Playin’ It Back: Ideal Audiobooks for the Busy College Student

Libby lovers rise.

When the inevitable 1 a.m. study session combines with the probable chance mediocre global girl group Katseye will pop into a playlist for the 50th time, mental staminas of college students are faced with distraction in times of academic dedication. 

Enter the audiobook — a passively time-consuming pastime providing the perfect amount of white noise for that much needed lock-in.

If you’re craving a change of pace from the sub-par “Hootie Frutti” and other flops haunting your AirPods, try tuning into this handful of mindlessly captivating stories.

‘We Used to Live Here’ — Marcus Kliewer

Fear meets intrigue in this chilling 10-hour tale, expertly weaving eerie thriller elements to play on the power of the human mind.

In this psychological horror novel, an unsuspecting, house-flipping couple moves into a classic fixer-upper where the property comes with a strange family who won’t depart. Complete with a two-story floorplan of strange happenings and spine-tingling neighbors, nothing is what it seems in this Pacific Northwestern horror story.

Haunting audio clips of glitchy, manic computer systems combine with the eerie performances of narrators Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Corey Brill in this masterpiece of disturbing intrigue. Each line is a gut punch, where even the softest whispers of the narrators will trickle goosebumps down your spine.

It’s the perfect read for the looming spooky season — just not too late into the night.

Once you start, you can’t stop — or in the words of the cryptic inner voice Mo, “Once they’re in, they never leave.”

‘Shady Hollow’ — Juneau Black

Enter a world where the woodland fauna live happily among each other, complete with coffee shops, bookstores and an occasional murder mystery.

Vera Vixen is the star reporter for Shady Hollow’s local paper. When a toad winds up dead within the limits of their tight-knit community, the fox finds herself snouting out clues to bring the killer to light.

The true beauty of fiction shines through in this creative series, where complex mysteries and cozy coffee shops combine to make one gorgeously captivating world unique to the literary scene.

Give this short and sweet, 6-hour story a listen the next time you’re practicing those chemistry equations — you might even crack the case.

Anxious People — Fredrik Backman

People are strange — but also good to each other.

Realistic fiction and comedic quirkiness combine in this beautifully witty 10-hour novel.

When a first-day bank robber crashes into an apartment building and keeps a group of seemingly misfit strangers hostage, what could’ve been a frightening series of events falls into scenes of humorous chaos and constant confusion.

Check out this wild ride of a comedy the next time a daunting assignment calls your name — you’ll feel anything but anxious through it all.

‘Bunny’ — Mona Awad

Hi, Bunny.

The dark academia, cultish creation that dominated the bookish realm gives listeners 12 hours of sorority-esque horror through expertly imaginative strangeness and pure literary disturbia. 

Welcome to Warren University, where the intense MFA offerings give you the power to bring your most erotically absurd ideas to life — at least they do for the freakish clique called “the Bunnies.” 

Complete with a malicious “mean girl” performance by Sophie Amoss, Awad’s journey down the rabbit hole offers edge-of-your-seat thrills with just a hint of trippy bewilderment.

Hop into the “Bunnyverse” — we’re so happy you’re here.

‘Under the Whispering Door’ — TJ Klune

Nothing really ends, not really.

T. J. Klune’s wonderfully queer, speculative fiction masterpiece offers a glimpse into the realm of the afterlife — also known as the quaint tea shop of Cheron’s Crossing. 

Filled with happy haunts and other — mostly — charming spirits, the simple store gives ghosts the space to process their lives on Earth before moving onto what comes next.

Consider tuning into this sweetly sentimental journey the next time your philosophy homework pile fills your schedule — it might be just the fix to jumpstart those “aha!” moments.