At the beginning of the year, we released The Nerd Daily 2018 Reading Challenge, consisting of 52 challenges, one for each week of the year. One of those challenges is pretty straightforward – read an audiobook. I came around to audiobooks about two years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Do you ever wish you had more time in the day to read? With audiobooks, you will! You can read during your commute, while cooking a meal, or while cleaning your house. So whether you’re new to the format or you’re already an audiobook lover, these 10 full-cast audiobooks will help you not only check off a box on The Nerd Daily’s 2018 Reading Challenge, but will also help you fit a little more reading time into your busy schedule.

Read on to discover 10 full-cast audiobooks perfect for any reader. Do you plan on giving any of these titles a listen? Did we miss any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below!

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials #1)  by Philip Pullman

Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford’s Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however, nothing is as it seems.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins

Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. All he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life. But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow’s best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and a rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself. Soon Shadow learns that the past never dies . . . and that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing—an epic war for the very soul of America—and that he is standing squarely in its path.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins

February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth,” the president says at the time. “God has called him home.” Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returns, alone, to the crypt several times to hold his boy’s body. From that seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of its realistic, historical framework into a supernatural realm both hilarious and terrifying.

Meet Cute: Some People are Destined to Meet by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins

Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. Meet Cute is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of “how they first met” from some of today’s most popular YA authors. This incredibly talented group of authors brings us a collection of stories that are at turns romantic and witty, epic and everyday, heartbreaking and real.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Special Edition by Margaret Atwood

Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins

“Are there any questions?” The final line in Margaret Atwood’s modern classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, has teased and perplexed fans since the book’s original release more than 30 years ago. Now, in this Audible Original production, listeners get some of the answers they’ve waited so long to hear. Featuring an all-new interview with Professor Piexoto, written by Atwood and performed by a full cast, The Handmaid’s Tale: Special Edition is a must-listen for both fans and newcomers alike. Emmy Award winner Claire Danes (Homeland, Temple Grandin) gives a stirring performance of this classic in speculative fiction, where the message (and the warning) is now more timely than ever.

You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins

Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins

This elegant young adult novel captures the immigrant experience for one Indian American family with humor and heart. Told in alternating teen voices across three generations, You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture – for better or worse. From a grandmother worried that her children are losing their Indian identity, to a daughter wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair, to a granddaughter social activist fighting to preserve Bengali tigers, Perkins weaves together the threads of a family growing into an American identity.

Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang

Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

Centered on a community of immigrants who have traded their endangered lives as artists in China and Taiwan for the constant struggle of life at the poverty line in 1990s New York City, Zhang’s collection examines the many ways that family and history can weigh us down and also lift us up. From the young woman coming to terms with her grandmother’s role in the Cultural Revolution to the daughter struggling to understand where her family ends and she begins, to the girl discovering the power of her body to inspire and destroy, these seven stories illuminate the complex and messy inner lives of girls struggling to define themselves.

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden: Stories by Denis Johnson

Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins

The Largesse of the Sea Maiden is the long-awaited new story collection from Denis Johnson. Written in the luminous prose that made him one of the most beloved and important writers of his generation, this collection finds Johnson in new territory, contemplating the ghosts of the past and the elusive and unexpected ways the mysteries of the universe assert themselves. Finished shortly before Johnson’s death, this collection is the last word from a writer whose work will live on for many years to come.

Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee

Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins

Two sisters: Miranda, the older, responsible one, always her younger sister’s protector; Lucia, the vibrant, headstrong, unconventional one, whose impulses are huge and, often, life changing. When their mother dies and Lucia starts to hear voices, it’s Miranda who must fight for the help her sister needs — even as Lucia refuses to be defined by any doctor’s diagnosis. Told from alternating perspectives, Everything Here Is Beautiful is, at its core, a heart-wrenching family drama about relationships and tough choices — how much we’re willing to sacrifice for the ones we love, and when it’s time to let go and save ourselves.

Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen

Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins

Natalie is a Bloomingdale’s salesgirl mooning over her lawyer ex-boyfriend, who’s engaged to someone else after just two months. Felicia has been quietly in love with her boss for 17 years and has one night to finally make the feeling mutual. Andie is a private detective who specializes in gathering evidence on cheating husbands – a skill she unfortunately learned from her own life – and lands a case that may restore her faith in true love. For these three women, as well as half a dozen others in sparkling supporting roles – a young model fresh from rural Alabama; a diva Hollywood star making her Broadway debut; and an overachieving, unemployed Brown grad who starts faking a fabulous life on social media, to name just a few – everything is about to change thanks to the dress of the season, the perfect little black number everyone wants to get their hands on….

