Audio books were indispensable in 2009. They helped us understand what was happening in the world around us (Bright-Sided) and they helped us forget (Wishful Drinking). They resurrected classics (Right Ho, Jeeves), memorialized icons (Time of My Life), and ushered in the new (Viral Loop). We've sifted through the 350 audio books we reviewed online and in the magazine to bring you the very best.
Fiction
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, read by Barbara Rosenblat and Cassandra Morris (Highbridge)
PW said: “Barbara Rosenblat positively embodies the concierge Renée Michel, who deliberately hides her radiant intelligence from the upper-crust residents of 7 Rue de Grenelle, while the performance of Cassandra Morris as the precocious girl who recognizes Renée as a kindred spirit is nothing short of a revelation.”
The Help by Kathryn Stockett, read by Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer, and Cassandra Campbell (Penguin Audio)
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker, read by Carrington MacDuffie (Blackstone Audio)
The Manual of Detection by Jedidiah Berry, read by Pete Larkin (HighBridge)
The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston, read by Paul Michael Garcia (Blackstone Audio)
Nobody Move by Denis Johnson, read by Will Patton (Macmillan Audio)
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, read by Sean Barrett (Naxos)
Prospect Park West by Amy Sohn, read by Kate Reading (Tantor Media)
PW said: “Kate Reading strikes all the right notes in performing this razor-sharp satire of self-obsessed social climbers living in trendy Park Slope: she reads each character's point of view with absolute earnestness, truthfully conveying their cattiness and pettiness and outrage when their needs aren't met.”
Ravens by George Dawes Green, read by Robert Petkoff and Maggi-Meg Reed (Hachette Audio)
Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse, read by Martin Jarvis (CSA World)
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, read by Polly Stone (Macmillan Audio)
The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly, read by Peter Giles (Hachette Audio)
Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen, read by Anthony Heald (Blackstone Audio)
PW said: “Brought to life by Anthony Heald, this just might be the audio book of the year. Heald creates a cosmos of compelling characters, each as believable as the last—and imbues the environment with a chilling menace.”
The Two-Bear Mambo by Joe R. Lansdale, read by Phil Gigante (Brilliance Audio)
PW said: “Phil Gigante goes to tremendous lengths to capture the ambience of good old boy charm met with darkly comic dysfunction. Unlikely best friends and crime-fighting partners Hap and Leonard reveal themselves through an assortment of delightful nuances and insecurities, as Gigante injects race, sexual orientation and cultural identity into his portrayals of the principals without falling into one-dimensional stereotypes.”
Nonfiction
$20 Per Gallon by Christopher Steiner, read by John Wolfe (Hachette Audio)
Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich, read by Kate Reading (Macmillan Audio)
Che Guevara by Jon Lee Andersen, read by Armando Duran (Blackstone Audio)
Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday by Kim “Howard” Johnson, read by Johnny Heller and Simon Vance (Tantor Media)
Rocket Men by Craig Nelson, read by Richard McGonagle (Penguin Audio)
PW said: “In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, historian Nelson offers a compelling account of the Apollo 11 mission, creating such an authentic retelling that listeners will find themselves sweating the outcome right until the very moment that Neil Armstrong sets foot on the moon.”
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborrelli, read by Robert Petkoff (Hachette Audio)
PW said: “Petkoff's delivery of DiMaggio and Sinatra's ill-fated attempt to spy on Monroe and her romantic companions creates palpable dramatic tension. And as Monroe herself, Petkoff creates a sublime breathy persona that shifts effectively from the girl-next-door Norma Jean to the glamorous Marilyn.”
Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi, read by the authors (Simon & Schuster Audio)
Viral Loop by Adam Penenberg, read by Richard Allen (Tantor Media)
PW said: “Richard Allen's powerful voice and thoughtful vocals are the perfect medium to relay Penenberg's pronouncements about how such Web 2.0 businesses as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Flickr are reconfiguring marketing models… a snappy, topical read made even more memorable by Allen's performance: his vocal range is wide, but he wisely scales back his intensity to command our attention with his sheer charisma.”
Read by the Author
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace, read by the author and various narrators (Hachette Audio)
PW said: “Foster Wallace's gentle, almost dreamy voice unlocks the elaborate syntax and releases a flood of feeling concealed by the comedy and labyrinthine sentences. While the various narrators ably capture the essence of the text, Foster Wallace's renditions of his own stories are transcendent.”
What French Women Know About Love, Sex, and Other Matters of the Mind by Debra Ollivier, read by the author (Penguin Audio)
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher, read by the author (Simon & Schuster Audio)
Full Cast Production
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, read by a full cast (L.A. Theater Works)
The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn, read by Rosalind Ayers, Ken Danziger, Martin Jarvis, Jane Leeves, Christopher Neame and Carolyn Seymour (L.A. Theater Works)
PW said: A star-studded cast shines in this full production of Ayckbourn's acclaimed trilogy. The three comedies—each set in a different room of a country house—follow six characters through a calamitous family weekend… and the audio all but delivers the listener to the front row of the theater.”
