Planning to get outside, take a walk and maybe even explore nature? Here are five audiobooks that are perfect to listen to while in the great outdoors. Watch my book talk while enjoying the scenery of a recent walk I took, and then scroll down to check out these books for yourself.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Genres: Autobiography, Nonfiction, Travel literature
Synopsis: “At 22 years old, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State — and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than “an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise.” But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.”
Where Can I Find It? On our shelves (including the movie), OverDrive and Axis 360
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian Fiction, Science Fiction
Part of a Series?: Yes, Catching Fire and Mockingjay are sequels; The Balled of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel.
Synopsis: “In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition putting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, 16-year-old Katniss’ skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place.”
Where Can I Find It? On our shelves (including the movies), OverDrive and Axis 360
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Genres: Young Adult Fiction
Part of a Series?: No
Synopsis: “Alix Chamberlain has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night while walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store’s security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping 2-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right, but Emira is aimless, broke and wary of Alix’s desire to help. At 25, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix’s past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.”
Where Can I Find It? On our shelves, OverDrive and Axis 360
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
Genres: Autobiography, Adult Nonfiction, True Crime
Part of a Series?: No
Synopsis: “For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area. Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, was determined to find the violent psychopath she called ‘the Golden State Killer.”
Where Can I Find It? On our shelves, OverDrive, Axis 360 and hoopla
Fun Fact: This is our Online Book Club’s next pick! Join now—the new session starts July 20!
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Genres: Fiction
Part of a Series?: No
Synopsis: “A curmudgeon hides a terrible personal loss beneath a cranky and short-tempered exterior while clashing with new neighbors, a boisterous family whose chattiness and habits lead to unexpected friendship.”
Where Can I Find It? On our shelves (including the movie), OverDrive and Axis 360. You can also stream the movie on hoopla and Kanopy.