Bonnie Tsui is clearly fascinated by how our muscles work and why we should use them. Her performance is appealing--full of joy and heart. She reels us in with her appreciation for both muscles and people. Tsui profiles the first woman to lift Scotland's massive Dinnie Stones and a champion high school runner who runs to honor his great-grandfather, who ran 50 miles to escape a Native boarding school. She admires both the complexity of the shoulder muscles and the tininess of the muscles that cause hairs to stand up in goose bumps. Tsui also blends in memoir, telling how her fitness-obsessed father involved his children in his quirky workouts; after he moved away when she was in high school, she had to find her way back to him as an adult.
Pub Date: April 22, 2025
Duration: 6 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668646205
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A peaceful, restorative performance that encourages conscious observation.
Author Haynes may live in London, but she grew up on a farm. Nadia Albina’s British accent and warm voice encapsulate the bucolic vibe of this investigation into tracking time by the natural world. It’s all about rhythms and cycles—the time of year, the time of day, and the inner clocks of the physical world. Primroses open their blooms at the same time every day, and sunflowers turn their heads toward the sun as they move across the sky. Haynes urges listeners to be “trill-seekers” and pay attention to the dawn chorus as the birds layer their morning songs. Together, author and narrator conjure the soft light of late afternoon and the glitter of stars in a dark sky.
A peaceful, restorative performance that encourages conscious observation.Pub Date: April 21, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 33 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217336838
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
Listeners looking to examine joy from a faith-based perspective will find much to reflect on.
In this audiobook, Bowler poses the question, "What is joy?" Narrating her own work, she muses on this theme, discussing finding joy in the ordinary, the role of emotions, recapturing past joy, and the way her faith has shaped her interpretation and experience of joy. Bowler’s narration is down to earth as she talks about her experience battling Stage 4 cancer shortly after her mother's death. She also tackles big ideas about duty and obligation, shared emotion, toxic positivity, how to convert faith into something concretely good, the secret of miracles, and taking risks to achieve joy.
Listeners looking to examine joy from a faith-based perspective will find much to reflect on.Pub Date: April 7, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 58 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217176564
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: April 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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