June 1, 2025
June is Audiobook Appreciation Month. The American Publishers Association created the initiative to listen to a book to promote the accessibility and mobility of listening to a book rather than carrying one. According to multiple resources, listening to audiobooks often provides a more immersive story experience.
Grab your headphones or your Bluetooth, sign in with your library card, access your Libby account for downloadable audiobooks, and get ready for a journey full of ghosts, movie stars, magic, and thrills!
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (the original recording featuring Gaiman’s narration won the Audie Award in 2009. In 2015, a full-cast audio production was released. It was nominated for the same award.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins won for Best Audiobook in 2016 and features narrations by multiple award-winning actresses Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, and India Fisher. This thriller about a woman who sees something out of the ordinary on her daily commute has also been turned into a film starring Emily Blunt. Listen to the book first and then see if you can spot the differences in the movie.
Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adeyemi, narrated by 9-time Audie-winning narrator Bahni Turpin, is an Afro-Fantasy novel and Adeyemi’s debut. The audiobook won in 2019.
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff became a multi-award-winning book and audiobook as its narration tells the first-hand accounts in an immersive blend of real audio recordings from presidential statements and traffic controllers to people’s lives impacted on that day. The audiobook would be awarded for its impact in 2020.
Finding Me is by EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award)- winning actor Viola Davis. Davis shares her story of growing up and the impacts that life had on her, shaping her into one of the most revered performers in Hollywood. One of the amazing achievements of her memoir is that not only did it win the Award for Best Audiobook, but also best Narrator and best Storytelling Recording, as well as becoming acclaimed for other literary achievements.
Spanning 970 pages, exceeding 48 hours and additional ad-libs by the woman herself, EGOT-winning actress and singer, Barbra Streisand shares her story in My Name is Barbra.
The last read I suggest you listen to is the award-winning actor and narrator Jim Dale reading the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Dale famously devised 147 character voices for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and has received over 40 awards for his narrative performance.
You can find all of these and more in the collection. Mid-Continent Public Library boasts a whopping 80,000+ titles in downloadable audiobooks and audiobooks in CD format. Happy listening!
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