Top 10 Audiobooks for 2022

With most of us constantly on the move, finding time to sit down with a physical book in hand seems unrealistic. Thankfully, with the massive online libraries of audiobooks, you can easily tune in with a pair of comfortable earbuds and dive into a moving story no matter where you are. To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 audiobooks for 2022 that should find a place in your ever-growing to-read list. Keep reading to learn more.

10. Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Just in time for Women’s History Month, Untamed makes for a great listening experience for female empowerment. In this memoir, Glennon Doyle narrates her addiction to food and alcohol, while learning about self-love and self-trust in the pressures of living in a patriarchal society. Garnering many celebrity fans, Doyle’s story has taken off, leaving many readers and listeners to approach their own journeys towards self-discovery with more love and introspection than ever before. Untamed is the perfect choice for a night in – put on a face mask, pour a glass of wine, and pop in some comfy headphones to give this story a listen.

9. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows & Mary Ann Shaffer

Although The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was published back in 2008, it has been made into a Netflix major motion picture in 2018, placing it back up on both physical and virtual shelves. This historical fiction reads effortlessly, as listeners can tune into the correspondence of letters between two main characters. The story dives into the aftermath of WWII, as society tries to return back to normalcy. Between a growing love interest and an undying passion for books, the characters and their love story is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

8. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

The up-and-coming, truly powerful literary voice, Ottessa Moshfegh, gives us the witty, yet impactful story of a woman who goes into hibernation, hiding from society under the care of her wild psychiatrist and under the influence of an unfathomable concoction of antipsychotic medications. This story emphasizes the importance of rest and solitude while showing us that, yes, it is possible to still be unhappy despite being a thin, conventionally attractive Ivy League school graduate living in NYC.

7. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet

Follow along to the story of two not-so-identical twin sisters, who despite being born to the same parents, have radically different skin tones. The twins escape from home at 16 and navigate the hardships of living in a black community in a southern town – learning about their own racial identities and unknowingly intertwining the lives of their daughters as they become mothers. This nail-biting, thought-provoking listen will keep you dialed in for hours at a time.

6. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

In the marshlands of a small fishing town, Kya runs barefoot and unsocialized, tucked away in the outskirts of society. With absent parents and siblings, she raised herself among the frogs, bugs, and other critters of the swamps. Consequently, when a popular boy, Chase Andrews, goes missing, fingers are immediately pointed at Kya. With the imagery as powerful as that of Where the Crawdads Sing, listeners can practically hear the crickets chirping as they listen to the two characters’ stories intertwine.

5. Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

Call Me By Your Name is a passion-fueled page-turner in the audiobook sense, keeping listeners on their toes as the story of Elio and Oliver unfolds. During a summer in the Italian countryside, young Elio discovers his attraction toward Oliver, a graduate student who is staying with Elio’s family in exchange for help with his father’s academic work. The tension becomes palpable as the pair navigates their sexual identities and feelings towards each other; their worlds splitting apart as quickly as they collided together. This listen is sure to hit deep.

4. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

This story is an adaptation of the Iliad, following the perspective of Patroclus through the hardship of exile, war, and forbidden love. Patroclus falls deeply for Achilles, who is cursed by a prophecy that foretells his death.  Listen along to this tale of romance as it weaves into the Trojan War and its aftermath, and learn what becomes of the love between Patroclus and Achilles.

3. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Filled with utter despair and no desire to live, Nora Seed ends her life. Her world, as she knew it, was plunged into darkness. She wakes up in the Midnight Library, an immense and endless collection of books that hold the story of every parallel universe that any one of her decisions could have led her to. She becomes overwhelmed with regret and uncertainty as she thumbs through every sample life she could have lived, trying to choose the ultimate multiverse. This fantasy novel will leave you wondering about your own multiverse possibilities and where they could have inevitably taken you, awarding it third place in the top 10 audiobooks of 2022.

2. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

In a meticulous Ohio suburb, where everything is carefully orchestrated, this story parallels the lives of two mothers and their children. Mia Warren, an eccentric artist with a mysterious past, has recently moved to Shaker Heights with her daughter. They soon collide with the Richardsons, a prominent and wealthy family, whose children befriend Mia’s daughter. Tensions rise when a family friend attempts to adopt a Chinese-American baby girl, whose biological mother works with Mia. This drives a wedge between Mia and Mrs. Richardson, paving the way for a suspenseful turn of events.

1. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Coming in first place for the top 10 audiobooks of 2022, is another epistolatory novel that follows the lives of a Vietnamese-American narrator, his illiterate mother, and PSTD-ridden grandmother through a series of letters. The narrator, Lil Dog, recounts his relationship with his mother and her relentless abuse, and eventually his tumultuous romance with a man named Trevor. This story is heart-wrenching and suspenseful, leaving you itching for more. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous gives plenty of insight into the immigrant experience in an unapologetically poetic narrative, awarding it number one on the list.

Conclusion – Top 10 Audiobooks of 2022

Now that you’ve made it to the end of the list, what audiobook can you see yourself listening to first? With so many incredible options to choose from, your new favorite story is just waiting for you to dive in. Go ahead, grab your favorite headphones and submerge yourself in a new world.