It turns out that most of my friends who read a lot, actually read a lot of their books by listening to them. (Which may be part of the reason they also have clean houses and great gardens!) I was thinking that maybe I should some audio books. We used to listen to books on tape during long car trips, and some readers were much better than others.
So I was thinking it might be nice to have some suggestions either for particular readers or books that were particularly enjoyable in audio. (I remember thinking that a Dorothy Sayers set in Scotland would have been a lot more enjoyable just listening to the Scots accent and not having to read it for example. Though the endless railroad tables would probably have been worse.)
Anyway - I’d love to see some suggestions. Fiction and non-fiction with maybe a one sentence summary. Discussion and not just lists are welcome!
I subscribe to Scribd - an audio book app. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to authors “tell me” their stories under headphones. It’s somewhat akin (to me) to sitting at the kitchen table having a cup of coffee and sharing life stories. A few of my favorites have been:
Pete Townshend (of The Who): Who I Am
Elton John (actually read by Taron Egerton with forward and afterward by Elton): Me: Elton John
Tim Conway: What’s So Funny?
Shonda Rhimes: The Year of Yes
Bob Woodward: Rage
Kristin Chenoweth: A Little Bit Wicked
and currently listening to The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh (and no, sadly, not read by him )
Born A Crime by Trevor Noah is one of my all time favorites for audiobooks.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson about his time hiking the Appalachian Trail; great narration with lots of humor
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones; thought provoking story with excellent narration
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, fictional story about a Cameroonian immigrant trying to support his family in NYC
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh, a mystery set on the Welsh Coast
Bad Blood: secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Editing to add, I loved Daisy Jones and the Six mentioned above and think it is best enjoyed as an audiobook due to its ensemble cast of narrators. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it as much if I had read it. The narration is fabulous.
For me personally, I find it easier to listen to audiobooks that don’t have complicated plots or a multitude of characters since I don’t have a physical copy to refer back to if I need to. Memoirs narrated by the author are often enjoyable. Rob Lowe’s was interesting. I also typically listen at 1.5x speed, but adjust a little up or down if I need to depending on the author. I started listening to audiobooks to pass time when I had to drive my son’s carpool to high school (45-60 mins each way depending on traffic). Once I was able to train my brain, I started listening to books while doing mindless tasks at home as well, and since COVID started, on my now hour long daily dog walks.
Thanks for the suggestions - keep them coming. I like the idea of non-fiction because I rarely read it, but have a long list of things I think I ought to read - Trevor Noah’s book was one of them. Our library had The One which is one of the next CC bookclub selections. It has multiple narrators one for each of the five main characters. I have a hard copy of the book too, so if I forget to pay attention I can check it.
I love all of Bill Bryson’s books. Especially enjoyed “Home”. “A Walk in the Woods” is still my favorite but it has to be read by Bryson. There is an audio version with a different narrator and it just isn’t the same at all.
“A J Jacobs has some really entertainiing audio books. The Know-It-All” relates his quest to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica. “The Year of Living Biblically” is the story of him trying to live by the literal interpretation of the bible for a year.
If you like memoirs, “Lady In Waiting” by Anne Glenconner is fantastic. At 87, she narrates her book and does a fantastic job. She led a very interesting life, participating in Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, marrying Colin Tennant, a flamboyant character who developed Mustique and beind a lady in waiting to Princess Margaret for 30 years. Among other things! A real-life peek into the world of The Crown.
David Sedaris reading his own material. Much better than reading the books yourself. If you’ve never listened before start with “Holidays on Ice” (his story of being an elf at Macy’s).
I listen to it every year.
Since you mention non-fiction, I have a suggestion along those lines. I have enjoyed listening to courses by the Teaching Company. They cover many subjects such as philosophy, religion, science, history, etc. and lately they’ve branched out into even more areas. You can find their catalog online. They come in both DVD and audio versions for most courses, and now I think they sell the audio versions thru Audible. A bit pricy to buy (although every course goes on sale at least once a year) but I’ve been fortunate that my local library has an extensive collection so I borrow the CDs from them or convert the DVD to audio.
There is a similar company with a smaller set of offerings called Modern Scholar. Our library also has some of those, so it’s another one you could look for.
David Sedaris reading his own stuff is great, but I find I can’t listen to more than a couple at a time! His elf story is great, I also really like “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and when all the people in his class discuss Easter.
I’ve been “reading” a lot of nonfiction over the last few months, and especially appreciate when the author narrates. Examples are Trust by Pete Buttigieg, A Promised Land by Barack Obama (which is very long), and Countdown 1945 by Chris Wallace. Older books in this category are Michelle Obama’s Becoming and Rachel Maddow’s Blowout (I haven’t found her latest in audio).
I second The Teaching Company courses. Many of them are available to download from RB Digital, which my local libraries have recently added to Overdrive/Libby. The hardest part about them is to choose what you want to learn about from almost universally excellent professors.
I’m now very belatedly reading Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates’ Between the World and Me. I’ve been meaning to read it for the last five or six years apparently. I can’t believe it’s been out that long. I have a really hard time actually reading non-fiction so this works for me. He’s the narrator which I think makes it even more effective.
I highly recommend both of Jenny Lawson’s books “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened” and “Furiously Happy”. They are a funny, sad look at real life, mental illness, and trauma. She has been through a lot but has maintained her sense of humor. For anyone who has struggled with depression, PTSD, or just a crazy family these books will really make you laugh out loud in spite of yourself.
I also second “Me” by Elton John. “The Girls Who Went Away” by Ann Fessler is great as well. “Hunger” by Roxanne Gay.
Could be controversial but I have enjoyed all of Chelsea Handler’s audiobooks too.
I’m considering setting up a trial subscription of Audible Premium Plus before we leave on a 3 week road trip. It would come with 2 premium books first month (instead of the usual 1). Also it seems unlimited listening on Plus selections. (I am having trouble finding good link with list of choices). My kids warn it can be hard to cancel, but others have said they cancelled without grief.
My husband is a big audible listener. We get one credit per month, but between sales and free books he finds, he hardly uses his credits. They are usually saved for road trips where we listen to a new release.
We haven’t for a long time, but we used to buy 3 credits if we ran out.
I guess we are premium plus members, I had no idea what that entails. But he uses it all the time, definitely been worth it.
Podcasts have been my jam in the past 4 years … great when I am walking or running. We’ll do some of them in the car too during our roadtrip. I still find plenty of them for free. I love Freakonomics, Moth Radio Hour and more … hubby not so much. Since he will do most of the driving, I plan to let him pick the premium titles.
I had a subscription to Audible for a few months. Downloaded a few books, cancelled, then still have those books available (haven’t listened to them all). If I wasn’t in a strict budgeting mode I would have kept the subscription!
It’s trendy now, but I enjoyed Glennon Doye’s memoir “Untamed.”
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