If you like audiobooks and have some long summer travel ahead of you, we’ve put together a recommendation list with the help of the folks at Libro.fm: SBTB’s Summer Travel Audiobook Recs!
We’ve got nonfiction, romance (of course) of many subgenres, plus science fiction, fantasy, YA, and mysteries.
I particularly liked Marple, the anthology of twelve new mysteries about Miss Marple, all narrated by different experts like Adjoa Andoh, Alex Kingston, and Alison Steadman. But whatever you’re looking for, we’ve got suggestions!
For example, if you want an entire series with outstanding narration: the Veronica Speedwell series, narrated by Angele Masters, starting with A Curious Beginning.
Another series I can re-listen to, an exception to many of my reading tendencies: the Peter Grant series, narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, starting with Midnight Riot aka Rivers of London.
And, of course, Murderbot.
Kiki: I definitely agree that a series is a fantastic way to go for a road trip! I’d recommend the Brides of Karadok series by Alice Coldbreath which takes place in a fictional medieval setting (p.s. more of these please! I love a historical that takes place in a fake place). The first one is Wed by Proxy.
Also I listened to a bunch of the MacKenzie series by Jennifer Ashley earlier this year and those are fantastic audiobooks, although maybe they are for when you are alone in the car.
In the nonfiction direction: all of Samantha Irby’s books! They’re essays so it’s easy to listen in small bursts.
Shana: I really liked the audiobooks for both Love Radio and Honey and Spice. I feel like the narrators were compulsively listenable and just hit the accents perfectly.
Tara: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is amazing in audio.
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe is also an excellent nonfiction. It’s all about the family behind Purdue Pharma and the opioid crisis, so be prepared to get mad.
Susan: The narrator of the Ancillary Justice series, Adjoa Andoh, is amazing. The songs are an important part of One Esk’s narrative and she is great at them.
Sarah: OOPS. I forgot to add one book recommended by Tara (Sorry Tara!!): “It’s a little dry at points, but I often found Anderson Cooper’s book Vanderbilt fascinating, if you like non-fiction.”
Libro.fm’s SWITCH promotion has also been extended through June: if you use code SWITCH you’ll get two free audiobooks with a new monthly membership!
But if a membership isn’t for you, they also have a sale going on, which includes The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles, and The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen.
And Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. And Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman.
And The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. This sale looks dangerously tempting to me. Oh, dear.
Picking an audiobook for a long car ride can be a challenge, especially if there are a few people in the car with you.
I’d love to know which of the books in our Summer Travel Audiobook Recommendations you agree with, and what audiobooks you recommend for long layovers, long drives, or a long afternoon relaxing in the sun.
Ilona Andrews audio books by Graphic Audio. The novels are dramatized. Start with the Innkeeper series. They are working on Kate Daniels as well.
I listen to a LOT of audiobooks. My favorites are the Psy/Changeling series by Nalini Singh or any of her contemporary romances in the Rock Kiss or Hard Play series. I also love to listen and relisten to any of Julie Garwood’s books. I am just finishing The Secret now and planning another Ransom listen. They are comfort reads for me.
I really like the Graphic Audio full cast version of the Innkeeper Series by Ilona Andrews. They add some sound effects, so it’s pushing a little more towards adaptation, although I think the text is the same.
I see they also have a full cast audio of Muderbot that I would like to try.
My son and I enjoyed listening to the audiobook of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell on a cross-country road trip. The narrator is excellent. The story and style may not be for everyone, but as they say, if it’s the kind of thing you like, you’ll like it!
@SandyH & Steph: I didn’t realize there was a full cast production of the Innkeeper series – or if I did know my brain did not hold onto that information. Thank you! And they’re in Hoopla! WOO!!
I love the Scholomance dark academia fantasy series by Naomi Novik (first is A Deadly Education) and the Thursday Murder Club mystery series by Richard Osman on audiobook. They were very immersive.
I can recommend the Peter Shandy mystery series by Charlotte MacLeod as a good, family friendly, non-demanding listen. It’s the coziest of cosies with a smidge of wackiness because it’s set at an idealized Ag college. I love Charlotte MacLeod’s books because they’re witty.
I love the Graphic Audio productions! Started with the Innkeeper books, already mentioned. I’m currently listening to their version of Red Rising by Pierce Brown – so good. I usually get audiobooks from the library (and my library has few GraphicAudio books sadly) but recently discovered Spotify has quite a few GA audiobooks.
Second the Murderbot recommendation, enthusiastically. I have re-listened to a couple of those books because the narrator hits the perfect tone.
I liked the narrator of the Lady Sherlock books by Sherry Thomas too.
I heartily second the Rivers of London/Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronvitch in audio. The stories a fun and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, is superb at narration. He gives all the characters such personality just from the voices.
The Hidden Legacy and the Kate Daniels series are both fun and well narrated by Renee Radumann. I find Raudmann hit or miss and she is not great with accents, but she gives both Kate and Nevada a nice tough girl edge.
Perfect summertime light hearted fare is Dragon Heist by Alexander Kane. The narration by Khristine Hvam is fantastic.
I like Kasha Kensington’s narration of Shelly Laurenston’s Magnus Pack series.
Mary Robinette Kowal has written and narrated two wildly different series, both of which I love: the Glamourist Histories (Regency historical fantasy) and the Lady Astronaut series (alternate-history sci-fi.) Kowal is a talented writer and a skilled professional audiobook narrator. She also has the stand-alone sci-fi mystery The Spare Man, which is a nod to The Thin Man.
Susanna Kearsley is one of my favorite historical fiction authors. Her books are luminous and meticulously researched. The publisher has done a good job choosing narrators, too. I’m currently listening to The Winter Sea for the third time; it is read by Rosalyn Landor. The Firebird, A Desperate Fortune, Bellwether, and The Vanished Days are all good, too. Kearsley has a backlist that goes further back than The Winter Sea, but I haven’t read most of the earlier books yet, with the exception of The Shadowy Horses which ties in with The Firebird; I recommend that one as well.
If you are of a mind to listen to a very long but superbly written fantasy, check out The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, read by Nick Podehl. Fair warning, though: Book 2 (The Wise Man’s Fear is equally long and nearly as good, but it came out in 2011 and we are still waiting for book 3.
I concur with Kiki’s recommendation regarding audio version of Jennifer Ashley’s Mackenzies series. Definitely a good listen, but not necessarily for a mixed audience. In terms of series, I enjoyed Sara Donati’s Wilderness series, which is narrated by Kate Reading. There are 6 books and it is a big sweeping historical fiction series, so it will cover a lot of driving time. If you like Kate Reading as a narrator, she also reads most of Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series and makes the American, British and French accents throughout, believable.
Another series that I enjoyed was the Discovery of Witches trilogy, narrated by Jennifer Ikeda. I thought she did a great job with the different voices.
I’m currently listening to one of Julie Anne Long’s Palace of Rogues books. Justine Eyre is the narrator. I’ve listened to several of them and I think that she narrates the entire series.
Two very different memoirs that I’ve enjoyed are Jen Psaki’s ‘Say More” and Liz Cheney’s “Oath and Honor.” Very different books, but both of the women narrate their books and are compelling narrators.
Thanks for this post, I’m always looking for new audiobook narrators and this gives me some good leads.