Discover more listening recommendations from the Audible Editors.
As a proud Bostonian, I love when a story is set in my beautiful hometown. Namrata Patel's debut, The Candid Life of Meena Dave, is not only a heartwarming tale about a young woman finding herself and discovering her Indian roots, it's also a love letter to Boston. Meena Dave, a nomadic photojournalist, receives an apartment as an inheritance from an unknown benefactor. Meena's first impulse is to sell it as soon as she can, and leave. But shortly after her arrival Meena starts finding ambiguous notes around the apartment, and the journalist in her just has to investigate. From insights into Indian culture, to her relationships with the aunties, and getting to know her handsome neighbor, Sam, and his dog, Wally, I devoured this story in a day. I'm left begging (with Wally's puppy eyes) for a sequel, please. —Patty C.
A legendary comedian and podcaster bares all
I’m a firm believer that the best jokes are actually stories. And because stand-up comedians spend so much time early in their careers on the road fine-tuning their routines in less than ideal circumstances, they inevitably have a deep well of bizarre experiences and raucous nights to draw from. So, it’s no surprise that Tom Segura has plenty of amazing and hilarious tales; some are ribald, others hard to believe—which is probably why the wildest ones feature photo evidence in the included PDF. His chance encounters with Mike Tyson and Serena Williams reveal a depth of character and relatable insecurities that few storytellers can conjure—and he pulls it all off with his wry sense of humor and askew personality that’s elevated him to the top of the stand-up and podcasting realms. —Sean T.
Andrew Holleran’s somber, stick-to-your-bones return
With its lingering zombies and intoxicating night clubs, it’s no wonder that Andrew Holleran’s 1978 novel, Dancer from the Dance, endures as a literary icon. And with New York City’s Pride Parade set to return, I’m fascinated to hear how the book’s haunting depictions of the post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS era will resonate today, as it makes its audio debut alongside the release of Holleran’s first novel in 13 years. The Kingdom of Sand grapples with the “loneliness of making our deaths as smooth as possible for our survivors,” and I devoured it in one sitting. It’s a stunning exploration of human connection, an illuminating portrait of the particular isolation gay men experience, and a poignant reminder of how stories survive by sticking to the bones of future generations. —Haley H.
Ten seconds in, and I was hooked
Confession: I don’t always enjoy lots of “extras” when listening. I gravitate to strong single-narrator recordings versus more dramatized productions with music and sound effects and a big cast of performers. But boy am I happy that I gave The Big Lie a chance despite it having ALL these things. This scripted podcast just works. I was sucked in immediately and enjoyed every aspect of this tour de force of audio storytelling. Of course, with the likes of Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Kate Mara, Ana de la Reguera, Bradley Whitford, Lisa Edelstein, David Strathairn, Giancarlo Esposito, and more, the cast is amazing—but the score and sound design also blew me away. If you’re going to pull out all the bells and whistles, this is how you do it! —Tricia F.
The debut novel I didn’t know I was waiting for
As soon as I heard that award-winning screenwriter, memoirist, and actor Ryan O’Connell had his first novel coming out, I knew I had to listen. Written and performed by O’Connell himself, Just by Looking at Him is a biting, hilarious, and at times erotic look at addiction, disability, queerness, and how they all intersect for Elliott, a 30-something gay TV writer with cerebral palsy. It’s a story chock-full of gay cultural references told with O’Connell’s signature snarky wit. But alongside all of those funny moments, there’s an equally important contemplation of the complications and nuance of privilege, personal accountability, and self-love. If you’re a fan of any of O’Connell’s other work, I think you’ll love this listen too. —Michael C.
Investigating our darkest motivations
Having seen several of Adam Rapp's plays over the years, I'm aware that he thrives on tackling thorny subjects and has no qualms with making the audience squirm. Yet I'm seduced by his sharp observations and writing and keep returning to experience what his imagination has concocted this time. His latest, starring Carla Gugino and Juliana Canfield, is an odd and disturbing indictment of theater's ridiculousness and those white, wealthy, liberal-minded, culturally sophisticated theatergoers that flock to support his work—who are essential and somehow complicit as hypocritical bystanders to racism and other systemic inequalities. This is not an easy listen, but it's a fascinating and rewarding one. —Jerry P.
