Best of 2021

Crying in H Mart

A Memoir

By: Michelle Zauner
Narrated by: Michelle Zauner
Length: 7 hours 22 minutes

“Growing up in Eugene, Oregon, Michelle felt embarrassed and harassed by her Korean mother's expectations. She takes the first opportunity to move away from their strained relationship and develop her music career in Philadelphia. But she's called back when her mother is diagnosed with late stage cancer. Crying in H Mart dives into Asian-American... Read more

Afterparties

Stories

By: Anthony Veasna So
Narrated by: Jason Sean
Length: 6 hours 56 minutes

“I enjoyed this book of short stories about the lives of Khmer refugees and their American born children in California’s central valley. Each story makes the reader feel like they are embedded in a particularly family--the tension between the American born children and their parents who escaped the genocide sets the backdrop to many, but the... Read more

A Little Devil in America

Notes in Praise of Black Performance

By: Hanif Abdurraqib
Narrated by: JD Jackson
Length: 9 hours 38 minutes

“Hanif Abdurraqib's exploration of Black performance in America is a cultural keystone that is chillingly relevant. Whether discussing the fact that a knowing look or advice on a route from a cashier is a form of a living Green Book that still exists because there are places Black people are not safe, to the origin of the card game spades or the... Read more

The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven

By: Nathaniel Ian Miller
Narrated by: Olafur Darri Olafsson
Length: 10 hours 52 minutes

“Poor misanthropic Sven, his great Arctic adventures tend toward the bumbling and catastrophic, but he persists in his dream to be alone in the great north - only to find that the few friends (including a very shaggy dog) he has made in his travels are what he needs most. It's a lovely, wry and insightful novel, and Olafur Dari Olafsson's deep... Read more

Cloud Cuckoo Land

A Novel

By: Anthony Doerr
Narrated by: Marin Ireland & Simon Jones
Length: 14 hours 51 minutes

“My teenage daughter and I both loved this book. It’s a book for all ages. Fascinating idea for a plot that takes you through time and ends with a twist. There are lots of characters to keep track of at first, but the story settles and maintains your interest. You will love and empathize with all the different people. It is dedicated to... Read more

Exhalation

Stories

By: Ted Chiang
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Dominic Hoffman, Amy Landon & Ted Chiang
Length: 11 hours 21 minutes

“A spectacular collection, with too many standout stories for me to pick a favorite. The title story is perhaps the best exploration I've ever read of the nature of consciousness and the search for meaning. Chiang's writing is at once dizzyingly cerebral and profoundly heartbreaking, rooted in an unrestrained passion for scientific speculation... Read more

Harlem Shuffle

A Novel

By: Colson Whitehead
Narrated by: Dion Graham
Length: 10 hours 35 minutes

“A wonderful evocation of a time and place, which is not to say it doesn't have the tension of a crime thriller. It's fun to ride along with Ray, who may be more than a little bent, but will likely become your favorite furniture salesman, nevertheless. Read more

Razorblade Tears

A Novel

By: S. A. Cosby
Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
Length: 12 hours 22 minutes

“I often start books on audio but end up finishing in print. As a bookseller, I have the privilege of easy access to both. Well, I had a physical copy of Razorblade Tears I could have picked up at any point...even tried to once...but I couldn't bring myself to stop listening to the audio. Adam Lazarre-White does an outstanding job narrating this... Read more

Bewilderment

A Novel

By: Richard Powers
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
Length: 7 hours 50 minutes

“An homage to the heartbreaking Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, this intimate story of a grieving father and his troubled son is an intelligent and touching story of tragedy and hope. Read more

The Darkness Knows

A Novel

Detective Konrad: Book #1

By: Arnaldur Indridason
Narrated by: Sean Barrett
Length: 8 hours 48 minutes

"Fans of Nordic noir will enjoy this performance. For those new to the genre and looking for an easy start, Barrett offers an expert entry into a world of danger and intrigue." –AudioFile Magazine

Retired detective Konrad returns to a haunting cold case in The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indridason, the "undisputed King of the Icelandic thriller."... Read more

