Steele’s Top 10 Audiobook Picks of 2018

Educated: A MemoirIt’s the end of 2018 and it’s been a great year for Audiobooks. Here are my top ten picks for the physical audiobooks that we have at Steele Library from 2018…don’t forget that we also have the Overdrive/Libby app which can allow you to download tons of more titles for free. If you haven’t ever tried listening to an audiobook, why not give it a try in the New Year? You can read countless books while you’re traveling, cleaning your house, or playing games on your phone…and some of the readers are so terrific that it’s a delight to have a story read to you.

  1. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover. A young girl born to survivalist parents in the mountains of Idaho, ends up educating herself. Her quest for knowledge transforms her and eventually leads her to Cambridge and Harvard.
  2. Virgil Wander by Leif Enger. “An enchanting and timeless all-American story that follows the inhabitants of a small Midwestern town in their quest to revive its flagging heart.”
  3. Calypso by David Sedaris. I love to listen to David narrate his own books. His droll delivery of these quirky, funny and touching stories make listening the best way to enjoy his material.
  4. There, There by Tommy Orange. A NYT bestseller written by a Cheyenne/Arapahoe author describing the struggling lives of Native Americans in Oakland, CA.
  5. Love and Ruin by Paula McLain. “The bestselling author of The Paris Wife returns to the subject of Ernest Hemingway in a novel about his passionate, stormy marriage to Martha Gellhorn, a fiercely independent, ambitious young woman who would become one of the greatest war correspondents of the twentieth century.”
  6. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. An award winning YA book and a must read book for all ages on racism through the eyes of a sixteen year old girl.
  7. Calling All Minds by Temple Grandin. “From world-renowned autism spokesperson, scientist, and inventor Temple Grandin, a book of personal stories, inventions, and facts that will blow young inventors’ minds and make them soar.”
  8. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. “What is the nature of space and time? How do people fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within them? There’s no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and bestselling author Neil deGrasse Tyson.”
  9. Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware. A real creepy psychological mystery by a great British writer.
  10. The Library Book by Susan Orlean “re-opens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, and delivers a dazzling love letter to the beloved institution of libraries.”

Janet Ackerman
Head of Circulation
Steele Memorial Library