Last week I shared my favorite books of 2022. Today, I’m sharing my favorite audiobooks. This year I didn’t duplicate titles on these lists so make sure you check them both out!
When choosing my favorite audiobooks, I especially want to celebrate audiobooks that elevate the reading experience. Did a narrator bring a little something extra to the story, something I couldn’t have gotten from reading in print? In my mind, that is the mark of a truly great audiobook.
For me, an additional mark of a great listening experience—of any good book, for that matter—is that I’m still thinking about the story, even months later. Bonus points to any book that makes me want to run another mile, fold another load of laundry, or sit in my car in the driveway so I can keep listening.
2022 was once again a great year for audiobooks; these are my very favorites. This list is representative of my listening habits: I love immersive novels and intimate memoirs in my ears, and that’s exactly what populates this list.
Now let’s talk favorites—and please, share YOUR favorite audiobooks in the comments section!
All books featured here were chosen because I loooove them. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. More info here.
My favorite audiobooks of the year
Oh William!: A Novel
This was the right book at the right time for me; I listened to Kimberly Farr's excellent narration on audio, and loved it so much I named it one of the things saving my life in the winter season. It's a reflective, often wistful narrative, voiced by Lucy Barton about her first husband William, whom she has—against all odds—remained friends with after their marriage ended many years before. I blew through this in two days because I was transfixed by Lucy's thoughtful, even arresting thoughts about what makes relationships succeed or fail, what it means to be a family, how one conversation can change a relationship and even a life, and how a single revelation about a person may transform our understanding of who they are. A word to the wise: this book made me burst into tears in my kitchen at one point when it touched on a topic I wasn't expecting to encounter, so maybe be mindful of where you listen? I also loved and adored Lucy by the Sea, which continues this story. More info →
A Ghost in the Throat
I read this arresting nonfiction work in January and have been thinking of it often all year long. "This is a female text:" These beginning words are repeated, over and over, throughout. But what to say about this story, how to define it? Words fail me here, because it's so unlike anything I've ever read: part memoir, part meditation on the female creative process, part biography of a long-dead Irish poet, plus a translation of the poet's best-known work. If you're stirred by the offer of gaining a glimpse inside the mind of a modern poet grappling with her brilliant predecessors, this absolutely belongs on your TBR. I'm so glad I opted for Siobhán McSweeney's perfect narration: otherwise I would have been baffled by the Irish pronunciations. This book went straight on my Best of the Year list, and ever since I read it I've been recommending it non-stop. More info →
The Change
"The gift arrives after the curse ends." In this wild and wonderful feminist revenge fantasy, three women in their use the unique new abilities that arrived with perimenopause to bring a killer to justice. Nessa comes from a long line of women who are able to hear the voices of the dead. Jo can now channel her rage into actual fire. And Harriett's abilities with plants now surpass that of the most seasoned gardener. After the police refuse to take action, the women team up to investigate the death of a young woman, and soon discover she is one of many: an alarming number of women have disappeared near their well-to-do town in recent years, and someone is trying to cover up the crimes. Nessa, Harriett, and Jo resolve to do whatever it takes to expose the town's dark secret and make the perpetrators pay ... and to say anything else would be spoiler-y. Brash, bold, boatloads of fun, and thrilling as read by narrator January LaVoy, who brings the rotating perspectives to life. More info →
The Latecomer
I started reading this in print back in the spring, but it wasn't until I picked up the audio version narrated by Julia Whelan several months later—at her urging—that the story really grabbed me. This is the decades-long story of a wealthy Brooklyn family and their triplets—the smart one, the weird one, and the girl—conceived with the help of IVF. For a bevy of reasons this family never quite gelled, and the siblings carry not a trace of affection for each other. Everything changes when the triplets reach college age, and their mother, yearning for some semblance of familial love, decides to thaw the fourth and only remaining embryo and have another child. The arrival of that child—the latecomer—blows up the whole family. Julia called Korelitz's follow-up to The Plot "the definition of a brilliant slow build," and I so enjoyed watching her patiently set up the explosive reveal at a Martha's Vineyard birthday celebration that takes place in September 2001. An unexpected bonus was the thread of modern art that runs through the book: I googled so many artists and works along the way! More info →
