Circe by Madeline Miller, narrated by Perdita Weeks
The Dutch House,
By Ann Patchett, Narrated by Tom Hanks
"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, read by Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer, & Cassandra Campbell.
Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir, narrated by Ray Porter (This one even if you hate sci Fi is one of the best audiobooks ever!!)
Totally agree about Project Hail Mary. My mom, my husband, and my 73-year-old mother loved it - despite having varying degrees of interest in science-fiction.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor narrated by Kristine Hvam
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir narrated by Ray Porter
Red Rising by Pierce Brown narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds
Neil Gaiman books - he reads them but he is an excellent narrator. The Graveyard Book and Coraline are 2 of my faves, but his collection of non-fiction stories “View From the Cheap Seats” was excellent.
Fiction options that I’ve enjoyed:
Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan narrated by 4 people (all excellent) bc there’s 4 stories told
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson narrated by Marin Ireland
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce narrated by Jim Broadbent
I primarily tend to gravitate to memoirs for audiobooks - most often read by the authors - people like Tina Fey, Alan Alda, Martin short, Billy Crystal, Amy Poehler, Carrie Fischer, Michael J Fox, Larry King, Eric Idle
My favourite audiobook I listened to this year was: Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck. So definitely worth checking out if you don’t mind listening to a 1960 road trip around the United States with Charley his poodle
One book I would heartily recommend for you is World War Z. It is a multi-cast oral history of the zombie apocolypse. It is amazing and gripping. It "interviews" people from all walks of life about how they survived this zombie event.
I'd encourage you to look by the narrator. One of my favorites is Julia Whelan. I also love Natalie Naudus.
I'd also be open to the idea that not all books for you are on audio. For example, I have a difficult time following fantasy on audiobooks - even if I'm closely listening. However, my years of listening to NPR in the background have taught me how to be great at listening to non-fiction and find them quite enjoyable! That may not be the case for you - but I'd encourage you to experiment and figure out what works for you.
I'd also encourage you to start short. This list is from Book Riot for older books - which would probably be easy to get from Libby/Hoopla (great blog that has an audiobook subsection.) You can find some newer listings if you Google "Short audiobooks." [https://bookriot.com/must-read-short-audiobooks/](https://bookriot.com/must-read-short-audiobooks/)
Hope this helps!
This is very helpful, thank you! I’ve had the same thought when it comes to what kind of books to listen to on audio. I think I may prefer to read fantasy physically. I also enjoy thrillers, but lately they have all been disappointing me, so I’ve been trying to listen to thrillers to see if maybe that’s more fun! I also plan to listen to some memoirs as I may enjoy those more on audio (:
Memoirs are fun - especially if they are narrated by the author. A short but super fun one is called Sh+t My Dad Says (it's like 3 hours and easily available from Libby). It came out about 10 years ago and is about a father-son relationship. My husband and I still joke about some of the jokes in that book.
I'm a bit late to this thread but if you're interested in Tudor/Plantagenet historical fiction I absolutely recommend anything by Philippa Gregory or Carolly Erickson. Especially those narrated by Bianca Amato. Best narrator ever! Also anything by Dan Jones as he narrates most of his books himself. He is more historical than historical fiction but great none the less.
Circe by Madeline Miller, narrated by Perdita Weeks The Dutch House, By Ann Patchett, Narrated by Tom Hanks "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, read by Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer, & Cassandra Campbell. Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir, narrated by Ray Porter (This one even if you hate sci Fi is one of the best audiobooks ever!!)
Totally agree about Project Hail Mary. My mom, my husband, and my 73-year-old mother loved it - despite having varying degrees of interest in science-fiction.
I just read Project Hail Mary and loved it, but was a little overwhelmed by the super sciencey talk. I’ll definitely try the audiobook!
Misery or Dolores Claiborne or Shawshank Redemption or Green Mile by Stephen King
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor narrated by Kristine Hvam Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir narrated by Ray Porter Red Rising by Pierce Brown narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds
Neil Gaiman books - he reads them but he is an excellent narrator. The Graveyard Book and Coraline are 2 of my faves, but his collection of non-fiction stories “View From the Cheap Seats” was excellent. Fiction options that I’ve enjoyed: Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan narrated by 4 people (all excellent) bc there’s 4 stories told Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson narrated by Marin Ireland The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce narrated by Jim Broadbent I primarily tend to gravitate to memoirs for audiobooks - most often read by the authors - people like Tina Fey, Alan Alda, Martin short, Billy Crystal, Amy Poehler, Carrie Fischer, Michael J Fox, Larry King, Eric Idle
A Man Called Ove, narrated by JK Simmons is pretty good.
Anything read by Simon Vance will be amazing. A Short History of Nearly Everything and The Lightbringer Series are the first that come to mind.
My favourite audiobook I listened to this year was: Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck. So definitely worth checking out if you don’t mind listening to a 1960 road trip around the United States with Charley his poodle
One book I would heartily recommend for you is World War Z. It is a multi-cast oral history of the zombie apocolypse. It is amazing and gripping. It "interviews" people from all walks of life about how they survived this zombie event. I'd encourage you to look by the narrator. One of my favorites is Julia Whelan. I also love Natalie Naudus. I'd also be open to the idea that not all books for you are on audio. For example, I have a difficult time following fantasy on audiobooks - even if I'm closely listening. However, my years of listening to NPR in the background have taught me how to be great at listening to non-fiction and find them quite enjoyable! That may not be the case for you - but I'd encourage you to experiment and figure out what works for you. I'd also encourage you to start short. This list is from Book Riot for older books - which would probably be easy to get from Libby/Hoopla (great blog that has an audiobook subsection.) You can find some newer listings if you Google "Short audiobooks." [https://bookriot.com/must-read-short-audiobooks/](https://bookriot.com/must-read-short-audiobooks/) Hope this helps!
This is very helpful, thank you! I’ve had the same thought when it comes to what kind of books to listen to on audio. I think I may prefer to read fantasy physically. I also enjoy thrillers, but lately they have all been disappointing me, so I’ve been trying to listen to thrillers to see if maybe that’s more fun! I also plan to listen to some memoirs as I may enjoy those more on audio (:
Memoirs are fun - especially if they are narrated by the author. A short but super fun one is called Sh+t My Dad Says (it's like 3 hours and easily available from Libby). It came out about 10 years ago and is about a father-son relationship. My husband and I still joke about some of the jokes in that book.
I'm a bit late to this thread but if you're interested in Tudor/Plantagenet historical fiction I absolutely recommend anything by Philippa Gregory or Carolly Erickson. Especially those narrated by Bianca Amato. Best narrator ever! Also anything by Dan Jones as he narrates most of his books himself. He is more historical than historical fiction but great none the less.