Interviews Weina Dai Randel burst onto the literary scene a number of years ago with her duology about Empress Wu Zetian, China’s first woman leader. After winning the prestigious Rita Award in 2017 and seeing her novels translated into seven languages, she is back now with a new historical novel set in 1940s Shanghai. Keeping with her love of strong women characters, her new book, The Last Rose of Shanghai, centers on a nightclub owner named Aiyi Shao who falls for a Jewish refugee who had recently escaped Nazi Germany. Through their love of jazz, they develop a forbidden bond set during one of Shanghai’s most volatile and exciting eras. Randel is the first Chinese American author to write about Shanghai Jewish refugees, although there have been dozens of memoirs, narratives, and novels about this phenomenon from Jewish authors. We recently spoke over Zoom about what made Shanghai so special and why it matters now, along with the reasons Jews escaped to Shanghai during World War II and how Chinese and Jewish traditions are so similar. Susan Blumberg-Kason: It seems that the popularity of 1930s and ’40s Shanghai rose both in China and the US about twenty-five years ago. Can you talk about the appeal of this time and why it’s so special, both to people in the US and China? Weina Dai Randel: I think many aspects of Old Shanghai appeal to us today. From the late 1920s to the early 1940s, the period of Old Shanghai was a symbol of... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2022-01-20 14:33:49 UTC ]
Blue Ivy Carter, the 8-year-old daughter of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, narrates the audiobook adaptation of Matthew A. Cherry's Oscar-winning "Hair Love." Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-11-09 19:42:28 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Vivienne Leheny’s narration captures each character’s outward persona and true self in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-09 18:14:36 UTC ]
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Do you feel old yet? If the answer is yes, then join the club! Today, director and author Matthew A. Cherry announced via Twitter that Blue Ivy Carter (that’s right: Beyoncé and Jay Z’s eight-year-old daughter) is the narrator of the audiobook adaptation of his 2019 animated short film Hair... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-09 18:06:17 UTC ]
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Miriam Margoyles is to narrate the audiobook of Catherine Bruton's latest middle-grade novel, Another Twist in the Tale. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-03 15:31:19 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff and host Jo Reed discuss The Fragile Earth, an eye-opening... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-02 16:59:56 UTC ]
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"The first time we have sex, we are both fully clothed, at our desks during working hours, bathed in blue computer light.” So begins Luster, the extraordinary début novel from American author Raven Leilani, which has caused a sensation in the US and deserves to do the same here. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-01 23:03:04 UTC ]
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Michael Specter’s audiobook brings the immediacy of voices to the scientist’s story. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-10-30 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Yes, it’s Kristin Scott Thomas, our most recent Mrs. Danvers and our forever Fiona. Can’t you just imagine her as the narrator of Cusk’s cool-toned autofictions? The best part is, she got the gig because she’s a fan. “Faber heard that I was a Rachel Cusk fan so I was thrilled when they asked me... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-29 15:18:37 UTC ]
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Sally Phillips has recorded the audiobook edition of Alexandra Potter’s new novel Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-26 06:15:07 UTC ]
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Samantha Bond will narrate the audiobook of S J Bennett’s novel, The Windsor Knot. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-21 13:14:02 UTC ]
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Nigerian-American writer, producer, and actress Yetide Badaki, well known for acting in the TV series This Is Us and American Gods, comes from a family of storytellers. She recalls sitting by the fire as a youth and listening to her elders. “Storytelling is such a part of just being,” she says.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-20 08:48:10 UTC ]
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Julie Walters will be featuring as part of an all-star cast for the audiobook of Jasper Rees' authorised biography of Victoria Wood, Let's Do It. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-13 08:49:54 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Marin Ireland narrates Rumaan Alam’s stunning audiobook Leave the World Behind, which... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-12 08:00:42 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Joel Richards emulates the quiet reverential voice of climate scientist Marco Tedesco as he... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-09 15:32:33 UTC ]
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What's reported to be the first study of audiobook consumer behavior in Australia points to a new, young audience for the format. The post Nielsen Book Releases Australian Audiobook Consumer Research appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-10-08 19:52:16 UTC ]
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Michael Specter’s audiobook biography shapes the story of Anthony Fauci into a stirring, and very American, morality play. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-10-06 20:52:57 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Dan Richards narrates his audiobook, Outpost, in a clear English accent that often sounds as... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-05 17:53:36 UTC ]
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Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens. Narrator Sisi Aisha Johnson embodies all of the joy and light of fourth grader Ryan Hart in... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-02 09:13:44 UTC ]
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Essay To mark the upcoming 2020 Neustadt Lit Fest and the announcement of the 2021 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature, here is an excerpt featuring the children’s and young adult books selection from 100 Essential Books by Iranian Writers,... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-09-30 13:21:42 UTC ]
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Charlie Mackesy will narrate the audiobook of his bestseller The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, with a musical score and real wildlife sounds helping bring it to life. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-30 07:56:33 UTC ]
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