No one said parenting was easy. Some days are better than others. But on the bad days, a funny audiobook could save you. Not only are audiobooks a fabulous way to relax, but they don’t require you to do any work. So even after what seems like the longest day you’ll be able to enjoy someone else’s soothing voice while they read to you. And since you’ll most likely be wearing headphones, you’ll be able to block out the incessant screams of your kid(s) who don’t approve of bedtime.
Plus, if you’re an Audible member you can make this your free book of the month. But for those of you unfamiliar with Audible, it’s Amazon’s audiobook service. Home to the largest library of audiobooks, each member receives one book a month for free. You can purchase multiple books per month at a discounted rate. The monthly subscription is just $14.95/month and you can cancel at anytime, keeping the books you’ve already downloaded. New members get a free 30-day trial. So you can test it out before you commit to Audible. For your free trial, click here.
For a list of the best audiobooks that will make you laugh until you cry, continue reading.
1) Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
From the publisher: In Furiously Happy, number-one New York Times best-selling author Jenny Lawson explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. But terrible ideas are what Jenny does best. Lawson is beloved around the world for her inimitable humor and honesty, and in Furiously Happy, she is at her snort-inducing funniest. This is a book about embracing everything that makes us who we are – the beautiful and the flawed – and then using it to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways. Because as Jenny’s mom says, “Maybe ‘crazy’ isn’t so bad after all.” Sometimes crazy is just right.
The audiobook contains a bonus chapter not available in the print version.
Price on Amazon: $9.99
2) The Southern Fried Fix: 25 funny stories from a typical Southern family by Jennifer Youngblood and Sandra Poole
From the publisher: Bestselling authors Jennifer Youngblood & Sandra Poole (mother and daughter) tell funny, heartwarming stories about life in the South, such as this entertaining definition of “What Bless Your Heart Really Means.” Youngblood and Poole talk about the ins and outs of nosy neighbors, sibling rivalry, and why every Southerner worth her salt feels the need to offer advice.
Price on Amazon: $2.99
3) Zo White and the Seven Morphs by Barbara Silkstone
From the publisher: 400 Baby Turtles? Huh? Zo White, aerial dancer and star performer in the Grimm Brothers’ Cirque is stalked by an unknown assassin. The Seven Morphs acrobatic team tumble to her rescue while preparing to leave on a covert mission. What secrets are hidden by their bright colored spandex body suits and will Zo find love with Green Morph? Romantic Suspense on the light side.Throw in outrageous plot twists, a magic mirror, 400 baby turtles, a giant python, Miami mobsters, and a few murders on the side, and it all adds up to a zany whodunit that keeps you laughing and guessing till the end.
Price on Amazon: $3.99 (regularly $10.99)
4) The Woman Who Met Her Match by Fiona Gibson
From the publisher: What if your first love came back on the scene … 30 years later? After yet another disaster, Lorrie is calling time on online dating. She might be single in her 40s, but she’s got a good job and wonderful children, and she’s happy. This, Lorrie decides, is going to have to be enough. That is until she receives a very unexpected request from France. Antoine Rousseau, who had once turned a lonely French exchange trip into a summer of romance, wants to see her – after 30 years. But Lorrie is a responsible woman. She can’t exactly run off to Nice with the man who broke her teenage heart … can she?
Price on Amazon: $1.99
5) Life and Other Near-Death Experiences: A Novel by Camille Pagán
From the publisher: Libby Miller has always been an unwavering optimist – but when her husband drops a bomb on their marriage the same day a doctor delivers devastating news, she realizes her rose-colored glasses have actually been blinding her. With nothing left to lose, she abandons her life in Chicago for the clear waters and bright beaches of the Caribbean for what might be her last hurrah. Despite her new sunny locale, her plans go awry when she finds that she can’t quite outrun the past or bring herself to face an unknowable future. Every day of tropical bliss may be an invitation to disaster, but with her twin brother on her trail and a new relationship on the horizon, Libby is determined to forget about fate. Will she risk it all to live – and love – a little longer?
