What a Griffin Reads and Watches : My Favorite Audiobooks/ AudioFile's 2017 Best Lists

🎧 My Favorite Audiobooks 📚

For quite some time, I have been wanting to make a list of some of my favorite audiobooks. I decided that this would be the perfect time after such a great year of them. Below I have listed my top ten favorite audiobooks of all time. These are in no particular order. Then below that, I have two of the lists from AudioFile's 2017 Best Audiobooks.

🎄 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (both audiobook editions read by the author and the other read by Stephen Fry.): This is one of my favorite books and this is my favorite audiobook of all time. I have listened to both versions and I will say I love both. The narrations are amazing. Both Douglas Adams and Stephen Fry had a way of narrating these books that brings out the humor every time you listen to them. I love the dry wit in this book and their dry way of delivering the narration is the best.

☃️ The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell (read by David Tennant): David Tennant is an actor that I have always loved. I love the characters that he can create. Each character that he narrates in this wonderful book, is brought to life in a way that I cannot get enough of. This has now become a series that I cannot wait to get more of the books from. I will definitely be listening to the other audiobooks that he narrates.

🎄 Struck by Lightning by Chris Colfer (read by the author): I'm a big fan of all of Chris Colfer's book and also his audiobooks. I'm a big fan of when authors read their audiobooks and his are just very good. I love the little voices that he makes. What is really is great about an author reading their own book is that they know their characters so well and the scenes so well. His Land of Stories series are also very good. I recommend any of his books.

☃️The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (read by Mark Hamill): Mark Hamill is known for his voice acting and is just one of my absolute favorite audiobook narrators.

🎄 Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher (read by the author): Carrie Fisher's memoirs are some of my favorites. I have loved her since I first saw Star Wars when I was around 5 or six. This is my favorite of her memoirs that I have read or listened to. Having her read her own memoir is probably the best part of listening to this. Like I have said and will continue to say, I love when authors read their books. This is about her family and Star Wars and it's just incredible. I will be reading/ listening to this on December 27th in honor of Carrie.

☃️ Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (The BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation): This is a dramatization of the novel that features a full-cast. This was a wonderful production that I thoroughly got engrossed in. I'll have to check out some more of the BBC Radio Dramatisations because they are pretty incredible. It's like listening to a play but in audio format. Pretty incredible.

🎄 Neil Gaiman's Stardust (read by the author): Neil Gaiman's audiobooks are some of the best. His voice is so soothing and just adds to the experience of reading his books. I fell in love with this book four years ago and the audiobook three years ago. It's beautiful.

☃️ The Odyssey by Homer (read by John Lee): Never thought that I would love a version of this better than the Robert Fagles translation from the Penguin Classic Deluxe Edition, but I really adore this narration. I listened to this in a few days because I just fell in love with it. The Odyssey is one of my top favorite classics and I cannot get enough of this. The next time I decide to read this I'll definitely listen to this edition. It's the best.

🎄 Mort by Terry Pratchett (read by Nigel Planer): Nigel reads a good amount of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. This is the first one that I have listened to his narration and I fell in love with it. He's definitely my favorite of the narrators for the series so far and cannot wait to hear his rendition of Hogfather when I get to it this month.

☃️ The Amazing Book is Not On Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester (read by the authors): Dan and Phil are my favorite YouTubers and this audiobook was just as great as their videos. I loved listening to them read this book. Great production.

AudioFile's Best Audiobooks of 2017

For the last two months, I have been working with the magazine AudioFile reviewing at least two audiobooks for their online and print magazine. Before I started working for them, I really liked looking at their website for reviews. Their reviews are short and concise at 110-125 words.

For December, they picked a list of the best audiobooks in nine different genres, Young Adult, Children's & Family Listening, Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Biography & History, Memoir, and Nonfiction & Culture. I was asked if I would like to share any of the lists on my blog and I said yes right away. The lists I chose were Young Adult and Children's & Family Listening. Below I have provided the lists, reviews that various reviewers on their website have written, SoundCloud sound clips for some of the audiobooks, and interviews with some of the narrators for the books.

If you would like to find more audiobooks to listen to, I'd recommend looking at these lists and listening to previews of the ones that interest you. I know I want to pick up many of these books/ audiobooks after looking at them myself.

Here is a link to their AudioFile Ezine if you would like to check out audiobooks from the other categories.

