We are proud to have many titles this year named as some of AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of 2011!

Fiction and Classics

STATE OF WONDER Ann Patchett
Read by Hope Davis (Harper Audio/Recorded Books)
“The audiobook equivalent of “couldn’t put it down” must be “couldn’t pause it.” There was little pause time during this reviewer’s amazing experience of Patchett’s new novel. Hope Davis astutely paces the suspenseful odyssey from a sedate Minnesota pharmaceutical lab to the darkest Amazonian jungle.”

Mystery and Suspense

BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP S.J. Watson
Read by Orlagh Cassidy (Harper Audio/Recorded Books)
“Cassidy draws listeners into the shadowy depths of Christine’s increasing fear each time a snatch of memory returns. This novel will haunt listeners, and Cassidy’s narration is top-notch.”

PIRATE KING Laurie R. King
Read by Jenny Sterlin (Recorded Books)
“Sterlin’s intelligent performance keeps Laurie R. King’s delightful descriptions, breakneck action, and appealing characters humorous and captivating.”

Nonfiction and Culture

BOOMERANG Michael Lewis
Read by Dylan Baker (Simon & Schuster Audio/Recorded Books)
“Baker’s voice reflects Michael Lewis’s bemused realization that many of these cultures and individuals had no idea of the manipulative power of the global financial industry. If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry.”

Biography and History

THE GREATER JOURNEY David McCullough
Read by Edward Herrmann (Simon & Schuster Audio/Recorded Books)
“Edward Herrmann’s sterling voice is compatible with McCullough’s familiar syntax and manner of inflection, and conveys the distinctive character and mood of his prose … This is popular history at its best and is certain to become one of this year’s most prestigious audio releases.”

Young Adult and Fantasy

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES Deborah Harkness
Read by Jennifer Ikeda (Penguin Audio/Recorded Books)
“[Jennifer Ikeda's] narration is quietly charming. Often her voice holds a hushed rapture that reflects the magical world uncovered by Diana and Matthew … Through the narration, Matthew’s polished façade transforms to reveal a fierce knight determined to defend his mate.”

GOLIATH Scott Westerfeld
Read by Alan Cumming (Simon & Schuster Audio/Recorded Books)
“Westerfeld hints that it’s not the last we’ve seen of the duo. One hopes that the engaging Cumming will continue to soar with them.”

Multi-Voice Productions

GREAT HOUSE Nicole Krauss
Read by Alma Cuervo, George Guidall, Celeste Ciulla, et al. (Recorded Books)
“Beautifully read and artfully written, Krauss’s every sentence wraps itself around the heart. Prepare to be mesmerized.”

SING YOU HOME Jodi Picoult
Read by Therese Plummer, Brian Hutchinson (Recorded Books)
“Music is an apt accompaniment to a story about a music therapist who finds herself falling in love with a woman after her husband leaves her. The songs, written by Picoult and Ellen Wilber, who performs them, are placed at relevant points in the heartbreaking story. Therese Plummer performs the women’s roles with pure expressions of joy, anger, and grief … A bittersweet and riveting listening experience.”

UNFAMILIAR FISHES Sarah Vowell
Read by Sarah Vowell, John Slattery, Paul Rudd, et al. (Simon & Schuster Audio/Recorded Books)
“Vowell is a master of blending current culture and personal anecdotes with historical details.”