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What an Owl Knows

Review by Maya Fleischmann

Author, bird enthusiast and advocate Jennifer Ackerman (The Bird Way) reveals intriguing discoveries about owls in What an Owl Knows (9 hours), as well as how and why they are important. Owls have graced international mythology, art and literature. Now science shows how increasing our understanding of these birds impacts human life and even technology. Studies of how owls’ vision and hearing interact can have implications for human medicine, and studies of their feathers can influence the development of stealth aircraft. Ackerman’s fondness for and fascination with owls is clear in her narration, which is filled with softness and enthusiastic admiration as she describes her observations and interactions with the owls she has encountered in her travels. Ornithologists of all levels are sure to delight in Ackerman’s research and reflections in this book.

Read our starred review of the print edition of What an Owl Knows.

Ornithologists of all levels are sure to delight in What an Owl Knows.
NonfictionAudioBody, Mind & Spirit

Rest Is Resistance

Review by G. Robert Frazier

Written and narrated by Tricia Hersey, founder of the Nap Ministry, Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto (5.5 hours) is a powerful reminder to prioritize mental health and overall well-being. To listeners who are smothered and exhausted by “grind culture,” Hersey offers a fierce clarion call, encouraging them to defy the dehumanizing demands of our capitalist society.

Hersey draws a damning thread between capitalism and white supremacy’s quest for power. She makes it clear that people who have grown up in poverty—particularly Black people and those in historically excluded communities—find themselves in a constant hustle just to survive. She advocates for finding inner peace via the simple act of resting: letting your worries ebb away for small intervals at a time, and allowing your dreams and imagination to take center stage. 

Hersey’s clear message will no doubt resonate with listeners seeking a reprieve from overwork and hopelessness.

Read our starred review of the print edition of Rest Is Resistance.

To folks who are exhausted and smothered by “grind culture,” Tricia Hersey offers a fierce clarion call, encouraging listeners to defy the dehumanizing demands of our capitalist society.
FictionAudio

Our Missing Hearts

Review by Tami Orendain

In Celeste Ng’s Our Missing Hearts (10 hours), 12-year-old Bird Gardner lives in a dystopian near-future in which the United States exists under the Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act (PACT), a mandate that claims to uphold patriotism by banning books, relocating children and condemning anything “un-American,” especially regarding Asian culture. But when Bird receives a letter from his missing mother, a Chinese American poet who protested PACT, he is thrown into an adventure to discover his heritage, his past and his family. 

Actor Lucy Liu’s narration achieves a balance between the novel’s larger political story and the intimate inner worlds of Ng’s characters. Liu’s voice is calm and steady but also follows the book’s highs and lows, matching Ng’s lyrical prose to bring out the story’s emotion, mystery and heartbreak.

In this novel of family bonds tested by sociopolitical horrors, Ng’s writing and Liu’s narration collaborate to demonstrate how resistance need not always be loud; it can also be powerful in small, quiet, personal ways.

Read our starred review of the print edition of Our Missing Hearts.

Celeste Ng’s writing and Lucy Liu’s narration collaborate to demonstrate how resistance need not be loud to be powerful.
AudioChildren's

Coraline

Review by Deborah Mason

Published 20 years ago, Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (3.5 hours) is a near-perfect horror story, pitting brave but misunderstood Coraline against a narcissistic monster in a battle for her soul. Sophisticated and profound, this treasure of a middle grade novel, beloved by readers of all ages, is now available in a new audiobook, performed by a full cast for the first time.

All 11 actors contribute to an excellent re-creation of Gaiman’s creepy world, but three standout performers deserve special mention. Julian Rhind-Tutt, whose voice is tailor-made for gothic novels, is excellent as the narrator, and Julian Clary, who clearly understands feline psychology, is totally convincing as a smug but surprisingly helpful cat. But it is teenage actor Pixie Davies’ portrayal of Coraline that gives this audiobook its power. Davies conveys all of Coraline’s complexity—her courage and loyalty, as well as her whininess and selfishness—with skill and confidence. As a result, this audiobook is delightful.

Coraline is sophisticated and profound, a treasure for readers of all ages and now available in a new audiobook, performed by a full cast for the first time.
NonfictionAudioMemoir

Have I Told You This Already?