Everything Sad Is Untrue: (a true story)
This is my most recent listen on the list and a worthy edition—I'm glad I could sneak it in before the year ended! I opted to listen after a wide variety of readers with wildly disparate tastes all gushed about this book, specifically recommending the audiobook. Our narrator for this epic is a 12-year-old Iranian-born named Khosrou, who now lives in Oklahoma and is known as Daniel, and the tales he spins are drawn from his rich family history, ancient Persian folklore, and sometimes from the extraordinary and ordinary moments of his middle school life. "Every story is the sound of a storyteller begging to stay alive," Daniel tells us, perhaps explaining why he puts his whole heart and soul into the tales he weaves for his audience. This is a beautiful, heartbreaking, hilarious book, and while the books are by no means readalikes, I thought often of Trevor Noah's Born a Crime while I was listening. More info →
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt
After finishing a mediocre audiobook this summer, I had no idea what to listen to next, and popped over to our What Should I Read Next patreon community to ask for recommendations. Our patrons pointed me towards this book, which had been halfheartedly lingering on my TBR for a while. I had been under the mistaken impression it was a comedy work, but I was soon to discover how mistaken I was. I plunged in, as advised, knowing little but definitely intrigued by the inclusion of Lyle Lovett as a narrator. (All I will say is: he plays himself.) Forgive me if you already know this, but this is a memoir, written by an anonymous author, who explains how and why she came to operate the pseudonymous twitter account @DuchessGoldblat. While ostensibly about a social media account, it's really about finding and forming community, the power of friendship in difficult times, the painful and lingering effects of a difficult childhood, and the redemptive possibilities of creativity and generosity. This was superb on audio, as narrated by Gabra Zackman, J. Smith-Cameron, and, of course, Lyle Lovett. More info →
The Violin Conspiracy
This fine arts thriller begins with a bang: Ray McMillian may be the most talented young musician in the world. Two weeks before the most important competition of his life, he opens his violin case after getting off a flight and discovers his $10 million dollar Stradivarius is gone—replaced by a white Chuck Taylor and a ransom note. Slocumb then takes us back in time to show us how Ray, a young Black man from North Carolina who doesn't have the family wealth or privilege so many of his classical music peers do, fell in love with both music and his great-great grandfather's fiddle, and came to devote his life to winning the Tschaikovsky Competition—and how he came to own a $10 million Strad. We also experience many painful and heart-pounding instances of the racism Ray experiences as a Black man moving through a space that's predominantly white—and how his Blackness is used against him by those who wish to claim his violin as their own. I opted for the audiobook because I love JD Jackson's voice: that was absolutely the right decision for this book. More info →
Fresh Water for Flowers
The audiobook version wasn't an unqualified win with this favorite, because it got a little tricky in places where the narrative jumps through time and I found myself wanting to flip back and forth to get oriented. Despite this, I'm glad I listened instead of going with the print edition. After loving the works of Maylis de Kerangal in 2021, I wanted to explore more French literature, and I've had Perrin in my sights because she's published by Europa, a publisher I love for translated works. (Hildegarde Serle translates this one.) When Fabled book buyer Elizabeth Barnhill gave me a nudge to read this, I was only too eager to jump in! I was hooked by her English language debut from the lyrical and utterly surprising opening passage, in which narrator Violette grounds us in her work as a cemetery caretaker. She sees her setting not as a sinister place but as a garden of souls where she gently tends the dead and those who come to pay them tribute. The achingly sad and touching story unspools over more than twenty years, yet always felt immediate, even urgent, mixing love and betrayal, drama and resilience, friendship and loss, drama and resilience, even poetry to great effect. More info →
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water
Talk about an audiobook that elevates the listening experience! This is the story of Cara Romero, a fifty-something Dominican woman who loses her factory job in the Great Recession and is forced back on the job market. She opts to participate in a workforce re-entry program, which consists of twelve sessions with a job counselor. In those sessions, Cara sits down and tells the job counselor about her life—and it's those first person accounts that comprise the bulk of the novel! The audiobook is highly produced like a podcast might be: you can hear ice rattling in people's cups and doors creaking open on squeaky hinges—and that's on top of Kimberly M. Wetherell and Rossmery Almonte's fantastic voice acting. More info →
What are your favorite audiobooks of the year? What did you love to listen to this year?