Any other great audiobooks you would recommend? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Reading Challenge: 10 Audiobooks appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

To mix it up, there’s the new instalment in Jojo Moyes Me Before You series with Lou Clark arriving in New York City and Leni Zumas’ Red Clocks, which sees the likes of abortion and IVF are banned in the United States and each embryo is given its own rights.

Read on to discover some of our January Fiction picks and tell us in the comments below if you will be reading one!

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor | Goodreads

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence and use little chalk stick figures to leave messages they can only understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them to a dismembered body. In 2016, Eddie gets a letter in the mail containing a single chalk stick figure. His friends receive the same message, and one of them turns up dead.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks | Goodreads

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions. You will assume you are reading about a jealous wife and her obsession with her replacement. You will assume you are reading about a woman about to enter a new marriage with the man she loves. You will assume the first wife was a disaster and that the husband was well rid of her. You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships. Assume nothing.

This Could Hurt by Jillian Medoff | Goodreads

A funny and deeply felt novel that illuminates the pivotal role of work in our lives—a riveting fusion of The Nest, Up in the Air, and Then We Came to the End that captures the emotional complexities of five HR colleagues trying to balance ambition, hope, and fear as their small company is buffeted by economic forces that threaten to upend them.

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory | Goodreads

Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn’t normally do. But there’s something about Drew Nichols that’s too hard to resist. On the eve of his ex’s wedding festivities, Drew is minus a plus one. Until a power outage strands him with the perfect candidate for a fake girlfriend… They’re just two high-powered professionals on a collision course toward the long distance dating disaster of the century–or closing the gap between what they think they need and what they truly want…

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas | Goodreads

In this ferociously imaginative novel, abortion is once again illegal in America, in-vitro fertilization is banned, and the Personhood Amendment grants rights of life, liberty, and property to every embryo. In a small Oregon fishing town, five very different women navigate these new barriers alongside age-old questions surrounding motherhood, identity, and freedom.

Neon In Daylight by Hermione Hoby | Goodreads

Set in New York City in 2012 during the sweltering summer before Hurricane Sandy hits, Neon In Daylight marries deep intelligence with captivating characters to offer us a joyful, unflinching exploration of desire, solitude, and the thin line between life and art.

Halsey Street by Naima Coster | Goodreads

Halsey Street shifts between the perspectives of two captivating, troubled women. Mirella has one last chance to win back the heart of the daughter she’d lost long before leaving New York, and for Penelope, it’s time to break free of the hold of the past and start navigating her own life.

The Woman In The Window by A.J. Finn | Goodreads

It’s been ten long months since Anna Fox last left her home. Anna’s lifeline to the real world is her window, where she sits day after day, watching her neighbours. When the Russells move in, Anna is instantly drawn to the picture-perfect family of three. But a frenzied scream has Anna witness something no one was supposed to see. Now she must do everything she can to uncover the truth about what really happened.

Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee | Goodreads

Two sisters: Miranda, the older and responsible one, and Lucia, vibrant and headstrong. When Lucia starts to hear voices, it’s Miranda who must fight for the help her sister needs. Lucia tries to lead a normal life and moves her new family to Ecuador, but she cannot escape her own mental illness. Miranda must decide, again, whether or not to step in, but Lucia may not want to be saved.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes | Goodreads

Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. Before she knows what’s happening, Lou is mixing in New York high society, where she meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past.

Need To Know by Karen Cleveland | Goodreads

Vivian Miller is a dedicated CIA counterintelligence analyst assigned to uncover the leaders of Russian sleeper cells in the United States. After accessing the computer of a potential Russian operative, Vivian stumbles on a secret dossier of deep-cover agents within America’s borders. A few clicks later, everything that matters to her—her job, her husband, even her four children—are threatened.

