Best Audiobooks of 2007

By Ann Burns -- Library Journal, 1/15/2008

Heard any good books lately? Apparently, lots of people are listening. According to a survey conducted by the Audio Publishers Association, annual audiobook sales are now estimated at $923 million. Customers find books at libraries, retail stores, and through downloading, which is becoming the fastest-growing audiobook format. This year's "best" list includes titles by the late sf author Octavia Butler, best-selling authors Khaled Hosseini and Nora Roberts, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, and Good Morning America coanchor Robin Roberts. We owe a debt of gratitude to our team of reviewers, whose assessments are quoted below, for assisting us in compiling this annual roundup.

Fiction
Bohjalian, Chris. The Double Bind. Books on Tape. 9 CDs. 11½ hrs. ISBN 978-1-4159-3579-8. $110.
Taking a page from F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby, Bohjalian (Midwives, Before You Know Kindness) focuses on a young social worker employed at a homeless shelter and her quest to discover the truth in a dead client's box of old photos. Susan Denaker reads this compelling mystery, which crosses time and geography with "great sensitivity." (LJ 9/1/07)

Butler, Octavia E. Fledgling. Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America. 9 CDs. 12 hrs. ISBN 978-0-7927-4671-3. $94.95.
Narrated well by Tracey Leigh, this final sf novel from Nebula Award winner Butler is about a genetically altered vampire who can tolerate some daylight and transmits longevity to the human whose blood she needs to survive. Set in a remote area north of Seattle, this work is "enticingly revealed." (LJ 5/1/07)

Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. Recorded Bks. 11 CDs. 12 hrs. ISBN 978-1-4281-4278-7. $123.75; 11 cassettes. ISBN 978-1-4281-4276-3. $113.75.
The second novel by the best-selling author is a poignant tale of rivalry, danger, sacrifice, and love, as two women are brought together in war-torn Afghanistan. Atossa Leoni does a masterly job, transporting the listener into an "unblinking world." (LJ 11/15/07)

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Morgan, Richard K. Thirteen. Tantor Audio. 18 CDs. 23 hrs. ISBN 978-1-4001-0431-4. $59.99.
"Simon Vance's British accent lends a wearied patina to Carl," the bounty hunter in Morgan's novel about genetically engineered Alpha males bred by the military to be "perfect" soldiers. The author's characters are "archetypes, insightfully constructed and incisively drawn." (LJ 10/15/07)

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Patterson, James & Michael Ledwidge. The Quickie. Books on Tape. 5 CDs. 6 hrs. ISBN 978-1-4159-4204-8. $60.
A one-night stand leads to a deadly series of cover-ups, lies, and deceptions in Patterson's latest thriller. Actress Mary Stuart Masterson "skillfully keeps the suspense moving, giving each character a distinct personality and helping listeners overcome the occasional florid prose...." (LJ 10/1/07)

Phillips, Susan Elizabeth. Natural Born Charmer. HarperAudio. 10 CDs. 12 hrs. ISBN 978-0-06-122719-6. $39.95.
"Anna Fields ignites the snappy dialog and animates the quirky characters" in this contemporary romance focusing on football star Dean Robillard and his pursuit of artist Blue Bailey. It's a book "meant to be heard to appreciate fully both the humor and the redemption." (LJ 4/15/07)

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Pronzini, Bill. Savages. Sound Library: BBC Audiobooks America. 6 CDs. 7 hrs. ISBN 978-0-7927-4857-1. $64.95.
The inimitable Nameless detective is back: this time a former client asks him to investigate the death of her sister, who might have been killed by her husband. Veteran Nameless narrator Nick Sullivan knows Pronzini so well that his reading is "free of artifice and overflows with the author's nuances and emotions." (LJ 9/15/07)

Roberts, Nora. High Noon. Brilliance Audio. 14 CDs. 16 hrs. ISBN 978-1-4233-3730-0. $122.25.
Susan Ericksen "wrings tears and laughter and incites anger and fear all with impressive ease" in Roberts's latest romantic suspense featuring hostage negotiator Phoebe MacNamara and Duncan Swift, whose growing relationship is threatened by a stalker. A blockbuster, amplified by Ericksen's "spot-on" narration. (LJ 11/1/07)

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Silva, Daniel. The Secret Servant. Brilliance Audio. 11 CDs. 12 hrs. ISBN 978-1-59600-036-0. $107.25; 9 cassettes. ISBN 978-1-59600-033-9. $92.25; 1 MP3-CD. ISBN 978-1-59335-787-0. $39.25.
In this "exceptional" follow-up to The Messenger, Gabriel Allon is back, assigned to review the files of a dead terrorism analyst in Amsterdam. Soon he's enmeshed in the world of radical Islam, a terrorist attack in London, and the kidnapping of the daughter of the U.S. ambassador to the UK. Phil Gigante's narration is "superb." (LJ 11/15/07)

