My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Listening length: 4 hours and 15 minutes

Korede’s sister Ayoola is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola’s third boyfriend in a row is dead, stabbed through the heart with Ayoola’s knife.

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Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Listening length: 3 hours and 52 minutes

An unexpected teenage pregnancy pulls together two families from different social classes, and exposes the private hopes, disappointments, and longings that can bind or divide us from each other, from the New York Times-bestselling and National Book Award-winning author of Another Brooklyn and Brown Girl Dreaming.

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My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

Listening length: 4 hours and 11 minutes

In this novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge and The Burgess Boys, a simple hospital visit bridges the estranged relationship between Lucy Barton and her mother. As they reconnect through gentle gossip about Lucy’s childhood, underlying tension and longing surface, revealing the complexities of Lucy’s life, including her troubled family, her writing aspirations, marriage, and love for her daughters. Lucy’s keenly observant and deeply human storytelling voice ties the narrative together.

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Listening length: 4 hours and 49 minutes

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.

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The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Listening length: 2 hours and 28 minutes

“The Importance of Being Earnest” is a celebrated play by Oscar Wilde, often regarded as his magnum opus.  The play is a comedic tour de force revolving around two friends, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who lead double lives to escape their societal obligations.  They both adopt the pseudonym ‘Ernest’ in their alternate identities, courting their respective love interests, Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew.  The story unfolds into a hilarious and satirical commentary on Victorian social mores, love, and the importance of being ‘earnest.’  Wilde’s razor-sharp wit and clever wordplay are on full display in this play, making it a timeless classic of the English stage.

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The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo 

Listening length: 3 hours and 30 minutes

Xiomara Batista, an Afro-Latina heroine from Harlem, feels unheard and uses her fists and fierce demeanor to express herself. She pours her frustrations into a leather notebook, especially after falling for Aman, a boy her family must never know about. Torn between her mother’s strict religious expectations and her desire to join a slam poetry club, Xiomara grapples with her need to be heard in a world that often silences her.

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Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Listening length: 4 hours and 42 minutes

“Exit West” is a New York Times bestselling novel by Mohsin Hamid, telling a visionary love story amidst a country on the brink of civil war. It follows Nadia and Saeed, two young individuals who develop a deep bond as unrest disrupts their city. When violence escalates, they discover mysterious doors that transport people to new lands. Facing uncertainty, they decide to leave everything behind and step through one of these doors. The novel explores their journey into an unfamiliar future, grappling with love, identity, and survival in a profoundly intimate and inventive narrative.

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And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Listening length: 6 hours and 1 minute

If you’re new to Agatha Christie, then we recommend starting with one of her most famous novels, And Then There Were None. This is a classic mystery novel about ten strangers who are invited to stay on an isolated island, only to find that someone is murdering them one by one. Agatha Christie’s writing is at its best in this novel and is an excellent introduction to her work.

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P.S. I did a mini deep dive on “And Then There Were None” in this article: Unraveling The Mystery of “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie: The Ultimate Guide.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Listening length: 1 hour and 55 minutes

This charming classic love story, first published in 1970, brings together twenty years of correspondence between Helene Hanff, at the time, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a used-book dealer in London at 84, Charing Cross Road.

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