8 Books That Are Better As Audiobooks: ‘Daisy Jones & The Six,’ ‘Tom Lake’ and More
June is Audiobook Appreciation Month, and here at Swooon, we are screaming it from the rooftops!
With Libby, Audible, and Spotify (just to name a few of the audiobook streaming services), listening to literature has made reading more accessible than ever. Now, before anyone scrolls right down to the comments to let us know that listening to audiobooks isn’t real reading, just note that nothing you can say on the topic will change our minds. Beyond the inclusivity and pathway towards equity that audiobooks provide to the reading community, audiobooks are known to”‘enhance language comprehension,” which is a big fancy way to say that listening allows you to take in more individual words than reading off a page does, as long as you’re actively paying attention.
While we still love to curl up with a physical copy as much as the next reader, there’s something particularly magical about the immersive experience of listening to a talented voice actor reading directly to you. In fact, for some books, it’s a completely different storytelling experience.
From celebrity narrators to multiple POV productions, audiobooks have become literature’s most rapidly evolving art form. That being said, it’s hard to know which audiobooks will enhance your reading experience and which will give you an equivalent (if not worse) experience. But don’t worry, dear readers, if you’re looking to make the jump towards listening, we’ve got you covered.
From Daisy Jones and The Six to Tom Lake, here are eight audiobooks that we consider better than the physical copy.
First-Time Caller
B.K. Borison
As a book about a late-night call-in radio show, we’re certain that First-Time Caller was simply begging to be read out loud from the moment B.K. Borison finished the first draft. Similar to Sleepless in Seattle, First-Time Caller opens with a single parent finding their child calling into a dating hotline. However, in First-Time Caller, love stays on the radio. Or, at least, the radio station hopes it will when they invite single-mother Lucie Stone to join their jaded host Aiden Valentine on air. From the stunning dual POV narration to the production that allows Borison’s radio snapshots to sound like the real deal, First-Time Caller is and always has been made to be heard.
Talking as Fast as I Can
Lauren Graham
If you’re picking up Talking as Fast as I Can because you want the full Lauren Graham experience, just know that you’re not going to have it unless you listen to the audiobook. Narrated by Graham herself, Talking as Fast as I Can is a one-way ticket into the mind of the Gilmore Girls star. From a stunning rendition of “The Trolley Song” to deeply personal anecdotes, listening to Talking as Fast as I Can feels like catching up over coffee with an old friend. That coffee might as well be at Luke’s because there is so much Gilmore Girls lore in this book, it will make you feel like you’re rewatching the show for the first, fifth, or hundredth time.
Tom Lake
Ann Patchett
We firmly believe that Meryl Streep makes everything better, which is exactly why Tom Lake by Ann Patchett should be listened to rather than read. Tom Lake tells the simple story of a mother recounting a long-gone love affair to her grown daughters while they’re picking cherries (yes, cherries play a major role in the book). The catch: Her beau was pre-fame movie star Peter Duke, who spent the summer working with her in a regional production of Our Town. When we say that this story is enhanced by Streep’s narration, we don’t mean that she’s just reading it. Streep’s storytelling is so good, it should be in the running for her best role. That’s right, Meryl Streep should forever be known for The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia!, and now, her dramatic reading of Tom Lake. You heard it here first, Swooonies.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Gabrielle Zevin
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow isn’t just an audiobook; it’s a full-on production. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is an intricate story told over the course of decades, following two childhood friends who grow up to become highly successful video game designers. Listening to this story through the audiobook, readers can become fully immersed in both the everyday life of the characters and the fantastic worlds they create. For anyone who’s already read Gabrielle Zevin’s ode to gaming, we’d urge you to place a hold on Libby for the audiobook anyway. It’s not often that publishers can bring new life to an already once-in-a-lifetime work of fiction, but somehow, the team behind this audiobook makes it seem easy.
Daisy Jones and The Six
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Speaking of full-on productions, for a lot of avid listeners, this was the audiobook that started it all. Daisy Jones and The Six is written as an interview transcript, which makes the story a perfect listening experience. The book, written by Atmosphere author Taylor Jenkins Reid, tells the story of a Fleetwood Mac-esque band whose personal lives caused an abrupt and catastrophic end to their rapid rise to fame. To accomplish the first person, anyone-could-be-lying vibe of the book, the audiobook brings together what feels like dozens of voice actors, each portraying different members of the band, reporters, family members, and more, making the story feel so real, you’ll forget that you’re listening to a work of fiction altogether. The incredible voice cast includes Jennifer Beals, as Daisy Jones, Pablo Schreiber as Billy Dunne, Benjamin Bratt as Graham Dunne, and Judy Greer as Karen Karen.
I’m Glad My Mom Died
Jennette McCurdy
We know that I’m Glad My Mom Died is not a romance novel, but we would be deeply remiss to exclude this masterpiece of a memoir from our list. Narrated and penned by Jennette McCurdy, the child actress who played beloved iCarly troublemaker, Sam Puckett, I’m Glad My Mom Died tells the story of McCurdy’s upbringing in the spotlight. We would go as far as to say that listening to McCurdy recount deeply personal stories and recontextualize her career for readers who grew up watching her act is a life-changing experience. Whether you’ve physically read the memoir before or haven’t even heard of Jennette McCurdy before, if you take one thing from this list, know that I’m Glad My Mom Died should be a mandatory listening experience.
Thank You for Listening
Julia Whelan
Julia Whelan (My Oxford Year) is THE audiobook narrator of our generation. No, really, The New Yorker dubbed her “The Adele of Audiobooks.” From Emily Henry to Kristin Hannah to Taylor Jenkins Reid, Whelan is the voice behind endless romances, but nothing is more moving than hearing Whelan narrate her own book, Thank You for Listening. The story follows Sewanee Chester, a former actress turned audiobook narrator who falls for, you guessed it, the guy narrating the other side of a dual POV love story. If you want to get really meta, this audiobook, written by an audiobook narrator about an audiobook narrator, is the perfect audiobook for you.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Jenny Han
If you can’t get enough of Belly Conklin, or you want to find out if she picks Conrad or Jeremiah before the rest of the pack of The Summer I Turned Pretty viewers, you’re in luck! Lola Tung, Gavin Casalegno, and Christopher Briney all try their hand at audiobook narration in The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy by Jenny Han. As audiobooks have risen in popularity, so has the call for celebrity narrators, especially if publishers can get a book-to-screen adaptation crossover. And we get it, listening to the voices of the Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah that we already know, communicating the internal musings of Han’s book characters, truly transforms the series. Already had a listen? Prime Video x YA romance strikes again in the new We Were Liars audiobook, narrated by the show’s very own Cadence, Emily Alyn Lind.
Do you have an audiobook that completely knocked your socks off? Share your audiobook recs with the Swooon community in the comments below!
