April 19, 2024

Top 10 Audio books

My top 10 Audio book list.

I have a long commute every day so thought I would make a list of my Top 10 commute audio books. My commute leaves me with about 2 hours a day to listen to audio books. I am always looking for something new. My interest vary, I like any good story, Sci-Fi and also Biographies. Here are some that I have enjoyed recently.  This will probably mainly include recent books I have listened to as they are fresh on my mind. If you have any suggestions please feel free to post below. I am always looking for something new.

As for how I listen to them. I tend to use an app on my phone called overdrive and get them free from my local library. It is really convenient. No need to go into the library besides just to get your initial library card. Once you have that, you can search and download books from your phone. Super easy once you get started. But I live by a big city so have a library with a decent selection. I may try something like audible in the future, but so far I have not had any issues finding something new. Also sometimes it forces me to try a book I would otherwise skip. So it gives me a little diversity from what I would normally listen to.

I also like to listen to a book right before bed. I set the sleep timer and drift off to sleep while listening. then just rewind 15 minutes or so in the morning. For some reason listening to an audio book really relaxes me and helps me fall right to sleep.

I plan to just keep updating this page as I listen to more.  I also plan to put ratings on them.

[3/25/18] Current Book I am listening to:  Robopocalypse – Daniel H. Wilson

Here we go, the Top 10: (The order is not perfect.)

1 Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

This one was really great. I just listened to it recently ( a couple books ago) as I didn’t know much about Elon. I finished it up about a week before the Falcon Heavy Launch. It was easy to listen to and informative and entertaining. Is it number 1, probably not. But I think it is worth your time to listen to and the first book that popped into my mind.

2 Runner (A Sam Dryden Novel)

OK, Patrick Lee. He is top of my list right now. Maybe I should put this as number one. I really like this Sam Dryden series and am waiting for the next book. This is Fiction, and a great story. I think I will be adding another one of his series here. Runner is the first book in this series. I also recommend the second book Signal.

3 The Passage: A Novel (Book One of The Passage Trilogy)

Where do I put this on the list. Its a trilogy. About Vampires no less. Not something I expected to like. But very well done and futuristic. If you want a story that will last for HOURS… this is a good one. I did really enjoy it. This is the first book in the series, so the one you would want to start with. I would say its a more “realistic” vampire story, if that makes sense calling vampires realistic?  Warning – It jumps around a little bit so I had to pay closer attention then some other books. Also lots of names to keep track of which can be hard when doing audio compared to reading. Not as hard for me as the girl with the dragon tattoo series though. I had a tough time with names on that one. (Also a good series)

OK, This is harder then I thought. I keep thinking of authors I like now. With lots of books. So here are a few like that.

4 Plum Island By Nelson Demile

I like pretty much all of Nelson demiles books I have listened to so far. This is the first book in this series about John Corey.  This whole series is great on audio.  You can read a ton of review on it above at the link, its a really good series.

5 The Breach

Cant help it. I had to add another Patrick Lee book. This is the first book in a different series. I don’t want to give any spoilers. This is the first  Patrick Lee book I listened to and was hooked. I really liked going into it not knowing much about it. I will tell you it takes place in the current time, sci-fi and very entertaining. I would probably rank this series in my top 3.

6 The Martian

I actually READ this one. I was on a trip and read it on the plane. I think it would be a good audio book. If your a tech you will love it. I do not think the movie did the book justice. They tried to squeeze it all into a couple hours and did not have a way to capture it. The book is great! I recommend even if you saw the movie.

7 The Innocent (Will Robie Series)

This is a great David Baldacci book to start with. I have listened to lots of his books. Don’t have one yet I didn’t like.  They keep your attention and are an easy listen in that you can easily keep track of what is going on.

8  Clive Cussler…

Its hard to pick a favorite, but he has a ton of books and there are a few separate series. They kind of remind me of a james bond type book with a villain trying to do some sort of destruction, and a team from NUMA (National Underwater Marine Agency) trying to stop them. A few have been made into movies.  My first one I read was Shock Wave. Not the first in the series, but was a good one.  I have both read his books and listened to them in Audio.

9 Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker

Kevin Mitnick – This is about his exploits in the 80s as a hacker. It was really interesting to listen to. He has a few other good books as well if you end up liking this one. (The art of invisibility which goes into how to hide your presence on the internet) and The art of deception. I have recommended these books to others and so far have not heard anyone say they did not like it.

10  Darn it.. I am running out of room.

So I will give you a few others that come to mind.. Dean Koontz Vince Flynn (I started with Term Limits although not technically part of his Mitch Rapp series), Taylor Stevens, Mira Grant, The book “Scar Tissue” about the red hot chili peppers, Dan Brown, Terry Goodkind… 

I think I typed this list out a little to fast. Not sure if that’s a good way or bad way to go about this but these were the first to come to my mind.  I will probably update it as I think about it more. This is one of those things I could think about for days trying to get the list perfect.

If you have any suggestions let me know 🙂

Here are some of the last few in my audio history..

Patient Zero – Jonathan Mayberry (4 Star)
The Wolves of Winter – Tyrell Johnson (3.5 – 4 Star)
The Drifter – Nick Petrie (3.5 star)
Gone Girl – Jillian Flynn (4 stars)
Losing the Signal – The untold story behind the extraordinary rise and spectacular fall of Blackberry. – Jacquie McNish
The Vessel – Taylor Stevens
Annihilation – Jeff VanderMeer
The Cuban Affair – Nelson DeMille
The Law of Nines – Terry Goodkind
The Starfish and the Spider – Ori Brafman
Nighthawk – Clive Cussler
The Circle – Dave Eggers
The Boy on the Bridge – M.R.Carey
1984 – George Orwell
The 5th wave (series) – Rick Yancy
The Maze Runner (Series) – James Dashner
The Host – Stephanie Meyer