Audiobook Café

Fallosophy by Ardra Shephard: Talking Through Living with MS - Wednesday April 9th, 2025

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ardra Shephard, creator of the Tripping on Air blog and host of Fashion Dis, reflects on her freshly released memoir, Fallosophy. She reveals the trut...

Laughing Through the Madness: A Journey into Satirical Fiction - Monday April 7th, 2025

07 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From the biting irony of Swift’s A Modest Proposal to the bureaucratic absurdity of Heller’s Catch-22, satire has long been a tool for exposing so...

From Grey’s Anatomy Tell-All to The International Space Station: Karen Magee’s Rapid Fire Book Blitz

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Buckle up! Karen Magee is back for another Rapid-Fire Review, where she races against the clock to give us the gist of her five most recent reads, whi...

Know Your Narrator: The Golden Voice of John Lee

02 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sara Hillis explores John Lee’s fascinating journey from working odd jobs across Europe (like picking fruits in France) to becoming an Audie Award-w...

Mastering the Audiobook Performance: Narrator Vikas Adam’s Studio Secrets

31 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Vikas Adam has narrated over 500 audiobooks, earned 25 Earphones Awards, and was an inaugural inductee into the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame. He shar...

Review of Sadie by Courtney Summers: Audiobook Meets Podcast

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sadie by Courtney Summers is a young adult thriller told in alternating perspectives—a documentary maker following a missing girl’s story and Sadi...

Review of Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer: A Journey Through Indigenous Wisdom

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Karoline Bordeau unpacks Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, where Indigenous wisdom meet scientific exploration.  Kimmerer’s reflections o...

The Art of Short Stories with Red Széll: Classics, Surprises, and Modern Gems

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jacob Shymanski and Red Szell unravel their impressions of what it means to experience a short story in all its intended brilliance. From gothic tales...

From UFOs to Vince McMahon: Paul Daniel’s Most Recent Must-Reads

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Long time friend and avid reader Paul Daniel takes us on a journey through three of his most recent reads: Imminent by Luis Elizondo, Ringmaster by Ab...

BookTok and the Future of Digital Literature Consumption

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During Part 2 of Jacob’s chat with Alina (of According to Alina), they explore the effects of BookTok on book consumption habits, particularly the t...

When Animals Speak: Chat with Author Amanda Leduc on Wild Life

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We explore Wild Life, the newest novel by Canadian Author and disability advocate Amanda Leduc. Wild Life follows two hyenas, Barbara and Kendrith, wh...

Rockstar Biographies & Music Memoirs with Greg David

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is it better when rockstars tell their own stories? Celebrity memoirs are supposed to capture the highs and lows of fame, creativity, and personal str...

Highlights from the 2025 Audies + Sara Hillis’s Case for Stephen King

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Audies’ 30th anniversary was a mix of celebration and chaos. Sara Hillis recaps the major winners, highlights moments from the nostalgia-filled ...

Monsters or Creatures: How Fiction Explores The Other

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In every great story, there’s an outsider. The Other has been a defining theme in literature for centuries, shaping everything from Gothic horror to...

33 Years of Audiobook Engagement with Robin Whitten of AudioFile Magazine

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We meet Robin Whitten, founder and editor of AudioFile Magazine. She traces the magazine's inception in 1992, its dedication to reviewing and celebrat...

Romance Tropes and Short-form Book Talk: Breaking Down BookTok’s Influence

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jacob is joined by UK-based YouTuber Alina (of According to Alina) to delve into the phenomenon of the BookTok  community on TikTok. What is typical ...

Talking Pigs & Thought Police: Political Literature with Danielle McLaughlin

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dictatorships, book bans, and doublespeak—just dystopian fiction, or a reflection of the world today? Danielle McLaughlin dives into Animal Farm and...

Reviews of The Wager by David Grann and All-American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Review 1: The Wager by David Grann is a meticulously researched narrative immersing readers in the harsh realities of 18th-century sailing, offering a...

Full Cast Horror: Inside The Creepy School Bus Audiobook with Author Paul Hough

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Hough is the writer of The Creepy School Bus viral YouTube series, and newly released Audiobook of the same name. He explains the thought process...

