Simple storylines for my ear
February 11, 2021 8:15 PM Subscribe
Looking for easy-to-follow stories to listen to on audiobook!
I find myself with a lot less time to sit and read a book lately, which is sad, but I’d like to keep on consuming good books via audiobooks while I run, commute, do chores, etc. This means my attention will be divided, so I’m looking for stories that fit the following criteria:
- simple storyline/plot, minimal twists and turns
- few characters to keep track of
- easy to get into the story relatively quickly
- minimal jumping around in time and/or between characters (unless easy to follow)
- looking for novels, but nonfiction that reads like a good story is welcome
Some stories that I’ve really enjoyed that fit the above:
- The River by Peter Heller
- The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
- Southernmost by Silas House
- The Chain by Adrian McKinty
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- Educated by Tara Westover
A couple I abandoned:
- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
- Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (should’ve known by the title)
Please recommend me some simple but wonderful stories to listen to! I’ll leave genre open to expand my horizons, but I tend towards literary fiction, some mystery/thriller, and have been exploring the classics.
I find myself with a lot less time to sit and read a book lately, which is sad, but I’d like to keep on consuming good books via audiobooks while I run, commute, do chores, etc. This means my attention will be divided, so I’m looking for stories that fit the following criteria:
- simple storyline/plot, minimal twists and turns
- few characters to keep track of
- easy to get into the story relatively quickly
- minimal jumping around in time and/or between characters (unless easy to follow)
- looking for novels, but nonfiction that reads like a good story is welcome
Some stories that I’ve really enjoyed that fit the above:
- The River by Peter Heller
- The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
- Southernmost by Silas House
- The Chain by Adrian McKinty
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- Educated by Tara Westover
A couple I abandoned:
- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
- Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (should’ve known by the title)
Please recommend me some simple but wonderful stories to listen to! I’ll leave genre open to expand my horizons, but I tend towards literary fiction, some mystery/thriller, and have been exploring the classics.
Circe by Madeleine Miller
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Audible has a 70 hour Complete Sherlock Holmes read by Stephen Fry. Also a Greek myth collection. The familiarity of those tales may help.
A lot of 19th c serialized fiction might work, as it was often meant to be read aloud in chunks. Not Dickens but maybe Thackeray or Gaskell; they have much more manageable plots.
Like metahawk, I once read The Prisoner of Zenda aloud to an ill family member; very easy to follow with clear Good Guys and Bad Guys. Ditto The Scarlet Pimpernel; there's a few flashbacks in that one but it's otherwise linear, and a Ripping Adventure Yarn (TM).
The hardest thing with older books is finding a good narrator. That makes a huge difference with audiobooks, I find.
posted by basalganglia at 11:14 PM on February 11, 2021
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Audible has a 70 hour Complete Sherlock Holmes read by Stephen Fry. Also a Greek myth collection. The familiarity of those tales may help.
A lot of 19th c serialized fiction might work, as it was often meant to be read aloud in chunks. Not Dickens but maybe Thackeray or Gaskell; they have much more manageable plots.
Like metahawk, I once read The Prisoner of Zenda aloud to an ill family member; very easy to follow with clear Good Guys and Bad Guys. Ditto The Scarlet Pimpernel; there's a few flashbacks in that one but it's otherwise linear, and a Ripping Adventure Yarn (TM).
The hardest thing with older books is finding a good narrator. That makes a huge difference with audiobooks, I find.
posted by basalganglia at 11:14 PM on February 11, 2021
I just discovered the Libby library app, and I've been burning through thriller audiobooks, which I never had an interest in before, but find very entertaining and a way to just escape.
Dan Brown, Brad Thor, David Baldacci, Brad Meltzer, and Steve Berry are in my To Be Borrowed queue.
The plots tend to be simple, there's a mystery involved, the characters are mostly 2 dimensional and easy to track, and the good guys always win, albeit with some sort of price.
posted by Bill Watches Movies Podcast at 2:11 AM on February 12, 2021
Dan Brown, Brad Thor, David Baldacci, Brad Meltzer, and Steve Berry are in my To Be Borrowed queue.
The plots tend to be simple, there's a mystery involved, the characters are mostly 2 dimensional and easy to track, and the good guys always win, albeit with some sort of price.
posted by Bill Watches Movies Podcast at 2:11 AM on February 12, 2021
Since lockdown started I've been listening to lots of golden-age murder mysteries through my library (Overdrive in the UK).
Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers have worked very well, and there are also lots of adaptations (BBC Radio) which are quick, as well as the full books. Very fun, and relatively straightforward, even if there are lots of potential murderers.
Also listening to the new Sophie Hannah Poirot novels, and to the Masiy Dobbs series by Jaqueline Winspear. The latter have been very good on audio and easy to follow, with the good guys winning in the end. Some of them are a bit naff, but fun enough while walking around in the cold and rain.
Also some crime thrillers or police prodedurals - Jonathan/Faye Kellerman, Lin Anderson, some of the more recent domestic thrillers (C.L Taylor, Ruth Ware).
Hope you find something you like and please do try to see if you can get them for free through your library. I've been really impressed at the amount of books available through mine, and the audio app is very easy to use (no need to jump through hoops like for e-books).
posted by sedimentary_deer at 6:17 AM on February 12, 2021
Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers have worked very well, and there are also lots of adaptations (BBC Radio) which are quick, as well as the full books. Very fun, and relatively straightforward, even if there are lots of potential murderers.
Also listening to the new Sophie Hannah Poirot novels, and to the Masiy Dobbs series by Jaqueline Winspear. The latter have been very good on audio and easy to follow, with the good guys winning in the end. Some of them are a bit naff, but fun enough while walking around in the cold and rain.
Also some crime thrillers or police prodedurals - Jonathan/Faye Kellerman, Lin Anderson, some of the more recent domestic thrillers (C.L Taylor, Ruth Ware).
Hope you find something you like and please do try to see if you can get them for free through your library. I've been really impressed at the amount of books available through mine, and the audio app is very easy to use (no need to jump through hoops like for e-books).
posted by sedimentary_deer at 6:17 AM on February 12, 2021
Daisy Jones & The Six was great as an audiobook! It has multiple characters but they're easy to keep track of; I listened to it while working on a sewing project and was able to follow along.
Gold by Chris Cleave is really long, which is nice for commuting, and is lit fic about Olympic cyclists, which is interesting enough/foreign enough to me that it kept my passive attention.
I'm currently reading, but thinking of switching to the audio version of, Lost Boy by Christina Henry. It's Peter Pan told from the perspective of a young James Hook, under the assumption that Hook got there somehow and it's probably because he was once a Lost Boy.
posted by assenav at 8:45 AM on February 12, 2021
Gold by Chris Cleave is really long, which is nice for commuting, and is lit fic about Olympic cyclists, which is interesting enough/foreign enough to me that it kept my passive attention.
I'm currently reading, but thinking of switching to the audio version of, Lost Boy by Christina Henry. It's Peter Pan told from the perspective of a young James Hook, under the assumption that Hook got there somehow and it's probably because he was once a Lost Boy.
posted by assenav at 8:45 AM on February 12, 2021
Seconding the Libby app for endless free audiobooks from the library. I’ve been reworking my way through Sue Grafton’s Alphabet series, light murder mysteries with engaging characters.
posted by antiquated at 9:39 AM on February 13, 2021
posted by antiquated at 9:39 AM on February 13, 2021
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posted by metahawk at 10:50 PM on February 11, 2021