Velvet Was the Night

By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Narrated by: Gisela Chípe
Length: 9 hours 51 minutes

“Thoroughly entertaining. Once again, Silvia Moreno-Garcia does a wonderful job capturing the genre she is writing for. The plot, the pacing, the characters are all what they should be for good noir fiction. Add to that, the unique setting of Mexico City post Corpus Christi Massacre and during the Dirty War, and it's also educational! Excellent... Read more

Iron Widow (Book 1)

Iron Widow: Book #1

By: Xiran Jay Zhao
Narrated by: Rong Fu
Length: 12 hours 18 minutes

“Iron Widow is addictive, non-stop, and insane! I LOVE this book so much! Take control of your life. Take control of your body. Make the patriarchy pay through blood and vengeance! This alt-reality world mixes Chinese culture and Pacific Rim, with addictive action, complex characters, and an unstoppable fury. Zetian wants revenge and will bring... Read more

Three Girls from Bronzeville

A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood

By: Dawn Turner
Narrated by: Janina Edwards
Length: 11 hours 45 minutes

A New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book
A Best Book of 2021 by BuzzFeed and Real Simple

An “unmissable” (Vogue), “exceptional” (The Washington Post), and “evocative” (Chicago Tribune) memoir about three Black girls from the storied Bronzeville section of Chicago that offers a penetrating exploration of race, opportunity, friendship,... Read more

Dumb Money

The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees (Previously Published as The Antisocial Network)

By: Ben Mezrich
Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
Length: 7 hours 46 minutes

From the author of the book that became the iconic The Social Network movie, here is the definitive take on one of the wildest stories ever --  the David-vs.-Goliath GameStop short squeeze, a tale of fortunes won and lost overnight, marking an unforgettable event in financial history.

Bestselling author Ben Mezrich offers a gripping,... Read more

A Promised Land

By: Barack Obama
Narrated by: Barack Obama
Length: 29 hours 9 minutes

“No one really needs my blurb to help sell this book, but I wanted to give it anyway, especially for the audiobook, narrated by Barack Obama himself. If you want to know his incredible knowledge and wisdom that guided him through major decisions, and also hear him drop a few F-bombs, you need to listen to this fantastically written book. Read more

Kitchen Confidential

Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

By: Anthony Bourdain
Narrated by: Anthony Bourdain
Length: 8 hours 18 minutes

“If you want the raw, uncut version of Anthony Bourdain’s cooking life look no further! Kitchen Confidential documents the nitty gritty of the back of house - and how truly at home many cooks feel while sweating and yelling their way through 60+ hour workweeks. Anthony Bourdain is frank with his recount of his rise and fall throughout the ranks... Read more

We Keep the Dead Close

A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence

By: Becky Cooper
Narrated by: Becky Cooper
Length: 15 hours 46 minutes

“As much a journey for the writer as it is for the reader, this book solves a murder but leaves us with many unanswered questions. We Keep the Dead Close challenges us to question our assumptions as well as the paths we use to arrive at those assumptions. Delving into the academic culture of Harvard, the misogyny of the 1960s, and the burgeoning... Read more

Mexican Gothic

By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
Length: 10 hours 39 minutes

“I don't consider myself to be a horror genre reader, but I loved this one. Megan refers to it as "deliciously creepy" and that is the perfect description. Such a satisfying read. Hulu is producing it as limited tv series as well, but you should totally read the book first! Read more

Rabbits

A Novel

By: Terry Miles
Narrated by: Christine Lakin
Length: 14 hours 5 minutes

“As a book that emerged from a podcast, it almost makes MORE sense to listen to this than it would to read it. The tension and the mystery sing through the narration. You will grit your teeth and may end up losing hours of productivity to just sitting and letting this thrill ride wash over you, compelled to hold out just a little longer before... Read more

Broken Horses

A Memoir

By: Brandi Carlile
Narrated by: Brandi Carlile
Length: 10 hours 2 minutes

“Listening to my Brandi is the balm I needed during my long drives...and hearing her sing, Woohoo! I love a musician with an autobiography! Thank you to Brandi for reading it herself and adding the music for us! Read more