John Steinbeck’s Influence: Hard Truths of the Human Condition

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Red Széll reminds us exactly how books hold the power to provoke, challenge, and inspire. He tributes John Steinbeck’s remarkable literary influenc...

Canada Reads 2025 & How Stories Shape our Sense of Home

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Karoline Bourdeau has never missed a year of the Canada Reads debates. She breaks down this year’s shortlisted top five books, focusing on the ...

The Mob Mentality of Reading: Is it Good Because It’s Popular?

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fifty Shades of Grey and the Twilight saga—are they loved because they’re great, or just because they’re everywhere? Jacob Shymanski and There...

Logic Gaps, Slow Burns, and Broken Worlds

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Are you frustrated when authors can’t justify their own logic in the worlds they’ve built? Jacob and Ramya discuss some of the biggest logic gaps ...

Reviewing The God of the Woods by Liz Moore: A Deep Dive into Mystery and Family Secrets

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sara Hillis and Jacob Shymanski review The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, a slow-burn story weaving together a rich tapestry of characters, over a dec...

Cats in Literature: Review of We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Danielle McLaughlin reviews We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, a unique narrative of a transient clinic offering cats as solutions to personal ...

Reviews of Avenue of Champions by Connor Kerr & Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey: Stories with Lessons

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Métis history, generational pain, and the lies of reconciliation—Avenue of Champions doesn’t hold back. Jacob breaks down Connor Kerr’s powerfu...

Behind the Microphone of an Audiobook Narrator: Get to Know Simon Mattacks

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Audiobook narration: is it pure performance or a faithful reading of the text? We get into it with Simon Mattacks, a narrator who’s voiced more than...

Book Bans, Free Speech, and The Potential Power of Literature

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Book bans are back in the spotlight after The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill was pulled from the London, Ontario Catholic School Board. The novel, w...

Exploring the Comedy of Corporate Horror: Review of I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when Joline, a complicated character with a penchant for self-destruction, gains access to everyone's emails at work? From the presentati...

Grief, Love, and Acceptance: Review of What I Know About You by Éric Chacour

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We examine Éric Chacour’s What I Know About You, a powerful Canadian LGBTQ+ novel originally published in French, set in late 20th-century Egypt. T...

Rapid Fire Review with Memoir Addict Andy Frank

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We welcome back Andy Frank, Manager of AMI-audio, for a deeper than usual Rapid Fire Review. Andy shares five intriguing memoirs and biographies, and ...

Reviewing The Women by Kristin Hannah: Untold Stories of Vietnam

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We uncover the untold stories of Vietnam with Kristin Hannah's The Women. Sara Hillis shares perspectives on the novel’s intricate look at female fr...

Rapid Fire Review with Katherine Vatcher

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We welcome back a friend of AMI who lets us in on her latest reads. She joins us for Rapid Fire Review: Kathrine VatcherBooks discussed in this episod...

Author Interview: Double Take by Kathryn Cole

10 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We dive into Kathryn Cole’s life in authoring, illustrating, editing, and much more of her fascinating career in Canadian Lliterature. Kathryn has a...

Literature for Swimmers with Danielle McLaughlin

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Danielle McLaughlin lets us in on her love for swimming, and ties the hobby right back in with her love for literature. With books like Swell: A Water...

A Book Look at 2025 with Karoline Bourdeau

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Karoline Bourdeau introduces us to BetaBooks, a platform where authors open up their writing for crowd-sourced consultation. Plus, we ponder about our...

Your Top Reads of 2024

24 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Here’s our Year in Reading, one-hour special episode, featuring your top lit picks of 2024. From page-turning thrillers to memorable memoirs, and ev...

Review: Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An emergency landing during a flight to Toronto has a group of strangers, including an entire bridal party, snowbound at the quirky Snow Falls Inn in ...

Rapid Fire Review with Karen Magee

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Karen Magee steps right into the rabbit hole if she enjoyed the first book an author wrote. She also can’t remember the last time she didn’t finis...

