We have taken William back to his college, and he is settling in. I was first very stressed (as we prepared for him to go), then a combination of stressed and bereft (when he was nearly leaving and then leaving and then recently gone), then mostly just bereft (in the two or three days after he left), and now I feel just the mild background stressed/bereft of having one of my babies out in the world where I can’t see them. I am mostly glad he can be back at school, and that he is glad to be back at school. (And that his school is requiring Covid-19 vaccinations among the many other vaccinations they already required, plus masks indoors, plus weekly testing for all staff and students.)
This weekend I will take Rob back to HIS college. (Rob’s college is also requiring Covid-19 vaccinations among the many other vaccinations they already required, plus masks indoors. I can’t remember what they’re requiring for testing.) It’s been a long time, but you may remember I LOVE driving Rob to/from his school, because I consider it the perfect length for a road-trip: about 7 hours of driving each way, and I stay in a hotel overnight by myself in between. I bring a big box of snacks, and I watch HGTV in the hotel, and I have a very nice time. I will have to make some pandemic modifications to the trip (for example, I would love to eat a big restaurant breakfast in the morning, but I am not yet eating at indoor restaurants), but I think it will still be fun.
As I was working at the library this morning, I realized I will be driving a car that has a working CD player; this was not the case in the past. This means I could consider an AUDIOBOOK for the drive. But I have literally never checked out an audiobook before. I am hoping to rely on our group experience for recommendations.
Here is what I would like: I’m not sure. I think I’d prefer fiction, but maybe not. I considered just checking out a Maeve Binchy, since I know I like her books and I like that kind of real-life drama. But maybe I need something even a little more dramatic than that? Maeve Binchy can be kind of peaceful, and I need to stay alert. I don’t want anything scary or gory; it can be dramatic/tense/suspenseful, but it shouldn’t make me nervous to be alone in a hotel room, or jumpy about weird sounds. I don’t usually like classic murder/dectective-type mysteries: I have trouble keeping track of lots of clues/details, and I don’t like to try to figure things out. Rob will be with me in the car for half of the trip, so NOTHING RACY.
Here are a few books on my To Read list that my library also has on audiobook, if anyone happens to be able to report on any of these:
In Five Years, by Rebecca Searle
The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton
The Ten Thousand Doors of January, by Alix E. Harrow
The Glass Hotel, by Emily St. John Mandel
I LOVE listening to David Sedaris read his books when I’m on a road trip. Totally not what you were asking for, but they are relatable and so fun to listen to, especially in his voice. Not racy, just some language here and there.
I would like to second this vote for anything David Sedaris. His books are hilarious when read by him. The last audiobook I read was The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green and I really loved it. He has a way of reading his own words that makes it feel really intimate and cozy. I laughed, I cried. I couldn’t stop listening til it was over.
I listen to many many audiobooks and I prefer nonfiction when I’m driving. With fiction there is usually some point where I want to go back a bit to clarify something I might not have heard well, and that’s not something I can do while I’m driving. Good nonfiction keeps me interested and engaged without needing to follow a tricky plot or to fully grasp a character’s development.
Good luck!
I LOVED TAR on audio as well. Just a note, I listen on 1.5 speed (Libby) which may not be possible with CDs but I prefer him a bit sped up.
I also listened to Randall Munroe’s WHAT IF, read by Wil Wheaton.
I like short NF for audio book listening.
I love John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed podcast, and the book is very similar. However, there are often twinges of sad things (he gives us some insight into how he was bullied in school; he muses about mortality) that resulted in my switching to listening to it on my own. My husband and son both found it too much of a downer.
Thirding David Sedaris!
I can’t usually do audiobooks while I’m driving because I lose focus on either the book or the drive, but I do listen to them some when H is driving, bringing me to the fact that the Me Talk Pretty One Day audiobook read by David Sedaris himself made me laugh out loud so hard in my car that I was worried that passing drivers would think I have having some kind of episode.
With rare exceptions, I love Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series. Poisonwood Bible was also good as an audiobook.
I have no audio book recommendations and this doesn’t make use of a CD player (gosh, am I helpful or what?!) But I highly recommend Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast Revisionist History.
Second this, such a phenomenal, fun, interesting podcast!
Especially the first and second seasons!
This is what I was coming to say–books are sometimes subjective or personal, and if Rob will be in the car, I would suggest a crowd-pleaser podcast. My suggestions are: Radiolab’s episode “Staph and Gamma” or This American Life episode: “Dr. Gilmer and Mr. Hyde”
Hmmm I am tempted to recommend Mythos by Stephen Fry, if you like greek mythology. He makes it very fun and animated and you do not need to have any prior knowledge (but it’s okay if you do). I suppose some parts are racy in that Zeus is…Zeus, but it’s mythical raciness.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is quite fun – very cheeky and charming. But there is a little crush-level romance so maybe no.
How about Circe? Oh goodness I LOVE Circe on audio.
The Dutch House is read by Tom Hanks, which is a delight. There is some eyerolling at men when listening though (the main character, not Tom Hanks).
Can I just thank you for “mythical raciness”? Love it!
David Sedaris. NPR All Things Considered. Best yet if you are able to plug your phone in, I do podcasts. Armchair Expert and Smartless are two favorites.
I like Sarah Vowels books on audio. Specifically Assassination Vacation. She has kind of a quirky fun voice. The book is fairly old, but I still find it pretty fun.
Where the Crawdad’s Sing. Beautiful story and a mystery to keep you intrigued.
That was good. And ragey at points, soothing at others.
Great, great novel. And I can specifically speak to the audiobook, I liked the reader. There was a gentle accent that just added to the feel of the story, if I remember correctly.
It was a good audio book for a road trip- we did it last spring on a long drive in preparation for zoom book club. We were both fast to turn it back on because we were hooked on the story!
Two books I recently listened to which I loved were: The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, and American Dirt.
I listened to both of these and loved them both.
I really enjoyed the audiobook Oona Out of Order. It’s about a woman who wakes up at a different age on her birthday every year, so she goes from 18 to 54 to to 27, etc. I didn’t think I would like it when I started, but I found myself thinking about it a lot when I wasn’t listening to it!
All Creatures Great and Small. Also: Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck, Wright Brothers by David McCollough, I also love the Flavia DeLuce books and Maisie Dobbs books. Oh, also the Gamache books by Louise Penny.
I would second Flavia DeLuce books and I love, love, Maisie Dobbs! (I haven’t listened on audio yet, but I plan to).
Jayne Entwistle (Flavia) and Orlagh Cassidy (Maisie, but Maisie has had at least 1 other reader who was also good) are SOOO GOOD. We search them as readers occasionally when we can’t think of books/authors. “Just get something Jayne Entwistle reads”
Also, Bronson Pinchot did a couple of kid book series and they’re great. I tried one of his adult books and was “Meh” I’m sure it’s more the book than the reader but I haven’t looked for another adult book read by him.
I’d suggest maybe a collection of short stories? That way if you don’t like one you’ll probably still like another and not be stuck listening to something that doesn’t quite hit right for the full 14 hours. With short stories Rob also won’t miss half the plot after being dropped off ;-) David Sedaris is a great shout if you like his stuff!
If you’re ok with non-fiction, how about Bill Bryson?
A Walk in the Woods about hiking the appalachian trail makes me and my kids double over with laughter every time we read it, and it has an undertone of “things not working out as great as you might wish” which is in a way reassuring. We’ve enjoyed Lives and Times of Thunderbolt Kid as well, and it might lead to some interesting discussions about parenting in the 60s v now.
Love Bill Bryson!
I will second A Walk In The Woods on audio. It is highly funny and interesting.
This is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read, and I would recommend ANYTHING by Bill Bryson. He is a treat.
I haven’t listened to it in audiobook, but his In a Sunburnt Country made me LOL numerous times while reading, so unless the person who does the audiobook is terrible I think would be entertaining for a drive.
