Audiobooks Are Not Cheating

Hello Beautiful Bookish Friends 11 New Book Recs for Spring 🌷

Audiobooks Are Not Cheating

After discovering that a recent article in the Washington Post had discussed the seemingly never-ending debate of whether or not you can say you read a book after listening to the audiobook, I thought it opened up the perfect chance to end the deliberation … If you listened to the audiobook version of a book, then no, that’s not cheating, and yes, you read that book. End of story!

But if you still need scientific proof, a study in The Journal of Neuroscience found that our brains respond exactly the same whether you read or listen to the words in a book. There you go. And I’ll go even further to say that listening to audiobooks offers many benefits (even some that silently reading a print book doesn’t offer - gasp!).

So, audiobook fans, this one’s for you! Today, we’re talking all things audiobooks. I’m covering how adding audiobooks to your reading routine helps you read more books. Then, I’m listing the best audiobook sites (especially ones that will save you money), plus the top 10 bestselling audiobooks of 2025 so far. I’ll end by sharing two exciting new book adaptations you can watch now. (BTW: Sorry, kids, “watching” doesn’t count as reading!)

Happy Reading … or, actually, Happy Listening!

Audry

P.S. A heartfelt thank you to all of you who opted to become paid subscribers! I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate your support!

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What Day Are You in a Bookish Vibe?

Before we get into today’s bookish topic, I want to know which day you’d prefer each week's Bookish AF to land in your inbox. Right now, I’m sending it out on Wednesday mornings. But I was considering scheduling the newsletter for the weekend, when most people have a little more time to think about leisurely activities like relaxing with a book.

So, choose a day of the week, and the one with the most votes will win the day!

Quick Bookish Reading Tip

If you want to read more, audiobooks are the way to go.

Even if you regularly read print books, supplementing with audiobooks can seriously up your game. My friends who work full-time and lead otherwise very busy lives read a lot of books. And by “a lot of books,” I’m saying that a few of them log in a hundred books in a year. How do they do it? That’s right … by fitting audiobooks into their daily schedules!

5 Bookish Benefits of Listening to Audiobooks

Created on Canva by Audry Fryer

Listening to a book frees up your eyes and your hands. It’s a multi-tasking match made in heaven! My friends put their commutes to good use and listen to books as they drive. In addition, you can also listen to a book whenever you have a mundane task to complete, like cleaning or folding laundry, or while you’re walking or jogging or doing a craft that requires repetition, such as knitting.

If you’d like to expand to different genres, consider listening to books you wouldn’t typically read. If you’re going to pair reading a print book silently and listening to a second book, I’ve found that reading two different genres can help keep each book straight. I’ve found that I prefer to read fiction and listen to nonfiction, especially if the author is well-known and narrating their book or memoir.

Audiobooks can make big books or a series of books seem less overwhelming and more doable. For example, if you wanted to read every book related to the Hunger Games, it may seem like too big of a goal. However, if you listen to the audiobook versions, because someone is reading them to you, you have a better chance of knocking them out. (Especially thanks to the multitasking benefit I highlighted earlier!)

Audiobooks can offer a better alternative before you head to bed if you read on your phone or tablet. Plus, our lives have become ripe for visual overstimulation. So, listening allows you to rest your eyes. And when you’re tired, it’s such an effort to focus both your eyes and your thoughts on reading words. But it’s much easier to listen to a story, even when you’re exhausted.

Finally, audiobooks offer a few unique psychological benefits over print books. Listening to someone else read has been linked to a greater impact on improving mental health than reading silently. Focusing on someone reading to you helps slow negative thoughts. And, if you make audiobooks part of your everyday life, you may lower your stress over things like traffic jams or tedious chores and actually welcome them because it gives you a chance to get in more chapters of your book.

Getting Bookish with the Best Audiobook Sites

three books pressed together with headphones

Created on Canva by Audry Fryer

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For all its perks, an audiobook habit can get expensive unless you choose a service linked to a library. However, if you go the library route, you’ll have to be flexible with what’s available and understand that you’ll have a limited time window for access to the audiobook.

So, to help you find an audiobook site that will work with your budget and expectations, here’s a quick rundown of the top audiobook sites.

The Libby app is free and allows you to borrow audiobooks from your library directly to your mobile device. Older titles are not a problem, but new releases, which tend to be in higher demand, often come with a waitlist.

More library-based apps that are FREE: Hoopla, Overdrive, and Burrowbox.

