The Audio Was Better.

In many of my book reviews and recommendations I suggest that you try the audio version.  Audiobooks allow us to move through our reading lists more quickly; we can “read’ while performing tedious tasks. Stories have been passed down orally for millennia. We have mouths and ears. We are supposed to tell and we are built to listen.  Most libraries have a well-rounded selection, and Librivox offers many titles free. See the list below for some books which this bookseller believes are better heard than read:

itle	Author	Narrator	Genre(s)	Why audio?
Once Upon a River	Diane Setterfield	Juliet Stevenson	Magical Realism / British Literature	The voice of a storyteller with an unhurried pace
Lincoln in the Bardo	George Saunders	Star-studded cast including Rainn Wilson, Nick Offerman, and many more	American Literary Fiction / Magical Realism	Look at the names in the cast of actors; this is more than an audiobook.
The Member of the Wedding	Carson McCullers	Susan Sarandon	Southern Fiction / Coming of Age	Susan Sarandon’s southern accent lends atmosphere.
Heft	Liz Moore	Keith Szarabajka, Kirby Heyborne	American Literary Fiction	Striking contrast between the two narrators lighlights the kindness of an unlikely hero.
Anything by David Sedaris	David Sedaris	David Sedaris	Humor, sometimes explicit	His books are funny to read, but Sedaris’ voice is necessary for full belly-laughs.
Anything by Liane Moriarty	Liane Moriarty	Caroline Lee	Chick lit	Lee’s Australian accented-voice is the perfect medium for Moriarty’s chick-lit drama.
Merrily Watkins Series	Phil Rickman	Emma Powell (first narrator was Rebecca Lacey)	Gothic/Crime Fiction/Mildly Parnormal/Ghost Stories	Emma Powell’s quiet, measured delivery evokes full moons and candles.
Flavia de Luce Series	Alan Bradley	Jayne Entwistle	Period British Cozy Mystery	Entwistle captures Flavia’s mischevious nature perfectly.
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Series	Louise Penny	Ralph Cosham, Robert Brathurst	Crime fiction / Cozy Mystery	Cosham passed in 2014; he was the original – and perfect – voice of the courtly Armand Gamache; Robert Brathurst is a worthy replacement.
The Murmer of Bees	Sofia Segovia (translated by Simon Bruni)	Xe Sands, Angelo Di Loreto	Magical Realism	Just like Julie Stevenson, these narrators bring life to the characters and set the perfect pace for a good story.
The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England and The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England	Ian Mortimer	Jonathan Keeble, Mike Grady	British History	History can be a dry read for some; these books, focused on social history, are narrated with an informal wamth that keeps the reader’s interest.