P.S. My favorite audiobooks and listening experiences of 2021, my favorite listening experiences of 2020 and my favorite audiobooks of 2019. New to audiobooks? Try these 7 ways to discover your audiobook style. And don’t miss my favorite books of 2022.
98 comments
My two favorites this year were The Guncle and The Matzah Ball. I haven’t read any on your list! I started Becoming Dutchess Goldblatt and it was not for me at all but I’m looking forward to listening to some others.
I loved Thank you for Listening. An insider look at audiobook recordings in a fiction romance book. Amazing narration.
Me too!!
Loved this book! The narrator/author is one of my faves!
I’ve been wanting to read How Not to Drown in a Glass of a Water and never even thought about is an audiobook. Just placed my Libby hold! The Anthrax Reviewed by John Graham is excellent on audiobook.
Should be “Anthropocene” not Anthrax. Thanks autocorrect! :/
Should be John Green as the author, too. 🤷🏼♀️
I loved this one too! I very seldom listen to my books but this one was able to capture and hold my attention.
I loved the narration of How Not to Drown… but I have to say, I could have done without the sound effects.
I do almost exclusively audio, so it’s hard to choose. 😂 I loved the Tom Felton memoir, Beyond the Wand. The Maid by Nita Prose, and This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub. I always love Marin Ireland. I actually burned out on Julia Whalen this year. 😆 I think I listened to too many in one month and they all started sounding the same!
I thoroughly enjoyed “The Maid” fir both the content and the reader!
My absolute favorite audio for the year was “Two Nights in Lisbon”, (thank you Anne for the recommendation earlier in the year!), narrated by January Lavoy. I enjoyed her so much that I looked up other books she has narrated which led me to buy “The Change”, which I haven’t listened to yet, but will definitely bump it up on my list since seeing it here! I also really loved “Part of Your World” and “The Jane Austen Society”.
The Latecomer was hands down my favorite audiobook experience this year. Julia Whelan does an amazing job with the various voices and personalities. Reading the book would have not been as enjoyable! I will seek out other books narrated by her as I have stopped listening to quite a few books when the subpar acting skills interfered with my enjoyment of the book. Kudos to Jean Hanff Korelitz too, for writing an engaging book which could serve as a model of great character development.
Viola Davis’ was a favorite for me. I love your podcast and agree with your opinions most of the time however I really did not like the violin conspiracy. It was so flat for me. I could not even care by the end of the book if he gets his violin back. His family was just awful. Why did his mom treat him that way? I would not recommend this book .
Ditto Viola Davis!! 2 thumbs up!
Demon Copperhead! The narration was so perfect, I can’t even imagine reading it in print.
Same! I actually preordered the hardback and started it but just couldn’t make myself pick it up (I *always* love Barbara Kingsolver so knew I would enjoy the book but I also knew it would be emotionally heavy – I think that’s why I dreaded it a bit). I switched to audio and was immediately sucked in! Loved it!
Listening right now. I love the narrator!
100% agree. What a story.
These Silent Woods was my favorite audiobook of this year. Excellent narration and the storyline and redemptive ending puts it at the top of my reads for the year.
I just finished listening to These Silent Woods based on your recommendation. I loved it! Thank you! The narration was great and the story was amazing.
My top three audiobooks for this year are “Open” by Andre Agassi, “The Echo Wife” by Sarah Galley and “One Italian Summer” by Rebecca Serle. Can’t wait to listen to some of the titles on Anne’s list!
I read DUCHESS GOLDBLATT. What a perfect narrator for this book!
I think my favorites this year were The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak, The No-Show by Beth O’Leary, Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and generally the Psy-Changeling paranormal romance series by Nalini Singh (I binged it early in the year). They are all great stories AND narration.
