Editor-in-Chief

Jean Palmer, a librarian, is the Editor of Sound Commentary. She worked in a medium sized public library and the largest private high school library in the U.S. until she discovered her love for audiobooks. Her book and audiobook reviews and other writings have been published in local and national magazines and newspapers. She is the editor of the KLIATT Audiobook Guide.

Associate Editor

Francine Levitov is a retired criminal defense lawyer who shares her New York City apartment with 3 adorable dogs and shelves filled with audiobooks. Along with Jean Palmer, she co-founded SoundCommentary.

Associate Editor

Staff Librarian/Reference and Young Adult Services
Concord Free Public Library
Concord, MA

Reviewer Olivia Durant can't imagine driving anywhere without an audiobook to listen to, and has been known to stock the car with ten or more choices prior to long trips. She wistfully wishes for more time to knit and listen.

Reviewer Susan Allison was a Maine high school librarian for 22 years, a children's librarian in a Maine public library, and a high school/middle school librarian at a private school in Thessaloniki, Greece. She wrote book and audiobook reviews for KLIATT Reviews of Selected Books, Educational Software and Audiobooks.

Reviewer Lisa Arnold spends her days teaching English to middle school students, her evenings working as a library clerk, and her nights reading under the covers.

Concord Free Public Library
Concord, MA

Stacey Charbonneau is a paraprofessional in the Circulation Department of the Concord Free Public Library. The best part about being a librarian is helping people find their next great read!

Concord Free Public Library
Concord, MA

Robin is the Circulation Supervisor at the Concord Free Public Library. With a one hour+ commute, she knows there is nothing like a good book to listen to to make the drive fly by.

1980 MLS from
University of
North Carolina.

Written annotated bibliographies of children's books about religions and bibliotherapy, published by Libraries Unlimited, Garland, and Church and Synagogue Library Association. Reviewed for library journals.

Reviewer Hugh M. Flick, Jr. has always been a book nerd. He began listening to audio books on tape while exercising and on long car trips. He has a PhD in Sanskrit, a JD, and an MBA. He has taught at Harvard, at Yale, and on the University of Virginia's Semester at Sea. He especially loves good fantasy tales and science fiction.

SoundCommentary reviewer Janet Julian taught English at Grafton High School in Grafton, MA from 1965 until her retirement in 2001. For about 30 years she was a reviewer for KLIATT, which published reviews of paperback books, hardcover fiction, educational software and audiobooks. KLIATT ceased publication in 2008 and Janet continued her love affair with audiobooks with SoundCommentary. Each book is like a gift from treasured friends, the author and the narrator. Hours of pleasure and she doesn't have to invent voices for the characters in paperbacks anymore.

Berkley Wendell Semple was born in Guyana. He has published three collections of poetry, Lamplight Teller, awarded a 2004 Guyana Prize for Poetry, The Solo Flyer and The Central Station and has edited a book of student poems. His poetry and fiction have appeared in Callaloo, The Hampden-Sydney Review, and The Caribbean Writer for which he was awarded a Daily News Prize for poetry, and in many other publications. Berkley Wendell Semple is a school administrator and YA librarian. He lives in New York City.

SoundCommentary reviewer Joanna Theiss, who lives in Washington D.C., pities the lost tourist who asks her for directions while she is listening to a good audiobook.

Nola Theiss is a former English teacher, business owner, Mayor of Sanibel, FL and founder of Human Trafficking Awareness Partnerships. She is now enjoying the freedom of being retired and splitting her time between Fort Myers, FL and Dunedin, FL and travelling to other places. She has been a book reviewer for over 20 years. She continues to advocate for human trafficking prevention through writing and speaking opportunities.