Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire) SeriesIf you haven't caught the bug through the HBO series (honestly, are you living under a rock?), then you'll fall in love with Westeros in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. The books are like bricks, so I decided to try my hand at the audiobooks. The first book comes in just under 34 hours, which was perfect for my commute to and from work. It's narrated by Roy Dotrice, whose voice is like butter. He's a Tony Award winning actor, which means he's not afraid to use voices for different characters. He kept my attention enough to make me want to listen to it on my daily commute. I'm only on the third out of five in the series, but I have faith that I'll finish it before GRRM publishes the next installment. Word to the wise on this one: don't listen to the audio without earphones if you are easily embarrassed about mature content and mature language. Total Books in the Series: 5 (for now) (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons) Total Series Listening Time: 203 hours Narrator Rating: 5/5 stars Series Rating: 5/5 stars Angels and Demons (Robert Langdon Series)I absolutely loved the movie directed by Ron Howard, so I grabbed the audiobook from my local library. There's a reason that there are (soon to be) three movie adaptations of Dan Brown's novels. Robert Langdon is a world-renowned Harvard symbologist that is able to unearth the truth in century-old mysteries that happen to have life or death consequences for him and his colleagues. It's like an intense version of National Treasure, but around the world. I absolutely devoured all four books in the series and they are definitely books I would read or listen to again. They are great stand alone books as well, if you're in the mood for a great thriller and mystery but don't want to commit to the whole series. The narrator is Paul Michael, who I would love to have narrate my life. His voice is clear, and his cadence is perfect. Total Books in the Series: 4 (Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, Inferno) Total Series Listening Time: 71.5 hours (17.5 for Angels & Demons alone) Narrator Rating: 5/5 stars Series Rating: 5/5 stars Harry Potter Series Odds are you're already a fan of Harry Potter and have read the physical copies of the books. (Odds are even better that you waited in line at Barnes and Noble for the release of each book.) Regardless if you're a tried and true fan or if you are just beginning, the audiobook version of the seven Harry Potter books are to die for. You definitely want to check out the version narrated by Jim Dale. When I was asking for audiobook recommendations a few months ago, my friends were appalled I hadn't listened to this series with his narration yet. He is, to many, the end-all-be-all of narrators. Stephen Fry is his rival in this category (you'll recognize him from his role in V for Vendetta), and both have narrated all seven novels. You can check out more on their rivalry here and make your own decisions. Honestly, now is a great time to reread this series as an audiobook. Only a few weeks until Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is released (which I didn't include in the series count below)! Total Books in the Series: 7 (Sorcerer's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows) Total Series Listening Time: 119.5 hours Narrator Rating: (Jim Dale) 5/5 stars Series Rating: I'd be a fool to not give it 5/5 stars A Series of Unfortunate EventsIsn't this a series that is for children? Well, yes, but so is Harry Potter and don't get so snippy. Netflix is currently filming an adaptation of the first book with Neil Patrick Harris playing Count Olaf, so it's the perfect time for a refresher on the story. Not convinced yet? What if I told you Tim Curry was the narrator? Yes, the Tim Curry of Rocky Horror, Clue, and The Wild Thornberrys. Now that I've got your attention, I'll continue. I loved reading this series as a kid, and coming back to read them as an adult was even better. It's all about the terrible misfortunes of the orphaned Baudelaire children and the evil Count Olaf who is trying to either kill the kids or steal their fortune. The Baudelaires are quite cunning and always end up outsmarting Count Olaf. When I first read this series, I loved how smart the kids were and how stupid and oblivious the adults were. Seems pretty true to life even now. Lemony Snicket is an author that is just hilarious to listen to as he is to read, as much of what he writes is over his intended audience's head. Each book is a pretty short read that you could finish in a few days with a short commute, or in an afternoon of deep cleaning your house. Total Books in the Series: 13 (The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window, The Miserable Mill, The Austere Academy, The Ersatz Elevator, The Vile Village, The Hostile Hospital, The Carnivorous Carnival, The Slippery Slope, The Grim Grotto, The Penultimate Peril, The End) Total Series Listening Time: 59 hours Narrator Rating: 5/5 stars Series Rating: 4/5 stars Women's Murder Club SeriesJames Patterson is the king of mystery, and his Women's Murder Club series does not disappointment. My roommate and I first started reading the physical books together two summers ago. We did a good job of reading them together, but as I became sidetracked with work and other priorities she moved ahead of me. To keep up with her and have time to do everything else I wanted to, I tried out the audiobooks from my local library to keep me entertained on my commute. I'm so glad I did! The main character, Lindsay Boxer is a rough and tough homicide detective in San Francisco that always finds herself deeper in a case than she intends to be. Her best friends, a medical examiner, an assistant D.A., and a reporter, work with her to help solve each book's case...sometimes bending the rules to do so. There are always twists and turns, and much like Game of Thrones, no character is safe. The narrator is Suzanne Toren, who wasn't my favorite at first, but now when I read the physical books I can't do so without hearing her voice. There are