I want to close my audible account but I have a fair amount of credits still to spend before I can. So I never do. But I need to. Are there any amazing audiobooks around? I like history, spooky stuff, locked-room mysteries, that sort of thing 🙏
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
Doesn’t fit your topics but the audiobook of The Hail Mary Project by Andy Weir is very absorbing and a good listen even if the themes (space, science/tech, puzzles?) aren’t your natural preferences (they weren’t mine, and I enjoyed it a lot!)
The "lose your credits" thing is such a con, to keep you throwing good money after bad. Just download a whole series of something out of spite and quit. I just grabbed all of the Expanse and noped out. Never going back.
Can heartily recommend all the Alan Partridge audio books and Podcast on there, that'll chew up some credits. The Gibbons era has really injected an extra dimension into the character.
The first of the Sworn Soldier series. A novella so kinda short, but really good. A creepy tale with a likeable cast of characters.
(The sequel, What Feasts at Night, is also available.)
I don't know how you might feel about listening to a kids' book after a long day of drawing kids' books, but I absolutely LOVED The Little Town of Marrowville by @robbotron.bsky.social. Proper old school Roald Dahl stuff, with some of the most villanous villains around
Rivers of London series is a nice mix of spooky and police procedural. Street copper discovers magic exists and gets transferred to the Met's spooky stuff department. Solves crimes. The narrator is perfect.
If you like historical books that read like thrillers, David Grann writes good ones such as The Wager and The Lost City of Z. Haven’t listened to the audio versions, but there are some positive reviews of them.
If you want to combine history & fiction i can HIGHLY recommend @www.joditaylorbooks.com The Chronicles of St Mary’s read by the excellent Zara Ramm. For ancient Rome: Mary Beard’s audiobooks
HIGHLY recommend @eleanormorton.bsky.social Life Lessons from Historical Women
My favourites I've listened to on there, in no order and with no categorisation:
Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things? - Pierre Novellie
A comedian explains his autism in a way where you're constantly laughing and every minute is some revelation about either your own brain or someone you know's
Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes
A biography written by the man who hung out in Terry's writing room for twenty years, but also a reconstruction of his unfinished autobiography. Constantly interesting and funny (just er, mentally edit out the three or four proud namedrops of that other writer)
Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing
Mostly only interesting if you were watching telly in the 90s or want to know why addicts don't just quit, this is Matthew Perry's autobiography written just before addiction killed him, and I found it really, really interesting. Also funny sometimes.
Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? - Seamas O'Reilley
You probably know this bloke online, here's his very funny book where he just tells you all the funniest things he remembers from his life growing up in a comically enormous family in NI
The Anthropocene Reviewed - John Green
Just great. A book of reviews of random things in the world (and, when you zoom out, the human race in general) written by someone who can write very well. Put this on to just feel better about the world, even the really sad bits.
And then for fiction the Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell audiobook is really well read. I'm also really enjoying the audiobook of Wicked, but I'm to understand it's a divisive one. (people who saw the musical and wanted a feel-good YA book don't like it basically)
I made the (sort of) mistake of getting William Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". Very interesting book and good value because it was about 45 hours long. I have enjoyed Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything", and "One Summer: America 1927" too.
I was in the same position with Audible but got free of it in the end. I now use BorrowBox for free library audiobooks, and xigxag is another good alternative.
Comments
Doesn’t fit your topics but the audiobook of The Hail Mary Project by Andy Weir is very absorbing and a good listen even if the themes (space, science/tech, puzzles?) aren’t your natural preferences (they weren’t mine, and I enjoyed it a lot!)
The first of the Sworn Soldier series. A novella so kinda short, but really good. A creepy tale with a likeable cast of characters.
(The sequel, What Feasts at Night, is also available.)
Rivers of London series is a nice mix of spooky and police procedural. Street copper discovers magic exists and gets transferred to the Met's spooky stuff department. Solves crimes. The narrator is perfect.
Bryant and May crimes inspired by London history.
Fever House/The Devil By Name (Keith Rosson) (spooky)
Breakfast of Champions (Kurt Vonnegut read by none other than John flipping Malkovich!!)
The Satsuma Complex (written and read by Bob Mortimer)
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (written and read by Eric Idle)
HIGHLY recommend @eleanormorton.bsky.social Life Lessons from Historical Women
More ancient stuff by Bettany Hughes
The Fabric of Civilisation Virginia L Postrrl (world history through the lens of weaving fabric & making clothes)
The last days of the dinosaurs by @restingdinoface.bsky.social
Oh and anything by Peter frankopan
Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things? - Pierre Novellie
A comedian explains his autism in a way where you're constantly laughing and every minute is some revelation about either your own brain or someone you know's
A biography written by the man who hung out in Terry's writing room for twenty years, but also a reconstruction of his unfinished autobiography. Constantly interesting and funny (just er, mentally edit out the three or four proud namedrops of that other writer)
Mostly only interesting if you were watching telly in the 90s or want to know why addicts don't just quit, this is Matthew Perry's autobiography written just before addiction killed him, and I found it really, really interesting. Also funny sometimes.
You probably know this bloke online, here's his very funny book where he just tells you all the funniest things he remembers from his life growing up in a comically enormous family in NI
Just great. A book of reviews of random things in the world (and, when you zoom out, the human race in general) written by someone who can write very well. Put this on to just feel better about the world, even the really sad bits.