Nine of the best audiobooks in 2019
Sales due to overtake ebooks thanks to increased sophistication of headphones
UK audiobook sales are on track to generate revenues of £115m next year, up 30% on last year’s figures.
“Spoken storytelling is enjoying a resurgence thanks to the increased sophistication of headphones, which allow readers to enjoy immersive tales on the go in unprecedented sound quality,” says The Times.
They are even touted to overtake ebooks, which may be on the wane, according to the annual technology and media trend predictions report from the consultants Deloitte.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
So which are the best audiobooks available?
A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man
Colin Farrell has joined the league of high-profile narrators with his reading of A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man. The first novel of Irish writer James Joyce explores the intellectual awakening of the young Stephen Dedalus.
The New York Times suggests the actor’s “admirable coolness and restraint” is how Joyce, “a little shamefaced at the stylistic and, in places, emotional excesses of this great early work, would have wanted to hear it done - spoken, not sung”.
Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas
After his record-breaking bestseller This is Going to Hurt, Adam Kay published a new book this year described as a “a love letter to all those who spend their festive season on the front line, removing babies and baubles from the various places they get stuck”.
The former doctor reads the book himself for a “hilarious, horrifying and sometimes heartbreaking peek behind the blue curtain”.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
A much-loved science-fiction classic, this entertaining space opera has a lot going for it as an audiobook - primarily the narration by polymath Stephen Fry. Author Douglas Adams displays his extraordinary talents for world-making in this first of five audiobooks in the Hitchhiker’s series. Full to the brim with brilliant humour, memorable characters and a highly original storyline, it’s no wonder that this novel has been translated into more than 30 languages and made its way on to many best book lists since its publication.
The Book Thief
Brought to life by the deep, undulating tones of narrator Allan Corduner, The Book Thief is Markus Zusak’s 2005 New York Times bestseller about a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany. Corduner’s characterisation of the book’s protagonists means The Book Thief will live long in the memory.
Convenience Store Woman
The award-winning Japanese novel written by Sayaka Murata was something of a cult hit when it was translated into English for the first time in 2018. The book centres on a 36-year-old woman named Keiko Furukura, an oddball who is endlessly puzzled by human behaviour. Nancy Wu’s narration “settles on exactly the right tone: bright, keen on all the details of correct convenience-store operations, and pragmatic, yet bewildered by the rest of humanity and its prerogatives”, says Slate.
Lincoln in the Bardo
Possibly the most anticipated audiobook of all-time, George Saunders’ Man Booker Prize winner features 166 narrators, ranging from TV comedy royalty such as Nick Offerman to Academy Award winners such as Susan Sarandon. The book itself reads like a script, and each speaking part is a person whose spirit haunts the graveyard next to Honest Abe’s recently departed son.
“I imagined myself reading the attributions in this monotonous South Side Chicago accent, trying to do all these different people, and I just thought it would be a drag,” Saunders told Wired. So he suggested to audiobook producer Kelly Gildea that they assemble a motley crew to do the voices and the result makes for an enchanting listening experience.
The Goldfinch
Donna Tartt’s highly acclaimed third novel won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The story of a young boy who gets mixed up in the dangerous world of selling art on the black market is beautifully narrated by David Pittu, who won the 2014 Audie Award for best male narrator for this standout performance.
Me Talk Pretty One Day
David Sedaris’s funny, charming and moving memoir tells an unconventional life story. From budding performance artist to “clearly unqualified” writing teacher in Chicago, his career leads him to New York and, eventually, France. Sedaris narrates the memoir himself, telling listeners about his hilarious attempts to learn French, as well as performing a surprisingly brilliant Billie Holiday impression and wittily dissecting his eventful childhood.
Heartburn
Nora Ephron’s largely autobiographical novel about the break-up of a marriage is vividly brought to life 30 years after publication by Meryl Streep’s narration. In this inspired confection of adultery, revenge and group therapy, the creator of Sleepless in Seattle underlines the notion that comedy is just tragedy plus time. Among the highlights are Streep’s spot-on voices for the cast of mostly holier-than-thou characters.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Criminal trail?'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
What are Lucy Letby's grounds of appeal?
In depth Convicted former nurse's legal team claims judge at original trial wrongly refused her applications
By The Week UK Published
-
Grindr 'shared user HIV status' with ad firms, lawsuit claims
Speed Read LGBTQ dating app accused of breaching UK data protection laws in case filed at London's High Court
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
The Westbury Hotel review: stunning suites in charming Dublin
The Week Recommends This hotel is the perfect spot to while away a weekend in Ireland's capital
By Kaye O'Doherty Published
-
Drama movies 2024: new films out this year
In Depth Latest reviews include The Boys in the Boat, One Life and Tchaikovsky's Wife
By The Week UK Last updated
-
Best new hotels and places to stay in 2024
The Week Recommends Featuring stylish island resorts, historical properties and wilderness retreats
By The Week UK Last updated
-
Albums of the year: best music of 2023
The Week Recommends A look back at the best pop, rap, jazz, dance, classical and rock releases
By The Week UK Published
-
Savoy Grill by Gordon Ramsay review: an institution reinvented
The Week Recommends Traditions are maintained and the tweaks are clever and modern
By Neil Davey Published
-
Tulum: a Mexican beach town of 'two halves'
The Week Recommends With the 'pueblo' and 'Zona Hotelera', Tulum is home to great hotels, restaurants and beach clubs
By William Leigh Published
-
La Zebra review: beach chic, perfect tacos and secret cenotes
The Week Recommends Enjoy a stylish stay in Mexico at this family-friendly beach hotel and restaurant
By William Leigh Published
-
Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas review: a mythical beachside resort
The Week Recommends Combine the classically simple pleasures of sun, sea and sand with upmarket fun and food
By Adrienne Wyper Published