36 Recommendations for Audiobooks Read by Women
Audiobooks and works by talented women are two things that I will never, ever, EVER get enough of, and I have a hunch many of you feel the same way!
It’s Women’s History Month. Book Riot just celebrated International Women’s Day (for which we published only posts by women readers and writers–you can see all the posts here). And I’m a feminist every day. These all seemed like great reasons to participate in “One Book/One Like” by tweeting my li’l heart out about my favorite audiobooks read by women authors, celebrities, and voice actors.
So, here we go: 36 excellent audiobooks read by women. Check it out and add your own favorites in the comments!
Giving this a shot! For every like, I’ll suggest an #audiobook read by an amazing lady author, celeb or voice actor pic.twitter.com/j3skm3ONLV
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
1. SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS written and read by Aisha Tyler. A hilarious, vulnerable memoir about being an awesome badass book nerd.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
2. JUST KIDS written & read by Patti Smith. When she talks straight into your ears about loving & losing Robert Mapplethorpe, ALL THE TEARS.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
3. YEAR OF YES written and read by Shonda Rhimes. It's like having your friend along for your commute calling womanhood like it is.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
4. EAT, PRAY, LOVE written and read by Elizabeth Gilbert. One woman opens up to tell her tender, mystical, vulnerable, starry eyed story.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
5. Obviously WHY NOT ME? written & read by Mindy Kaling who is a Boss Queen and I am here for all of her stories about hanging w/ the Obamas
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
6. BORN WITH TEETH written and read by Kate Mulgrew who always put her career first but also loved her family and just did not GAF.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
7. IN OTHER WORDS written and read by Jhumpa Lahiri which is just so introspective and lovely about language & identity that it hurts
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
8. WHERE'D YOU GO BERNADETTE read by Kathleen Wilhoite of Gilmore Girls fame and raised my personal bar for all audio performances ever.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
9. AMERICANAH read by Adjoa Andoh because it brought across the cross-cultural experience of that story in such a visceral way.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
10. TRUE GRIT read by Donna Tartt because DONNA TARTT, are you kidding me???
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
11. ASSASSINATION VACATION written and read by Sarah Vowell because I can't get enough of her deadpanning about presidential musicals.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
12. BELOVED written & read by Toni Morrison, because she literally reads you one of the best American books OF ALL TIME. Written by her.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
13. STONE MATTRESS by Margaret Atwood, because Atwood reads the title story about a murderous woman full of righteous wrath and vengeance.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
14. BAD FEMINIST read by Bahni Turpin, who's won an Audie for "best female narrator" and is a rising star among voice actors.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
15. MATILDA read by Kate Winslet, who finds the balance between childhood vulnerability and wacky mischief in this classic children's book.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
16. HUNGER MAKES ME A MODERN GIRL by Carrie Brownstein because her story is so unique and complicated and she nails the narration.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
17. LET'S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED written and read by Jenny Lawson who made me pee my pants in the car. More than once.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
18. I AM MALALA read by Archie Panjabi whose performance is tender, beautiful and strong.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
19. ARE YOU THERE VODKA? IT'S ME, CHELSEA written and read by Chelsea Handler because I have a big ol' soft spot for her irreverent humor.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
20. WAVE read by Hannah Curtis which still haunts me as one of the most utterly raw stories of loss and grief that I have ever heard.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
21. MEN WE REAPED read by Cherise Boothe. She nails the despair & WTF-ery of Jesmyn Ward's memoir about being young and black in America.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
22. YES PLEASE written and read by Amy Poehler, because it is basically the essence of awesome ladies reading awesome stories.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
23. BIG LITTLE LIES read by Caroline Lee because the snarky suburban parents sounded even more amazing in an Australian accent.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
24. TROUBLEMAKER written and read by Leah Remini. It's the best ever combo of celebrity gossip + coming of age + losing your religion.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
25. LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT WE ATE written and read by Padma Lakshmi. It's BRAND SPANKING NEW, go be one of the first to put it in your ears!
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
26. HEARTBURN read by Meryl Streep, because I <3 a) Nora Ephron, b) Meryl Streep, and c) actors who star in both the movie AND the audio.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
27. THE MISADVENTURES OF AWKWARD BLACK GIRL written and read by Issa Rae, for the kind of person who enjoys laughing at hilarious stories.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 9, 2016
28. BROWN GIRL DREAMING written and read by Jacqueline Woodson. I'm giddy that she reads her own award-winning book on audio… in verse!!
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 10, 2016
29. THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS read by Finty Williams, daughter of Judi Dench. You will fall in love with the way she narrates zombies!
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 10, 2016
30. REDEFINING REALNESS written and read by Janet Mock, who serves up all my favorite pop culture references in one tearjerker of a book.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 10, 2016
31. ALICE IN WONDERLAND read by Scarlett Johansson. Her sister Vanessa is a voice actress & directed the performance. That Cheshire Cat tho!
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 10, 2016
32. TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS written & read by Cheryl Strayed. This sparkling mermaid unicorn goddess speaks her pearls of wisdom in your ears.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 10, 2016
33. MY BELOVED WORLD read by Rita Moreno, because you’ll want to bone up on Supreme Court Justice memoirs before RBG’s comes out in 2017 (!)
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 10, 2016
34. BOSSYPANTS written and read by Tina Fey because how have I not suggested BOSSYPANTS yet? The classic that started it all.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 10, 2016
35. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD read by Sissy Spacek, who is the literal best and whose Scout Finch is as great as her Carrie & her Loretta Lynn.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 11, 2016
36. THE NAMESAKE read by Sarita Choudhury, who narrates Jhumpa Lahiri books when she’s not acting w/ Denzel Washington or Jennifer Lawrence.
— Rachel Smalter Hall (@Rach_Smalls) March 14, 2016