Essays audiobooks

When Einstein Walked with Gödel

By: Jim Holt

Narrated by: David Stifel

Length: 15 hours 18 minutes

Abridged: No

From Jim Holt, New York Times bestselling author of Why Does the World Exist?, comes When Einstein Walked with Gödel: Excursions to the Edge of Thought, an entertaining and accessible audiobook guide to the most profound scientific and mathematical ideas of recent centuries

Does time exist? What is infinity? Why do mirrors reverse left and right... Read more

My Beloved Monster

By: Caleb Carr

Narrated by: James Lurie

Length: 13 hours 47 minutes

Abridged: No

The #1 bestselling author of The Alienist tells the extraordinary story of Masha, a half-wild rescue cat who fought off a bear, tackled Caleb like a linebacker—and bonded with him as tightly as any cat and human possibly can. Caleb Carr has had special relationships with cats since he was a young boy in a turbulent household, famously peopled by... Read more

If I Knew Then

By: Jann Arden

Narrated by: Jann Arden

Length: 3 hours 14 minutes

Abridged: No

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Jann Arden—bestselling author, recording artist and late-blooming TV star—is back with this funny, heartfelt and fierce memoir on becoming a woman of a certain age. The power, gravity and freedom she's found at fifty-seven are superpowers she believes all of us can unleash.

Digging deep into her strengths, her failures and her... Read more

Survival of the Thickest

By: Michelle Buteau

Narrated by: Michelle Buteau

Length: 6 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

*Now a Netflix series—Season 2 coming soon!*

Stand-up comedian and star of Netflix’s Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall and creator and star of Survival of the Thickest delivers a collection of “hilarious…bracingly honest” (Real Simple) essays in her unique voice, cheeky swagger, and unapologetic frankness that’s “one... Read more

When I Was a Child I Read Books

By: Marilynne Robinson

Narrated by: Marilynne Robinson

Length: 7 hours 25 minutes

Abridged: No

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
A New York Times Bestseller
A New York Magazine Best Book of the Year
An Economist Best Book of the Year
Pulitzer Prize–Winning Author of Gilead

Marilynne Robinson has built a sterling reputation as a writer of sharp, subtly moving prose, not only as a major American novelist, but also as a rigorous... Read more

Finding Freedom

By: Erin French

Narrated by: Erin French

Length: 9 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

"[Erin French's] memoir treats listeners to a smooth ride through an anything-but-smooth life. French's engrossing narration delivers polished consistency, and her gentle tone ushers listeners through her story. She speaks with passion and grace, creating a compelling narrative--with plenty of mouthwatering food descriptions." -- AudioFile... Read more

Make It Scream, Make It Burn

By: Leslie Jamison

Narrated by: Leslie Jamison

Length: 9 hours 3 minutes

Abridged: No

From the "astounding" (Entertainment Weekly), "spectacularly evocative" (The Atlantic), and "brilliant" (Los Angeles Times) author of the New York Times bestsellers The Recovering and The Empathy Exams comes a return to the essay form in this expansive book.

With the virtuosic synthesis of memoir, criticism, and journalism for which Leslie... Read more

Hola Papi

By: John Paul Brammer

Narrated by: John Paul Brammer

Length: 4 hours 55 minutes

Abridged: No

LGBTQ advice columnist John Paul Brammer writes a “wise and charming” (David Sedaris) memoir-in-essays chronicling his journey from a queer, mixed-race kid in America’s heartland to becoming the “Chicano Carrie Bradshaw” of his generation.

“A master class of tone and tenderness.” —The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“Should be... Read more

A Walk in the Woods

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: Rob McQuay

Length: 9 hours 43 minutes

Abridged: No

The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and... Read more

My First Popsicle

By: Zosia Mamet

Narrated by: Zosia Mamet, Sian Clifford, Kaley Cuoco, Ted Da...

Length: 7 hours 4 minutes

Abridged: No

From a spectrum of talented authors, a collection of essays on food, and its entwinement with our emotions and our lives.

Of all the essentials for survival: oxygen, water, sleep, and food, only food is a vast treasure trove of memory and of sensory experience. Food is a portal to culture, to times past, to disgust, to comfort, to love: no matter... Read more

Fraud

By: David Rakoff

Narrated by: David Rakoff

Length: 4 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

You've heard him on This American Life! Now read his book!

Wherever he is, David Rakoff is a fish out of water. Whether impersonating Sigmund Freud in a department store window during the holidays, climbing an icy mountain in cheap loafers, playing an evil modeling agent on a daytime soap opera, or learning primitive survival skills in the wilds... Read more

Happy to Help

By: Amy Wilson

Narrated by: Amy Wilson

Length: 6 hours 53 minutes

Abridged: No

A Brit&Co Most Anticipated Books of 2025
Amy Wilson, co-host of the award-winning podcast What Fresh Hell, takes a funny and insightful look at how women are conditioned to be “happy to help”—and what happens when things don’t go that way. 
Amy Wilson has always been an ultimate helper. As a big sister, Girl Scout, faithful reader of teen... Read more

Seed to Dust

By: Marc Hamer

Narrated by: Owen Teale

Length: 9 hours 48 minutes

Abridged: No

For readers of Late Migrations and H is for Hawk

A stunning meditation on gardening and the wisdom of plants, " that rare book that will appeal to nonfiction readers everywhere. . . Candid, tender, thoughtful and absorbing."—Shelf Awareness (STARRED Review)

