Audiobooks to Make the Time Fly

O ver the years, and with much trial and error, my family members have become quite the audiobook connoisseurs. After a particularly ill-fated trip sometime around 2006, my mom put the kibosh on road trips longer than five hours (the drive time to our most distant grandparents), but five hours is still plenty of listening time. While it is a bit early in the traveling season, here are some of our top audiobook recommendations for your upcoming trips, whatever form of locomotion you use.

But first, to forestall any questions: No, Hank the Cowdog and subsequent recordings of the series are not included on this list. We (apparently) tried to listen to one of these audiobooks years ago, but it induced such annoyance and outrage in my mom that we’ve never attempted it since. Usually, audiobooks we’ve tried and disliked are skipped through and forgotten, but for some completely unknown reason, the mere mention of this title brings angry grumbles and mutterings from the maternal unit.

And with that out of the way, here are the Schuttes’ Absolute Best Audiobook Suggestions to While Away Your Car-Trip Miles.

If your car ferries around mostly younger children, Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Treehouse books are excellent on audio. Narrated by the author, these adventure stories engage young listeners with fascinating trips through various times in history. Charming brother-and-sister duo Jack and Annie discover a tree house in their Frog Creek, Pa., woods, and take listeners with them to ancient Rome, King Arthur’s castle, Pompeii, and even ancient Japan.

Stretching the age range a bit more, from about six to twelve, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series is an American classic. I’m always slightly shocked when people tell me they’ve never read Little House or don’t know Wilder. This is a staple of American children’s literature, and your life will be enriched by having read it. Cherry Jones narrates the ones I grew up listening to, and some of my siblings are closing in on double-digit listens to this series.

Beverly Cleary’s Ramona is exactly the character you want with you on a long car ride. Her antics — as well as those of her neighbor, Henry Huggins, and his dog, Ribsy — never fail to entertain. Stockard Channing does a fantastic job narrating these books, bringing Ramona and her world alive to listeners. Follow along as Ramona grows from a curl-pulling kindergartner to a resourceful junior bridesmaid at her aunt’s wedding.

A good narrator can make a story sing, but a well-done, full-cast production of a book is truly a delight. Narrated by the author and others (along with author-composed songs!), Brian Jacques’s Redwall books are deeply engaging listens. I started with these on cassette tapes and have officially worn out those original recordings. The world of Redwall holds a deep fascination for me, and to have it brought to life by actors makes it all the more appealing. Children (and adults) will find it hard to hit “stop” when these tales are playing.

I’d be remiss if Richard Peck’s books went unmentioned here. These are actually some of my dad’s favorites — so much so, that his Christmas present a few years back was a pair of audio recordings of A Year Down Yonder and A Long Way from Chicago. On our family vacation two years ago, my siblings introduced me to three of his other novels, Here Lies the Librarian, The Teacher’s Funeral, and Fair Weather! All five of these are narrated by a different actor, and each does justice to the text and characters. The stories are outrageous and heartwarming, and we’re close to wearing out the library’s copies.

While all of the above are appropriate for nearly all ages — and believe me, older children will be equally engaged in these stories, no matter how much they protest to the contrary — we’ve expanded our listening pool as we’ve all grown older. It now includes classics, longer novels, and even audio dramas. In the classics department, we have dear Jane Austen. I rarely go a year without rereading or relistening to my favorite Austen novel, Mansfield Park, whose protagonist I staunchly defend against all comers. For a shorter option with more humor, listeners may want to pick up Austen’s novella, Love and Friendship (alternately titled Lady Susan). Pride and Prejudice is also a staple, and we listen to these not only on car rides but while doing chores or other housework. Audible has its perks, but I recommend the Spotify version of these books.  

My sister and I went to the same college, and because she’s brilliant and skipped a grade, we were only a year apart. This meant lots of time together in the car between home and campus. When we weren’t talking about everything under the sun, flipping through various Spanish-language radio stations, or roaming through Walmart while waiting for a flat tire to be fixed, we were listening to Sissy Spacek read To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee’s classic is a family favorite, and we continuously hold up Atticus Finch as the gold standard in men. (My sister’s betta fish is even named after him.) This powerful story draws us in time and again, and we often stay in the car long after we’ve reached our destination, just to hear what happens next.

And then there is P. G. Wodehouse. If only I’d given him a chance all those years ago. Well, I’ve found him now, and what a delight it has been. It was Jeeves and Wooster who saw me through all my Christmas crafting last December and who keep me company while I make weeknight dinners. There are several narrators for the Jeeves tales (and I’m also a Psmith devotee), but my personal favorite is Jonathan Cecil (mainly because his version is free with my library membership). Charlie Cooke will insist on the Audible version with Martin Jarvis, and my sister swears by the Spotify versions read by Simon Jones. Whatever way you listen, these clever, lighthearted tales will instantly brighten your day and make any trip or task fly by.

Plenty of other audiobooks have charmed our traveling hours, but for space purposes, I leave you with just two more: Sherlock Holmes stories (easily found on Spotify) and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy (try your local library). Holmes’s quirky personality and the cleverness of the stories rarely disappoint. And LOTR, if you find the version narrated by Rob Inglis, will give you 53 hours of uninterrupted immersion in a fascinating world.

Audiobooks and audio dramas are a staple in the Schutte home, and we still calculate car trips based on how many Adventures in Odyssey episodes we can listen to on the way. But while we do love the stories and appreciate their entertainment value during our hours in the car, it is the joy of listening to these as a family that truly makes them meaningful. Our family discussions are rich with references to things we’ve listened to. Certainly, we’ve each learned about ancient Greece from adventuring with Jack and Annie and cringed at Mr. Collins’s awkwardness. But it is the pleasure of experiencing these stories together, of sharing the references and the laughs, that truly makes the audiobook a wonderful medium.