fi. Ask yourself what kind of media or stories you like from other mediums, like film or TV. If you like historical movies, try historical fiction or period pieces. If you like documentaries, try nonfiction or memoirs. If you like video games, read books like Ready Player One or Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. There’s a book for everyone.

Looking for a sizzling, swoony listen? Peruse Spotify’s Spicy Audiobooks hub.

7 Great Audiobooks That Inspired 2024’s Most Nominated Films

February 23, 2024

Sometimes a story is too good to only exist as a book, which has inspired countless directors to turn must-read novels into feature-length films. And quite often, those movies end up nominated for awards.

To celebrate this year’s award-nominated (and award-winning) movies, Spotify’s audiobooks team has highlighted their favorite picks that inspired a number of 2024’s nominees. From gritty true crime accounts to uplifting memoirs to biting satires or fantastical literature, the entire range of literary genres is represented on this list. 

So take a deeper dive into seven of this year’s top films by listening to the audiobooks that inspired them.

Killers of the Flower Moon 

Written by David Grann

Narrated by Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee, and Danny Campbell

(Inspired Best Picture nominee Killers of the Flower Moon)

From New Yorker staff writer and New York Times bestselling author David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. Based on years of research and startling new evidence, the book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward indigenous Americans that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long. 

American Prometheus 

Written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin

Narrated by Jeff Cummings

(Inspired Best Picture nominee Oppenheimer)

Robert Oppenheimer is one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress.

In American Prometheus, a Pulitzer Prize–winning biography 25 years in the making, authors Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin capture Oppenheimer’s life and times, from his early career to his central role in the Cold War.

Society of the Snow

Written by by Pablo Vierci

Narrated by Elliot Fitzpatrick

(Inspired Best Foreign Language Film nominee Society of the Snow)

In this alarmingly gritty, moving, and powerfully told story, journalist Pablo Vierci recounts the unsettling tales of the 16 who survived the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash in 1972. Drawing on exclusive interviews, Society of the Snow delves into the tragedy of the crash and how it radically redefined the rest of the survivors’ lives. Ultimately, however, the book is a touching testament to the strength of faith and friendship and the resilience of the human spirit.

Poor Things 

Written by by Alasdair Gray

Narrated by Russ Bain and Kathryn Drysdale

(Inspired Best Picture nominee Poor Things)

In Alasdair Gray’s Poor Things, one scientist’s ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of the beautiful Bella, whom he brings back to life in a Frankenstein-esque feat. His dream is then disrupted when his protégé develops a jealous love for Bella—but Bella has her own thoughts on the matter.

This story of true love and scientific daring whirls the reader from the private operating theaters of late-Victorian Glasgow through to aristocratic casinos, the dark corners of Alexandria, and a Parisian bordello before reaching an interrupted climax in a Scottish church.

The Zone of Interest 

Written by Martin Amis 

Narrated by Sean Barrett

(Inspired Best Picture nominee The Zone of Interest)

In this love story that transpires in a violently unromantic setting, The Zone of Interest provides a searing portrait of life—and, shockingly, love—in a concentration camp. Powered by both wit and pathos, Martin Amis’ novel excavates the depths and contradictions of the human soul. Can love survive after we’ve seen who we really are?

Find a Way

Written and narrated by Diana Nyad 

(Inspired Best Lead Actress nominee Nyad)

In Find a Way, author Diana Nyad engages us with her unique, passionate, personal story of heroic adventure and extraordinary life experiences as she swam 111 miles from Cuba to Florida. Previously failing to accomplish the feat in her twenties and giving up on swimming altogether, Diana’s accomplishment 30 years later provides the backdrop for a galvanizing meditation on facing fears and living our lives with no regrets.

Erasure 

Written by Percival Everett

Narrated by Sean Crisden

(Inspired Best Picture nominee American Fiction)

A blistering satire about race and publishing, Percival Wright’s Erasure looks into the life of a writer whose career has bottomed out and left him seething on the sidelines of the literary establishment. 

In a fit of rage and despair, Thelonious “Monk” Ellison writes a novel under a pseudonym that he never intended to be published, but soon it becomes the next big thing. How Monk deals with the personal and professional fallout galvanizes this audacious, hysterical, and quietly devastating work.