Jacques Pepin’s memoir was a fun read! I liked all the books you mentioned but I feel like all of them have some sex? It might be worth looking into, just as a warning. Or maybe you figure out a “safe” book for the first half with your kid and then go with something a bit more racy for your solo drive!
I think you would love I’ll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa De Los Santos.
I don’t know about the audio, but The Ten Thousand Doors of January was a really interesting book to read. So much depends on the reader! I highly recommend listening just for five minutes before you go, so you don’t end up with a voice you hate. You can often listen to an Audible sample of books on Am@zon to get a taste.
Oddly enough, I read very little nonfiction, but sometimes find it captivating on audio. I’ll second Bill Bryson (any), and also found The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg very interesting.
I’m currently listening to Evelyn Hardcastle. I’m only 5 hours in, and I like it, but be warned that the audiobook is over 17 hours long.
If you like a psychological thriller, I found the audiobook for The Silent Patient kept me on the edge of my seat.
Ooh yes, loved The Silent Patient for a good thriller!
Not remotely in the vein you were looking for, but: I don’t recall if you are a Harry Potter fan? If you are, the books are great fun on audiobook, read in a charming English accent by a man who does voices for all the characters :)
I can report back on The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle as a book I read and LOVED, but it’s so full of twists and turns and shifting POVs that I think it would be hard to follow as an audiobook while driving.
I’m reading The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow right now, and it’s wonderful. I haven’t read The Ten Thousand Doors of January yet, but I’m loving TO&FW so much that I’m putting that in my TBR pile.
I came here to say this about Evelyn Hardcastle as well – a great book, but I don’t know if I would be able to concentrate on it enough in a car.
This is very helpful to know. I want to read each book in THE BEST WAY for that book!
Do you ever read juvenile fiction? I know it will be 2 adults in the car, but you might consider Wishtree by Applegate or The Silver Arrow by Grossman. Both are super audiobooks and not too long. It’s nice to have it finished when you get there/home. One vacation we listened to the Spiderwick Chronicles and that one is read by Mark Hamill. Nothing like Luke Skywalker telling you a story!!
Audiobooks are my jam! I usually prefer non-fiction so if I miss a bit while I’m concentrating it’s not a big deal but I do have two super favorite fiction books on audio – Good Omens and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Anything Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, or Douglas Adams are great listens. My recent favorites are Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, The Guncle by Stephen Rowley, The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow, Sourdough by Robin Sloan, and A Long Way to A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.
If you want to try non-fiction maybe go with an autobio read by the author like Leah Remini or Trevor Noah or John Green’s new book The Anthropocene Reviewed. Or you could try a baseball book for you summer theme like Moneyball!
My best tip is go to Audible and listen to a sample before you get them from the library so you know you like the narrator. There are some narrators I love like Scott Brick and Wil Wheaton regardless of the book. And get a few different ones so if one gets boring or has a scratched disc you can switch. /takes former library worker hat off now…
Both my husband and I have enjoyed the Sean Stranahan murder mysteries/trout fishing! set in Montana by Keith McCafferty. The first is “The Royal Wulff Murders”
I really liked the Ready Player One audiobook. It’s read by Will Wheaton.
The Louise Penny Inspector Gamache audiobooks are a complete delight. The narrator is fantastic and there are lovely descriptions of delicious food and wonderful friendships. The first is Still Life and it’s a slow building, not scary, not complicated but satisifying murder mystery. There’s one slightly creepy part but it’s really not that bad. Highly recommend! I also loved Circe (such a soothing voice) and Code Name Verity (although that one has some potentially upsetting descriptions of torture, so YMMV. If you can get past that it’s really a fantastic story).
I listen to audio books all the time! I know you mentioned CDs, but do you have the option of playing through Bluetooth from your phone through the car? It’s much easier, you don’t need to switch CDs, and there is a better selection available (library rental!)
I listen to fluffy mysteries almost exclusively, but I would recommend Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, Dorothy Gilman’s Mrs. Pollifax series, or Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series. Those are my favorites to keep my attention on a long drive.
