Tag: Taylor Jenkins Reid

7 Can’t-Miss Audiobooks Available in Spotify Premium

Summer is the perfect time to dive into a new story, whether you’re on the move or just looking for an escape. With Spotify Premium, eligible listeners in select markets can enjoy hours of audiobook listening time each month included with their plan. Our audiobook offerings continue to grow, and with hundreds of thousands of titles to choose from, there’s never been a better moment to discover your next great listen.

Not sure where to start? Our editorial team has handpicked a collection of standout audiobooks that span genres, continents, and cultures.

“When we curate titles for a campaign like this, we take it seriously—but we also have a lot of fun doing it,” said Suzanne Galvez, Director of Editorial and Spotify Publishing. “There’s real responsibility in choosing stories that speak to the moods and moments that matter to our listeners, many of whom aren’t traditional readers. So getting it right? That’s the goal.”

“Music memoirs always strike a chord—Tina Knowles’s Matriarch and Mark Hoppus’s Fahrenheit-182 have been big wins,” she continued. “And when a household name like Stephen King is having a pop culture moment? Even better. His latest Holly Gibney installment, Never Flinch, is a standout. Romantasy continues to be a powerhouse with our listeners, and we had a blast weaving in some buzzy new releases to keep things fresh. We’re excited about this lineup and hope our listeners fall in love with these titles just like we did.”

From romantasy sensations to international bestsellers, here are seven titles Suzanne and her fellow editors are loving:

A Court of Thorns and Roses

By Sarah J. Maas
Narrated by Jennifer Ikeda

After killing a wolf in the woods, young huntress Feyre is dragged to a treacherous magical land as punishment. What begins as captivity soon transforms into something deeper, darker, and more seductive. The first in Sarah J. Maas’s wildly popular series, A Court of Thorns and Roses topped Spotify’s Global Audiobooks of the Year list in 2024.

Why our editors love it: It’s a TikTok sensation for a reason—Sarah J. Maas’s immersive worldbuilding, action-packed scenes, flirtatious banter, and satisfying slow-burn romance easily drew in both the traditional fantasy readers and romance lovers on our team.

Atmosphere: A Love Story

By Taylor Jenkins Reid
Narrated by Kristen DiMercurio, Julia Whelan, and Taylor Jenkins Reid

Set during the 1980s space shuttle era, Atmosphere follows Joan Goodwin, a quiet physics professor who dreams of the stars. When she’s selected to join a newly recruited group of women scientists training for spaceflight, she finds friendship, passion, and love—but everything changes when a mission takes a devastating turn.

Why our editors love it: Our team has long been fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, and her newest did not disappoint. We loved exploring a tender, emotional, and forbidden love story during such a pivotal moment in history. Plus, we’re absolute suckers for a great story about found family.

Never Flinch: A Novel

By Stephen King
Narrated by Jessie Mueller and Stephen King

Stephen King’s latest thriller follows two converging threats: a revenge-obsessed killer threatening mass murder, and a stalker targeting a feminist speaker on tour. With Holly Gibney on the case, the clock is ticking. Twisting and relentless, Never Flinch introduces an exciting new cast of characters and builds to a chilling conclusion.

Why our editors love it: We fell for the character of Holly Gibney back when reading Mr. Mercedes and have eagerly awaited each new installment of her story. And typical of King, this one doesn’t shy away from moral extremes, highly twisted motives, and the profound effects of trauma.

Matriarch: A Memoir

By Tina Knowles
Narrated by Tina Knowles, Beyoncé, Solange, Kelly Rowland, and Angie Beyincé

Tina Knowles traces her journey from a spirited girl in 1950s Galveston, Texas, to the matriarch of a family whose influence spans music, style, and culture. Told in her voice and those of her daughters, Matriarch celebrates love, resilience, and motherhood.

Why our editors love it: Matriarch is a beautifully honest portrayal of Black motherhood in America. We loved this listen for its candor, emotional depth, and for Tina’s ability to transcend the role of mother to a celebrity and create a highly relatable story about motherhood that spans generations.

Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir

By Mark Hoppus and Dan Ozzi
Narrated by Mark Hoppus

In this sharp, funny, and heartfelt memoir, blink-182’s Mark Hoppus traces his path from angst-ridden kid to pop-punk icon. Along the way, he opens up about identity, anxiety, fame, and his fight with cancer—all in his own unmistakable voice.

Why our editors love it: We adored Mark Hoppus’s candid and honest memoir. From his relatable struggles with chronic anxiety and depression to behind-the scenes blink-182 band lore, there was something for everyone. And Mark’s narration was the icing on the cake.

The Last Wish: Introducing the Witcher

By Andrzej Sapkowski
Narrated by Peter Kenny

Trained, mutated, and armed with magic, Geralt the Witcher is no ordinary killer. But in a world where the fair can be foul and the monstrous may yet be good, each hunt carries unexpected truths. The Last Wish begins the epic fantasy saga that inspired a hit TV series and popular video game franchise.

Why our editors love it: There’s little our team loves more than a morally gray hero, so the Witcher series is right up our alley. This book is clever and gritty, and it introduces an amazingly immersive world that’s enjoyable by both fans of the television series as well as people who just love great fantasy.

The Three-Body Problem 

By Cixin Liu
Narrated by Luke Daniels

The first novel in Cixin Liu’s visionary sci-fi epic is set against the backdrop of China’s cultural revolution. When a secret military signal reaches an alien world on the brink of collapse, Earth becomes the target of invasion. As the threat grows, factions begin to choose sides: resistance or surrender.

