This holiday season, give the gift of audiobooks

Fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone has Asperger’s Syndrome, a condition similar to autism. He doesn’t like to be touched or meet new people, he cannot make small talk and he hates the colors brown and yellow. He is a math whiz with a very logical brain who loves solving puzzles that have definite answers.

One night, he observes that the neighbor’s dog has been killed, since it is not moving and has a large garden fork stuck in its body. Christopher knows this is wrong. He has never left his street on his own before, but now he’ll have to in order to find out who killed the dog. What he discovers will shake the very foundation of his perfectly ordered life.

Narrated by Jeff Woodman

Audible editors have marked this book as an essential read for the masterful job it does at putting you in young Christopher’s shoes, from his frustrations and anxieties to his successes. 

Colm Tóibín’s The Testament of Mary presents Mary as a solitary older woman still seeking to understand the events that become the narrative of the New Testament and the foundation of Christianity. In the ancient town of Ephesus, Mary lives alone, years after her son’s crucifixion. She has no interest in collaborating with the authors of the Gospel. They are her keepers, providing her with food and shelter and visiting her regularly. She does not agree that her son is the Son of God; nor that his death was “worth it”; nor that the “group of misfits he gathered around him, men who could not look a woman in the eye,” were holy disciples. This woman who we know from centuries of paintings and scripture as the docile, loving, silent, long-suffering, obedient, worshipful mother of Christ becomes a tragic heroine with the relentless eloquence of Electra or Medea or Antigone, in a portrait so vivid and convincing that our image of Mary will be forever transformed.

Narrated by Meryl Streep

Let me repeat: narrated by Meryl Streep. I don’t really need to say much more, but I will because this book is also brilliantly written and a fascinating read. Don’t miss it.

Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn’t know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn and takes information that he gets from the world’s leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant. Even the most pointy-headed, obscure scientist succumbs to the affable Bryson’s good nature and reveals how he or she figures things out. Showing us how scientists get from observations to ideas and theories is Bryson’s aim, and he succeeds brilliantly. It is an adventure of the mind, as exciting as any of Bryson’s terrestrial journeys.

Narrated by Richard Matthews

Get a front row seat to the history of the world and learn along with Bryson as he explores the questions of the universe.

Aziz Ansari gets it: modern romance is laugh-out-loud funny.

That said, people might wonder what’s wrong with you when you’re listening to this book. Your hysterical cackling could be cause for alarm; your knowing nods while you stare into space could raise eyebrows. These mild embarrassments are well worth it.

Even better, Ansari has something to say. At some point, every one of us embarks on a journey to find love. We meet people, date, get into and out of relationships, all with the hope of finding someone with whom we share a deep connection. This seems standard now, but it’s wildly different from what people did even decades ago. Single people today have more romantic options than at any point in human history. With technology, our abilities to connect with and sort through these options are staggering. So why are so many people frustrated?

Narrated by Aziz Ansari

Oh, how I love Aziz Ansari and this book. The audiobook might be even better than the written version just because Ansari’s narration is flawlessly spectacular. I listened to this book at a time when I really needed to hear Ansari’s message about finding love, and even now that I’m in a committed relationship, I still find his words of wisdom both poignant and wildly amusing.

Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at No. 4, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry’s 11th birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin!

Narrated by Jim Dale

I know, I know. “Harry Potter is everywhere,” you say. “Who hasn’t read the books?” you say. Well, let me tell you — no, promise you — the audiobooks are a whole new experience of the series. Well worth the listen!

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: She must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Narrated by Elizabeth Evans

This might be my favorite series. Like, ever. I’m a geek for some good fantasy, and Sarah J. Maas is among the best. Her characters are fleshed out at a level that competes with George R.R. Martin while her stories weave in surprises that would make even J.R.R. Tolkein question his writing style. 

Yes. Go ahead. Say it. To everything. Now what?

In this super fun listen, Shonda Rhimes — mega-talented creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, and executive producer of How to Get Away with Murder — lets you in on how saying yes for one year changed her life — and how it can change yours, too.

Narrated by Shonda Rhimes

Shonda Rhimes can really do no wrong in my opinion, and her book is no exception. 

“Do you remember where you were when Kennedy was shot?” It’s a question all our parents could answer. But what if you were the guy who stopped that defining moment from ever happening? In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King — and he is the king, let’s face it — takes listeners on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.

Narrated by Craig Wasson

This is another Audible essential read. It was named Audible’s best book of 2011, and for good reason.

Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of its monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable and beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir’s father’s servant, is a Hazara — a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him.

Narrated by Khaled Hosseini

One of my favorite books of all time. I first read the hard copy back in high school. Now, as an adult, going back and listening to the audiobook brings so much rich, cultural flavor to the text that it elevates it to another level.

The outspoken actress, talk show host, and reality television star offers up a no-holds-barred memoir, including an eye-opening insider account of her tumultuous and heart-wrenching 30-year-plus association with the Church of Scientology.

Narrated by Leah Remini

Remini is back in the news with her continued outspoken campaign against the Church of Scientology. She has a docuseries coming out on A&E on Nov. 29 called Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, which will take a hard look at the church’s victims. If it’s anything like her book, the series promises to be surprisingly funny and simultaneously shocking as it exposes the corruption of this religion.

Go the Fuck to Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don’t always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach’s profane, affectionate, and radically honest verses perfectly capture the familiar — and unspoken — tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. In the process, he opens up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations and laugh at their absurdity.

Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson

A children’s book for adults narrated by Samuel L. Jackson?! I’m in! So in. The more I listen to this audiobook, the funnier Jackson’s plea “Go the fuck to sleep” becomes. 

Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, and Ebenezer Scrooge come to marvelous life in Patrick Stewart’s critically acclaimed solo interpretation of A Christmas Carol. The star of X-Men and The Royal Shakespeare Company, Stewart has performed his one-man stage production of this holiday classic to sell-out audiences. Now, in this Grammy-nominated studio recording of the dazzling achievement that has thrilled audiences in New York and Los Angeles, Stewart invites listeners to rediscover the timeless story at its source: Dickens’ own words, presented in a soaring, virtuoso solo performance in which Stewart plays all parts.

Narrated by Patrick Stewart

A perfect Christmas classic becomes new again as Patrick Stewart’s melodic, entertaining voice takes us on Scrooge’s journey.

An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now, humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them — for a price.

Until something goes wrong…

Narrated by Scott Brick

You’ve seen the movie, but did you realize it was a book first? Michael Crichton’s novel will take you on a wild adventure that will put a whole new spin on the story you thought you knew. 

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life — as she sees it — is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon, she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

Narrated by Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey and India Fisher

I listened to this book before I even heard the suggestion that there would be a film based on it. The twists and turns are so fun to listen to as the brilliant narration leads you to the stunning twist at the end. 

France, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says good-bye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France… but invade they do, in droves. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

Narrated by Polly Stone

Named Audible’s best book of 2015, The Nightingale is not to be missed. 

When the Great War ends, Joshua Connor, a grieving farmer and sometime water diviner from the Mallee in Victoria, sets out to fulfill his wife’s dying wish — to travel to Gallipoli to recover the bodies of his three sons and bury them in consecrated ground.

Crescent collides with cross and hope with reason as he discovers that his eldest son, Art, may still be alive. When Connor makes a desperate dash into the perilous heart of Anatolia, one question haunts him: If Art is alive, why hasn’t he come home?

Narrated by Jack Thompson

A powerful audiobook. Thompson’s beautiful narration will sweep you away with the story.

In Why Not Me? Kaling shares her ongoing journey to find contentment and excitement in her adult life, whether it’s falling in love at work, seeking new friendships in lonely places, attempting to be the first person in history to lose weight without any behavior modification whatsoever, or, most important, believing that you have a place in Hollywood when you’re constantly reminded that no one looks like you.

Narrated by Mindy Kaling, Greg Daniels and B.J. Novak

Given what just happened in the presidential election, Kaling’s story about carving out a place for herself in Hollywood is even more poignant.

Master novelist Daniel Silva has thrilled readers with 17 thoughtful and gripping spy novels featuring a diverse cast of compelling characters and ingenious plots that have taken them around the globe and back — from the United States to Europe, Russia to the Middle East. His brilliant hero, Gabriel Allon — art restorer, assassin, spy — has joined the pantheon of great fictional secret agents, including George Smiley, Jack Ryan, Jason Bourne and Simon Templar.

Narrated by George Guidall

Gabriel Allon’s spy story has, indeed, joined the ranks of the best. The thrilling series is a fast read, if only because you won’t be able to stop.

After years of painstaking, round-the-clock research, surviving on a mere twenty minutes of sleep a night, and collaborating with lexicographers, plumbers and mathematicians, Ellen DeGeneres has crafted a work that is both easy on the ears and very funny. Along with her trademark ramblings, The Funny Thing Is… contains hundreds of succinct insights into her psyche and offers innovative features including more than 50,000 simple, short words arranged in sentences that form paragraphs; thousands of observations on everyday life, from terrible fashion trends to how to handle seating arrangements for a Sunday brunch with Paula Abdul, Diane Sawyer and Eminem; all twenty-six letters of the alphabet read aloud.

Narrated by Ellen DeGeneres

Let’s just all agree right now: Ellen DeGeneres is a hilarious genius. Her book is no exception.

David Sedaris’ new collection of essays — including live recordings! — tells a most unconventional life story. It begins with a North Carolina childhood filled with speech-therapy classes and unwanted guitar lessons taught by a midget. From budding performance artist to “clearly unqualified” writing teacher in Chicago, Sedaris’ career leads him to New York City and eventually, of all places, France. His move to Paris poses a number of challenges, chief among them his inability to speak the language. Arriving a “spooky man-child” capable of communicating only through nouns, he undertakes language instruction that leads him ever deeper into cultural confusion. Whether describing the Easter bunny to puzzled classmates or watching a group of men play soccer with a cow, Sedaris brings a view and a voice like no other to every unforgettable encounter.

Narrated by David Sedaris

Oh man, this book with make you laugh, then cry, then laugh, then sob some more. The roller coaster of emotions is so worth it.

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of 10,000 planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune — and remarkable power — to whoever can unlock them.

Narrated by Wil Wheaton

You should read this book not only because it’s gearing up to be a major motion picture but also because it’s also highly enjoyable, especially if you were an ’80s kid. 

Originally written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before To Kill a Mockingbird. Assumed to have been lost, the manuscript was discovered in late 2014.

Go Set a Watchman features many of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird some 20 years later. Returning home to Maycomb to visit her father, Jean Louise Finch — Scout — struggles with issues both personal and political, involving Atticus, society and the small Alabama town that shaped her.

Narrated by Reese Witherspoon

Being the continuation of To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the most beloved novels of all time, would be enough to listen to this book. With Reese Witherspoon’s narration, this becomes a book that simply cannot, cannot be missed.