Author Interview: I Don't Do Disability and Other Lies I've Told Myself by Adelle Purdham

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a society where people with disabilities remain largely invisible, what does it mean to parent a child born With Down syndrome? Adelle Purdham bega...

Review: Patriot By Alexei Navalny

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alexei Navalny’s Patriot is an unpolished memoir, mostly written from prison, chronicling his fight against corruption in Russia through his deeply ...

Top Books of 2024 with Karen McKay and Theresa Power

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Do book lists even matter? Karen McKay and Theresa Power from the Centre for Equitable Library Access to chat about the year’s hottest book lists. W...

Read and Tell

06 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jacob Shymanski and Ramya Amuthan defend their beloved picks on Read and Tell. Today’s prompts are: "The best recommendation I’ve gotten in a whil...

Rapid Fire Review with Danielle McLaughlin

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re inviting a brand new contributor on the show – though she is an old friend and known voice on the network, Danielle McLaughlin. Let’s give...

Review: The Maid by Nita Prose

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Aamer Khan, Jacob Shymanski, and Ramya Amuthan review “The Maid” by Nita Prose. A 2022 New York Times Best Seller, it sold over 2 million copies,...

Author Interview: From Potential to Purpose by Marco Pasqua

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“You’re only as good as the last person who remembers you.” This is the first line in Potential to Purpose by Marco Pasqua. Marco is an award-wi...

Cozy Reading with Karen McKay

22 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the days get cold and dark, we settle in and hibernate with our books, maybe revisiting old favourites. But what draws us back to books we’ve alr...

Why do we relate to Fictional Characters?

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Literary characters make for good friends, great enemies, andrealistic mirrors of who we are. Sometimes, we use them to imagine our lives in different...

Author Interview: Don’t Snooze Your Dreams: Lessons From Life With Narcolepsy by Michelle Weger

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Living with narcolepsy and cataplexy, Michelle Weger (rhymes with eager) has turned her toughest experiences into fuel to power her success. Don't Sn...

Question: Can you stand listening to synthetically narrated audiobooks?

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Well… Can you? Some of us are not picking up a book if it’s labelled as anything other than human-narrated. With AI in the mix, others of us can’...

Review: The Wonder of Stevie, Audible Original

08 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jacob Shymanski thought he was Stevie Wonder’s Number 1 fan, until he heard Barack and Michelle Obama’s relationship started with bonding over the...

Part 2: How to be a resourceful audiobook listener

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Do ratings and reviews make an impact on what book we pick up next? Is mandatory reading during school prepping us to enjoy reading as adults? Where d...

How to be a Resourceful Audiobook Listener

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are numerous online resources that audiobook listeners can use for recommendations, reviews, summaries' discussions, etc. Ramya Amuthan is here...

Non-fiction vs. Fiction with Karen and Theresa from CELA

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our friends at the Centre of Equitable Library Access, Karen McKay and Theresa Power join us to talk about why people may be fiction adverse, and pref...

Reviewing: Reuniting with Strangers by Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our very own Ramya Amuthan and our regular contributor, Aamer Khan join us for an Audiobook review. Today we review, Reuniting with Strangers: A Novel...

Steve "Dangle" Glynn's new book Hockey Rants and Raves

16 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Steve “Dangle” Glynn is a hockey analyst, broadcaster, author and the host of the popular Steve Dangle Podcast. He has a Youtube channel where he ...

Advocate, Author, and Communications Specialist Emily Ladau

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Emily Ladau is a passionate disability rights activist, writer, storyteller, and digital communications consultant. She was born with Larsen Syndrome,...

Rapid Fire Review with Ramya Amuthan

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ramya Amuthan is back! She joins us for a Rapid Fire Review today! Ramya’s RFR Picks: 1. Big Dating Energy by Jeff Guenther and Kate Happ 2. Tuesday...

Fall 2024 AI Narration Update

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we chat with our regular contributor, Sara Hillis about updates on AI Narrated Audiobooks. Audiobook Café is broadcast on AMI-audio in Canada a...

