audiobooks for every moment
sometimes you need silence, sometimes you need a comedic memoir in essays
This past year I experienced growth. I started listening to audiobooks.
Was I one of those people who proclaimed that listening to an audiobook doesn’t count as reading? Of course not. What a useless opinion to have; the idea that consuming something with your eyes is superior to consuming something with your ears is idiotic. On a similar note, the people who count the amount of books they read per year as a measure of their worth or intelligence or whatever is also weird. If you’re counting to make yourself feel good about it, great, but no one wants to feel bad about themselves because of how many YA fantasy novels you churned through. You’re not better than us!!! But I digress.
I quickly discovered in my audiobook journey that I have an extremely hard time paying attention to fiction when it’s being read aloud to me. I can’t listen to fiction audiobooks: any kind of voice acting or romanced description is too corny for me. IF you have a favorite novel audiobook though, please reply because I’m open to being convinced.
So that led me to listening to solely nonfiction, which is exciting, because I mostly read novels. I, like everyone, contain multitudes! I’ve compiled a list of books that I have listened to (or want to listen to) in very specific moments of life, but take for granted that this journey only started this year okay!
I’m not going to link to any of these books because if you aren’t using the Libby app with your library card for audiobooks, you are purposefully burning money.
While Exercising
I got into this whole shebang because my friend Madeleine told me I was being a baby for not wearing my airpods on runs and then my friend Khaki told me she has to listen to audiobooks while running, and I thought, I can start doing both of these things, and then I won’t have to simply sit with my intrusive thoughts while running or constantly skip songs on a playlist that always disappoints me.
Good For A Girl by Lauren Fleshman
Anyone who has ever competed in sports at any level should read this. It’s great to read about the rush of the Olympic trials while huffing and puffing through your neighborhood.
Running While Black by Alison Mariella Désir
Another required reading for all runners and people who do sports, this one goes hard at the overbearing whiteness of the sport, the dangers of it, and how we go forward from here.
Natural Causes by Barbara Ehrenreich
Nothing like some good existentialism about the body to get you through exercise intended to prolong your life.
Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv
Sometimes I like to do deep thinking on my runs, and this one goes deep into mental illness diagnoses and their relationship to identity, and how we understand ourselves.
The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
This one is a fun romp through an orchid theft trial from the POV of the journalist, the author, and the years she followed an eccentric Florida man. It’s the movie Adaptation, if you’ve seen it.
Cooking/Cleaning/Walking/Etc.
These ones are the gold standard. Nice to listen to, thought-provoking but not too intense, like having a soothing conversation with a beloved friend’s mom after half a glass of red wine.
This Is The Story of A Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
This title is misleading. The essays in this collection are overwhelmingly not about marriage: they are about writing, and the LAPD, and facial disfigurement, and any topic that comes to Ann Patchett’s brilliant mind. It might have been my favorite listen of 2022.
I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott
Another Southern woman who pokes at the expectations of womanhood and then tears them wide open, talking about life after college, motherhood, writing, and the flora and fauna around the Southeast.
Taste by Stanley Tucci
Do I have to explain? You have to listen.
Bring Your Baggage And Don’t Pack Light by Helen Ellis
Okay, so this is by another Southern lady, but really, these women are smart, funny, and thoughtful so why shouldn’t it be. This one will make you pee your pants with laughter, maybe.
In the Car
I find myself doing a lot of road trips, and listening-wise I either want to be totally riveted by a limited series true crime podcast or pleasantly distracted by a comedic essay collection, nothing else. I realize that most of these are written by white men, and I apologize for that, but I genuinely love all of them.
A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
Funny memoir about a guy who you kind of want to hate but can’t.
Year Book by Seth Rogen
So good, he got the real people to record their dialogue, it’s a pure delight.
Vacationland by John Hodgman
Very funny and smart memoir about growing up a little weird and how that goes into adulthood.
Nice Try by Josh Gondelman
About a guy who is SO nice, just trying to be nice in a world where that’s difficult.
Bad Vibes Only by Nora McInerny
Sorry I’m saying funny again, but it is, and this time it’s by a woman who doesn’t care about being likable or nice which I loved.