The Best Audio Books for Your Next Road Trip
When you drive long distances on a regular basis, you use a lot of different techniques to stay alert and entertained. From nostalgic music playlists to laugh fests with your bestie on the phone, you’ll do what you have to do to pass the hours. As you prepare for your next hours-long journey in the car, you should add these audiobooks to your queue.
Why Audiobooks Are Great for Road Trips
Audiobooks add variety to your listening experience when you’re on a road trip. Mixing up what you listen to is one of the best ways to keep yourself awake and engaged behind the wheel. During long drives, there’s a real danger of drifting off, which could result in a car accident and put a crimp in your road trip plans. Once you’re burnt out on music, you can switch to an audiobook to renew your focus.
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How To Choose an Audiobook
You don’t have to be an audiobook connoisseur to find something you like for your drive. To combat choice paralysis, start by exploring these categories:
- Comedy memoirs
- Classic literature
- Sci-fi and fantasy
- Thriller and mystery
- Romance
With any type of art, your tastes will differ from your friends and family. Make a shortlist of titles that pique your interest and listen to excerpts a few days before your trip to get a feel for the tone and content. Then choose three audiobooks that you can rotate through on your drive.
Best Audiobooks for Your Road Trip
Now that you’re ready to explore great audiobooks for your road trip, here are eight top choices:
- The Sea in the Sky by Jackson Musker, science fiction
- Evil Eye by Madhuri Shekar, thriller
- Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, historical fiction
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, fantasy
- The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary, romance
- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, children’s literature
- Yearbook by Seth Rogen, comedy
- Birdbox by Josh Malerman, horror
When To Start an Audiobook While Driving
Once you have your books downloaded and ready to percolate through your speaker system, you can start listening immediately. There’s no right or wrong time to put on an audiobook during a road trip.
If you’ve been driving a lot recently and need a change of pace right out the gate, then put an audiobook to ease into the beginning of your trip. However, you can also wait until music is lulling you into a stupor, and then switch to an audiobook to change the pace.
A Conversation Starter for Your Road Trip
If you’re traveling with someone else, listening to an audiobook is a great way to have new and interesting conversations. Just because you’ve put on a book doesn’t mean you have to be silent. Pick out an interesting quote or theme and chat about it with your driving buddy. Your road trip will go by much faster with audiobooks queued up.
I need to keep these in mind the next time I travel. I have been wanting to listen to more audio books.
I can see why audiobooks would be great for road trips. I have never used them before, but I need to look in to them.
For long trips, audiobooks are very important, especially since I’m someone who gets bored quickly. Audiobooks are a solution for me to avoid boredom that causes stress during long trips.
I haven’t been on any long trips in a while but audiobooks can be a great option to keep you entertained. There are plenty of great options to choose from which is great.
I have read two of these, but not of audio. I do love a good audio book and listen to them all the time, while walking and crafting. A good one to listen to is War Horse
I enjoy listening to audio books while we travel. I used to listen to a few while we were headed on those extremely long trips. It was so relaxing.
As a mom gearing up for our next adventure, this guide is a total lifesaver. Can’t wait to dive into ‘The Flatshare’ while cruising down the highway. You’ve made our journey planning a breeze!
i haven’t yet gotten into audiobooks though i tried it for a while with both fiction and non-fiction.. maybe need to try it for the next road trip
I’ve never really listened to any audiobooks before. I’ll have to give it a try next time I need to be in the car for an extended period of time.
I live in LA where traffic is heavy and I listen to podcasts. I’d like to try audiobooks next! Thanks for the recommendations.