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A few minutes of mindlessly checking your social media feed can help you pass the time on your morning commute or while you’re waiting in line at the grocery store. But if your casual Instagram Story viewing sessions have turned into constant refreshes, you might be doomscrolling—a.k.a. shuffling through your feed in a state of numbness. Doomscrolling can have a very real impact on your psyche, as SELF has previously reported: You might feel burnt out and emotionally exhausted or like you don’t have as much to offer other people. Sound familiar?
If you’re tired of getting stuck in an endless cycle of checking your email, Instagram, TikTok, and repeating, it’s time to switch things up. One easy alternative to scrolling: Getting lost in a good (dare we say great?) audiobook.
If you’re new to audiobooks (or the last time you listened to one was when cassette tapes were big), searching for interesting titles to get lost in can be overwhelming. To find ones that’ll help stop the scroll, we skimmed The New York Times’s bestseller lists, fell down some BookTok rabbit holes, and pulled some favorites from our own SELF Book Club. Our list includes motivating memoirs, fan-favorite series, and even a Pulitzer Prize winner—plus, they’re all available for you to download ASAP on Amazon Music Unlimited, which just made the entire Audible library available to its subscribers.
Even better: Right now, your first three months of Amazon Music Unlimited are free—and, on top of countless podcasts and 100 million songs, you’ll also get one Audible title per month. So grab your trusty headphones and settle in (we’ve got a lot of recs to get through).
SELF Book Club picks
Friendship First by Gyan Yankovich
September’s SELF Book Club pick, Friendship First, unpacks the complexities of work acquaintances, lifelong BFFs, and all your friends in between. In each chapter, author (and SELF contributor) Gyan Yankovich breaks down why creating lasting friendships is so important—and reminds us why our favorite people are worth connecting with online or IRL, even when doing so is difficult.
The Ritual Effect by Dr. Michael Norton
If your entire daily routine could use a revamp, try listening to The Ritual Effect. Author Michael Norton claims that even the smallest, most repetitive task can bring you joy—if you have the right mindset. “Good habits automate us, helping us to get things done,” he writes, while “rituals animate us, enhancing and enchanting our lives with something more.” When your day-to-day feels suffocatingly boring, this audiobook can give you the push you need to create a routine that works for you (not against you).
Sex With a Brain Injury by Annie Liontas
In their memoir, Sex With a Brain Injury, Annie Liontas walks readers through the multiple concussions they suffered in their 30s. The damage that followed affected their short-term memory, their basic cognitive skills (like being able to read and tell time), and—as the title says—their sex life. “A head injury will take a lot from you,” they write. “Loud music, perfume, storms, sprinting, pride, but what it takes from your partner is unbearable…. You know 48 to 78% of marriages fall apart after brain injury, don’t you?”
We love the way Liontas sprinkles history and philosophy throughout their personal narrative.
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
Fans of The Substance, have we got a pick for you: Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang follows an unnamed narrator who abandons her future as a promising musician to take a job at Holistik, a high-end med spa. As she learns more about (and takes part in) the spa’s unconventional treatments, she grows closer to the spa’s founder’s niece, Helen, and discovers something much more unsettling in the process.
Read our interview with the author here—then give it a download and prepare to get sucked in.
Gripping memoirs
Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller
Lulu Miller’s name might sound familiar—she’s a long-time NPR reporter and the new cohost of the hit podcast Radiolab. In her first book, Why Fish Don’t Exist, Miller weaves the story of her own life together with a telling about the work of David Starr Jordan, a taxonomist who spent his life discovering new species of fish (and who almost lost everything at the height of his career). A must-listen for history buffs who love a good deep dive, this memoir-biography-sci-fi combo will give you plenty to think about long after Miller finishes reading it to you.
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
If you haven’t had time to get sucked into Britney Spears’s memoir, The Woman in Me, now’s your chance. In it, the pop star describes her childhood, her career, her journey as a mother, and the details of her conservatorship. Almost 30,000 readers and listeners gave the book five stars on Amazon: “If you are a Britney fan, like I am, or just curious about her life, you will find this book to be a thrilling read,” one wrote. Plus, the audiobook is read by Oscar-winning actor Michelle Williams.
