Host Jacob Shymanski and Red Széll reflect on authors who take big risks in their storytelling, everything from subject matter to writing styles and killing off significant characters.

Books mentioned in this episode include:

• “The First Law Series” and “The Heroes” by Joe Abercrombie

• “Brighton Rock” and “The End of the Affair” by Graham Greene

• “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman

• by Joe Abercrombie

• “The Road” and “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy

• “Flesh” by David Szlay

• “Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin

• “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” and “The Adventure of the Empty House” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

• “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by J. K. Rowling

• “The Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie

• “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift

• “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

• “Patriot” by Alexei Navalny

• “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov

• “Ball Four” by Jim Bouton and Leonard Shecter

This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.

Audiobook Café is broadcast on AMI-audio in Canada and publishes two new podcast episodes a week on Fridays and Saturdays at 1 p.m. ET.

Follow Audiobook Café on Instagram @AMIAudiobookCafe

We want your feedback!

Be that comments, suggestions, hot-takes, audiobook recommendations or reviews of your own… hit us up!

Our email address is: AudiobookCafe@ami.ca

About AMI

AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+

Learn more at AMI.ca

Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:

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In 2025, music writer Niko Stratis released “The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman,” a memoir-in-essays on transness, dad rock, and the music that saves us.

Host Jacob Shymanski catches up with Nico to learn about her journey as a trans woman through, her love for bands like Wilco, and her experience with narrating the audiobook.

This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.

Audiobook Café is broadcast on AMI-audio in Canada and publishes two new podcast episodes a week on Fridays and Saturdays at 1 p.m. ET.

Follow Audiobook Café on Instagram @AMIAudiobookCafe

We want your feedback!

Be that comments, suggestions, hot-takes, audiobook recommendations or reviews of your own… hit us up!

Our email address is: AudiobookCafe@ami.ca

About AMI

AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+

Learn more at AMI.ca

Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:

• X /Twitter @AccessibleMedia
• Instagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audio
• Facebook at @AccessibleMediaInc
• TikTok @AccessibleMediaInc

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Host Jacob Shymanski and guest Red Széll explore the complex modern cultural significance of books. They examine books as status objects, books as a refuge of long-form content and the way the publishing industry culturally punches above its weight.

In the latter portion of the show, Jacob chats with Penny Leclair about her new book “Life with Jefferson: A Biography of a Guide Dog.”

This episode was produced by Andrika De Lanerolle.

Audiobook Café is broadcast on AMI-audio in Canada and publishes two new podcast episodes a week on Fridays and Saturdays at 1 p.m. ET.

Follow Audiobook Café on Instagram @AMIAudiobookCafe

We want your feedback!

Be that comments, suggestions, hot-takes, audiobook recommendations or reviews of your own… hit us up!

Our email address is: AudiobookCafe@ami.ca

About AMI

AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+

Learn more at AMI.ca

Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:

• X /Twitter @AccessibleMedia
• Instagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audio
• Facebook at @AccessibleMediaInc
• TikTok @AccessibleMediaInc

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.