Audiobook Recommendations for Father's Day
Father's Day is just around the corner, but fortunately in the digital age there are plenty of great gifts that can be snapped up at the last minute, from the comfort of your couch.
A Readings gift card is one example of a fuss-free gift that's sure to delight, but if your dad is a fan of audiobooks, Libro.fm is a great gift option too! We have a Libro store, meaning you can buy audiobooks from Readings, see our curated recommendations and support independent retailers, all in one place.
And to make the gift even better, here are our recommendations for great new audiobooks that we think will be a winner on Father's Day, or any day, so you can give Dad some ideas on where to start.
(If your dad is firmly an analogue-only kind of reader, don't despair! There's still time to head into one of our shops to grab these titles in physical form.)
New Fiction
The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey
Read by Jefferson Mays
The Carryx – part empire, part hive – have waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy.
Caught up in academic intrigue and affairs of the heart, Dafyd Alkhor is pleased just to be an assistant to a brilliant scientist and his celebrated research team. Then the Carryx ships descend, decimating the human population and taking the best and brightest of Anjiin society – including Dafyd – away to serve on the Carryx homeworld.
They are dropped in the middle of a struggle they barely understand, set in a competition against the other captive species with extinction as the price of failure . . .
17 Years Later by J.P. Pomare
Read by Eva Seymour, Gareth Reeves & Tyrone Ngatai
The violent slaughter of the Primrose family while they slept shocked the nation. Their young live-in chef, Bill Kareama, was swiftly charged with murder and brought to justice. But the brutal crime scarred the idyllic town of Cambridge forever.
Seventeen years later, true-crime podcaster Sloane Abbott tracks down prison psychologist TK Phillips. Once a fierce campaigner for an appeal, TK now lives a quiet life with Bill's case firmly in his past. As Sloane lures a reluctant TK back into the fight, evidence emerges that casts new light on the Primroses – and who might have wanted them dead.
Why Do Horses Run? by Cameron Stewart
Read by Cameron Goodall
Missing in every sense of the word, a man walks into the landscape and doesn't stop. In all weather and across all kinds of terrain, Ingvar walks until he can go no further, then gets up and does it again the following day, week after week, month after month. For three years he doesn't know why he keeps going, or whether he is walking towards something or away from it.
Then he comes to a remote tropical valley harbouring secrets and misfits. There a recently widowed woman, Hilda, allows Ingvar to live in a shed on her property. He hasn't spoken for three years and Hilda chats frequently with her dead husband, but somehow they tolerate each other as they both struggle with the haunting impact of their pasts.
Classics
A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
Read by Alex Jennings
A sensitive portrayal of the healing process that took place in the aftermath of the First World War, A Month in the Country follows Tom Birkin, a former soldier, as he finds refuge in the quiet village church of Oxgodby where he is to spend the summer uncovering a huge medieval wall-painting. Immersed in the peace and beauty of the countryside and the unchanging rhythms of village life, he experiences an unexpected sense of renewal and belief in the future.
Now an old man, Birkin looks back on that idyllic summer of 1920, remembering a vanished place of blissful calm, untouched by change; a precious moment he has carried with him throughout his life.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Read by Jonathan Keeble
Written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle between the years 1867 and 1927, the legendary Sherlock Holmes employed his mastery of deductive reasoning and expert sleuthing to solve an array of complex and harrowing cases.
From his home – 221B Baker Street in London – the legendary Sherlock Holmes (accompanied by his loyal companion and chronicler, Dr. Watson) baffled policemen and became famous worldwide for his remarkable observations and even more eccentric habits.
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Read by Stefan Rudnicki & Gabrielle de Cuir
Orlando has always been an outsider . . .
His longing for passion, adventure and fulfilment takes him out of his own time. Chasing a dream through the centuries, he bounds from Elizabethan England amd imperial Turkey to the modern world.
Will he find happiness with the exotic Russian Princess Sasha? Or is the dashing explorer Shelmerdine the ideal man? And what form will Orlando take on the journey – a nobleman, traveller, writer? Man or . . . woman?
Nonfiction
Sharks Don't Sink by Jasmin Graham
Read by Jasmin Graham
The uplifting story of a young Black scientist's challenging journey to flourish outside the traditional confines of academia, inspired by her innate connection to nature's most misunderstood animal – the shark.
How do sharks, which unlike other fish are denser than water, stay afloat? They keep moving.
When Jasmin Graham, an award-winning young shark scientist, started to feel that the traditional path to becoming a marine biologist was pulling her under, she remembered this important lesson: keep moving forward.
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes & Joe Layden
Read by Cary Elwes, Rob Reiner, Robin Wright & more
The Princess Bride has been a family favourite for close to three decades and continues to resonate with audiences.
Cary Elwes was inspired to share his memories and give fans an unprecedented look into the creation of the film, while participating in the twenty-fifth anniversary cast reunion. In As You Wish he has created an enchanting experience; there are interviews with his fellow cast mates and plenty of set secrets and backstage stories!
How to Fit All of Ancient Greece in an Elevator by Theodore Papakostas
Read by John Moraitis & Tom Babbage
Two strangers meet in an elevator. One is an archaeologist, the other isn't. A simple question, 'What do you do?', becomes the springboard for a dialogue that weaves a fascinating tale...
In How to Fit All of Ancient Greece in an Elevator, acclaimed archaeologist Theodore Papakostas takes the reader on a spectacularly iconoclastic and hugely engrossing journey through Ancient Greece, from its beginnings in prehistory to its end. Marvelling at the exalted moments in Ancient Greek history as well as the more mundane, Papakostas introduces the reader to countless fascinating stories about the cradle of western civilization.
