Twelve Audio Books to Add to Your Library

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

I spent a lot of time in the car this year. And I am gearing up for another big road trip. For this book geek, car time = audio book time. Nothing keeps me awake and gives my driving buddy and I more to talk about than listening to a great book while we burn up the miles.

Choosing an audio book is a different game from choosing a book. The narrator makes a huge difference. And the narrator has to be exactly the right reader for that book. This person talks to you for hours. You have to enjoy their voice and the way they interpret the text.

Audible from Amazon is, in my opinion, the best source of audio books. They do not skimp on production or narrators. And this makes listening an experience that can almost rival reading — especially if you want to drive, walk, clean the house, or garden while you read.

Never tried it? You can get two free audio books by clicking right here.

Here are two of my favorite in-car audio books.

The Cold, Cold Ground

by Adrian McKinty, read by Gerard Doyle

This writer/narrator combo may be the best I’ve ever listened to. The Cold, Cold Ground is the first of McKinty’s Sean Duffy series. Great character, a setting that’s ominous and historically accurate. A few hours into a drive with McKinty and Doyle playing and we begin talking about Sean as if he was in the car with us and we are worried for his safety. (He does take too many risks.) More than entertainment, this entire series has kept us in the car longer and the characters have become part of our journey.

Heart of Darkness

by Joseph Conrad, read by Kenneth Brannagh

This is a classic and if you have somehow missed it up till now, this is the audio version to listen to. Brannagh is perfect. It is rare that listening to a book, in my opinion, is better than reading it. This is one of those cases. Did you love Apocalypse Now (the movie)? This is the source of that story. It is a descent into hell. It was probably on your high school or college reading list. Maybe you skipped it? Mistake! Remedy that now.

Audible’s Best of the Year List

Audible put together its annual Best of the Year earlier this year and it has some good suggestions, culled from audio books that received the best reviews and highest ratings from listeners and Audible’s team of editors in 2017. There are some good suggestions.