Reading with Your Ears: 25 of My Favorite Audiobooks
Almost every summer, we get an email from Bart’s cousin and his wife. It says something along the lines of, “We’re off on our annual road trip! What are the best road trip audiobooks?”
And then Bart and I spend way too long reminiscing about all our favorite audiobooks and trying to remember which ones we’ve suggested in years gone by.
Last week, a different friend asked for recommendations, and I thought, “WHY do I not have a list of some of my favorite ones compiled?”
(I couldn’t think of any good answer (okay, I just finished this post and came back to answer this question -because it took a dang long time to put it together)).
I listen to a lot of audiobooks (3-4 a month, usually) and it’s hard to find really stellar ones because you need not only a good story and good writing, but ALSO good narration. As if finding a good PAPER book wasn’t hard enough.
But when an audiobook is good, well, there is almost nothing better. I’ll happily scrub grout (if I ever actually scrubbed grout, which, of course, I do not) if it means an excuse to listen to more.
So, here are some of the best audiobooks of all time (according to us of course), broken up by category (the links go to my full reviews of the books):
Some of the Best Audiobooks of All Time
Great for the Whole Family
- The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. Only my favorite book of all-time is all. I worried the audio would ruin it for me, but it actually, unbelievably, IMPROVED what I already considered a perfect book (full review here)
- Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. I started this one without Bart and then 10 minutes in, knew I couldn’t listen without him because it was SO funny. Who knew a skeleton detective and his human sidekick could be so hilarious? There is a whole series of these books, so if you like the first one, you’re got plenty more to listen to (full review here)
- Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Don’t let the word “princess” in the title fool you – this book is great for all ages, boys and girls alike, with as much adventure and intrigue as you could hope for. All of Shannon Hale’s YA and children’s books are done with a full-cast audio which is just really fun (full review here)
- The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud. Narrated by a powerful and snarky djinni who finds himself summoned by an apprenticed magician bent on revenge, we picked this one off the shelf at the library on a whim. This was the luckiest whim ever. After this book, we looked for everything Simon Jones narrated. He’s that good.
- A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. Short and really amazing, this story about an apprentice potter set in 12th century Korea won the Newbery (full review here)
- Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. Another Newbery winner, this one is a road-trip story. Sal tells her grandparents a long story about her neighbor to pass the time on the road, but only as the story winds down do you realize why they are on this road trip to begin with (full review here)
Realistic Young Adult Fiction
- If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Foreman. Prepare for tears – even if your heart is a cold dead stone, you’ll probably cry. Just a warning. (Full reviews here and here)
- Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison. These are the silliest books of all time. I generally don’t enjoy goofiness, but I couldn’t get enough of this series.
- Split by Swati Avasthi. This is a pretty intense book about an abusive father. It is perfect on so many levels.
- Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. I’m not a tech person, but this novel about fighting against the US-turned-police-state through the Internet? I couldn’t stop listening. I spent a lot of time parked in the driveway.
- The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. This is in my top 5 favorite books. I’ve read it twice and listened to it once.
- Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick. You wouldn’t guess that a book about a little brother with cancer would be so funny, but it is. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll go home happy. Narrated by Joel Johnstone (who narrated The Wednesday Wars), so you know it’ll be amazing.
YA Historical Fiction
- Bloody Jack Series by L.A. Meyer . This has some of the most amazing narration I’ve ever heard. Seriously on par with Jim Dale. Follows Jacky Faber who dresses as a boy and gets a job on a sailing ship as a ship’s boy to keep from starving in the streets of London. Hijinks of every imaginable sort ensue.
- Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. This is like Little House on the Prairie for young adults. Hattie inherits some land from a distant uncle and, since she’s an orphan, decides to go live on it and try to make a go of farming on her own.
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. Set during WWII, this story of two girls, one a pilot and one a spy, will totally rip your heart out (it’s got a bit of a slow start, though. Power through).
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusack. This book about a foster child growing up in WWII Germany is narrated by Death and is unbelievablely good. I’ve read it in print and listened to it again last year for book club (this one’s being made into a movie).
- Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore. Graceling is really good, about a girl gifted with the grace of fighting who meets a boy also graced with fighting, and their joint efforts to save their kingdoms. Fire, a prequel, is even better.
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor. This is seriously some of the most breathtaking fantasy I’ve eve read. And I don’t even LIKE fantasy that much.
- City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I know some people don’t like this series, but I laughed my head off at this book (I kept rewinding (what do you call it when you’re using a CD?) to relisten to funny lines). Bonus, the movie is coming out soon!
- Uglies by Scott Westerfield. I read these, and Bart listened to them. We both thoroughly enjoyed the first two in the series and thought the last one dropped off a bit.
- Still Alice by Lisa Genova. This heart-wrenching book about a woman suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s will make you paranoid you’re losing your memory too.
- I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella. Okay, I haven’t actually listened to this one, but I loved the book, and I have several friends who RAVED about how good the narration was. I’m going to trust them on it and give it a thumbs-up. Just funny, fluffy chick-lit.
- Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. This biography about a WWII pilot shot down in the Pacific Ocean who survives for a month in an inflatable boat before being captured by the Japanese is jaw-droppingly amazing. The narration, by the grandfather from Gilmore Girls, is spot-on (full review here)
- Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I’ve liked all of Gladwell’s books (which he narrates himself), but this is my favorite (full review here)
- Nurtureshock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. Fascinating research about raising children and child development (full review here)
And if you’d like a printable copy of this list that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!
