Ask Baba Yaga: The Audiobook Collection

I really enjoyed the stories in this book. What made it truly enjoyable is how funny some of them were and that they were written as an advice column style. After about half of the book I did start to feel a little sad and unsetttled by the sad questions being asked. I wanted that cheer and funny reaction back.

It did discuss some difficult subjects and as a woman, I am very grateful for that aspect.

"Ask Baba Yaga: The Audiobook Collection" was such a surprise to me, in a good way. I thought it would be light and humorous. There was humor, but the book surprised me with its depth and poignancy. It's self-help, but self-help as told by a sarcastic, loving, strong, kind-hearted woman, who doesn't sugarcoat things but is always deeply loving.

This book is a treasure. I plan on buying many copies to give as gifts. It really is a beautiful, unexpected, creative gem that I am looking forward to owning and rereading. It's like sitting across Baba Yaga at the table, drinking tea and being hugged by her words.

In the latter half, I did start to feel a bit bogged down by the sorrowful questions, especially about the state of the world today. I'm not sure if that's because I'm highly sensitive to stuff, if the world is just strange right now, if the collection could have been organized differently to spread them out more, or a mix of all three of those things!

I'm very appreciative of the difficult topics it tackles, from the expected concerns of self-worth, to the painful topics of toxic parents, feeling like half of a woman because you gave birth via a C-section, to how you can get your family to respect your gender. If you've ever had a conversation with someone that didn't go too well, Ask Baba Yaga makes up for it, in a way. She cradles you and I do believe this book has the capacity to help people heal.

Thank you, Netgalley, for this copy. These are my honest thoughts.

A few years back, on Fairy Tales News Once Upon a blog, I read about the Ask Baba Yaga columns which formed the basis of this book and were one of the inspirations for Jane Yolen's forthcoming Finding Baba Yaga. Having been obsessed with Russian folktales since childhood you might say I've always been a little obsessed with Baba Yaga (no, not John Wick, do not go there). I've always disagreed with the idea of Baba Yaga as a one-dimensional evil figure because she was certainly transformative in some stories as you can see in Baba Yaga: The Wild Witch of the East in Russian Fairy Tales. At the interface of Russian folklore and Zen Buddhism, in Ask Baba Yaga we see her as a figure dispensing deep, if occasionally abstruse, advice.

Who is Baba Yaga? In her own words, "I am the unknown soul, the chaos in the mud. The snake roiling in butter, the nightmare in the bark, the owl sleeping on the nightmare.; In each egg, I am the cracking, and the bird, the delirious chicken scratching yr wound. You reach your hand into my dress, come up with diamonds, then worms. Ha! I am your fear turned inside out like a sleeve..."

Asked "How do I keep from dwelling on the love I haven't had?" Baba Yaga's answer is:

"The life of every being has some vast emptiness in it. Unspeakable, grievous, there is a field in the middle of my wood where no one goes. It is the heart of my loneliness. I go there to dance and be quiet & I love the intensity of its silence. If I were human I would wish to take another there. You must know every contour of your emptiness before you can know whom you wish to invite in."

or

"Why does this one physical feature make me grotesque?" to which she answers:

"All mirrors tell the wrong story." Your cloak-hem has already brushed the ink-pool that mars all of us; the marring of being not as we thought we were... You have made a loveliness of your body through the moving of it & the mirror is a false confidant. Evermore, to be as I am is an honor & a magic."

This audiobook collection There is much that I love in these little books and it seems that Jane Yolen found much there, too. I'm certainly planning to read more of Kitaiskaia's work.

I recently listened to the audiobook collection, which includes Baba Yaga's Poetic Remedies for Troubled Times: From Ask Baba Yaga, as well as the first book, Ask Baba Yaga. The collection is colorfully narrated by Zura Johnson, and it made me realize yet again how interesting (weird and wonderful) Kitaiskaia's writing as Baba Yaga is. Johnson's voicing of Baba Yaga (properly pronounced Baba Yagá, by the way) is wonderful and grew on me as I listened.

I received the digital audiobook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved! Best advice ever told in the wise voice of Baba Yaga with witchy mystic wisdom! I listed to this all at once, but I am going to go back and listen to one piece of advice each day for my daily dose of Baba Yaga wisdom! The reader voice is fantastic and perfect!

This was a fun read. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel, hearing this voiced by someone other than the author— I actually heard her on a podcast I love first (Spirits). But this voice actress did an amazing job! Her Baba Yaga was fantastic. And she was able to pull out a variety of voices to play the advice-seekers.