I absolutely loved Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. He wrote The Martian. This isn’t typically my genre, but it was such a great story and the audio performance was probably the best I’ve ever heard. The story has been optioned for a movie with Ryan Gosling as the lead.
I SO agree! I can’t even imagine reading this in print.
Oh, I didn’t even THINK of listening to this story! I read it in print and it was AMAZING! It’s my favorite book of 2022!! But now I want to “re-read” it on audio, thank you.
I agree! My husband and I listened to this on a road trip and enjoyed the narration so much. “AMAZE” has become part of our regular vocabulary LOL!
My daughter gifted the Project Hail Mary audiobook to me and it’s my favorite audiobook of the year if not ever. The whole family loved it! We even named our new Roomba “Rocky” 🙂
This was an awesome listen for my husband and I on a long car trip. So good!
Thanks for recommending Ghost in the Throat. I loved it. The audio is even better when you picture Sister George Michael (Derry Girls) reading it. I’m having my IRL bookclub read it next year. Hopefully they’ll take my advice to listen to the audio.
Wait, what?!?!?! Sister George Michael? Was the narrator? of Ghost in the Throat? Oh no. No. No. That just does not compute. I have to go lay down. It CAN’T be the same Siobhan McSweeney. I loved that audio book.
So I’m new to audiobooks but I enjoyed Seth Rogan’s memoir Yearbook on audio (it won’t be for everyone but I laughed out loud at so many moments. Maybe it’s the fact that we both grew up in Canada at the same time?) and my favourite fiction on audiobook was Remarkably Bright Creatures by a Shelby Van Pelt narrated by Marin Ireland and Michael Urie. The narrators did SUCH a great job with this book. I loved it so much. Maybe my best reading experience this year
Bright Creatures was SO GOOD and very interesting! I kind of want to go back and listen again.
The Violin Conspiracy was a top listen/read for me this year, and I also loved Anthropocene Reviewed!
Two of my favorites made your list! I loved “The Change” and “The Latecomer”. Another favorite is “Search”.
The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn. A coming of age story with undercover WWII intrigue. And I’m a sucker for a British narrator.
I absolutely love the Lucy Barton books too. And Kimberley Farr has long been one of my favorite readers starting with her readings of Alice Munro’s short stories. A good reader can add so much to a great book!
The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks was so good on audio.
My favorite audiobooks this year were Thank you For Listening by Julia Whalen and (always) my Re- listens to the Outlander series. Davina Porter is absolutely amazing, her voices are spot on!
My favorites were The Lincoln Highway and The Murmur of Bees. Both outstanding on audio.
Yes! I loved the Murmur of Bees audiobook and gifted it to my father who did as well. Amazing on audio.
The Murmur of Bees is fabulous on audio!!
Loved “Before We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate, narrated by Emily Rankin and Catherine Taber. A fictionalized telling of a real-life scandal – a Memphis-based adoption agency that kidnapped children from poor families and sold them to wealthy people.
I enjoyed “Happier Hour” by Cassie Holmes so much that I bought the hardcover book. The content is cause for re-thinking how you manage your time and energy. Truly life changing.
Fresh Water for Flowers became one of my all-time favorites…and I read the paper version! Favorite audiobooks I listened to this year: The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton, The One Hundred Years of Lenni & Margot (delightful!), Lessons in Chemistry, and Finding Me (Viola Davis).
I totally agree that so many audiobooks enhance the reading experience. My top favorite was Taste by Stanley Tucci. Who doesn’t want that delightful voice in your ears for many hours? I finished listening to Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series, and her narrator is perfect for the voice of El. The Bookeaters by Sunyi Dean and don’t miss the interview at the end. And of course I had to do Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan as audio for a completely meta experience
100% agree about Taste! Stanley Tucci is a National treasure!
I also loved Dave Grohl’s Storytellers. I knew nothing more than “that drummer from Nirvana and Foo Fighters” but wow – he’s a true Renaissance Man. Excellent on audio.
