Books On the Go Are All the Go: Celebrate Dad this Father’s Day with an Audiobook

It’s Father’s Day weekend, and what better way to celebrate Dad than to get him a book he can read on the go? Audiobooks are more popular than ever. According to Nielsen BookScan audiobooks are the fastest growing publishing format with 13% growth in 2018. In fact, sales have over doubled in just five years, and men are the biggest audio consumers. Companies like Bolinda don’t just produce talking books. They use the best voice-over artists in the country to create riveting entertainment. And for those purists out there, at Better Reading we stand behind our belief that audiobooks are absolutely books. You don’t have to turn a page to read a story. I personally listen to audiobooks in the car, and as the mother of a dyslexic son, encourage him to read, read, read… by listening.

So treat the fathers in your life this Father’s Day, and get Dad a book he’ll actually have time to read. Whether on the commute to work, while exercising, driving the kids from activity to after school activity… or while he’s cooking, an audiobook makes for great company.

Here are a few great suggestions.

The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape (read by Scott Pape)

Fully revised and updated for the 2018–2019 financial year, this is the only money guide you’ll ever need. That’s a bold claim, given there are already thousands of finance books on the shelves. So what makes this one different? Well, you won’t be overwhelmed with a bunch of ‘tips’ or a strict budget (that you won’t follow). You’ll get a step-by-step formula: open this account, then do this; call this person, and say this; invest money here and not there. All with a glass of wine in your hand. This book will show you how to create an entire financial plan that is so simple you can sketch it on the back of a serviette … and you’ll be able to manage your money in 10 minutes a week.

The Art of Growing Up by John Marsden (read by John Marsden)

In this astonishing, insightful and hugely ambitious manifesto, John Marsden pulls together all he has learned from over 30 years’ experience working with and writing for young people. He shares his insights into everything – from the role of schools and the importance of education, to problem parents and problem children and the conundrum of what it means to grow up and be ‘happy’ in the 21st century.

Dark Emu: Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident? By Bruce Pascoe (read by Bruce Pascoe)

A completely accessible, compelling and riveting account of pre-invasion Aboriginal agricultural systems.

Dark Emu argues for a reconsideration of the ‘hunter-gatherer’ tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians and attempts to rebut the colonial myths that have worked to justify dispossession. Accomplished author Bruce Pascoe provides compelling evidence from the diaries of early explorers that suggests that systems of food production and land management have been blatantly understated in modern retellings of early Aboriginal history, and that a new look at Australia’s past is required.

The Best Australian Yarns by Jim Haynes (read by Jim Haynes)

The Best Australian Yarns and Other True Stories is a substantial and definitive work collected from memory, mates, word of mouth and decades of researching popular Aussie culture and history. This collection includes tall stories from the bush, railway yarns, stories from the world of show business, Aboriginal legends, digger yarns from both world wars, ghost stories, monsters, bunyips, yowies and many things you never knew about our amazing history as well as the characters who made it ? and whose fascinating lives and achievements created the Aussie spirit that we all love. While the stories range from poignant to hilarious many simply describe unusual coincidences and strange occurrences with a refreshing understatement that vividly evokes a vanishing Australia where looking for a good laugh was a key component of a cheekier national character.

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton (read by Stig Wemyss)

The smash hit, multi award winning novel comes to life with the voice of Stig Wemyss. A story of brotherhood, true love and the most unlikely of friendships, Boy Swallows Universe will be the most heartbreaking, joyous and exhilarating novel you will read all year.

A Nearly Normal Family by M. T. Edvardsson (read by Richard Armitage; Georgia Maguire; Emily Watson)

“Another masterpiece of Scandinavian noir.”

A Nearly Normal Family is the gripping psychological thriller about a mother, a father and their daughter who is accused of murder. How far would you go to protect your family? Every murder case starts with a suspect. What if the suspect is your daughter? Would you believe her, or the evidence against her?