Every winter, RUSA puts together an outstanding list of audiobooks for adult listeners, and their 2016 list has some great choices. Hear clips from three acclaimed audiobook picks, DEAD WAKE, THE KNOCKOFF, and THE JAGUAR’S CHILDREN.
RUSA Listen List
View the entire RUSA 2016 Listen List here. Learn more about the RUSA Listen List and view past winners here.
Read by Scott Brick
Erik Larson’s New York Times bestseller is definitely one to look out for. It was named one of AudioFile’s Best of the Year and Best Voices of the Year, a Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best History/Biography, and is one of Kirkus’s Best Books of 2015.
It was also an ALA Notable Book, and RUSA says “[Brick’s] dramatic narration of passenger and crew experiences, as well as military and political machinations, propels listeners ever nearer to the inevitable and tragic conclusion.”
“This comprehensive history reads almost like a novel, and that’s exactly how Scott Brick narrates it. He adds emphasis where needed, goes quieter when appropriate, and varies his pacing effectively. His narration doesn’t get in the way of the writing—it enhances it. And during the sometimes dry and lengthy history sections early in the work, he carries listeners along. In print, readers might be tempted to skim or even skip these passages, but Brick makes them easy to listen to.”—AudioFile Earphones Award winner
Read by Katherine Kellgren
There is nothing but praise for Katherine Kellgren, narrator of Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza’s THE KNOCKOFF, in which the assistant at a fashion magazine overthrows the editor. Booklist says that “Kellgren’s masterful narration, which sounds as though it were being performed by a full cast, is a listening treat.” This sentiment is echoed by LibraryJournal, who say “the story is narrated beautifully by Katherine Kellgren, who fantastically brings to life the sarcasm, wit, and, incredulity of the characters.”
RUSA adds “Kellgren nails technophobe Imogen’s elegant tone as well as Eve’s sharply contrasting Millennial vernacular, adeptly capturing New York City’s fast-paced publishing world.”
Listen Alikes:
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA by Lauren Weisberger, read by Bernadette Dunne
FUNNY GIRL by Nick Hornby, read by Emma Fielding
Read by Ozzie Rodriguez & David H. Lawrence XVII
John Vaillant, bestselling author of The Tiger has done it again with this thrilling survival story of a young man trapped, possibly fatally, during a border crossing. Listening to this story is the best way to experience this gripping tale. Library Journal said, “Ozzie Rodriguez and David H. Lawrence XVII’s narrations are magnificent in inflection and accent and the palatable sense of death and desperation.”
This is a powerful listen, and RUSA agrees, adding that “[w]ith authentic Spanish accents and riveting pacing, Laurence and Rodriquez capture visceral feelings of claustrophobia and desperation.”
More RUSA Listen-Alikes from BOT:
BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME by Ta-Nehisi Coates, read by the Author
Go behind-the-scenes in the studio with author/narrator Ta-Nehisi Coates.
CITY ON FIRE by Garth Risk Hallberg, read by Rebecca Lowman, Tristan Morris, and Bronson Pinchot
Meet the narrators of the epic debut CITY ON FIRE.
GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn, read by Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne
THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova, read by Justine Eyre and Paul Michael
EAT, PRAY, LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert, read by the Author
WILD by Cheryl Strayed, read by Bernadette Dunne
A GAME OF THRONES by George R. R. Martin, read by Roy Dotrice
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA by Lauren Weisberger, read by Bernadette Dunne
FUNNY GIRL by Nick Hornby, read by Emma Fielding
THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY by Erik Larson, read by Scott Brick
