Is Listening the New Reading? Great Audiobook Picks

Audiobooks have been growing in popularity in recent years. For people on the go, with little time to curl up with a good physical book, they are a great option to stay up on the latest in literature. Carole Barrowman has been reviewing books for many years, so what does she think of this new age of reading? She loves it! Carole joins us with her top audiobook picks. For more information on Carole and her own books, visit BarrowmanBooks.com. And check out her reviews below: "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" by Michelle McNamara - One of last year’s best true crime novels about the hunt for the Golden State killer who terrorized California from 1974-1986. This audio version has been on a lot of Best Audio book lists ever since. Michelle McNamara was an award-winning journalist whose research and storytelling are stellar. She was also Patton Oswald’s wife. She died suddenly in her sleep a couple of years ago. Oswald and Gillian Flynn (author of Gone Girls) read this with suspense and drama in their pacing and tone. This audio version will mesmerize anyone who listens to true crime podcasts. "Calypso" by David Sedaris - In this series of short pieces, Sedaris (a master at telling stories aloud) takes on facing his own mortality, buying a vacation home, and life-changing events big and small. This is a perfect book to listen to because Sedaris reads it in his own unique dry but cheery tone. He’s an American classic. If you’re driving while listening, you may need to pull over. You’ll snort a lot while reading this. So funny. "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain - Like many readers I returned to this book after Bourdain’s recent suicide. The author reads this so it takes on an extra level of poignancy and perspective given his recent death. It’s a memoir/ tales of the “underbelly” of restaurants and cooking and it’s a great audio read. "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng - Celeste Ng (pronouced ING) has been on The Morning Blend a couple of times. Jennifer Lin narrates this novel with a deep passion and a subtleness to her tone that adds a layer of richness to the story. Lin is becoming one of the most sought after audiobook narrators. The book is about a small town and how an artist disrupts its assumptions and its traditions. "Before We Were Yours" by Lisa Wingate - This book has two narrators which makes for an even more heightened sense of drama and unstoppable pacing (one for the past and one for the story in the present). The novel slides skillfully between the book’s two main narratives. It’s about five siblings taken from their parents in 1939 in Georgia. Based on a true historical scandal of an orphanage director who was selling poor children, this is an exceptionally well dramatized audiobook.