Can you believe the year is already halfway over? Neither can we. But that means it’s the perfect time to shout out some of the audiobooks that are already standing out as some of this year’s best.
“Spotify’s editors spent months immersed in stories of every kind—from gripping thrillers to celebrity tell-alls to lush, sweeping fantasies—to bring you the very best,” said Lena Yang, Senior Editor, Audiobooks. “These are the titles that surprised us, moved us, and had us finding excuses to keep listening just a little longer.”
Whether it’s a buzzy debut or a long-awaited return from beloved authors, our shelves are filling up with a seriously stacked lineup of titles. Here are the best audiobooks of 2026 so far, hand-picked by our editors.
Kin: A Novel
By Tayari Jones
Narrated by Angel Pean and Ashley J. Hobbs
Vernice and Annie are two motherless best friends from Louisiana whose lives take starkly different directions. While one heads to college and a world of affluence, the other embarks on a journey to find the mother who abandoned her. It’s an unforgettable story of friendship, sisterhood, and the complexities of being a woman in the American South.
The Murder at World’s End
By Ross Montgomery
Narrated by Derek Jacobi and Joe Jameson
A Viscount is murdered in his sealed study on a remote island while awaiting the apocalypse. To unmask the killer, an unlikely duo—a new under-butler and a foul-mouthed, 80-year-old matriarch—must team up to solve the mystery before it’s too late.
Famesick: A Memoir
By Lena Dunham
Narrated by Lena Dunham
In this rowdy and frank memoir, Girls creator Lena Dunham reflects on a decade of illness, fame, and navigating the public spotlight. Dunham asks whether her creative ambitions have been worth the pain, recounting her journey from hospital waiting rooms to the red carpet. It’s a story of learning to live with what you can’t change and turning regret into wisdom.
The Poet Empress
By Shen Tao
Narrated by Eric Yang and Katharine Chin
In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land is consumed by famine, and poetry magic is lost to all except the powerful. To save her family, a village girl named Wei Yun becomes a concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House. Trapped in a palace on the verge of civil war, Wei must rely on her wit and secretly learn the art of poetry to survive.
London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth
By Patrick Radden Keefe
Narrated by Patrick Radden Keefe
This true-crime story recounts the death of 19-year-old Zac Brettler, who jumped from a luxury apartment in London, and his parents’ subsequent investigation into a secret life that drew him into the dangerous criminal underworld. It’s an intimate portrait of a family trying to solve the riddle not just of how their son died, but of who he really was in life.
Thirty Love
By Tom Vellner
Narrated by Mark Sanderlin
Things heat up on and off the court for two tennis rivals in this steamy debut gay sports rom-com. Tennis star Leo Chambers is determined to win the U.S. Open before he turns 30, but when his rivalry with longtime opponent Gabe Montoya turns into something more, Leo is thrown off his game in more ways than one.
Skylark: A Novel
By Paula McLain
Narrated by Alexa Davalos, Michiel Huisman, and Paula McLain
This sweeping historical novel follows two courageous people living centuries apart: Alouette Voland, a young woman unjustly confined to an asylum in 1664, and Kristof Larson, a medical resident navigating the dangers of Nazi-occupied France in 1939. Their intertwined stories, connected by Paris’ underground tunnels, reveal a powerful tale of survival, resistance, and the pursuit of freedom.
Looking for more favorites? Check out the Best of the Century So Far audiobook collection on Spotify now.