If you’re looking for a great last-minute Christmas gift… I’ve got an idea for you!

As I’ve blogged before, I’ve had a subscription with Audible for many years. I listen to audiobooks in my car, as well as while cooking, cleaning, and gardening. I’ve found that I much prefer to listen to fiction than to read it, because a good reader adds a rich layer of color to the text.

With my super-fancy “Platinum Annual Membership,” I receive 24 books per year for just under $10 per book. For the less devoted, you can try Audible for free, then choose your preferred type of subscription.

Also, you can give individual books as gifts to friends and family! It’s affordable… and quick!

Audible is part of the advertising network to which I belong. By using any of these links to purchase a subscription, you support my work without costing yourself an extra cent.

I looked through my whole collection of audiobooks to find those that I enjoyed the most. Basically, these are the books that I’d particularly enjoy listening to again… and again.

First, some classics:

• Jane Eyre and Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
• Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• North and South, Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
• The Moonstone, The Woman in White, and A Rogue’s Life by Wilkie Collins
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
• The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer
• The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot
• Martin Eden and The Sea Wolf by Jack London
• The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Second, some hysterically funny stories great for kids and adults:

• All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, and The Lord God Made Them All by James Herriot
• Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

Third, some gripping readings on slavery and the Civil War:

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
• Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson
• John Ransom’s Diary by John Ransom
• The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

Fourth, two modern series that I enjoyed immensely:

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Steig Larsson
• The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Fifth, just one that I can’t omit:

• Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

I hope that gives you some ideas for Christmas presents!