Audiobooks & podcasts for making art to
Here are my top audiobooks & podcasts of the last year-ish (and the ones I abandoned!)
Listening to stories, drawing stories…
I listen to a lot!! of audiobooks as I work and make art - I’m always looking for recommendations, so please drop me a line with your favourites!
I have quite an eclectic literary taste!, so if you do too, here are my faves (plus some that were highly recommended that I just couldn’t get on with, and some I had to abandon (in my 20s & 30s I forced myself to finish books even if I wasn’t enjoying them…but now I’m in my 40s I think eh life’s too short and there are so many good books to be read in the world and I want to read them all!
This list doesn’t include physical books, which I much prefer and are a different reading experience for me, and tend to be different genres too, (usually literary, comedy, folklore & non-fiction) - I’ll make a list of my ‘true loves’ in another post soon!
Audiobooks
Thriller
(I only ever ‘read’ thrillers as audiobooks and only dipped my toe into the genre a couple of years ago, for some reason!)
I Will Find You - Harlan Coben: A great listen, really well narrated, fast-paced and tense ★ ★ ★ ★ /★
Pine - Francine Toon: Really atmospheric setting, I liked the father-daughter dynamic and the character of Lauren in particular. I was hoping to be chilled, but wasn’t; more mysterious/eerie vibes. I got to the end, but in bite-sized chunks ★ ★ ★/★
The Paris Apartment - Lucy Foley: I liked the setting and narration. There was just something off about this one for me and I found it dragged, but most people love this book, so maybe just not my vibe ★ ★ ★/★
Magpie - Elizabeth Day: It has an illustrator in it! It was good, but not my favourite…the ending…the style? Could be because I’m pretty new to this genre and/or as I listened to most of this one on a very long car journey! ★ ★ ★
Lisa Jewell (gets her own section!)
None of This Is True - Lisa Jewell: The production, the narration, the twists (Thence came a flurry of Lisa Jewell as I don’t know anyone really in this genre! And each time I tried someone new I didn’t like the voice acting). One of those books you wish you could read for the first time again. I’ve heard from other people the audio version is superior to reading it ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Night She Disappeared - Lisa Jewell: I took a while to get into this one but really glad I stuck with it. Quite YA-esque (but I’m a big YA fan, so that’s good by me!) but listened to it in a few sittings ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I Found You - Lisa Jewell: Whilst this wasn’t my favourite ever story, I gave it 5 stars purely because of the characterisation of the main character - believable, flawed, relatable and really well acted ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Family Upstairs - Lisa Jewell: The setting & atmosphere - amazing; a bit culty and lacking in characterisation for me drops a star ★ ★ ★ ★
Watching You - Lisa Jewell: Still good, a little slow & curtain-twitchy/unbelievable for me and needed more narrators ★ ★ ★/ ★
Invisible Girl - Lisa Jewell: I liked the main young character, but the whole theme I was a bit meh about and felt could have done with more exploring/explaining. The narration of Saffyre was superb, though some parts of this struggled to hold my attention ★ ★ ★
Lisa Jewell Books I abandoned: Then She was Gone & Don’t Let Him In
Cosy Crime
The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman: Just loved the characterisation and narration by Lesley Manville. And insights in older people. There were so many times as I was listening that reminded me that the older generation are often the most sharp, intelligent and witty people I know, and they have such rich experiences that we can learn from. It also made me think about how important it is to maintain and nurture friendships and social connection as I get older - it must be a good book to have had such a profound effect one me, when its primary goal is a bit of entertainments and escapism haa ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ I’ve since read the rest of the series…They’re not as good imo as the original, but still an easy escape for a couple of hours. I didn’t get on with the change of narrator in later audio versions
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Sorcery & Small Magics - Maiga Doocy: So pleasantly surprised by this book. Really strong characterisation and brilliant narration. It’s hard to say much about without giving spoilers. Excited for the next one in the series and will buy the physical copy of this one to reread ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst: Narrator Caitlin Davies is a bit of a Marmite one I think! It was my first listen with her and, once I got used to her, and accepted the story for what it is, I was completely and utterly transported into what I can only describe as a Ghibli audiobook experience. I really tried to get into the follow-up, The Enchanted Greenhouse, but I’ve put it aside for now as it wasn’t giving me the same feeling ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Passengers - John Mars: This really surprised me in how much I enjoyed it. I’d never heard of the author before. Really good characterisation, unusual (and eerily believable!) concept ★ ★ ★ ★/★
The Halloween Tree - Ray Bradbury: For someone obsessed with Halloween, I can’t believe it took me till now to read this! I expect it’ll be an annual listen now. It’s short, it has all the ingredients for the perfect Halloween mood…there were a couple of ‘locations’ I wanted to skip through though, so I’m reluctantly giving it 4 stars ★ ★ ★ ★
Fairy Tale - Stephen King: I’ve not read any Stephen King (only ever watched shows/movies), but this instantly had me under its spell. Unexpected takeaway: The relationship between Charlie and Mr Bowditch (and of course Radar) was my favourite part; plus it reinforced my love of the fantastical elements of the books I read as a child (the majority of books I still read are children’s/YA). The word-building was perfect. But! I’ve given it a 3, 4 and 5 stars?! as there are some things I loved and others that really dragged or I disliked. It’s also very long - and any audiobook that makes me go over my allotted listening hours makes me grumpy! ★ ★ ★ /★/★
The Book of Doors - Gareth Brown: Initially felt a bit slow and stop-started this, but ended up quite enjoying it. It felt slightly confused in terms of genre/audience and some of the descriptions were a bit off and repetitive, but I like anything magical!, so I stuck with it, though it was a bit of a struggle I think toward the end ★ ★ ★
Podcasts
Everything is Alive: This was the podcast that got me in to podcasts and I recommend it to everyone I know! Basically, the interviewees are inanimate objects and they all have a story to tell. Maeve the lamp post has stuck with me!
Uncanny: I found this via The Witch Farm - also a great listen - and proceeded to binge-listen all the Uncanny episodes…some are better than others. I don't rate the TV spin-off
Nothing Much Happens: Intended for winding down before bed as a sleep aid, but instead I skip the intentions/breath work stuff and listen to seasonally-relevant episodes either whilst driving or in a quiet moment at home, not working or drawing - just completely relaxing. My daughter bought me her book one Christmas - I like having it to dip in to, but listening is the best way to consume this lovely series
13 Days of Halloween: It’s recommended to listen to this with headphones on to experience the full production - and it definitely makes a difference. I loved everything about the first season; couldn’t get on with the subsequent ones
It’s Always Halloween: The idea behind this podcast by Lucé Tomlin-Brenner is that we can celebrate the spooky season all year round - (amazing!) - however I only listen to it during October in the run-up to Halloween. It’s been fun learning about other people’s traditions etc and it’s got a very cosy vibe to it. Sadly I don’t think she updates it much anymore, but you can still find it online