The 18 Best Audiobooks

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, read by Tom Hanks

Ann Patchett hardly needs an introduction, but in case you need to make acquaintance with this Pen/Faulkner Award recipient, the Nashville-based author makes the crafts of memoir, short stories, and novels look effortless. 

Her frills-free prose delivers human truths without preaching—especially in her fiction—and her multidimensional writing makes you feel like you’re sitting beside the characters. A 2020 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, The Dutch House, weaves an intricate tale of siblings residing in a grand manor in the post-WWII Philadelphia suburbs before being exiled to poverty. Taking place over the course of five decades, Tom Hanks will make you want to zoom through the tale in just as many sittings. 

If you like this, try Patchett’s 2023 New York Times bestseller Tom Lake, narrated by Meryl Streep.

Listen on Audible here.

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, read by Dion Graham

Teleport yourself to the thrumming energy of uptown NYC in the late 1950s and early 1960s in this captivating read (well, listen) by Colson Whitehead, a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author. 

The plot comprises three trials and tribulations of furniture salesman Ray Carney, a 125th street staple in Harlem’s vibrant milieu. Whitehead's narrative tackles themes of morality, race, and power masterfully, while seamlessly crafting a love letter to Harlem in each story’s arc. 

It's part family drama (Ray and his wife Elizabeth have one child with another on the way and Ray’s in-laws aren’t his biggest fans) and part crime novel capturing a shady underbelly of “uptown hoods and crooks.” Good luck hitting pause.

Listen on Audible here. 

A Quiet Life in 7 Steps, written and narrated by Susan Cain

If you're looking for help finding your place of calm, this four-and-a-half-hour listen covers a lot of ground: how to minimize frequent sources of stress, how to slow down, tips for forging more meaningful connections (even as an introvert), and more. 

This Audible Original is a particularly great choice if you want a self-help book that gives you plenty of actionable tidbits you can incorporate into your own life, vs. those of the sit and contemplate variety.

Listen on Audible here. 

The Exchange: After the Firm by John Grisham, read by Edoardo Ballerini

John Grisham aficionados perk up your ears–literally. Narrated by The Sopranos’ actor Edoardo Ballerini, The Exchange is an Amazon No. 1 bestseller in legal thrillers as well as a New York Times chart-topper. This story features The Firm’s leader Mitch McDeere making an encore, this time as a partner at the world’s largest law firm in New York City. The suspenseful tome involves a mentor from Rome requesting quite the favor with dangerous repercussions hanging in the balance.

Listen on Audible here.

Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted, written and narrated by Suleika Jaouad

Whether you know Suleika Jaouad from her 2019 critically acclaimed TED Talk, “What Almost Dying Taught Me About Living” or from the 2023 Netflix documentary American Symphony–her Between Two Kingdoms is hands-down one of the best memoirs in recent years. In this powerful story, Jaouad covers her diagnosis and experience with acute myeloid leukemia with poise, deep insight, and humor.

Listen on Spotify here.

Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other by Sam Heughan, Graham McTavish, Charlotte Reather, and Diana Gabaldon, read by Graham McTavish, Sam Heughan, Diana Gabaldon

In this entertaining and enlightening roadtrip audiobook, Outlander stars and Scottish authors Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish cavort around their native lands from Glencoe to Inverness and the Culloden Battlefield. 

Yes, whisky is just as much a character as any of the fascinating people they meet along the way. Winner of the 2022 Audie Award for Best History/Biography Audiobook, you’ll actually learn a thing or two about Scottish history and culture on the road with these highlanders.

Listen on Spotify here.

Better Life Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World, written and narrated by Christian Cooper

Writer and self-described "Blerd" Christian Cooper may have risen to national prominence following a disturbing incident in Central Park, but this book intimately acquaints us with the man behind the now infamous video. Here, Cooper welcomes us to his love of avian species, takes us globetrotting, and shares some of “the unexpected lessons you can learn from a life spent looking up” with his keen observations on life. 

Accompanied by bird audio from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, you’ll want to listen to this one while looking through a pair of binoculars.

Listen on Spotify here.

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice, read by Billy Merasty

This post-apocalyptic thriller was penned by Waubgeshig Rice, an Anishinaabe author and journalist from Canada. The indigenous writer whisks you away to a rural First Nation community cut off from society. The inventive story documents power struggles and desperation that ensues while on an unexpected path to salvation.

Listen on Spotify here.