Oh Janssen, I I forgot to mention that you should either read or listen to the rest of the Shadowhunter books! They get so much better! I would recommend reading the first three of the Mortal Instruments, then going back to read the prequel series (three of them called the Infernal Devices) then finishing up the Mortal Instruments ones. I actually enjoyed the Infernal Devices most I think, they are set about 200 years earlier and are really really good! (So many exclamation marks! Can you tell I'm excited?)
JIM DALE! The only thing I listen to on tape is the Harry Potters!
I loved The Infernal Devices. Like sobbing ugly cried at the end and needed “space” for awhile after I finished. But I could not bear the more modern series. I haven’t been able to find The Infernal Devices on audio through my library though.
You are an answer to my prayers! Was JUST wondering what to start with. Been wanting to try some new ones. Thank you!
I also listen to a lot of audiobooks and some of my all-time favorites are The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (fully cast and AWESOME), The #1 Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith (for me, the accent of the audiobook narrator at least doubles the pleasure of the stories), The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey and most recently The Apothecary by Maile Maloy (this is BY FAR my favorite audiobook that I listened to this year – SOOOO GOOD).
I got tired of the screaming and fighting in the car (we have a long drive back and forth to my son's therapy school) and so started listening to the Hank the Cowdog books on CD. Everyone laughs out loud, even me. They are fantastic (read by the author) and you don't have to go in order. So I just pick up whatever they have at the library without worrying about what number it is.
Janssen, this list is PERFECT timing! I'm moving to China on Monday and that 15 hour flight is going to be long long long. I'm not usually one for audiobooks but I think this will be just perfect. My plan is to stay awake for as much of the flight as possible, in the hopes that I can beat most of the jetlag. This list will rock my world on that flight. We'll see how I do. 🙂
I really struggle with audiobooks, because for me the voice reading has to match the sound of the voice in my head as well as the feel of the story, and that doesn't happen very often. (I thought the narrator for Swamplandia! was particularly jarring.) But I did LOVE the audiobook for The Postmistress. The voice matched the story perfectly, and the story was intriguing (something about the Holocaust that I've not read before). there's quite a bit of swearing so it's not really a family one, but one I thoroughly enjoyed.
I was just listening to the dryness of "A Brief History of Time" this morning and feeling annoyed that I couldn't come up with a more engaging option. Then I read this post. "Wednesday Wars" certainly made cleaning out the bathroom cupboards more fun today. Thanks for this timely post.
I love love love the audiobook of The Phantom Tollbooth. It's read by David Hyde Pierce and he is a stellar narrator.
I also really enjoyed listening to The Book Thief, though I found that I tended to miss more turns as I drove when I listened to it, because I'd get a little too sucked in to the story.
Excellent list but I must add Catch Me If You Can. I loved the reader. So much better than the movie
I really enjoy listening to audiobooks on road trips, but you have inspired me to listen to them while working on projects at home. I've been trying to figure out the best way to go about it and I am wondering what you do. Do you check out books on CD from the library and upload them to your phone? Or something else?
I generally download them straight from the library's website, but I do occasionally go the CD upload route. It's just so much slower!
This is a good list to put together. I love audio for long road trips, but I'm always concerned to pick something random because it HAS to be a good because I'm stuck with it (or with nothing) for a long time. Admittedly, I often go for a junk food read that I know will be enjoyable enough when I have no other ideas (um…Nicholas Sparks).
Oh I love love love these wrap up posts. THANK YOU! Also, I've gone into a regency phase (been there for 6 months now) and I can't get out. I rely mostly on you to pull me back to our time. I'm hoping I haven't missed a list of your 25-30 all time favorite books? Have you done one? You know you want to!! I've got to make sure I've checked them all off. And yes I could go to your goodreads… but I'm too lazy and your two sentence catchy phrases are way more fun than looking at star ratings.
As it is widely acknowledged that Jim Dale is the best narrator of all time, I must give a plug for The Night Circus. Seriously my favorite audio book (favorite book?) after the Harry Potter series.
Also, I really enjoyed the audio version of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Otherwise, I must second your selections of The Amulet of Samarkand. Simon Jones is fantastic (really, all the best narrators are British, aren't they?).
Awesome list! Pinning for later use. I listen to audio books a lot–and have gone through the Bartimeus books and the bloody Jack series on your recommendation. I'm currently on book nine of the Maisie Dobbs series, so I'll be looking for a new series to start soon. Thanks for taking the time to compile the recommendations!
Alan Cumming narrates the Leviathan Series by Scott Westerfeld, and he gives Jim Dale a run for his money on my favorite narrated series. The books are brilliant and the narration is priceless. Mr. F. and I adored them.
I second (third) the Scorpio Races too as another great audio book.
Anything narrated by Jim Dale (Harry Potter, A Christmas Carol) and Catch Me If You Can is absolutely fantastic!
Jim Dale also does The Christmas Carol… awesome
I've never commented on your blog before, but I LOVE audiobooks–I listen to them while I train for marathons. What Alice Forgot–a book recommendation I got from your blog–was my first audiobook, and I loved it! Some recent favorites are The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom and The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. I'll give another shout-out for Code Name Verity–it did start slow, but was definitely worth it.
What Alice Forgot was an awesome book. We did it as a book club. Haven't listened to it, though
Anything by Malcolm GLADWELL in the car makes for an interesting journey.
If you like 13 REASONS by Jay Asher, a book already dripping in voice, you will like the audio as well.
And for a very different reading experience try listening to ROOM by Emma Donoghue. I read the book first then listened to the audio.
Keep your ears open.
Thank you for making this list! My husband's not a big reader, but he loves audiobooks. He's listening his way through Harry Potter right now, so I pinned this for future reference 🙂