After Elton John's songwriting collaborator delivers an introductory note with appealing sincerity, John Lee narrates Bernie Taupin's story with boyish charm and beguiling enthusiasm. His sensitivity to Taupin's perspectives and the rhythms of his literary writing is palpable and quite beautiful to hear. Taupin is an uncommon pop music guy--self-aware and humble. His literary background gives depth to his observations about the music scene he's been part of for the past 50 years. What he shares about all the British and American music greats he knows reveals him to be a kind and discerning artist in the broadest sense. Lee's performance captures the 73-year-old author's finely tuned appreciation of life and art. He makes this autobiography a moving audiobook to hear.
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
Duration: 15 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668633281
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Cox delivers both the searing pain and deep beauty imbued in her life journey.
The cudgel of gender conformity has never felt more visceral and brutal, more omnipresent and inescapable than in actor and activist Cox’s spellbinding memoir. Listeners will not be left unchanged by Cox’s courage in speaking her whole truth for the very first time. As narrator, Cox’s voice sometimes sounds armored, because this isn't Cox the performer, but Cox as a fiercely analytical intellectual as she examines how her life story embodies the intersection of gender, race, colonization, and patriarchy. Yes, listeners will hear about her fun rise to fame, which included working with film idols like Jodie Foster, but it is her relationship with the work of feminist icon and scholar bell hooks that informs the backbone of this intelligent, remarkable memoir.
Cox delivers both the searing pain and deep beauty imbued in her life journey.Pub Date: June 9, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 56 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668135860
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
Honest, heartfelt recollections make this performance feel like catching up with a close friend on the phone.
The best narrator for O'Connell's unique mixture of humor and drama is, fittingly, O'Connell himself. In his essay collection, O'Connell discusses every facet of his life as a gay man with cerebral palsy, from his former reliance on alcohol and drugs to his struggle finding a sexual partner, experience in an open relationship, his exercise journey, and his Hollywood success. Listeners will find themselves laughing alongside O'Connell as he candidly recalls—with contagious cackles—his time as an addict in denial and his decade-long dry spell. O'Connell's narration is passionate, whether he’s recounting a heartbreaking story of childhood trauma or sharing a laugh-out-loud joke.
Honest, heartfelt recollections make this performance feel like catching up with a close friend on the phone.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 56 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250457127
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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