Review by Norah Piehl

In Have I Told You This Already? Stories I Don’t Want to Forget to Remember (4.5 hours), Lauren Graham, the beloved actor and bestselling author of Talking as Fast as I Can, offers conversational, witty essays about everything from changing trends in undergarments to the process of coming to terms with aging, from adventures in pandemic cooking to the ways in which adopting an ailing dog can resurrect old anxieties. Graham also provides some behind-the-scenes glimpses of Hollywood, all delivered with the same down-to-earth, self-deprecating humor that makes her so endearing. Longtime fans will likely feel a little “Gilmore Girls” nostalgia while listening to her deliver these frank, honest anecdotes.

Read our review of the print edition of Have I Told You This Already?

Longtime fans will likely feel a little “Gilmore Girls” nostalgia while listening to Lauren Graham’s frank, honest anecdotes.
NonfictionAudioArts & Culture

Nerd

Review by Norah Piehl

As a New York Times critic-at-large, Maya Phillips has one of the more unusual (and to many, most enviable) beats: writing about comics, superheroes, anime and fan culture, among other wide-ranging but culturally relevant topics. Phillips’ Nerd: Adventures in Fandom From This Universe to the Multiverse (9.5 hours) collects nine essays on everything from New York City as a superhero haven to the evolution of Saturday morning cartoons. She explores the intersections of race, sexuality and mental illness through the characters and tropes she knows and loves, and this cultural context means there are plenty of entry points to her essays, whether listeners are already part of a dedicated fandom or just enjoy smart cultural criticism. 

Phillips, who narrates her book, unabashedly confesses to her own fandoms, and her voice conveys not only her clear fondness for these characters and worlds but also her appreciation for the growing acceptance of so-called “nerd” culture. Some of Phillips’ essays are strikingly personal, all are deeply thoughtful, and her passion is contagious. Perhaps Phillips will make fans of us all.

Read our starred review of the print edition of Nerd.

Maya Phillips, who narrates her own book, conveys not only her clear fondness for imagined characters and worlds but also her appreciation for the growing acceptance of so-called “nerd” culture.
Audio

Best Audiobooks of 2022

Feature by the editors of BookPage

The Angel of Rome by Jess Walter, read by Edoardo Ballerini & Julia Whelan

Ballerini and Whelan infuse Walter’s engaging, heartwarming stories with warmth and surprise.

The Angel of Rome audiobook cover

Gathering Blossoms Under Fire by Alice Walker, edited by Valerie Boyd, read by Aunjanue Ellis & Janina Edwards

Gathering Blossoms Under Fire makes for an insightful and intriguing audiobook. The best part: Walker reads the postscript, emphasizing the personal nature of publicizing her journals.

Gathering Blossoms Under Fire audiobook

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston, read by Natalie Naudus

Naudus voices more than a half-dozen significant characters in McQuiston’s young adult debut, imparting individuality and personality to teens embracing a variety of identities.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler audiobook cover

In Love by Amy Bloom, read by the author

Bloom’s narration of her memoir is simple and even-keeled, except for small cracks in her voice during the narrative’s most harrowing moments.

In Love audiobook cover

Inciting Joy by Ross Gay, read by the author

Gay reads his book in a comforting, softly gravelly voice, inviting us to consider not only joy but also every emotion around it, including sorrow and rage. 

Inciting Joy audiobook cover

Liberation Day by George Saunders, read by a full cast

Through the triumphant performances of an all-star cast of comedians and actors, Saunders’ short story collection transforms into a darkly funny audiobook with a satirical yet redemptive twist. 

Book jacket image for Liberation Day by George Saunders

The Milky Way by Moiya McTier, read by the author

McTier’s down-to-earth style makes science approachable, giving listeners the opportunity to form their own romance with the Milky Way.

Book jacket image for The Milky Way by Moiya McTier

Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson & Dolly Parton, read by a full cast

With narration from country stars Dolly Parton and Kelsea Ballerini, Run, Rose, Run is a must-listen ensemble audiobook.