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce | Goodreads

It is 1988 and like a beacon, a music shop attracts the lonely, the sleepless, and the adrift; Frank, the shop’s owner, has a way of connecting his customers with just the piece of music they need. Then, one day, into his shop comes Ilse Brauchmann who asks Frank to teach her about music. The journey that these two quirky, wonderful characters make in order to overcome their emotional baggage speaks to the healing power of music—and love—in this poignant, ultimately joyful work of fiction.

The post January Book Releases: Fiction appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Read on to discover our picks and tell us what book you are most excited to pick up in January 2018!

Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee | Goodreads

Two sisters: Miranda, the older and responsible one, and Lucia, vibrant and headstrong. When Lucia starts to hear voices, it’s Miranda who must fight for the help her sister needs. Lucia tries to lead a normal life and moves her new family to Ecuador, but she cannot escape her own mental illness. Miranda must decide, again, whether or not to step in, but Lucia may not want to be saved.

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu | Goodreads

One by one, the city’s elites are being executed. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is turning eighteen and about to inherit his family’s fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Enterprises. But after a run-in with the police, he’s forced to do community service at Arkham Asylum. He meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers and she’s a mystery Bruce must unravel. But is he getting her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees?

The English Wife by Lauren Willig | Goodreads

Annabelle and Bayard Van Duyvil live a charmed life even though there are rumours she’s having an affair with the architect. But then Bayard is found dead with a knife in his chest on the night of their Twelfth Night Ball, Annabelle goes missing, presumed drowned, and the papers go mad. Janie, Bay’s sister, teams up with a reporter to uncover the truth and she learns more about her brother and his wife.

Iron Gold by Pierce Brown | Goodreads

A decade ago, Darrow was the hero of the revolution but the Rising only brought an endless war. Now he must risk everything he has fought for on one last desperate mission with other destinies entwining with Darrow’s—A young Red girl flees tragedy and gains a new life she could never have imagined. An ex-soldier broken by grief is forced to steal the most valuable thing in the galaxy—or pay with his life. And Lysander au Lune, the heir in exile to the sovereign, wanders the stars with his mentor, Cassius, haunted by the loss of the world that Darrow transformed, and dreaming of what will rise from its ashes.

Still Me by Jojo Moyes | Goodreads

Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. Before she knows what’s happening, Lou is mixing in New York high society, where she meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past.

A Time of Dread by John Gwynne | Goodreads

The Ben-Elim, a fierce race of warrior-angels, burst into the Banished Lands over a hundred and thirty years ago in pursuit of their eternal enemy, the Kadoshim demon-horde. Now much of the Banished Lands is ruled by the Ben-Elim extending their influence and power as they swallow ancient kingdoms into the protective grasp of their ever-extending borders. But peace is fragile within the realm and the Kadoshim that remain are now amassing on the edges of the empire….

Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely | Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Serendipity “Pity” Jones inherited two things from her mother: a pair of six shooters and perfect aim. She’s been offered a life of fame and fortune in Cessation, a glittering city where lawlessness is a way of life. But the price she pays for her freedom may be too great….

Click to read the first five chapters HERE

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin | Goodreads

If you were told the date of your death, how would it shape your present? In 1969 New York, word has spread of the arrival of a travelling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes and their prophecies will inform their next five decades.

Zack by Mons Kallentoft and Markus Lutteman | Goodreads

Zack Herry is the golden boy who has stumbled into a career in the Stockholm police force. At night, he hangs out at the clubs, partying with the people he should really be arresting. But when four Thai women from a massage parlor in Stockholm are found brutally executed and a fifth badly mutilated and dumped outside a nearby hospital, Zack must get his act together and try to figure out the motives behind the vicious murders, together with his partner, Deniz.

The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson | Goodreads

Lynn McBride has learned much since society collapsed in the face of nuclear war and the relentless spread of disease. As memories of her old life haunt her, she has been forced to forge ahead in the snow-covered Canadian Yukon, learning how to hunt and trap to survive. Shadows of the world before have found her tiny community—most prominently in the enigmatic figure of Jax, who sets in motion a chain of events that will force Lynn to fulfill a destiny she never imagined.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert | Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, but when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: Her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother’s stories are set. Alice’s only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor | Goodreads

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence and use little chalk stick figures to leave messages they can only understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them to a dismembered body. In 2016, Eddie gets a letter in the mail containing a single chalk stick figure. His friends receive the same message, and one of them turns up dead.

Check out other books coming out in January 2018!

The post January Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.