Starred Audio Reviews for Philip Pullman, Salman Rushdie, LibraryReads pick Samantha Downing, and More! (Nov 2025)

Read by Michael Sheen

“Narrator Michael Sheen’s return to the Book of Dust series gives it the spectacular ending it deserves. His versatile skills bring to life daemons, griffins, witches, and humans alike. . . Sheen excels at pacing, transitioning smoothly from quiet philosophical scenes to tender moments and to gripping action. This satisfying audiobook concludes with an hour-long interview between Sheen and Pullman, which reveals their devotion to the series, admiration for each other’s work, and careful attention to characters.”—AudioFile Earphones Award

Read by Elizabeth Wiley

“Narrator Wiley mischievously voices Lottie as a woman who is tired of getting into sticky situations but will do anything to get out of them. She changes Lottie’s voice to that of a forgetful senior citizen any time she interacts with people investigating Plum’s disappearance. Her use of a shrill twang as Plum’s mother, Norma, perfectly captures that character’s unpredictability. Wiley’s performance vividly energizes Downing’s grim comedy. Lottie is a cunning antihero that listeners will root for as she gets away with murder.”—Library Journal, starred review

Read by Sanjeev Bhaskar, Nicholas Khan, Sid Sagar, Naveen Andrews, and Neil Shah

“This audiobook presents a jewel box of late-in-life stories written by a master, and all exceptionally well performed. Rushdie’s imagination, wit, and ear for language are on full display in “a quintet” of remarkable fictions. The listener is also treated to five accomplished narrators. . . The author’s gifts for dialogue, plot, and character remain exceptional.”—AudioFile Earphones Award

Read by Neil Shah

“Chameleonic narrator Shah has a myriad of characters, cultures, continents, and centuries to cover. . . Shah is a tireless cipher over 15 hours, particularly affecting in parsing Janavi and Sagar’s developing relationship through dismay, resignation, acceptance, longing, and understanding. Memorable supporting cast highlights are many. . . Shah unfalteringly gives voice to the silenced, lost, disappeared.”—Booklist, starred review

Read by the Author

“Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi at one of the most influential Reform synagogues in the country, tells her story with the same energetic, approachable delivery she employs in her public speaking. . .  Buchdahl intersperses music from Jewish tradition, and her lovely singing voice is a special treat in this outstanding production.”—AudioFile Earphones Award

Read by Stefanie Powers

“Stefanie Powers delivers an exquisite, often thrilling, performance of this deeply researched and unvarnished history of Amelia Earhart. . . Powers’s voice is imbued with a skilled theatrical flair.”—AudioFile Earphones Award