Light, Enjoyable Summer Audiobook Listening

I was pretty excited about the chance to listen to audiobooks with my husband, Tom, on our 2,800 mile round-trip driving vacation to Virginia and Pittsburgh. It turned out that Tom, never having listened to an audiobook, was nervous I’d commit us to a 26-hour whale like Middlemarch.

Never fear!

We went with a light mix of nonfiction and classic crime fiction. He loved all of them. I think you might too.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It might seem odd to choose this book for a cross-country drive with one’s husband. But we both really like The Mindy Project so we were prepped for her style. It was like listening to a memoir / stand-up routine / Hollywood behind-the-scenes tale.

It was a tad girly, even for me. But that’s Mindy. I came away impressed with her solid common sense, her family, and her humor.

I’d like to buy every young woman I know a copy.

And I’d love to sit on an airplane next to Mindy sometime.

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a huge hit with Tom. It might be called the perfect intro audiobook for someone who doesn’t ever read fiction. It was full of ideas that we would we stop the book to discuss. Sometimes we said, “oversimplification!” And then we discussed. The driving time flew by.

My main takeaway was incentive. I have seen so many ways to apply that overall concept even while on vacation and having various conversations.

Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We both loved this book. William Dufris’ narration was simply stellar. It was like listening to an all star cast.

This book’s classic status is well deserved. We were so interested in the fact that John Huston both wrote and directed the movie that we wanted to see how he handled translating the book to film. No wonder we recognized so many lines from the book. Huston went with the best whenever possible. It still isn’t a favorite movie of mine, but it was fascinating to watch with the book so fresh on our minds.

And, again, I must mention that William Dufris’ narration makes it. His “fat man” has to be heard to be appreciated.