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Best Audiobooks For Road Trips

A list of audiobooks to elevate any road trip to an adventure.

Getting ready to hit the open road? Forget music. A list of the best audiobooks for road trips is a must. Just press play and watch your journey fly by in a flash.

A great audiobook is more than just entertainment. It's an extra passenger, maybe several if it's performed by a cast. An escape and an experience all its own.

So, what makes for good audio books for road trips? Ones that match the length of your drive? One with broad appeal? What about something funny? You might be after pure fun.

So, without further ado, let’s get this party on wheels started. Category by category, here’s the Audiobooks Nest best audiobooks for road trips. Bon Voyage!

Top Road Trip Audiobooks

1

Ready Player One

By

Ernest Cline

Read By

Wil Wheaton

Careful Marty! This scifi gem is brimming with enough 1980’s pop culture references to perm your hair. Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One will transport you into a dystopian reality where the only way to live is virtual. Read by none other than Star Trek’s Wil Wheaton, this is everything you need to nerd out and everything you want from a road trip audiobook.

2

The Road

By

Cormac McCarthy

Read By

Tom Stechschulte

Okay yes. The title is slightly on the nose. But I did restrain myself. I almost went with Jack Kerouac’s best known tome.,, But back to The Road. This stunning Pulitzer Prize winning work is a post-apocalyptic masterpiece about a father and son bond that survives the end of the world and beyond.

3

Swan Song

By

Robert R. McCammon

Read By

Tom Stechschulte

Let one of the scariest, most gruesome audio books around keep you rearing to go on your road trip. Spend over 34 hours in the grimmest apocalypse possible and join the fight to save the world. I guarantee you won’t be bored for a second.

4

The Stand

By

Stephen King

Read By

Grover Gardner

If there’s one author who’ll stick with you until the end, it is the king of horror, Mr Stephen King. King’s audiobooks are infamously long and thus ideal for road trips. Especially as quantity doesn’t mean sacrificing on quality. In fact, one of his most popular tomes, The Stand, runs for almost 48 hours. That’ll get you the whole way across the US, coast to coast. But remember, never drive more than the medically recommended number of hours in a day.

One extra note: The longest fiction audiobook I’ve come across is War & Peace at a stonking 61 hours, 6 minutes. Bought it. Tried it. Couldn’t finish it.

5

The Hunger

By

Alma Katsu

Read By

Kristen Potter

Even the best road trips have their tougher moments. When you’re sick of driving and bored at the wheel, it’s good to know that things could be a lot worse. And there are few road trips worse than that of the Donner Party. Alma Katsu’s reimagining of this historic event adds a supernatural twist to this renowned tale.

6

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

By

Gail Honeyman

Read By

Cathleen McCarron

Unless your road trip is a one way thing, you’ll need something to entertain you both there and back. And that’s where Eleanor Oliphant comes in. This is very much a story of two diverging halves. So you can ride one direction with one mood and a totally different vibe the other.

7

Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits

By

David Wong

Read By

Christy Romano

Are you on the hunt for funny audiobooks for road trips? Look no further than the works of David Wong. Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits is the first in his Zoey Ashe series, set in a grim future where good and evil are tough to differentiate. It’s outrageous, fast paced and hilarious. What’s more the narration of Christy Romano is phenomenal.

8

Project Hail Mary

By

Andy Weir

Read By

Ray Porter

When it comes to the best audiobooks for road trips with friends, this is sure to be a bonding experience. With its insanely well crafted mix of apocalyptic stakes, quirky characters and irresistable humour, Project Hail Mary is guaranteed to get you to your destination with a smile.

