Topping The Charts: The Bestselling Audiobooks of 2018

We know what the bestselling paperback books of 2018 were – but have you ever wondered which audiobooks topped the charts last year? We’ve compiled a list of bestselling Bolinda audiobooks for those who love to read both in the comfort of their homes, and on the go!

The Three Secret Cities by Matthew Reilly

Action and adventure novels always make for great audiobooks – actor’s voices can convey strong emotion, and specially curated sound effects make us feel as if we are part of the action. Matthew Reilly’s The Three Secret Cities is the audiobook for readers seeking a thrill.

When Jack West Jr won the Great Games, he threw the four legendary kingdoms into turmoil.
Now these dark forces are coming after Jack in ruthless fashion. With the end of all things rapidly approaching, Jack must find the Three Secret Cities, three incredible lost cities of legend.

It’s an impossible task by any reckoning, but Jack must do it while he is being hunted by the greatest hunters in history.

Banjo by Grantlee Kieza

Listening to an Australian history audiobook is like listening to a lesson from your favourite teacher – informative, engaging, and inspiring. Grantlee Kieza’s Banjo, a lively and captivating portrait of Banjo Paterson, Australia’s greatest storyteller, is the perfect audiobook to both educate and entertain.

A.B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson is rightly recognised as Australia’s greatest storyteller and most celebrated poet, the boy from the bush who became the voice of a generation. He gave the nation its unofficial national anthem ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and treasured ballads such as ‘The Man from Snowy River’ and ‘Clancy of the Overflow’, vivid creations that helped to define Australia’s national identity.

But there is more, much more to Banjo’s story, and in this landmark biography, award-winning writer Grantlee Kieza chronicles a rich and varied life, one that straddled two centuries and saw Australia transform from a far-flung colony to a fully fledged nation.

Working Class Man by Jimmy Barnes

Biographies can make great audiobooks – intimate and personal by nature, they take you on a journey through a person’s life – their struggles, hardships, and triumphs. And better still, they are often narrated by the author themselves. The Bolinda audiobook Working Class Man by Jimmy Barnes does just this, inviting you to share in the Rock and Roll star’s journey to fame, and the traumatic past that he had to overcome to get there, narrated by the rock star himself.

In this hugely anticipated sequel to his critically acclaimed bestseller, Working Class Boy, Jimmy picks up the story of his life as he leaves Adelaide in the back of an old truck with a then unknown band called Cold Chisel. A spellbinding and searingly honest reflection on success, fame and addiction; this self-penned memoir reveals how Jimmy Barnes used the fuel of childhood trauma to ignite and propel Australia’s greatest rock’n’roll story. But beyond the combustible merry-go-round of fame, drugs and rehab, across the Cold Chisel, solo and soul years – this is a story about how it’s never too late to try and put things right.

The Land Before Avocado by Richard Glover

Audiobooks that make you laugh are, arguably, the best kind of audiobooks. Humour is far more easily conveyed through voice and tone, meaning an audiobook can be a real comedic treat – almost as good as a live show! Richard Glover’s The Land Before Avocado is one to get your belly bouncing. An audio trip down memory lane, Richard’s narration offers readers a funny and frank look at the way Australia used to be – and just how far we have come.

It’s the Australia of his childhood. The Australia of the late ’60s and early ’70s.

It’s a place of funny clothing and food that was appalling, but amusingly so. It also the land of staggeringly awful attitudes – often enshrined in law – towards anybody who didn’t fit in.

Australia’s Most Unbelievable True Stories by Jim Haynes

There’s nothing like an audiobook with a bit of shock value, that teaches you a thing or two about Australian history, and leaves you flabbergasted by stories that are inexplicably, strangely true. Australia’s Most Unbelievable True Stories by Jim Haynes is the ultimate collection of unbelievable true Australian stories: the unknown, the forgotten, the surprising, and the truly weird.

Did you know that in 1932 the Australian army was called out to wage war on an invading army of 20,000…emus? Or that the first royal personage to arrive in Australia was the King of Iceland and he came as a convict? And how about the spooky phenomenon of the mischief-making Guyra Ghost?

Told with a refreshing understatement, Australia’s Most Unbelievable True Stories vividly evokes a vanishing Australia when anything was possible, when characters were larger than life and the bizarre and strange were normal.