This podcast turns the inside of your skull into a giant immersive IMAX theatre. Storybound is like the Twilight Zone of the podcast scene. Complete with host Jude Brewer playing the role of Rod Serling. The show's concept is brilliant in its simplicity & how it uses the audio form: by pairing some of the greatest stories and writing of our time with a bespoke, custom made soundscape, Jude Brewer IMMERSES you inside the story to a degree you have never felt before. You can see, hear, & FEEL the story in totally new ways. Maybe it's a little bit like what I always imagined wearing the most expensive AR headsets might be like only in this case you are using the most powerful technology in the world which is your own imagination. I swear when I'm listening to this podcast it feels like I am accessing a whole new dimension (Twilight Zone again) of story that exists outside time & space. Jude Brewer is a fantastic host whose enthusiasm & love for the world-class writing featured on his podcast shines through. I love this show & can't wait for the new season to drop so I can have my mind blown in a whole new way. Thank you for giving us the gift of your audio art, Jude! 10/10 Highly recommend

Please consider getting rid of the music. Listening to stories is not like listening to lyrics, which are built originally with music and beats. Having the music alongside the reader here competes with the stories. It is impossible to listen to both simultaneously, and it is clear that they are not composed together. This podcast is otherwise so cool! I hope that the new season will do something about the music. There are so many reviews that comment on it.

I listened to the beginnings of two episodes but turned them off when the beats began. Hate the beats.

Trying to listen to Tommy Tomilson read his incredibly interesting story but the background noise is excruciating

The podcast has a great collection of short stories. But the soundtrack is annoying and distracting. Isn’t enough to listen to a great author expressively read a short story…do we need a soundtrack running in the background? And the sounds are sometimes louder then the author’s voice!

but IDK, can really hear them well due to the overly loud music. Someone should tell them that background music should be in the background, not the only thing you can hear.

I listen to podcasts while I take walks. I love the variety of these stories and narrators never disappoint.

This is a podcast that I stay subscribed to because I like listening to the stories, they are very creative and unique!

Woke trash

I’m late to this podcast. Got really excited and then quickly disappointed. Cannot deal with the music. So many great writers, so much great work! But the music - ugh. Totally ruins the experience. I was hoping it was only on the first one I tried to listen to, but ... Alas. I wanted sooo much to have found another way to listen to great writers read their work. Very unfortunately I’ve got to take a pass. I will check back occasionally to see if there have been any changes.

The stories are great. This podcast has the ability to be amazing. But it can’t be amazing as long as whoever the person is, who was responsible for making the decision to include so much music, dad editing and general overproduction— remains at the helm a final decision making. Please, please let the stories do the work. All of the extra effort put into editing is just an annoying as heck distraction. Take all the effort put into that and use it towards making the sound quality of the readers better. I do appreciate all the hard work. But this is the audio equivalent of a room that looks terrible because it’s been over decorated.

for another way to become inspired.

The annoying back ground music distracts me from the story. It’s loud and irrelevant. There are some parts in story that the music is repeated over and over again, which is unbearable. I loved the earlier seasons though... Gonna come back in few months to see if we’re back to those good old days !!!

The music doesn’t seem matched to the narrator’s voice or the story being read. It’s hard to follow.

Usually the stories are good, but often the reader isn’t like a ‘professional’ voice actor, with an animated and engaging delivery, or quality mic. Then the show tries to make up for this with too many bells and whistles - gratuitous effects, lots of music, sound clip inserts, etc that make the story too busy and disjointed. Tone it back 75% and let the story do the work please.

I adore stories, listen to 8-10 story podcasts. Selected Shorts, all the New Yorkers, Snap Judgement etc. I love them! Sadly, I find yours impossible to enjoy because I cannot hear the reader. I have tinnitus, which I imagine compounds the issue, but the annoying, far too loud background pops and fizzles literally makes them unlistenable. It’s a jarble of noises. 32% of the population and upwards of 70-85% of the hearing impaired have tinnitus. It literally hurts straining to hear the reading. I’m afraid you are not attracting a lot of listeners with ear issues. I hope this will be addressed because they are good authors worth hearing. Thank you.

Loud background music and hokey sound effects detract from the excellent Five-star stories.

Beautiful production on first rate writers

Pretentious music. Annoying and distracting.

It’s like a snazzy rap song for an hour—a total eargasm that’s also intellectually stimulating. I just wish there were more episodes. I hope the show NEVER ends!

Its amazing

I Like this episode because of the description between the communication effort of a Gamer and Yuppy world. Funny but gets a point across. Also this has parallels to our current communication efforts and failures In current unrest.

Awesome loved it!

Exactly what I need to “convince me” to buy/listen to a whole book. Can’t wait for season 2!!

I can't wait for season for season 2 to see where they go with this next

The writing and reading is great! The music is distracting and for people who have any hearing issues, filtering out the reader from the other noise will make this podcast off limits. I hope you will note all the comments about the distracting music. It’s too bad because l love Powell’s and this podcast would be fantastic without the unnecessary noise.

Finding chika was awesome. Most Beautiful narrator and i love the background music. Adds a really nice touch. I subscribed when I found this podcast after downloading Pocket Casts but only just listened to the first episode. Really really like the music! Adds so much depth!

Listed to a couple, music is very annoying, kind of gloomy stories, and sometimes accents r hard to understand, but the stories r good my favorite is the old church in St. Louis+everything us free. 👍😁

I really liked the sound effects and the storytelling was calm, yet had some expression and feeling to it, however, I would like my younger siblings, and matter of fact, ALL kids to hear and enjoy this podcast to get them interested in learning and creativity, so the cussing and cursing really disappointed me. This is my honest but respectful opinion. Please, if you want more listeners, adding inspired kids will TRIPLE the audience!!!

I really like these stories and they’re very interesting. But the music can be very distracting and inconsistent .

I just listened to the episode “Survival Math” - excellently read, and insightful and important content.

People reading books for free

Thumbs up.

The music is annoying and distracting. Unsubscribe.

As someone who has limited time to read and finds it difficult to pick a good book, especially when staring at walls filled with books, this podcast is invaluable. The narration and voice acting is solid, the music a perfect compliment to the story, and the pairing makes for very enjoyable listening on my daily commute. Storybound has also encouraged me to try books I would normally pass over in favor of my typical reads. Thank you for such a well produced and enjoyable podcast!

I love hearing these excerpts, it is such a great way to introduce people to new authors.

The Musical makes these stories so relaxing 😊

I just wanted to take a moment to say, “Well done!”. This podcast is just right for me! My attention span is not the longest and I only have limited slots of time to put my wireless earbuds in, in order to indulge in something I love, whilst doing housekeeping “stuffs” when the children are occupied, sleeping or getting along. I am grateful for the short story and the opportunities that allow me to trade my referee/panic whistle in for headphones!! 🤗🤘🏼

Original. No formula. Unique.quirky. Well Produced. Well read. Unlike any other story based podcast.

Sorry. Music distracting. The host is just plain wrong for this. Also am compelled to investigate the correct pronunciation for Nebakov.

Love the stories, HATE the background music.

Been searching for a podcast like this since I’ve been listening to podcasts.

So not enjoyable to have music competing with the story. A shame.

I checked out the 6 episodes available, 3 of which I loved, 2 that I couldn’t get through, and one that I struggled through, hoping for redemption that never came. Maybe this is to be expected across a broad range of genres and audio tactics. The most grating were the poorly acted/read characters in episode 6.

Really enjoyed the jack rhysider story except for the fact that the author is soft spoken and there is an unintelligibly loud bass like that makes it near impossible to hear the author.

From the stories to the music, digging it so far!

The stories are great but someone needs to tell the voiceover intro guy that talking super slow like you’re half asleep is really unpleasant. I couldn’t get through the ad for the bookstore, had to turn it off.

Fun, interesting and well done.

So much fun!

Now I want to buy these books! Good one - keep them coming! Great to listen to during work or before bed. Also great choice in books/authors!