Why our editors love it: It’s a thought-provoking exploration of astrophysics and theoretical physics told through a fresh non-Western lens with highly complex, relatable characters in high-stakes situations. This series will challenge your worldview in the best possible way.

Ready to find your next great listen? Explore more titles in the Audiobooks hub on Spotify. To learn more about our audiobook offerings, visit Spotify.com/audiobooks.

Tech Creator iJustine Shares Her Favorite Ways To Dig Deeper Into Her Latest Obsessions

You may have noticed that we’re into helping our listeners find something new. A combination of beloved personalized Spotify playlists like Discover Weekly, editorially-curated standouts like Fresh Finds, new playlist-enhancing features like Smart Shuffle, and our listeners’ thirst for auditory adventures means that nearly two billion music discoveries happen on Spotify every day.

But we’re not the only ones who love discovery. Every day, creators around the world share their favorite playlists, products, and people with their followers, helping their fans, in turn, fall in love with the next best thing. In For the Record’s new Discovery Monday series, we talk to content creators about recent discoveries, covering everything from music to podcasts, as well as food, fashion, TV, beauty, and more. 

We’re kicking off with iJustine, a tech creator, podcast host, and dog mom. The lifestyle vlogger dives into new trends, tech, and hobbies—her latest is literally diving—speaking to entrepreneurs and attending product launches. 

Your videos help build understanding of the tech world. How did you make this your niche?

Finding tech, for me, and creating content around it was sort of just an extension of something that I naturally did growing up and in my everyday life. A curiosity and wonderment of how things work is what brought me to tech. When I was younger, I used to take things apart and then my parents would be like, “Oh no, now we have to figure out how to fix this.” Till now, that approach has been amazing because there’s never a shortage of things to make videos about. There’s always new tech, and especially recently with AI. And I like to create; making videos is fun for me, and I really genuinely love all the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes into the videos. There’s just so much to talk about, and it really is a never-ending source of content.

Why do you love introducing your followers to new tools, products, and people?

I love having the opportunity to interview a CEO or an entrepreneur—people I look up to. It’s been so fun to hear their journeys and then bring them into my world. 

I have a very interesting audience. A lot of them are younger women and girls who are kind of trying to figure out their way. I want them to see somebody in a space that makes them feel safe. Because when I was younger, playing video games and doing things that I am into now—it wasn’t cool. And I was being made fun of for it. But now I’m like, “Man, you guys got it made!” Because being into tech is cool now. So, I just want people to be able to explore that. Even if it’s not cool now, you never know. Might be later.

What tools or resources do you use in your research? 

I always ask my audience for suggestions. Even recently, I was asking for good diving spots in Oahu, and I would much rather hear from a person directly. I find almost all of my things from my viewers or audience or friends who are following me. It’s kind of awesome because it’s like, yeah, I could have Googled it, but I would rather hear from someone who actually has been there and experienced it and knows if it’s something that I would like. 

What have you been listening to lately? Old favorites? Something new? Or somewhere in between?

I’m definitely open to discovery, but recently, I do feel like when I open up Spotify, I go to my favorites. Recently, my sister and I went on a trip and we went back to our 2018 Hawaii playlist, and we were basically reliving the trip through our music from 2018. So, it’s kind of fun to kind of go back, and the fact that, like, we’ve both been on Spotify for so long meant we were able to go back to all these playlists and kind of relive that piece of history and memories through music, and that’s always so fun for me.

What’s your favorite way to discover on Spotify? Do you use playlists like Discover Weekly, features like AI DJ, or tools like Smart Shuffle?

I’m a huge fan of Smart Shuffle because I love being able to go back into my old playlists and use Smart Shuffle to reinvigorate them. You do spend so much time curating those, and it does bring you back to a specific moment. So, being able to just add some new songs in, and, I mean, some of my playlists are super short, so being able to add in stuff that I’ve already done is really cool.

I also almost always go to the top new songs playlist, Today’s Top Hits. I love being able to just scroll through it because it’s all genres. And, I mean, I definitely love pop, rock, and I used to be really into heavy metal, but that was, you know, a little bit of a phase during high school and college. But it is fun to kind of go back to that playlist because I love so many genres of music and that playlist does have a little bit of everything. I’m also always going back to the 90s playlists because I love nostalgic music. 

What Niche Mixes playlist would you search for?

Classical heavy metal mix. That would be pretty awesome to hear. We’re gonna be head-banging out! 

A rapid-fire round of your favorite recent discoveries: Let’s start with artists or genres.

I am obsessed with OneRepublic, so I’ve been really enjoying remixes of some of my favorite songs of theirs. It’s a good way to break out of my normal listening habits. 

Any new podcasts you’ve gotten especially into lately? How did you discover them?

I just started listening to Heal Squad x Maria Menonous. She always has so many helpful tips about healing your body, and she has so many incredible guests on. She actually invited me onto it and that’s how I found out about it, and now I’m obsessed. 

Are you an audiobooks fan? What’s your favorite way to listen?

I am addicted. I will cycle through audiobooks so fast because I need to stay distracted to keep my brain focused on things. When I’m doing laundry, cleaning, I’ll have an audiobook on. I recently got into nonfiction audiobooks, and I love listening to history and self-help. I also watched the Daisy Jones and the Six series and then have listened to every single Taylor Jenkins Reid audiobook over the past few months.

What’s your latest obsession?

That’s usually every single random new hobby that I get. And recently, I got into diving. So now I’m buying all the diving gear; I’m looking for diving creators, places to go. I’m definitely one of those people who’s like, when I start doing something, I go 100%. There’s no backing down. 

Catch iJustine and her sister Jenna in their video podcast, Same Brain, including her interview with Spotify CEO Daniel Ek.