2023 was a breakout year for audiobooks — at least in terms of the social-media impact of two massive titles. Early in the year, Prince Harry narrated his own memoir, Spare, which included an oversharing scene in which Harry spoke calmly about his frostbitten penis. Then the audiobook of Britney Spears’s The Woman in Me, read by the actress Michelle Williams, became a sensation. Of particular note: this clip, the War and Peace of audiobooks, which stars Williams as Justin Timberlake saying, “Ohh yeaa fo shizz fo shizz.” Try not to listen at least twice.
The celebrity memoir is the audiobook in its greatest form. Some of last year’s best — in terms of entertainment value, intimacy, and genuine weirdness — came from unexpected sources like: Minka Kelly, Henry Winkler, Leslie Jones, John Stamos, Laura Dern and Diane Ladd, and, of course, Barbra Streisand, whose own narration clocked in at two days’ worth of material.
For 2024, the celebrity avalanche seems to be slowing. But be sure, I’ll keep you updated in this column. (On the horizon: Tom Selleck, RuPaul, and Billy Dee Williams.) Along with all the other titles — thrillers, romances, self-help guides, TikTok sensations — you should consider listening to these over the next 12 months. Hopefully, you’ll start loving audiobooks almost as much as I do.
Family Family, by Laurie Frankel
Read by: Patti Murin
Length:14 hrs, 57 mins.
Speed I listened: 2.3x
I had a hard time finding audiobooks I liked this month. I loved spending time with Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) as he read a British shrink in Matthew Blake’s thriller Anna O. But I just could not follow what was happening in the story at all. Ditto for Arian Moayed (Stewy on Succession), who is great company as the narrator of Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr!. But, the time and character shifts make the story a challenging listen. So it was a great relief to be immediately absorbed in Laurie Frankel’s new novel, which is, per the title, about family. Tonally on the bubbly side — there’s no time for depression here — the plot is a tad far-fetched. India Allwood is a stage actress who stars on some fantasy television series. She gives up two babies for adoption and then adopts some of her own. When her career approaches cancellation — she says something out of turn to a reporter — all her kids band together to save her. Murin, who played the original Princess Anna in Frozen on Broadway, keeps things breezy and refreshing. Her scenes of India struggling with coming into her talents at acting school — including playing a pregnant Lady Macbeth — are highlights.
$18.18 at Amazon
The Fury, by Alex Michaelides
Read by: Alex Jennings
Length: 8 hrs, 8 mins.
Speed I listened: 1.75x
Michaelides wrote the huge best-seller The Silent Patient, so he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve with this new novel — some more predictable than others. Elliot Chase, our unreliable narrator, owes a bit to Tom Ripley; he might also remind readers of Barry Keoghan’s character in Saltburn. Elliot obsesses over his friend Lana Farrar, a former big movie star (think Julia Roberts). They end up on vacation in Greece, and it becomes awfully cloudy to decipher what’s real and what’s a performance. At 66, Jennings, a British actor of stage and screen (The Crown), is probably too old to narrate Elliot’s nifty and treacherous rant. But, his impeccable accent keeps the already propulsive novel quite engaging, and moving like a steam train about to run you over.
$22.32 at Amazon
Upside Down, by Danielle Steel
Read by: Michael Braun
Length: 7 hrs, 54 mins.
Speed I listened: 2x
Danielle Steel has published almost 200 books, but I’ve never read any of them. So as a resolution for 2024, I took the plunge. And you know what? I liked it. This one’s about a 62-year-old Hollywood icon, Ardith Law, who reminded me of a reclusive Michelle Pfeiffer. She has an affair with a much younger actor — I imagined Glen Powell — who has come on as her temporary assistant. (Don’t ask why.) Ardith’s story alternates with that of her estranged daughter, a plastic surgeon back in New York, who is also experiencing genuine love for the first time. Cue the butterflies, violins, and motorcycle rides to Malibu. Sometimes you just want an easy listen, and Braun’s masculine tones are like Manuka Honey.
$18.37 at Amazon
1000 Words, by Jami Attenberg
Read by: the author and others
Length: 4 hours, 56 mins.
Speed I listened: 2.1x
As another resolution for 2024, I figured I should make a pledge to work on some of the writing projects I can never seem to finish. Or pretend to. This “guide to staying creative, focused, and productive all year round” features aphorisms and advice from such prolific writers as Rebecca Makkai, Elizabeth McCracken, Susan Orlean, Roxane Gay, and Bryan Washington. Thanks to Attenberg’s kindly vocals, it moves swiftly and encouragingly. With hope, some of the words of wisdom seeped through into my consciousness. At least one piece did, and for that I’m grateful: “Embrace your inner good enough.”
$11.8 at Amazon
More, by Molly Roden Winter
Read by: the author
Length: 8 hrs, 43 mins.
Speed I listened: 2x
Much has already been made of this uncomfortably intimate memoir about a New York couple who open their marriage. Still, I wanted to hear it for myself. Why shouldn’t I be conversant in the trend of non-monogamy, the unavoidable topic du jour, even if most of my time is spent listening to audiobooks? Winter’s adventures in dating and fooling around as a married woman with children do not disappoint. The ways she narrates a French boyfriend (terribly) and a German one (even more terribly) are priceless. As jaw-droppingly blunt as Winter is, she serves as a reminder that maybe there is such a thing as TMI. Then again, I listened to the whole thing in a single sitting, so maybe I could use more excitement in my life.
$24.5 at Amazon
First Lie Wins, by Ashley Elston
Read by: Saskia Maarleveld
Length: 9 hrs, 16 mins.
Speed I listened: 2x
It’s been a long road, but I’ve finally come to accept that selections from the Reese Witherspoon Book Club are not the same as the Pulitzer Committee. Witherspoon describes this one as “everything you could want in a thriller.” I can’t go that far. This one felt kind of vague to me, as if it came out of a vape pen. The bad guy, for instance, is called Mr. Smith. But there’s definitely fun to be had in unraveling the identity of the real Evie Porter when another Evie Porter unexpectedly shows up in town. And Maarleveld, a prolific audiobook reader, heightens the excitement.
$17.72 at Amazon
Marshall Heyman , 2024-01-30 16:00:50
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