Weekends, public holidays, school holidays…lest we all go insane listening to our children argue about the complex rules of kids Monopoly… sometimes parents just need a little “me time” that can be next to impossible to get when our kids are home 24/7.
That’s where audiobooks can be a game changer! You can feed your literary cravings and your NEED for some stimulation outside Bluey episodes on repeat, but keep your hands and eyes free to get on with other tasks. Multitasking for the win.
To help nudge you in the right direction, we’ve compiled our TOP 10 of the best audiobooks to get you through the times when you just need some time to tune out. And if you need any more convincing… audible, the top listening platform, offers your first title free with a 30 day trial to get you started! No excuses.
Top 10 audiobooks for 2020
Where the Crawdads Sing
I sing this praises of this book at every opportunity and now is no exception! I’m actually intrigued by where the audio version would take me, given I’ve read this book three times. This beautiful story was chosen by Reese Witherspoon’s book club, and she says the audible version takes her right back to long, sweltering Tennessee summers. And what Reese says, goes!
Red White & Royal Blue
Save this spicy LGBTQ romance for listening through your earbuds because this one is just for the adults! Press play and escape into a world in which the president’s son can fall for his very own prince charming. Who doesn’t need to indulge in a little love story now and then?
Vanishing Half
Twin sisters raised in a small, Southern Black community run away at 16 and end up taking very different paths. One returns with her daughter years later, the other goes on to live as a white woman, with a husband who knows nothing about her background. It’s a story about family and identity that addresses the subject of race in a fresh way that will stick with you.
Little Fires Everywhere
If you aren’t already familiar with the book, you may have heard about the hit series Little Fires Everywhere starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. In Shaker Heights, Ohio, Elena Richardson lives a seemingly perfect suburban life. After renting a house to single mother Mia, the two women’s families become close until they find themselves on opposing sides of an adoption debate. Things unravel as Elena tries to dig into the secrets of Mia’s past.
Such a Fun Age
A story about racial profiling, privilege, and identity doesn’t sound like much fun. But trust me, the audible version of one of this year’s hottest new titles is so much more exciting than it sounds. Tune in for a new kind of social justice story.
Bird Box
If you saw Bird Box when it was released on Netflix, you already know there’s something terrifying about not being able to look at the horrors outside. The story is all about sound, so it makes perfect sense as an audiobook. It really drives home how the things we hear have so much more power to scare us than those we see.
Becoming
Michelle Obama narrates her memoir herself in the audiobook of her autobiography, and this just gives it an extra-personal feel. Listen to her tell her own story of her journey from the South Side of Chicago to the White House in this inspirational story about a woman coming into her own.
Girl, Woman, Other
Bernardine Evaristo’s best-selling Girl, Woman, Other won The Booker Prize in 2019. The plot follows the lives of 12 characters in Britain as they search for something missing from their lives. The stories take place at various points over the past 100 years and in different locations the length and breadth of the country.
Gotta Get Theroux This
For more than two decades Louis Theroux has shone a light on distinctive characters and diverse pockets of society. Through TV interviews and his own documentary series, the journalist has forged an unexpectedly successful career as a journalist, which he reflects on with honesty and humour in his memoir. The audiobook adaptation is narrated by Theroux himself.. which is drawcard enough to listen instead of read this one if you ask me! Louis is the thinking woman’s Chris Hemsworth, so I’m all in on this one!
The Family Upstairs
This crime thriller is set in a home in wealthy Chelsea, London. Three bodies lie on the kitchen floor and have been there for several days. Upstairs, a happy, well-fed baby lies awake in her cot. What happened in that house and who has been looking after the baby?