The book itself was an interesting read. I’m not going to speak on Baba Yaga speaking through the author, except to accept it for the purposes of this review. Baba Yaga gives advice that ranges from zany to thoughtful and over to spicy. I laughed out loud several times.

Because advice columns tend to only give advice to a few requests at a time, I think I did get a little overwhelmed by going through so much at once. I think I might enjoy her physical book better— to flip through more randomly, to return to, and to gift. But this is definitely worth a chance for the voice actress’s skills!

*I received a copy of this via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for my copy of Ask Baba Yaga: The Audiobook Collection by Taisia Kitaiskaia Narrated by Zura Johnson, in exchange for an honest review. This published October 6, 2020.
What a fun premise for a book! Dear Abby, but Baba Yaga instead! I knew I had to read this as soon as I heard about it, and I'm so glad I did, it didn't disappoint. I didn't necessarily agree with all of her advise, but that didn't make it any less enlightening or entertaining.
The narration was superb and I couldn't get over her Baba Yaga voice, so talented!

How a witch from Eastern European folklore got a job as an Agony Aunt leaves a lot to wonder about. Who ever gave her a job? And did anyone find any actual help with her answers?

Modern-day questions are sent in and answered by Baba Yaga, such as Am I better than everyone else? How do I keep from giving too many fucks? and other lovelorn questions which are answered by Baba Yaga, and many of them had my son and myself laughing out loud.

What a wonderful concept. I love it!

I am Russian so I gravitate to anything that is Russian, especially if related to Baba Yaga.

Ask Baba Yaga: The Audiobook Collection is unique. An advice column answered by a mythological creature, the advice has a unique tone. The narrator does a good job voicing the questions then taking on the role of Baba Yaga answering. Though some of the advice is...questionable or vague, it was entertaining.

This collection was so sweet. It was a quick listen and it was easy to lose myself in the rhythm of the question and answer format. The language was beautiful, the questions heartfelt and relatable, and the answers touching in a dark and magical way. I loved this so much!!

Nicely narrated and humorous! I enjoyed listening to Ask Baba Yaga!

It’s a short audiobook. The author has written it in a simple, engaging QAs. And I like how the narrator changed voice to distinguish between the questioner and Baba Yaga

I volunteered to listen to this, audiobook through netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. The narrator did a good job reading this book. This is a humorous story to listen to. It is also a quick story. The author of this story is good and did a good job. I would recommend listening to this book to anyone and everyone as it will make you laugh out loud. This audiobook is in stores now for $17.99 (USD).

This was a really cute collection of advice from Baba Yaga for the modern human experience. Taisia Kitaiskaia wrote this is such a poetic way, that made it really engaging and gave Baba Yaga a unique voice. Like most anthology-esque books there were some responses that I loved, and some that were meh to me. I would recommend dipping in and out of this book when you need a specific question answered.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Interesting book, never heard of baba yaga before either but pretty cool read

Reminiscent of “Coffee with Dickens”, this book seeks to provide a voice to the voiceless as an outlet for advice we would not normally give. While this book is full of honesty- which has its own kind of beauty to it- it is not a book to sit and read in one go. Instead, it would make a good coffee table book, to be picked up and read as you feel the urge.

First things first: this narrator was PERFECTION. Her voice really exuded the mysticism, the old-as-time energy, the witty, sometimes biting magical wisdom of the Baba Yaga. At some points, where the questions could have been written by me, I felt like I was sitting down opposite Baba Yaga in her chicken-footed hut, gazing into her bottomless eyes in supplication... wishing she could be a mother to me, giving me the strength to go on through merely her wordless, imposing presence. (Perhaps that's my mommy issues acting up...)

I think maybe this recording could have benefited from having some short musical interludes here and there, though. Personally, I found myself losing focus quite a few times while listening, because the individual questions and answers are so short and simultaneously so packed with metaphors to interpret and decode, so beautifully crafted - each answer is like a gift, carefully wrapped, and one must peel off the layers of wrapping to get to its core. The advice and wisdoms given here really deserve - and need - to be properly listened to and taken to heart, so I would have appreciated a minute or so here and there to reflect on everything, especially after dealing with the heavier subjects. Instead, I had to skip back several times, which made for a less relaxed listening session.

