Performing this revealing look at the complexities of the revered jazz pioneer Billie Holiday, actress Maya Days connects with every ounce of the brilliance and tragedy of the singer’s life. Strategic pauses in Days’s phrasing and spot-on dialect for dialogue make her sentences sing with auditory variety. But it’s her heartfelt resonance with Holiday’s difficult life that makes the author’s evocative writing so riveting. Despite Holiday’s experiences with racism, her drug and alcohol history, and her long relationship with an exploitive, abusive romantic partner, she never felt like a victim. The details of her earlier life and her final year portray her as a lifelong survivor and a hustler, someone who knew what she wanted: to express her pathos, connect with audiences, and interpret songs like no one else.
Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2024
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593825464
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
An inviting, reflective memoir that feels like Burton is speaking directly to the listener.
Celebrated actor and television host Burton narrates his heartfelt memoir approachably and with eloquence. Giving listeners a transparent look into the struggles, pain, and wisdom that have shaped his life, Burton speaks candidly and humbly. He reflects on a challenging childhood; his shortcomings as a parent; his experiences with racism, drug use, and mental health issues; as well as his deep connection with spirituality and advocacy for the freedom to read and the betterment of humanity. Weaving together experiences from Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Reading Rainbow, Burton masterfully blends personal storytelling with his thoughts on education and social justice.
An inviting, reflective memoir that feels like Burton is speaking directly to the listener.Pub Date: yesterday
Duration: 10 hrs, 32 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217015368
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2026
Shalhoub’s tone is thoughtful, expressive, and enjoyable right to the last recipe.
In a smooth and natural-sounding voice, actor Shalhoub invites listeners to the table to hear the story of his family’s annual reunions, which have taken place for decades during summers in Door County, Wisconsin. Brought up by Lebanese American parents as one of 10 children in Green Bay, Shalhoub reflects on his father’s survival of wartime hunger and the smells of bratwurst and stuffed grape leaves he grew up with in his mother’s kitchen. His daughter, Josie Adams, helps him fill this memoir with delicious recipes, lifelong remembrances, and the logistics of how dozens of relatives descend on one piece of property each year to enjoy countless card games and zany talent shows.
Shalhoub’s tone is thoughtful, expressive, and enjoyable right to the last recipe.Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 52 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668194560
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2027
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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