My husband and I started listening to Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono. It is, hands down, the best audiobook I’ve ever listened to. Bono narrates it himself, and the recording includes song clips and sound bytes that really enhance the story. It’s compelling (even for a nominal U2 fan like me) and insightful, especially if you were a young adult in the 80s-90s. (Fair warning: the F word is a common vocab word for Bono.)
I have 2 hours left in “Surrender” and I’m already sad for it to end. It’s the best audiobook I’ve ever listened to also. He sings!! He’s self-deprecating and honest, despite being iconic. I love it so much.
My favorite audiobook of the year is Thank you for Listening, by Julia Whelan and Read by Julia Whelan. I loved the dialogue and the plot twists and the relationships. Totally enjoyable.
Favorite audiobooks this year (some backlist and some new releases):
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
I have saved several of these books for future listens, thank you.
A few of my top picks this past year:
The Measure by, Nikki Erlick
Unlikely Animals by, Annie Hartnett
These Precious Days, Essays by, Anne Patchett
Late Migrations by, Margaret Renkel
However, my favorite audiobook of 2022 was an all-time favorite listen: Lark Ascending by, Silas House
I discovered Neel Shah as an audiobook narrator with Anuk Arudpragasam’s “A Passage North.” The book, sans any dialogue, would be hard to read. Shah does a beautiful job performing a meditative book that was deservedly shortlisted for the Booker.
I’m about to listen to Demon Copperhead but decided to fit in David Copperfield first. I listened to Richard Armitage’ read it, and of the 50+ audiobooks I listened to this year, this was my unrivaled favorite narration. So. Much. Fun.
Honorable mention goes to The Anthropocene Reviewed. It felt like an honor to hear John Green speaking to me in his own voice.
Wow, Debbie! Top out of 50+ – I’m moving that one up my list! Thank you!
2022 was the year I finally found my groove with audiobooks. They were a perfect pairing during breastfeeding sessions! My favorites were:
-The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
-Taste by Stanley Tucci
-Finding Freedom by Erin French
-Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
-The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
-Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
I love these posts and seeing what others are listening to in the comments!
Still Life, by Sara Winman. I am sure I would not have kept reading it in a print form (464 pages), but it was both charming and thoughtful, both good qualities in a book!
The Heart’s Invisible Furies, by John Boyne. It was published in 2017. Again, probably wouldn’t have been able to wade through it in print (582 pages!), but gosh, again, sad and charming and funny. Ireland mid-to late-20th century, in 7-year increments of the MC’s life.
I just finished this, and I totally agree, Sally! It is not often that a fiction writer who narrates is a win for me, but boy, did Sara deliver!!
I’m probably not deliberate enough in choosing audiobooks, lol. Sometimes I put a library hold on both the print and audiobook versions of a title, and if the audiobook is available first, that’s what I get. Having said that, My favorite audiobooks this year were Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone, The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb, Beach Read by Emily Henry, and Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr.
Ghost in the Throat looks intriguing so I’ll have to see if I can get that in audiobook. Happy Reading!
Remarkably Bright Creatures was my favorite audiobook. I really enjoyed the separate narrator for the octopus.
My favorite audiobooks were The Guest List, The Silent Patient & The Hobbit— narrated by Andy Serkis on your recommendation! It was sublime!!
Most of my audiobook listens are celebrity memoirs, because I love hearing the authors read their own work. This year’s favorites were Taste by Stanley Tucci, Will by Will Smith (read just before the Oscars incident), and Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry.
When I do listen to fiction, I have difficulty listening to anyone but Julia Whelan. I loved The Measure by Nikki Erlick and Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez.
Thanks for the great ideas here, everyone, and happy holidays. And Anne, I organized a cookie exchange at work thanks to that post — great fun for all of us, thank you!!
I absolutely love these posts and all the great comments! I finally made the jump from podcasts to audiobooks this year, and it has really revolutionized my reading life. My favorites on audio this year were:
-Killers of a Certain Age- Deanna Raybourn
-The Phantom Tollbooth-Norton Juster (re-read– Rainn Wilson narrates, and what an absolute delight!)
-Our Missing Hearts- Celeste Ng (blown away by Lucy Liu’s narration)
-The Collected Stories of Winnie the Pooh-AA Milne (full cast narration with some of the British acting superstars. Pure joy!)