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
The Barefoot Contessa herself bares almost everything in her first memoir. Fans who grew up watching Ina Garten cook in her beautiful Hamptons kitchen—or anyone who’s curious about how she got her start—will find her career path fascinating, from her early childhood to her brief bureaucratic stint in Washington, DC. As a bonus, the audiobook is read by Garten herself (how fabulous is that?).
The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop
Don’t even think about downloading this one until you’ve made yourself the world’s best cup of coffee—or maybe a cocktail. Kelly Bishop, famous for her role as Emily Gilmore in the hit sitcom Gilmore Girls, walks readers through her 60-year career on the stage and screen in this new memoir. Whether you know her from the show, from Dirty Dancing, or from the original Broadway cast of A Chorus Line, you’re sure to learn something new about The Third Gilmore Girl as she tells all (literally—Bishop also narrates this one).
Best-selling fiction
Circe by Madeline Miller
One of Audible’s top 100 fantasy books of all time, Circe borrows elements of The Odyssey and a few Greek myths to retell the story of a witch who comes into her power among monsters and gods. Written by Madeline Miller (the New York Times best-selling author of The House of Achilles, a BookTok favorite), Circe will have you hooked: “I could not put it down,” one Amazon reviewer wrote.
The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden
Another BookTok must-listen, The Housemaid is the first book in a trilogy written for thriller and mystery fans. Author Frieda McFadden builds suspense as she draws you into the wealthy Winchester family’s lifestyle, following their housemaid as she goes about her daily duties. But both parties are keeping secrets that lead to a plot twist you’ll never see coming, according to readers. Plus, it totally passes the better-than-scrolling test: “This book even got me off Netflix and social media apps because I was so engaged. I truly enjoyed it!” one Amazon reviewer wrote.
FYI: We highly recommend listening to this now before the movie starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney comes out.
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
The Today show’s Jenna Bush recommends The Wedding People, a novel by Alison Espach about Phoebe Stone, a tourist who’s mistakenly roped into a bride’s ceremony while on vacation in Newport, Rhode Island. Deeper than your average rom-com, this audiobook is “a page-turner right up to the end,” according to one Amazon reader.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead has a lot going for it: It was an Oprah’s Book Club pick in 2022 and it won a Pulitzer Prize in 2023. Inspired by Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield, the book follows the life of a boy born in the Appalachian mountains as he navigates a tough childhood and confusing adolescence. Fair warning—Amazon reviewers warn that once you start listening to this one, it can be hard to stop. “I tore through the book like it was my full-time job,” one fan wrote. “I literally couldn’t be bothered to do much else.”
From page to screen
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Already have your tickets to see Wicked in theaters? After watching Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s take on the iconic Broadway musical, fill in the gaps (and get ready to wait for part two to drop) by listening to the OG book. Even if you’ve never seen it on stage, Wicked is “richly written and beautifully told,” as one Amazon reader put it. (Just know: The book is very different from the show.)
Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Each season of Bridgerton on Netflix follows one member of the Bridgerton crew as they try to navigate tricky social scenes and (hopefully) find love. If the show gets your heart fluttering, then it’s definitely worth checking out the full series, written by Julia Quinn. Dive right into Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington’s story, if the latest season (starring Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan) is still fresh in your head—or start at the beginning and relive your favorite moments from the show in a totally new way.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Now an Apple TV+ series starring Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry traces Elizabeth Zott’s path from brilliant chemist to accidental cooking-show star. Set in the 1960s, the book is beautifully written (it’s one of my personal favorites), with equal helpings of funny and heartbreaking moments. Don’t let the cartoonish cover fool you—Amazon readers confirm that there’s much more to this book than meets the eye.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Harry Potter and Twilight fans will enjoy A Discovery of Witches, the first book in Deborah Harkness’s All Souls series. To say I love this book is an understatement—it helped me get out of a serious reading slump. Once I started the first installment, I couldn’t put it down until I finished the rest. It has the best of everything fantasy fans love: vampires, history, drama, romance, and (of course) witches.
When you’re finished listening, there’s a TV version waiting for you on Netflix starring Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer (which is also incredible, although I’m slightly biased).
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