Congratulations! You have almost reached that part of the year when time has no meaning, which means you finally have time to listen to all those audio books you’ve been meaning to get around to on Audible.
I recently reupped my subscription to Audible because I couldn’t miss the latest Buffy audio book. And, lo’ and behold, there is a whole bunch of interesting audio books for millennials and geeks (and millennial geeks). So, in the spirit of Christmas and having more time to walk around listening to audiobooks, here are some recommendations of what to listen to from Audible.
Slayers: A Buffyverse Story by Christopher Golden and Amber Benson – narrated by Amber Benson, Charisma Carpenter, Emma Caufield Ford, Anthony Head, Juliet Landau, James Marsters, Danny Strong, Laya DeLeon Hayes, and more
It has been a long, long time since we last got more canonical Buffy stories with members of the original cast, and this one is a doozey. It’s set a decade after the series finale, and features a rookie slayer (Indira), and an alternate universe Cordelia, along with important characters from across the multi-verse, including Tara, Jonathan, Giles, Drusilla, Spike, Anya, and Clem. It’s a must-listen for Buffy fans.
Third Eye by Felicia Day – read by an ensemble cast including Sean Astin, Felicia Day, Neil Gaiman and LilyPichu
If you were a hardcore Buffy fan, you probably at some point have also been a fan of Felicia Day. In her latest book, she wrote the story of a Chosen One gone wrong, and now she’s in a magical world with two roommates: a sassy fairy and a washed-up vampire. What makes this more interesting for millennial nerds is the cast – which includes Neil Gaiman, Christopher Judge, Wil Weaton, Danny Pudi, Sean Astin, Alan Tudyk, Troy Baker, and Weird Al Yankovic, for some reason.
Into Every Generation A Slayer Is Born by Evan Ross Katz – narrated by the author and Deanna Anthony
Books that “explore the cultural impact” of a TV show written by a fan can be severely hit and miss. They will either be the most insightful thing you have ever read about the show, or the most self-indulgent nonsense you have ever endured. But, the reviews of this book have been almost universally positive, aside from one guy who’s upset that the author said something mean about Trump (apparently also ignored the message of Buffy), so this gives me hope that it might be decent. The author interviewed a bunch of the cast, including basically the main core cast (except for Alyson Hannigan and David Boreanaz), so there should be some interesting insights in it.
The Woman In Me by Britney Spears – read by Michelle Williams
If you can show me anything more millennial than a Britney Spears autobiography read by Michelle Williams from Dawson’s Creek, I will eat my hat. After decades of other people shaping Britney Spears’ narrative, here she gets to speak for herself (though not literally) and give her side of the story.
Grimoire Girl by Hilarie Burton Morgan – read by the author
It’s difficult to think of anything Millennial girls loved more as kids than One Tree Hill and being really weird about magic. On a related note, Hilarie Burton Morgan (Peyton from One Tree Hill) has written a book about magical thinking and traditions and it sounds kinda cool. Not my jam, but it could be yours.
Brutally Honest by Melanie Brown – narrated by the author, her mother, and her daughter and Who I Am: My Story by Melanie C – narrated by the author
The Spice Girls were everything in the 1990s, and there was a lot going on behind the scenes. Who better to learn from about the trials and tribulations of being in one of the world’s most successful girl bands than Mels B and C? Both have great reviews from fans calling out the insight in the books.
Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein – narrated by the author
This one is more of a personal recommendation, just because I really liked it. Sleater-Kinney was such a foundational band for fempunk, and their longevity shows the impact the band made. This memoir focuses more on the first phase of Sleater-Kinney (including the complicated interpersonal drama), more than her time with Portlandia, but fans of both will enjoy it. It’s just a really good book.
Another thing to note is that while some of these are exclusive to Audible (Amazon can get a bit territorial about audiobooks), not all of them are. A good way to listen to unlimited free audio books is to join your local library and use your library’s apps. Libraries are marvellous things, that provide free services for the community while still making sure authors get paid. Join your local library.