-The Secret Lives of Church Ladies- Deesha Philyaw
-Not My Father’s Son- Alan Cumming
-The Song of Achilles- Madeline Miller
-Louise Penny books: I read 6 this year (all on audio), loved them all, even through the narrator change. Impossible to pick just one!
The SOng of Achilles mad me literally cry. What a beutiful book!
I was sobbing at the end. And I *very rarely* cry with audiobooks.
I’ve loved all of the Louise Penny books on audio and World of Curiosities was no exception. I also always love a memoir read by the author. Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby is a good example. I’ve listened to quite a few books narrated by Sneha Mathan- she does a great job with Alka Joshi’s The Henna Artist and Secret Keeper of Jaipur.
Yes, I loved The Henna Artist and The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. Her voice is beautiful!
Looking back at my list, it’s interesting to note that 2022 was a real hit-or-miss year for audiobooks. I started and abandoned many more than I finished, but the ones that I liked, I loved. Here are my favorites:
– David Sedaris, dairies and new essays
-The Nightwatchman and The Sentence, both written and read by Louise Edrich
-A Hat Full of Sky, by Terry Pratchett (great for kids!)
-A Ghost in the Throat, by Dorieann Nì Ghrìofa
-A Swim In A Pond In The Rain, by George Saunders
-The Anthropocene Reviewed, by John Green
-The Book of Delights, by Ross Gay
And almost forgot! Thursday Murder Club series. De. Light. Ful.
Yes! These are so much fun!
My favorites this year were The Violin Conspiracy, Part of Your World (waiting anxiously for the next book) and Thank You For Listening. I also enjoyed The It Girl by Ruth Ware although this might be one to listen to at 1.5 speed as the narration is a bit slow.
Two books I would not have read print copies but enjoyed audio
Cloud Cuckoo Land-Anthony Doerr
Station Eleven- Emily St. John Mandel
Others
Small Things Like These-Claire Keegan
I Must Betray You-Ruta Sepetys
Books suitable for families
Perestroika in Paris-Jane Smiley
Old but delightful-The James Herriot audiobooks
Most of my reading is via audiobook due to many hours on the road, and hands-down my favorite this year was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, read by Jeff Woodman. The listening experience is what made the story so good – even with an ending that was “eh”. I was held till the end.
Other terrific listens were:
Inside the Kingdom by Carmen Bin Ladin, read by Shohreh Aghdashloo
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, read by B.D.Wong
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, read by Polly Stone
I nearly forgot – early in the year I listened to Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee, the sequel to the classic To Kill A Mockingbird. Highly recommended!
My favorite audiobook this year is (surprisingly) a self-published debut by a Kentucky author. For fans of Mexican Gothic, Pleasant Surprises by Wesley Moor takes the reader on a wild and entertaining ride through three storylines that come together beautifully at the end. The author reads his own book and expertly voices the different characters. Kentucky history is woven throughout the fictional story. Highly recommend.
I started listening to Oh William! yesterday and only have an hour left. It’s SO good! I already have some of these books on my TBR and just added some more. Thank you!
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith makes The Rivers of London series wonderful to listen to. I got through several this year. If the books are ever made into films or tv, they’d HAVE to cast him. There is no other Peter Grant!
Taste by Stanley Tucci was a wonderful listen, also How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones, Haven Point by Virginia Hume (lengthy but I loved the story), Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe and Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
I listened to so many great audiobooks but the ones that stood out for me were the following:
On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeos- Ocean Vuong
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue- VE Schwab
The Huntress- Kate Quinn
Cloud Atlas- David Mitchell
The Thread Collectors-Shauna Edwards
and
Klara and the Sun- Kazuo Isiguro
I didn’t listen to many, if any, new release this year. It just wasn’t my focus for the year. However some of the books above are definitely going on my TBR list!
This was the year I got into audiobooks – thanks to Anne and the podcast – and they have really supercharged my reading life! I now often use audiobooks as a way to read books I would not be able to get through in paper form, like academic non-fiction or harder classics. My favourite of this bunch was Proust: I started with Swann’s Way and have a goal to get through all of In Search of Lost Time next year. With the audio format you can sort of let the elegiac quality wash over you and get into the slow pace of it.
