As my college life becomes more and more stressful, I find myself with less and less time to read. I used to find this annoying, since reading is my favorite pastime, but I’ve recently learned how to keep up with my reading on the go: audiobooks.
There are many different places you can listen to audiobooks, but the four that I personally have used are: Audible, Scribd, YouTube and Spotify. Unfortunately, these all require a subscription (minus YouTube), but I’ve found that personally, it’s worth the monthly payment as long as I am using it enough.
Without further ado, I present to you five of my favorite audiobooks that I’ve ever listened to!
- The Woman in The Window by A.J. Finn
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This was the first audiobook I ever listened to and it still stands as one of my favorites! I listened to it on Audible narrated by Ann Marie Lee, and I was immediately hooked. The Woman in the Window is a thrill novel that follows a woman with agoraphobia who watches her neighbors across the street through her window. The novel holds many throwbacks to the Hithcock movie, Rear Window and follows the mysterious atmosphere of it. The narration was encapsulating, as much of the novel is spent inside the main character, Anna Fox’s head. Lee does an incredible job inviting you into Anna Fox’s world and helping you vividly understand what it would be like to live with agoraphobia. If you like thrillers with a psychological twist, this audiobook is for you.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
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Unfortunately, I cannot provide a link to this audiobook since it’s in 277 parts on Spotify, but I implore you all to check it out! Pride and Prejudice is a classic romance novel about a woman named Elizabeth Bennet and her journey through life lessons when encountering different people from her area. I actually attempted to read this novel in a physical book but I simply couldn’t get into it; however, I had only heard good things about this story, specifically from my best friend who had read it the year before. I found the audiobook on Spotify narrated by Rosalyn Landor and I was instantly pulled back in. Rosalyn Landor does an excellent job discriminating between which characters she is speaking for. If you do not like personalized voices for each character, this audiobook is not the one for you. This audiobook provided me with a deeper connection with each of the characters and kept me up until odd hours of the night, wanting to listen more.
- The Outsider by Stephen King
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Everyone enjoys a little Stephen King. This novel follows a sheriff trying to investigate the gruesome death of a young boy in his small town. Narrated by Will Patton, this was the first audiobook I listened to on the streaming site Scibd, which is my current favorite place to listen. The Outsider was definitely not what I expected it to be and I had low expectations going into it; however, Patton had a knack for creating suspense with his voice. I was extremely captivated by this story and could see it unfolding very clearly in my head. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a flushed-out mystery with an explosive ending.
- Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
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I have an automatic bias towards this audiobook since I have read this novel three different times. This novel is about a woman named Louisa Clark who is hired to take care of a quadraplegic man named Will. This is my ultimate favorite romance that I’ve ever read. I tend to read this every summer; it’s like an anniversary for me every year. What stood out to me specifically about this audiobook is that it contains a whole cast of people to play the different characters! Even if you’re not super into romance, I recommend you take a stab at this novel. It holds much more than just a textbook romance; it has wonderful character development and keeps you hooked throughout all the chapters. I can’t wait for the summer to roll around so I can jump back into this audiobook.
- Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
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This is my current audiobook listen and I must say, I am obsessed. Narrated by Ramón de Ocampo, he tells the story of a forced friendship between the First Son of the United States and the Prince of England. I feel obligated to note that Ocampo does an excellent English accent. I love the way Ocampo narrates—he brings all the characters to life which brings another level of dimension to the story. This is a fast-paced, addictive love story that I would recommend for anyone listening to an audiobook for the first time. This story is an attention grabber, but light-hearted enough to pick it up when you’re not busy and put it down when something comes up.
I hope I convinced at least a few of you to pick up an audiobook or two! I wanted to leave by saying you don’t need to have a subscription to the websites that I linked. There are plenty of audiobooks for free on YouTube for everyone to enjoy.
Happy Listening!