One of the best audiobooks I have ever experienced was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. SO GOOD. Prior to listening to that one, I mostly just fell asleep while listening to audiobooks (my husband was the driver).
I recently listened to The Echo Wife, which was good and not gory (although there are a couple of squicky parts) and raised some ethical/moral implications that might be interesting to discuss with Rob.
The Wrong Family was another good audiobook — there’s a bit of a mystery there, but it’s mainly about family relationships and moral obligations. There is one semi-gory part.
The Plot was another really good audiobook, although I found the plot itself to be predictable.
Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone was fantastic on audiobook, but it is very long.
I hope your road trip is wonderful and gives you some time to decompress from all the stress.
My favorite audiobook of all time is Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan. It is technically middle grade but not a kids’ book if you KWIM. Have a great drive!
I just finished listening to A House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig on audiobook and I really enjoyed it! I also would recommend The Switch by Beth O’Leary or The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.
What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr is also another wonderful audiobook!
I mostly listen to audiobooks with my kids, so these suggestions are all tween appropriate, but still enjoyable. The Harry Potter books are so incredibly well read that I enjoy listening to them anytime, and it’s soothing to revisit a story I know but have forgotten some of the small details. Shannon Hale’s books, especially The Princess Academy series are excellent. Ronald Dahl’s are also good. The Princess Bride is abridged, so fairly short, but fun to listen to.
I will fourth or fifth or whatever the suggestion of David Sedaris. His book are amazing on audio. I also really liked Nick Hornby’s book on audio. Long Way Down was my favorite, but About a Boy was also good. I’m currently reading The Glass Hotel and so far it is very good. Station Eleven might also be a good choice.
The Dutch House read by Tom Hanks is amazing!
I enjoyed beartown and us against you by Fredrick Bachman on audio, also the nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
Finally one of my favourite memoirs which is read by the author on audio is born a crime by Trevor Noah.
If you like well-narrated stories set in different times and places, try anything Ken Follett. Be prepared to be set with one novel for the trip :-)
I love Ken Follet’s novels but what really has me hooked to the audiobooks is the narrator of most (if not all) his books: John Lee is the perfect match.
Here is my Top Audiobooks list in no particular order:
– the Harry Potter series
– the Artemis Fowl series
– Ready Player One (I’ve bought Two, but am waiting for a long road trip to bust it out)
– Anxious People and A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
– Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
– The Bookish Life of Nina Hill (and really, all Abbi Waxman audiobooks)
I have read both The Glass Hotel, and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and preferred the latter, though it may be a bit too close to real life as it centres around a pandemic. I found The Glass Hotel’s ending to be a bit unsatisfying.
I’m loving all these recommendations as I’ve got a bunch of Audible credits to use up!
Ooh. I almost forgot about A Man Called Ove. That was an excellent audiobook and one of the few fiction titles I could follow easily while driving. I have Anxious People on my list and I think that’s going to have to be next!
You’re in for a treat because I liked Anxious People even more! I listened to it for free on my library Overdrive account and still bought it on Audible!
Books are SO personal, aren’t they?! which is why I love threads like this and also I find it so hard to make recommendations. But also I love recommending books GAH.
I have no experience with audiobooks BUT I do see a couple of recommendations for “The Dutch House” here and I FEEL COMPELLED to weigh in and say, I both loved this book and also it BROKE ME as a parent. There are some key plot points that I just COULD NOT ACCEPT the way I knew the author wanted me to, and there was some spiraling and weeping. So…I’m not sure if that is the kind of book to experience while driving, just in case.
I love audiobooks in the car, and I tend to go with light, YA or rom/com or anything on Reese’s book lists (!), nothing too thick that I might miss a detail while I’m focusing on the road, or if I have to pause to listen to directions or grab food/gas, I can pick back up really quickly.
My other suggestion is pay attention to run time – if I know the trip is 12 hours, I’ll look for a book that’s less than 9 or 10, allowing for non-book listening, navigation, conversation, whatever, but still able to finish within the trip, because I won’t listen when I get home. The short story collections work really well for this reason too.
