Traveling for the holidays? We recommend one of the year’s best audiobooks, as selected by our audio columnist, Anna Zeitlin. Discover all her recent favorites here, and check out her top 5 picks below.
Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, read by Allyson Ryan
Read by Allyson Ryan with humor and attitude, Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s stunning debut novel explores middle age, parenthood, divorce and the subjective nature of how we perceive other people, even those closest to us. Toby Fleishman is going through a divorce and discovers he’s a hot commodity on all the new dating apps. But when his ex-wife, Rachel, doesn’t pick up the kids when it’s her turn, he’s forced to navigate parenthood and dating while wondering what happened to his marriage—and to Rachel. Read our full review.
Medallion Status by John Hodgman, read by the author
In his laugh-out-loud new memoir, John Hodgman navigates his new life as a former celebrity, as he discovers that he’s less famous than a pair of Instagram dogs. This is definitely one you’ll want the audiobook for, as Hodgman’s delivery really helps his jokes land. There’s also one line in the memoir that he can’t bear to read aloud; you need to hear the A-list celeb he brings in to read it. Read our full review.
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo, read by the author
A Malaysian woman of Chinese descent, Yangsze Choo is an enchanting storyteller, and she ably narrates her own novel, set in the melting pot of 1930s colonial Malaya. Her narration is more than a reading; Choo has a deep empathy for her characters, and these emotions come out in her telling. Read our full review.
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino, read by the author
This book of nine original essays from New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino makes for great listening. She finds a personal angle to big topics within our modern culture, draws connections between radical political movements and the way popular websites encourage us to turn inward, and comes to a stark conclusion about the way we allow ourselves to be used by corporations. Tolentino narrates the essays herself, which emphasizes her sharp wit and adds an intimacy to the more personal stories. Read our full review.
The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal, read by Soneela Nankani and Deepti Gupta
The new novel from Balli Kaur Jaswal is a quietly radical feminist story of three estranged sisters who travel from the U.K. and Australia to their parents’ home country, India, to fulfill their mother’s dying wish. Narration from Soneela Nankani and Deepti Gupta is fun when it needs to be but also carries an emotional weight. Read our full review.
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