Let LeVar Burton Read You a Story

I love reading to others; when my child was young, one of my favorite rituals with her was reading a bedtime story. But sometimes, I like it when someone else reads to me.

So when I heard about the podcast LeVar Burton Reads this past winter, I was eager to try some episodes. Who better to read you a story than Mr. Reading Rainbow himself?

I’m a few years late to the party–the podcast has been going since June 13, 2017. But LeVar Burton Reads has quickly become one of my favorite podcasts. During a season, listeners usually get one story each week, although Burton occasionally spreads stories out over two episodes. Episodes begin with a brief introduction to the story. Then Burton asks you to join him in taking a deep breath (do try it; it’s a nice way to get .yourself ready for what’s coming), and he begins to read to you.

Of course, the podcast’s quality is excellent. As an actor, Burton reads beautifully. The stories include sound effects and background music. They’re also varied. You’ll hear about a trickster in “Skinwalker, Fast-Talker” by Darcie Little Badger, face your own assumptions about race in Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif,” and ask yourself what you’d choose if you could leave a crumbling society to embrace a promise of a new life in a digital world as you listen to Ken Liu’s “Staying Behind.”

Burton tells listeners that the only thing these stories have in common is that he loves them, though I did notice a common theme in the most recent season. Many of the stories take place in a dystopian world–something to keep in mind if such stories would be too disturbing to listen to right now. I’ve listened to some of them. I couldn’t resist N.K. Jemison’s “Valedictorian,” which was every bit as wonderful as I’d hoped. But for now I’ve skipped “Let Those Who Would” by Genevieve Valentine, which is described in one short sentence: “A dystopian society tackles fake news.” Maybe later.

Among the other authors included in this podcast are Kurt Vonnegut (Burton picked a story of his that is not speculative fiction), Michael Chabon, Carmen Maria Machado, Ted Chiang, Octavia Butler, Ray Bradbury, Joan Aiken, and Neil Gaiman. Unless you are extremely well-read, you’ll meet new authors (I didn’t know about Darcie Little Badger before hearing “Skinwalker, Fast-Talker”), and you’ll hear new stories (at least, new to you) by authors you already knew and loved.

We readers often gravitate toward print. We’re the people who, left with nothing else to read, read the copy on the back of the cereal box when we were kids. But sometimes, it’s nice to let someone else read to you. If you’re up for another podcast in your life, seek out LeVar Burton Reads. You’re in for a treat.