Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Audiobooks to Try Even If You Think You Don’t Like Audiobooks
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is audiobook freebie. Now in year’s past, I’ll be honest — I probably would have skipped this topic because audiobooks have historically been a struggle for me. I’d lose track of what I’m listening to because I was trying to listen to them while I was working or else I’d just zone out because the narration was too slow for me. It always bummed me out because I loved the idea of audiobooks and everyone else I know seems to love them. Well, this past year, something finally clicked with me and now I can’t get enough of them. Instead of trying to listen to them while I’m at work, now I listen to them in the car, or while doing chores, or even in the evenings just before I’m ready to go to sleep. I also changed up the genres I was trying on audio and found that contemporaries were the best fit overall for me. Technology helped quite a bit too. Now that I can get audiobooks as mp3 files, I can speed up the narration to 1.25x, which really helps keep me focused on what I’m listening to.
Below are ten audiobooks that I’ve really enjoyed this past year. If you’re struggling to get into audiobooks, I’d definitely recommend giving any of these a try. I thought that the stories themselves were very compelling and that the narration in each case really added so much to the stories. I was an especially big fan of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. The audio version just really helped make Evelyn seem larger than life.
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10 Audiobooks to Try Even If You Think You Don’t Like Audiobooks
THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid
CRAZY RICH ASIANS by Kevin Kwan
WHAT IF IT’S US by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater
CATWOMAN: SOULSTEALER by Sarah J. Maas
I HAVE LOST MY WAY by Gayle Forman
LOVE & GELATO by Jenna Evans Welch
GIRL OUT OF WATER by Laura Silverman
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS by Agatha Christie
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Do you enjoy audiobooks? Have you listened to any of these?
I love listening to audiobooks and always have one in play. I’ve two of the books above on my TBR audiobook shelf.
I hope you enjoy them both when you get to them. 🙂
I loved the audio version of The Raven Boys. Another favourite is A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue.
Ooh, I would love to do a re-read of The Gentleman’s Guide on audio. That would be so much fun!
I need to try Evelyn Hugo and I Have Lost my Way as audio rereads. I will definitely check out the other now too!
The Evelyn Hugo is actually my favorite audiobook so far. It was just perfect!
Yes to Murder on the Orient Express! Dan Stevens was an awesome narrator!
Right? Loved him!
There are audios I’ve heard are fantastic and I really DO want to listen to them; I just haven’t been able to focus well enough so far. Maybe I need to try some of these other titles. Thanks for the suggestions!
-Lauren
If you haven’t tried speeding them up a little, I’d definitely recommend doing that. It helped me focus so much.
I tried audio once and gave up, but it’s a goal of mine to really get into it. I love this list and I’ll keep it handy for when I’m ready to try again!
Audio definitely seems to work best for me with contemporaries and thrillers. I struggled a bit when I tried them with fantasy and sci fi.
Great list. Sometimes I want to pick up a book and just do not have time. Nowadays there’s always and audio, which is a great help when moving around.
Right? I love listening to them while I’m doing things like driving, washing dishes, or folding laundry.
I almost added Catwoman to my list this week too! The narrator did such a great job with that book. Great list!
Thanks!
I need to look into the Agatha Christie audio. My husband is a big fan of Agatha.
That’s the only one of hers I’ve tried on audio, but it worked really well for me.
I’ve been seeing The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo a lot this week, I also picked it, I mean it is a pretty awesome experience for your ears and brain 🙂 Happy listening!
I’ve been seeing Evelyn Hugo everywhere too and I’m not at all surprised. I haven’t read that many audiobooks yet, but that one is definitely my favorite so far.
I’ve always struggled with audiobooks, even in the car. I will have to find one of these books and try it out again.
Contemporaries seem to work best for me. I was really struggling with them when I tried to use them for fantasy and sci-fi.
I’m not a massive audiobook reader, I just prefer physical books but I am making it a point to try more audiobooks this year.
I was like that for the longest time too. They definitely work better for me with some genres, like contemporaries and thrillers, than they do with others like fantasy.
I used to shy away from audiobooks too, but they’ve been growing in me lately. To me, narration (and the narrator) is the most important part, aside from the story. If they can make it engaging and fun, then I’m in for the ride.
Here are my fave audio picks: https://dinaratengri.com/2019/03/all-we-hear-is-audio-ga-ga/
I agree about the narration. It can definitely make or break an audiobook experience for me.
