As you all know, I’m a huge fan of audiobooks and would never be able to complete my annual reading challenges without them… and I take my audiobook picks v seriously.
This year in particular, I felt like I listened to some really, really excellent audiobooks and I’m excited to share with you my top ten listens of 2019.
My Ten Favorite Audiobooks of 2019
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Such a sad and heartbreaking story that is truly poetic and wonderful. It’s been the number one on all the charts for practically all of 2019 — worth the read!
Educated by Tara Westover
Utterly fascinating. That is all. And yes, it lives up to the hype.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I still think about this book, and it’s been at least six months since I’ve listened to it. This is definitely a book that needs to be listened to rather than read. First of all, the cast is phenomenal, and it reads like a Behind the Music. It’s everything. It’s perfect. It will stick with you for a long, long time.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Such a gorgeous story. If you’re a fan of Madeline Millers work, this is a must read — or listen!
Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson
I think this would have read differently as a book, but the story was expertly told by the two narrators of our story. I thought their performance was brilliant and really brought the story to life. Like most Swanson stories, the plot usually borders on unbelievable, but it’s told in a convincing and wonderful way.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
This was impossible to put down. The his perspective / her perspective is overdone and tired. However, if you stick with it, you’ll be blown away by the ending, I definitely didn’t see it coming. In fact, it was so shocking, I ended up re-listening to the last few chapters to digest the ending in a new light. Loved.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
So great. A deeper dive on this book can be found in an earlier blog post.
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
I loved this book. It was far from perfect, but I simply loved it. This book follows two sisters, Bethie and Jo from their childhood in the 1950’s in suburban Detroit, throughout the course of their lives, which go in very different directions than either would have thought. The narration flips back and forth between Jo and Bethie, and each narrator for each sister is wonderfully done. The book tackles a lot of cliche topics and I think that’s why it gets dinged on GoodReads, but for me, it worked.
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
So I actually have mixed feelings about this book. But the fact that I still think about it months later must mean something, right? It’s a story told over the course of four decades. Marilyn and David Sorenson fall in love and get married in the 1970’s. Fast forward 40 years, and they’re still madly in love and have four adult daughters, all very unsettled, broken, and complete garbage people in their own unique ways. That’s what bothered me the most about this book. I loathed each of their daughters, each more horrible and weaker than the next. It was interesting, and cringeworthy, and kind of fascinating. I don’t know, some books get under your skin in the best way.
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Bad Blood was simply amazing. The journalism and story telling was exceptional and it made for a binge-worthy listen. I could not put it down. Period. It was a shocking and jaw dropping true story of a startup company that promised to revolutionize the medical industry. It was absolutely fascinating.
And that wraps up a few excellent books, all of which I highly recommend! Have a wonderful holiday and see you back here soon.