When I was working at the box factory, I had a half hour commute every morning and every afternoon. I used this time to listen to audiobooks, going through about two per month.
Apparently, last winter I signed up for a one-year account at Audible. (I don’t remember doing this!) Since I haven’t been driving to work, I haven’t been listening to audiobooks, but now I have 18 credits that expire in ten days! I could use some recommendations.
I’ve listened to about 100 audiobooks over the past five years. My favorites include the Aubrey-Maturin novels, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Cloud Atlas, and The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. I tend to like classics (Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Willa Cather) and motivational books (Dale Carnegie, etc.). I’m open to anything, really, as long as it’s good in audio format.
Help me keep my book credits — and the $229.50 I don’t remember spending — from going to waste! (And, yes, I’ll cancel the auto-renewal as soon as I download these books…)
P.S. Yes, obviously this is off-topic…
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Another SciFi entry:
Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan.
Basic premise: The brain can be digitalized.
Read to find out the consequences for society: Why feed criminals when you can put their brains on hard-disks and sell the bodies? Why travel when you can email yourself? What about the soul? Why not live forever?
This is all couched in a detective story plot where an assassinated man hires our protagonist to foil future murder attempts.
Richard Morgan’s books are wonderfully well-written and present a full universe with slang and history, not just an oddball world for the action (as much bad scifi does).
Enjoy!
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I second Bill Bryson’s “Short History Of Nearly Everything”. It’s a good one.
I also recently listened to “Shawshank Redemption”. The narrator sounded uncannily like Morgan Freeman so that was a great listen.
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The best audiobook I’ve ever listed to is This Sceptred Isle. This was a BBC series about the history of Britain from the Romans to the present day. It’s hundreds of hours long (in multi-volumes, so would use up your credits nicely) and really fascinating – if you wanted something completely different!
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For our 9000 mile round trip drive from Arizona to Alaska & back, Harry Potter kept my wife and I sane along the Alaskan Highway.
Get the British version, with Stephen Fry narrating. Phenomenal.
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“Hot Flat and Crowded” by Thomas Friedman. I’m listening to it now, pretty interesting non-fiction and well-read.
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‘Surely you’re joking Mr. Feynman’ is superb. Autobiography of Nobel prize winning Richard Feynman, he lead a very interesting life
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The Harry Potter books are wonderful on audio book.
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Audible downloads I’ve loved lately:
Any of PD James’ crime novels. If you like a crime novel which is more of a psychological/literary novel than a thriller.
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (Controversial, I know, but he’s a great reader and the book is very entertainingly written)
Under Milk Wood – the dramatisation with Richard Burton.
It’s All Too Much – Peter Walsh (very good motivational listening while decluttering)
Also, have you considered any of the Michel Thomas audio-only language courses? In my experience they’re the very best way to get a handle on a new language quickly.
Finally, if anyone in the UK is reading this, a warning. If you subscribe to the monthly plan *here* and you don’t use your audio credit in that month, it disappears! I was stung by this, and lost several months of credit because I thought it’d just accumulate.
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There’s this really good audio, although it is rare and hard to find. Come to think of it, you can get it for free. It’s called “The Money Tape”. It is really inspiring. I’d just suggest coping with the MLM stabs, not falling for any sales pitch, and then listening to the tape over and over.
Caleb
http://www.mefinanciallyfree.blogspot.com
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I’ll put in a plug for one of the best audio-books I’ve listened to in a while:
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman
The autobiography of Richard Feynman, physicist and crazy character. Unfathomably more entertaining than you’d expect an autobiography of a physicist to be.
-gumnos
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Sedaris is a great suggestion, not only because his are great/funny books, but he reads his own stuff for the audio books and his deadpan delivery is hilarious. Confederacy of Dunces is one of my favorite books of all time, so that’s also a good one. One of my favorite novels ever is Middlesex, so I would suggest that one if you haven’t read it already. Don’t know how good the audio version is though.
One of the few audiobooks I’ve listened to is Stephen King’s The Gunslinger, which was amazing.
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george r.r martin’s series without a doubt. THE best fantasy novels ever written. each book is about 40-50 hours worth of listening, and the narrator Roy Dotrice is superb. the first book in the series is “A Game Of Thrones”. Patrick O’ Brian has always been my favourite author, but GRRM comes in a very close 2nd.
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the only problem i see is that with only 10 days to download your books, you’ll possibly get the first book in the series, then after listening to it, you’ll have to rejoin to get the rest. then you’re back to square one. good luck. p.s. go to audible and read the reviews.
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I definitely agree with everyone that David Sedaris is one way to go. Also, Sarah Vowell is fun nonfiction. I really enjoyed Assassination Vacation. Two of my favorite thriller authors are Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. The write solo and together (better together in my opinion). My favorite from them was STILL LIFE WITH CROWS. Both my husband and best friend who had never listened to audiobooks before LOVED it!!! My friend reads and has read all of their other books and my husband is waiting for me to get the others on audio.
