6 audiobooks I've enjoyed lately

My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South

by Rick Bragg

This is one of the best things I've ever listened to—which I did NOT expect from an essay collection. Bragg reads 70-ish pieces of his nonfiction work, most of which have been previously published. Some are just a few minutes long; the longest runs for about fifteen. He covers A LOT of ground: football, fishing, book tour, his mama's cornbread, wardrobe concerns, New Orleans cuisine, natural disasters. These stories are compact, wistful, funny, and poignant. So good.

Echo

by Pam Muñoz Ryan

I read this after three readers with great taste recommended this middle-grade audiobook in the course of a week. This award-winning novel revolves around three children, in Germany, California, and Pennsylvania, whose lives are connected by music—and a harmonica with a magical past. World War II also features prominently in the plot. The multiple narrators bring it to life, with a fun musical accompaniment in just the right places.

Limelight

by Amy Poeppel

I love novels about New York City and was intrigued by the Broadway angle here: everyone's counting on teen pop star Carter Reid to anchor a much-anticipated musical revival, but he is wholly uninterested in fulfilling his contract. Enter Allison Brinkley, a newly unemployed mom who just arrived from Dallas and still feels like a fish out of water in the city. When a series of minor disasters connects her with the young star, one thing is clear: Carter needs a parental figure in his life. I downloaded the audiobook narrated by Carly Robins, and it was a great listen for a solo road trip. (Note: I was especially glad to have the car to myself; it's seriously sweary.)

Educated: A Memoir

by Tara Westover

In this memoir, Tara Westover tells of how she overcame her oppressive childhood: her survivalist family lived in the mountains of rural Idaho and practiced extreme fundamentalist Mormonism; her father's manic depression was undiagnosed and untreated. There was no question that Tara would marry and settle near her family to raise a family of her own, but she found a way out. I picked this up because readers with great taste told me it was a great example of the genre.

Less

by Andrew Sean Greer

I loved this so much. This Pulitzer winner manages to be serious and seriously funny. The hero is Arthur Less, who is facing his 50th birthday, his ex-boyfriend of nine year's wedding to another, and his publisher's rejection of his latest manuscript, all at the same time. He decides to hit the road—and on this trip, everything that can go wrong, does. Nonstop puns on the author's name, an arch sense of humor, and an interesting narrative structure keep this book filled with sad things from feeling downcast.

On Turpentine Lane

by Elinor Lipman

This was my first Elinor Lipman book, but it won't be my last. Light and breezy in tone, but substantial beneath the surface. The story revolves around a thirty-two year-old woman named Frank, who's dealing with A LOT right now: a flaky fiancé, an incompetent boss, a new fixer-upper with a disturbing past, a father who's having a midlife crisis. But her office-mate pal is helping her through, and it's a fun and funny journey.

6 audiobooks I've enjoyed lately

My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South

Echo

Limelight

Educated: A Memoir

Less

On Turpentine Lane

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