I’ve listened to 40 audiobooks (and counting) in 2018 alone. I don’t believe this would have been even remotely possible if it weren’t for being a personal chef — I’m left alone in my clients kitchens for hours on end with nothing but ingredients and time. So it’s either music, a podcast, or an audiobook. And me being me, I choose audiobook!
I wanted to share my personal favorites from this year. In order to qualify for my personal top ten of this year, each audiobook needed to not only have an excellent story, but the narration needed to be spot on as well. Because solid narration key when it comes to an audiobook!
And as for the worst audiobook picks of 2018… well, the audiobooks I have listed in that particular category are unfortunately a miserable blend of a poor story mixed with awful narration. I can’t stand when a good story is botched / slightly ruined by poor narration. Here’s the best and the worst of ’em!
BEST AUDIOBOOK PICKS OF 2018
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
- The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
- Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King
- Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
- Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
WORST AUDIOBOOK PICKS OF 2018
- Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst
- The Passanger by Lisa Lutz
- The Breakdown by B.A. Paris
- The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close
- The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
- Flesh and Blood by Patricia Cornwell
- Final Girls by Riley Sager
- Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
- American War by Omar El Akkad
Psst! Chances are you can find a quick summary of each of these books in one of my Overrated Reads series.
And that concludes the best & the worst of my audiobook picks for the year. There were quite a few more, but they left me with a meh feeling, not great but not terrible either…
Examples: I really enjoyed The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah but didn’t enjoy the narration — would recommend reading vs. listening. Or with Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, I loved the narrator (same woman who narrated The Hate U Give and The Sun is Also a Star) but I didn’t love the story.
However, all in all, I would say I was pretty happy with the books I chose to listen to this year. Especially the top ten!