Rest of the Best Road Trip Audiobooks

Bride
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Ali Hazelwood

Therese Plummer, Will Damron

Romantasy audio at its bloody best

The Minders
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

John Marrs

Katherine Press, Oliver J. Hembrough

A mind-tangling thrill ride

Fiction Land
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

R.R. Haywood

Gethin Anthony

Humour-Scifi Per-fiction

The Only One Left
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Riley Sager

Regina Reagan, Stephanie Cannon

A bit Shirley Jackson, a bit Downton Abbey

The Measure
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Nikki Erlick

Julia Whelan

A John-Marrs-esque Mind Treat

Mindbreaker
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Kate Dylan

High Tension YA Adventure

Homebodies
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Tembe Denton-Hurst

Marcella Cox

Powerful In Its Torpor - Bear With Me

The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Lionel Shriver

George Newbern

Staggeringly Smart Economic Horror Story

Weak Teeth
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Lynsey May

Scarlett Mack

Joyous: Left me utterly enamelled

The Hive
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

R. R. Haywood

Laura Aikman, Vikas Adam

Thoroughly DELIO-ightful

Mockingbird
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Walter Tevis

Robert Fass, Nicole Poole

An absorbing thought experiment

The Silence Project
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Carole Hailey

Juanita McMahon, Charlotte Worthing

This Mother-Daughter Dynamic Speaks Volumes

The Marriage Act
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

John Marrs

Clare Corbett, David Monteith, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, John Marrs, Joshua Riley, Nathalie Buscombe

A Brilliant Follow Up to The One

How To Sell A Haunted House
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Grady Hendrix

Mikhaila Aaseng and Jay Aaseng

A family drama crammed full of creepy? I’m SOLD

Becoming Ted
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Matt Cain

Samuel Barnett

A Big Scoop of Joy

Nether Regions
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Randal Graham

Raoul Bhaneja

Delightful Hilarity From Aristotle to Zeus

The Lesson
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Cadwell Turnbull

Janina Edwards, Ron Butler

Tender Portrait of a Community in Peril

Good Girl
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Anna Fitzpatrick

Mich Anger

I Love Lucy

Fairy Tale
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Stephen King

Seth Numrich, Stephen King

Epic Escapism With Audio to Match

Belladonna
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Adalyn Grace

Kristin Atherton

A Seductive Mystery, A Spellbinding Performance

Mindwalker
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Kate Dylan

Stephanie Cannon

Mind-Blowingly Good

Dead Moon
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Peter Clines

Ray Porter

Treat This as a Stand Alone Story

The Cabin in the Woods
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Sarah Alderson

Stephanie Cannon

Clutched My Pearls So Tight I’m Picking Em Up Off The Floor

My Best Friend's Exorcism
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Grady Hendrix

Emily Woo Zeller

Mean Girls x The Exorcist

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Juno Dawson

Nicola Coughlan

Officially Under HMRC’s Spell - Bring On Book 2!

One of the Girls
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Lucy Clarke

Natalie Simpson, Sofia Zervudachi

Intrigue and Frenemies and Secrets

The People We Hate at the Wedding
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Grant Ginder

Dan Bittner, Khristine Hvam

Salty and Bittersweet

Daisy Darker
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Alice Feeney

Stephanie Racine

Alice Feeney Is A Master of Twists…

Project Hail Mary
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Andy Weir

Ray Porter

LOVED The Martian. This Might Be Better.

The Haunted
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Bentley Little

Dan Butler

Classic Haunted House Done Well

The Handyman
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Bentley Little

Chris Andrew Ciulla

Chilling, Riveting, How Did I Miss This?

We Are Satellites
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Sarah Pinsker

Lyssa Browne

Gattaca Meets Age of Miracles

A Tidy Ending
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Joanna Cannon

Lissa Berry

This Year’s Eleanor Oliphant

Do No Harm
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Jack Jordan

Lucy Paterson, Sarah Feathers, Jane Collingwood

Tantalisingly Twisted Thriller

The Remaining
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

D. J. Molles

Christian Rummel

Morningstar Strain Meets The Martian

Existentially Challenged
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Yahtzee Croshaw

Yahtzee Croshaw

A Religious Experience

Nanny Needed
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Georgina Cross

Emma Ashton

Twisted Me Round Its Little Finger

214 Palmer Street
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Karen McQuestion

Stacey Glemboski

Refreshingly Different

Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Don Roff

Stephen R. Thorne

Loved the Found Footage (or Audio) Feel

My Dead World
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Jacqueline Druga

Vanessa Johansson

A Fantastic Find For A Zombista

Rock Paper Scissors
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Alice Feeney

Stephanie Racine, Richard Armitage

Thrilling and Creepy With A Killer Twist

The Maid
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Nita Prose

Lauren Ambrose

The Rosie Project Meets Murder Mystery

How High We Go in the Dark
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Sequoia Nagamatsu

