As the world hunkers down (and indulges in newfound free time), there has never been a greater need for books—and audiobooks at that. Some of the greatest actors of our time—Meryl Streep, Laura Linney—have lent their voices to combine reading and performance.
Here, we offer a list of 12 suggestions of the best audiobooks from Penguin Random House Audio for every type of reader. Now is the time to be curious and to fill our lives with stories. Which will you choose?
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes
Read by: The 2019 Broadway revival cast (including Tony winner Andrew Garfield, Tony winner Nathan Lane, Susan Brown, Denise Gough, Beth Malone, James McArdle, Lee Pace, and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), with narration by Bobby Cannavale and Edie Falco
The Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning epic by Tony Kushner plays in two thrilling parts: Millenium Approaches and Perestroika. The play is the dramatic investigation of identity, democracy, justice, and redemption at the height of the AIDS crisis during the Reagan administration. When Prior Walter contracts the illness, his partner Louis can’t handle it. He seeks solace in closeted Joe Pitt, whose wife Harper withers in her loveless marriage. Belize is a nurse who cares for affected patients like his friend Prior and the controversial Roy Cohn. Published to celebrate the Broadway revival, this is a unique opportunity to hear one of the most honored and timeless plays in American history.
Download the audiobook here.
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My Name Is Lucy Barton (Dramatic Production)
Read by: Laura Linney
Based on the novel by Elizabeth Strout, Linney brought the character of Lucy Barton to life first in London and then on Broadway earlier this year in an adaptation by Rona Munro. A powerful solo play about the complexities between mothers and daughters, Linney recreates her performance for this audiobook of the acclaimed stage production.
Download the audiobook here.
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David Dean Bottrell Makes Love: A One-Man Show
Read by: David Dean Bottrell
In this hilarious solo turn, the writer-performer brings an audiobook/live performance hybrid to the airwaves with a recording that mixes clips from his lauded live solo show and in-studio recordings. As Bottrell examines how love and sex (or the lack thereof) have affected the course of his life from age five to the present, he’ll have you in stitches one moment and in quiet pensiveness the next.
Download the audiobook here.
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Charlotte's Web
Read by: Meryl Streep and a full cast of characters, including January LaVoy, Kirby Heyborne, MacLeod Andrews, Emily Rankin, Kimberly Farr, Mark Deakins, Lincoln Hoppe, Tavia Gilbert, Robin Miles, Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell, with a foreword by Melissa Sweet
The classic children’s book by E.B. White receives a fresh infusion of charm in this heartwarming read. Narrated by Meryl Streep, feel the nostalgia (or enjoy with your family) as you listen to the story of the pig Wilbur who is saved from a bacon fate when a barn spider named Charlotte decides to weave messages like “Some Pig,“ ”Humble,” “Radiant” into her web to broadcast his value. A timeless and touching story of friendship, hear it today.
Download the audiobook here.
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Too Much Is Not Enough
Read by: Andrew Rannells
The Tony nominee-turned-author gets real about his struggles to make it in show business in this powerful memoir. Rannells, who seemingly “burst” onto the scene as Elder Price in the smash musical The Book of Mormon, reveals the challenges he encountered in his teens and then for years in New York before booking his first Broadway gig—let alone Mormon. Here, the actor now famous for Falsettos, television’s Girls, and more, narrates his coming-of-age memoir as an inspiration to those fighting their way to success.
Download the audiobook here.
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The Hiding Place
Read by: Richard Armitage
Calling lovers of psychological thrillers! You won’t be able to stop listening to this novel from C.J. Tudor, author of The Chalk Man. Joe left Arnhill after things ended “with his old gang—the betrayal, the suicide—and what happened when his sister went missing.” But when he receives a mysterious email claiming to know what happened to his sister and a warning that it was happening again, Joe has no choice but to return home. Still, the worst day for Joe isn’t when his sister disappeared; it’s when she came back. With the indelible voice of Armitage (The Hobbit trilogy, Hannibal TV) series) get ready for a wild ride.
Download the audiobook here.
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FIND MORE TITLES: 10 More Audiobooks Read by Award-Winning Broadway Performers
Daisy Jones & the Six
Read by: Judy Greer, Pablo Schreiber, Jennifer Beals, and Benjamin Bratt
A Reese’s Book Club and Hello Sunshine book pick (soon to be made into an Amazon series), the novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid comes to life through this star-studded cast. It’s the ’60s and Daisy Jones (Beals) is soaking up all the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll L.A. has to offer. Soon enough, her own voice gets noticed and she goes from groupie to soloist. The band The Six is also making waves, and when a producer gets the idea to combine the two he forms one of the most iconic bands of the ’70s. Told as a compelling oral history of the fictional band, it will feel oh so real.
Download the audiobook here.
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The Phantom Tollbooth
Read by: Rainn Wilson
Only the greatest young reader’s book ever written (some say), The Phantom Tollbooth follows Milo in an Alice in Wonderland-type adventure to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason and restore order to the Lands Beyond. His travels take him through Dictionopolis and Digitopolis, the Island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), as well as the demon-infested Mountains of Ignorance. Perfect for listeners of any age, the star of The Office brings his singular take to the Norton Juster classic.
Download the audiobook here.
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The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
Read by: Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally
Since the husband-and-wife duo wrote the tale of their romance through conversations and pillowtalk, it only makes sense to hear the story in their own voices. With stories about the moment they met (a beautiful actor playing the leading lady spots the unassuming show carpenter across a crowded room) and to the values they’ve cultivated, Mullally, best known as Will & Grace’s Karen Walker, and Offerman, best known as Parks & Recreation’s Ron Swanson, inspire as much as they entertain.
Download the audiobook here.
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The Prom
Read by: Original Broadway cast members Caitlin Kinnunen, Isabelle McCalla, Beth Leavel, and Joshua Lamon, and Tara Sands
Based on the Broadway show of the same name, the stage musical became a young adult novel by Saundra Mitchell! Now, readers can get the best of all words: by listening to the novel as read by the stage stars. Emma is just an Indiana teen who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom. Dee Dee Allen and Barry Glickman are just egotistical Broadway stars whose show closed on opening night and need to rehabilitate their images. When Dee Dee, Barry, and their friends Angie and Trent read about Emma, they decide to take up her cause and become celebrity activists; but what everyone finds is so much more. A story of acceptance, friendship, and community, The Prom is a source of laughs and comfort. Plus, this audibook includes an interview with creators Chad Beguelin (book and lyrics), Bob Martin (book), and Matthew Sklar (music) led by Lamon.
Download the audiobook here.
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Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Read by: Eric Idle
Eric Idle, founding member of Monty Python and two-time Tony-nominated book writer and composer-lyricist of Broadway’s Spamalot, reads his own brilliant memoir. From his childhood in a proper boarding school through his successful career in comedy, television, theatre, and film, Idle shares behind-the-scenes stories from his friendships with Mike Nichols, Mick Jagger, Steve Martin, Paul Simon, Lorne Michaels, and many more, as well as the Pythons themselves. Insider scoop + Python humor = must-listen.
Download the audiobook here.
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The Order of Time
Read by: Benedict Cumberbatch
Who better to read a book about time than Dr. Strange, himself? Named one of TIME’s 10 Best Nonfictions Books of the Decade, Carlo Rovelli’s tome is an eloquent exploration of time, pondering, “Why do we remember the past and not the future? What does it mean for time to 'flow'? Do we exist in time or does time exist in us?” In poetic yet accessible prose, Rovelli invites listeners to consider questions about the nature of time that still puzzle scientists and theorists alike.
Download the audiobook here.
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