I am fairly new to audiobooks, but one thing that delighted me is the books that are read by multiple voice actors for different characters. It feels like going to a play that I don’t have to watch. My favorites have been “The Testaments” by Margaret Atwood (but you have to have read “The Handmaid’s Tale” first), “Daisy Jones and the Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and “Lincoln in the Bardo” by George Saunders. (For all the David Sedaris fans out there, he plays one of the voices in the Saunders book.) For a road trip read, I’d probably go with “Daisy Jones and the Six” because it’s the lightest of the three. It’s a fake oral history of a fictional band in the 70s that strongly resembles Fleetwood Mac.
P.S. I get my audiobooks via the Libby app and listen to them in my car over Bluetooth.
The members of my book club who listened to Daisy Jones loved it. Those that read it, not so much.
I listened it and thought it was great. Can’t remember the adult theme but I think there was a fair amount.
I CANNOT believe I forgot to recommend Daisy Jones and the Six! It’s soooooo good. So many great voice actors. Really, really well done audiobook.
We recently listened to audiobooks on our vacation road trip of almost exactly this length. I can highly recommend Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. It has a number of things you like: it’s science fiction by a woman; it does interesting things with species and gender so it’s not all DUDE focused; it’s character driven rather than military or technology driven; it has humor but not dumb or mean humor; it would be easy to concentrate on while you were driving and if you missed a few minutes it would be okay.
Looking forward to seeing what you choose!
Well you just sold me on reading this book. Just put it on hold from the library!
I don’t have book recommendations. Although I have an audible membership, which I use a lot, I have very bad luck with the books I have recommended to friends. :(
But I have an idea for your big breakfast—look for a place with outdoor sitting. I still won’t eat indoors (don’t know if I’ll ever feel safe again) but I went on a road trip with my sons and found a lot of great places with outdoor sitting, distancing, AND mask requirements. We were travelling from NYC to Cape Cod, which might be stricter than other areas but it’s worth a try.
Just finished Asylum by Patrick McGrath
Chesapeake by Michener
Ridley books by Patricia Highsmith
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
Game of Thrones by George TR Martin
Just started Good Morning Midnight and it is promising.
These are my recent faves :)
I recommend The Dutch House read by Tom Hanks as well. I listened to 3/4 of the book then read the last quarter and continued to read it in Tom Hank’s voice.
For non-fiction I have enjoyed listening to Malcolm Gladwell books. Tipping Point, Outliers, etc.
I just finished reading In Five Years and it was unexpectedly very depressing and not at all the cute romantic light hearted read it made itself out to be. So probably not the best car choice!
THIS IS VERY GOOD INTEL!!
A Walk in the Woods is *hilarious*! If you decide to try Louise Penny, A Rule Against Murder takes place at a lovely luxurious hotel in rural Quebec—I fantasize about vacationing there every time I read it.
Have *loved* the Chronicles of St Mary’s series via Audiobooks. “[t]he story of a bunch of disaster-prone historians who investigate major historical events in contemporary time. Do NOT call it time travel!” Written by a woman. Narrated by a woman. Starring a woman. Fun stuff!
They’re amazingly FUN books and I could see them working really well on audio.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir! Seriously the best audiobook I’ve listened to in…ever. I laughed, I cried, there were jazz hands (which you will get when you listen). I honestly think this book was meant to be an audiobook. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s brilliantly performed by Ray Porter, who is an incredible narrator of everything ever, but they do some brilliantly creative things with this narration. Seriously. I was so, so sad when this one ended because it was THAT good.
YES, me too! I had to take a break before starting a new book after finishing this one because it was just SO GOOD and I wasn’t ready to let it go yet.
I just wanted to agree with Suzanne; I finished The Echo Wife this morning and I think it hits all of your criteria. I don’t know how it is audiobook form. It’s sort of tense and dramatic, but not scary. It does have some squicky parts, but not gory. No reason to be scared in a hotel after content. And some moral and ethical issues that would be fun to discuss with Rob.
I enjoyed The Glass Hotel from your list, but liked Station Eleven better.
Another thumbs up for Project Hail Mary…I read it like ten books ago and I’m still thinking about it.
And Jenny recommended A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I feel like that was on my list from a list or comments I read here (around Ancillary Justice time), but if not, it was a good read as well. I immediately checked out the next two books, but I don’t tear through them like some others. But fun characters and not-typical sci-fi.
Have a great trip!
I usually don’t listen to audiobooks as my attention tends to wander in a way it doesn’t when I’m reading, but my library only had Lois McMaster Bujold’s Penric and Desdemona series as audiobooks and I enjoyed them very much. It’s (mostly) gentle, character-driven fantasy by one of my favorite authors, with really excellent worldbuilding. Bonus that these are more novella-length so it’s not a huge time commitment.
For non-fiction I recently finished “1,000 Years of Annoying the French” by Stephen Clarke and found it absolutely hilarious. It’s a cheeky take on British history through the lens of Anglo-French relations. Each chapter is self-contained so again would probably be easy to pick up and put down along the way. No history expertise needed to enjoy!
I have no recommendations, but THANK YOU! I am saving every one of these. I have a long commute once a week (five hours total) and I want to get in the habit of listening to audiobooks instead of endless NPR.
salt by mark kurlansky (I think). it’s the history of the world through the lens of salt. fascinating. so interesting.
I listen to audiobooks with my young children (oldest is 8), so we’re still very deep in children’s classics territory…. But it turns out the stories are typically familiar enough that I don’t have to listen too hard, but still greatly enjoy them. We just listened to Mañanaland by Pam Muñoz Ryan, and I highly recommend it. We also really loved the Sarah plain and tall series. Roald Dahl is extremely pleasant in the car, often read by UK voices. The Narnia series is also excellent to listen to.
Have you done “Charlotte’s Web”? I don’t know if there are multiple versions but one is read by EB White and it is LOVELY. So lovely.
I’m now wracking my brain for more and coming up blank, which is ridiculous because we’ve listened to hundreds. Graveyard Book, Anne of Green Gables, Percy Jackson, Penderwicks, Family Fletcher all just popped in my head. Oh, the 68 Rooms series, we went to Chicago and the Art Institute because of those books.
Ooo, the Penderwicks! Very soothing!
I have done a lot of road trips w my daughter for her sport (so many hours of driving) and I highly recommend Trevor Noah’s “Born A Crime.” So good. Also, NPR has an app, and you can download stuff like The Moth Radio Hour and Snap Judgements and they are much less commitment than a book and you can move on to the next episode if one is too heavy/sadly themed.
This seems like a COMPLETE departure from your usual style, but I listened to the first Hunger Games book as I drove from Seattle to Portland once and the drive went SO FAST. I was absolutely engrossed and have been chasing that high ever since.
This is a longshot, but I really enjoyed the Aru Shah series by Roshani Chokshi (Aru Shah and the End of Time is the first book in the series). The narrator is fantastic! Indian mythology, hijinks ensue, under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint so similar characteristics to his work. I first borrowed the series for my daughter to listen to, but then I got engaged and had to re-borrow them to be able to listen to them myself!
If you’re a Princess Bride fan, As You Wish was lovely and quite enjoyable.
And for something different, ‘The Other Latif’ and ‘The Vanishing of Harry Pace’ were excellent series from Radiolab (podcast).
My all-time favorite audiobook is Code Name Verity, a friendship-love story about two young women in WWII. I cry at the end, but it’s one of the best depictions of Best Friendship I’ve ever read, as well as one of the best plots and best researched books. I just love it. The narrators are so good it adds to an already perfect book.
This is not at all what you asked for, but I have found that celebrity memoirs are GREAT on audio when they are read by the author. I particularly enjoyed The Wreckage of my Presence by Casey Wilson, Open Book by Jessica Simpson (I KNOW but it was amazing), and the one by both Megan Mullaly and Nick Offerman.
I have a drive of about that length when I do to visit my mother, and I like both the Maisie Dobbs and the Maggie Hope books, but they are too long to finish on the drive. My mom lives in a retirement community, so I just grab whatever book I was listening to out of the massive library there and finish it that way.
When I’m driving with one of my kids these days, we usually listen to nonfiction: David Sedaris (yes, another vote for him) and Sarah Vowell are popular, or something more current affairs-ish, such as The Sum of Us (Heather McGhee, but too long for your trip), Atul Gawande (a couple of his are short enough), or Rutger Bregman’s Utopia for Realists.
For fiction, here’s another vote for short stories: Saki, Shirley Jackson, P.G. Wodehouse (but listen first, because sometimes the narration is just too precious), or Dorothy Parker. You and Rob have probably already listened to or read Douglas Adams’s Hitcher series, but those would fit into your trip, as would Terry Pratchett’s Wee Free Men, which is great as an audiobook. Most Agatha Christie is short enough to finish on the trip to college.
Also, not an audiobook, but my oldest and I drove him and my former car to his college this summer, and last summer we had both made our A-Z playlists (a song beginning with each letter of the alphabet, which I think was a trend from last spring, but I’m slow). It was fun to hear the lists and to chat about who had the better song for each letter (he conceded immediately that Kiss is the best of all K songs)
On a FB page I frequent , someone planned to take a road trip with her hubby. These books got suggested a lot:
The Boys in the Boat;
Born A Crime; and
The Only Plane in the Sky
Ooh I’ve read the Only Plane in the Sky, very awesome book and have the Boys in the Boat on my Kindle. I think the Only Plane in the Sky: an Oral History of 9/11 might be good as an audio book, but it was disturbing at times to read.
I love these suggestions. I have a short commute so not really time to listen, but I do quilt and like to watch shows, but I think the idea of audiobooks would work much better! I will start with short stories and go from there!
I quilt and listen to audiobooks. It’s awesome! I mentioned it on a guild meeting recently, and it turns out I’m not alone. Lots of us do.
And i don’t know why I never thought of it. Glad to know that this is a normal thing!
I was in sales early in my career and drove hours every day so got into audio books. I’d try to alternate between learning/self improvement and fun. I saw the Bible on audio book read by James Earle Jones and decided to check it out (self improvement not fun). First, listening to James Earle Jones is like taking a tranquilizer and trying to drive. Very dangerous. Second I had never read the whole Bible – it’s very repetitive (not great in an audio book) and also there is some freaky stuff I was not expecting- apparently Catholics only use a tiny slice of the Bible in church. I came away with a better understanding of how cults can grow out of the Bible. But almost fell asleep dozens of times.
All this to say the Bible does not make a great audio book for long drives.
I listened to The Ten Thousand Doors of January on audio and really loved it. I also recently listened to Project Hail Mary on audio, and now I’m telling everyone I know to read it. It was clever and unexpected and ultimately incredibly heart-warming. The audio production is excellent.
I listen to audiobooks quite a lot.
I looove the Ian Rutledge mysteries! They are excellent and intriguing without being gory.
I also enjoy Anne Hillerman’s mysteries set in New Mexico.
If you like sci fi, I thought that Ann Leckie’s Ancillary books were excellent as audiobooks
Ooh, book recommendations are a favorite! I have listened to some good ones this summer. The Library Book (Non-fiction, but fascinating. Read by the author and well done.) A Man Named Ove (Fiction, way more engrossing than you expect. Read by a good narrator. A recent conversation with friends suggests it’s best as an audiobook. Everyone who read it thought it started slow, and everyone who listened to it was engrossed early on.) Maybe In Another Life (Fiction, romance with a twist. I remember nothing about the reader. Maybe I didn’t get it as an audiobook?) And if you like tween fantasy, Magyk was great and read by a good actor.
If you are okay with slightly humorous non-fiction, I would recommend any book by Mary Roach. She has a number of books out that are delightfully informative and funny.