The official Top Ten Tuesday topic today is “Resolutions/Hopes for 2021”. I’m not jinxing myself by making resolutions this year, and several hopes for 2021 have already been dashed (not even two weeks in) so I’m going rogue with this post – a belated year-end list of Top Ten Favorite Audiobooks of 2020.
As I mentioned in my Top Ten Favorite Books of the Year post, I listened to a LOT of audio in 2020. Even more than usual, I would guess, even though I had no commute when working from home for a few months back in the spring, when the library building was closed even to staff. So picking the top ten was difficult, as I don’t keep great records.
I came up with 17 audiobooks I rated highly on LibraryThing, so I’ve gone with the ones that struck me as the ones I was most glad I had chosen to listen to rather than reading them, but would be most happy to reread in print for a book club or online readalong. (I don’t do much rereading.)
These are approximately in the order of when I listened to them, starting with the most recent.
The Searcher (Penguin Audio, 2020) by Tana French
Mexican Gothic (Random House Audio, 2020) by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Leave the World Behind (Harper Audio, 2020) by Rumaan Alam
The Power (Hachette Audio, 2017) by Naomi Alderman
A God in Ruins (Hachette Audio, 2015) by Kate Atkinson
Conjure Women (PRH Audio, 2020) by Afia Atakora
The Body Lies (PRH Audio, 2019) by Jo Baker
Another Brooklyn (Harper Audio, 2016) by Jacqueline Woodson
The Gifted School (PRH Audio, 2019) by Bruce Holsinger
Spinning Silver (PRH Audio, 2018) by Naomi Novik
Look at that! My top ten audiobooks of 2020 (including one with multiple narrators) and no repeat narrators! Sometimes I’ll pick an audiobook entirely because it’s read by a favorite narrator, but not that often, I guess. If you’re interested in trying different audiobook narrators, you might be interested in joining this challenge for 2021 – New (To You) Narrator Reading Challenge hosted by Jen at Introverted Reader.
Check out the other Top Ten Tuesday posts at That Artsy Reader Girl where you’ll probably find other challenges listed by book bloggers who have resolved to attempt them this year. You can also find a master list of 2021 reading challenges hosted by Kim and Tanya at Girl XOXO.
Curious about my seven runners-up? Here they are:
- All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny, read by Robert Bathurst
- Pet Sematary by Stephen King, read by Michael C. Hall
- Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev, read by Soneela Nankani
- Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal, read by Meera Syal
- Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson, read by Graham Halstead
- The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory, read by Janina Edwards
- Long Bright River by Liz Moore, read by Allyson Ryan
