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The Audiophiles: 25 Audiobooks Librarians Want You To Take on Your Next Road Trip

Rachel Smalter Hall

Staff Writer

Rachel Smalter Hall may be a professional Book Rioter, but she still hangs out in the public librarian clubhouse. Two of her top three loves include audiobooks and knitting, and her favorite song is Cold Hearted Snake as performed by Alyssa Edwards and Coco Montrese on season 5 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. She co-runs a boozy book club in Lawrence, Kansas, in her spare time. Twitter: @rach_smalls Website: Rachel Smalter Hall

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The Audiophiles is a regular column in which contributors Rachel S. and Cassandra chat about the latest and greatest audiobooks on their radars.

Road Trip Motel SignIt’s road trip season, and The Audiophiles have a little going away present for you to tuck in next to your beach towel and sunnies. We know how it goes (because we’ve been there before too): you clear your calendar, pick a pretty scenic route, and gas up the car. Then, at the very last second, you remember you wanted to swing by and pick up a few audiobooks to keep you company on the drive. But then the spines blend together on the shelves and you have no idea what to pick.

The Audiophiles have got your back. We’ve been chatting with all the librarians we know to get the scoop on what they’re actually listening to and loving right now, and we’re so excited to see some ah-maz-ing picks on the list, from literary fiction to humor, memoir, travel, mystery, food writing, historical fiction, and YA.

Here’s what they said — so roll down the windows and get ready to hit the wide open road:

  1. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell — read by Rebecca Lowman & Sunil Malhotra
  2. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter — read by Edoardo Ballerini
  3. The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty — read by Elizabeth McGovern
  4. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene — read by Colin Firth
  5. Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell — read by herself
  6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern — read by Jim Dale
  7. Just Kids by Patti Smith — read by herself
  8. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray — read by herself
  9. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris — read by himself
  10. Blindness by Jose Saramago — read by Jonathan Davis
  11. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling — read by Jim Dale
  • Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green — read by MacLeod Andrews & Nick Podehl
  • On Writing by Stephen King — read by himself
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson — read by himself
  • Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton — read by herself
  • Immortals series by Tamora Pierce — read by herself & a full cast
  • Stiff by Mary Roach — read by Shelly Frasier
  • City of Thieves by David Benioff — read by Ron Perlman
  • A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness — read by Jason Issacs
  • In Death series by J.D. Robb — read by Susan Ericksen
  • To Sell is Human by Dan Pink — read by himself
  • The Books of Beginning series by John Stephens — read by Jim Dale
  • 1356 by Bernard Cornwell — read by Jack Hawkins
  • Shatner Rules by William Shatner — read by himself
  • The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds by Alexander McCall Smith — read by Davina Porter

    What audiobooks do you have stashed away for your next road trip?

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