Run Rose Run audiobook cover

This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan, read by Tanya Schneider

Voice actor Schneider convincingly articulates Carvan’s argument that women need to share their passions publicly. Both funny and profound, this is a deeply enjoyable audiobook.

This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch audiobook cover

Discover more of BookPage’s Best Books of 2022.

This was an outstanding year for audiobooks, from seamless cast productions to heartfelt performances by author-narrators.
NonfictionAudioMemoir

Making a Scene

Review by Maya Fleischmann

Actor Constance Wu (known for her lauded roles in “Fresh Off the Boat,” Crazy Rich Asians and Hustlers) narrates her thoughtful and revealing memoir in essays with an endearing blend of passion and playfulness. 

Throughout her career, Wu has learned that life is a series of scenes that shape us; we don’t shape the scenes. She shares memories of people and events that have influenced who she is, including humorous and heartwarming tales of her parents’ assimilation into American culture, humbling mistakes she’s made in love and work, an unexpectedly touching goodbye to her black Toyota Prius and insightful commentary on technology, American culture and Asian diaspora.

Evocative, provocative and always heartfelt, Making a Scene (8 hours) is worthy of an encore. It’s a great match for fans of Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart.

Evocative, provocative and always heartfelt, Constance Wu’s Making a Scene is worthy of an encore.
NonfictionAudio

3 audiobooks for readers with a lot of feelings

Feature by the editors of BookPage

Two of the weepiest BookPage editors share a few of their favorite 2022 audiobooks, read masterfully by the authors, that deliver all the emotion.

★ Inciting Joy

For readers invested in learning more about communities of care—informal collectives centered on the praxis of love—Ross Gay’s sixth book, Inciting Joy (Hachette Audio, 8.5 hours), is essential. The poet and essayist reads his own book in a comforting, softly gravelly voice, inviting us to consider not only joy but also every emotion around it, including sorrow and rage. Such wholeness is a matter of survival, Gay urges, and to allow for it is an elemental act of care both for ourselves and the people we love.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

Read more: Ross Gay shares how he hopes Inciting Joy will make you feel.

★ In Love

What a gift it is when writers transform their sorrow into art. In Love (5 hours), Amy Bloom’s memoir of her marriage, is just such a gift. The book moves back and forth between her initial years of boisterous happiness with her husband, Brian, and later, Brian’s diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. 

As Bloom narrates the process of helping Brian seek a medically assisted suicide before his mental faculties had fully declined, you can feel the urgency bound up with the author’s grief. The prose is restrained, creating a sturdy foundation for the memoir’s emotional heft. Likewise, Bloom’s narration is simple and even-keeled, except for small cracks in her voice during the narrative’s most harrowing moments. In Love shows, more powerfully than any other memoir this year, that love and grief are two sides of the same coin.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Read our starred review of the print edition of In Love.

I’m Glad My Mom Died

Before her confessional memoir became an instant bestseller, Jennette McCurdy was best known for her role as a child star in Nickelodeon’s “iCarly.” In I’m Glad My Mom Died (Simon & Schuster Audio, 6.5 hours), she offers an honest look at how her mom coerced her into entering the acting world at only 6 years old—and how this was only one of many deeply damaging manipulations. As McCurdy unpacks years of childhood abuse, her narration moves along at quite a clip—at several points, I double-checked to make sure I wasn’t playing the book at 1.5 speed—but is still crystal clear. This swift pacing brings an almost upbeat, childlike (and thus, profoundly heartbreaking) spirit to the telling. It also makes the moments when she slows down to conjure the volatile voices of her mother and other characters all the more crushing.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

It’s an unavoidable fact that sometimes listening to an outstanding audiobook means crying in public with your headphones in.
FictionAudioShort Stories

Liberation Day

Review by Mari Carlson

The nine short stories in George Saunders’ Liberation Day (7 hours) prowl a spectrum of dystopian premises and fall into two categories: tales about families, co-workers and neighbors navigating their relationships amid troubling current events; and stories about future humans who are reprogrammed as automatons (with the robotic voices to match) under other people’s command.

