Planning a road trip this summer? Everyone knows the most essential part of any road trip plan is a soundtrack—and what better soundtrack could there be than an audiobook?

With the Libby app’s recent addition of the Audiobook Duration filter, you can easily find the perfect soundtrack for your road trip journey. Family making a short drive to Grandma’s house? Set that Audiobook Duration to 1-2 hours, add juvenile as your “Audience,” and check out the possibilities. Making a solo cross-country journey? We’ve got you covered with a filter that goes all the way to 24+ hours.

💡Tip: To filter audiobook lists by length in Libby, select the Menu button, scroll down to "Audiobook Duration," and choose the times you're interested in. Swipe left to see longer times.

If you’d like a little help choosing, here are some of the best audiobooks for a road trip, organized by length—from quick 1-hour listens to epic 12+ hour adventures.

0-4 hours
5-8 hours
9-12 hours
12+ hours

0-4 hours

Bad Badger by Maryrose Wood
🕒 3 hours
Ages 7-10

Septimus is not very good at typical badger things—which is rather unfortunate, given that he is a badger. When his new friend Gully disappears suddenly, Septimus must learn to be brave and adventurous if he hopes to find him. English narrator Chris Devon brings the characters of this sweet, cozy children’s story to life.

A perfect listen for fans of classic friendship tales like Winnie-the-Pooh or Frog and Toad.

Stuntboy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds
🕒 3 hours
Ages 7-10

Portico Reeves—aka Stuntboy—has a super-special superpower: Making sure all the other superheroes stay super safe! Sometimes that means rescuing the apartment cat, New Name Every Day, or taking a tumble for a neighbor. But right now it means figuring out how to make his parents stop fighting all the time.

The 2023 recipient of the American Library Association’s Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children, this exuberant audio features sound effects and music as well as a full voice cast.

Mexikid by Pedro Martín
🕒 3 hours
Ages 10-14

Narrated by a full cast, this audio adaptation of a graphic memoir tells the story of author/illustrator Pedro Martín’s childhood road trip to Mexico to bring his abuelito home. Already struggling with insecurities and feeling crammed into his house with eight siblings, Pedro isn’t looking forward to traveling to Jalisco to pick up another housemate. But this summer journey proves to be the trip of a lifetime.

Fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Raina Telgemeier, and Disney’s Coco are sure to enjoy this hilarious, heartfelt story.

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
🕒 4 hours

In her solo debut, Hugo Award-winning author Amal El-Mohtar presents a magical novella inspired by traditional ballads and gruesome fairy tales. Sisters Esther and Ysabel are the latest generation of caretakers to the willow trees at the edge of the River Liss, willow trees that protect the entrance to Arcadia—otherwise known as the land of faerie. While the sisters were inseparable as children, they’ve since grown apart. But when a forceful suitor physically separates them on opposite sides of Arcadia’s border, they must find a way to bridge a seemingly insurmountable distance.

Fans of This Is How You Lose the Time War will devour the latest from co-author El-Mohtar, narrated by actress Gem Carmella.

Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen
🕒 4 hours

When washed up hip-hop producer Darnell Williams gets the call that the recently-revived Harriet Tubman wants to team up to produce an album telling her story, he’s sure it must be a misunderstanding. But at Harriet’s insistence, he agrees—and what follows is a breathtaking, heartbreaking story of liberation and reclamation.

Narrated by the author and featuring two new songs written for the audiobook, this is one you’ll listen to in a single sitting.

5-8 hours

Popcorn by Rob Harrell
🕒 5 hours
Ages 9-12

Andrew Jaeger is just trying to make it through picture day— a task much easier said than done when you have OCD, your mom just started a new job she can’t afford to lose, and the school’s biggest bully has it out for you. Told over the course of one particularly bad day, this latest novel from children’s author and illustrator Rob Harrell offers an incredibly accurate portrayal of OCD and anxiety amid a surprisingly funny story.

The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day
🕒 5 hours
Ages 10-14

In August of 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, a heist that created a massive media spectacle but took two years to solve. In this fast-paced, immersive juvenile nonfiction title, Nicholas Day tells the story of the heist, everything that came after—and everything that came before.

This was one of my first forays into nonfiction audio, and it did not disappoint. Highly recommended if you’ll have young art enthusiasts or super sleuths traveling with you this summer.

Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green
🕒 6 hours

Young adult author and essayist John Green returns to nonfiction with an examination of the world’s deadliest infectious disease, tuberculosis. Covering the history of TB, barriers to treatment, as well as his own experiences meeting TB patients, Green presents an earnest, deeply human story that’s sure to resonate with fans of his work as well as anyone interested in public health. Narrated by the author.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
🕒 8 hours

Perfect for fans of culinary drama, Bourdain’s professional memoir and restaurant kitchen tell-all celebrates its 25th anniversary this August. Bourdain himself narrated this fast-paced account of sex, drugs, and haute cuisine that’s sure to entertain your (adults-only) car for hours on end.

9-12 hours

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
🕒 9 hours


I know everyone’s more than aware of Backman’s bestseller-turned-Hollywood hit about a cantankerous widower and his meddling, well-meaning neighbors—but did you know J.K. Simmons narrated the audiobook? Well now you do, so you have zero excuses for not checking this one out immediately!

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
🕒 10 hours

Deemed Knives Out and Clue meets Agatha Christie, this witty whodunit set at an Australian ski resort tells the story of a tense family reunion turned murder mystery. Each family member gets their own chapter, detailing the various deaths they’ve perpetrated, while our main character works in the present to solve this latest crime. Aussie Barton Welch’s pace and tone are pitch-perfect, keeping the comedic moments light while adding gravitas to more intense scenes.

Sabriel by Garth Nix
🕒 11 hours
Teen/YA

Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series was a personal favorite when I was a teen—I still own the original trilogy in paperback—but it wasn’t until recently that I learned the audio is narrated by Tim Curry. Again, I’m not sure what more I need to tell you; if the inimitable Tim Curry can’t persuade you to try out a book, I’m not sure what will.

Plotwise, I’d recommend this one to fans of Philip Pullman, Tamora Pierce, or Ursula K. Le Guin.

12+ hours

A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal
🕒 13 hours

In his 2018 debut, Villareal presented a carefully paced yet intense speculative fiction that reimagined vampirism as a virus—one the wealthy elite are willing to pay dearly to contract. Told as a dossier of sorts, the audio features a full cast to portray the various characters, including a CDC virologist, an FBI agent, and a Jesuit priest, who collectively recount the oral history of the spread of vampirism across the globe.

My Lady Jane by Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton & Cynthia Hand
🕒 14 hours
Teen/YA

My most recent audio experience—I know, I was incredibly late to the party—My Lady Jane is a comical reimagining of Tudor royal succession with a splash of magic mixed in. If you’re like me and haven’t gotten around to this one yet, I highly recommend the audio experience. Katherine Kellgren, who recorded over 300 audiobooks and won multiple awards during her career, provides an expressive, captivating performance.

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
🕒 14 hours

Davi has had enough of being the savior of the story. After all, she just experienced her 237th death and hard reset—for everything other than her brain, which definitely remembers all 237 lives thus far. This time, Davi’s on Team Winners. This time, Davi’s going to become the Dark Lord.

This comantasy (can I make that genre portmanteau happen?) featuring a wise-cracking, down-to-earth protagonist is sure to be a hit with fans of Guardians of the Galaxy, Dungeons & Dragons, or Discworld.

Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold
🕒 17 hours

This recent release from the bestselling author of The Five is the perfect road trip pick for true crime fans. Detailing one of the most infamous murders of the twentieth century—but one I previously knew nothing about—Story of a Murder offers a thorough examination of the murder of music hall performer Belle Elmore by her fraudster husband and his mistress. True to previous form, Rubenhold weaves together a captivating story that attempts to fill in holes in the narrative while remaining true to the facts—with a particular focus on sharing the full stories of female victims who have been too long overshadowed and misrepresented by journalists and historians alike.

*Title availability may vary.

Check out these recommendations for your next road trip on the Libby app, free from your library.

RELATED READ: 7 audiobook tricks in the Libby app for your best road trip ever

Titles featured in this article:

• Bad Badger by Maryrose Wood
• Stuntboy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds
• Mexikid by Pedro Martín
• The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
• Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen
• Popcorn by Rob Harrell
• The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day
• Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green
• Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
• Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
• Sabriel by Garth Nix
• A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal
• My Lady Jane by Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton & Cynthia Hand
• How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
• Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold