Hear Hear! Audiobooks that are not to be missed

By LA Times books

Nov. 30, 2017 8 AM PT

Recommended audiobooks for great listening.

You Can’t Spell America Without Me: The Really Tremendous Inside Story of My Fantastic First Year as President

Alec Baldwin and Kurt Andersen; read by Alec Baldwin, Kurt Andersen and Oliver Wyman

Baldwin’s irreverent “Saturday Night Live” impression of President Trump has become iconic in American pop culture. The “30 Rock” star, along with Andersen and Wyman, narrates this satirical look at the 45th president. (Penguin Audio)

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power

Al Gore; read by Al Gore, Sterling K. Brown, Danny Burstein, Marin Ireland, Shailene Woodley

The former vice president teams up with a group of actors to read his sequel to “An Inconvenient Truth”; the new book aims to teach people what they can do to combat climate change. (Simon & Schuster Audio)

Manhattan Beach

Jennifer Egan; read by Norbert Leo Butz, Heather Lind and Vincent Piazza

Actors Butz, Lind and Piazza read Pulitzer Prize winner Egan’s fifth novel, about a young woman who works as a diver at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II, and the man who might know the secret behind her father's disappearance. (Simon & Schuster Audio)

Uncommon Type: Some Stories

Tom Hanks; read by Tom Hanks

America’s unofficial dad and two-time Oscar winner narrates his debut book, a collection of short stories that all involve, in some shape or form, typewriters. (Random House Audio)

I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons

Kevin Hart; read by Kevin Hart

The superstar reads his memoir, telling stories about how he went from being the son of a drug addict father and an abusive mother to one of Hollywood’s most recognizable and beloved comic stars. (Audible)

Vacationland

John Hodgman; read by John Hodgman

In his first memoir, humorist Hodgman (“The Areas of My Expertise”) takes a wry, affectionate look at reaching middle age set against the landscape of New England. (Penguin Audio)

Magpie Murders

Anthony Horowitz; read by Samantha Bond and Allan Corduner

The two voices enhance this story-within-a-story, a thriller about an editor reading a manuscript by a mystery author who dies mysteriously before the editor can finish the book. (HarperAudio)

Leonardo da Vinci

Walter Isaacson; read by Alfred Molina

Isaacson’s acclaimed biography of the artist and inventor is narrated by actor Molina, whom you might recognize from “Boogie Nights” or — wait, is this some kind of conspiracy? — “The Da Vinci Code.” (Simon & Schuster Audio)

Logical Family: A Memoir

Armistead Maupin; read by Armistead Maupin

The “Tales of the City” author reads his memoir about growing up in the conservative South and the journey that brought him to San Francisco in the 1970s, where gay culture flourished. (Harper Audio)

Little Fires Everywhere

Celeste Ng; read by Jennifer Lim

Ng’s acclaimed second novel explores a Cleveland suburb divided over a fraught, racially charged custody battle. Theater actor Lim narrates. (Penguin Audio)

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

Trevor Noah; read by Trevor Noah

The “Daily Show” host narrates his autobiographical essay collection about growing up the son of a white father and a black mother in apartheid-era South Africa. (Audible Studios)

The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage

Philip Pullman; read by actor Michael Sheen

The first book in Pullman’s new, long-awaited young adult fantasy trilogy — the follow-up to “His Dark Materials” — is brilliantly read by Welsh actor Sheen. (Listening Library)

The Golden House

Salman Rushdie; read by Vikas Adam

Rushdie’s latest is about an immigrant family that draws the interest of a young filmmaker, and features a boorish would-be politician who strikingly resembles Donald Trump. Actor Adam narrates. (Random House Audio)

The Good Daughter

Karin Slaughter; read by Kathleen Early

Actress Early narrates this thriller about a lawyer whose family was subjected to a terrible act of violence, and who witnesses a tragedy that brings bad memories flooding back. (Blackstone Audio)

Artemis

Andy Weir; read by Rosario Dawson

Weir’s follow-up to the bestseller “The Martian” follows a woman living on a lunar colony who’s pulled into a heist that turns out to be bigger than she expected. The audiobook is narrated by actress Dawson (“Rent”). (Audible)