There’s something special about the spoken word: it affects your senses unlike anything else. In the list below, I could just as easily have included the work of James Baldwin, whose cadence was as grand as a rolling wave, the dancing melody of Toni Morrison, or Richard Burton’s thrilling interpretation of Under Milk Wood.
When recommending these pieces, I have tried to select the work that I have found most immersive – words and worlds that you can sink into, almost immediately.
This selection is diverse in terms of tone, tempo and era, but it has a common theme: a desire to explore the world, but also to explore the self and to leave both the better for it. I have tried to include a little of everything – soaring fantasy and startlingly harsh daily life, blissful meditation and fierce intellectual scrutiny, the epic and the fleeting, the old and the new.
Most importantly, these pieces reflect the nature of cities; their pace and pause, their merriment and their melancholy. I hope they will provide a fitting backdrop to travelling and maybe even weave their way into lasting memories of the journey.
The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Oakhill
This is fantasy at its deft and elegant best. The story of a young girl who has inherited her father’s gift for map-making, it’ll send you floating into a land of mystery and menace. Along the way, you’ll engage with themes of trauma and parenthood, of courage and immense sacrifice. This work was widely praised upon its release in 2016 and Millwood Hargrave has already established herself as one of the best storytellers of her generation.
In Our Mad and Furious City by Guy Gunaratne, Tinder Press
This riotous hymn to urban life takes a passionate, compelling look at youth culture. The slang spills into your ears from the very beginning of the story and it’s one of those narratives that feels visual whenever you hear it. The delivery by Ben Bailey Smith – best known as comedian, actor and rapper Doc Brown – is superb. If you’re a fan of grime music, it’ll have you reaching for your old playlists. And if you’re not, you may become one.
Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge, Audible for Bloomsbury
This nonfiction work is simply a force of nature. The provocative title gives way to a vivid, powerful and absorbing exploration of the issue of race, and why so many people still find it an uncomfortable subject. It is a challenging listen in the best possible sense – overflowing with sharp analysis and a perfect prompt for dinner-table conversation.
The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain, Fair Oaks
Few artists examined human nature better than Twain and this book – one of his lesser-known works – is no exception. I hesitate to recommend audiobooks that are laugh-out-loud hilarious, since I have several experiences of howling next to startled passengers on packed public transport, but I must make an exception for this. Twain tells the story of human civilisation from the perspective of a man and then a woman, and a narrative that begins as a hilarious commentary on the misunderstandings in heterosexual relationships and ends as a deeply tender reflection on the nature of love. The conclusion – left, fittingly, with Eve – is as uplifting as it is heartbreaking.
Brand New Ancients by Kate Tempest, Pan Macmilllan
An extraordinary work – so short that you could listen to it in the time it takes to fly from London to Berlin, but so profound that it will stay with you for years. It’s the much-lauded tale of gods who find themselves in the mundane surroundings of inner-city London, and there is something quietly glorious in their attempts not to succumb. Tempest’s name hints at the epic nature of her work and the righteous howl with which she delivers it.
Ernest Hemingway Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway, ABN
These are two of his greatest tales. The best thing about Hemingway is the way that he celebrates the astonishing endurance of the human spirit. He had so much to say about travel and how it can shape us, and these stories are no exception – they contain people battling nature, but ultimately battling themselves. Hemingway once wrote: “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places.” Fortunately, he frequently reminded us just how resilient we can be.
And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou, Random House
The only problem with this uniquely rousing poetry is that by the time you finish listening to it you’ll probably want to jump out of your seat and do all manner of great humanitarian deeds, which isn’t the most practical thing to attempt mid-flight. Angelou’s voice is a marvel – half lilting lullaby, half remarkable call to arms – and these 21 minutes will soar past, so soothingly that you may well put them on repeat.
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