New York Comic-Con is back this year at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC with a more low-key vibe, reminiscent of NYCC’s of yore. Less crowded, less mega panels and stars, but extra joy. You can just feel the positivity as everyone seems just so happy to be back. On that note, I meandered outside and was drawn to The Sandman: Act II Audible Experience.

Check out the pics from that NYCC experience here below.

On this week’s The Drill Down podcast, the secret customer score that determines how you’re treated, and The Drill Down‘s annual Holiday Gift Guide…

The holiday season is coming up and The Drill Down would like you to be ready for it. So as we do every year around this time, we’ve prepared a list of what we consider the perfect gifts to give… and get this holiday. So before you stand around for hours this Black Friday, spend some time with us.

Audible presented an immersive experience for the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter at this year’s New York Comic-Con. The entire Harry Potter Pensieve Experience is narrated by the incredibly talented Jim Dale, and begins before even entering the enclosed NYCC booth. While waiting in line, the voice of Dumbledore can be heard explaining the Pensieve to Harry. Just before entering, fans choose a vial based on one of six characters – Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, Snape, or Voldemort – to be placed into the Pensieve inside. Once a character’s vial is chosen, it’s time to begin the experience.

Angel Catbird
Audiobook
Written by Margaret Atwood
Narrated by”Ž Kyra Harper,”Ž Allegra Fulton,”Ž Christo Graham,”Ž Julie Le Mieux,”Ž David Calderisi,”Ž Michael Cash,”Ž Andrew Jackson
Audible Studios
Release Date: February 13, 2018

I’m no stranger to audiobooks, but I dare say few have been in radio play format. I wanted to call Angel Catbird a radio drama but that would be a misnomer. For while it embodies the same concepts at its core, there was little dramatic about it. Words I would use instead include hilarious, rollicking, and ludicrous. It was almost off-putting at first for I had never read one of author Margaret Atwood‘s comics before, instead having consumed her novels in the past. As I listened longer, however, I found it quite amusing and even began to laugh while the audiobook played out.

The good folks at Audible have been kind enough to give us access to the first (almost) fifteen minutes of Brandon Sanderson‘s new Reckoners audiobook, Calamity. The audiobook releases on the same day as the hardcover, February 16, 2016.

You can listen to the 15-minute audiobook preview here below.