I live in a city and haven't driven in a million years, so I only began listening to books when I figured out that I could do so while running. While slow of foot, I'm a speedy reader and have discovered that certain books work better than others, listening-wise. I think one reason is that I can't skim, can't dash through it as I usually do when reading, and so if the book doesn't grab me at the sentence level I drift and stop paying attention. Another important element is the narrator, and I now understand when people talk with avid enthusiasm about individuals they like. Finally, a well-realized setting and a tantalizing plot (mysteries seem especially appealing in this form) also work well for me. That all said, here are a few adult titles that worked well for me. Hope you add your own recommendations in the comments.
- Charles Portis' True Grit. Excellent. Donna Tartt's narration and essay (written originally as an introduction to a 2005 edition) are also both terrific. Thanks to the Coen brothers and the various recent articles on Portis for drawing my attention to the book. I think because I was so NOT a John Wayne fan back when the earlier movie came out nor, especially, a Western fan, I somehow missed this book completely.
- John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces. I read this many years ago and decided to revisit it after being in New Orleans in June, this time by listening to it. It was SUPERB. In fact, I think I appreciated the sentence-level writing even more today than I did years ago. The way Toole uses language is outstanding. And for me, Ignatius J. Reilly is one of the all-time great characters in literature. I can only imagine what he'd have to say about such IM speech as OMG.
- Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. I'm a huge Dickens fan, but had avoided this title because I didn't think I wanted to read about the French Revolution. Boy, was I wrong. I was sobbing so much at "It is a far better thing I do... " part that I had to stop running and sit on a bench 'til it was over. (I've listened to a bunch of Dickens' titles and they are pretty much always excellent. The only one I've taken a break from, and I do plan to finish it eventually, is Dombey and Son.)
- Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone. Surprisingly wonderful. After listening to it I wrote: "I believe it is the ur-country-house-British-mystery. I loved the different narrators, I loved the plotting, the settings, the characters --- tremendous all around." I also recommend for listening The Woman in White.
- Graham Moore's The Sherlockian. Since I'm part of a literary sub-culture (Carrollians) that overlaps those who love Holmes, I totally got this book. Moore captures the intensity of literary society types very well and generally created an entertaining story. Went on to listen to a bunch of the original stories, including A Study in Scarlet (which I inadvertently began with the second part and was mighty puzzled about all the Mormon stuff until I figured out my error).
Also at educating alice.