Regardless, I really did like it. It was a quick and introspective listening experience, and it kind of felt like having a mental and emotional spa session. Having already read and enjoyed Jane Yolen's beautiful verse novel Finding Baba Yaga, which apparently took some inspiration from the Ask Baba Yaga column, listening to this collection was a closing of the circle, in a way. It made me want to go back to Yolen - in fact, I think I'll do that right now.

Baba Yaga as an Agony Aunt. (I suspect she’d be unwilling to play this nice, but if you’re willing to admit the premise, it is a delight)

I started this audiobook with extremely high hopes that nearly sputtered and died out in the rather long series of silly questions seeking romantic advice—romantic advice that was funny! Picture going to Baba Yaga to bemoan your dating woes! The juxtaposition is ridiculous and fun...for a while. But they keep coming and the novelty was just beginning to wear off when I get the air knocked out of me as it shifts to far more profound answers to far more complicated questions. My hopes were restored and my eyes occasionally misty.

If you are in need of some cryptic and heavily symbolic advice for whatever problems may ail you, seek no further.


“The beaches of this earth are littered with spines abandoned”

Pick one up and strap it to your back.

This was such a witty, humorous, poignant collection of self-help questions answered by the Russian folkloric being Baba Yaga. Sometimes insightful, sometimes unflinchingly honest, Baba Yaga always seems to give excellent advice. If a Slavic witch had an Ask Me column, this would be it, and it would be GOLD.

Ask Baba Yaga, was a very interesting story. I loved the narrator, she did an awesome job conveying Baba Yaga mysterious personality. I also loved all the questions asked and Baba Yaga’s response to them. She is very sassy, some of the answers flew over my head but it was still very entertaining.

I have a rule that I have to read/watch/listen to anything with Baba Yaga in the title, and this rule has rarely failed to bring the interesting, the odd, and the macabre into my life.

Ask Baba Yaga: The Audiobook Collection is no exception. The narrator does an excellent job of bringing both the querents and the Baba Yaga to life, and Kitaiskaia's astounding use of imagery blends with the combination of weird, heartfelt, and sometimes arcane advice.

Highly enjoyable.

I really liked the narrator. She was great at doing character voices. The book itself was fun and good to listen to, the advice was solid. Not something I'd want to read in one sitting, but good for every once in a while.

I was not sure what to expect as I was not
familiar with this advice column beforehand but took an interest because I like stories about Baba Yaga. Using the baba yaga as a life coach it's a fun concept and I think the device works overall, although I expected baba yaga's advice to be more sinister and misanthropic. Letters seeking relationship and personal growth help received very good common sense advice and the only way you could tell it was coming from the character of baba yaga was through the narrator's witchy tone of voice. Otherwise, the advice was sound and practical and reflected contemporary points of view. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been a little bit more sinister and witchy, but I would recommend this to anyone... probably most particularly a woman... seeking relationship or personal advice.

I thought this was such a fun retelling of the Baba Yaga story. This Russian Cinderella story is a classic, but this is a whole new take on the tale. In this new version, Baba Yaga lends her wisdom to some of life's most difficult questions. Harsh but wise, Baba Yaga is the ultimate contemporary advice column and everyone should listen to her advice!

Baba Yaga as Dear Abby. Each "chapter" is about two minutes in length because it reads as an advice column. Want to know if you are worthy of love, how to deal with a disagreeable relative, or just need to know what to do then Ask Baba Yaga. Her advice might seem metaphorical in nature but it will be what you need.

This was a fun book to read and it is always interesting to imaging how a mythical character might respond to our modern issues.

I came in not having any ideas what the book was about. But I had such a great time listening to Baba Yaga's advice column as she delivers advice in the most peculiar ways. It was hilarious yet insightful all at once. It sometimes touches on things in a light-hearted manner but it never shies away from difficult topics. Wonderful book that would serve well as a gift!

Ask Baba Yaga: The Audiobook Collection by Taisia Kitaiskaia

Audiobook
Narrator: Zura Johnson
Listening Length: 4 hours and 26 minutes
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Release Date: October 6, 2020

Fiction, Humor, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Literature Anthologies, Contemporary Fantasy

This is a great collection. The book consists of questions asked to the author while she was communicating with Baba Yaga. The answers sometimes are abstract while others are very straight forward. The questions range from love to family and work relationships. The narrator’s voice changes so you can tell when Baba Yaga is answering the questions. I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook and highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys inspirational stories or who knows anything about Baba Yaga.

Baba Yaga is an inspiring and wise resource for the ones that seek help, a Witch Spirit, this was inspired by questions from real people the answers can be humorous but are very raw and direct in a way that cam e pleasing.
Its a very cute and funny audiobook very quick but with a lot of subjects that make us think.
This audiobook is very well done, the distinct voices and the interpretations are amazing. I enjoied the Narator, and the Author poetic way of writing was 5 starts.

Your witchy grandmother has an advice column about love and life in a classic Q&A format. Her wisdom is remarkably poignant and compassionate, and she’s not afraid to be frank when you need a dose of reality.

I absolutely love the narrator, who gives Baba Yaga herself a beautifully distinct voice that feels like I’m sitting next to the woman herself. I genuinely related to some of the questions “people” asked and took heart from her answers.

The advice does start to feel a bit repetitive within the “love advice” section, but Baba Yaga moves on to “self-worth” and “career” topics soon enough.

Do you know Baba Yaga, the Slavic “old woman” from folk tales who is known to eat people? Well, here is a collection of questions and answers, served up as an advice column to a variety of questions she has been asked, especially personal ones. She relishes these here. Here’s a sample question: “I’m falling deep for a close friend who is about to go through a divorce. She has feelings for me as well but she is no where near a place where she could start a new relationship. I want to wait for her but the longer I wait the surer I am that I am lost. Should I wait or should I walk away? Baba Yaga’s answer (partial): “She is walking out of one world and into another and in between she is where the wolves of earth do not hold. You are lost because you hold the tether to the lost and the tether is light and fragile. A thread that could break from weather or wind or time because she chooses to cut it.” You get the picture. Since this is the audio version of the book, it’s quite hilarious as well as insightful at times. Start listening and you won’t be able to quit.

What a fun one and have I been sharing some advice with others from?? Yes I have. Truly though I love some of the answers we get in this one they made me think, made me chuckle and made me introspective at times. Thankful to Netgalley for the audio copy and thankful That Baba Yaga answered the important questions

Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Audio for the advance listening copy of this audiobook.

Poet and author Taisia Kitaiskaia takes on the Slavic traditional figure, Baba Yaga, to dole out honest advice to readers who seek it. From the publisher summary, “Ask Baba Yaga and the all-new Poetic Remedies for Troubled Times. Enjoy the witchy, clever, candid advice of Baba Yaga in all of her otherworldly wisdom.”

I mostly enjoyed this collection. It was definitely a deviation from my nonfiction picks throughout November. I didn’t agree with all of the advice, and though I thought some of it was common sense dolled up in accents and flowery words, overall, I was amused.

I grew up on Teen Beat, BOP, and later Cosmo, so I’m no stranger to advice columns, but my historical exposure to the Baba Yaga figure was sort of lacking before this collection, and I feel like my lack of awareness may have been why I didn’t love all of it. Still, if you’re looking for something light that’s filled with advice, but maybe won’t fix your entire life, it’s a short, fun little ride into the depths of questions on relationship, dating, in-laws, and life. It’s also a good crash course in Baba Yaga if you, like me, had no real previous exposure.

It’s out now, so keep an eye out for it through your favorite audiobook platform or through your local library.

PS, that cover is everything!

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one. I'm glad I got to listen to the audio book version because the narrator does a fantastic job. It's beautiful and poetic. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

