Do you feel that listening to books instead of reading them is somehow cheating? Put that fear to rest. While no in-depth, far-reaching studies exist comparing reading books for pleasure to listening to them, the evidence thus far indicates that there is not much difference between the two in terms of retention of the story.

My favorite part about listening to books is that I can do other things at the same time. I enjoy audiobooks pretty much anytime I am in the car… without other humans that is. When my dogs are with me I get the feeling that they prefer listening to books instead of music, too. I listen to books when I’m doing fun stuff like painting, sewing, or quilting, and even less fun stuff like mowing the lawn is slightly more bearable with a good book playing in your ears.

Good narrators are key to having a good audiobook experience. The Audies are the Oscars of audio narration and there are plenty of great narrators out there. Here is a list of some of the best narrators around with some of the works they have recorded:

Scott Brick: Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick (Available on CD, OverDrive)
Orlagh Cassidy: Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (CD, OverDrive)
Jayne Entwistle: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (CD, OverDrive)
Robin Miles: The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin (OverDrive)
Julia Whelan: Speak No Evil: A Novel by Uzodinma Iweala (OverDrive)
Jim Frangione: Dog on It by Spencer Quinn (OverDrive)
Davina Porter: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (CD)
Bahni Turpin: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (CD, OverDrive)
Simon Vance: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik (OverDrive)
John Lee: The Bat by Jo Nesbø (CD, OverDrive)

Want to know who narrated something you listened to? Use the “Catalog Record” tab in the entry for that particular title on CD and scroll down until you see the entry for "Performed by". For audiobooks in Overdrive and Hoopla, click on the title or the cover, the narrator's name is listed just under the authors. In RBDigital, you can find the performers information under the “Details” label. Ask a librarian for help finding more by your favorite narrators!