Excuse me for coming in hot here, but I just found out (about 1,000 years after everyone in true Millennial fashion, apparently) that the new “historical” American Girl dolls are from 1999?!?!?! Complete with “miniature pretend” Tamagotchi?! It’s taking all my self-control to stick to my plan of writing about audiobooks, but I can feel an essay brewing for next week. I know everyone’s fetishizing the 90s these days, but, to date, my comfort with 90s nostalgia is limited to Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle’s scarily-accurate show Pen15. Leave a comment or reply to this email if you’re also having strong feelings!
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programing…
4 tips for becoming an audiobook person
Until six months ago, I would respond to any suggestion of listening to an audiobook with “oh, no, I’m not an audiobook person.” I felt like conversational podcasts were easier for me to listen to because they kept me from zoning out (a perennial problem with audiobooks). Eventually, some of my favorites ended (RIP The High Low), others lost their shine, or I made it through the backlog of new favorites like Poog. Then, I was in need of something to distract me over a number of days and thought, hmm, maybe I’ll try again. I rented Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe on Libby and was hooked thanks to narrator Matthew Blaney’s compelling narration. Since then, I’ve listened to 9 audiobooks and quit 6. Because I rent them from the library, this allows me the flexibility without the feeling of a sunk cost making me stick it out.
1. The narrator matters as much (if not more) than the writer
Perhaps this is sacrilege to say as a writer myself, but I believe a great narrator can significantly improve the quality of writing. One of the keys of my getting into audiobooks was realizing the narrator matters. If I find yourself annoyed by the cadence or intonation of the person reading the book, I stop listening, since that feeling is probably not going to change. Sometimes the narrator and the writer are one and the same, which often works well, as in Stay True by Hua Hsu, one of my favorite recent listens. Other times you think, wow, their publisher let them down by having them record this.
If you like a particular narrator, you can search by their name to see which other titles they’ve recorded. I liked Kristen Sieh’s narration of Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, and so I trust she’ll do a good job with Jenny Odell’s Saving Time, which is next on my list.
2. Try adjusting your speed to 1.10 or 1.15x
I have a theory that audiobooks are purposefully slowed down to be more inclusive of different processing speeds. I support this! But sometimes the narration is so ponderous that my mind starts wandering. Thankfully, most apps will allow you to adjust the listening speed. I find the sweet spot of a natural, engaging cadence that doesn’t sound rushed is between 1.10 and 1.15x depending on the book and narrator.
3. Consider signing up for Libby or another library service
As I mentioned above, because I use Libby, an app that’s connected via my library account, I can quit audiobooks without feeling like I need to see my purchase through. See if your library account is eligible to use Libby here. I often find that I love a book so much that I buy a copy for myself or to gift to someone else. If you’d like to support the author by purchasing the audiobook and don’t want to use Audible, my mom swears by Libro.fm. Similarly to Bookshop.org, a portion of purchases go to a chosen bookstore of your choice.
4. Get started with memoirs and narrative non-fiction
Though I loved listening to Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy and did make it through Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (which, perhaps controversially, I hated), in general, I find I quit fiction audiobooks more readily than memoirs or narrative nonfiction. Maybe it’s the sense of more “natural” storytelling when it’s the author telling you about what happened or the podcast-like aspect of page turners like American Kingpin. That being said, I found the material of Jeanette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died way too intense for an audio format. If you’ve struggled to get into audiobooks, I recommend picking a non-fiction page turner or a memoir narrated by the author first.
Audiobooks I’ve loved this year
Stay True by Hua Hsu, narrated by the author: Hsu revisits his college years, which were marked by the death of a close friend. He is a fantastic narrator, and the writing is smart, insightful, and peppered with the details of life and his intellectual development at Berkeley in the 1990s.
Wintering by Katherine May, narrated by Rebecca Lee: May tells the story of her rebranding a time of struggle and depression as “wintering,” during which she takes refuge in cold water swims, saunas, and long walks in Kent, England. It’s cozy, beautiful narrated, and inspiring as the days shorten in the Northern hemisphere.
American Kingpin by Nick Bilton, narrated by Will Damron: Good luck pausing this story about Ross Ulbricht’s rise and fall as the creator of the Silk Road, a website on the dark web for all things illegal.
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes, narrated by the author: This book charts Rhimes’s life-changing decision to say “yes” to everything. It’s an excellent listen if you’re in a rut, and she has the most charming style of narration. Read more about why I recently revisited it here.
Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz, narrated by the author: Schulz chronicles the experience of losing her beloved father, finding her wife, and creating a life that can hold both grief and love.
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe, narrated by Matthew Blaney: I’ve written before about this riveting book about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It’s rigorously reported and beautifully written.
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld, narrated by Kristen Sieh: The lightest, most predictable romcom (in the ~best~ way) about a writer for an SNL-like show who gets involved with a famous singer during the pandemic.
🎧 Top of my queue: Saving Time by Jenny Odell, Doppelganger by Naomi Klein, and Burn It Down by Maureen Ryan
Bonus recs from my mom: Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes; Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (which I loved in hardback), and Thank You For Listening, by Julia Whelan and my sister: A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost and I Must Say by Martin Short, narrated by the author.
🎤 I’m dying to know: What are your favorite audiobooks and listening tips?
I’ll leave you with this video of the fox in our neighborhood from my sunset stroll. See you later this week!
Time-pressed, I recently tried audio format to keep up with my book club's schedule. The audio version of the Covenant of Water totally sold me on the format. Set in Colonial India, the audio version features a narrator speaking with Indian, British and Scottish accents. Best of all, it is the author himself, a top-tier doctor and Stanford Medical School academic. I concur with Maggie's comment. Audio will not replace the sensory pleasure of handling a physical book for me, but a good narrator adds to a good experience (and makes it more practical to take in more.)
So happy to have some new suggestions and wholeheartedly agree that the narrator can make or break an audiobook. Always worth spending a few minutes listening to the sample.