Looking for more audiobooks that were caught on camera? Check out our list of book-to-screen adaptations.

10 Great Audiobooks for Fans of Jane Austen

December 27, 2023

One of literature’s most beloved authors, Jane Austen has mesmerized generations of readers with romantic tales like Pride and Prejudice that are set within Regency England. And even if you’ve read her novels before, they’re always worth revisiting as audiobooks.

Spotify recently redesigned the covers for a number of literary audiobook classics, including five from Austen. Working with Spotify designer Jessica Dugan, artist Ariel VanNatter took inspiration from embroidered handkerchiefs to create the detailing and lettering featured on each cover. 

If you’re caught up on your Austen classics, we also have a collection of romantic romps, thrilling whodunits, and non-fiction deep dives to recommend. So keep scrolling to discover 10 great audiobooks for fans of Jane Austen.

Rekindle your love for Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen

Narrated By Hannah Curtis

Austen’s debut novel Sense and Sensibility is a tale of love set in late 18th-century England that has captivated audiences since it was published. After tragedy strikes sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, they find themselves searching for suitable husbands. Each approaches love differently, with one impulsively jumping into romance while the other taking a more prudent path. Elinor feels ill-equipped to compete with the self-centered, fortune-driven society she finds herself in, whilst Marianne’s unshakeable belief in her own feelings makes her susceptible to the designs of unscrupulous men. Can they both find true love?

Mansfield Park

Jane Austen

Narrated By PJ Roscoe

Winding romantic entanglements, mature situations, and familial drama are common in Austen’s literature, but Mansfield Park is one the author’s most complex novels. The book has been lauded for its challenging of the conservative values of the age, and for its masterful artistry which cleverly disguises the social commentary within. When Fanny Price is very young, she is sent away to live with her aunt and uncle at Mansfield Park, a large estate filled with all of Fanny’s insufferable cousins and family members. Her life is full of people mistreating her and acting unpleasant, and generally giving her a difficult time. As Fanny grows older, she faces awkward situations as her cousins begin to fall in love and pair off, and what ensues is a twisting tale of love triangles, mistaken affection, playful seductions, and the pain of young love scorned.

Emma

Jane Austen

Narrated By PJ Roscoe

Told with Austen’s signature charm and wit, Emma is the story of an unusual heroine and the chaos she creates in her friend circle with her antics. It’s a humorous and heartwarming novel that will leave readers amused and enchanted.Emma Woodhouse has successfully played matchmaker for her friend and discovers a new skill. She gets to work meddling in her friends’ affair, convincing them to call off imminent engagements and relationships in favor of ones she creates.The matchmaking quickly gets out of Emma’s hands, and her actions and instructions begin to harm. Though well-intended, her interference spirals, causing difficulties and confusion. And though Emma continues to make matches amongst her friends, the question becomes: Which couples will be together by the end?

Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen

Narrated By PJ Roscoe

Northanger Abbey is Austen’s satirical, self-referential parody of the gothic fiction. This classic coming-of-age story blends over-the-top drama, fascinating characters, and Austen’s patented eloquence. Catherine Moreland is an imaginative 17-year-old who loves to read the dark, mysterious, and romanticized genre. She is at the age that ladies of her era are meant to be courting and settling into lives of leisure. As Catherine begins to navigate the world outside of her family, her naivete and escapism become barriers to society. She begins to fancy herself as a character in a gothic drama. Everyday scenarios become romanticized and dramatic, natural deaths become mysterious, and innocent motives are questioned.

Lady Susan

Jane Austen

Narrated By PJ Roscoe

One of Austen’s earliest completed novels, Lady Susan is a fun glimpse at British society in the 18th century. It’s also a fascinating character study of Lady Susan Vernon, an unscrupulous widow who charms everyone she meets—particularly the men—and is keen on toying with emotions for her own amusement. Told in letters between various characters, Lady Susan follows the coquette’s escapades and influences on her family, and the impact her presence has on their trysts and ties to one another. 

Looking for more Regency romance?

