What audiobook should I get for a 16 hour drive?

Filed in National by on May 16, 2018

Help me out my erudite, literary,DL family. One rule – no politics.

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Jason330 is a deep cover double agent working for the GOP. Don't tell anybody.

Comments (18)

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  1. Arthur says:
    May 16, 2018 at 8:34 am

    A plane ticket

  2. RE Vanella says:
    May 16, 2018 at 8:36 am

    EL Doctorow

    Billy Bathgate
    The March

    (Art – I was looking for a title like “Learning to Fly…)

  3. RE Vanella says:
    May 16, 2018 at 8:38 am

    Or… In honor of his passing… The Right Stuff or Bonfire of the Vanities

    (I always likes A Man in Full, personally)

  4. RE Vanella says:
    May 16, 2018 at 8:38 am

    If you’d prefer some more contemporary fiction, anything by Sam Lipsyte.

  5. jason330 says:
    May 16, 2018 at 8:40 am

    I’m flying down the Florida to drive my parents dogs back up here, so they can fly. I’m not a long haul driver, so it will prob be two 8 hour drives.

    Love me some E. L. Doctorow. Thanks.

  6. El Somnambulo says:
    May 16, 2018 at 8:54 am

    Not politics, exactly. But Don DeLillo’s ‘Libra’ is a fascinating speculative fiction on the JFK assassination.

    BTW, if you like Doctorow, I’m a fan of ‘The Book Of Daniel’, which is sorta about the Rosenberg trial. In reality, more than sorta.

    Both books employ cinematic techniques that should keep you awake on your drive.

  7. RE Vanella says:
    May 16, 2018 at 9:00 am

    The Book of Daniel is a great suggestion as well. But I think driving back up through GA and SC calls for The March.

  8. puck says:
    May 16, 2018 at 9:16 am

    I now have a long commute, so I’ve been getting into audiobooks, catching up on books I should have read long ago but didn’t. The performance of the reader is crucial.

    I also limit myself to audio books available from the public library, and avoid the subscription services and Librivox. I had good luck with Blackstone Audio.

    Make sure the recording is broken into short bits so you can “go back a few pages” without going to the beginning. I definitely found my mind wandering at times and liked the ability to go back a bit.

    One of my favorites was “A Confederacy of Dunces” read by Barrett Whitener.
    “We Have Always Lived In The Castle” read by Bernadette Dunn.
    “The Age of Innocence” read by Laural Merlington
    (Age of Innocence makes a great pairing with The Great Gatsby)

    For something more contemporary, try “Manhattan Beach” (author Jennifer Egan, not sure who reads the audiobook but there is probably only one version).

  9. puck says:
    May 16, 2018 at 9:49 am

    I am also a Thomas Hardy fan. I also really liked Patrick Tull’s reading of “Return of the Native” with its haunting and mystical imagery. Tull goes all out on the local accents, making them almost unintelligible to my American ears until I got the hang of it after a while, then I really got into it. I don’t recommend this unless you really want to commit; it’s an acquired taste.

    Much more accessible was “Two on a Tower,” read by Michael Kitchen. A minor Hardy novel I hadn’t even heard of, but it was a lot of fun. Nominally a fluffy romance, being Hardy there was also his biting commentary on class and social conventions.

  10. nathan arizona says:
    May 16, 2018 at 10:39 am

    “Moonglow,” Michael Chabon. Latest by the author of “Kavalier & Clay”

    Spy novels by Alan Furst. Europe around the time of World War II.

    Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled mysteries set in and around L.A. 1930s/1950s. If only for the language and descriptions.

  11. Ben says:
    May 16, 2018 at 10:50 am

    ok get ready….

    Fantasy:
    The Dagger and Coin: The Dragons Path – Daniel Abraham (first of a series that i like more than SOIAF)
    Sword of truth Series: Wizard’s first rule – Terry Goodkindi
    Game Of Thrones- GRRM
    Any Diskworld book – Terry Pratchett

    Sci-fi
    (comedy): Off to be a wizard – Scott Meyer
    (comedy) Year 0 – Robert Reid
    The Aeronaut’s Windlass – Jim Butcher
    Retribution Falls – Chris Wooding

    More
    American God’s 10th anniversary edition W full cast – Neil Gaiman
    Assassination vacation (nonfiction) – Sarah Vowell
    Fear and Loathing on the campaign trail – HST ( yeah, I know it’s “political”, but the way he talks about Nixon is magical)

    I’ll think of more. Long drives and audio books are my favorite

  12. jason330 says:
    May 16, 2018 at 11:23 am

    Thanks for all the great recs. I knew crowd sourcing this was the way to go.

  13. El Somnambulo says:
    May 16, 2018 at 11:48 am

    If you want ‘hard-boiled’ with the language, um cruder, there’s always James Ellroy. While I love him, I just couldn’t get through ‘Perfidia’. Might I suggest LA Confidential or White Jazz?

  14. Jim c says:
    May 16, 2018 at 12:40 pm

    We drive to the Orlando area 2-3 times a year On the way back we can make it to emporia va in 8-9 hours where we stay in a red roof it’s also where you can cut over to Chesapeake bay bridge tunnel to 13/113 if you don’t want to fight 95 traffic the rest of the way btw. Red roof is pet friendly

  15. liberalgeek says:
    May 16, 2018 at 12:49 pm

    Non-fiction:

    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
    The Devil in the White City

    Game of thrones is a suckers pick. At 33 hours, you’ll spend another month finishing it.

  16. jason330 says:
    May 16, 2018 at 12:51 pm

    I’m coming from farther south, but good to know about Emporia. Thanks for the tip.

  17. El Somnambulo says:
    May 16, 2018 at 12:56 pm

    The Devil In The White City is a great choice. A World’s Fair at the time that Chicago emerges as a world-class city, a fiendish serial killer who takes advantage of this unique time in the city’s history. And it’s all true.

  18. Steve Newton says:
    May 17, 2018 at 3:26 pm

    Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods”

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