The Audies Award Winners – Best Audio Books of 2009

by DorothyD on July 9, 2009

Iam always interested in award winners. I check out the Emmys to see what television shows are worth checking out and the Oscar nominations for movie suggestions.

When looking for audiobook recommendations based on various criteria, I check out The Audies awarded by the Audio Publishers Association.

And the Winner is!

The most coveted award of The Audies is, of course, the Audiobook of the Year. This year’s winner was written and read by Neil Gaiman: The Graveyard Book. The book is written for children, but don’t let that stop you. Gaiman’s writing and voice are truly brilliant.

Best Fiction Book

The Fiction Book of the Year category was judged a tie between two very different works. Stephen King’s Duma Key and Mary Ann Shaffer/Annie Barrows’ The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society couldn’t possibly be more dissimilar. The master of horror serves up a chilling thriller read by John Slattery while the team of Shaffer and Barrows provides a glimpse into a uniquely singular book club voiced by a very talented group of readers (Paul Boehmer, Susan Duerden, Rosalyn Landor, John Lee, and Juliet Mills).

Best Non-Fiction

If non-fiction is your interest, The Audie winner in that category is Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman and read by Oliver Wyman. Overpopulation, climate change, global consumer interests and demands are addressed with a call for green solutions.

Best Thriller

Winner of thriller category is Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (read by Dennis Boutsikaris). This one is on my list of “must-listen” audiobooks. A serial killer of children in Stalinist Russia is being ignored by authorities. The protagonist, a former war hero simply cannot walk away from his search for the murderer.

Creating your own list of must-listen books? Check out the winners of these categories:

Distinguished Achievement in Production, Solo Narration (male and female), Audio Drama, Audiobook Adaptation, Biography/Memoir, Business Educational, Children’s (ages 8-12 and up to 8), Classic, History, Humor, Inspirational (fiction and non-fiction), Literary Fiction, Multi-Voiced, Mystery, Narration by Author, Original Work, Package Design, Personal Development, Politics, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Short Stories, Spanish Language, and Teens at http://www.theaudies.com/.

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Written by :

DorothyD

AudioforBooks.com Author

Reading and writing are my passions. I read a lot of paper books as well as listen to audiobooks utilizing playaways from the local library. I listen to most of my audiobooks on my iPod. I read about one book/week and am rarely seen without one in hand. Come along and discuss this article in our friendly community forum.