Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Audiobooks I Recommend to Print Readers
Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday, the weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s freebie topic, my pick: the top 10 audiobooks I recommend to print readers who claim audiobooks “are not for them.” This is a list I have been refining for years, because as soon as you tell someone you are a book blogger who listens, you get the same skeptical look. I came up with this list to break through that skepticism. Every audiobook on this list has converted at least one print loyalist that I personally know.
1. A Memoir Read by the Author
There is no better gateway than a memoir narrated by the author. The intimacy of hearing a writer tell their own story in their own voice is something print just cannot replicate. I have a specific recommendation I make depending on the listener’s interests, but the rule of thumb is: pick a memoir by someone whose voice they already love.
2. A Full-Cast Production
A full-cast audiobook with great sound design feels less like reading and more like radio drama, and it is a beautiful gateway for skeptics. Look for productions with multiple lead narrators, music, and ambient sound.
3. A Mystery with a Distinctive Detective Voice
Mysteries with a strong first-person detective narrator are perfect audio. The genre rewards confident voice work, and a great narrator can make a so-so mystery a great audiobook.
4. A Romance with Dual Narration
For my friends who love romance in print, dual narration is the entry point. Hearing a hero and heroine voiced by two different narrators with chemistry is a different experience entirely.
5. A Comedy Performed by a Comedian
A funny memoir or essay collection read by the comedian who wrote it is borderline cheating. The timing is built in. The skeptic will laugh out loud at a stoplight and be sold.
6. A Classic Reread
A classic the listener already loves in print is a low-stakes way in. They know the story, so they can focus on the narration and the audio experience. Jane Austen and Dickens both have spectacular audio editions.
7. A Nonfiction Audiobook on a Topic They Love
Pick a nonfiction subject the skeptic is already interested in. History buff? Biography. Science nerd? Pop science narrator. Sports fan? Sports memoir. Subject-matter passion bridges the format gap.
8. A Literary Novel with a Slow, Beautiful Voice
If the skeptic is a literary reader, lean into a slow, contemplative narrator who treats prose like music. Tanya Eby and several others come to mind.
9. A Genre Series with a Beloved Series Narrator
Series listeners get spoiled. Once you have spent 20 hours with a narrator, they become the voice of the series. Recommend book one of a series with a great long-haul narrator and the listener will be queueing up book two before they finish unloading the dishwasher.
10. A Thriller for the Commute
For skeptics who drive a lot, a tightly paced thriller with a confident narrator turns the commute into “I am just going to sit in the driveway for ten more minutes.” Choose a thriller with short chapters and great pacing.
A Note on Approach
The other half of converting a print reader is logistics. Help them set up Libby. Walk them through bumping playback to 1.25x or 1.5x. Suggest they start while doing dishes or walking the dog (not sitting still, which can feel weird at first). Most “I cannot get into audiobooks” complaints are really logistics complaints in disguise.
What is on your list? Drop your top conversion picks in the comments. I am always looking for new ammunition.