Top 10 Favorite Audiobooks This Year (So Far)

We’ve all faced the unexpected — let’s call them left turns — in life. Delia Ephron confronted several particularly sharp ones in rapid succession: the death of her sister (novelist and screenwriter Nora Ephron), the death of her husband of three decades, and a leukemia diagnosis. Along this circuitous route, she also fell head over heels in love again at age 72. Ephron’s story is alternately heart-wrenching, uplifting, witty, and contemplative. It made me cry sad and joyful tears! And her narration is its own gift — delivered in an everyday tone that made me feel like I was conversing with my friend Delia on a park bench, over a cup of tea, or on a series of morning walks.

Viola Davis had me at “Chapter One.” That voice! Unsurprisingly, this multi-award-winning actor’s narration of her life story remains a theatrical force throughout, and yet it recedes in focus due to the gritty strength of the shocking words and inspirational messages it brings to life. Davis calls the book “a love letter” to herself as she recounts her birth on a working planation in South Carolina, a traumatic childhood, her many experiences (personal and professional) with racism, and her hard- and well-earned success. After listening to the book — a 2023 Audie Award Winner for Best Audiobook of the Year and Best Narration by Author, hear more of Davis’s thoughts in this B&N Poured Over podcast episode.

This audiobook made me want to be Molly Shannon’s friend — to comfort her, to have deep talks and fun adventures with her, and, of course, to laugh with her. Shannon utilizes her acting talents to great effect here, immersing us in her tragic beginnings, surprising and not-so-surprising shenanigans, multi-layered relationship with her father, and ever-growing professional successes by using a full range of emotions. The gratifying result is that I now feel as if I know her beyond her on-screen characters — I’d call her up to take her to lunch if I had her number!

Even though contemporary mysteries are not my “go to” genre, I couldn’t wait for this 2-for-1 indulgence: a new novel by two legendary storytellers and its accompanying album, with song titles that evoke short stories themselves [my faves: “Big Dreams and Faded Jeans” and “Woman Up (And Take It Like a Man)”]. Set in Nashville (of course!), real-life singer and songwriter Kelsea Ballerini lends an authentic feel to the voice of AnnieLee, who is trying to make it big on her talent while escaping her past. And Parton conveys her well-known mix of sassiness and heart in the role of a beloved icon, who sees her younger self in AnnieLee and becomes her mentor, adding a heavy dose of female empowerment to a story of suspense and romance.

Audiobooks often feel like conversations, and none more so than this audio-only expanded edition of the 2017 bestseller On Tyranny. This is a must-read for anyone trying to understand the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Organized like a deep dive history course, this new version includes more than eight hours and 20 “lessons” of new content that links the war to the history of authoritarianism and to the potential future threat to democracy globally. It is narrated by the author, an acclaimed historian and frequent political commentator, in a clear, earnest, and conversational way, which helps to explain complex issues to non-experts.

This is the seventh installment of independent author Rosett’s fun and clever whodunit High Society Lady Detective series, which appeals to me as a lifelong fan of Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock, and any chance to enter the world of 1920s London. The well-paced, precise, and lighthearted narration fits the genre and time period perfectly, this time following our sophisticated sleuth, Olive Belgrave, as she investigates a missing dead body… or was there ever a dead body? Close your eyes, avoid any modern sounds of daily living, and you’ll feel as if you’re in front of an old-fashioned radio listening to a popular audio serial of 100 years ago. The books in the series do not have to be read in order, and I promise that once you read one, you’ll want to follow all of Olive’s plot-twisting early 20^th-century adventures. 

I got the chills listening to Julian Rhind-Tutt imbue mystery and unsettling deliberateness into almost every word of this story of a non-verbal teen orphan uncovering family secrets. V.E. Schwab retains her hallmarks of a strong female lead character, an atmosphere imbued with creepiness, the presence of ghosts and demons, and a blurry boundary between life and death in this young adult modern gothic tale. 

Initially I thought, “Hmmm … Another 11-year-old with special powers. Another school of magic. Another fantasy world where kids seek ways to solve mysteries while trying to live up to family expectations and responsibilities.” But this is different and truly marvellous! It creates a vivid world that embraces magical traditions from many sources, addressing the power in respecting and championing individuals’ and communities’ differences. The spirited narration captures Ella Durand, a Black Conjuror from New Orleans, and her truly diverse group of classmates as eager, questioning, vulnerable, uninformed, loyal, curious, and resilient; in other words: as everything real kids truly are. And the adventure itself is exhilarating, filled with twists and turns. The best thing about The Marvellers? It’s just the first in a series.