Smith, Alexander McCall. The Careful Use of Compliments. Recorded Bks. 7 CDs. 8 hrs. ISBN 978-1-4281-5530-5. $77.75; 7 cassettes. ISBN 978-1-4281-5528-2. $67.75.
"Davina Porter brings just the right amount of emotional involvement to her narration" of Smith's fourth Isabel Dalhousie novel, the "best so far." In this tale with a mystery subplot, Isabel is adjusting to parenthood while struggling with her housekeeper, niece, and those who want to oust her as editor of Review of Applied Ethics. (LJ 12/07)

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Nonfiction
Beston, Henry. The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod. Silver Hollow Audio. 5 CDs. 5 hrs. ISBN 978-0-9793115-0-5. $29.95.
Beston chronicles his yearlong stay on the sand dunes of Cape Cod, watching migrant birds and paying attention to colors in the waves, the sky, and the vegetation. "Brett Barry's narration is ideally suited" to the work. "Daniel Payne's interview with the author...enhances the book's message." (LJ 10/1/07)

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Frank, Robert. Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich. Tantor Audio. 6 CDs. 7½ hrs. ISBN 978-1-4001-0445-1. $29.99.
Dick Hill's "lively narration...helps maintain interest throughout" this book that focuses on the lifestyles of American millionaires. Drawing on his Wall Street Journal column "The Wealth Report," Frank analyzes investing patterns, charitable giving, luxury purchases, and much more. "An important contribution to the fields of economics and demography." (LJ 12/07)

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Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. Finding Oprah's Roots: Finding Your Own. Books on Tape. 5 CDs. 5¼ hrs. ISBN 978-1-4159-3914-7. $50.
In this genealogical guide, a companion to a PBS documentary, Harvard professor Gates, using Oprah Winfrey and her ancestors as an example, provides African Americans with "a solid framework" for searching their roots. He stresses how important it is to gather and confirm "as much oral history as one can." Narrator Dominic Hoffman "executes this gem of a book with a comfortable and polished delivery." (LJ 11/1/07)

Geist, Bill. Way Off the Road: Discovering the Peculiar Charms of Small-Town America. Tantor Audio. 6 CDs. 7 hrs. ISBN 978-1-4001-0467-3. $29.99.
CBS News correspondent Geist travels around the country showing weird, wild, and wonderful people on his Sunday Morning segments. Here, he presents humorous stories of the people he's met on his many years on the road, those who have "taken lemons and made some mighty sweet lemonade." (LJ 10/15/07)

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Offley, Ed. Scorpion Down: Sunk by the Soviets, Buried by the Pentagon; The Untold Story of the USS Scorpion. HighBridge Audio. 12 CDs. 15 hrs. ISBN 978-1-59887-093-0. $39.95.
Richard Ferrone's "gravelly voice fairly crackles with intensity" throughout this account of the 1968 sinking of the USS Scorpion, which journalist Offley believes was deliberate owing to Cold War tensions between the United States and the then Soviet Union. "First class." (LJ 9/15/07)

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Pagels, Elaine & Karen L. King. Reading Judas: The Gospel of Jesus and the Shaping of Christianity. Penguin Audio. 3 CDs. 4 hrs. ISBN 978-0-14-314186-0. $29.95
Noted religion scholars Pagels and King present a "fascinating" study of good vs. evil, of "how Christianity evolved, and the complex nature of human suffering and redemption," based on King's translation of the Gnostic gospel. "The reading by Justine Eyre and Robertson Dean provides an excellent point-counterpoint approach...." (LJ 8/07)

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Pond, Jonathan D. You Can Do It: The Boomer's Guide to a Great Retirement. HarperAudio. 5 CDs. 6 hrs. ISBN 978-0-06-114983-2. $29.95.
Emmy Award—winning contributing writer to a series on financial planning, Pond "presents a refreshing approach to retirement planning" for aging baby boomers, eschewing the "alarmist, gloom-and-doom perspective." (LJ 6/1/07)

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A Roberts, Robin. From the Heart: Seven Rules To Live By. Hyperion Audiobks. 2 CDs. 2½ hrs. ISBN 978-1-4013-8727-3. $19.98.
Good Morning America coanchor Roberts, recently diagnosed with breast cancer, "reflects on Hurricane Katrina," "her 15 years at ESPN," and "her faith," among other topics, in this book packed with valuable wisdom. A "moving program," with "musical interludes and the author's lively presentation." (LJ 12/07)

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Tapscott, Don & Anthony D. Williams. Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. Tantor Audio. 11 CDs. 13½ hrs. ISBN 978-1-4001-0415-4. $37.99.
"Alan Sklar's rich...narration" keeps listeners interested in this "fascinating analysis of the quickly changing world of Internet togetherness...and what those changes mean for business and technology." (LJ 9/15/07)

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Woodruff, Lee & Bob Woodruff. In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing. Recorded Bks. 8 cassettes. 9¾ hrs. ISBN 978-1-4281-5761-3. $72.75; 8 CDs. ISBN 978-1-4281-5763-7. $92.75.
ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff was embedded with the military in Iraq in 2006 when he suffered a head injury after being hit with an explosive device. "This powerful dual memoir" by Bob and his wife, Lee, "is an inspiring story" of love and courage. Their narration "enhances the listening experience and brings an added poignancy to the events they describe." (LJ 10/15/07)

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