🎧 Five audiobooks you won’t want to pause

Three nonfiction titles + two novels that provide the BEST listening experience

Feb 07, 2025

As a mom of two young kids, my non-working alone time is — lacking. When I do have time to myself, it’s either at the end of the day when I’m in bed reading, or it’s when I’m exercising or driving somewhere (probably to pick up one of said kids).

Since I am so short on free-time, I pack in the reading whenever I get a chance. Walking on the treadmill, driving, folding laundry — I’m usually listening to an audiobook.

If you’re an audiobook reader (or want to be), I have two things for you:

One, Libro.fm is hosting an audiobook reading challenge and all you have to do is read 10+ hours’ worth of audiobooks, fill out this form and cross your heart that the information is correct, and you get a free credit, which equals one book! (I’m not affiliated with the organization; I’m just enthusiastically sharing an opportunity to get a free book.) You don’t even have to listen on Libro.fm — it can be wherever you prefer to read your audiobooks. Reminder: you can borrow audiobooks from the library!

My book loving pal Melissa at

The Literary Assistant

invited me to join her in this challenge so we can amp up our audiobook listening and help readers do the same.

How could I say no?

The second thing I have for you is a list of five audiobooks I love and recommend. Melissa has four totally different recommendations from mine, plus five reasons to give audiobooks a try. You can find her post here.

Below are my selections for supreme audiobook reading:

🎧 Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor | Nonfiction | 2020

This book rocked my entire foundation. I’ll throw some facts to you so you can understand why:

Did you know that breathing through your mouth can change the shape of your face? Chronic mouth breathing can, over time, lead to crooked teeth, a narrower jaw, and breathing difficulties.
Did you know that the average human skull has shrunk over the past 100 years? We haven’t been developing our jaws the ways our hunter/gatherer ancestors did due to softer foods and less chewing. This has made our airways narrow and breathing less efficient.
Did you know that breathing through your nose increases the levels of nitric oxide in the body, which expands blood vessels, improves circulation, and boosts oxygen delivery to cells? As someone with chronically low hemoglobin, this was mindblowing.
Did you know most of us breathe too fast? The optimal rate for health and longevity is 5.5 second inhales and 5.5 second exhales, which equates to 5.5 breaths per minute. (To put it into perspective, the average person breathes 12-20 breaths per minute.)

The short of it is: breathe through your nose — always. You might think you do, but reading this book may wake you up to the frequency with which you might actually breathe through your mouth. (Are we all closeted mouth breathers? I’m beginning to think maybe.)

Breath is narrated by the author and at the end, one of his breath-work partners who shows up a lot in the book has a cameo leading readers through breathing exercises.

🎧 On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong | Fiction | 2019

This was one of the most remarkable listening experiences I’ve ever had. It’s narrated by the author and the telling of the story is exquisite. It’s a shattering letter written by 20-year-old “Little Dog” to his illiterate mother. In the letter, he unpacks much of the family history, which began in Vietnam and brought them to the U.S.

Little Dog opens up about his sexuality and what it was like to be raised by his single — and somewhat abusive — mother. It touches on masculinity, drugs, and the liminal space between two cultures. It’s a must-read, and I really advocate for you to listen to it.

Alexander Chee

recently did and he raved about the experience as well.

🎧 Three Women by Lisa Taddeo | Nonfiction | 2020

You could have tricked me into thinking this book was a novel, it reads so beautifully. But it’s the true stories of three very different women, scrupulously collected by author Lisa Taddeo and woven into a masterpiece that has since been adapted into a television series.

The audiobook experience is great because each story is narrated by a different woman, so when we switch from Maggie to Lina to Sloane — a 17-year-old student, a young mom with a passionless marriage, and a happily married woman whose husband likes to watch her have sex with other men, respectively — we are easily able to track whose life we’re being immersed in. Lisa Taddeo narrates alongside Mena Suvari, Tara Lynne Barr, and Marin Ireland.

It’s hard to believe these women are real, and harder, still, to believe the work the author put into collecting these unforgettable stories. A+ listening experience here.

🎧 Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe | Fiction | 2024

You know how you can remember where you were when you found out Princess Diana died? I can remember what I was doing when I was reading any given book. Margo’s Got Money Troubles I listened to while driving up north for a cabin weekend with my girlfriends. I was alone for the two-hour drive and I was excited for the weekend ahead, and this hilarious, smart novel was the perfect roadtrip companion.

The book is about a young woman named Margo who’s unemployed, has wonky relationships with both of her parents, is about to be evicted — and has an infant. She ends up experimenting with OnlyFans as a way to bring in some cash and keep her and her son housed and fed. She obviously gets herself into sticky situations, but she’s bold and brave and does what she needs for her kid. It’s touching in the weirdest way.

The audiobook is narrated by Elle Fanning, and she adds the perfect amount of drama to the telling of this novel.

🎧 The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt | Nonfiction | 2024

This is my current read. The introduction is narrated by the author, but the rest of the book is narrated by Sean Pratt. I’ve put off reading this book for fear of fear, or fear of anxiety. I mentioned I have two kids, and I have mentioned before how worried I am about when they get smartphones. I’ve been afraid of reading this book because I know how bad social media and smart phones are for developing minds. So far I’m learning I’ve been right to be afraid, but I’m also reading it at a good time.

The Anxious Generation is the term the author uses to categorize Gen Z, or those who grew up not with flip phones like Millennials (👋🏼👋🏼) but with smartphones.

Similar to Breath, the facts speak for themselves:

Did you know that childhood has literally been rewired in the digital age? Since 2010 (the iPhone came out in 2007), kids have spent less time engaging in physical, unstructured play — which is crucial for mental health — and more time with digital experiences such as social media and gaming.
Did you know that social media harms girls to a greater degree than boys? Things like bullying, social comparison, and body image issues lead to anxiety and a decline in self-esteem.
Did you know Gen Z is experiencing the sharpest decline in mental health ever recorded? It shouldn’t be a surprise that this is especially prevalent for teenage girls.

One of the most interesting takeaways I’ve learned so far is that parents are overprotective in the physical world and under-protective in the digital world. Because of this, the author, a PhD in social psychology, recommends waiting until high school before doling out the smartphones.

I’m no less anxious about the phone situation than I was before reading this (I still have a ways to go), but I at least feel more prepared for what I am about to experience with my own children.

If you’re not already listening to an audiobook right now, get to it! And to partake in the audiobook challenge, you don’t have to listen via Libro.fm. The purpose is to get people excited about audiobooks. Happy listening!

Thanks for reading! Love,