On January 16th I got to interview Brad and Britney from the bookish podcast Audioshelf, which is a podcast that listens to audiobooks and reviews them. They also talk about popular book tropes, interview authors, and play fun bookish games.
How did you guys start your podcast?
We are Brad and Britney from AudioShelf! As best friends, we do everything together. In 2016, we fell in love with listening to audiobooks. We were listening to one every week and then getting together to talk about them. At first, we thought we wanted to start a blog and write our reviews. Then, we got to thinking. Audiobooks are for auditory readers. A blog was NOT for auditory readers. A podcast, however, was for auditory readers. So we made the decision to start a podcast discussing why we loved audiobooks, how audio enhances the content of the stories we read, and to promote a platform for reading that no one was talking about. In 2016, audiobooks were not as popular as they are today and we didn’t understand why—and we wanted to talk about it! With that said, our podcast (now YouTube channel) AudioShelf is a premiere, celebrated, and honored audiobook reviewing resource. And we love every minute of it!
What are your favorite books of all time?
That’s a really hard one. With the power of audiobooks, we listened to about 100 books a year. However, some favorites of ours are: -A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (Young Adult Fantasy)
-Gravemaidens by Kelly Coon (Young Adult Fantasy)
-The River at Night by Erica Ferencik (Thriller)
-The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Historical Fiction)
What advice would you give people who want to start a podcast?
Everyone is different. Embrace that! Find out what you love and what you want to talk about and do it! There is an audience for YOU! However, more logistical stuff, don’t cheap out on your microphone or recording software (ask for it for your birthday and holidays, kiddos!)
Are there any authors that inspired your writing?
Britney is inspired by thriller writers: Kimberly Belle, Emily Carpenter, and Vanessa Lillie
Brad is inspired by many different genre authors: Liane Moriarty, Ruth Ware, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Amanda Carol.
Who are your favorite narrators you love to hear in audiobooks?
Our favorite narrators are: Michael Crouch, Lauren Ezzo, Imogen Church, and Caitlin Kelly!
Are there any audiobooks you would recommend?
Yes! Of course! Even though we love all audio, here are some that we believe MUST be listened to rather than physically read: -Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Historical Fiction)
-See You In the Cosmos by Jack Cheng (Middle Grade)
-The Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Paige (YA Fantasy)
-Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (YA Fantasy)
-We narrated an audiobook called Left Hanging by Cindy Dorminy (shameless plug! – Romance)
It was a pleasure getting to know Brad and Britney, and hearing about all of the work they do in promoting audiobooks. If you would like to check out new audiobooks, please don’t hesitate to go to their site or youtube channel and check them out!
-Rhiannon