The Best Audible Books to Listen to Right Now

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We live in a glorious time in which it’s completely normal to fall asleep to the sound of your favorite Hollywood star reading you a story.

More and more bold-faced names have joined Audible in recent months to orate their bestselling memoirs, and it’s made us all realize that some books are simply meant to be listened to versus read on the page. David Sedaris’ jokes are even funnier alongside the humorist’s genius comedic timing in his bestselling collection of essays “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” for example, and it feels unlawful to listen to Matthew McConaughey’s pithy wisdom and life experiences, which he recounts in his memoir “Greenlights,” in any other voice than the actor’s distinct southern drawl.

Plus, for a limited time you can sign up for Audible for just $.99/month for 3 months. The offer ends Dec. 31, and will auto-renew at its normal $14.95.month price after 3 months.

Below, we rounded up 16 books on tape you should listen to this month. But if you prefer your books with a spine, worry not: check out these best-selling celebrity memoirs and celebrity-written graphic novels instead.

The Sandman: Act II

Based off the best-selling DC Comic graphic novels by Neil Gaiman, this Audible Original stars James McAvoy as Morpheus the Dream Lord as he journeys through a dark, nightmarish world populated by iconic DC characters. The ensemble cast for the audio reading is top notch, featuring bod-faced names such as Regé Jean-Page as Orpheus, Emma Corrin as Thessaly, Brian Cox as Augustus and Kat Dennings.

Greenlights

At 50 years old, the Academy Award-winning actor took to the desert to write this memoir based on the lessons, advice and wisdom he’s recounted through years of journaling. The main thesis of the unconventional book (and his general approach to living) is something he calls “catching greenlights”: enjoying life’s successes while having the faith that the yellows and reds will turn green at some point, too. McConaughey narrates the intimate audiobook, leading listeners through his own successes, failures, realizations, lessons and vivid memories from his life.

Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel

Prime Video’s rollicking, drama-filled show about the epic rise and fall of an iconic 1970s rock band, loosely based on Fleetwood Mac, is based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestselling “Daisy Jones & The Six.”

Heartburn

Meryl Streep narrates the audiobook version of Nora Ephron’s beloved novel “Heartburn,” which tells the story of Rachel Samstat who, seven months into her pregnancy, discovers that her husband Mark is in love with another woman. The “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Harry Met Sally” creator reminds us all why she’s the queen of romance (and anguish) with this sidesplitting novel.

Me: Elton John Official Autobiography

If you find yourself fascinated by Elton John after watching his upcoming documentary, you’ll want to read his debut autobiography in which the music icon himself narrates his remarkable life — from a young shy boy (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight) in a small London suburb, to the legendary artist who ended up changing the music world forever with his songs. Aside from his rise to success and extravagant lifestyle, all things shown in the bio-pic “Rocketman,” John also recounts his experience with the AIDs crisis and writes candidly about getting clean from addiction.

Yearbook

Everyone’s favorite comedian and producer puts together a hilarious collection of personal essays in his first book, in which he writes about his foray into comedy as a teenager, his Jewish upbringing and some wild Hollywood stories through the lens of a far-from-typical A-lister. You won’t want to miss the audiobook version, which features a star-studded cast with cameos by Rogen’s mom and dad, Nick Kroll, Jay Pharoah, Jason Segel, Dan Aykroyd, Ike Barinholtz, Simon Helberg, Tommy Chong, Billy Idol and many more.

Heads Will Roll

Less of a book and more of an audio comedy, Audible Original’s “Heads Will Roll” is a 10-episode series created by “Saturday Night Live” star Kate McKinnon and co-creator/star (and sister!) Emily Lynne. The story follows Queen Mortuana of the Night Realm (McKinnon) and her ditsy sister JoJo (Lynne) who work together to hilariously put down an impending peasant rebellion that threatens their throne. The star-studded satire features performances by Meryl Streep, Tim Gunn, Peter Dinklage and “Queer Eye”‘s Fab Five.

