"The Guncle Abroad is the third audiobook of mine that I’ve narrated myself. I’ve found that readers are either intrigued or quietly horrified by the idea of an author reading their own work for audio (Ann Patchett has audiobooks narrated by Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep—couldn’t you get one of those?!), but I’ve always enjoyed the challenge. For a long time a book is an author’s, and an author’s alone; it sounds a very specific way in our heads. After the book is published, it belongs to you, the reader, and you are allowed to interpret it, consume it, or hear it any way you like. But I think it’s interesting to have a record preserved of the way it might sound to the person who wrote it, for anyone who might be interested. In that spirit, I love it when an author narrates their own work and here are some of my favorites." —Steven Rowley, author of The Guncle Abroad
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"Toni Morrison may very well be the greatest American novelist. While she is no longer with us, her powerful voice still is, recorded for all time in this stunning performance infused with the quiet power of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved."
"Carrie was one-of-a-kind, and I can say this as I had the pleasure of knowing her a little bit. She’s another brilliant mind gone too soon, but everything we love about her—her guts, her humor, her willingness to lay bare her pain—is captured in her reading of Postcards from the Edge."
"Barbara Kingsolver gives a lyrical reading of her novel Flight Behavior, a book that was new to me when I listened to it on audio. This is a perfect example of an author telling you a great story. It’s not overly performed, it’s not rushed, but it unfolds naturally in a way that commands your attention."
"After a devastating accident, Stephen King gifts us with perhaps one of the very best books on the craft of writing. This isn’t one of his signature novels, but that doesn’t mean it’s not laced with suspense and even some terror—and especially a deep honesty on what it takes to persevere. It would not hold the same power voiced by anyone else."
"This Much is True is the only true memoir on this list, and I include it for a very special reason. In The Guncle Abroad, gay Uncle Patrick is faced with a rival for his beloved niece and nephew’s affection—their soon-to-be launt, or lesbian aunt. Margolyes is our lesbian aunt for the ages—one we could never tire of, and the cheeky reading of her memoir is an absolute delight."
Steven Rowley is the New York Times bestselling author of four novels and the winner of the 22nd Thurber Prize for American Humor. His fiction has been translated in 20 languages. He lives in Palm Springs.
