Rob Sheffield, a rock journalist for ROLLING STONE, is a huge fan of Taylor Swift and doesn't mind who knows it. Sheffield is middle-aged and so tall that he has to scrunch down at Swift's concerts so as not to block the view of the girls behind him. As author and narrator, Sheffield comes off as both nerdy and cool, which is a charming and infectious combination. He sounds like he's riffing his wry and perceptive observations, perfect for an audiobook about music. He's not gossipy--even as he parses the lyrics, he's not all that interested in Swift's personal life. Swift wrote all her own songs, even as a young teenager, and while those songs seemed to be about boys, they were really about the development of the girl in the story.
Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063351288
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Moving from deeply despairing to wildly successful, only West could do his own poignant story justice.
Fans of voice actor West may have difficulty reconciling his disturbing childhood with the numerous joyful characters he’s best known for. In this revealing, painfully honest memoir, West recalls life before, during, and after animated series The Ren & Stimpy Show and Futurama, in which he voiced multiple characters. Occasionally reverting to his comic voices to illustrate a point or an anecdote, West details his experiences with his brutal, psychotic father; his early efforts to disassociate himself from beatings and abuse; and the profoundly positive effects TV comics like Sid Caesar and Danny Kaye had on him. Late-in-life diagnoses of ADHD and OCD also gave West some comfort.
Moving from deeply despairing to wildly successful, only West could do his own poignant story justice.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
Duration: 7 hrs, 1 min
DD ISBN: 9798898850111
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 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 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: July 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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