Emma Radebaugh
CITATION: “© [Alena Ozerova] / Adobe Stock”
Road trips are the perfect time to listen to all those books you’ve been eagerly waiting to read. There’s really no better way to keep the monotony at bay than by playing what we consider to be the best audiobooks for road trips.
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The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Since 1951, HeLa cells have enabled many scientific advancements in vaccines. This remarkably resilient strain of cells were the first human cells grown in vitro, meaning they grew outside of a living organism. Today, medical research centers around the globe populate billions of HeLa cells.
Building upon this profound phenomenon is journalist Rebecca Skloot, who strives to understand the woman behind HeLa—Henrietta Lacks. Henrietta’s cancerous cells, taken from her without her knowledge, have engendered an unbreakable cell line which plays an invaluable role in medicine today. This novel scrutinizes the evolving character of scientific advancement and its sometimes brutal confrontations with morality.
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Comedian Tina Fey uses her raw story-telling abilities to make her autobiography a truly hilarious, yet humbling experience. Her conventional life forces us to recall our own unremarkable beginnings—from confused teenagers to smart-mouthed adults—and the struggle to cope with the pressures of society. Eventually, we find our way through awkward growing pains and begin to piece ourselves together, just like Tina did. The result? Something fractured, and imperfect— but authentic and beautiful, too.
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
Two women separated by oceans, traditions, and culture, are united by one thing: they’re mother and daughter. Li-Yan is part of the ethnic Akha minority group, a people deeply bound to their spiritual traditions, living remotely in the Chinese mountains. Li-Yan’s quest to preserve her dignity after she falls pregnant leads her to leave her baby daughter wrapped in a blanket in a nearby city. As she further withdraws from Akha doctrine in pursuit of her dream, the reader observes fragments of the life of her daughter, Haley, living in affluent Los Angeles with her adopted family. The New York Times bestselling author, Lisa See, demonstrates how strong a mother and daughter’s bond is in this family-focused novel.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Enter the world of hobbits, elves, dwarves, rings of mass destruction, and evil warlords. Though overwhelming, there is a reason this is one of the greatest book and film franchises of all time—it’s, ultimately, irresistible. This book follows the quest of Frodo Baggins, a meek but courageous hobbit who must destroy the ring of power to save the world from the malevolent spirit of Sauron. Dive into the fantasy world which is held together by the inescapable bonds of friendship, loyalty, and the desire to fight for all that is good in the world.