Once Upon a Duke

Erica Ridley

Narrated By Rosie Akerman

Part of the 12 Dukes of Christmas historical romance series, Erica Ridley’s Once Upon a Duke is a heartwarming romance full of reunions and second chances. Due to the terms of an estranged relative’s will, the Duke of Silkridge must revisit the cold, unforgiving mountains where he lost everything he once loved. And as soon as he restores his family legacy, he’ll return to London where he belongs. Noelle Pratchett is immune to charming scoundrels like the arrogant duke. He stole her heart, stole a kiss, and then stole away one night never to return. Now he’s back—and they both know he won’t stay. But how can the Duke resist rekindling the forbidden spark crackling between him and the irresistible spitfire he’d left behind? How can Noelle maintain her icy shields when every heated glance melts her to her core? 

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen

KJ Charles

Narrated By Martyn Swain

In KJ Charles’ The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman, Gareth Inglis is a lonely, prickly man who was abandoned by his father. While he is used to disappointment, he still longs for connection. He falls head over heels with a charming stranger, but everything goes wrong and he’s left alone again. When Gareth’s father dies, he transforms from a shabby London clerk into Sir Gareth, with a family he doesn’t know and a grand house on the remote Romney Marsh. But the Marsh is a bleak, bare place notorious for its ruthless gangs of smugglers and deadly secrets. And when Gareth finds himself threatened from every side he must learn to trust those around him. 

Want a thriller featuring one of Jane Austen’s most notorious villains?

The Murder of Mr. Wickham

Claudia Gray

Narrated By Billie Fulford-Brown

In Claudia Gray’s The Murder of Mr. Wickham, an imagined mystery blending the styles of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie, a summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Austen’s notorious villain meets a sudden and suspicious end. The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma—characters beloved by Austen fans— are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.

Nearly everyone at the house party is a suspect, so it falls to the party’s two youngest guests to solve the mystery: Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry, eager for adventure beyond Northanger Abbey; and Jonathan Darcy, the Darcys’ eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost relaxed. The unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party before an innocent person is sentenced to hang.

Learn more about Jane Austen’s world

Mad and Bad

Bea Koch

Narrated By Rengin Altay

Bea Koch’s Mad and Bad takes the Regency, a world immortalized by Austen, and reveals the independent-minded, standard-breaking real historical women who lived life on their terms. Examining broader questions of culture in chapters that focus on the LGBTQIA+ and Jewish communities, the lives of women of color in the Regency, and women who broke barriers in fields like astronomy and paleontology, Mad and Bad looks beyond popular perception of the Regency into the even more vibrant, diverse, and fascinating historical truth.

Our Tempestuous Day

Carolly Erickson

Narrated By Simon Prebble

The tumult and opulence of England’s Regency era burst from the pages in Our Tempestuous Day, a work of literary nonfiction from historian Carolly Erickson. When dementia forced King George III to vacate his throne, the kingdom slipped into a decade marked with excess, scandal, and riots. Hoping to control the crisis early on, Parliament appointed the king’s unpopular son Prince George IV as Regent or caretaker. But for the next nine years, this substitute ruler shocked the nation with his drunkenness, his mistresses, and his wanton spending. 

Ready for more? Check out some great literary classics to listen to here.

9 Audiobooks for Travelers This Holiday Season

December 19, 2023

Audiobooks can be the perfect entertainment while traveling this holiday season. However, if you’re planning for every mile ahead of you or simply want to satisfy your wanderlust with stories on jet-setting and worldly adventure, Spotify has you covered with the following recommendations. 

Pointers From Top Travel Gurus

 

The One-Way Ticket Plan

Written and narrated by Alexa West

Alexa West once turned the $200 in her pocket into more than a decade of solo travel. Here she shares her blueprint for women who want to travel the world, still making money, fall in love, and find their purpose. How do you afford to travel when you’re broke? Is it safe to travel alone as a woman? How do you avoid scams and tourist traps? These are some of the questions she explores in The One-Way Ticket Plan.

