Best Books for Audio

I have a love-hate relationship with audiobooks but have found the best kinds to enjoy!

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My husband Joel’s nickname around town is “Audible,” not because of his love for it but because he hates audiobooks. His workout group (a men’s workout group called F3) nicknames people based on things they dislike, and while Joel loves books, he hates audiobooks.

I also have a love-hate relationship with audiobooks, but I have enough time in the car that I’ve worked at finding good ones. I’ve learned (like using an e-reader), there are only certain types of books you can listen to. You generally won’t be able to retain much of audiobooks, so if you listen to a non-fiction book, you will only get the general ideas. The best books to listen to are stories told well.

Here are some of the genres and books that work great on audio.

Comedy

Books written and read by comedians are the best audiobooks. Watch out if you listen in public like an airplane, because you will not be able to stop laughing the entire plane ride. Jerry Seinfeld’s is the BEST audiobook of all time.

• Dad Is Fat and Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan

• Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld

• Delete That: (And Other Failed Attempts to Look Good Online) by John Crist

• The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There by Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey (if you’re an Office fan)

• Jeeves & Wooster: The Collected Radio Dramas by P. G. Wodehouse

• How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told by: Harrison Scott Key

Memoirs

Another genre that is perfect for audio is memoir or autobiography. These are almost always read by the author as well, which is a huge plus.

• The Great Good Thing: A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ by Andrew Klavan

• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

• What Is a Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth About Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics by Rachael Denhollander

• Becoming by Michelle Obama

• My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas

• Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar Dillard and Becoming Free Indeed by Jinger Duggar Vuolo

Fiction Read Well

The caveat here is that you need a lot of listening time without much interruption to enjoy novels. If you are getting out of the car every ten minutes, you will forget what’s happening, but these are perfect for long car rides or a quiet evening.

Another caveat is that narrators do depend on personal taste. I absolutely love Jim Dale’s Harry Potter, but some don’t. And you start to recognize your favorite narrators and listen to them more. They will make or break the book on audio!

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (and series) by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, narrated by Nick Offerman

• Persuasion: An Audible Original Drama by Jane Austen, narrated by Florence Pugh, full cast (these versions are slightly abridged but dramatized and really fun!)

• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, narrated by Lesley Manville (I LOVED this narrator)

• 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith (or anything by him)

• The Maid: A Novel by Nita Prose – mysteries like this are great!

Easy self-help or non-fiction read by the author:

You have to be interested in the topic to want to hear about these topics for so many hours. I think it also helps to choose books that have some kind of narrative still, whether that’s the author’s story or some good history telling. Again, personal taste here, but here are some I’ve enjoyed.

• The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis - and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance by Ben Sasse

• I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time by Laura Vanderkam

• Finding Quiet: My Story of Overcoming Anxiety and the Practices That Brought Peace by J. P. Moreland

• C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity: A Biography by George M. Marsden

• Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport

• How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House's Dirty Little Secrets by Dana K. White – Any cleaning book will do when you’re cleaning!

Audiobooks take many more hours to listen to than read, but there are still a few reasons you might try them.

The quality and accessibility of audiobooks is incredible. You can get anything to listen to on your phone, and you want to ensure it’s worthwhile. A good editor and publisher can make a big difference in the quality of material rather than just a random podcast or YouTube video.

Many of us have lots of time in the car or doing menial tasks to enjoy a good story or gain interesting knowledge. I always try to make sure I have a good audiobook I can turn on during those times.