Nowhere for Very Long: The Unexpected Road to an Unconventional Life, written and read by Brianna Madia

“I believe the truth of how we become who we are is layered. Not like onions, but like earth. Traceable at the surface, but tumultuous beneath. Tectonic plates of our pasts shifting violently, or more often subtly, causing great rumbling disruptions in the identities we think we’ve mapped so well.” Words like those are written to be read out loud and outdoors. Listening to Brianna Madia's enthralling memoir retelling her desert escapades through the American West in an orange van is an enthralling soundtrack for adventure.

Listen on Spotify here.

The Maintenance Race by Stewart Brand, read by Richard Seyd

Through this Audible Original, be a fly on the wall when nine competitors attempt to circumnavigate the globe solo by sailboat. Inspired by the true story of the 1968-1969 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, get to know the racers, their foibles, and their victories. 

It’s a quick listen at under an hour, but you’ll come away from this book with new insights on how to approach the art of maintenance in your own life in matters big and small.

Listen on Audible here. 

Climbing With Mollie, written and narrated by William Finnegan

Longtime surfer William Finnegan does a sports pivot when his young daughter takes to rock climbing. Together, they take on technically challenging climbs, pushing themselves to their physical limits and deepening their father-daughter bond from every chalking to come-down. 

This Audible Original is equal parts proverbial page-turner and touching memoir, and a poignant reminder to always face fear head-on.

Listen on Audible here. 

The Other Animals, written and narrated by Daniel Mallory Ortberg, Ken Liu, R. Eric Thomas, Lulu Miller, Shruti Swamy, Max McClure, Kaeli Swift, Kelly Weinersmith

If you like short stories and are intrigued by the animal kingdom, you’ll appreciate this collection of eight pieces written by scientists, writers, and comics. Each short story comes from the POV of a somewhat maligned animal, say, a whale becoming enamored by a song, or a vulture on the brink of attack.

Listen on Audible here.

Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, written and narrated by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Living legend Arnold Schwarzenegger has achieved New York Times bestseller status with this practical guide to crafting a better version of you. In his deep and gritty signature timbre, you’ll hear the actor and politico share anecdotes from his personal life that build the foundation for his “tool kit for a meaningful life.” Plus, you’ll learn how to overcome roadblocks, communicate with others more effectively, and solve problems with confidence.

Listen on Spotify here. 

Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity by Peter Attia, MD, with Bill Gifford, read by Peter Attia, MD

You may have seen folks on the subway, park benches, or in airport lounges reading this book. Now it’s your turn. Except, take in this tome in audio format. As the book’s title implies, you’ll be schooled in all things longevity by physician and longevity expert Dr. Peter Attia, MD, host of “The Drive” podcast. Meticulously researched strategies in the physical, cognitive, and emotional health arenas will help you create a plan for a longer, healthier life.

Listen on Audible here. 

MeatEater's American History: The Long Hunters (1761-1775) by Steven Rinella, read by Steven Rinella and Clay Newcomb

This January 2024 release is from the creators of the New York Times bestselling audio collection Campfire Stories: Close Calls is every bit as nail-biting and riveting. The six-hour-long audiobook describes the lives of eighteenth-century American frontiersmen, the Long Hunters, who count legendary figures like Daniel Boone and Henry Skaggs among them. 

After concluding their daring jaunts, you’ll have a whole new level of appreciation for the backwoods adventurers of old.

Listen on Spotify here. 

Playing to Win, written and narrated by Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis, the author of nonfiction smash hits like The Big Short and Moneyball writes and reads this Audible Original that raises alarms on the competitive world and economics of girls softball. Motivated by the anxiety he has over his own daughters’ obsession with softball, this deep dive considers the intricacies of the sport from a whole new vantage point.

Listen on Audible here. 

The Big Melt: A Journey to Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier, written and narrated by Jeff Goodell

Do you know why Antarctic ice sheets are a harbinger of climate change? Do you know what it's like to hear the Thwaites Glacier breaking? Ever wonder what it’d be like to spend two months at one of the least visited places on earth? Journalist and Rolling Stone contributing editor Jeff Goodell answers all of these questions in this illuminating Audible Original made in partnership with Columbia Journalism Review’s Covering Climate Change initiative.

Listen on Audible here.

This Is Salvaged, written by Vauhini Vara, read by Deepa Samuel

If you’re in the mood for escaping your own storylines for a while, immerse yourself in the vivid worlds depicted in this collection of short stories by Pulitzer Prize finalist Vauhini Vara. Fans of her debut novel, The Immortal King Rao will appreciate her imagination and sense of escapism. With This Is Salvaged, get ready for an anthology that will remind you to cherish life’s strange little moments and be in awe of the big ones.

Listen on Audible here.