A good story is a journey, and my favorite mode of transport is an audiobook. As a self-proclaimed bibliophile, I enjoy collecting, appreciating, working with, and championing a good listen. During my tenure at Audible, I've curiously looked for stories about people who love literature as much as I do. Little did I know that the search would add so many titles to my already large library—many in subgenres that I have recently fallen in love with.
In honor of Audiobook Appreciation Month, I got a little meta and created this list of my favorite audiobooks about books, filled with novels about novels, and the people who love them.
May your next audiobook be your best one! (Save this list to your library Collections.)
Meet Nina Hill: A bookish young woman supremely confident in her own... shell. When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind a huge family for her to meet, Nina is horrified. As if that wasn't enough, her trivia nemesis has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. It's time for Nina to come out of her shell, but she isn't convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. A listener favorite, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill captures the immense joy found in discovering and sharing great stories.
When Nora Seed tries to end her life and wakes up in the midnight library, she is faced with the possibility of exchanging her life for a new one. She must now search within herself as she travels through the library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place. The Midnight Library makes one wonder: What if you had the chance to go to the library and pick a new life for yourself?
In Thank You for Listening, author and A-list narrator Julia Whelan gives us a peek at a narrator's life. Former actress turned audiobook narrator Sewanee Chester reluctantly resurrects her romance pseudonym, at the request of a famous romance author, and starts to work with the industry’s hottest, most secretive voice. As they build a connection, Sewanee begins to wonder: Can she dare to risk her success for desires she thought were long buried?
Enter the world of a collection of interdimensional libraries, spanning multiple universes, run by a secret society of librarian spies who safeguard important works of fiction from all different realities. When Kai and Irene are sent to retrieve a rare volume of fairy tales, they conclude that this is not an ordinary mission. With its impressive ability to mix so many themes, The Invisible Library is highly recommended for all bibliophiles and lovers of “books about books.”
Daniel Sempere has woken up on his birthday to find that he can no longer remember his mother, which causes him great distress. As the son of a bookshop owner, Daniel finds comfort in novels. When Daniel becomes enamored with one called 'Shadow of the Wind' and sets out to find more works by the author, he learns that the novels are being systematically destroyed and must protect his volume from the flames at all costs. The Shadow of the Wind is lavishly written, and may inspire the rebel in you to check out a banned title.
Matilda Wormwood is an exceptionally well-read child born to an absolutely terrible family. When she goes to school, Matilda immediately adores her teacher and class even more than the library. Her favorite place doesn't remain that way for long—thanks to the child-flinging principal, Miss Trunchbull. When Matilda is attacked, she sets out to give the Trunchbull what she deserves. Brilliantly performed by Kate Winslet, Matilda is a listen you can share with the smallest of bibliophiles.
Nora Stephens is an uptight literary agent whose life is books—she’s read pretty much all of them and decided she’s only a heroine for her clients and her sister, Libby. But when she reluctantly agrees to a bucket list sisters’ trip and ends up working with her editor nemesis, Charlie, Nora begins to fall in love—and not just with a book. From the joys of getting lost in a great story to the mysterious life of an editor, this novel truly covers all aspects of being Book Lovers.
Nothing would make Connie and Adelle happier than to jump into their favorite novel, Moira. When a mysterious man offers them a spell to enter the story’s world, they find themselves in 18th-century Boston, where things are not quite as they expected. Connie and Adelle must escape Moira before it's too late. Full of twists and turns, The Book of Living Secrets is a book lover's fantasy come true—who hasn’t dreamed of being in their favorite novel?
A.J. Fikry is the cranky owner of Island Books in New England. His life is in a rut: He lost his wife, and his bookstore is struggling. To everyone's surprise, A.J. adopts an abandoned toddler, and it doesn’t take long for the locals to notice the transformation of both bookstore and owner. Full of literary references,The Storied Like of A.J. Fikry is an amazing listen for bibliophiles, and pretty much anyone else too!
