S9 E6: Geraldine DeRuiter, Lyn Slater, and Elaine Lin Hering

·21 min·2 clips

Geraldine DeRuiter describes recording her audiobook as exhausting, like running a marathon, and reveals she couldn't pronounce Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The episode is structured as a series of interviews with three authors, each sharing their experiences narrating their own audiobooks. Geraldine DeRuiter, author of 'If You Can't Take the Heat, Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury', opens by describing the recording process as exhausting and fun, comparing it to running a marathon. She discusses challenges like pronouncing words like 'Arnold Schwarzenegger' and 'Madeleine', and shares untold stories behind her viral blog posts about Mario Batali and a Michelin-starred restaurant. She admits to poor preparation, including smoking cigars before recording, and jokes about hiring a professional voice actor if she had to do it again. Lyn Slater, author of 'How to Be Old, Lessons in Living Boldly from the Accidental Icon', describes recording as emotional, reconnecting her to the feelings she had while writing. She reveals trouble pronouncing fashion brand names and excitement about sharing the early, fun years of her influencer journey before fame. A key moment is her epiphany about nearly missing out on her grandchildren's lives, similar to her absent grandmother. She mentions preparing by reading her writing aloud for rhythm and recommends Patti Smith as an ideal narrator. Elaine Lin Hering, author of 'Unlearning Silence. How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully', explains she wrote the book to address the nuance behind speaking up, criticizing simplistic 'just speak up' advice. She finds recording joyful, recalling a text from 2021 where she envisioned narrating the audiobook. She struggles with pronouncing 'alluring' and hopes her story helps others feel less alone. Each author ends with a clip from their audiobook, and the episode closes with production credits from Penguin Random House Audio.

As heard by us

Three audiobook narrators, one studio, and the revealing work of hearing a book read back aloud.

This installment treats audiobook narration as the center of the story, with Geraldine DeRoyter and Lynn Slater reflecting on what shaped their books and how it felt to record them, while Elaine Lynn Herring appears among the featured guests.

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Why you'd press play

You get authors talking about narrating their own audiobooks, including the odd, revealing work of doing takes again in the studio.

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