Audiobooks Like My Year of Rest and Relaxation

10 audiobooks for fans of My Year of Rest and Relaxation

1. 1

   

   The Great Alone

   by Kristin Hannah

   Narrated by Julia Whelan

   Julia Whelan's intimate narration captures the psychological depth in both novels, drawing listeners into unreliable perspectives and morally complex characters navigating isolation. While *The Great Alone* expands the scope from urban introspection to survival thriller, both works share a brooding, atmospheric tension that rewards close attention to their layered narratives.

   ★ 4.79 ABR Score (1.3M ratings)

   ★ 4.46 Goodreads (1.2M) ★ 4.7 Audible (58.5K)

   15h 3m listening time • Released 2018

   Julia Whelan's narration captures the suffocating intensity of a family unraveling in 1970s Alaska, making this survival story feel dangerously intimate and impossible to abandon.

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2. 2

   

   Atmosphere: A GMA Book Club Pick

   by Taylor Jenkins Reid

   Narrated by Kristen DiMercurio, Julia Whelan, Taylor Jenkins Reid

   ★ 4.68 ABR Score (778.0K ratings)

   ★ 4.33 Goodreads (758.2K) ★ 4.7 Audible (19.8K)

   9h 52m listening time • Released 2025

   Multiple narrators embody the fierce ambition and competing loyalties of women breaking into NASA, making this feel like you're in the room with them rather than just hearing their story.

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3. 3

   

   Hello Girls

   by Brittany Cavallaro, Emily Henry

   Narrated by Julia Whelan

   ★ 3.67 ABR Score (17.7K ratings)

   ★ 3.4 Goodreads (17.4K) ★ 4.19 Audible (265)

   8h 7m listening time • Released 2019

   Julia Whelan's dual narration captures the raw urgency of two girls escaping impossible homes—her performance makes their desperation feel immediate and real, not melodramatic.

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4. 4

   

   The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts: Murder and Memory in an American City

   by Laura Tillman

   Narrated by Julia Whelan

   ★ 3.58 ABR Score (1.3K ratings)

   ★ 3.34 Goodreads (1.2K) ★ 4.11 Audible (130)

   6h 47m listening time • Released 2016

   Julia Whelan's measured, unflinching narration transforms Tillman's investigation into something deeper than true crime—a meditation on poverty, guilt, and how communities process unspeakable tragedy.

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5. 5

   

   The Correspondent

   by Virginia Evans

   Narrated by Maggi-Meg Reed, Jane Oppenheimer, Carly Robins, Jeff Ebner, David Pittu, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Mark Bramhall, Petrea Burchard, Robert Petkoff, Kimberly Farr, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Peter Ganim, Jade Wheeler, Various

   ★ 4.81 ABR Score (383.3K ratings)

   ★ 4.53 Goodreads (364.9K) ★ 4.8 Audible (18.3K)

   8h 36m listening time • Released 2025

   A sprawling ensemble cast brings luminous depth to this meditation on lifelong correspondence—each narrator inhabits their character so fully you'll forget you're listening to a performance, not overhearing actual lives unfolding.

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6. 6

   

   James

   by Percival Everett

   Narrated by Dominic Hoffman

   ★ 4.76 ABR Score (552.1K ratings)

   ★ 4.42 Goodreads (533.5K) ★ 4.77 Audible (18.6K)

   7h 49m listening time • Released 2024

   Dominic Hoffman's narration brings Jim's voice to life with such moral clarity and wit that you'll hear why Everett's reimagining won the Pulitzer—it's the definitive audiobook performance of a story that needed retelling.

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7. 7

   

   I Must Betray You

   by Ruta Sepetys

   Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Ruta Sepetys

   ★ 4.56 ABR Score (103.0K ratings)

   ★ 4.4 Goodreads (101.3K) ★ 4.77 Audible (1.7K)

   7h 10m listening time • Released 2022

   Ballerini's dual narration captures the suffocating paranoia of Cold War Romania so viscerally you'll feel the weight of every impossible choice Cristian makes. A gripping true-stakes thriller about resistance that refuses easy heroics.

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8. 8

   

   Carrie Soto Is Back

   Reidverse

   by Taylor Jenkins Reid

   Narrated by Stacy Gonzalez, Mary Carillo, Patrick Mcenroe, Rob Simmelkjaer, Brendan Wayne, Max Meyers, Reynaldo Piniella, Vidish Athavale, Tom Bromhead, Heath Miller, Julia Whelan, Sara Arrington

   ★ 4.38 ABR Score (739.9K ratings)

   ★ 4.2 Goodreads (731.6K) ★ 4.45 Audible (8.3K)

   10h 30m listening time • Released 2022

   The all-star narrator ensemble brings Reid's tennis comeback story to life with such pitch-perfect performances that you'll forget you're listening to a book, not watching a prestige drama unfold.

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9. 9

   

   The People We Keep

   by Allison Larkin

   Narrated by Julia Whelan

   ★ 4.33 ABR Score (122.8K ratings)

   ★ 4.08 Goodreads (117.2K) ★ 4.52 Audible (5.6K)

   11h 8m listening time • Released 2021

   Julia Whelan's performance transforms April's restless search into something deeply intimate—you're not just hearing her story, you're inside her head as she figures out who she actually is.

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10. 10

    

    Girl in Pieces

    by Kathleen Glasgow

    Narrated by Julia Whelan, Kathleen Glasgow

    ★ 4.30 ABR Score (276.0K ratings)

    ★ 3.93 Goodreads (273.5K) ★ 4.59 Audible (2.5K)

    10h 42m listening time • Released 2016

    Julia Whelan's raw, unflinching performance transforms this into essential listening for anyone who's felt untethered—she captures Charlie's fragmentation so viscerally you'll feel each scar, not just hear about it.

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