What do you think changed in your life to make you enjoy audiobooks? I’ve never been able to get into them.
My Top Ten Tuesday post.
I think it was mainly being willing to experiment with them. I want to listen to them at work to help pass the time but learned I retained nothing I listened to that way because I was so focused on my work. Now I listen to them while doing more mindless things like driving, washing dishes, folding laundry, etc.
I’m currently listening to The Raven Boys and I’m not really enjoying it. I blame it on the poor choice of actor, Will Patton, as a narrator. I’m struggling, but I have ways to go, so I have to see how I fell at the end.
Sorry to hear that. I quite enjoyed that narrator.
I’m glad you’re able to listen to audiobooks now. I agree that speeding them up is key. I just added Girl Out of Water to my Hoopla favorites because of this post. 🙂
Oh cool, I hope you enjoy it!
Oooo, great list!! I am an avid audiobook listener and almost enjoy listening to audiobooks more than reading books.
Here’s a link to my TTT post: https://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2019/03/top-ten-tuesday-audiobook-freebie-my.html?showComment=1553617757328#c4963295880076597634
I just started really getting into them but my appreciation for them just grows and grows.
I actually listened to the whole Crazy Rich Asian series, and I really enjoyed the narration. I think I should count myself lucky, because I have a feeling there were a lot of words in the text I would not have been able to pronounce,
I definitely plan to continue that series on audio as soon as the next book is available at the library.
Maybe speeding them up would work for me, since I’ve struggled with audio too. And I have the same problem, I get distracted. Love & Gelato and Girl Out of Water both seem like they’d be good on audio though! And Orient Express too with the right accents or narrators, I imagine!
Yes, the narrator for Murder on the Orient Express is great with the accents. That was my favorite part, lol.
I have to say I am pretty shocking at listening to audiobooks. Firstly my brain seems to wander and secondly I find I just don’t have TIME to sit and listen! My commutes are too short or are with a preschooler (who either needs to chat herself or can’t listen to some of the books I would listen to) so my only listening times are when I’m by myself on a long drive which apparently doesn’t happen very often since I’ve been listening to HP7 for oh… YEARS. Gah! Thankfully it’s a reread!
However! I do want to read some of the books you’ve mentioned above so maybe one day when I can put more time into audiobooks I’ll eventually get there!
I can’t imagine trying to listen to them with a preschooler running about, lol.
I’m the same, kinda. I couldn’t deal with audiobooks before cuz I just got distracted, but now I enjoy them while doing certain other things 🙂 I haven’t listened to any of these particular ones, but I’m glad you’ve found some great ones! Finding the right genre and narrators can make all the difference.
It really can. Once I started using them for some of my contemporary reads, something just finally clicked with me.
Evelyn Hugo was *excellent* on audio! I thought the narrator for Evelyn in particular just owned that character and really brought her to life.
I agree with everything you said about the narrator for Evelyn Hugo. I thought it was brilliant!
I love audiobooks! But I haven’t listened to any of the ones on your list 🙁 Though The Raven Boys has been on my TBR forever haha so maybe I will listen to it instead of reading it! Thanks 🙂
I’m becoming more and more of a fan of them. 🙂
I didn’t know that I have Lost my Way was also very good in audiobooks Suzanne! I “just” read it but I loved it so much!
That one was such a great read for me. I need to read more of Forman’s books.
I have already read Crazy Rich Asians, but your post has me thinking I should listen to the next book in the series.
I definitely plan to continue the series on audio. It’s a fun listen. 🙂
Thank you for this useful article – I’ve recently joined in listening to audiobooks and thoroughly enjoy them – not to mention how much better they are for my mental health. I no longer listen to the dreadful News on Radio 4…
I’m glad you’re enjoying them too. I agree about them being good for mental health too as I love listening to them in the evenings instead of turning on the news.
I really enjoyed The Raven Boys series and I actually listened to some of the books on audio. They were pretty good! Great list.
Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian
I’m waiting for the second book to be available at the library now. I’m looking forward to continuing the series on audio.
I listen at 1,2x speed too! It just works better for me 🙂 And totally agree about Evelyn Hugo, that was a fantastic audiobook!
So glad to find someone else who loved the Evelyn Hugo audiobook. It’s my favorite so far.