There are plenty of top lists for ebooks that are coming out this time of year, but seldom does anyone focus exclusively on audiobooks. The format is the fastest growing segment in digital publishing and the all of the major publishers are bullish on the format. Libro.fm has just posted their top 10 list and it includes many of the top best sellers that dominated the digital audio charts this year and they are available just not on Libro, but also Audible, Kobo Audiobooks and Google Audiobooks.
Educated A Memoir By Tara Westover
Narrated by Julia Whelan / 12 hours 9 minutes
“Tara Westover is barely 30; could she really write a necessary and timely memoir already? Absolutely. Raised largely ‘off the grid’ in rural Idaho – without school, doctor visits, a birth certificate, or even a family consensus on the date of her birth – Tara nevertheless decides she wants to go to college. This is a story in two parts: First, Tara’s childhood working in a dangerous scrapyard alongside her six siblings, her survivalist father, and her mother, a conflicted but talented midwife and healer, while fearing Y2K and the influence of the secular world; then, her departure from her mountain home to receive an education. Both halves of her story are equally fascinating. Educated is a testament to Tara’s brilliance and tenacity, a bittersweet rendering of how family relationships can be cruel or life-saving, and a truly great read from the first page to the last.”
Calypso By David Sedaris
Narrated by David Sedaris / 6 hours 38 minutes
“If there is a “King of Audiobooks”, it has to be David Sedaris. The absolute best way to enjoy the writing of Sedaris is to hear him perform it. Not only is his voice rather odd, immediately putting you in a mood to giggle, but he is such an effortless performer it’s impossible not to get caught up in his world. And what a world! In his latest, and indisputably most accomplished, work to date, he takes us on his journey through midlife: the betrayals of the body, the loss, the wear and tear on long relationships. I found myself shedding tears for his heartbreaking regrets and laughing so hard I had to pull my car over at his observances of the absurdities of everyday life.”
Circe By Madeline Miller
Narrated by Perdita Weeks / 12 hours 8 minutes
“This remarkable journey into mythology brings the ancient gods directly and viscerally into the present. Circe is a perfect mashup of elegant language, glorious storytelling, and exquisitely modern sensibilities. Miller’s telling left me awed and moved by Circe and her story, all while wishing I could invite her over for a glass of wine on the porch. How this amazing author so perfectly melds the human and the divine, creating a story both immediate and epic, is dazzling.”
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer By Michelle McNamara
Narrated by Gabra Zackman, Gillian Flynn & Patton Oswalt / 9 hours 45 minutes
“An overwhelmingly obsessed Michelle McNamara dissects the decades old trail of tragedy, trauma and ongoing taunts by the elusive East Area Rapist in her investigative crime thriller “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” published posthumously after her unexpected demise. Dubbed the “Golden State Killer” by McNamara herself, his crime spree started with 50 unsolved rapes before escalating to numerous murders leaving terrorized California residents tense for ten years. A determined McNamara meticulously researches this reign of terror with such precision it’s sure to pry this perpetrators identity out of obscurity and into justice, a suitable ending for this authors’ life.”
There There By Tommy Orange
Narrated by Darrell Dennis, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Alma Cuervo & Kyla Garcia / 7 hours 59 minutes
“There There is the kind of book that grabs you from the start and doesn’t let go, even after you’ve turned the last page. It is a work of fiction, but every word of it feels true. Tommy Orange writes with a palpable anger and pain, telling the history of a cultural trauma handed down through generations in the blood and bones and stories of individual lives. He also writes with incredible heart and humor, infusing his characters with a tangible humanity and moments of joy even as they are headed toward tragedy. There There has claimed a permanent spot in my heart despite having broken it, or maybe because it did. I think this may be the best book I’ve ever read.”
Children of Blood and Bone Legacy of Orisha: Book #1 By Tomi Adeyemi
Narrated by Bahni Turpin / 17 hours 44 minutes
“A sprawling fantasy teeming with deep and meaningful magic. One of the things I like most about this debut is that it raises very real and important issues of our time through multiple character’s perspectives. No character is one-dimensional, and every character must learn from failure and introspection to become who they were meant to be.”
An American Marriage By Tayari Jones
Narrated by Sean Crisden & Eisa Davis / 8 hours 59 minutes
“Tayari Jones comes in fierce with An American Marriage. Delving into the lives of the newly married Roy and Celestial, this is a novel that pulls no punches from beginning to end. I won’t ruin the surprise, but they’re hit with a harrowing event that will define not only their relationship, but each of their lives, forever. Writing with an intensity and pace worthy of Donna Tartt, Jones yanks us into her characters’ lives with a grip that never lets up. I cannot wait to put this in people’s hands!”
Barracoon The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” By Zora Neale Hurston
Narrated by Robin Miles / 3 hours 49 minutes
“Barracoon would be a significant document were it only about Cudjo (Kossola) Lewis, the last survivor of the last recorded slave ship to the US. His memories, recounted orally, preserve a trans-atlantic history that has long-been suppressed. But Barracoon is also a story about Zora Neale Hurston, the Harlem Renaissance, and the reclamation of African-American folklore. Woven throughout Hurston and Lewis’ conversations is a yearning for roots and a fight for identity.”
The Woman in the Window By A. J. Finn
Narrated by Ann Marie Lee / 13 hours 41 minutes
“The Woman in the Window is being touted as one of the hottest releases of early 2018, and with excellent reason. A modern take on Hitchcock’s Rear Window, with many nods to classic noir film, A.J. Finn’s debut novel is told through the eyes of a narrator trapped inside her beautiful house by a severe case of agoraphobia and separated from her estranged husband and young daughter. She copes with her condition by spying on her neighbors and living vicariously through their drama, until the night she witnesses what appears to be a murder and finds herself swept up in its wake. Once this story gets rolling, it will bowl you over. Fans of psychological thrillers should take note of this banger of a tale!”
Where the Crawdads Sing By Delia Owens
Narrated by Cassandra Campbell / 12 hours 11 minutes
“This first novel by nature writer Delia Owens has something for everyone. Fans of poetry, natural history, murder mysteries, southern food, and romance will be caught up in the deeply moving prose and memorable characters. Plus, the narrator adds in the North Carolina accents, too!”
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
