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Live Audiobook Readings Are Taking Off
A novel approach // Illustration by Kate Walker
New Yorkers are hitting the town for a new kind of literary event — community-driven, audiobook-style readings.
Why It Hits: New York is the literary capital of the US and, arguably, the world. Still, the classic live reading has lost much of its appeal in recent years as events compete with a growing selection of interactive entertainment options. As society grapples with a steep drop in reading rates, anything that gets people cracking open a good book (or listening to someone crack open one) is a win-win.
Between The Pages: The book reading is getting a podcast-like makeover.
Here are a few events that have recently taken off, per Bloomberg.
Lit Out Loud hosts free live readings of classic works performed by professional voice actors, making the experience feel “like an audiobook, but instead of listening to it on your headphones, you’re listening together.”
Reading Rhythms organizes ticketed events where people silently read books they bring, then chat about them with others afterward (this is what bookstores used to be for, tbh).
Page Break hosts weekend-long reading retreats where guests read and discuss the same book, with book-themed meals provided.
Last Chapter: Audiobooks have been around in some form for decades, but have really taken off as platforms like Spotify, Audible, Apple Podcasts, and now YouTube have entered the space. Reading the City newsletter writer Tyler Wetherall notes that audiobooks now account for 29% of checkouts at the New York Public Library, up from 20% in 2020.
Even when they’re busy, people still want to sneak in a book somehow.
Next Novel: Live audiobook readings could mint a new generation of voice stars. It looks like TV hasn’t killed the radio star after all.
Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.
