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Why are Audiobooks Perfect for Flying?
Personally, I adore listening to audiobooks when I fly. Besides the fact that I love to read in general, audiobooks are an excellent way to read on a late night flight without being THAT person. You know, the one that turns their light on when everyone else is trying to sleep in order to read and ends up getting glares from everyone. Not to mention if you are an introvert, having headphones in typically spares you from making small talk with your seatmates. Or if you tend to get a bit dizzy when driving or flying it also is a great way to get some of your reading in on the plane. You can download books onto your phone via apps like Audible or get them from your local public library’s online library via Overdrive.
As with any book list, I try to provide a mix of all genres, with everything from a children’s series to non-fiction books, to classics and contemporary favorites.
Audiobooks Less than 4 Hours
If you’re looking to just get into audiobooks and don’t want to commit to a longer tale, or have a relatively short domestic flight, here are some great ideas to start with.
If You Ask Me by Betty White: 2 Hours
One of the thing I love about audiobooks are listening to autobiographies. Biographies are not something I would typically pick up if i was just reading a book, but many autobiography audiobooks are actually read by the author, which I think makes them much more interesting. Comediennes like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Mindy Kaling all have written and recorded their own novels, but with someone with such a storied career as Betty White, I can’t help but want to pick up this one that recounts nuggets of wisdom alongside hilarious stories of her life. The best part is that book is super short and a great introduction to the magic of audiobooks.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell: 3 Hours
While there aren’t a ton of books that are this short when read aloud, many of the books you’ll find in this range of time will be shorter non-fiction. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is a great example. The concept of the “tipping point” is that small ideas can grow into much larger ones given the right context. Gladwell is a staff writer at the New Yorker, so his books read more like little articles with examples to support his theories. It’s not the stuff of heavily researched academia, but an interesting take on how and why certain things become popular.
Animal Farm by George Orwell: 3 Hours
A classic satire of the Russian revolution, Animal Farm comes from George Orwell, the author of dystopian novel 1984. In the book, talking farm animals rebel against the farm’s owner and establish their own society in which “All animals are created equal”. Several of the pigs assume control over this new society, but soon find that they are just as susceptible to being power hungry as the human farmer that once governed them. The lessons portrayed in this short parable are just as applicable to today’s society as they were at the time of its writing.
Audiobooks 4 to 7 Hours
Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance: 6.5 Hours
One of the books I’ve included on my Around America in 50 Books Reading Challenge is the book from Kentucky, Hillbilly Elegy. The story is a bit of a memoir and commentary on class in America. Vance describes his family’s rise from the “rust belt” of Kentucky to the middle class, and how sometimes it’s difficult to truly escape your roots as you try to live out the “American Dream”.
Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: 4.5 Hours
You may have read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a child, but the books in the Chronicles of Narnia series are good even as an adult. Go back to your childhood with any of the 7 books in the series as they sit somewhere in this time range. Treat these as a fun break from work as you explore the imaginary world of Narnia with the Pevensie children. Maybe even listen to them all if you travel often. My personal favorite is The Silver Chair.
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner: 6.5 Hours
Freakonomics is a non-fiction book that is part sociology, part economics with some controversial topics that make you think. Did the ruling of Roe v. Wade lead to a decreased crime rate in the US in the 1990s? How much does good parenting really affect your child: the classic case of nature vs nurture? Whether or not you believe these theories is a different story, and there are many criticisms of some of the statistical analysis done in the book. Nevertheless, there are some interesting concepts that are worth considering as you relax in your window seat.
Audiobooks 7 to 10 Hours
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson: 9.5 Hours
Over the past year I’ve really picked up hiking as a hobby, and have read a few books for inspiration. One of those was Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. Bill and an old friend decide to attempt to thru-hike the Appalachian trail together. The Appalachian Trail, or A.T., is over 2,000 miles long, passing through 14 states. While Bill doesn’t actually hike the entire A.T., he does far more than most of us ever will, and his chronicles introduce you to a completely different way of live. So different, that it’s almost difficult to come back to “civilization”.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows: 8 Hours
I am in love with this book (and the Netflix special, even if it was a loose adaptation). Geurnsey is an interesting one to listen to since it’s an epistolary novel: all the text is written letters sent between the characters. The story follows writer Juliet Ashton, who receives a letter from the island of Guernsey just off the coast of France. The island was occupied by the Nazis during World War II, and the story follows a group of the island’s inhabitants who formed a book club out of necessity during the war. Ashton is looking to write an article on the group, but as she delves deeper into the story she finds herself more at home with these strangers than her life back in London. Somewhat of a romance, but with enough story surrounding it for me not to truly consider it only a “love story”. It’s an interesting take in telling the story of what life was like co-existing with the German soldiers. It also makes me want to visit the island at some point.
Legend by Marie Lu: 8 Hours
I’ll admit that my guilty book pleasure I can’t put down are dystopian novels. I read The Hunger Games in one sitting. I adored the Divergent series (even if the movies were awful). I picked up Legend while visiting my friend in Nashville and immediately got sucked in. The story follows two teenagers: Day and June. June is a 15 year old training to be an elite member of the military in the Republic. Day is another teen from the slums that just happens to be the Republic’s Public Enemy #1. When June’s brother Metias is killed, Day is the main suspect. However Day isn’t quite what he seems…and the Republic may not be either. If you are a fan of the other series I’ve mentioned, I think you enjoy this as well.
Audiobooks 10 to 12 Hours
Even if you’re on a flight longer than 12 hours, chances are you aren’t going to want to listen straight through, so I’ll end my list with these 3 novels.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford: 11 Hours
I actually just finished this book on my road trip home for the holidays. The book jumps back and forth between 1986, when the Panama Hotel is being reopened in Seattle, and the 1940’s, during the Japanese internment camps during World War II. During the war years, Henry is a Chinese boy that meets a Japanese girl at school and falls in love with her. When her family is sent away to the internment camps he risks everything to see her, but knows his parents will never approve. Years later, he has never seen Keiko again, but the old Japanese belongings hidden in the basement of the Panama Hotel by families being sent to the internment camps make him long for what could have been. The story beautifully depicts what life was like for the Asian communities in Seattle during the war, and the difficulty balancing what it means to be both Chinese and American.
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen: 11.5 Hours
When Jacob Janowski’s parents die in a car crash, he decides to walk out of his last exam during veterinary school and happens upon a circus train for Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. In need of a job and a direction, Jacob falls into a position as the circus’ resident veterinarian. There he meets a variety of characters: acrobats, stage hands, the ringleader, a strong-man named August and his wife Marlena, and an elephant named Rosie. As the circus starts to fail, Jacob falls in love with Marlena and all of their stories become intricately intertwined. This book was unlike anything I’ve ever read, but was thoroughly enjoyable!
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware: 11 Hours
One of the first books I listened to on audiobook while flying was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Cabin 10 is reminiscent of that novel to me in that for a good portion of the novel you aren’t quite sure if the narrator is reliable or not. Main character Lo Blacklock is a travel magazine journalist who has just gotten her first big break in covering the maiden voyage on an exclusive ten cabin cruise ship. However she’s already a bit paranoid after having her house broken into and is an anxiety riddled alcoholic, which doesn’t make her a particularly reliable or likable character. When the woman she met earlier that day in cabin 10 disappears but everyone on the passenger list is accounted for, Lo struggles to make anyone believe that the woman she saw is real. If you are into general mystery/suspense, this is a popular choice.
What are some of your favorite audiobooks? How long are they?
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