Love, love, love your site! Keep up the great work and I wish you much success.
Jacci
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Here’re a few audiobooks that I really enjoyed, not just because of the story but because of the reading/performing, also:
Bill Bryson – A Short History of Nearly Everything, In a Sunburned Country
Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Orson Scott Card – Ender’s Game
E.H. Gombrich – A Little History of the World
Yann Martel – The Life of Pi
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Some books I’ve listened to as audiobooks that I loved:
Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson
A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin
The Thirteeth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg
Based on your reading preferences, some books I loved reading in hard copy (but never listened to so I can’t attest to the audiobook reading quality):
Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard
The Black Tower by Louis Bayard
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys and the Battle for America’s Soul by Karen Abbott
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
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I’m mostly a self help listener and have been listening to audiobooks for years, here are some of my favorites:
All Your Worth- By the Tyagis
Any of the “50 classics”
Life’s Greatest Lesson- Hal Urban
A Short History of Nearly Everything- Bill Bryson
Life Matters- The Merrills
The Road Less Traveled- M. Scott Peck
Today Matters- Maxwell (anything by Maxwell)
I have many others in my audible collection but these are the real gems.
If you can only try one of them try Today Matters.
Good luck.
Tim
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Super Crunchers
Fooled by Randomness
The Black Swan
Freakonomics
Tipping Point
The above are all “popular business non-fiction”.
Otherwise, I’d suggest finding authors and books you already like and just grabbing some of their work “for the future”. (I.e., I really like Snow Crash, so I wouldn’t mind having an audio book of that for a random long car trip somewhere..)
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I don’t know if Audible has them, but Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series is quality listening time from start to finish. An excellent series of novels, read by the man himself.
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I have listened to lots, but Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson is the best.
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Jim Butcher- Harry Dresden books. The first book in the series is Storm Front.
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The Dark Tower Series is fantastic to second Dominic’s opinion. I never heard the Stephen King readings of the book but the ones from Penguin audio are great.
I’m also a fan of the Ender Series – Start with Ender’s Game.
The Mist, also by Stephen King used to scare the crap out of me as a kid – only ever heard the audiobook.
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P.G. Wodehouse is good – I like “leave it to psmith”
Also, consider Predictably Irrational.
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By now, I’m fourth or fifthing David Sedaris. I’ve only listened to his books, never read them, and have heard that reading them is not nearly as enjoyable as listening to them … he adds so much humor with his inflections.
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Ayn Rand
Atlas shrugged. Truley epic.
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Some items I’ve enjoyed (a few have been mentioned already):
The Last Lecture – By Randy Pausch. This was surprisingly funny, and touching. Also a quick listen at a little over 4 hrs.
Assassination Vacation – Sarah Vowell. I LOVED this audio book, and can’t recommend it enough. It’s about the assassination of Lincoln, Garfield, and Mckinley, and Sarah Vowell’s touristy trips to visit important landmarks in connection to them.
1776 – David McCollough. Another surprisingly entertaining history book.
Manhunt: The 12 day hunt for Lincoln’s killer – James L. Swanson. Non-fiction about the Lincoln assassination and the manhunt for Boothe. I got this after reading Vowells “Assassination Vacation” and was enthralled. It’s surprisingly fast paced. I really think they could turn this into a great action movie.
Hope this helps.
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James Marsters read some Jim Butcher books (Stormfront is the first one, I can’t remember the others) and it was awesome!
Jim Dale, who reads the Harry Potter books also does an amazing job.
You could also look into some non-fiction – Michael Pollan’s books (which I’ve read but not heard and are great) are available in audio format!
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I like BBC radio dramas and the radio versions of 1930′s movies (try Lux Radio Theater) – they ‘re read by full casts, often with sounds effects, and are easier for me to follow than a single person narration. They’re also packed with drama, suspense and all that good stuff. Also, old time radio shows – love them! Audible seems to have a decent selection of all of the above.
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I would suggest “Team of Rivals” a book about Abraham Lincoln appointing his opposition to his cabinet. Very interesting. I would also suggest anything by John Steinbeck, particularly “East of Eden”.
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I second “A Game of Thrones.” Also “The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of The Oxford English Dictionary” by Simon Winchester. One of those books that made me want to take the long way to work.
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They’ve already been mentioned, but these were all very good:
Harry Potter (all 7 books)
Narnia (all books)
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
I like fantasy, so that’s what you get if you ask me for opinions.
Of them, The Hobbit was the most surprising because I hadn’t really liked it when I read it. But I enjoyed it much more when it was read aloud.
