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!

As many of you know, I listen to audiobooks regularly. I love classic literature, and I’ve found that I understand and enjoy it much better when read to me, rather than when I read it myself. Plus, I can consume so much more of my beloved literature when I read what fiction I can via audiobook, then the rest on my Kindle. Lately, I’ve listened to:

• Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
• The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Often, I hear people bemoan the expense of audiobooks. They’re looking at the crazy-expensive list prices on Amazon and elsewhere, and occasionally buying audiobooks that way. That’s a huge waste of money, in my view. Since 2005, I’ve had a subscription with Audible.com. That’s my sole source of audiobooks. With my super-fancy “Platinum Annual Membership,” I get 24 books per year, for just under $10 per book. That’s awesome. And they offer lesser subscriptions too, e.g. a $15 per month membership. Even that’s so much less than buying audiobooks on CD or through Amazon.

As it happens, Audible.com is part of the advertising network to which I belong. So I’ve decided to periodically remind you of how awesome they are — a subscription or even an individual audiobook would make a great Christmas present, for example — so that if you decide to purchase an audiobook or a subscription from Audible.com, you can contribute a bit to my work by doing so through me.

With any of the Audible.com links on this post — or with the one on the blog sidebar, you can enjoy a free 14-day offer of a free audiobook. Sounds good, no?