In the “free-ish category,” type in “audiobooks full length” on YouTube and discover quite a selection! However, unless you’re using the paid version, you’re in for some ad interruptions.

Similarly, Spotify also provides free access to a limited supply of audiobooks. The paid version can be pricey, but it expands your selection. Realistically, if you’re already paying for music, why not hit play on an audiobook?

If you’re willing to pay, a subscription to Audible will open the door to more audiobooks than you can read in a lifetime! (Why do I feel like someone out there will take this as a challenge?) Audible often runs deals, so play the game and see what you can get for free or cheap!

Libro.fm is another paid subscription service. It supports independent bookstores, so if that’s one of your priorities, it’s worth looking into. The app is easy to use, and you’ll gain access to an extensive library of audiobooks.

Chirp is fun if you don’t like subscription fees but do like the thrill of a flash deal. They’ll send you a daily email with audiobook deals for less than $5. Many of these include popular titles and authors!

Bookish Recs: 10 of the Bestselling Audiobooks on Audible

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins and narrated by Jefferson White, who you may know as Jimmy Hurdstrom on Paramount’s Yellowstone. This fifth book in the Hunger Games series is a prequel set twenty-four years earlier and follows a young Haymitch Abernathy when he was competing in the Hunger Games.

The Let Them Theory, written by and narrated by Mel Robbins (in her captivating, highly recognizable voice!) Mel Robbins, best known for The Five Second Rule and her wildly popular podcast, shares in this book how two words, “let them,” can change your life.

Abundance, written and narrated by journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. If you’re looking for an audiobook to get you thinking, this book lays out a new political vision that shifts the emphasis from a pessimistic outlook to a path toward abundance (as the title states!).

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros and narrated by Jasmin Walker, Justis Bolding, Teddy Hamilton, and Rebecca Soler. This third book in the bestselling romantasy series follows Violet Sorrengail at the Basgiath War College, where she is training as a military dragon rider and preparing for the coming attacks that threaten her world. The reviews are mixed both on the story and the narration quality.

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall and narrated by Hattie Morahan. I shared this book’s popularity and its skyrocketing ratings in last week's newsletter. The audiobook is also raking in the high ratings. Readers are giving it a lot of love for the engaging story (the love triangle and the thrilling mystery) and the excellent narration.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach and narrated by Helen Laser. If you’re in the mood for entertaining, heart-warming fiction, this book pairs an uninvited and unintentional wedding guest, the brokenhearted Phoebe, and the Newport, Rhode Island wedding party that uplifts her. Listeners enjoy Helen Laser’s performance. (Be aware: this book contains some “f-bombs.”)

The Next Conversation: Argue Less, Talk More, written and narrated by Jefferson Fisher, a trial lawyer and communication expert. You’ll learn practical approaches for life’s most difficult conversations (often with the most difficult people in your life!).

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and narrated by Ray Porter. This popular science-fiction thriller has earned rave reviews for its story and the narration. If you listen to audiobooks while you commute, you may be taking the long way home with this one about an astronaut working single-handedly to save Earth before it’s too late. Andy Weir is also the author of the bestselling novel The Martian.

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt and narrated by Sean Pratt and Jonathan Haidt. My friends who are teachers have read and can’t say enough good things about the powerful message in this book. If you have or work with children, it’s full of eye-opening facts about how screen time and social media erode mental health.

Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben and narrated by Vikas Adam. For fans of thrillers, this book picks up a year after the end of the first book and Netflix adaption “Fool Me Once.” In this story, former detective Sami Kierce, revisits a deadly mystery from his past when the woman he last saw covered in blood and murdered twenty-two years ago suddenly appears in the back of the class he’s teaching.

Bookish Entertainment News

Even though watching book adaptions doesn’t count as reading, it’s still a fantastic way to enjoy a book you’ve read or a story you want to enjoy but don’t plan on reading. So, I’ve rounded up two new book adaptions out now.

The Life List on Netflix shares the story of a young woman who must complete her mother’s dying wish of checking off all the items on her teenage bucket list. Based on the international bestselling novel with the same name, Alex Rose (Brett Bohlinger in the novel) discovers family secrets, romance, and more than she ever knew about herself.

Long Bright River on Peacock is based on the highly acclaimed book by Liz Moore (which landed on Barack Obama’s list of favorite books of the year). The Peacock adaptation stars Amanda Seyfried as the Philadelphia police officer assigned to a neighborhood hit hard by the opioid epidemic and now where a series of murders have recently taken place. Like in the book, her sister, who has an addiction problem on these same streets, has recently gone missing.