There is nothing better than reading your favorite book while sipping hot coffee or cocoa on a chilly day. While many people still love holding a book and pondering over the yellow pages, the trend of reading novels has been somewhat replaced by audiobooks. You can listen to them while commuting or going for a walk in the park, which means you do not have to buy paperbacks and spend an hour or two just reading.
Audiobooks also make a perfect Christmas gift to someone who enjoys the written word as much as you do. From iconic plays to baffling murder mysteries, these audiobooks offer a little something for everyone. We have listed introspective literary fiction, brilliant fantasies, and fairytales for you and your friends to listen to this Christmas.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
From one of the pioneers of Victorian literature, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is an amazing read and a must-listen audiobook. Set in Kent and London in the early to mid-19 century, the novel tells the story of an orphaned named Pip and his growth as a character. Perfectly balancing the elements of individuality and societal ordeals, the book includes themes of wealth and poverty, love and rejection, and the triumph of good over evil, making it an ideal listen over the holidays.
Death on The Nile by Agatha Christie
The queen of crime novels, the English writer Agatha Christie is known for her 66 detective novels, particularly those woven around fictional detective Hercule Poirot. This book features the Belgian detective as well, where Poirot tackles a case full of danger and death on the romantic Nile River. A 1937 review about the book said that “the author has again constructed the neatest of plots, wrapped it around with distracting circumstance, and presented it to what should be an appreciative public.”
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
This 1959 book talks about the failure of the Imperial Trans-Atlantic Expedition, led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, in its attempt to cross the Antarctica continent in 1914. Largely compiled from the journals of Shackleton’s 27 man crew, this winter survival story is absolutely perfect read for the season. The story of how a crew of nearly 30 people gets stranded on the Antarctic ice for 20 months, how they survived and got back home is so truly inspiring and harrowing that you will not be able to put it down before you finish it.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
A classic tale of love and adultery, Anna Karenina is set in Moscow and Saint Petersburg against the background of high society. The author wondrously weaves the lives of dozens of characters together and captures contemporary Russian society in a rich tapestry. What makes this book a delightful read is how Tolstoy understood and wrote women with brilliance. It will make a good gift for someone who loves Tolstoy’s work and can devote 35 hours to this piece of art.
Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown
This brilliant book, which has also been turned into an audiobook, makes a brilliant gift to a feminist. This brooding, timely novel is rife with tension and packs a punch. It bonds the lives of two women, living sixty years apart, who deny becoming victims of the patriarchy. The captivating dual narrative technique works amazingly as a modern woman finds inspiration in hidden notes left by her home’s previous owner, a 1950s housewife. The notes give her a new outlook on her own marriage and how she must find her place in the world of men.
Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling has created a humongous fan base over the years. Be it book series or movies, an entire generation is enthralled and fascinated by the magical world described in it. Harry Potter audiobooks will be an ideal gift for a fan, even for someone who has read the books over a dozen times. The audiobooks feature different characters with their own voice and each line is delivered with passion. It is an amazing way to rediscover and enjoy a classic.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Now a major ongoing television series, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a riveting story set in a near-future New England, in a powerful patriarchal, totalitarian state where women are forcibly assigned to produce children for the ruling class of men. The audiobook is narrated by Elizabeth Moss, the lead of the ongoing television adaptation. It paints a harrowing image and is a strong reminder of the fragile construct the modern, relatively liberal society is relying upon.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC radio, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has been adapted to many formats including novels, shows, and movies. The seminal comedy works are brilliant and are divided into six parts. The audiobooks follow the adventures of the last surviving man from the earth and his alien friends. Martine Freeman and Stephen Fry narrate the story of a mind-boggling galactic adventure with a band of misfits.