Yahoo Autos 7 Audiobooks That Will Make Your Road Trip Better
- 1/8
7 Audiobooks That Will Make Your Road Trip Better
Listening to an audiobook in the car is a great way to experience a story together and to add to the already great experience of going on an adventure. My first time was on a cross-country family road trip in 2009, when we listened to the entire CD-ROM set of Roots narrated by Alex Haley, which we had checked out from the library. It was an unforgettable listening experience, but keeping track of all 24 CDs in the set, stashing the giant brick of a box out of the sun, and changing the CD at inopportune moments during our drive was less fun.
Today, you can easily call up the world's books on Audible and other streaming services. One of the best parts is that the authors of the books very often narrate their own works, which adds a new dimension to the listening experience. Here is a selection of books you should check out for commuting, weekend jaunts, or the epic road trip.
- 2/8
A Drink before the War
audible.com
$28.51
This is the first in a six-book mystery series, and they're all good as audiobooks. Perfect for a trip to Boston, this series about Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, the world-weary private investigator duo, will pull you in and not let go. Among this book's many strengths are its strong sense of place and the well-drawn lead characters, who will still populate your mind years later. Not just any mystery novel, this book is the beginning of an oftentimes brutal journey you will take with these characters through their lives. You might as well start planning five more road trips, because once you're through with this one, you'll want to hear the rest.
- 3/8
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
audible.com
$24.95
Elijah Wood's performance as the prepubescent subversive Huckleberry Finn will make you believe that he is the reincarnation of the boy himself. After listening to this rendition of Twain's classic, it will be impossible to hear Huck's voice as anything but that of the Lord of the Rings actor ever again. Finn is controversial–the use of racist language is jarring, as it should be. This is a book about a kid, but not a book to listen to with kids. Large in both moral and geographic scope, the book is enjoyable, accessible, and deeply reflective on the American ideal and its failures. There are few better ways to think about America than listening to this audiobook on a cross-country road trip.
- 4/8
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
audible.com
$31.95
This is the coolest history book you will ever listen to. Who knew that the progression of paleontology to the modern day could be so absorbing? This book is full of stories about the lost world—including many in the American West, once the roaming ground of the ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex—covering millennia in just a matter of hours. This book will give you a new appreciation for the land you are driving over in your fossil-fuel machine. It will help you imagine that below your tires, only a few hundred feet into the ground, lie the bones of what were once the kings of the land.
- 5/8
The Overstory
audible.com
$41.99
This book won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2019, but don't let that discourage you. You wouldn't imagine a novel about trees to be riveting, heartbreaking, and morally provocative, but this one manages to be all of that and more. The Overstory begins with eight separate stories, each introducing a character and the importance of trees in their personal life. These characters' stories overlap in the second part of the book, creating an exceptionally satisfying story arc. Listen to this and allow it to change the way you see the world outside your windows (it's possible you might have a new appreciation for electric vehicles when you're done).
- 6/8
These Truths
audible.com
$39.95
A beautifully written and illuminating look at the whole of the American past (from Columbus to Trump), this work of history also serves as an argument in favor of American greatness—and does so without turning history into myth. Long histories that cover centuries make for great road-trip companions for all ages. With this one, your trip across the country will also be a trip through American history. Lepore's audiobook was my favorite of 2018, and it is improved by being narrated by the author.
- 7/8
The Harry Potter Series
audible.com
$29.99
The perfect book series for a road trip with the family, this series-long narration by Jim Dale is perhaps the most enjoyable performance you’ll be able to find in all of audiobookdom. He simply does voices better than anybody—and what a cast of characters he has to work with. Harry’s journey from his obscure suburban boyhood to his status as a triumphant teenage hero will make your journey from point A to point B seem short.
- 8/8
Where'd You Go, Bernadette
audible.com
$17.09
A clever twist on the missing-persons mystery archetype, this is a light and funny novel about an eccentric woman, living with her husband and daughter in Seattle, who mysteriously disappears. The story is pieced together through emails, diary entries, and occasional narration by the daughter, Bee. With a setting ranging from Seattle to Antarctica, Bernadette is consistently entertaining and fun. Look out for the movie adaptation coming this summer after listening.
The best listening is a story that matches the character of the place you're going, and here are several great ones.