"With chapters. . . [that] shimmer like lantern slides, lit with luminous imagery. . . Seed... Read more

Winter Pasture

By: Li Juan

Narrated by: Nancy Wu

Length: 12 hours 24 minutes

Abridged: No

Li Juan and her mother own a small convenience store in the Altai Mountains in Northwestern China, where she writes about her life among grasslands and snowy peaks. To her neighbors' surprise, Li decides to join a family of Kazakh herders as they take their thirty boisterous camels, 500 sheep and over 100 cattle and horses to pasture for the... Read more

Shrill

By: Lindy West

Narrated by: Lindy West

Length: 6 hours 9 minutes

Abridged: No

Shrill is an uproarious memoir, a feminist rallying cry in a world that thinks gender politics are tedious and that women, especially feminists, can't be funny.

Coming of age in a culture that demands women be as small, quiet, and compliant as possible -- like a porcelain dove that will also have sex with you -- writer and humoristLindy West... Read more

The Wreckage of My Presence

By: Casey Wilson

Narrated by: Casey Wilson

Length: 6 hours 28 minutes

Abridged: No

""Magnificent."" —People MagazineThe instant New York Times bestseller: Laugh-out-loud, deeply insightful, and emotion-filled essays from multitalented actress, comedian, podcaster, and writer Casey Wilson.Casey Wilson has a lot on her mind and she isn’t afraid to share. In this dazzling collection, each essay skillfully constructed and brimming... Read more

Tough Titties

By: Laura Belgray

Narrated by: Laura Belgray

Length: 8 hours 13 minutes

Abridged: No

Discover a brutally honest, hilarious, and relatable account of being a late bloomer on the dating scene, trying to master adulthood, and embracing your inner dork: "a hilarious, must-read permission slip to be 100% you" (Marie Forleo, #1 New York Times bestselling author).

What does it take to grow up cool and popular, master adulthood, fast... Read more

The Truffle Underground

By: Ryan Jacobs

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

Length: 7 hours 50 minutes

Abridged: No

“The ultimate truffle true crime tale”*: A thrilling journey through the hidden underworld of the world's most prized luxury ingredient.

*Bianca Bosker, New York Times bestselling author of Cork Dork

Beneath the gloss of star chefs and crystal-laden tables, the truffle supply chain is touched by theft, secrecy, sabotage, and fraud. Farmers patrol... Read more

The Diary of a Bookseller

By: Shaun Bythell

Narrated by: Robin Laing

Length: 9 hours 42 minutes

Abridged: No

Shaun Bythell owns the Bookshop, Scotland’s largest second-hand bookshop. It contains 100,000 books, spread over a mile of shelving, with twisting corridors and roaring fires, and all set in a beautiful, rural town by the edge of the sea. A book-lover’s paradise? Well, almost … In these wry and hilarious diaries, Shaun provides an inside look at... Read more

I Might Regret This

By: Abbi Jacobson

Narrated by: Abbi Jacobson

Length: 6 hours 9 minutes

Abridged: No

From the co-creator and co-star of the hit series Broad City, a "poignant, funny, and beautifully unabashed" (Cheryl Strayed) New York Times bestselling essay collection about love, loss, work, comedy, and figuring out who you really are when you thought you already knew.
When Abbi Jacobson announced to friends and acquaintances that she planned... Read more

The 2000s Made Me Gay

By: Grace Perry

Narrated by: Grace Perry

Length: 8 hours 21 minutes

Abridged: No

This program is read by the author.

From The Onion and Reductress contributor, this collection of essays is a hilarious nostalgic trip through beloved 2000s media, interweaving cultural criticism and personal narrative to examine how a very straight decade forged a very queer woman.

"Honest, funny, smart, and illuminating.” —Anna Drezen, co-head... Read more

Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing

By: Lauren Hough

Narrated by: Cate Blanchett & Lauren Hough

Length: 9 hours 10 minutes

Abridged: No

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • "A memoir in essays about so many things—growing up in an abusive cult, coming of age as a lesbian in the military, forced out by homophobia, living on the margins as a working class woman and what it’s like to grow into the person you are meant to be. Hough’s writing will break your heart." —Roxane Gay, author of... Read more

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

By: Joan Didion

Narrated by: Maya Hawke

Length: 6 hours 23 minutes

Abridged: No

This program is read by actor and singer-songwriter Maya Hawke, star of Netflix's Stranger Things.

"Narrating in a voice as clear and sustaining as a cool glass of water, Hawke’s unflashy approach allows the words to reveal their magic."—The Orange County Register

"Didion’s timeless essays shine with Hawke at the helm. This audiobook will bring... Read more

The Oregon Trail

By: Rinker Buck

Narrated by: Rinker Buck

Length: 16 hours 41 minutes

Abridged: No

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • #1 Indie Next Pick • Winner of the PEN New England Award

“Enchanting…A book filled with so much love…Long before Oregon, Rinker Buck has convinced us that the best way to see America is from the seat of a covered wagon.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Amazing…A real nonfiction thriller.” —Ian Frazier, The New York... Read more