I was defenseless against this audiobook

Dang. I should not have waited so long. But, at least I have an excuse: I didn't know Ask Baba Yaga: The Audio Collection existed.
I don't know how I got through life without the sage wisdom of Baba Yaga (pronounced ba-ba, yu-gaaaa.)
This Slavic folklore witch, who hides deep in the forest somewhere I cannot pronounce seems to have every one of life's most confounding questions answered. At least she does when online columnist Taisia Kitaiskala is channeling her.
Oh, wait a minute. Now I know how I made it through life without Baba Yaga. God.
Now, I can continue.
Ask Baba Yaga: The Audio Collection released by Andrews McMeel Publishing Company in October is without a doubt one of the most hilarious audio advice columns I've ever heard, even if it is the only one. This collection of Dear Abby real-life questions are being answered by Baba Yagaaaaaa herself.
Kitaiskala is a flat master of answering reader's ridiculous, but probably privately popular, questions in the language of the Slavic forest - whatever that is.
Only this woman could tell a reader they need to pleasure themselves upside a tree. And the audio, delivered by Zura Johnson is to die for! This narrator has PEGGED Baba Yagaaaaaa,  giving her a voice that is incomparably better than reading these words online or in a book.
Just to give you some explanatory expository writing, Britannica says, Baba Yaga is actually a Slavic folklore ogress who steals, cooks, and eats her victims, usually children. Perfect. Hmm. Sounds a little Hansel and Gretelish.
Baba Yaga lives in a continually spinning hut standing on bird legs with two other sisters, also named Baba Yaga …
Efficient.
… Baba Yaga (or Yagas, I guess) has a fence that is topped with human skulls. Baba Yaga can ride through the air—in an iron kettle or in a mortar that she drives with a pestle—creating tempests as she goes. She often accompanies Death on his travels, devouring newly released souls.
Boy am I glad I'm taking advice from this woman.
But this precious audio collection is the one investment of your time that I strongly recommend. I laughed so hard when I listened to this audio - particularly the first third - that I missed my off-ramp and was howling down the freeway without abandon before I realized I blew it and was subsequently late for my appointment. When I got there, my stomach hurt.
It was worth it.
Listen to a few of these 'real' questions:
"Am I shallow?"
"How do I meet fewer F--ks?"
"Am I the smartest person?"
These real questions are backed up by rather lengthy expository explanations of why these “real people” are asking.
Hmm. Kitaiskala is a real person ...
Baba Yagaaaaaaa called one reader "a wench."
(Don't make Baba Yaga mad.)
She literally told another reader to pleasure himself against a tree.
She described one person as someone with a "Unicorn's Ass."
My GOOD LORD, it was funny.
This audiobook is an absolute treasure. I give it a MUST-DO rating on the scale of distracted driving. If it were in book form, I'd buy copies for all my 20 and 30-year old kids.
I will say, though, that this collection would be less hilarious without its narrator.
But it would be fabulous to put in someone's bathroom for people who plant themselves to … well … you know. Or perusing this book after consuming some kind of alcoholic … well, … you know. The outcome would be priceless.

From the online advice column, real questions and advice, but done by embodying the Slavic witch Baba Yaga. The book is set up in the question answer format.

The author grew up with stories about Baba Yaga and channels her to give advice. I highly recommend buying the audiobook for its experience. The narrator switches into a Baba Yaga voice to answer the questions and that alone is worth checking out. I love it so much!

The advice is very cryptic, exactly what you would expect from a fairy tale wise woman. The advice is also super insightful.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook, especially because the narrator was brilliant!
All the questions and answers were relatable to the core. Totally recommend it!

I loved the narrator's different voices for the different people in this audiobook! Some of the advice made me cackle, while other responses felt incredibly comforting. I enjoyed the author's use of language to provide a mythical aspect to the listening experience. The metaphors were sometimes gruesome and often quite beautiful, but always vivid. Although none of the advice was particularly memorable, I did indeed relish the hours I spent with Baba Yaga!

IGuilty pleasure.
Non-fiction audiobooks are my favorites. This particularly made me forget my own problems and just listen to others' problems while Baba Yaga gave them humorous or sensible advice.

PS.
Baba Yaga's voice was so relaxing.

This title was provided for me via Netgalley and the publisher. I'm woefully behind posting reviews because unfortunately my Nook broke! So here's to playing catch-up:

Ask Baba Yaga is a great concept book. I'd previously read it in stores before and greatly enjoy listening to the question and answer format of possibly the best ever advice columnist, Baba Yaga. Probably few people I'd trust more to have insight on life than a slavic crone bog-witch, honestly. ;) It's not really a book of solid practical advice, but more like a genre-humor fantasy advice book, that borrows poetic turns of phrase and fairy tale charm.

This was amazing! I have heard many different versions of Baba Yaga, this is one of the best. Truly.

Zura Johnson did such a fantastic job voicing the readers writing in for advice from Baba Yaga, as well as the old, raspy voice of Baba Yaga herself. The everyday questions coming in from readers and the wise, poetic, down-to-earth, and no-nonsense advice from Baba, was breathtaking to listen to. It certainly reminded me of my own Oma and her witty, but wise, ways.

The second part, was quite sorrowful as it tackled many things from our world today. But, Baba Yaga still gave her one-of-a-kind advice like any other day of the week. Which, when you think about it, is needed. Even when it's wrapped up in a bit of Slavic folklore.

Thank you to Andrews McMeels Publishing, Taisia Kitaiskaia, and Netgalley for giving me this opportunity to read and review, Ask Bab Yaga: The Audiobook Collection.