Price on Amazon: $3.99
6) The Humorous Short Stories of Mark Twain by Mark Twain
From the publisher: This delightful collection of gems by Mark Twain begins with the story of a town called Hadleyburg, which prides itself on the honesty of its citizens. One day a citizen of Hadleyburg offends a stranger passing through, who vows to take his revenge by revealing just how corruptible the sanctimonious town really is. Twain is at his best here, poking fun at common hypocrisy as the self-satisfied pillars of the community are done in by their own greed.
Price on Amazon: $6.95
7) It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
From the publisher: Ambitious New York City teenager Craig Gilner is determined to succeed at life-which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job. But once Craig aces his way into Manhattan’s Executive Pre-Professional High School, the pressure becomes unbearable. He stops eating and sleeping until, one night, he nearly kills himself.Craig’s suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness.
Price on Amazon: $6.99
8) Confessions of a Domestic Failure by Bunmi Laditan
From the publisher: From the creator of The Honest Toddler comes a fiction debut sure to be a must-listen for moms everywhere. There are good moms and bad moms – and then there are hot-mess moms. Introducing Ashley Keller, career girl turned stay-at-home mom who’s trying to navigate the world of Pinterest-perfect, Facebook-fantastic, and Instagram-impressive mommies but failing miserably. When Ashley gets the opportunity to participate in the Motherhood Better boot camp run by the mommy-blog-empire maven she idolizes, she jumps at the chance to become the perfect mom she’s always wanted to be. But will she fly high or flop? With her razor-sharp wit and knack for finding the funny in everything, Bunmi Laditan creates a character as flawed and lovable as Bridget Jones or Becky Bloomwood while hilariously lambasting the societal pressures placed upon every new mother. At its heart, Ashley’s story reminds moms that there’s no way to be perfect – but many ways to be great.
Price on Amazon: $9.99
9) Why I Left Judaism: A Candid and Humorous Look by Esther Elisheva Steinberg
From the publisher: With a great sense of humor, Esther Elisheva Steinberg examines why she has decided to turn her back on Judaism and her Jewish identity. Steinberg discusses Jewish men, Jewish image, Jewish religion, and the Jewish State. Jewish and non-Jewish readers alike will find Steinberg’s writing entertaining and informative. Many will identify with Steinberg’s thoughts on different levels. In the midst of the changing world, Steinberg’s book gives much food for thought and discussion. This book is written to show a strand of thinking among Generation Y Jews. As such, this book is good for high school courses dealing with identity and ethnic studies as well as for beginning college courses on Jewish studies.
Price on Amazon: $1.95
10) Fat Chance by Nick Spalding
From the publisher: Meet Zoe and Greg Milton, a married couple who have let themselves go a bit. Zoe was a stunner in her college days, but the intervening decades have added five stone, and removed most of her self-esteem. Greg’s rugby-playing days are well and truly behind him, thanks to countless pints of beer and chicken curry. When Elise, a radio DJ and Zoe’s best friend, tells them about a new competition, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn their lives around. Fat Chance will pit six hefty couples against one another to see who can collectively lose the most weight and walk away with a £50,000 prize. So begins six months of abject misery, tears, and frustration-that just might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to them – in another laugh-out-loud look at the way we live now from bestselling author Nick Spalding.
Price on Amazon: $3.99
11) A Presidential Ending by Luke Shephard
From the publisher: It hadn’t taken long for a single bloody incident to explode into something far bigger and more violent. Screams and the sounds of dozens of hurried footfalls outside of the Oval Office door compelled him to stay down, hidden behind the curtains of one window like a child in a game of hide-and-seek, while chaos ensued in all directions around him. From somewhere in the distance, he could smell smoke. Eventually, after what had felt like hours, the White House fell into grave silence…This is what happens when the President decides he is done playing around!
Price on Amazon: $3.46
For more humorous audiobooks, click here.
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