As mentioned in my 2019 Books post, I commute about two hours a day via car, which has contributed to a healthy consumption of audiobooks. This year, I listened to 39 audiobooks, while reading only 33. I discovered that my audiobook sweet spot is non-fiction, read by the author. I listen to other nonfiction, and also to memoirs read by professionals, but I just don’t ever really like them as much as nonfiction read in the voice of the writer. It’s like they are telling me their story personally, which makes it more compelling.

TOP FIVE AUDIOBOOKS FOR 2019

Inheritance by Dani Shapiro: I loved this book. It’s a fascinating story and Shapiro is both a wonderful writer and has a speaking voice I could listen to all day.
Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl: I have long loved reading Ruth Reichl’s books and was a Gourmet reader before the magazine folded. I loved hearing her voice her own experience, and the audiobook had the added benefit of including recipes. Of course, since I borrowed it from the library and listened to it in the car, I didn’t have any of those recipes until today (December 31st) when I bought the kindle book on sale for $2.99.
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson: A friend from my book club recommended this, and I am so glad. I loved hearing Stevenson tell his story, which is incredible and inspirational. I was able to hear him speak at a meeting in November, and it was a highlight of my year. The book was also recently made into a movie, which I have yet to see.
She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey/Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow: I was a print journalism major in college and it thrills me to see such intrepid reporting, particularly at a time when journalists are as vilified as they are necessary. In both of these instances, the reporters pursued stories while dealilng with threats of bodily harm. It’s difficult to believe that this is currently happening in the United States not to mention in other parts of the world. Journalists like Kantor, Twohey and Farrow give me hope. She Said is read by a professional rather than the authors although they read the forward and epilogue and Catch is read by Farrow, who employs some strange and distracting accents but both are really worth the listen.
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou: By now you are probably familiar with the Elizabeth Holmes and her sham startup Theranos, but this was my introduction. The book is read by a professional rather than the author but it is a fascinating listen. I found myself coming up with chores to do just so I could continue to listen. I followed this up with The Dropout podcast which was a nice addition.

Honorable mention: pretty much all of the audiobooks I listened to were well worth my time. I only have reservations about recommending two of them, which appear in italics below. I’ve also bolded the ones I really, really liked.

A Story Lately Told, Anjelica Houston
Bad Blood, John Carreyrou
Born with Teeth, Kate Mulgrew
Call Me God, Jim Clemente, Tim Clemente and Peter McDonnell
Catch and Kill, Ronan Farrow
Deep Creek, Pam Houston
Everything is Horrible and Wonderful, Stephanie Wittels Wachs
Finding Tess, Beth Macy
Heartland, Sarah Smarsh
Heavy, Kiese Laymon
High Achiever, Tiffany Jenkins
Hourglass, Dani Shapiro
How Chefs Holiday, Dana Cowin
How we Fight for our Lives, Saeed Jones
In Pieces, Sally Field
Inheritance, Dani Shapiro
Inside Out, Demi Moore
Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson
Life Will be the Death of Me, Chelsea Handler
Maid, Stephanie Land
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Lori Gottlieb
Mr. Know it All, John Waters
Not my Father's Son, Alan Cumming
Notes from a Young Black Chef, Kwame Onwuachi
Our Harlem, Marcus Samuelsson
Save me the Plums, Ruth Reichl
She Said, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
The Education of an Idealist, Samantha Power
The Elephant in the Room, Tommy Tomlinson
The Library Book, Susan Orlean
The Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates
The Rainbow Comes and Goes, Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt
The Recovering, Leslie Jamieson
This Will Only Hurt a Little, Busy Phillips
Three Women, Lisa Taddeo
Tiny Hot Dogs, Mary Giuliani
Wild Game, Adrienne Brodeur
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, Sherman Alexie

You can find my 2019 book reviews here.