Jason Culp, Stephanie Komure, Micky Shiloah, Joe Knezevich, Brianna Ishibashi, Kotaro Watanabe, Matthew Bridges, Kurt Kanazawa, Greg Watanabe, Jeanne Sakata, MacLeod Andrews, Keisuke Hoashi, Brian Nishii, Julia Whelan

High Praise for this Darkest of Tales

The Love of My Life
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Rosie Walsh

Imogen Church, Theo Solomon

Mystery + Love Story + Drama + Thriller = Mind Blown

See Jane Snap
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Bethany Crandell

Xe Sands

A Sweet, Sardonic, Fruit Throwing Frolic

The Marriage Secret
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Carey Baldwin

Stephanie Cannon

A Game and A Gambit Fit for a Queen

Deadly Little Lies
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Stephanie DeCarolis

Norma Butikofer

I Know What You Did Last Summer Meets Gossip Girl

The Plague Stones
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

James Brogden

Matthew Lloyd Davies

Awesomely Creepy

Just Another Liar
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Mandy Byatt

Melissa Woodbridge

Elements of John Marrs, Rachel Abbott and Adele Parks.

Plague of the Dead
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Z. A. Recht

Oliver Wyman

Classic pandemic flick Outbreak meets TV’s Fear the Walking Dead.

The Birthday Party
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Wendy Dranfield

Sarah Borges

Moriarty, Jewell and now Dranfield

The Midnight Library
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Matt Haig

Carey Mulligan

Mesmerising Story, Powerfully Delivered by Carey Mulligan and with a Kate Atkinson Feel

The Girl Upstairs
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Georgina Lees

Meg Travers

Utterly Engrossing Mystery

I'll Never Tell
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Casey Kelleher

Daphne Kouma

This. Gave. Me. Chills.

Close Your Eyes
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Rachel Abbott

Lisa Coleman

DCI Douglas As Gripping As Ever

Hide
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Nell Pattison

David Thorpe, Sherry Baines, Alex Wingfield, Nick Biadon, Clare-Louise English, Billy Ashcroft, Beth Eyre

Excellent, Especially the Characters

Rainwalkers
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Matt Ritter

Matt Ritter

Like Post Apocalyptic Adventure? Sinister Dystopias? A G Riddle? This is for you.

Touching Strangers
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Stacey Madden

Cherlanda Estrada and Nate Drury

A Satisfying Rummage Through Tangled Minds and Stories

The Extinction Trials
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

A.G. Riddle

John Skelley

Riddle Wraps A Mystery Inside An Enigma

The Secret Next Door
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Rebecca Taylor

Libby McKnight

Big Bad Lies

Brackish Waters
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Matt Boren

Christina Applegate

Bitterness Is Such Sweet Sarcasm

The House Children
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Heidi Daniele

Lauren Reilly

So Very Powerful and Endearing

You Again?
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Nick Spalding

Henrietta Meire, Will Watt

Pure Fun

The Unheard
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Nicci French

Olivia Vinall

Heard And Enjoyed

The Liar's Daughter
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Megan Cooley Peterson

Melissa Moran

This Felt Searingly Real

The Night She Disappeared
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Lisa Jewell

Joanne Froggatt

I “Dug It”…

Never Saw Me Coming
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Vera Kurian

Brittany Pressley

Aaaaaargh-mazing. Jon Ronson’s The Psychopath Test meets Alice Feeney’s Sometimes I Lie meets Scream (shout out 1996).

The Perfect Ruin
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Shanora Williams

Chante Ellison, Nola Vance

Rich Revenge

How to Kill Your Family
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Bella Mackie

Charly Clive, Paul Panting

A Compelling Seduction to The Dark Side

The Echo Chamber
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

John Boyne

Richard E. Grant

#loved #5stars #UstymKarmaliuk

New Teeth
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Simon Rich

Fred Berman

Braces yourself for a wild ride

Come With Me
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Ronald Malfi

Joe Hempel

A carefully crafted mystery with echoes of (and I don't bandy this about) Gone Girl

The Secrets of Strangers
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Charity Norman

Julie Maisey

One cup of Liane Moriarty, one cup Lisa Jewell and a dollop of K.L. Slater.

