Listen Up! Readers’ Advisory for Audiobooks

1. Listen Up!Readers’ Advisory for Audiobooks Presented by LynnDee Wathen, Mid-Continent Public Library Missouri Library Association Annual Conference 2019

2. Full Disclaimer This is obviously not the definitive explanation of readers’ advisory for audi0books—just one librarian’s unabashed enthusiasm for them.

3. Presentation topics Audiobook facts Why audiobooks are great for readers Audiobooks for all ages Booktalking audiobooks Popular narrators Audiobook awards

4. Pew Study Recent study shows that 1 in 5 Americans are now listening to audiobooks. This is an uptick from 14% to 20%. (Pew Research Center, 2019)

5. Library Journal Public Library Audiobook Survey, 2016

6. By the numbers Million audiobooks borrowed through OverDrive in 2018 Percent increase from 2017 5th year in a row digital audiobooks are outpacing ebooks 88 29 5 OverDrive digital audibook usage

7. Most Popular Audiobooks Borrowed in 2018 Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson Ready Player One by Ernest Cline A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’engle Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

9. The Science According to a recently published article in The Journal of Neuroscience, “The representation of semantic information across human cerebral cortex during listening versus reading is invariant to stimulus modality” (Deniz, Nunez-Elizalde, Huth, & Gallant, 2019).

10. Significant Statement “Humans can comprehend the meaning of words from both spoken and written language. It is therefore important to understand the relationship between the brain representations of spoken or written text. Here we show that although the representation of semantic information in the human brain is quite complex, the semantic representations evoked by listening versus reading are almost identical. These results suggest that the representation of language semantics is independent of the sensory modality through which the semantic information is received.” (Deniz, Nunez-Elizalde, Huth, & Gallant, 2019)

11. In other words… Listening to an audiobook is the same as reading print!

12. Why audiobooks are great for readers

13. The Growing Popularity of Audibooks • Benefits for youth: • Can engage in complex texts of interest • Children can understand spoken word 2 years before what they can read visually • Models the correct pronunciation of words and helps with pacing when using punctuation marks • Benefits for adults • Multitasking extends reading opportunities • Opportunities to explore new genres and subjects • Sustained listening strengthens our capacity to communicate more effectively • Benefits for everyone • Expert audio performance builds both native & foreign language comprehension • Authentic voices enlarge a reader’s cultural capacity An EBSCO webinar

14. Audiobook Readers’ Advisory

15. Dipping your toes into Audiobooks • Listen to an old favorite • Discover new narrator • New sensory experience of title • May pick up on things missed from visual reading • Listen to a memoir • Most memoirists read their own memoirs, so it feels like a personal discussion • Listen to a classic on audiobook • Fresh experience of a classic title • Listen to a podcast • If you enjoy listening to people talk and/or reading to you, you might enjoy an audiobook • Ask for audiobook recommendations

16. Booktalking Audiobooks • Read audiobook reviews • Other readers have done the listening for you • Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Goodreads • Know your narrators • Audible Narrators Hall of Fame • Audie Awards • Celebrity narrators • Know the book • Utilize staff, family & friends for audiobook recommendations

17. Audiobooks for youth • Booklist—youth audio • Audie Awards—middle grade, young listeners (up to age 8), young adult • ALA Recommended Listening for children and young adults • NoveList audiobook lists for youth • Common Sense Media’s Great Audiobooks for Kids • Brightly’saudiobook archive • Classic children’s books read by celebrity narrators

18. Popular Audiobook Narrators They hit the right note when it comes to audiobook narration. Bahni Turpin Jim Dale Stephen Fry Julia Whelan Cassandra Campbell Vikas Adam

19. Bahni Turpin The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison Dread Nation by Justina Ireland Children of Blood & Bone by Tomi Adeyemi American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson Award winning audiobook narrator Hundreds of narrations to her credit “Turpin’s embodiment of characters that span a wide range of ages and cultural backgrounds is uncanny”—Audible Narrator Hall of Fame

20. Jim Dale Around the World In 80 Days by Jules Verne The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Grimm’s Fairytales by the Brothers Grimm Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus Award winning audiobook narrator Beloved Harry Potter narrator Made an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II for his work promoting English children’s literature One-time Guinness World Record holder for greatest number of characters voiced in a single audiobook