Cars, Politics and Book Recommendations

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest is an avid Audiobook listener. Jeffrey Rainey is back with another edition of Rapid Fire Review. Here are Jeffrey Rainey’s book recommen...

Reviewing The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner with Aamer Khan

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Joining us today is our audiobook contributor and bookworm, Aamer Khan. Aamer and Jacob will be reviewing The Mars Room By Rachel Kushner The book was...

Why Highschool English Class Sucks with Ryan Hooey

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ryan Hooey is an avid audiobook listener, who also is a regular contributor on Kelly and Ramya on his featured segments called The Chatty Bookshelf.He...

Premee Mohamed, author of The Annual Migration of Clouds

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Premee Mohamed is a Nebula award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton, Alberta. She is an Assistant Edito...

Danielle Bouthillier's debut novel Hero

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Danielle Bouthillier is a laboratory technician, digital artist, and a science fiction writer. Her debut novel, Hero, work started in 2012 and went th...

PAL-Reading Services with Susan Loube

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this edition of AMI Audiobook Review, we speak with Susan Loube, a Director of PAL-Reading Services.Their mission is to provide, upon request, free...

Guilty Pleasures & "Rebel Girl" by Kathleen Hanna with Ryan Delehanty

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

AMI Podcast Coordinator Ryan Delehanty joins us to discuss guilty pleasures, share his Rapid Fire Reviews and discuss the autobiography “Rebel Girl”...

Reviewing "Horror Movie" by Paul Tremblay with Sarah Hillis

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Audiobook contributor Sarah Hillis joins us to review the novel Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay. Find out why it's one of Jacob Shymanski's favourite li...

Rapid Fire Review with Jeffrey Rainey

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jeffrey Rainey is an avid Audiobook listener and he will be joining us for a Rapid Fire Review. Today’s theme for RFR is Baseball book titles! Menti...

Book Club Roundtable with Aamer Khan and Nisreen Abdel-Majid

26 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today's Audiobook Review, we’re having a Book Club roundtable. Joining our conversation is our audiobook contributor and bookworm, Aamer Khan. ...

Interview with Red Széll, Author & Host of "My Life in Books"

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Audiobook contributor and host of “My Life in Books” Red Széll returns to the show to reflect on his experiences as an author and share his persp...

Profile of Karin Slaughter, Author of the Popular “Will Trent” Series

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Audiobook contributor Aamer Khan joins us for a dive into the career of Karin Slaughter, a suspense thriller author famous for “The Will Trent” Se...

Rapid Fire Review of Canadian History Books with Greg David

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Greg David is our Communications Specialist at AMI, and an avid audiobook listener. He joined our host Jacob Shymanski for a ‘Rapid Fire Review’ f...

Reviewing “Eruption” by James Patterson and Michael Crichton with Ryan Hooey

14 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two of the bestselling storytellers of all time have created an unforgettable thriller. The master of the techno-blockbuster joins forces with the mas...

Reviewing "The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride with Sara Hillis

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of our Audiobook contributors Sara Hillis joins us for another Audiobook review. James McBride's The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store begins with the ...

Reviewing "The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece" by Tom Hanks with Michael Feir

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of our avid audiobook readers, Michael Feir, joins us to review “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece,” written and narrated...

Reviewing Tom Lake by Ann Patchett with Karen McKay

06 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The novel Tom Lake by critically acclaimed American author Ann Patchett is a mature and cerebral exploration of parent-children relationships, love an...

How to be a Better Listener of Audiobooks with Aamer Khan

29 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Better reading/audiobook listening comprehension leads to greater enjoyment of books. Do not neglect the quality of book consumption over quantity. Th...

Reviewing Normal People by Sally Rooney and The Liveship Traders Series by Robin Hobb

22 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jacob and Ramya each review a book they've been eager to share. Both titles come with enthusiastic and overwhelmingly positive recommendati...

Fan-Fiction for Dummies with Cassandra Chaddock

15 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week, our co-worker in AMI's Marketing & Communications department, Cassandra Chaddock, schools us on fan-fiction basics. It's a strange world of...