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Meg Elison

Angela Dawe

As powerful and Inspiring As The Handmaid's Tale

The Last Anniversary
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Liane Moriarty

Caroline Lee

Tangled webs as only Moriarty knows how.

The Night Sister
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Jennifer McMahon

Cassandra Campbell

Another gripping masterpiece by McMahon, only enhanced by Cassandra Campbell’s flawless narration.

Scythe
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Neal Shusterman

Greg Tremblay

An Ode To Death with Tones of The Hunger Games.

Brave New World
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Aldous Huxley

Michael York

A timeless piece about human nature versus nurture.

Poison Orchids
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Sarah A. Denzil, Anni Taylor

Aimee Horne

Kept Me Guessing To The End

World Departed
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Sarah Lyons Fleming

Roger Wayne, Teri Schnaubelt, Christian Barillas, Mia Gaskin

If Big Little Lies had zombies in it...

The Rosie Project
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Graeme Simsion

Dan O'Grady

Sweet, Uplifting Perfection

The Apocalypse Seven
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Gene Doucette

Erin Bennett, Kiff VandenHeuvel, Juliette Goglia, Zeno Robinson, Will Collyer, Grace Rolek, Farah Merani

Exceptional. Beautifully Written, Brilliantly Read. The TV show Lost, but with a proper ending.

World War Z
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Max Brooks

Christopher Ragland, Rupert Farley, Nigel Pilkington, Jennifer Woodward, David Thorpe, Adam Sims, Robert Slade

Zombie apocalypse perfection.

The Water Cure
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Sophie Mackintosh

Hannah Murray, Gemma Whelan, Morfydd Clark

A Sinister Story Cleverly Told

Come Back For Me
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Heidi Perks

Sally Scott, Nathalie Buscombe

Closets Open, Skeletons Everywhere.

All the Stars in the Sky
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Sarah Lyons Fleming

Julia Whelan

A perfect end to the perfect zombie series.

The End of the World Running Club
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Adrian J. Walker

Jot Davies

A funny, heartwarming take on the post-apocalypse.

A Long Way Down
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Nick Hornby

Scott Brick, Simon Vance, Kate Reading

Endearing, witty, an entertaining commentary on human nature.

Of Blood and Bone
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Nora Roberts

Julia Whelan

Enjoyable as a series ending, but not as edgy as the first book.

Instauration
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Sarah Lyons Fleming

Luke Daniels, Thérèse Plummer

Bittersweet - why did this brilliant series have to end?

The Undead Day One
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

R.R. Haywood

Dan Morgan

Walking Dead Meets Shaun of the Dead

Cage of Souls
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Adrian Tchaikovsky

David Thorpe

Imagine Mark and Jez of Peep Show living their best/worst lives in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic hellscape with monsters and mutants. That just about covers it...

11.22.63
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Stephen King

Craig Wasson

If Stephen King Wrote Back To The Future... Oh, Wait.

Gray: Part I
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Lou Cadle

Lauren Fortgang

Dark, gloomy but compelling. A little bit The Road, a little bit Wool.

Life As We Knew It
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Susan Beth Pfeffer

Emily Bauer

Sweet Coming of Age Apocalypse

Bricking It
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Nick Spalding

Napoleon Ryan, Heather Wilds

Think Homes Under The Hammer interpreted as an awfully British comedy. Maybe performed by the cast of Outnumbered or Teachers.

Swan Song
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Robert R. McCammon

Tom Stechschulte

A gripping page turner. Similar to King's The Stand.

Mockingjay
average rating is 5 out of 5

By

Read By

Suzanne Collins

Carolyn McCormick

The darkest of the trilogy

Quite Ugly One Morning
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Christopher Brookmyre

David Tennant

Witty, gritty, dark and entertaining. If a cosy mystery got thrown in a blender with the works of David Wong. In Scotland.

Fat Chance
average rating is 4 out of 5

By

Read By

Nick Spalding

Heather Wilds, Napoleon Ryan

Big Fat Fun - Great For Fans of Nick Hornby and Mike Gayle.

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