The Best Audiobooks of 2023

Each month, for your literary listening pleasure, our friends at AudioFile Magazine bring us the cream of the audiobook crop.

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FICTION

AudioFile’s 2023 Best Fiction Audiobooks include beautifully written stories, performed by talented narrators. These narrators’ voices bring already breathtaking stories to even greater heights, helping listeners connect through the power of spoken word.

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah| Read by Shayna Small, Aaron Goodson, Michael Crouch, Lee Osorio

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Random House Audio | 13.75 hrs.]

This thought-provoking audiobook, primarily narrated by Shayna Small, imagines an America in which convicted murderers duel to the death in a wildly popular televised sport. A stunning ensemble performance that asks listeners to consider the American prison system and how it tolerates actions akin to slavery and torture.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride| Read by Dominic Hoffman

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Penguin Audio | 12.5 hrs.]

Dominic Hoffman fully inhabits the characters in McBride’s fresh, vital, beautifully written historical novel, resulting in a deeply immersive listening experience.

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai| Read by Julia Whelan, JD Jackson

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Penguin Audio | 14 hrs.]

Julia Whelan’s performance is so consistently gripping that listeners may attempt to finish this entire audiobook in a single sitting. Whelan deftly navigates the cast of characters and JD Jackson shines in a pivotal cameo that is essential to the story and a bonus for audiobook fans.

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor| Read by Kevin R. Free

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Penguin Audio | 9.25 hrs.]

Kevin R. Free delivers a dazzling performance of a novel that centers around contemporary artists living in Iowa City. Free’s narration moves among the viewpoints of the main characters with ease, expressing every inch of their humanity and capturing their inner lives.

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett| Read by Meryl Streep

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 11.5 hrs.]

Meryl’s Streep’s captivating performance of Patchett’s novel transforms the fine book into a must-listen. Instead of character voices, Streep shifts rhythm and tone to reveal personalities. She speaks with warmth, savoring along with us the novel’s many lessons and satisfactions.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang| Read by Helen Laser

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 8.75 hrs.]

Helen Laser gives a mesmerizing performance in Kuang’s poignant novel about race, censorship, and the capriciousness of social media. A riveting production of a thrilling story.

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NONFICTION & HISTORY

AudioFile’s 2023 Best Nonfiction & Culture Audiobooks will have you traveling the high seas, taking a deeper look into how our past influences our present, re-examining your relationship with the world around you—all with the help of audiobooks that are brought to life by outstanding narrators.

Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America by Steve Inskeep| Read by Steve Inskeep

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Penguin Audio | 9 hrs.]

Steve Inskeep, of NPR, performs this compelling listen with the practiced cadence and authoritative tone of a polished broadcaster. The politics of today are illuminated in this fine, deftly narrated work.

Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things by Dan Ariely| Read by Simon Jones

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 10 hrs.]

Narrating this chatty and informative audiobook, Simon Jones delivers a flawless performance full of lively interpretations and emotional resonance. The acclaimed British actor is enormously entertaining but never steals the spotlight from Ariely’s fascinating insights about conspiracy believers.

Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond| Read by Dion Graham

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Random House Audio | 5.75 hrs.]

Dion Graham, master of nonfiction narration, sets off quotations flawlessly, brings exquisite emotion to the text and varies his pacing to complement the flow of Matthew Desmond’s writing. As in their previous pairing (Evicted, 2016), Graham performs with energy and intensity, matching Desmond’s outrage.

Tabula Rasa by John McPhee| Read by Grover Gardner

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Recorded Books | 6 hrs.]

This interesting and engaging audio collection of essays and sketches by John McPhee and narrated by Grover Gardner is a marriage of good storytellers. Gardner carries the work along with an even pace and pleasant voice.

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann| Read by Dion Graham

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Random House Audio | 8.5 hrs.]

Dion Graham commands the listener’s attention with this true story of HMS Wager, an English warship that sailed in the 1740s. Graham delivers the nautical adventures with a mesmerizing cadence and impeccable timing.

Wasteland: The Secret World of Waste and the Urgent Search for a Cleaner Future by Oliver Franklin-Wallis| Read by Chris Harper

AudioFile Earphones Award
[Hachette Audio | 11 hrs.]

Chris Harper captures Franklin-Wallis’s urgent call for change in this chilling audiobook about waste around the globe. The author’s combined journalistic and personal approach is aided by Harper’s British coolness.

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For the full list of 2023’s Best Audiobooks, visit AudioFile’s website.