Recommendations for Your First Audiobook Listen

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

By: Deesha Philyaw
Narrated by: Janina Edwards
Length: 4 hours 6 minutes

“Having grown up in a Mississippi Southern Baptist church, it wasn't until I was a teenager that I saw the secret double lives of some of us. Rebelling against the submit to authority messages on Saturday night, but sitting pious and submissive come Sunday morning services was de rigueur. Deesha Philyaw's book The Secret Lives of Church Ladies... Read more

The Animators

A Novel

By: Kayla Rae Whitaker
Narrated by: Alex McKenna
Length: 15 hours 22 minutes

“A wildly original novel that pulses with heart and truth . . . That this powerful exploration of friendship, desire, ambition, and secrets manages to be ebullient, gripping, heartbreaking, and deeply deeply funny is a testament to Kayla Rae Whitaker’s formidable gifts. I was so sorry to reach the final page. Sharon and Mel will stay with me for... Read more

World War Z: The Complete Edition - Abridged

An Oral History of the Zombie War

By: Max Brooks
Narrated by: Various
Length: 12 hours 8 minutes

  World War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-in Edition): An Oral History of the Zombie War is a new version of Max Brooks' episodic zombie novel. The abridged versions of the original stories are now joined with new, unabridged recordings of the episodes that were not included in the original (abridged) version of the audiobook. These... Read more

Daisy Jones & The Six (TV Tie-in Edition)

A Novel

By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Narrated by: Jennifer Beals, Benjamin Bratt, Judy Greer & Pablo Schreiber
Length: 9 hours 3 minutes

“Highly recommend the audiobook. It’s like being in a room with the characters telling you what it was like being in a 70’s Rock ‘n Roll band. (The books’s format is like reading a documentary script.) Read more

Mary Jane

A Novel

By: Jessica Anya Blau
Narrated by: Caitlin Kinnunen
Length: 9 hours 44 minutes

“Mary Jane, oh, Mary Jane... You'll be singing along too, I promise you, to the expert and pitch-perfect audio performed by Caitlin Kinnunen, best known for playing Emma Nolan in the musical The Prom, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. This tragicomic novel by Jessica Anya Blau was so fabulous, so fresh yet so nostalgic, it's... Read more

Circe

By: Madeline Miller
Narrated by: Perdita Weeks
Length: 12 hours 8 minutes

“A bold retelling of the Circe episode from Homer's Odyssey that not only captures the interlocking pieces of Greek mythology, but also gives each god, titan, and Grecian a pulsing complexity. Both Circe the book and the character are quiet, sensual and--at times--freewheeling, adventurous, and devastating. Perdita Week's performance here is... Read more

Will

By: Will Smith
Narrated by: Will Smith
Length: 16 hours 16 minutes

One of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life, in a brave and inspiring book that traces his learning curve to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human connection are aligned. Along the way, Will tells the story in full of one of the most amazing rides through the... Read more

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning

By: Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi
Narrated by: Jason Reynolds
Length: 4 hours 11 minutes

“As Jason Reynolds will remind you, this is not a history book. (I repeat: not a history book.) Instead, Stamped is a crash course on how racism has grown and evolved from the very first incidents of slave trade to the events of today. With his incredible voice and a whole lot of pizazz, Reynolds presents Stamped with true honesty -- but it bears... Read more

The Dutch House

A Novel

By: Ann Patchett
Narrated by: Tom Hanks
Length: 9 hours 52 minutes

“I love Ann Patchett. The Dutch House is the story of brother and sister Danny and Maeve and how after losing their mother and then their father, they are cast out of the only home they know. It is then that Danny and Maeve realize they only have each other to rely on. Their relationship is complex and intriguing. Danny and Maeve are each... Read more

The 1619 Project

A New Origin Story

By: Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman & Jake Silverstein
Narrated by: Nikole Hannah-Jones & Full Cast
Length: 18 hours 56 minutes