I recently hosted a birthday brunch for one of my college besties. As I looked around the table at the three women I’ve known since we met as freshman in 1999, I reflected on the life experiences we’ve shared over the past 20 years. We’ve been through it all: engagements, weddings, births, deaths, divorces, and disappointments. This resiliency of female friendship is what drew me to Dele Weds Destiny, Tomi Obaro’s debut about three college friends from Nigeria who reunite after 30 years for the wedding of one of their daughters. Narrator Tariye Peterside gives each woman a distinct voice that results in a beautifully vivid and lush performance I couldn’t stop listening to. You’ll laugh, cry, and feel your heart swell as these women rediscover their bonds of friendship and face a shocking crisis right before the big day. —Margaret H.
Sarah Cooper makes it Ok to go out again
Sarah Cooper became a global sensation for her lip-synched parodies of Donald Trump’s COVID-19 press conferences. Now she takes on an even more challenging adversary: the age of social anxiety. This is a self-help guide for this post-pandemic age crossed with a soul-baring memoir of an immigrant woman who wishes she wasn’t such a people-pleasing, conflict-adverse introvert. Asked to try living her life by Dale Carnegie’s famous business rules, Cooper’s plan was to expose it all for being manipulative and fake. But then Carnegie’s voice took hold, goading her to join the party and fill her life with new friends. As she shares her cringeworthy attempts to feel less awkward, she discovers what it truly means to be a socially connected and well-adjusted adult. Expect to LOL a lot. But count on Cooper’s quest influencing you at parties and at work for years to come. —Maggie M.
As a parent to three young kiddos, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on How to Raise an Antiracist. But it’s truly a listen for caretakers of all kinds, and as Dr. Ibram X. Kendi emphasizes, it’s never too late to start enacting the principles found in this book. Kendi, the National Book Award-winning author of Stamped From the Beginning, begins his latest work by weaving together a personal narrative with the harsh realities of Black maternal mortality. The experiences of his wife while pregnant underscore the fact that racism begins in our earliest days, and it is up to us to guide today’s youth toward living life as an antiracist as we celebrate our cultural differences while embracing our similarities as humans. Kendi’s voice feels like poetry as he wraps you up in his wisdom and arms you with tools to build a better world for all children. —Katie O.
“This one’s easy,” I thought to myself. “Sit back and go with the flow. I know where this is going.” NOT. The story unfolds in a small Alabama town. The mayor’s bludgeoned wife is found by a creek. A former beauty queen and her son have been placed at the scene. All eyes are on the son, an autistic teenager. Author Lucinda Berry was a clinical psychologist and specialized in childhood trauma. She channels her expertise through Casey Walker, an adviser on the case whose shocking discoveries only get more disturbing. The surprise ending truly kept me glued to the edge of my club chair. —Yvonne D.
In Sloane Crosley’s deliciously surreal new novel—her first since 2015’s The Clasp—a 30-something named Lola encounters a string of ex-boyfriends in an epic New York adventure that combines the surreal loop of Groundhog Day with the romantic magic of Sliding Doors and the moral insight of Dickens. But what do these Ghosts of Boyfriends Past have to reveal to Lola, who is newly engaged but perhaps not fully committed to her fiancé? And just who is pulling the strings? Like Dickens, Crosley was inspired by walks around her beloved metropolis, and Cult Classic vividly conjures the conversations and jaded ambitions of the creative dating class on New York’s Lower East Side. Read by the author, who delivers one line of finely observed, hilarious prose after another, Cult Classic is destined for cult status as an inventive and uniquely New York love story. —Kat J.
June is a month so very nice, I insisted on doing my “Editor’s Select” twice! Soon after gulping down Cult Classic, I finally got the audio for one of the year’s most impressive debuts—and it was way too good not to squeeze it in at the last minute. Nightcrawling is an ambitious, lyrical, heart-shattering debut that’s almost impossible to believe was written by a teenager—but then again, I can’t imagine anyone else taking the reins of this story with such authenticity and fire. Leila Mottley, the former Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, centers her first novel on her beloved hometown and a terrible injustice that happened there: the story of a young Black girl who literally stumbles onto sex work as a way to avoid eviction, and ends up sexually abused and exploited by a network of cops. Don’t let the dark subject matter turn you off. Mottley’s main character, Kiara, voiced by the uber-talented Joniece Abbott-Pratt, suffuses the story with piercing insights on race, gender, class, and family, not to mention exquisite moments of radiance, beauty, and hope. Not much older than Kiara herself, Mottley is a major new voice in fiction, and I predict we’re going to want to hear her every word. —Kat J.
