The Best Audiobooks of the Year

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Prairie Fires comes a terrifying true-crime history of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond — a gripping investigation of how a new strain of psychopath emerged out of a toxic landscape of deadly industrial violence.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love — this time among the stars.

Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping novel from Emily Henry.

Two women haunted by their sisters’ unsolved disappearances band together in this captivating mystery from the author of All Good People Here and host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie.

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow illuminates the full, fascinating, and complex life of the writer long celebrated as the father of American literature, Mark Twain. Today, more than one hundred years after his death, Twain’s writing continues to be read, debated, and quoted. In this brilliant work of scholarship, a moving tribute to the writer’s talent and humanity, Chernow reveals the magnificent and often maddening life of one of the most original characters in American history.

A young woman must shake off a family curse and the widely held belief that she is the reincarnation of her dead cousin in this wickedly funny, brilliantly perceptive novel about love, female rivalry, and superstition. Cursed Daughters is a brilliant cocktail of modernity and superstition, vibrant humor and hard-won wisdom, romantic love and familial obligation. With its unforgettable cast of characters, it asks us what it means to be given a second chance and how to live both wisely and well with what we’ve been given.

John Green, acclaimed author and passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world’s deadliest infectious disease.

A missing child, two girls in search of their true identities — a stunning novel of mothers, daughters, and best friends. “A mesmerizing novel filled with different types of love and secrets from the past” (Jean Kwok, author of Searching for Sylvie Lee).

An astonishing memoir that explores how far we will go to protect ourselves, and the healing made possible when we face our secrets and begin to share our stories. With hope, heart, and relentless honesty, she points a way forward for all of us, revealing the power of radical truth-telling to deepen our connections — with others and ourselves.

Reacher had no idea where he was. No idea how he had gotten there. But someone must have brought him. And shackled him. And whoever had done those things was going to rue the day. That was for damn sure … A gripping Jack Reacher thriller from the bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child.

A Little Life follows four college classmates — broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition — as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude. A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century.

A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis. As the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. But when staying away from each other becomes impossible, they realize that their hearts might be treading into dangerous water …

The origin story of one of the most influential and transformative business leaders and philanthropists of the modern age. Source Code is not about Microsoft or the Gates Foundation or the future of technology. It’s the human, personal story of how Bill Gates became who he is today: His childhood, his early passions and pursuits. Bill Gates tells this, his own story, for the first time: Wise, warm, revealing, it’s a fascinating portrait of an American life.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and beloved former Today co-host Hoda Kotb comes her most personal, ambitious book yet — a guide to dealing with change and upheaval, even (and perhaps especially) when it’s unexpected.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds transports us back to the early 2000s in Soundtrack, an audiobook original about New York City teens whose talent and love of music lift them to unexpected heights. Read by a full cast and with an original score by Grammy-winning composer Justin Ellington, award-winning author Jason Reynolds shows us a found family coming of age in a wonderfully complex city.

Shot Ready is a powerful distillation of Stephen Curry’s transformative philosophy of success — centered on preparation, constant improvement, creativity, connection, mindfulness, and joy — delivered in his incomparable voice and style. Shot Ready is an intimate narrative and a practical blueprint for any listener who wants to unlock their own potential.

In this riveting dark fantasy debut, a woman with missing memories fights to survive a war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy — and the man tasked with unearthing the deepest secrets of her past.

Being successful is no laughing matter … unless the road there is littered with flops, fool’s errands, fizzles, and straight-up failures — from the New York Times bestselling co-author of Marriage Be Hard. Laugh-out-loud in one moment and perceptive in the next, Successful Failure is a wild ride from one of America’s funniest comics and a sendup of our ideals around hustle culture and success.

From the co-editor of the bestselling anthology Never Whistle at Night, a semi-autobiographical novel that follows a group of teenage gang members as they trek across Chicago to a momentous meeting, inspired by the cult classic The Warriors. Immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of the author’s beloved city, The El will transport you to that singular sun- and blood-soaked day in Chicago. It is a love letter to another time, to a city, and to a group of friends trying to find their place and make their way in a world that doesn’t want them.

Black transgender luminary Tourmaline brings to life the first definitive biography of the revolutionary activist Marsha P. Johnson, one of the most important and remarkable figures in LGBTQIA+ history, revealing her story, her impact, and her legacy.

In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family’s isolated mine for refuge. But safety proves fleeting as other dangers soon bare their teeth: Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. She senses something cold lurking beneath her skin. Something angry. Something wrong … When a demonic presence awakens deep in a Mexican silver mine, the young woman it seizes must turn to the one man she shouldn’t trust … from bestselling author Isabel Cañas.

Temi and Wale meet in London. They flirt, date, meet each other’s friends. Then they break up. And Wale goes on a reality dating show. Instead of giving into heartbreak, Temi throws herself into her dream: writing. But the bills still need to be paid. So, when the opportunity to ghost-write a celebrity memoir arises, Temi accepts. And, of course, the celebrity turns out to be Wale … Will Temi and Wale repeat the patterns of their past? Or can they write a whole new story?

In hilarious and tender essays, Chelsea Handler shares her unforgettable story of becoming the woman she always wanted to be. Surprisingly vulnerable and always outrageous, Chelsea Handler captures the antic-filled, exhilarating, and joyful life she’s built — a life that makes the rest of us think, I’ll have what she’s having.

From bestselling author Martha Beck, a new path to overcoming anxiety by awakening the creativity within. This process not only shuts down anxiety but leads to innovative problem solving, a sense of meaning and purpose, and joyful, intimate connection with others — and with the world. The opposite of anxiety, it turns out, is a wonderful new way of life — one that can calm and inspire us as individuals and help us become a source of healing for everything around us.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo, a podcast producer agrees to host a new series about modern dating — but will the show jeopardize her chance at finding real love?

#1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham is the acclaimed master of the legal thriller. Now, he’s back with his first-ever whodunit, even more suspenseful than his courtroom dramas, as a small-time lawyer accused of murder races to find the real killer to clear his name.

A one-of-a-kind novel that grapples with the supernatural mysteries of life, death, and human connection — an unprecedented collaboration between the globally bestselling author of love stories like The Notebook and the renowned writer and director of blockbuster thrillers like The Sixth Sense.

Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left — if he’ll have her … A Human hybrid and an Alpha Were claw against the bonds of fate in the highly anticipated companion novel to the New York Times bestselling Bride.

From the creators of the New York Times bestselling audio series Campfire Stories and MeatEater’s American History comes a new audiobook original that immerses listeners into the brutal and unforgiving world of the professional buffalo hunters who drove America’s most iconic wildlife species to the brink of extinction.

The award-winning authors and podcasters Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle created We Can Do Hard Things — the guidebook for being alive — to help fellow travelers find their way through life.

In her first nonfiction book in a decade, the #1 bestselling writer who taught millions of readers to live authentically (Eat Pray Love) and creatively (Big Magic) shows how to break free. All the Way to the River is a landmark memoir that will resonate with anyone who has ever been captive to love — or to any other passion, substance, or craving — and who yearns, at long last, for liberation.

In 1954, Anna Matheson boards a luxury overnight train bound for Chicago. Twelve years earlier, six people shattered her family’s life. Now, under a false guise, Anna has orchestrated a chilling reunion — trapping each of them aboard. Her plan is precise: Confront the ghosts of her past, unearth long-buried truths, and ensure justice is waiting at journey’s end. But when one of the passengers is found murdered before dawn, it becomes clear that Anna isn’t the only one harboring secrets — or seeking revenge.