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide

Written by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever

Narrated by Laurie Woolever, Shep Gordon, Christopher Bourdain, Jen Agg, Matt Walsh, Bill Buford, Claude Tayag, Nari Kye, Vidya Balachander, and Steve Albini

American chef Anthony Bourdain was known for his unfiltered take on food and culture in destinations around the world. From hidden pockets of his hometown of New York to a tribal longhouse in Borneo, listeners can join the adventure while getting advice on how to get to these destinations, what to eat, where to stay, and what to avoid. Supplementing Bourdain’s words are a handful of essays by friends, colleagues, and family who share their accounts of traveling with Bourdain.

The Road Trip Survival Guide

Written by Rob Taylor and Samantha Brown

Narrated by Vikas Adam

If you’re in the midst of planning a road trip, this book has all the tips and tricks you need to make for a successful adventure. Listeners get advice on how to organize their cars; packing lists for different types of vacations; the perfect road trip itinerary to suit the family; and more.

 

Far-Reaching Tales for Your Next Metaphorical Trip 

 

Lizzie & Dante

Written by Mary Bly

Narrated by Carlotta Brentan

On the heels of a difficult break-up and a devastating diagnosis, Shakespeare scholar Lizzie Delford decides to take one last lavish vacation on Elba, the sun-kissed island off the Italian coast, with her best friend and his movie-star boyfriend. Once settled into a luxurious seaside resort, Lizzie has to make big decisions about her future, and she needs the one thing she may be running out of: time. 

Glory Be

Written by Danielle Arceneaux

Narrated by Bahni Turpin

In Glory Be, the first in a charming crime series set in the Louisiana bayou, amateur sleuth Glory Broussard learns that her best friend has been found dead in her apartment. The police declare the mysterious death a suicide, but Glory is convinced that there must be more to the story. To find out the truth she launches her own investigation in a town of oil tycoons, church gossips, and a rumored voodoo priestess. As a Black woman who grew up in a segregated Louisiana, Glory is used to being minimized and overlooked, but she’s determined to make her presence known as the case leads her deep into a web of intrigue.

Christmas on the Island: Compass Key

Written by Maggie Miller

Narrated by Vivienne Leheny, Laura Jennings, Allyson Voller, Cindy Kay, Nancy Wu, Sara Morsey, and Suzie Althens

Author Maggie Miller’s Compass Key series follows five former sorority sisters, all in their fifties, as they undertake adventures at the exclusive Compass Key resort. In this installment, listeners follow the ladies and their house mother as they celebrate Christmas on the private island. The holiday brings many surprises and a chance for the women to take stock of their lives. 

Outlander

Written by Diana Gabaldon

Narrated by Davina Porter

A taste of intrigue, danger, and desire all wrapped up in a tale of time travel. It’s 1945 and Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon. Their blissful reunion is shattered when she touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone ruins and is instantly transported to 1743 Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans. Here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior who shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

For the Thrill of Travel

 

The Flight Attendant

Written by Chris Bohjalian

Narrated by Erin Spencer, Grace Experience, and Mark Deakins

Flight attendant Cassandra Bowden wakes up in Dubai in the wrong bed, in the wrong hotel, and with a dead man. She has no idea what happened. Listeners follow along as Cassie attempts to piece her night back together to find out what really happened that night. Could she have killed him? If not, who did?

The Final Hunt

Written by Audrey J. Cole

Narrated by Stacey Glemboski

After her husband disappears while hunting off-grid—and is presumed dead from a bear attack—Cameron uncovers his role in the recent Seattle serial murders. Now the media has destroyed her reputation, she’s lost her dental practice, she’s on the brink of losing her home, and she’s on a quest for the truth in the frozen landscape of the Alaskan wilderness.

Ready for more? Check out audiobooks perfect for your morning commute here.

Content Creator Serena Kelly Explains Why It’s OK To Just Have Fun With Audiobooks

December 13, 2023

A self-described “girl who reads books and does makeup,” content creator Serena Kelly has taken her interests and put them front and center on social media. Millions of fans around the world now seek out her rapid-fire comedic videos.