In these disorienting worlds, downtrodden people who have become petty and grotesque find not revenge but poetic justice. After writing an essay that inspires a crime, the titular mother of “Mom of Bold Action” runs through a list of good deeds she would be likely to do, such as step into slush on someone else’s behalf. In “Ghoul,” an employee at an underground Hell-themed amusement park realizes that he’s in love and ready to die for his beloved. 

And yet, understated goodness shines through, and we witness victories both quotidian and experimental. Stories are narrated by Saunders and an all-star cast of comedians and actors: Tina Fey, Stephen Root, Michael McKean, Edi Patterson, Jenny Slate, Jack McBrayer and Melora Hardin. Saunders’ biting, clipped writing style, paired with these narrators’ parodying voices, results in a dark comedy triumph with a satirical yet redemptive twist.

Read our starred review of the print edition of Liberation Day.

George Saunders’ short story collection, narrated by an all-star cast of comedians and actors, is a dark comedy triumph with a satirical yet redemptive twist.
NonfictionAudioScience

If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal

Review by G. Robert Frazier

Who would have thought a discussion about the intelligence (or lack thereof) of humans and animals could be so fascinating and fun? Such is the case in If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity (7 hours), thanks to the conversational prowess and keen (I’ll go ahead and say it) intellect of behavioral scientist Justin Gregg.

Gregg excels as both author and narrator, laying out arguments for and against humankind’s intellectual advancements in concise, accessible language. With witty commentary and humorous anecdotes, he draws comparisons to our counterparts in the animal kingdom, who appear to be doing just fine without technology, political discourse or overriding ambitions for power, wealth or popularity. 

Each of the seven chapters starts with a thought-provoking passage from German philosopher Frederick Nietzsche, whose criticisms of the human condition laid the groundwork for modern thinkers. In whimsical fashion, Gregg breaks down Nietzsche’s arguments into easily digestible chunks of information. All in all, it’s a joy for listeners.

Image of author Justin Gregg

Read more: Justin Gregg, author of If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal, extols the virtues of stupid animals.

Behavioral scientist Justin Gregg excels as both author and narrator, laying out arguments for and against humankind’s intellectual advancements in concise, accessible language.
NonfictionAudioMemoir

Diary of a Misfit

Review by Deborah Mason

All hell broke loose when Casey Parks came out to her family. But amid all their weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, there was a bright spark that came to dominate Parks’ personal and professional life for over a decade, which she recounts in Diary of a Misfit (14.5 hours). Parks’ stern, conservative grandmother took her aside and told her a secret: “I grew up across the street from a woman who lived as a man.” Parks’ search for this person sent her back to her childhood homes in Louisiana and Mississippi, and her investigation becomes entwined with her own story of growing up gay in the Deep South.

Parks has been deeply wounded by her family and her church, and as both author and narrator, she tells her story at some remove, as if she’s faithfully recounting it to a friend or therapist while trying not to relive her pain. Ironically, her restraint makes the scars she bears more evident—but it also makes her reconciliation with her past more triumphant.

Read our starred review of the print edition of Diary of a Misfit.

As both author and narrator, Casey Parks’ restraint makes the scars she bears more evident—but it also makes her reconciliation with her past more triumphant.
NonfictionAudioSocial Science

All the Living and the Dead

Review by Deborah Mason

From childhood, death neither repulsed nor frightened Hayley Campbell but instead spurred her curiosity. So it was only natural that Campbell, a freelance journalist based in London, would interview people who make a living from death: not just a funeral director and an embalmer but also a crematorium operator, a crime scene cleaner, an executioner and more.

In All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life’s Work (9 hours), author and narrator Campbell is a probing investigator who elicits honest answers from her subjects. She is also an active observer of their work, even dressing a dead man for his funeral. With each interview, it’s clear she is affected by the presence of death, particularly after witnessing the preparation of a baby’s body for a forensic autopsy. 

Campbell’s voice becomes more introspective as she considers how the actions of death workers enable the living to meet death on their own terms. Though ironic at times, she is never ghoulish. Instead, her tone is always even, quietly emphasizing that death is the most natural thing in the world.

Read our starred review of the print edition of All the Living and the Dead.

As author and narrator, Hayley Campbell’s tone is always even, quietly emphasizing that death is the most natural thing in the world.

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