Audiobook favorites

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, November 29th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: recommendations for good audiobooks.

If you’re an audiobook fan, you know the best audiobooks are not just warmed over versions of print books.

With that in mind, here’s WORLD reviewer Emily Whitten with her favorite audiobooks of the year.

EMILY WHITTEN, REVIEWER: What makes a great audiobook? I often look for a gripping voice and a story or content that draws me in. You can hear both in my favorite audiobook this year, Songs of Suffering by Joni Earekson Tada.

CLIP: Resurrection power–that same mighty strength that raised Christ from the dead–is what is needed to bear a cross. His mighty strength even enables us to do the unthinkable–sing sweetly under its weight.

Those who haven’t heard the story of how a diving accident led to her quadriplegia and deep faith in Christ should check out her autobiography, Joni. That deep faith is on display again in Songs of Suffering. Each chapter includes a hymn read aloud, a Bible verse, and a devotional based on the hymn including stories from history or her own life. Tada closes by singing part of the hymn, as in this verse of “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”

CLIP: When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died.…

Not everyone will love the simple piano accompaniment. But I like the raw sound of her voice. It invites me to sing along, and reminds me of Tada’s recent suffering–the “sheepdogs” as she calls them of cancer and COVID that drive her to worship. The strain here is palpable, but so is her joy.

CLIP: When grief numbs your soul, and bitterness or despair foment in your heart, do not give up. Survey what Jesus did on his cross for you. At the cost of his own blood, he purchased the mighty strength of the resurrection for your impossible situation. That is worth singing about.

My second favorite audiobook this year isn’t as authentic–but it does offer a riveting story well told. A Sea Between Us by Yosely Pereira and Billy Ivey is the epic tale of one man’s journey from communism to freedom as he came to the United States from Cuba in 2002. The audiobook version is read by seasoned voice actor, Gustavo Rex.

CLIP: Once on the other side of the crashing tide, we would be able to rest. Rafael is taller than I am, so he positioned himself on the right, closer the shore. Suddenly, I struck a coral snag mid thigh. I sank immediately, letting out a scream that was mercifully muted by the water. And the boat began pointing inland.

A Sea Between Us presents some of the hardest realities of life–but the book isn’t overly graphic. It centers on Pereira’s dramatic boat ride to reach America–with shark attacks, storms, and other challenges. But flashbacks to Pereira’s childhood and early marriage in Cuba add richness and beauty to the tale’s inspiring finale. Christian listeners will also appreciate Pereira’s honest wrestling with God and the witness of believers who show him compassion.

CLIP: For the next two hours, I bared my soul to Jim. The language barrier made it difficult, but he listened and tried to comfort me as best he could. He hurt for me and with me. I knew that he understood. “How can I help you, Yosely? How can I help your family?”

Finally, if you or your older teens like sci-fi novels or The Babylon Bee, try the audiobook version of The Postmodern Pilgrim’s Progress. It’s by Babylon Bee writers Kyle Mann and Joel Berry, and it’s a clever retelling of John Bunyan’s classic Pilgrim’s Progress. In Mann’s and Berry’s version, Christian doesn’t just take a nap and dream, he’s propelled on his journey to the Celestial City when a megachurch projector falls from the ceiling.

CLIP: Thankfully for Ryan, the state of the art Panasonic LCD projector didn’t hit him squarely on top of his head. It only kind of hit the top of his head, grazing him along the side of his face and cutting a four inch gash in his temple. It also knocked him out cold for 3.28 seconds, and Ryan dreamed.

Our quirky narrator echoes sci-fi novels like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But the allegorical tale also includes rich Biblical and philosophical insights from authors like T.S. Eliot, Stephen King, and G.K. Chesterton. Later in the book, Ryan becomes a Christian and faces a wide range of challenges to his faith–including liberal theologians, health and wealth preachers, and echoes of Bunyan’s original like Depression Bog. In the following clip, a friend named Faith finds Ryan sinking in that bog.

CLIP: Just as the severed end of the vine attached to Ryan’s waist slipped under the mud, she darted out and snagged it, pulling with all her might. Eventually Ryan’s nearly lifeless body started to budge, coming up inch by inch. Finally his eyes appeared, then his nose, then his mouth. He sputtered and spit and gasped for air. Several minutes later, still short of breath but out of immediate danger, Ryan lay on the far bank of Depression Bog.

Audiobook sales continue to grow. And no wonder, with contributions as creative as these. As 2022 comes to a close, I hope these three audiobook gems might entertain you and your family and strengthen your faith.

I’m Emily Whitten.

REICHARD: The three audiobooks Emily mentioned today areSongs of Suffering, A Sea Between Us, and The Postmodern Pilgrim’s Progress.

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