While we love to curl up and read a good book, sometime sitting back and listening as a narrator transport you into the story is an enjoyable experience too! So, we’ve complied books that are even better when someone else is reading to you. Enjoy.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A book about a rock band from the 70s sounds like it would be an interesting listen, and Daisy and her band do not disappoint. Jennifer Beals, Benjamin Bratt, Judy Greer, and Pablo Schreiber, each take turns narrating the lives of the young adults on their way to stardom surrounded by money, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. Daisy Jones always wanted to be a singer, and by the time she was twenty, many people noticed her vocals and beauty. Then she meets a producer who paired her up with the Six, a band led by Billy Dunne. When they all connect, they’ll become one of the greatest bands around. But as they rocket to greatness, will they be able to handle problems that often follow the lifestyle of rock stars?
I’m Glad My Mom Died By Jennette McCurdy
Mother-daughter relationships aren’t always easy. But Jeannette McCurdy’s story takes the cake. In her memoir, she writes and narrates the details about her life with her mother from her childhood to adolescence and later as a young adulthood. From the age of six, Jeannette began acting because she knew it was her mother’s dream to see her become a star. Little did she know that the calorie-restrictive eating and all of the other strict habits brought on from her mother were harming her life and bringing on dangerous levels of anxiety, shame, and self-loathing. The death of her mother saved her life.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Claire Danes narrates this dystopian tale that includes issues of power, gender, and religious politics. Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, an oppressive and controlling entity that took over the world once terrorist attacked the President and original Congress members. She’s now serving in the house of a Commander and his bitter wife. Before, Offred had a husband and a daughter who she adored, now her life and the life of the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable.
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Who wouldn’t want to hear a former First Lady of the United States of America share her story about life, love, and what it took to establish herself as an advocate for women and girls everywhere. She shares her story as she lived it, from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to raising two daughters underneath the constant media scrutiny and the public and private triumphs and disappointments she’s encountered.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
When you have singer, songwriter, and creator of the hit musical Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, narrate your novel, it’s no wonder it would be a go-to audiobook to pick up. The story itself can hold its own as well. It tells about Aristotle and Dante, who on the outside are total opposites, but once they get to know each other, they discover a special bond that helps them define who they are meant to be.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Effia and Esi, are two half-sisters growing up in eighteenth-century Ghana but villages apart. Narrated by Dominic Hoffman, we hear the gripping story of one sister imprisoned in a castle’s dungeon, sold along with countless others into the Gold Coast’s booming slave trade, as the other marries into an Englishman’s family and lives in comfort at the Cape Coast Castle. The generations that follow each sister will experience everything from warfare in Ghana to the Great Migration to the Civil War, to the Jazz era, to twentieth-century Harlem.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby is an American classic, an oldie but a goodie, especially when Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal narrates it. The story takes on the journey of Nick Carraway, a bond salesman who rents a small house next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby. As Nick gets closer to Gatsby, he falls into the world of lavish West Egg parties and becomes the middleman to help Gatsby win over his one true love Daisy Buchanan.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter thought she had a handle on the two worlds she splits her time between. But soon, that balance shatters when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of the police. Bahni Turpin brings each character to life as she narrates this gut-wrenching tale of a teen who loses his life and Starr, who must endure the aftermath of it all.
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova
There’s just something about listening to magical stories that makes it better than reading. Frankie Corzo’s narrating the account of Marimar, Rey, and Rhiannon Montoya. The narrative switches back and forth to explain Orquídea Divina, and then her death, and when she later transforms into a ceiba tree. Seven years later, her descendants, the trio, begin to receive unexpected blessings and powers that comes with more questions than answers. And when their family line is in jeopardy, they’ll have to travel back ti their homeland to save the day.
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