Best Audiobooks of 2024: Library Journal revisits 5 favorites

Read by Arian Moayed

“Iranian American actor Arian Moayed presents a multifaceted performance of poet Akbar’s lyrical debut novel. The book follows young Iranian American poet Cyrus Shams, who seeks meaning by immersing himself in the study of martyrs. Moayed seamlessly embodies the ebb and flow of Cyrus’s moods—questioning, sorrowful, earnest, and gently humorous—as he grapples with mental illness, addiction, identity, and the legacy of the past.”—Library Journal

Read by Dominic Hoffman

“Everett reimagines Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, offering a resonant portrait of James—whom listeners will recognize as Twain’s “Jim”—and revealing the harrowing reality of enslavement. Narrator Dominic Hoffman embodies James with exquisite skill, piercingly communicating the depths of his integrity and solemn insight. Hoffman nimbly articulates James’s facility at code-switching, underlaid with the ever-present fear of attracting notice from his unpredictable and casually cruel enslavers.”—Library Journal

Read by Shaun Taylor-Corbett, MacLeod Andrews, Alma Cuervo, Curtis Michael Holland, Calvin Joyal, Phil Ava, Emmanuel Chumaceiro, Christian Young, Charley Flyte

“An ensemble of nine talented narrators join their voices in a stunning chorus, tracing the lives of Orvil Red Feather’s descendants as they contend with the devastating legacy of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and the weight of substance-use disorder and grief. In their performance of Orange’s second novel, the narrators provide a kaleidoscopic view of contemporary Indigenous people navigating intergenerational trauma, forced assimilation, and the fraught search for cultural identity.”—Library Journal

Read by the Author

“In this self-narrated collection, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Pardlo examines institutionalized practices that rationalize hate and violence toward people on the margins of the U.S., particularly women and Black people. As he considers memory (and misremembering), dreams, intuition, social justice, and culture, Pardlo offers an artifice-free delivery that takes listeners to the heart of his intricate, layered words. A luminous work, both intimate and interrogatory, that connects the personal to the political and the historical to the present.”—Library Journal

Read by the Author

“Listeners will be enchanted by blogger and podcaster Perelman and the fantastic tips, tricks, advice, and commentary that she shares in this audio original, a companion to the best-selling Smitten Kitchen Keepers. With an utterly approachable manner, Perelman invites listeners to consider how they too might make scrumptious breakfasts in no time or revive limp snow peas from the corner market. A captivating, inspiring, and thoroughly fun treat for the ears.”—Library Journal