Star-studded audiobooks to check out at the Everett library

Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 26, 2018

By Mindy, Everett Public Library staff

Confession: I’ve only recently read To Kill A Mockingbird. I know, I know. It’s something I probably should have read in high school, but didn’t.

Second confession: I didn’t read it per se, but I did listen to it as an audiobook. While Harper Lee’s classic coming-of-age story of race and justice in a small southern town was compelling, the nuanced voice work of actress Sissy Spacek really pulled me into and through the story.

Audiobook fans know that the narrator of the book can make or break the reading/listening experience. Whether you’re new to audiobooks or a veteran listener, you pretty much can’t go wrong with any of these star-studded selections:

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, read by Reese Witherspoon. This is the long-awaited, controversial follow-up to To Kill a Mockingbird.

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene, read by Colin Firth. That’s right, you too can have Colin Firth whisper in your ear as he reads this novel about a love triangle in World War II-era London.

If Homeland star Claire Danes is more to your liking, try The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham or by The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood.

Want something lighter? Try Heartburn by Nora Ephron, read by Meryl Streep.

For a pop culture romp of sci-fi fun, listen to Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, read by the perfectly geeky Wil Wheaton.

If science is your thing, perhaps it’s time for The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli, read by Benedict Cumberbatch.

If you can’t settle for just one celeb reader, give Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders a listen. It’s read by an ensemble cast of 166 stars!

What’s your dream audiobook? What celebrity reader and book title combo would be sure to entice you?

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