“This book was a true education, even coming after many recent books I’ve read on race in America. It details the history of African Americans, making clear not only how central it is to the history of the United States, but how revealing it is of our national character, past and present. Chapters of historical events alternate with poetry and... Read more

The Secret History

By: Donna Tartt
Narrated by: Donna Tartt
Length: 22 hours 3 minutes

A Read With Jenna Book Club Pick • International Bestseller“Enthralling. . . . A remarkably powerful novel.” —The New York TimesIn this brilliant novel from Donna Tartt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Goldfinch, comes a richly textured and hypnotic story of golden youth corrupted by its own moral arrogance.Richard Papen had never been... Read more

Empire of Pain

The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty

By: Patrick Radden Keefe
Narrated by: Patrick Radden Keefe
Length: 18 hours 6 minutes

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE NOMINEE • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR • NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • A grand, devastating portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, famed for their philanthropy, whose fortune was built by Valium and whose reputation was destroyed by OxyContin. From the prize-winning and bestselling author of... Read more

The House in the Cerulean Sea

Cerulean Chronicles: Book #1

By: TJ Klune
Narrated by: Daniel Henning
Length: 12 hours 12 minutes

“So good! A wonderful whimsical feel good! Read more

The Hobbit

Lord of the Rings

By: J.R.R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Andy Serkis
Length: 10 hours 24 minutes

“The Hobbit is about as classic fantasy as you can get. How do you add to the merit of such an amazing story? You have Andy Serkis narrate it. Andy brings new life to the story, and makes returning to Middle-Earth all the sweeter. Read more

The Night Circus

A Novel

By: Erin Morgenstern
Narrated by: Jim Dale
Length: 13 hours 38 minutes

“It's always hard listening to a book you've read multiple times, and have a deep attachment to for fear of how it will be read to you. Jim Dale does a really good job, finding myself utterly impressed. Read more

Sadie

A Novel

By: Courtney Summers
Narrated by: Dan Bittner, Fred Berman, Gabra Zackman & Rebecca Soler
Length: 8 hours 26 minutes

“A book set up like a podcast? Intriguing. The audiobook set up like a podcast with more than 30 voices? MASTERFUL! Next time you're looking for a true-crime podcast series, look no further than Sadie for all of your true-crime intrigue. Equal parts thrilling and heartrending, this story will stay with you long after you're done listening. Read more

Beloved

Pulitzer Prize Winner

By: Toni Morrison
Narrated by: Toni Morrison
Length: 12 hours 2 minutes

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A spellbinding novel that transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. With a new afterword by the author. 

This "brutally powerful, mesmerizing story” (People) is an unflinchingly look into the abyss of slavery, from the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner.

Sethe... Read more

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

An Oprah’s Book Club Novel

By: Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo, Karen Chilton & Prentice Onayemi
Length: 29 hours 48 minutes

“A sweeping, multi-generational novel about a Southern Black family and their rich and complex ancestry. Focusing on the life of Hailey Pearl, a young woman coming of age in "the city" and her hometown of Chicasetta, GA, the novel jumps back and forth in time weaving together the triumphs and tragedies of her people and how these stories are... Read more

Becoming

By: Michelle Obama
Narrated by: Michelle Obama
Length: 19 hours 1 minute

“I adore our former president and I miss him. Yet I cannot help but be ecstatic that Michelle is coming out with a book about her own life so that I can learn more about this powerful, intelligent, and singularly awesome woman. Barack would be the first to say that his wife is a superstar, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Becoming to read... Read more

A Master of Djinn

Dead Djinn Universe: Book #1

By: P. Djèlí Clark
Narrated by: Suehyla El-Attar
Length: 15 hours 37 minutes

“Fatma el-Sha’arawi is one of the most talented agents in Ciaro’s Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. Though it is 1912, she has worked her way up the male-dominated agency with a combination of raw magical talent, wit, and force of will. When a room of men burnt to a crisp with no sign of fire shows up, Fatma is put on... Read more