Best audiobooks for road trips whether you’re traveling with family, friends, or by yourself, an audiobook is an excellent way to keep your mind occupied during long drives. These best audiobooks for road trips will help your hours of driving fly by with exciting and captivating stories.
This utterly compelling account of women in the Alice Network is a tear-jerker and perfect for anyone seeking an emotional listen.
1. The Book Thief
This moving story set during World War II features an amazing performance from Sophie Nelisse as Liesel Meminger. Her wide-eyed expressions of awe, wonder and pain draw you in, elevating THE BOOK THIEF into a powerful and inspirational experience for all who listen.
When we first meet nine-year-old Liesel, she and her little brother are being taken away from their home in Germany by train. On the way, Death, narrator of the story, visits the little girl and she steals a book from him, The Gravedigger’s Handbook. This is just the start of many losses that Liesel will face as she grows into a young woman during the war.
One of the features that make this story so compelling is that it’s narrated by Death, which gives it an odd, yet touching feel. He is a character that you grow to respect and even care for as you hear his take on the world around him.
The movie version of this bestselling novel is also excellent and benefits greatly from the wonderful cast. Nelisse, as always, delivers an exceptional performance, bringing her own unique flair to the role and allowing us to see the world through her eyes.
2. Ready Player One
Road trips are fun, but they can also be tedious. An audiobook is the perfect solution to make time fly by and provide a much-needed escape. Whether you’re in the mood for something dramatic, informative, funny, or sexy, the best audiobooks for road trips offer something to suit any interest.
Whether you’re a fan of the iconic film or not, this audiobook is sure to please. Narrated by the masterful Zachary Webber, this is a fun listen that will keep you entertained on your journey.
For an unforgettable adventure, delve into the fictional world of Middle Earth with this bestselling audiobook. A must for any fantasy lover, it’s a great way to transform your car into an immersive experience.
Whether you’re going to Ohio, Chicago, or Iowa, this road trip audiobook will give you a glimpse into the heart of the Midwest. From Celeste Ng’s depiction of a seemingly normal suburban life to the harrowing account of the Donner Party by Alma Katsu, these stories will help you understand this unique part of America.
3. His Dark Materials
The long drives on a road trip are perfect for a story that will keep you entertained. A great option is a book that will also inspire you to think differently about the world, like Beloved or Where The Crawdads Sing.
If you haven’t seen the popular His Dark Materials show on Amazon, then a audiobook of the trilogy is a great way to experience this grown-up fantasy of a family of witches, a quest for an alchemical manuscript, and a dangerous underworld. Philip Pullman’s epic is a warning against reducing the world to crude binaries of good and evil, and a cautionary tale of how an authoritarian religious state can smother individuality.
The narrator for this audiobook, Kristen Bell, is a riot. With her ad libs, inside info on the SNL Sarah Palin sketch, and unprompted riffs on breastfeeding and being an older virgin, this audiobook will have you laughing out loud for hours on end. The hijinks are guaranteed to make your next road trip fly by.
4. Carsick
A road trip can either be a mind-numbing bore or an epic adventure. Make it the latter by bringing an entertaining audiobook to help the hours fly by. From laugh-out-loud memoirs to spine-chilling mysteries, there’s something for every taste. And best of all, most of these awesome listens can be downloaded to your Audible app for free with a month-long trial of the service.
For a light-hearted comedy that won’t distract you from driving, try this romance novel narrated by two of the industry’s most beloved narrators. It features a sexy premise, heartwarming characters and plenty of twists.
Curator’s Note: Small-town curmudgeon Ove might seem like a bad choice in a travel buddy, but he proves to be the perfect companion on this funny and heartwarming tale of his unlikely relationship with his new neighbors.
If you’re looking to learn something new on your drive, this mindfulness guide will teach you how to change your mindset and improve your well-being on the go. And if you’re looking to understand the Black Lives Matter movement more, this book will be an excellent accompaniment as Starr Carter fights for justice for her murdered friend.
5. Homegoing
If you have a long drive ahead of you, an excellent audiobook can make the trip an enjoyable one. It’s a great way to keep everyone in your car entertained and will help the time fly by. Whether you want to keep it light and funny or turn up the suspense, we’ve got you covered with our list of the best audiobooks for road trips.
Homegoing is Yaa Gyasi’s wildly ambitious debut novel, which follows eight generations of an African family from Africa to America. It’s similar in structure to Alex Haley’s Roots, with each generation’s story wrapped up in a chapter. It’s a powerful story that will have you talking about its themes for the duration of your trip.
This is a great audiobook for those who want to learn how to be more confident or overcome fear in their lives. It’s a self-help book that’s easy to listen to and is narrated by romance queen Lauren Blakely. It’s sure to be a hit with anyone who wants to boost their confidence on the road. If you want to hear a bit of star power, this is also narrated by Mel Robbins, so you’ll be laughing the whole way.
6. Freemantle’s Ghost
In this remarkable, harrowing novel, wealthy Minnesotan building contractor Edgar Freemantle barely survives a work-site accident that leaves him with severe injuries and a lost right arm. Unable to control his rage and suicidal impulses, he abandons his wife and two young daughters for a remote barrier island in southwest Florida where his therapist recommends he seek a “geographic cure.”
Freemantle discovers that his burgeoning artistic talents also possess psychic powers; his paintings and sketches capture glimpses of reality, revealing his ex-wife’s erotic relationship and his daughter Ilse’s fleeting marital engagement.
While King’s prose is not the most graceful, this is an exceptional and wildly entertaining novel. It features an array of intriguing characters, a slew of thrilling twists and the suffocating grip of its narrative voice. At 611 pages, Duma Key might seem a bit overlong but it never feels pokey or padded. It’s an irresistible thriller, even for the most effete reader. This is King’s first Florida setting, and it offers a fresh vigor that even the most die-hard fan might find hard to resist.
7. The Stranger
The Stranger, starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris, is a rare thing: a movie that makes your blood pump. It has the excitement of a thriller and the force of a parable, all while remaining completely rooted in the real world. It also features some of the best acting of both actors’ careers.
It’s easy to get lost in the twists and turns of this story, but the film never loses traction. Wright keeps the action afloat with subtle cinematic flourishes, like using white lines in the road to create rhythm and condensing time with quick cuts, removing faces as reference points. Wright also resists the temptation to show whatever darkness Henry is hiding, instead keeping characters in shadow or from a distance while poker-faced expressions mask their emotions.
Camus wrote The Stranger as a form of social protest, and its pessimistic tone, focus on human smallness, and a denial of the power of choice resonate with modern audiences. Even if you don’t agree with Camus’s philosophy, you can appreciate the way the novel captures the anomie of urban life. The Stranger is available on Netflix.