My favorite this year was Circe by Madeline Miller (narrated by Perdita Weeks). I listen while driving (mostly) and I found myself sitting in the car to finish chapters. The story is beautiful and Perdita Weeks’ voice is hypnotizing. I loved Song of Achilles as well but somehow Circe resonated more with me.
Ditto, Elizabeth! Circe read by Perdita is absolutely mesmerizing. When I saw Song of Achilles was by another reader, I moved it lower on my list. I might actually seek out some of Perdita’s other audiobooks. She’s that good.
The Night Ship was my favorite fiction audiobook this year. The River of the Gods was my favorite non fiction listen. Barnstorming Ohio was another favorite audiobook but Ohio politics might not be universally interesting!
I loved Acts of Violet on audio. It’s partially told through podcast episodes and has a multi-reader cast. It’s one of those books that I believe I wouldn’t have finished if I’d had the print edition but loved on audio.
It’s an oldie, and I’ve read the print version before, but after a pandemic and a couple of years of lockdowns On The Beach by Nevil Shute packs an extra punch. It’s a story about people waiting for a slow inevitable end of the world. Well read with no heinous accent faux pas.
My favorite audiobooks this year were The Guncle and Lessons in Chemistry. Both were so entertaining and elicited both laughter and tears. Loved both books so much.
Hamnet was my favorite audiobook-so beautiful, I can’t imagine I would have loved the book as much if I’d read it in print. I also really enjoyed Rob Lowe’s Stories I Only Tell My Friends-his imitations of other famous actors in his stories are amazing.
Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare – Giles Milton
It would make a great movie! The events seem fictional but was actually unbelievably true! A great listen for WWII buffs.
Hi Edie! I normally recommend and choose books for my mother, Barbara, but this book is one that my nephew gave her and she passed it on to me as a “must read”! She also recommended another book by Giles Milton, ‘Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy’ which is true stories of events surrounding the D-Day invasion of Normandy. I think that one is also available on audiobook.
SO many great recommendations, everyone! I didn’t see All about Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by the One and Only Mel Brooks. If you are a fan of his work, it is an amazing reflection of a life well lived!
My favorites of the year include: The Latecomer, the Violin Conspiracy and I just completed Lark Ascending by Silas House. It was a very different plot than what I was used to from House, but it was riveting! I’ve just download Fresh Water for Flowers and am looking forward to listening!
I love audio, but didn’t get a chance to listen to many this year. The best turned out to be Oldies-But-Goodies: two Hornblower adventures, a condensed version of Tess of the d’Urbervilles, T is For Trespass by Sue Grafton, and Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies. Right now I am loving the 44 Scotland St series, read by Robert Ian Mackenzie. I think ALL the Alexander McCall Smith books are best read on audio!! Mackenzie does such a good job with all the Scottish accented characters, including 6 yr old Bertie and his irritating mother, Irene.
I’m listening to The Butterfly Lampshade, narrated by Julia Whelan, and I’m struck by how much Whelan’s voice sounds like Meghan Markle’s!! (I just watched the documentary, of course.) Totally here for it.
The Shadow of the Wind was an excellent audio book. Highly recommend!
Finding Me by Viola Davis. Simply amazing.
A Ghost in the Throat blew away all other audiobooks for me this year. Simply incredible and yes, somewhat indescribable. It’s up there with Born a Crime as best audiobook EVER, for me. I recommend this video of the author introducing and reading from her book, if you’re wondering whether it might be for you: https://youtu.be/XtCj2RvD9aA
Honorable mention goes to Your Own Kind of Girl by Clare Bowditch, an Australian singer. It’s a beautiful and hopeful memoir interspersed with her music at the head of each thematic chapter, and she sings some parts. Content warnings apply as it is a depression memoir, but also so much more.
I’m now adding Bono’s Surrender to my list on the strength of the recommendations here! I love U2 but somehow had the impression it was a coffee table book and wouldn’t be good on audio.