Audiobook Pet Peeves + How Couples Can Listen Together

08 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What’s your biggest audiobook pet peeve? That one, seemingly insignificant thing that for whatever reason, drives you crazy. We posed this questio...

This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune - Review + RFR with Cora Coady

01 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With the help of our friends at CELA, Karen McKay and Theresa Power, Ramya and Jacob are reviewing the latest book from best-selling Canadian author,...

Reviewing Homes: A Refugee Story By Abu Bakr Al-Rabeeah and Winnie Yeung

25 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Homes: A Refugee Story, by Abu Bakr Al-Rabeeah and Winnie Yeung, was recommended to us by our audiobook curator, Aamer Khan, as part of a previous epi...

What is CELA? + Demystifying the Audie Awards

18 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

CELA , the Center for Equitable Library Access, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. For over a decade, they’ve been maintaining a massive physical ...

Interview with Veteran Narrator Anne Flosnik

11 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With over 700 audiobook titles to her credit, Anne Flosnik is a veteran amongst veteran audiobook narrators. When we got the chance to have her on the...

Sarah Desjardins' First Audiobook + Spotify Enters the Audiobook Game

04 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Canadian actress Sarah Desjardins (Yellowjackets, The Night Agent) joins us to talk about her very first work of audiobook narration. She discusses th...

PAL Reading Services and Books That Made Us Cry

27 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

PAL reading services is a non-profit, registered charity service that will record a human narration of any text you submit, no questions asked, at no ...

Audible's 1984 Adaptation: Interview with Writer Joe White

20 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last week we reviewed Audible’s awesome audio adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984.If you haven’t heard our review, the short version is that we l...

Reviewing Audible's Adaptation of 1984

13 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Audible recently released their full-cast, radio-play adaptation of George Orwell’s classic 1984. Featuring a cast full of recognizable names, origi...

A Guide to Literary Awards, Plus Reviewing "Beware the Woman" by Meagan Abbot

06 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Karen McKay and Theresa Power of CELA help us better understand the place literary awards hold within the publishing industry, and how they affect eve...

Autobiography Trivia with Aamer Khan

30 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode: One of the beautiful things about audiobooks is the flexibility they give us. If you’re reading a print book, you just sit there...

Autobiography of Malcolm X & Rapid Fire Reviews with Karoline Bourdeau

23 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode: How much do we really know about the people who've shifted and coloured our histories?We review The Autobiography of Malcolm X, wr...

"Archer's Voice" a Small-Town Romance Review & Rapid Fire Reviews with Greg David

16 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode: Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan is a  New York Times best-selling romance novel about the healing and transformative power of lo...

Book Sales Trends & AI Narrated Audiobooks

09 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode: Dissecting book sales trends doesn’t just concern the capitalists. It’s also relevant to those of us who love to inspect the d...

The Benefits of Audiobooks & Rapid-Fire Reviews with Ted Cooper

02 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode: Listening to an audiobook, as opposed to reading it in print, is a different experience. Not better or worse, just different. But ...

Is Listening to Audiobooks the Same as Reading?

24 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode: Did you read a book if you listened to the audiobook version? If you research this question online, you’ll find all sorts of opi...

Silly, Ridiculous and Cringy Book Titles

17 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode: First impressions matter, and the title of an audiobook is more than likely going to be the first thing you’ll react to when com...

The Popularity of Romantasy + Celebrity Narrators

10 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode: The Romantasy genre has blown up in the past few years and Booktok is responsible. What is it about this genre that’s made it so...

Episode 125: Behind the Scenes of Audiobooks

03 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode: We’ve spoken in the past about the huge role audiobook producers have over the final product of a project. So many small ...

Episode 124: The Art of Book Recommendations

27 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A huge part of living the audio bookworm lifestyle is constantly seeking out your next read. That means taking tons of recommendations, be it from web...

Episode 123: Multi-Voice Narration

20 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Multi-Voice narration audiobooks offer a product that’s more like an engrossing old-school audio drama when done well. When done badly, though, they...