The Best Audiobooks to Listen to Right Now
There are few things better than curling up with a good book, but sometimes settling down is easier said than done. Between a long drive, making dinner, or just getting some fresh air outside, there are times when a traditional book (or even an e-reader) just won’t cut it. For those moments, there’s no better place to turn than audiobooks.
But not all audiobooks are created equal. Some have a narrator you just can’t stand, a cast that’s just a little too full of energy, or a plot and structure that are far too confusing to follow by listening alone. All of these options can make choosing your next audiobook a bit of a chore, but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Whether you’re a seasoned listener looking for a hidden gem or a busy traveler looking to keep up with modern classics, here are some of Polygon’s favorite audiobooks, curated just for you.
Image: Scholastic
Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews, Michael Crouch, Ramón de Ocampo, Emily Ellet, Sisi Aisha Johnson, Adam Verner
There are 62 books in the sci-fi young adult series Animorphs, a surprisingly dark series about a group of kids who are given the ability to shapeshift into animals and must use their powers to combat an ongoing alien invasion. And since 2020, every book in the series has been slowly released as an audiobook, all the way up to the 54th book in the series, titled The beginning. While I’m not sure when the entire series will be filmed, it’s definitely worth the trip — and the wait until the last few books are finished filming. Different actors read each book in the series, as each book is narrated by a different child in the group of super-powered friends; the same actors play the same children throughout the series so far, and all of their performances are fantastic. —Maddy Myers
Image: HarperCollins
Narrated by: Quentin Tarantino and Edoardo Ballerini
Quentin Tarantino’s essay collection — loosely focused on 1970s genre cinema — veers between film criticism, criticism of film criticism, and self-criticism. One moment, Tarantino is sharing a detailed account of his childhood excursions to budget theaters with his mother’s boyfriend; the next, he’s chronicling the careers of LA film critics; and then, with his iconic spitfire pace, he’s conjuring a five-course meal out of a largely forgotten neo-noir.
While it’s fun to learn more about Tarantino, he can’t shake his lifelong habit of self-mythologizing. The most memorable sections of the book allow the director to rant (or tear) about the films that have provided tools for his cinematic kit. Tarantino himself provides narration for some of the book. While it would have been nice to have had the writer/director/author narration for the entire essay collection, his VO companion is one of my favorite audiobook voices: Edoardo Ballerini, a two-time Audie Award winner. (Yes, audiobooks have awards, too!) —Chris Planten
Image: Bloomsbury Publishing
Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda and Stina Nielsen
Listening to this kind of fairy talk has made me want to run, because I would rather run another 100 meters than stop halfway through a chapter. The dramatized audiobooks for A Court of Thorns and Roses are probably the most popular option – they’re cast with different voice actors for each character, and the audio-engineered foley sounds help you visualize the scenes as they happen. Personally, I prefer the straight versions with one narrator, especially A Court of Silver Flamesnarrated by Stina Nielsen — her husky voice perfectly matches Nesta’s point of view. —Zoe Hannah
Image: Ace
Dune by Frank Herbert
Narrated by: Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, Simon Vance, Ilyana Kadushin, Byron Jennings, David R. Gordon, Jason Culp, Kent Broadhurst, Oliver Wyman, Patricia Kilgarriff, Scott Sowers
After reading Dune in hardcover as a teenager, I wanted a different experience when I joined a book club in 2013 and agreed to reread Frank Herbert’s trippy sci-fi novel. I went for an unabridged audiobook version that features not one, not two, but 12 readers who alternate between all the main characters in the story, adding beautiful vocal color to the complexity with each of their performances. It’s a fantastic way to experience a book with so many different people and perspectives. —MM
Image: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform via Amazon
Narrated by: Simon Templeman, Anthony Heald, Stefan Rudnicki
There are three narrators in Mary Shelley’s Frankensteinand so three readers for this audiobook, each with a voice perfectly suited to the creepy story. I listened to Victor Frankenstein’s trembling, nervous quiver as he cleared my car of snow during a blizzard, and I will always remember that utterly lonely and unsettling audiobook experience. It’s a delightful audiobook, even if you don’t have the right setting, of course. —MM