fifteen books in this series so far, and the latest one just came out in Spring 2016. One of my favorite aspects of this series is that each title tells you what number it is in the series, so you'll never be confused. Another perk is if you start this series and have to put it away for a while, it isn't hard to jump back into it. Total Books in the Series: 15 (First to Die, Second Chance, Third Degree, Fourth of July, Fifth Horseman, The Sixth Target, Seventh Heaven, The Eighth Confession, The Ninth Judgement, Tenth Anniversary, Eleventh Hour, Twelfth of Never, Unlucky Thirteen, Fourteenth Deadly Sin, Fifteenth Affair) Total Series Listening Time: 103 hours Narrator Rating: 4/5 stars Series Rating: 4/5 stars Hank the Cowdog SeriesThis is probably the first audiobook I ever listened to. I can remember driving to elementary school with my mom and listening to Hank the Cowdog's adventures on cassette tape in our Ford Taurus. She and I both loved his quirky antics. Hank is the narrator of the books and is self-proclaimed "Head of Ranch Security." His stories usually start with him being framed for some sort of crime, like the murder of the chickens on his ranch. Hank along with his dopey sidekick, Drover, interrogate the ranch's other animals and eavesdrop on their humans to solve the mysteries. This series first started in 1983 and author John R. Erickson published the 73rd book in 2011. Erickson also narrates the audio versions of the stories, so it's fun to hear the characters exactly as he intended them to be read. If you're going on a road trip with kiddos, this is a great series to take with you. Each book is less than three hours long, usually ranging from 1.5-2.5 hours in listening time. Everyone will be entertained! Total Books in the Series: 73 (I'm only going to list the first twenty...you can Google the rest...)(The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, The Further Adventures of Hank the Cowdog, It's a Dog's Life, Murder in the Middle Pasture, Faded Love, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, The Curse of the Incredibly Priceless Corncob, The Case of the Halloween Ghost, Every Dog Has His Day, Lost in the Dark Unchanted Forest, The Case of the Fiddle-Playing Fox, The Wounded Buzzard on Christmas Eve, The Case of the Missing Cat, Lost in the Blinded Blizzard, The Case of the Car-Barkaholic Dog, The Case of the Hooking Bull, The Case of the Midnight Rustler, The Phantom in the Mirror...) Total Series Listening Time: 185 hours Narrator Rating: 5/5 stars Series Rating: 5/5 stars Ender's GameOrson Scott Card's science fiction novel is one of the classics in my book. Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is training using simulated war games, but reality may not be so simple. Ender lives in a dystopian version of Earth, where an alien race called "Buggers" are a known threat to civilization. The war with the Buggers has been happening for over a hundred years, and Ender seems to be just what the military asked for...or genetically modified. This book is way better than its movie adaptation with Harrison Ford. The narrator wasn't my favorite for this book, but I was so engulfed in the plot that I didn't notice. You can find versions that are more dramatized and are almost like listening to a play or old radio drama with a variety of narrators. Most people don't know that this is the first in a series by Card, but I haven't read or listened to any of them after Ender's Game. Total Books in the Series: 4 (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind) Total Series Listening Time: 60.5 hours (12 hours for Ender's Game alone) Narrator Rating: 3.5/5 stars Book Rating: 5/5 stars Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys?I'm a BIG FAN of listening to comedian's audiobooks. They read their own work and it's like getting a ticket to their stand-up. Billy Crystal is one of those comedians that was a part of my childhood, thanks to The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally. This book talks about how Crystal feels about growing old and tells some anecdotes about his life as a comedian and actor. A little behind the scenes action, you know what I mean? Some of the content is mature, but I found myself actually laughing out loud while listening to this one. It's light-hearted, nostalgic, and will leave you wanting more once you've reached the end of the book. (If you do find yourself wanting more, you can check out 700 Sundays and Absolutely Mahvelous too!) Total Listening Time: 12 hours Narrator Rating: 5/5 stars Book Rating: 4/5 stars Trouble Maker: Surviving Hollywood and ScientologyI haven't always been a fan of Leah Remini (You know her as Carrie Heffernan from The King of Queens.), but I did enjoy listening to her tell-all about her family's experiences in Scientology. If you're a fan of reality television and celebrity gossip, this will be a great listen for you. Remini narrates and explains how she became involved in Scientology, how she met her husband, how it affected her career and her friends, and what life is like after leaving the church. Remini's take on the world can be quite brash, but I appreciated her story more for it. She wasn't censored; she was raw and real. Half of the reason why I enjoyed this book so much is because I enjoyed listening to her speak! This isn't a book I would normally read, but I'm so glad I did. Give it a shot! Total Listening Time: 7.5 hours Narrator Rating: 5/5 stars Book Rating: 4/5 stars Me Talk Pretty One DayI enjoy listening to David Sedaris, humorist and radio contributor, on NPR. Me Talk Pretty One Day is just one in his many essay collections that he reads. He definitely isn't for everyone, but hearing about his move to Paris, his relationship with his father and sister, and his attempts to learn French are worth a listen. I enjoyed this collection because each chapter isn't very long and I could come and go as I pleased. Total Listening Time: 6 hours Narrator Rating: 4/5 stars Book Rating: 3/5 stars
What do you think? What are some of your favorite audiobook titles? Let me know in the comments.
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