38. The Best Audiobooks We Read in 2020

12/01/20 • 53 min

Have we mentioned how much we love audiobooks? We’ve both been avid listeners for a long time, but between pandemic life and Sara’s Aspen Words reading, this has been a banner year for audiobooks. Today, we’re each sharing twelve of our favorite listening experiences. With a mix of literary fiction, romance, nonfiction, and YA, today’s episode has an audiobook recommendation for every reader.

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Chelsey's Favorites:

Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

The Switch by Beth O’Leary // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Here for It: Or How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas. // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Sara's Favorites:

The City We Became by NK Jemison // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Members Only by Sameer Pandya // Amazon // Bookshop //

Follow Novel Pairings on Instagram or Twitter.

Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS to get an audiobook subscription for yourself or purchase a gift.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get updates on what we're currently listening to.

View all of our recs and shop our links on the blog.

Chelsey's Favorites:

Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

The Switch by Beth O’Leary // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Here for It: Or How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas. // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Sara's Favorites:

The City We Became by NK Jemison // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner // Amazon // Bookshop // Libro.fm

Members Only by Sameer Pandya // Amazon // Bookshop //

Previous Episode

37. Quarterly Favorites: the best books we read in Fall 2020

Today, we reflect on our favorite reads from the last three months. These quarterly reflections might be our favorite episodes to record. It’s lovely to take time to consider our favorite episodes, our favorite reads, and what we’ve learned over the course of the season. We’re sharing a bunch of book recommendations in this episode; shop our recs here.

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Use our Libro.fm affiliate code NOVELPAIRINGS to get an audiobook subscription for yourself or purchase a gift.

Books mentioned:

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia

Luster by Raven Leilani

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

Like Lovers Do by Tracey Livesay

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Intimations by Zadie Smith

Now That I’ve Found You by Kristina Forest

I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

The Next Great Jane by K.L Going

The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance

She Come by It Natural by Sarah Smarsh

All My Mother’s Lovers by Ilana Masad

How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafa

Winter lineup:

December

My Antonia by Willa Cather

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

January

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

February

There is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Next Episode

39. My Antonia by Willa Cather, plus books about community and survival to read this winter

Today Chelsey and Sara are discussing My Antonia by Willa Cather with a special guest: Michelle Timmins, English literature student and Novel Pairings assistant extraordinaire. There’s plenty to discuss in this wintry classic, including stunning imagery, surprising connections to an American Girl Doll, and where Cather’s novel fits into the American literary canon. Plus, as always, we’re recommending six contemporary books to pair with our classic, including a Western, an arctic memoir, and a nonfiction book about grief.

Books Mentioned:

My Antonia by Willa Cather (Amazon)

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (Amazon)

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (Amazon)

Also mentioned: Deconstruction Theory

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Michelle’s Pairings: