Earlier in the week, I introduced this 2 part series of posts to highlight our favorite books in 2019. Our favorites are not necessarily books that came out in 2019 but simply ones we discovered, read (or listened to) and loved in 2019. Today’s installment is Our Favorite Audio Books in 2019. If you missed the first post, you can find it here.
I listened to these books on CD in the car, on “>Audible (<–affiliate link) and using the Overdrive Library app on my phone.
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Our Favorite Audio Books in 2019
I definitely “read” more audio books in 2019 than all the previous years of my life combined. Quite a few years ago, I dabbled with audio books, and thought it didn’t suit me. I think it was what I chose to listen to–the English major geek that I was (am)–I started with Shakespeare. Too many characters, too many voices, too complicated a story. So I didn’t revisit audio books until I was encouraged to do so by Sarah McKenzie in the Read Aloud Family (if there had been a 2018 list, this would have had to have been #1 print book).
I started with family listens. Books I wanted to read with my kids, but thought they might balk at. We listened to My Side of the Mountain and ALL the Beverly Cleary books (The Mouse and the Motorcycle narrated by B.D. Wong and Henry Huggins narrated by Neil Patrick Harris are both excellent family listens!).
But it wasn’t until we got our “>Audible subscription that I picked an “adult” audio book to listen to that I became hooked. And that audio book is #1 on my Favorite Audio Books in 2019 list.
Audio Book #1: Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy
Did I mention that Anne of Green Gables is my number 1 favorite book (in my first post about our favorite reads in 2019, I did). My heart leapt when I learned of this modern prequel through that very same Read Aloud Revival Podcast episode that I mentioned in my earlier post.
And yet, I feared it a little.
What if it didn’t meet my expectations? What if it took too many liberties?
It doesn’t. It stays to true to what we know and it helps to shine a light on those things that are only hinted at in the Anne texts. For example, McCoy develops the romance that is only the hinted at between Marilla and John Blythe (Gilbert’s father) and the friendship between Marilla and Mrs. Rachel Lynde. Additionally, this builds the relationship between Marilla and Matthew and brings us to the point of Anne’s arrival. I would love a sequel to this story that builds parallel events in Anne’s life but from Marilla’s perspective. I loved it that much.
And, Cassandra Campbell as narrator is perfection. She voices the characters in ways that make them totally believable.
PS. Sunshine and I have listened to all 7 Anne books on audio. We listened to the Rachel McAdams version of Anne of Green Gables. After that we listened to Barbara Caruso where we could find her.
Audio Book #2: The Lake House by Kate Morton
I began an author affair with Kate Morton audio books this year starting with The Lake House. In fact, I only stopped because they are such a time commitment (over 20 hours each), but I shall return to Kate Morton at some point. I already have over 60 hours invested in Kate Morton listening including The Lake House, The Shifting Fog and The Forgotten Garden. Any one of them could have made the list, but sometimes, the entry point is indeed the favorite.
The Lake House feels like an old school mystery. It reminds me of my fascination with Agatha Christie. But, on the other hand, it is historical fiction with the story line shifting between a post-World War I time frame and the present (which is in fact the early 2000s). I loved the interplay between the detective Sadie Sparrow who has stumbled upon a cold case in Cornwall and the Edevane family’s story of the missing son Theo.
Caroline Lee narrates all three texts. Her accent and expression are lovely. I could listen to anything she narrates.
Audio Book #3: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Like The Lake House began an author affair with Kate Morton, The Dutch House did the same with Ann Patchett. This one came on my radar through a What Should I Read Next podcast when Bogel recommended it to the guest on that week’s show (episode 201) because he likes “atmospheric” stories, stories where the setting acts as an additional character. Whatever it was about that, when my new Audible credit came up, I bit.
Tom Hanks narrates. Need I say more? This is a coming of age novel (love those) focusing on a brother and sister who’s father has remarried after his first wife has abandoned the family because of his house, the Dutch House. It deals with the complexities of family relationships, the complexities of house and the complexities of wealth.
After I listened to this novel, I listened to 4 more by Patchett! Commonwealth, State of Wonder, The Magician’s Assistant and Bel Canto. Again, all of them could have made this Best Books of 2019 list with Bel Canto almost making it were it not for a last minute finish on December 31!
Bonus Recommendation
All of Patchett’s stories are intense, full of suspense and deeply developed characters and character relationships just like The Dutch House. It’s the premise of Bel Canto that made it a contender for my Best Books of 2019 list. The characters are taken hostage during a State Dinner to celebrate the birthday of a wealthy Japanese business man by a guerilla group in some unnamed Central American Country. Like The Dutch House, the setting becomes so integral to the story that it almost becomes a character. And at times, the reader becomes so sympathetic with the captors that she forgets to root for the captives.
Audio Book # 4: Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan
This story is a fictionalized account of the marriage of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis. It recounts the development of their relationship which begins through letters. They eventually meet in person and it goes from there. The story deals with faith and discovery and the desire to be in a relationship that isn’t difficult.
The story is told through the first person narration of Davidman along with letters, poems (by Davidman) and excerpts from Lewis’s writing. This is another one of those “gentle stories” that I relish so much. I agonized with the personal relationships of Davidman and her first husband, while seeing the wisdom that Lewis brought to her life.
It is expertly narrated by Lauren Woodward.
Audio Book # 5: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I ended up with this audio book by accident. Sort of. I was listening to an excellent audio book and it ended. Not abruptly just more quickly than I would have anticipated. Now what? I hadn’t requested another set of CDs from the library (the easiest way for me to listen in my 2010 car) and I didn’t have any Audible credits. I had a few minutes to stop at the library before I needed to be home to get the kids off the bus. So I would return the one I had just finished and grab a new one.
Our library has an OVERWHELMING selection of audio books (which I hadn’t realized because I had been using the computer and the recommendations of Anne Bogel to select audio books up until this moment). I looked for Ann Patchett. No luck. I looked for Margaret Atwood. No luck. I scanned. And scanned. Finally, my eyes rested on quite a selection of Cormac McCarthy books. The Road in paperback was at home sitting on my TBR stack next to my bed. But I was running out of time, so I grabbed it.
The Right Book at the Right Time
The right book at the right time. Anne Bogel talks about book karma. This was it! The Road is a post-apocalpytic story of a father and son. The father has decided that they can no longer stay where they have been harboring themselves because they cannot make it through the winter. So the father and son set off down the road with a map and the supplies they have managed to pull together. Along the road, they run into many issues: weather, shelter, cannibals, lack of food and clean water. Yet, they manage somehow.
This story is intense. I had many a white knuckle drive and despite the fact that it was December, it had nothing to do with the weather or the conditions of the road I was on. The story is brilliant and the narration by Tom Stechschulte is excellent. Definitely worth the read (listen). I told my husband last night that I want him to read that paperback copy which is sitting on my nightstand, “So we can talk about it.”
Favorite Audio Book in 2019
I listened to over 30 audio books in 2019 and these only scratch at the surface of my newly acquired love for audio books. I would love to know what audio books you are listening to and what tops your list on 2019 listens. And if you missed last week’s post, don’t forget to check out my favorite print books of 2019.
