Written by the brilliant mind behind The Underground Railroad, which was adapted into a Barry Jenkins series last year, The Nickel Boys is a harrowing study of the experience of children in Jim Crow-era America. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, narrated by the author and JD Jackson A #1 New York Times Bestseller, with deadpan humour, the author cleverly reflects on turning 40 in a newly middle-class life with her wife and stepchildren in a small, white, Republican town. Recommended by both Candice Carty-Williams and Jia Tolentino, this book of essays by American comedian Samantha Irby is timely, morbid and hilarious. Wildly imaginative, grisly and moving, the novel switches perspective between an astonishingly diverse medley of voices that range from CIA bosses to bitter ghosts to the gunmen at the lowest rung of warring gangs. Inspired by real events, Marlon James’s epic Booker Prize-winning book recounts a failed plot to assassinate Bob Marley.
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James, narrated by a full cast Told in his own brilliantly dry way, the audiobook might just be the best way to absorb his hilarious tales.
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, narrated by David SedarisĬonsidered something of a modern classic, this comedic collection of personal essays touches on the legendary humorist’s childhood, his move to France (without speaking the language), and forays into performance art and teaching. Eight years later, he makes a frosty return to the neighbourhood.Īvailable on Spotify. Her last novel speaks to second chances, following Anne Elliott, whose family led her to reject a suitor without a fortune. Persuasion by Jane Austen, narrated by Cynthia ErivoĬonsidered one of the most poignant love stories to come from the great Jane Austen, Tony Award-winner Cynthia Erivo breathes new life into the tale. In the National Book Award-winning work, Coates coaches him through the dangers and blessings, highs and lows, mythologies and realities of the African-American experience.
Hailed by Toni Morrison as “required reading”, Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me reads aloud his own deeply personal letter to his 15-year-old son. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, narrated by the author Tackling a range of complex subjects from race and mental health to consent and class, it is all beautifully narrated by actor Shvorne Marks. Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, narrated by Shvorne MarksĪ Sunday Times bestseller, Candice Carty-Williams’s phenomenal debut follows the titular Queenie, struggling with low self esteem, as she navigates the end of a toxic relationship a complicated family dynamic and a soul-destroying job at a major newspaper. What could be more powerful than hearing Maya Angelou speak the poetic words of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings? Or Ta-Nehisi Coates expressing his own feelings about race in America in Between the World and Me? Below, Vogue shares its guide to the best audiobooks available now. Then, of course, there are authors reading their own works to savour. Listen to Diane Keaton reading Joan Didion’s seminal essay “Goodbye To All That”, or a full cast bringing to life the many graveyard spirits depicted in George Saunders’s masterful Lincoln in the Bardo. The wealth of fiction and non-fiction options on Spotify and Audible now go beyond straightforward narration – adding another dimension to moving texts.
If you don’t have the time or attention span to read a novel, consider an audiobook.