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:
| Title | Author | Narrator | Genre(s) | Why audio? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Once Upon a River | Diane Setter-field | Juliet Steven-son | Magical realism / British literature | Lovely voice, unhurried pace |
| Lincoln in the Bardo | George Saunders | Rainn Wilson, Nick Offerman, and others | Literary fiction | Don’t miss this star-studded performance. |
| The Member of the Wedding | Carson McCullers | Susan Sarandon | Southern fiction / Coming of Age | Authentic reading lends mood. |
| Heft | Liz Moore | Keith Szara-bajka, Kirby Heyborne | American literary fiction | Narrators highlight the kindness of an unlikely hero. |
| Anything by David Sedaris | David Sedaris | David Sedaris | Humor, explicit | Sedaris’ voice causes full belly-laughs. |
| Anything by Liane Moriarty | Liane Moriarty | Caroline Lee | Chick lit | Perfect voice for this chick-lit drama. |
| Merrily Watkins Series | Phil Rickman | Emma Powell (first narrator was Rebecca Lacey) | Spooky cozy mystery | Quiet delivery evokes full moons and candles. |
| Flavia de Luce Series | Alan Bradley | Jayne Entwistle | Period British cozy mystery | Entwistle captures Flavia’s spirit perfectly. |
| Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Series | Louise Penny | Ralph Cosham, Robert Brathurst | Cozy crime fiction | Cosham passed in 2014; Brathurst is a worthy successor. |
| The Murmur of Bees | Sofia Segovia (translated by Simon Bruni) | Xe Sands, Angelo Di Loreto | Magical realism | Narrators bring life to the story and set the perfect pace. |
| The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England and The Time Traveler’s Guide to Eliza-bethan England | Ian Mortimer | Jonathan Keeble, Mike Grady | British history | Narrated with an informal wamth that keeps the reader’s interest. |