Meet Britt Lowry, Booktok’s Resident Audiobook Expert
Want to listen instead? Play the article below:
Meet Britt Lowry. Wife. Mom. Photographer. Aspiring writer. And someone you might recognize as @listenwithbritt, the queen of audiobooks on Booktok. Or perhaps you may have seen one of her TikToks trying to convince her brother and sister-in-law to name their unborn child after a book character. Which one? We’ll get to that.
According to the Audio Publishers Association’s (APA) most recent fact sheet, the Audiobook industry rakes in well over $1 Billion a year. But in 2020, no one was really talking about audiobooks on TikTok. Britt’s sister first introduced her to the app during the lockdowns, and she was hooked: “I saw some posts about books and I was like, ‘I do books. Yeah, I could be part of this’.”
But as someone who only listens to audiobooks, she noticed it was missing from Booktok. “Nobody was talking about audiobooks–not a single person–and I had been on that app every day for two months,” Britt shares.
So she thought, why not? There was a space for her to talk about audiobooks where no one else was. However, Britt wasn’t always the avid reader and successful Booktoker she is now.
As a child, Britt read Lemony Snickets’ Series of Unfortunate Events, but those were the only books she read besides the ones she was “forced” to read in school. When asked the last time she read a physical book, she begrudgingly confesses, Twilight…when she was 19. So, it’s been a while.
“I didn’t pick up another book until I was 27, which was an audiobook,” she says. Her husband listens to audiobooks every day, and on a trip to San Francisco, she decided to give it a try. “It was exactly what my brain wanted,” she says, looking up as if that happy brain feeling could be summoned just by thinking about it. “My mind wanders a lot…so picking up an audiobook–it was life changing.”
While she confirms being able to multitask and listen is one hundred percent part of why she loves audiobooks, she also admits, “I just prefer being told the story through someone else, so I can just imagine.”
Naturally, I had to ask. As someone who has listened to hundreds of audiobooks at this point, what makes a great audiobook?
“Obviously, the narrator,” she answers with zero hesitation. “But as far as a good narrator, because I read only Fantasy [and] Romance, the narrator has to be good at both her own voice…but also the male voice. And vice versa…otherwise it kind of throws me off.
“Also, I need there to be emotions in the narration,” she adds. “Some people just read the book. They don't fake cry or…gasp or they don't raise their voices. They don't lower their voices. Whereas others do act out the book with their voice and it's–it's the best.”
What about full cast audiobooks? I specifically ask her thoughts on the Graphic Audio version of A Court of Thorns and Roses, Part One that was recently released, because I finished it last month and selfishly want to talk to someone about it.
“That was my very first full cast book. And I loved that everyone had their own voice. I loved it! I wish all audiobooks would do that.”
She ponders for a moment more, and says, “I do find sometimes the background sounds to be distracting. Like the twinkles for magic, the wind, the birds–although I love it–sometimes it's louder than the speaking. And I'm like, sheesh, I can't hear them.
“I think it's a totally different experience than a regular audiobook. So you can't go into it thinking this is like the rest of the audiobook world.” Good point.
So of those regular audiobooks, what’s her favorite listen so far this year? Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik. It’s a dystopian space opera with a romance between a space princess on the run, and a fugitive soldier. Yes, please.
“I don't read a lot of sci-fi, but I think I should because I really liked it,” Britt says. “It had like all the tropes I wanted in it.”
Speaking of book tropes, she loves them and often makes trope TikToks, but her favorite is, “When the girl either falls through ice or…something happen[s] where she's gonna die of hypothermia. And…he rushes in and takes her to like a cave or a cabin or whatever. And has to basically warm her up and…take his shirt off and then just body heat, so she survives. It's my favorite thing ever. Love it!”
She agrees she’s read more spicy books since joining Booktok, and says, “I feel like more books have spice in them now…[but] I don’t know if that’s true. They're popular, but like, they're popular for a reason.”
But that doesn’t deter her from still enjoying YA reads. “You know what, I find it so interesting, because our bodies are aging faster than our minds…I don't feel like I'm 31, I feel like I'm 26. I can also go back to 18. Like, it's not that far-fetched…to place myself back in time. I also love reading YA because coming of age is very popular,” she says a bit wistfully. “I want to remember that…it's like going through old photo albums or remembering an old song…from your childhood. It's like, Oh, this feels good. This feels fun.”
Agreed. So now that we’re both dreaming in the land of ‘what if?’ I ask her what fictional place would be first on the list to visit? “Honestly, I really love the worlds that Sarah J. Maas has created. I like all three. Because…what I have created in my mind is super cool. But also I really like The Bridge Kingdom for some reason. And I don't know why I like it so much. But I just like the islands and the bridge and the forest and the desert…that just seems cool to me.”
Considering these are also some of my favorite fictional worlds, I am 100% on board with this. Before we digress further, I ask Britt to share tips for readers wanting to become Creators on Booktok, or grow their accounts. With over 130,000 followers, she’s bound to have some good advice: “Okay, I've got two: Create content that you want to see…I think that's so important. Because if you're just creating content that you think other people want to see, it's not gonna be as fun…it's your space…it's supposed to be fun,” she emphasizes.
“And then the second one, when you're filming, you should be talking to the camera as if you're talking to a friend…I know everybody's not the same in front of a camera. Some people are…awkward, or they're shy, or…just not used to it. But I think…pretending like you're talking to a person is really engaging.”
There can also be a lot of negativity on Booktok, but Britt says her focus is creating content on the books she loves: “I get it. I get ranting about books. I've posted plenty of negative stuff…you just get heated because you're so passionate about it. But if I find myself posting too many negative things…I just don't feel good after…I think focusing on…the books I love…but also trying to get my…brothers and sisters to name their babies after book character names.”
And how’s that going? Her eyes sparkle, and she says, “So my sister-in-law's due like next month and if they have a baby girl they're pretty sure they're gonna name her Rune.”
I look at her in shock. “I know,” she says. And I immediately ask if it’s the same spelling as in Sarah J. Maas’ Crescent City series.
“Different spelling, R-U-N-E…[but] I was like, ‘you know what? I'm taking it. This is a win.’”
Britt is also writing her own high fantasy romance book, and I was lucky enough to hear the synopsis, but it’s a secret for now. And I am a vault. All I’m allowed to confirm is her favorite trope will definitely be in it.
Who will be the narrator? We’ll just have to wait and see…
RAPID REVEALS:
Where can you find Britt:
Most anticipated reads this year?
Ledge by fellow Booktoker, Stacey McEwan
Glow by Raven Kennedy, book four in The Plated Prisoner series
Shadow Lands by Stacey Marie Brown, book six in the Savage lands series
The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber
When you’re not reading, what are you doing?
Volleyball, and Engagement/Wedding Photography.
Her Favorite Narrators:
Jacob Morgan. Lucas Webley. Zachary Johnson. Jo Arden.
Marisa Calin. Stella Hunter. Jesse Vilinsky. Fiona hardington. Julia Whelan. Lilly Drake.
Her Favorite books to get you started in Audio:
Marriage for One by Ella Maise
Perfect Strangers by J.T. Geissinger
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maciscalco
The Song of the Marked by S.M. Gaither
If you end up purchasing a book through a link on this page, Ashley may earn a commission as an Amazon Associate, and this support helps keep this blog and newsletter alive. Thank you!