TTT: Some of my favorite audiobooks

Top Ten Tuesday: Some of my favorite audiobooks 

(that I've listened to recently)---

1. The Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, read by Brett Whitener.  
I love, love, love this narration. Whitener brings the New Orleans accent to the book. This is a fun, quirky, hilarious read. Perfect as an audiobook. Listen to a clip here:

2. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, read by a cast of 166, including Nick Offerman and David Sedaris. 
This book won the best audiobook of 2018 for good reason because of this amazing cast. The audiobook is much better than the book, I understand from my book club friends. Those of us who listened, loved it, those who read it, didn't. Read more about the audiobook here.

3. There There by Tommy Orange, read by Alma Cuervo, Kyla Garcia, Darrell Dennis, Shaun Taylor-Corbett.
This is a hard story about a hard topic but the audiobook is so, so good. And the reader feels like they are at the Big Oakland Powwow with the others on that fateful day. For a sample clip, click here:

4. The Soul of America: the Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham, read by the author and Frank Sanders.
For folks who are disturbed by what is happening in America politics today, this book is a salve for the soul. Jon Meacham  is an excellent narrator for his own historical writing and Frank Sanders is so inspiring to listen to. If you like reading history, I recommend this book in this format. Listen to a clip here.

5. Becoming by Michelle Obama, read by the author. 
I just saw Michelle last night at a big event here in Tacoma. It is so wonderful listening to stories about her life in her own voice. Listen to a sample.

6. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, read by Stephen Fry
This is possibly the funniest book ever written and Stephen Fry is master of creating unique and memorable voices, making it even funnier. This is not-to-be-missed in this format. Sample here.

7. The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater, read by Will Patton
I love every book I've heard read by Will Patton. He has a very unique and interesting voice and his narration makes this series, which is wonderful by itself, simply superb. Give the audio a try here.

8. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, read by Buhni Turbin
This is an example of a book that works well for people who has trouble sounding out words from other languages, like me. This is set in Nigeria and utilizes lots of terms from the language. The audiobook works well to make the story richer for hearing the language as it is supposed to sound. Listen to a clip.

9. Less by Andrew Sean Greer, read by Robert Petkoff
As I mentioned before, sometimes the audio version of a book makes it more accessible, or humorous, or aids in understanding. Other times it offers the chance for two listeners to share an experience. This book, a Pulitzer prize winner, is very funny and the humor is enhanced by the listening experience. Any book by Alexander McCall Smith is also funnier in the audio format, I think. Listen to a clip of Less here.

10. His Dark Material series by Philip Pullman, read by Philip Pullman and a complete cast
Okay. I confess. I listened to this series many years ago but it really made an impression. My whole family and I were mesmerized from start to finish. We were together for a long car trip and we sat in rapt attention for hours, barely daring to say a word. It was a magical listening experience. Another series which was also magical to listen to was The Harry Potter series. The family listened to one of the books on a long trip. It took hours of listening but we all loved it. Clip of the Golden Compass. A Clip from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire narrated by Jim Dale, who won awards for his work on the series.