Image: Zando
Narrated by: Cindy Kay, Justis Bolding, Laura Knight Keating, Susan Bennett, Jasmin Walker
If you like reality TV, like The Bachelor and you also like horror movies — which, like The Bachelorcan also end with a last girl — Patricia wants to cuddle is the book for you, ideally in audiobook form with different readers for each of the female participants in a fictional reality dating show that goes horribly wrong. Since this book is written by a good friend of mine, I was expecting to hear her voice narrating the story, but instead I’m happy to recommend the list of readers who bring her characters to life. —MM
Image: Bloomsbury Publishing
Narrated by: Liyah Summers
I had already read The Priory of the Orange Tree once when I picked up the audiobook, but listening to the sweeping fantasy epic as read by Liyah Summers was a whole new experience. (And I don’t just mean the correct pronunciation of names that were different than Mine pronunciation of those names.) The book is such a meandering tale that it lends itself easily to being read aloud, so Summers’ narration felt like a bedtime story. If you’ve already read this one, I recommend the audiobook for the standalone prequel, A day of fallen nightwhich is narrated by the author, along with a few other voice actors to represent different points of view. —ZH
Image: Penguin Random House
Narrated by: George Saunders, Phylicia Rashad, Nick Offerman, Glenn Close, Keith David, Rainn Wilson, BD Wong and Renee Elise Goldsberry
George Saunders is that teacher who cracks open the universe and lets you look at its millions of interconnected gears. He doesn’t explain how the universe works (he wouldn’t pretend that’s possible), but he points to the most beautiful, mysterious, and illuminating places and asks warmly, “How does this feel to you? And Why?”
I must speak at length about the power of Saunders’s work, for I fear that you will hear, “This is a collection of classic short stories by Russian authors, accompanied by accompanying lectures,” and will respond, “I have a limited time in life, and I have no plans to get a PhD in Comp. Lit.” And yes, the book—built from Saunders’s university courses—would form the basis for a budding novelist or academic’s career. But it is so much more fun and, at the risk of breaking my metaphor, universal.
Saunders uses beautiful writing about the meaning of life to teach us how to write, read, and appreciate beautifully, and how to live our most meaningful lives. In addition, he invited a group of brilliant actors to read the short stories, including Phylicia Rashad, Nick Offerman, BD Wong, Keith David, and Rainn Wilson. Have I sold you yet? —CP
Image: Knopf Publishing
Narrated by: Jennifer Kim, Julian Cihi
With only two readers, Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow‘s cast isn’t as strong as some of the other audiobooks I’ve recommended for inclusion on this list. Still, Jennifer Kim’s soft voice (and many more occasional chapters with Julian Cihi) are a big part of what made me love this novel about a group of friends who make a video game together and lose their friendship and love for each other along the way. Kim and Cihi are exceptionally gifted at conveying the emotional weight needed for this tender story. —MM
Image: Penguin Random House
To trust by Hernan Diaz
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Jonathan Davis, Mozhan Marnò and Orlagh Cassidy
I hesitate to recommend it To trustco-winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, on this particular list. The problem isn’t the quality or even the entertainment. The book is a literary masterpiece And a surprisingly enjoyable beach read. But the structure seems — at least initially — ideal for the page, not the audiobook.
To trust is about, on a macro level, the nature of extreme wealth. And on a micro level, about the lone keeper of a fortune, its inescapable gravity, and the individuals who end up in orbit. Author Hernan Diaz divides the book into four fictional texts: a novel, an autobiography, a memoir, and a day. Some are complete and polished; others are works in progress. All from different points of view. Think of it as The Great Gatsby via Rashomon.
Diaz uses formatting to establish a certain feel for each text, and in theory, that’s reason enough to pick up a physical copy. But! (Of course, there is a “but.”) The audiobook pulls off its variation on this magic trick by casting four different narrators with four different styles. Narrated by exceptional actors, you feel like you’re listening to people plead their case for the truth, as if you’ve staged a highly eloquent interrogation.
Look, if you don’t trust me, at least trust Dua Lipa! —CP