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

Pulitzer Prize winner Ronan Farrow exposes a Russian doll of explosive stories in this real-life account of how he broke the Harvey Weinstein story for “The New Yorker” in 2017. In this tell-all book, which he narrates himself for the audio version, he recounts the shadowy operatives and war-hardened spies that surveilled him for months as he bravely uncovered the truth about one of Hollywood’s most powerful producers. He also writes about the process of getting Weinstein’s victims to tell their stories, which ended up sparking an explosive reckoning within Hollywood, and an entire movement around the world. If you’re really interested in the subject, you can couple it with Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s audiobook “She Said,” in which they explain how they investigated the same story for “The New York Times.”

Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes

The audio version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, which stars the cast of the 2018 Broadway revival, explores the themes of identity, justice, community and redemption as New Yorkers grapple with the devastating AIDS crisis throughout the 1980s. Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane, in addition to the rest of cast, recreate their acclaimed performances for the immersive theatrical experience.

Is This Anything?

In his first book in 25 years, the legendary comedian tracks his success from his performances as a shy 21 year-old college student to selling out the Madison Square Garden today — all through the best bits he’s saved over his iconic career. Half stand-up comedy, half memoir, “Is This Anything” gives valuable insight into one of the best comedians of our generation, narrated with Seinfeld’s distinct, shrill (and hilarious) intonation. If you’re a comedy lover, you can also check out Tina Fey’s “Bossy Pants” and Amy Poehler’s “Yes Please.”

Me Talk Pretty One Day

Sedaris’s distinct and lovable high-pitched voice carries readers through hilarious and whacky stories from his eccentric upbringing. From course-correcting his lisp through speech therapy lessons in elementary school, to moving to Paris with no grasp on the French language, to a short-lived stint as a writing teacher that he was woefully under qualified for, Sedaris has no shortage of real-life stories that double as comedy bits. In fact, more of his entertaining short essays can be found in his other popular books “Calypso,” “Naked” and “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.”

The Things They Carried

“The Things They Carried,” a finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award, is still a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon 24 years since its original release. The Audible exclusive is narrated by award-winning actor Bryan Cranston, who tells the story of a group of soldiers in the Vietnam War through the weaponry (and other miscellaneous items) they brought with them on their journey. This audiobook also includes an exclusive recording “The Vietnam in Me,” a recount of the author’s trip back to Vietnam in 1994, revisiting his experience there as a soldier 25 years before, read by Tim O’Brien himself.

The Copenhagen Trilogy: Childhood; Youth; Dependency

Danish poet Tove Ditlefsen grew up in the early 1900s in a Copenhagen indistinguishable from the socially progressive, enlightened city of today. Recalling “Angela’s Ashes,” but with a distinctive feminist perspective, her early memories of living in poverty while dreaming of a literary life — and the precarious success she finally achieved — are hypnotically captivating in this newly-released audiobook, unfurling against the backdrop of the Nazi movement and the gradual modernization of 20th century Europe.

Just Kids

Patti Smith’s unmistakable throaty drawl adds dimension to the pioneering punk poet and singer’s exquisitely-observed and heartbreaking story of how she fled New Jersey in her early 20s, lived on almost nothing in New York, and moved in with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe while starting to perform at CBGB and Max’s Kansas City.

Crying in H Mart: A Memoir

The musician Michelle Zauner, known as Japanese Breakfast, proves she’s as adept at writing a sensitive memoir about family ties as she is at creating dreamy electro-pop. Zauner writes of growing up as a Korean American in Eugene, Ore., moving to the East Coast and beginning a band, and returning to Oregon to take care of her mother when she’s diagnosed with cancer. Memories of special meals she shared with her mother and grandmother and her efforts to come to terms with her family are woven throughout the book, which Zauner narrates herself.

The Glass Castle: A Memoir

Probably one of the top five memoirs of all time, Jeanette Walls’ story of her calamitous upbringing across the Southwest and in a West Virginia shack is as riveting as it is horrifying. With headstrong, artistic and unstable parents who were utterly unsuited to raising children, Walls and her brother and sister are forced to grow up way too fast, scrounging food for the family and fighting to get an education under the most extreme conditions. If you’re as captivated by her story as most listeners are, check out “Half Broke Horses,” a prequel that tells the story of her mother’s frontier childhood in the early 20th century Southwest.

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