Check out why this year’s RUSA Listen List committee loves these five must-hear audiobooks available from BOT. Members of the Listen List committee listened to 2,574 hours (!!!) and hand selected a top-notch list of twelve titles total that feature extraordinary narrators and listening experiences that merit special attention by a general adult audience and the librarians who advise them.
See what the jury members said about each of our titles and be sure to press the play buttons below to get a preview listen.
2018 RUSA Listen List Winners
“Senior citizen Polly and teen Willow are an unforgettable Southern mother-daughter duo tackling family secrets and mortality with irreverent and sassy style. Lamia captures Willow’s naivete and determination to protect her mother, who is as salty, tart and sweet as her favorite margarita.”
RUSA’s listen-alike suggestion: Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory, read by Ari Fliakos
“Ethereal choral interludes enhance Ryan’s charming epistolary tale of the ladies-left-behind in a British village as World War II dawns. An ensemble cast evokes every class and rank of Chilbury’s residents, who through courage and hymns, unite to defend the homefront.”
RUSA’s listen-alike suggestion: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, read by Paul Boehmer, Susan Duerden, Rosalyn Landor, John Lee, and Juliet Mills
“Listeners hear a socially awkward woman’s transformation from brusque and friendless to someone able to confront her traumatic childhood. Enhanced by a native Scottish accent, McCarron’s empathetic portrayal of prickly Eleanor and her newly acquired social circle traces the change from so not fine to completely fine.”
“Abraham Lincoln pays one last visit to son Willie, laid to rest in Oak Hill Cemetery amidst a host of spirits keeping watch as the boy makes his final passage. An unprecedented cast of 166 narrators combine in a spectral chorus, telling their stories in an astonishing gabble of voices that teems with pathos, tragicomedy, and the tenderest love.”
RUSA’s listen-alike suggestion: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, read by Marc Cashman, Robertson Dean, Lina Patel, and Lorna Raver
“Journalist Finkel investigates the life of a recluse who lived in the Maine woods for 27 years. With a subtle Down-easter accent and documentary-like reportage, Bramhall captures the author’s curiosity and Christopher Knight’s quiet humanity in a performance as unobtrusive as the hermit himself.”
RUSA’s listen-alike suggestions: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, read Fred Sanders and The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne, read by Emily Rankin
More winning Listen Alike recommendations from RUSA’s list:
For patrons who loved Born a Crime written and read by Trevor Noah:
Believe Me : A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens written and read by Eddie Izzard and Yes, Chef written and read by Marcus Samuelsson
For patrons who loved Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney, read by Xe Sands:
The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan, read by Kimberly Farr and
The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin, read by Cassandra Campbell and Paul Boehmer
For patrons who loved Sourdough by Robin Sloan, read by Therese Plummer:
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller, read by Jorjeana Marie and
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal, read by Amy Ryan and Michael Stuhlbarg
For patrons who loved You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me written and read by Sherman Alexie:
If I Ever Get Out of Here written and read by Eric Gansworth and
I’m Fine…and Other Lies written and read by Whitney Cummings
