Check out some of the best audiobooks for road trips whether short drives or cross country vacations.

Audiobooks for road trips

Going on a long drive or short road trips can be the perfect time to laugh out loud with your family members and best friends. But often, having additional entertainment can make road trips even better. Music and podcasts always help, but audiobooks can make your trip even more exciting. Whether you want to read fiction books like fairy tales or science fiction or your favorite book by Tina Fey, Julia Whelan, or Neil Gaiman, audiobooks are to the rescue.

Audiobooks tell your favorite stories using a full cast of voice actors or experienced narrators for a more immersive experience. Furthermore, it’s a great way for someone with dyslexia or ADHD to experience storytelling and stay engaged.

The best audiobooks for the great American road trip

Anything from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling combined fantasy and coming-of-age concepts to create one of the most successful and entertaining book series in history. The Harry Potter saga has some of the best audiobooks for road trips.

Rated for the whole family, Harry Potter books tell the story of an orphaned young wizard exploring a newfound wizarding world. Harry Potter must navigate his destiny, make friends, meet expectations, and find a sense of family, all while trying to graduate from the prestigious Hogwarts school in Scotland.

The Harry Potter series contains lovable characters, powerful foes, and exciting adventures. You can find these audiobooks on Amazon Prime, Audible, and almost any other popular audiobook library. Additionally, with seven books in the series, there’s enough content to go through on multiple family road trips.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

“Becoming” is a 2018 book published by Michelle Obama. The book is a memoir filled with personal experiences going back to her roots all the way to her time as First Lady.

By 2020 the book sold over 14 million copies worldwide. In the same year, the audiobook version of the book won a Grammy Award. The American Library Association even voted it on its top 10 list of audiobooks for Young Adults.

It’s a book about some of the harsh realities in America, overcoming the odds, finding love, and becoming one of the most influential voices in recent history. Even better, Michelle Obama did the narration herself.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Most people know Trevor Noah for his standup comedy and time as host of the Daily Show. The Emmy Award-winning satirical comedian hails from South Africa and often makes comparisons between the childhood he experienced over there and current events.

Not everyone comprehends the true hardship many South Africans experienced during Apartheid. But Trevor Noah goes deep into the subject and even attributes his current success to lessons learned the hard way.

“Born a Crime” is a riveting and captivating book about one of the most complicated topics. But it can teach anyone about valuing one’s family, embracing the little wins, and being more grateful. You can find Trevor Noah’s “Born a Crime” on your favorite audiobook platform under the nonfiction audiobook section.

It’s even more compelling since the author provides the narration.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Delia Ownes authored one of the best mysteries in recent years. “Where the Crawdads Sing” tells the riveting story of a North Carolina small-town young woman named Kaya. Readers follow her from the age of six years old to well into her 60s. It’s a book about nature, coming-of-age, murder, and many twists.

The book was a best seller on many platforms, including Amazon. The New York Times listed it as a bestseller in fiction.

The audiobook lasts 12 hours and 12 minutes, which is more than enough for a long family road trip.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien is set in a fantasy realm. It’s a tale of hobbits, orcs, elves, humans, and a quest to save the world.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s historical fiction novels have received critical acclaim and legions of followers. The final book in the trilogy even won 11 Oscars for the movie adaptation. If there’s an audiobook that can keep the whole family engaged during a family road trip, “The Lord of the Rings” series makes the cut.

Narrated by Andy Serkis or Rob Inglis, the audiobook versions are available on almost every audiobook platform and marketplace from Amazon Prime to Audible.

The Shining by Stephen King

The sci-fi/horror “The Shining” is one of the most popular Stephen King books. An old hotel in an idyllic location, a writer trying to reconnect with his family, and a creepy five-year-old boy are all you need to know about the book.

It’s one of the spookiest books ever written and is even scarier in its audiobook version. “The Shining” by Stephen King is a great audiobook, perfect for a family road trip, and anyone not faint of heart.

Speechify

Speechify is a text to speech or TTS reader. It uses machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence to convert text into speech. It can read aloud any document, article, social media posts or other text in a natural-sounding voice. So if you’re on a long road trip, you aren’t restricted to only listening to audiobooks, podcasts, or the radio. You can use Speechify to listen to the latest news articles, emails, and anything else your heart desires.

The OCR technology enables Speechify to process language from scanned photos and put any text into an audio format for your next road trip.

Try Speechify for free today on any platform.