21. Stephen Fry Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond Collected Stories of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray Narrated the UK recordings of the Harry Potter series Comedian/actor/author Patron of the audiobook charity Listening Books

22. Julia Whelan An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah The Witches of New York by Ami McKay My Year of Rest & Relaxation by OttessaMoshfegh Former child actor Over 300 narrations to her name Award winning narrator Narrates fiction and nonfiction

23. Cassandra Campbell Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone Hundreds of audiobooks to her name Narrates both fiction and nonfiction Award winning narrator “No one is more versatile”--Audible

24. VikasAdam Dracul by Dacre Stoker & J.D. Barker The Golden House by Salman Rushdie A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon Award winning narrator Narrates a variety of genres Actor, producer, director & narrator

25. AudiobookAwards Setting the gold standard in audiobook narration. Audie Awards Earphones Award Booklist American Library Association

26. Audie Awards • Sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association • 2019 is the 24th year for the Audie Awards • Awards are given in 24 categories • Judges are selected from a wide variety of listeners, including fans and experienced evaluators • Judging criteria is based on performance, direction, production, and content/overall • 2019 winners include: • Children of Blood & Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (Audiobook of the Year) • Educated by Tara Westover (Best Female Narrator [Julia Whelan] and Autobiography/Memoir) • The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Nick Offerman & Megan Mullally (Humor)

27. Earphone Awards • Presented by AudioFile Magazine on a monthly basis • Given to “truly exceptional titles that excel in narrative voice and style, characterizations, suitability to audio, and enhancement of the text.” (AudioFile, 2019) • September 2019 winners include: • Akin by Emma Donoghue (read by Jason Culp) • The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall (read by Kathy Keane) • Frankly In Love by David Yoon (read by Raymond J. Lee) • Inland by Tea Obreht (read by Anna Chlumsky, EdoardoBallerini, & Euan Morton) • The Institute by Stephen King (read by Santino Fontana)

28. Booklist • Review publication of the American Library Association • End of year “Best Of” lists included Editors’ Choice & Top of the List • 2018 honorees include: • Circe by Madeline Miller (Adult Audio Top of the List) • Children of Blood & Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (Youth Audio Top of the List) • The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor by Sonia Sotomayor (Editor’s Choice for Youth Audio) • The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser (Editor’s Choice for Youth Audio) • Always Look On the Bright Side: a Sortabiography by Eric Idle (Editor’s Choice for Adult Audio)

29. American Library Association • Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults (Young Adult Library Services Association) • Notable Children’s Recordings (Association for Library Services to Children) • Odyssey Award (Association for Library Services to Children) • ALA Listen List (Reference and User Services Association)—for adults • 2019 honorees include: • Sunny by Jason Reynolds (Amazing Audiobooks Top 10) • The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani (Notable Children’s Recording) • Sadie by Courtney Summers (Odyssey Award) • The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips

30. MyPersonalFavorites Narrated by Dion Graham (The First 48) Narrated by Bahni Turpin Narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo Narrated by Wil Wheaton Narrated by Kathleen Gati Narrated by Joan Walker The audiobooks I would recommend

31. Resources https://company.overdrive.com/2019/01/08/public-libraries-achieve-record-breaking-ebook-and-audiobook-usage-in-2018/ https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2019/08/16/JNEUROSCI.0675-19.2019 https://www.audible.com/ep/Audible_NHOF https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/audies/ https://www.audiopub.org/uploads/pdf/Audies-Judging-Criteria-for-Site.pdf https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/earphones/

32. Resources https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/25/one-in-five-americans-now-listen-to-audiobooks/ https://s3.amazonaws.com/WebVault/research/LJ_Audiobooks_PublicLibraries_Mar2016.pdf https://player.vimeo.com/video/286349007 http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/library/alarecommends/recommendedlistening https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/great-audiobooks-for-kids https://www.readbrightly.com/topics/audiobooks/

33. Thank you for listening! @thelibrarylush @thelibrarylush LynnDee (The Library Lush) lwathen@mymcpl.org