It’s been about a year since I started
dabbling in audiobooks and I’ve discovered some real gems. I love getting to
read at times when I usually wouldn’t: doing housework, walking, last thing at
night when I’m too tired to physically read. And I've actually ended up reading
some books I've been putting off for years. Here are some of my favourites.
The Secret History, Donna
Tartt
Read
by: Donna Tartt
Donna Tartt’s incredibly
well-loved debut was actually only the second audiobook I listened to and I was
blown away. The story of a group of classics students in a privileged
university in North America is compulsive, tense and atmospheric and I love,
love, loved it. Donna Tartt’s narration is also perfect for the tone of the
novel.
Read by: David Thorpe
Oh man,
this book… Though I'd had a physical copy of this on my shelves for a good few
years, I knew it was unlikely I'd get to it anytime soon. Am I glad I decided
to listen to it. This novel is beautiful from beginning to end. The story of
young Patroclus and Achilles from their first meeting to their tragic ending at
Troy is a complete delight and now I want to re-read it…
The Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon
Sanderson
Read
by: Michael Kramer
I was 100% intimidated by this
huge trilogy. Each books comes in at over 650 pages and though I'd heard
nothing but amazing things about this high fantasy where the magic system is
based on the powers given by swallowing metals. And I love it. Michael Kramer’s
narration is wonderful. Each of the characters has a slightly different accent
or voice that reflects their position and origins in the world and quite
possibly the best narration I've listened to so far.
Read by: Felicia Day
I'm a big
fan of Felicia Day. She's smart, funny and a bit of a hero for girls and women wanting
to strike out into geekdom. This memoir revealed a lot more about Felicia’s
mental health struggles and the rocky path to her career that I had never even
heard whispers of before. She's brutally honest about everything she discusses
without ever sounding dramatic or over the top and I came away from You’re Never Weird on the Internet rather
in love with Felicia.
The Help, Kathryn
Stockett
Read
by: Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer, Cassandra Campbell
I was told to read this years and
years ago by my mum and I finally got to it last year. Each of the three main
characters – Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny – were read beautifully and it didn’t take
me long to become completely absorbed in their story. I fell in love with all
of them and their distinctive senses of humour and I was surprised by the
violence of 1960s Mississippi.
Read by: Patricia Rodriguez
This debut
was one of my favourite books of last year. Small
Angry Planet is a soft, bumbling space opera about family, friendship, and
acceptance in the diversity of Ashby’s crew and the places that they visited. When
Rosemary joins the Wayfarer, a ship who builds wormholes, she doesn’t expect
much, but she slowly falls in love with her new life, and so did I.
The Martian, Andy
Weir
Read
by: RC Bray
I don’t really think The Martian needs any introduction, but I
was a little late to the party, bingeing it only in time to watch the film. It was
the first book in a while to genuinely make me laugh aloud. RC Bray has
exceptional comedic timing, delivering Mark Watney’s sass and witticisms so
perfectly and in a way that I can't imagine it being as successful in print.
What are your favourite
audiobooks? Are there any that I need to listen to immediately?
Sophie