Jenni Laidman

Capitalizing on the popularity of podcasts, book publishers are turning to audio-only productions.

Publishers experiment with audiobook-only productions

May 9, 2019 at 11:43 p.m.

An evolving trend in audiobook publishing sounds a bit like looting the mansion for hidden treasure: “We’re asking our best-selling authors, and all of our authors, about old stories, short...

Can you teach a cell new tricks? Diabetes research aims to do just that.

June 2, 2018 at 5:11 a.m.

Domenico Accili confesses it all sounds a little like science fiction, or maybe simply magic, but the professor of medicine at Columbia University is convinced he can coax endocrine cells...

‘The River of Consciousness’ offers another glimpse inside the mind of Oliver Sacks

May 9, 2019 at 11:42 p.m.

There's a nifty word, "paracuses," for those mishearings that occur with the advance of deafness. That fact that Oliver Sacks recorded his paracuses in a little red notebook suggests the...

Researchers are working to better understand how the microbiome affects human health.

Microbes rule your health — and further prove that kids should eat dirt

June 2, 2018 at 2:57 p.m.

Humans don't rule the planet. Humans don't even rule their own bodies. During the past 20 years or so, it's become apparent that the guys in charge of everything are...

‘Sourdough,’ new quirky novel by ‘Mr. Penumbra’ author Robin Sloan, gets fitting audiobook treatment

May 9, 2019 at 11:40 p.m.

"Sourdough" by Robin Sloan, narrated by Therese Plummer, Macmillan, 6:47 Therese Plummer, veteran narrator of more than 300 audiobooks, brings a delightfully loopy creativity to the delightfully loopy novel "Sourdough,"...

Audiobooks: Stellar narration marks ‘The Answers’ by Catherine Lacey, plus more reviews

May 9, 2019 at 11:38 p.m.

"The Answers" by Catherine Lacey, narrated by Megan Tusing, Blackstone, 9:41 The best narrators disappear as you listen. The voice blends so smoothly with the story as the actor skillfully...

Audiobook roundup: Shelley Atkinson sparkles with ‘The Blood Miracles’

May 9, 2019 at 11:34 p.m.

"The Blood Miracles" by Lisa McInerney, narrated by Shelley Atkinson, John Murray, 8:18 Listen closely because Shelley Atkinson's narration gallops in "The Blood Miracles," Lisa McInerney's crackling story of a...

‘Word by Word’ leads this week’s audiobook roundup

May 9, 2019 at 11:32 p.m.

"Word by Word" by Kory Stamper, narrated by Stamper, Random House Audio, 9:48 Kory Stamper's voice is full of nerdy energy, and it is one of the lovable things about...

Neil Gaiman’s reading of ‘Norse Mythologies’ leads the audiobook roundup

May 9, 2019 at 11:29 p.m.

"Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman, narrated by the author, HarperAudio, 6:29 Listening to Neil Gaiman narrate brings to mind Charles Dickens. The 19th century writer was known for performing his...

Nick Offerman, David Sedaris lead 166 person cast voicing George Saunders audiobook

May 9, 2019 at 11:27 p.m.

If there's such a thing as an audiobook spectacle, George Saunders' "Lincoln in the Bardo" is it. The size of the cast alone qualifies: With 166 individual voices, it's by...

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