10 Great Audiobooks for the Holidays, Inspired by the Top 100

Are you finally travelling these summer holidays? One of our favourite ways to pass the time while road tripping is to listen to audio books.

Audiobook sales are booming as readers everywhere discover that you don’t have to actually read to read… you can also listen. These holidays I’m packing the kids and the dog into the car and heading north, and Bolinda audiobooks will be lined up ready to go.

Here are a few great tales from the 2021 Better Reading Top 100 that have excellent audio versions.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Number 1 in our Top 100 of 2021, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Why not give it a listen on audio this summer?

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

Give this beloved bestseller a listen on audio. Set when the women’s suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

An excellent story for adults and older kids, The Book Thief follows Liesel, a young girl growing up in Germany during World War II who steals books and finds comfort in words. This would be a great listen for the whole family.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

We loved the book, and the TV series… now try the audio version. Pirriwee Public is a beautiful little beachside primary school where children are taught that ‘sharing is caring’. So how has the annual School Trivia Night ended in full-blown riot with one dead parent?

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

In one of Trent Dalton’s ABIA award speeches, he thanked Stig Wemyss, the voice actor who brilliantly narrates the book. Have a listen to not only Dalton’s smash hit, but Wemyss’ astounding narration.

I Give My Marriage a Year by Holly Wainwright

How far would you go to save your marriage? Lou and Josh have been together for 14 years. Now, after a particularly fraught Christmas, Lou is ready to ask herself: is this marriage worth hanging on to? This would make a tantalising summer listen.

The Godmothers by Monica McInerney

From the internationally bestselling Australian author Monica McInerney comes this gripping family drama about one woman with a troubled young mother and her two watchful godmothers. Give it a listen if you haven’t read the book yet.

Flying the Nest by Rachael Johns

They say a change is as good as a holiday… but what if you don’t want either? Bestselling author Rachael Johns cracked our Top 100 list once again with this beautiful book. We think it would make a delightful summer listen.

Just an Ordinary Family by Fiona Lowe

Fiona Lowe delivered yet another stunning book that our readers loved. Alice Hunter is smarting from the raw deal life has thrown her way: suddenly single, jobless and forced to move home to her parents’ tiny seaside town. And now she faces an uncomfortable truth: she wants her twin sister Libby’s enviable life. This is one gripping story.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland

This beloved bestseller is currently being adapted for TV, so why not you check out the audiobook before the show is released? It’s an irresistible, deeply moving and romantic story of a young girl who has to learn the hard way that she can break the patterns of the past, live on her own terms and find her own strength.

What audio books are you downloading these holidays?