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Stephen King’s Dark Tower Series
George RR Martin – The Song of Ice and Fire Series
Stephen King – The Shawshank redemption (this one STAYS on my mp3 player)
If you like baseball (and don’t hate the red sox), Faithful, by stephen king and stuart o’nan. I couldn’t care less about baseball or the Sox, but it was a good listen. They ended up writing about the Sox first world series win in like 80 years.
The Talisman and Dark House – by Stephen King
Nobody’s fool (forgot the author) – A movie was done with Paul newman, Bruce Willis et al. Another good story
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OH! And the Kidd novels (same author as the “Prey” [Naked prey, hidden prey etc..] books)
Fool’s Run
The Empress File
Devil’s code
The hangedman’s Song
These four books are a great read. A little dated now, but an enjoyable antagonist with a serious computer/technology bent that operates on the questionable side of the law.
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@Damian
Oh yes. I forgot about Snow crash. Excellent choice.
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A second for Atlas Shrugged. Its great as an audiobook (especially on a long trip in the car!) Get the version read by Christopher Hurt.
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What a great thread of comments – I’m an audible member too, and am always looking for the next great audio book…the reader matters as much as the text, so I appreciate all the great recos here!
Shadow Divers – Most gripping audiobook I’ve ever heard. Listened to this one on an 8-hour road trip, and upon arrival, sat in the car to continue listening for another 20min.
Neil Gaiman’s catalog – Any of them. They are all excellent.
His Dark Materials Trilogy, Phillip Putnum – these are done as an audio play, and a very fun listen.
Animals in Translation – Fascinating book about how animals think. Good non-fiction choice – I learned a lot about my dog from this book.
And finally, while I love Terry Pratchett, skip him on audio…there is something very lulling in the reader who does all of his stuff, and it makes me very sleepy.
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Shadow Divers is really great Jenn. Mr Chiot’s and I loved that (we listened to it on a drive somewhere once).
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I agree with the person above who recommend The Chronicles of Narnia series. As far as I’m concerned, they’re not just for children. I borrowed my parents’ awhile back (they originally bought them to listen to whilst driving around Ireland), and in addition to being great books, they are VERY well done in audio. It’s the kind of thing that you could listen to over and over again over the years. (I think you’re never too old for Narnia.)
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I really enjoyed “Heat.” It’s a nonfiction tale of what it’s like for a nonprofessional cook to work in restaurant kitchens with the masters. Very cool.
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If you liked Alexander McCall Smith’s Number One Ladies Detective Agency series you should try his other series:
The Sunday Philosophy Club- 5 books released, don’t know how many have made it to audio yet
44 Scotland Street- also 5 releases
Both are as entertaining and have the same endearing voice as the Detective series- just set in Scotland instead of Botswana! I dearly hope Mr. McCall Smith remains as prolific as he’s been the past few years.
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I’ll second the nomination of “World War Z”, but it’s by Max Brooks, not David Brooks. It is one of the best audiobooks I have ever heard. The story is engaging and the production quality is top notch.
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Right now I’m listening to Mary Roach’s _Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex_. It’s sometimes laugh out loud hilarious. I also recently listened to Salman Rushdie’s latest, _The Enchantress of Florence_ – the narrator has a few distracting vocal habits, but it’s a great story.
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I listen to a lot of books, because my job is data entry and I’d go insane if it weren’t for audio books. (I do check them out for free at the library though.)
The best one I heard all year was “A Dirty Job” by Christopher Moore. The narration was terrific, the story was hilarious, and the irony was outstanding. Just the dialog between the main character and his “mentor” Minty Fresh is worth the price of the book.
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The one I’m listening to right now is awesome. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. I’m telling everyone about it.
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I would highly recommend The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is one of the most exquisitely written books I’ve ever read and the narrator does an excellent job. It is being sold as a young adult novel in the U.S., but don’t be deceived. This book is a must-read (or listen!) for adults as well.
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The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Peter Jackson is making a movie from this one.
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I liked “The book of lost things” and
Since Christmas is around the corner if you are looking for some lite reading try “a Christmas Caroline”(Devil wears prada meets scrooge). I have heard both of these in audio format.
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It looks like you have plenty of recommendations but I have a few good ones. Sometimes great books are made incredible by who is reading them – Motherless Brooklyn performed by Steve Buscemi, To Kill a Mockingbird performed by Sissy Spacek, Everything is Illuminated by i don’t know but it is one of the funniest performances of great material ever. Other great (and well-performed) audio books I wholeheartedly recommend are: The English Passengers (funniest book on colonialism ever), Their Eyes Were Watching God, anything written and read by Toni Morrison, and The Known World (a recent masterwork). Enjoy!
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Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential. Great book and Anthony does a really good job reading it as well.
Also, The World is Flat – if you haven’t read it yet.
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This isn’t less money, but you could change your subscription to the one for 9.95 annually, your credits wouldn’t expire, and you could use them without pressure.
Just a different thought.
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