16 | November | 2009 | Eleventh Stack

Today, I will embark on a road trip to visit seven friends in seven days. (Doesn’t that sound like the name of a boring memoir? Seven Friends in Seven Days: How I Saw Some Buddies and Discovered a Life Worth Living.) I will pass through 7 states and cover roughly 1,547 miles. Will I discover myself on this road trip? Will I get into fist fights with locals at rural drinking establishments? Will I kill a man, like Thelma and Louise did? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, I find myself anxiously wondering which audio books I should listen to. Should I listen to the latest bestseller? No, kind readers, because you have all of them out right now. Should I listen to a classic mystery? An epic fantasy adventure? A self-help book about dating, finances, or my immortal soul? It probably wouldn’t hurt–unless it’s boring and I take a little snooze and crash my car–then it would hurt.

I am very particular about my audio books: the prose can’t be too flowery or my mind wanders. The narrator has to emphasize just the right words or the message won’t come across. The plot can’t be too confusing, because I don’t have the luxury of flipping back a few pages to see if it was so and so that did such and such in the parlor.

I have compiled a list of some of my favorites, along with some suggestions by other audio book aficionados:

Anything written and read by David Sedaris. You’ll never want to “read” his books again, once you’ve listened to him read his own stuff.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. This is 32 hours, so it’s a great companion if you find yourself driving to Calgary, Alberta.
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, narrated by Tim Curry
Anything written and read by Frank McCourt
John Hodgman’s hilarious The Areas of my Expertise and the new sequel More Information Than You Require
A Walk in the Woods written and read by Bill Bryson
The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich