You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

Going on a family road trip and was looking for something we could all enjoy. My kids are in their 20's but kind of want to avoid anything with graphic sex (embarrassing, you know?). Also, if I download one to my phone, will it play on my car speaker through bluetooth? I've never done it before only listened to cd's.
Thanks in advance! :)

First audiobook I listened to I would recommend to everyone. Last Chance to See. It's read by Douglas Adams, and is just funny - grumpy English guy traveling around 1990s third world countries.

I think we had to download it not in a normal manner as it's out of "print". But do it. It's so very fun and educational.

If you can't find it, let me know and I'll see what we can do.

Yes, it will play through Bluetooth. Just make sure you have a charger handy because it'll drain your battery.

I'll have to think about what would be a good family road trip recommendation... Do you have a genre in mind?

Maybe you should look into The Secret Scripture. I thought the audio version was wonderful.

Will your road trip be at least ten hours? You may need something shorter.

Do you have a genre in mind?
Mmmm...not really, probably mystery, fantasy or historical (fiction or non-fiction).

Will your road trip be at least ten hours?
Yes, actually closer to 20 hours split up over 3 days.

I like The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill. It's a mystery series set in 1970s Laos with a 70 year old coroner as the main character.

A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch is a mystery series set in 1800s London. It's a gentleman detective type.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear is a interwar series with lots on the effects of WWI with a female detective/physiologist.

And there is also:
Night Soldiers by Alan Furst
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty
The City & the City by China Miéville
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

Are your kids sons or daughters? I assume you don't want anything too heavy, but want to keep it fun. Any preferences in genre? There are tons of mysteries - and you could pick some that are in your yearly challenge :)

I recommend Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Great narration, gaming, 80's references - all around good fun.

If you want funny (especially if kids are female), try My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman by Lisa Scottoline. Also, The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady by Elizabeth Stuckey-French.

Good for traveling is just about anything by Sarah Vowell. Assassination Vacation and The Partly Cloudy Patriot are my favorites.

Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher.

I've been trying to think of what some of my favorite audiobooks have been I just remembered, one of my all time favorite to listen to is Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. The narrator really brings Odd to life. There are several in the series, I've listened to the first three or four and I don't think you have to listen to them in order. I think my first one was Odd Hours, which is book four.

Wow, thank you all so much for the different options! I love having the best book fans at my disposal, lol. Of course, the price I pay for that is I'll be adding some of these to my tbr pile. Oh well.

I think my shortlist includes:
Last chance to see
Secret scripture
Crocodile on the sandbank
Ready player one
Assassination vacation
Odd Thomas

I'll have to see what's available and what the rest of the crew thinks. Having my son and daughter agree on something is going to be a challenge, lol.

Anyway, thanks again!

KimeyDiann wrote: "I've been trying to think of what some of my favorite audiobooks have been I just remembered, one of my all time favorite to listen to is Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. The narrator reall..."

I second this. Loved the narration on this one.

The Rithmatist
Hard Magic
The Neon Rain
Jurassic Park

Ready Player One would be my #1 pick for you.
I loved the Charles Finch books that Dawn recommended. I also really enjoy the Nero Wolfe books.
Are you getting them through Overdrive (library) or Audible(buying).

The Immortal Nicholas Flammell series is great.

Overdrive (library) is good for free books. Also if you can play CDs then try the library. I know mine has a large selection of audiobooks. Since you are doing a roadtrip, try Cracker Barrel restaurants if you are in the US. They have audiobooks you rent and then you can stop at any one of their restaraunts anywhere in the country and trade them out for new ones. You are at the mercy of their selection, but it is an option.

Odd Thomas series - I like it but I'd definitely start with book 1 otherwise if you go back to book 1 after starting with a later book, you'll guess what happens at the end of the book.

I'm on the app so I can't link right now so I'll edit it later. I loved the narration of The Help. I also enjoyed The Bone Clocks.

From my 5 star audiobooks:

The Book Thief
Theft of Swords
The Shadow of the Wind

Well, I ended up going to the library and found The Maze Runner and I think we'll give it a try. I also downloaded the overdrive app so if we don't like The Maze Runner we'll have other choices on the road.

Amanda, we've rented the cd's from Cracker Barrel before and it worked out really well. I was just doing some pre-planning and thought this way we'd have more choices, cause like you said its a limited selection.

Thanks again everyone, for all the recommendations, I'm sure I'll be reading (or listening) to a lot of them, eventually!

I might see if I can whack up Last Chance to See on Google drive, and then I can share the files with whomever wants a copy. I can't find it anywhere on the internet any more.

Rusalka wrote: "I might see if I can whack up Last Chance to See on Google drive, and then I can share the files with whomever wants a copy. I can't find it anywhere on the internet any more."

It sounds good, Rusalka! I just read your review. There are simply some books that the audio makes all of the difference with. The voice and the reader can make a story just that much better sometimes.