As an avid reader, Serena also loves listening to audiobooks as a way to immerse herself in a story, whether she’s at home or on the go. “I think audiobooks are the most spellbinding form of media out there,” Serena tells For the Record. “When I listen to someone either tell their own story or narrate this incredibly rich story written by someone else, I think of how humans have been telling stories for thousands of years and I feel so connected to all the generations before me.”

We sat down with Serena to learn more about her love of reading, her emergence as a content creator, and the audiobooks that should be on everyone’s list. 

What prompted you to start documenting your life online?

I grew up in what I consider the golden age of YouTube. I was watching Zoella, Tyler Oakley, DanandPhilGAMES, and all of the classic BuzzFeed videos. So from a young age, I always wanted to be a content creator and start my own YouTube channel, or something like that. But I was also always terrified of what other people would think. Then the pandemic came along and I was so isolated that, ironically, I felt the most free I had ever felt. I wanted to express myself and didn’t care if I failed or people disliked my content. 

So I started making videos, and of course they were terrible at first. But once I got my footing and genuinely began to have fun, I got on a roll and never looked back.

What do you love most about audiobooks?

As much as I love watching short-form social content, the more hours that I spend consuming it, I can feel my attention span dwindling away. So when I turn to something longer-form like an audiobook, it feels like just a multivitamin for my brain, which is really nice. 

And then I love that feeling of getting invested in a really good book. There are always moments where I have to hit pause on an audiobook and go back to my own life, but I spend the entire day wondering what’s gonna happen next in the book and slowly count down the hours until I can start listening again.

Have you always been a voracious reader?

Growing up, I was very, very into books and I loved classic YA novels like The Fault In Our Stars and The Hunger Games. I was making fan edits of those from a very early age. But from high school through college, I never really had time to read for fun and I missed it so much. 

Once I graduated college, I didn’t even know where to start again, and audiobooks really helped me get back into reading. I was working a warehouse job where I was doing mindless tasks with my hands and I had a lot of free time. So I’d put on a pair of headphones, find an audiobook that looked good, and get wrapped up in them. Specifically, Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller really got me into audiobooks.

What books have had a big impact on you? 

I would say The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green, and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I’ve always been a diehard fiction girlie, and nonfiction has never been my cup of tea, but I listened to both audiobooks and got so drawn in to each story. Even though they’re “informative texts” there’s still this underlying personal story in each. They made me look at the world in a different way because they go into such educational detail about plants or things we encounter in everyday life. Like, there must be so many beautiful backstories to things that I haven’t discovered yet. 

How do you go about choosing your next listen?

I’m a huge mood reader. I only read a book if I’m in the mood to read a certain book, which is hard because my mood changes like every 30 minutes. For me, a good rule of thumb is to pick a book that fits with the seasons. So right now I’m listening to Bunny by Mona Awad. And it starts off at the beginning of the academic year, and then as it goes on, it moves into the chillier holiday months. It’s funny because I was listening to it while walking my dog, and it’s describing these wintery city conditions as I’m in the bitter cold. I was like, “Oh my God, it’s like I’m in the book.”

Do you have any advice for people who are just getting into—or getting back into—reading?

First and foremost: Audiobooks totally count as reading. 

And then I would say to start as small as you need to. There’s so much pressure for adults to read “smart books.” Like nonfiction books about things going on in the world or classics or really intense contemporary fiction. But you’re not going to have a ton of fun if you just jump into those. It’s kind of like deciding you want to start running, and you immediately try to run a marathon. 

So find an audiobook that’s fast-paced, character driven, and not super long, because then you can build up momentum by getting really into a book, finishing it, and experiencing that dopamine hit. It will make you super excited to find your next read. 

Share a few of your favorite audiobook recommendations.

One of my favorite audiobooks of all time is The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. I realistically would never have read it in print form. But there was a time where I needed something to listen to and noticed it was narrated by Tom Hanks as I was browsing through audiobooks. I didn’t even read the description. I just hit play and he gave such a good performance, and now it’s one of my favorite books.

I also love If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. They’re especially great for if you’re just starting your reading journey or getting back into it.

Everybody’s also talking about Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, so I definitely want to check that out. And I have to throw one classic in there, which is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

Make your next read an engaging listen by pressing play on one of the many great audiobooks available on Spotify.