AudioFile's 2017 Best Young Adult Audiobooks

🎄 American Street by Ibi Zoboi, read by Robin Miles
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/123267/

☃️ The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman, read by Michael Sheen

Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/129077/

SoundCloud sound clip: https://soundcloud.com/audiofilemagazine/the-book-of-dust-la-belle-sauvage

🎄 The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, read by Christian Coulson

Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/129231/

SoundCloud sound clip: https://soundcloud.com/audiofilemagazine/the-gentlemans-guide-to-vice-and-virtue

☃️ The Go-Between by Veronica Chambers, read by Karla Souza
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/124723/

🎄 The Gold-Son by Carrie Anne Noble, read by Gerard Doyle
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/128854/

☃️ Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner, read by Michael Crouch
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/124495/

🎄 The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, read by Bahni Turpin

Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/123306/

SoundCloud sound clip: https://soundcloud.com/audiofilemagazine/the-hate-u-give

☃️ Honestly Ben by Bill Konigsberg, read by Dan Bittner
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/128289/
Exclusive Narrator Video- Dan Bittner: https://youtu.be/B6N9RXXD0ss

🎄 The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz, read by Robbie Daymond
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/124496/

☃️ Landscape with Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson, read by M.T. Anderson
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/131036/

🎄 Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, read by Jason Reynolds
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/131274/

☃️ Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist, read by Pat Young
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/118409/

🎄 Nyxia by Scott Reintgen, read by Sullivan Jone and Dominic Hoffman
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/131473/

☃️ The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein, read by Maggie Service
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/128924/

🎄 Solo by Kwame Alexandar and Mary Rand Hess, read by Kyame Alexander
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/130144/

☃️ Turtles All the Way Down by John Green, read by Kate Rudd
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/131416/

Exclusive Narrator Video- Kate Rudd: https://youtu.be/u3LExCsaQZY

AudioFile's 2017 Best Children & Family Listening

🎄 The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya, read by Pablo Cartaya

Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/127848/

SoundCloud sound clip: https://soundcloud.com/audiofilemagazine/the-epic-fail-of-arturo-zamora

☃️ The Ethan I was Before by Ali Standish, read by Kirby Heyborne
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/123290/

Exclusive Narrator Video- Kirby Heyborne: https://youtu.be/MY_OurTUDZE

🎄 Flying Lessons & Other Stories by Ellen Oh [Ed.], read by Dion Graham, Samantha Quan, Meg Medina, Julia Whelan, Adam Lazaree-White, Tim Tingle, Abigail Revasch, Sunil Malhotra, Kwame Alexander, and Dominic- Hoffman
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/122310/

Exclusive Narrator Video- Dion Graham (of one of the stories): https://youtu.be/cb50lSS9T0Y

☃️ Freedom Over Me by Ashley Bryan, read by Patricia R. Floyd, Kevin R. Free, and Jenny Sterlin
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/130159/

🎄 Friendshape by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, read by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Kate & Lily Weyant, Quin A. Seaman, and Ryan Cassel
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/127084/

☃️ Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly, read by Ramon de Ocampo and Amielynn Abellera
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/124521/

Exclusive Narrator Video- Ramon De Ocampo: https://youtu.be/Uo0bZLOu9a4

🎄 I'm New Here by Anne Sibley O'Brien, read by Frankie Corzo, Ariana Delawari, Ramon De Ocampo, Ruth Livier, Anne Sibley O'Brien [Note]
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/119006/

Exclusive Narrator Video- Ramon De Ocampo: https://youtu.be/qNzK8dWy8Z4

☃️ In the Shadow of the Sun by Anne Sibley O'Brien, read by Jackie Chung
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/128819/

🎄 My Brigadista Year by Katherine Paterson, read by Frankie Corzo
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/131602/

☃️ The Playbook by Kwame Alexander, read by Ruffin Prentiss III
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/123599/

🎄 A Poem for Peter by Andrea Davis Pinkney, read by Channie Waites
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/130160/

☃️ See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng, read by Kivlighan de Montebello, Brittany Pressley, Graham Halstead, Michael Crouch, Jason Culp, and a Full Cast

Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/123866/

🎄 She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton, read by Chelsea Clinton
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/129008/

☃️ The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan, read by Michael Crouch
Review on Audiofile Website: http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/134080/

🎄 Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews, read by Dion Graham