My favorite audiobooks (so far...)

I find myself always starting my posts off with, “It’s been a while…” these days. Honestly, until Cory comes home I am lucky if I have an hour or two on the weekends to read a book. The work-around on that though, is audiobooks. I’ve written about this before – how much I love audiobooks. And that continues to ring true! Particularly now, when my days are so full that by the time I wind down for the night, I have no more brain power to expel.

Over the years I have listened to more audiobooks than read paper books, and that’s simply because of 1. Commute time, 2. Walking time, and 3. Continuous consumption.

Cory and I moved 45 minutes out from the city and traffic is no joke, so when we were still in the office, I was averaging at least two hours listening time a day, averaging about 1-2 audiobooks a week (unless it was a doorstop, like Anna Karenina).

When we started working from home, I took my old commute time and turned it into walking time around my neighborhood, as well as a lunch time walk. Once I got Birdie, the walk time increased by double (we walk a lot). I’d pop my audiobook on and get a good 45 minutes of listening in, twice a day – minimum.

My biggest trick though…is just constant consumption. I am always listening to an audiobook. Checking emails? Audiobook. Making lunch? Audiobook. Vacuuming the floor? AUDIOBOOK. Seriously, I’ve always got my headphones in and I am always listening to something. And, at least while Cory is gone, it helps the house feel less lonely.

Mainly what I want to talk about today, though, is my top five favorite audiobooks over the least year and a half. These are books that really sat with me, inspired me to dig deeper, or made me automatically purchase the next in the series. So here we go!

1. When Women Ruled the World, by Kara Cooney: this book covers the reigns of the female kings from ancient Egypt. It is absolitely fascinating and a really great way to get an overview of the top most powerful women in Egyptian history. It inspired me to read other biographies on Egyptian citizens. Plus, it’s read by the author!

2. Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, by Beverly Daniel Tatum: the second book i read after deciding to unlearn a lot of what I’d grown up being told. Tatum dissects cultural differences for minorities in a way that is easy to understand and learn from. Her sources are wonderful and she uses her experience as a professor to dive deeper. She also gives personal voice to the book by reading the audio version.

3. The Little Shop of Found Things, by Paula Brackston: this is just a cute book. I stumbled across this on audible and gave it a shot after an Outlander hangover and it was exactly what I needed. A young woman, a strange power and town, and an unexpected romance. What could be better?

4. Scythe (Arc of Scythe), by Neal Shusterman: this was a great YA series that I just finished the other day. I tend to have issues with YA books because they are THE MOST. I really enjoyed that the characters seemed to have steady heads, and that the romance wasn’t the main focus of the series. This series is set in the future where human death is erased and a network of people has been devised to thin out the human population.

5. Crossing the Line, by Kareem Rosser: THIS MEMOIR. Goodness. So stinking good. Follow Kareem in his journey to becoming a polo player, working hard for and living his dream. I really loved this memoir because it was so incredibly inspiring and gave recognition to the people who helped create the man who wrote it. Highly recommend if you love ponies and sports, and want to cheer for an underdog.

As the title of this post suggests, these are only my favorites as of now. It changes all the time. For instance, I recently started the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness and am devouring those through my headphones. My best piece of advice to those venturing into audiobooks is to find a narrator you like, and ALWAYS TRY THE SAMPLES FIRST. You can learn a lot very quickly about and book and narrator just from that little five minute sample. Audiobooks are a fantastic way to increase your reading intake and (for me at least) keep me active and away from the television. Birdie has enjoyed the lengthened walks, and as she gets bigger and bigger, they’ll just get longer and longer. And I am just fine with that.

xoxo