Ten audiobooks for a long flight, sorted by length from 5.5 to 16 hours, so you can pick one that lasts from takeoff to landing. Gripping stories, memoirs read by their authors, and Project Hail Mary for the longest routes.
Travel
A good flight audiobook needs two things: it has to hold your attention over engine noise and cabin announcements, and it should last about as long as the flight. This list is sorted by length so you can match the book to the route. Around six hours, roughly New York to Los Angeles, try Bossypants or Greenlights. For a transatlantic flight of seven to nine hours, a thriller like The Silent Patient works well. For the longest routes, Project Hail Mary runs over 16 hours and is one of the highest-rated audiobooks on Audible.
We left out books that need close attention to follow, and chose ones that are easy to pick up again after a meal service or a nap. Before you board, download the book in the Audible app: it plays offline in flight mode, and you will not depend on the plane's wifi.
| # | Audiobook | Length | Read by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BossypantsTina Fey | 5h 32m | Tina Fey (author) |
| 2 | GreenlightsMatthew McConaughey | 6h 51m | Matthew McConaughey (author) |
| 3 | The Silent PatientAlex Michaelides | 8h 33m | Jack Hawkins and Louise Brealey |
| 4 | The Midnight LibraryMatt Haig | 8h 50m | Carey Mulligan |
| 5 | Daisy Jones & The SixTaylor Jenkins Reid | 9h 3m | Full cast, including Jennifer Beals, Benjamin Bratt and Judy Greer |
| 6 | Born a CrimeTrevor Noah | 9h 30m | Trevor Noah (author) |
| 7 | Dark MatterBlake Crouch | 10h 8m | Jon Lindstrom |
| 8 | The MartianAndy Weir | 10h 59m | Wil Wheaton |
| 9 | EducatedTara Westover | 12h 10m | Julia Whelan |
| 10 | Project Hail MaryAndy Weir | 16h 10m | Ray Porter |
Short on time? Start with Bossypants, the shortest listen here at 5h 32m.
Lengths and narrators are from Audible's US catalog.
Tina Fey on growing up, working at Saturday Night Live, creating 30 Rock and being a working mother, told in short, very funny chapters. She reads it herself with perfect timing. Short chapters and constant jokes make it ideal for a flight where you will be interrupted. About the length of a coast-to-coast US flight.
Listen on Audible →
McConaughey's memoir, built from the diaries he kept for most of his life: a strict Texas childhood, a year as an exchange student in Australia, and how he became and then reinvented himself as an actor. In print it can feel like a collection of slogans; in his own voice, it becomes a long, entertaining conversation. One of the most-rated audiobooks on Audible.
Listen on Audible →
A famous painter shoots her husband and never speaks again. Years later a psychotherapist becomes obsessed with getting her to talk. It is a fast, simple thriller with one of the best-known twists of recent years, and two narrators, for the therapist and for the painter's diary, keep it clear. Fits a flight from New York to London with time to spare.
Listen on Audible →
Nora Seed, at the lowest point of her life, finds herself in a library between life and death, where each book lets her try a different version of her life. It is gentle, easy to follow and ends on a hopeful note. Carey Mulligan's reading is warm and clear, good for a long night flight.
Listen on Audible →
The rise and break-up of a 1970s rock band, told as an oral history by the band members, their friends and their managers. The interview format was made for audio: each person is read by a different actor, so it sounds like a music documentary. One of the most enjoyable full-cast productions on Audible.
Listen on Audible →
Trevor Noah grew up in South Africa as the child of a Black mother and a white father, at a time when their relationship was illegal. His stories of childhood under apartheid and after are funny and often shocking, and at the centre is his fearless, deeply religious mother. Noah reads it himself, switching easily between languages and accents. Many listeners say it is better in audio than in print.
Listen on Audible →
A physics teacher in Chicago is kidnapped on his way home and wakes up in a world where he never married his wife and became a famous scientist instead. He spends the rest of the book trying to get back. Short chapters, constant cliffhangers and a clear plot make it a perfect plane book. Jon Lindstrom reads it at a fast pace.
Listen on Audible →
An astronaut is left behind on Mars, presumed dead, and has to survive with whatever he can improvise until a rescue might arrive. Mark Watney's log entries are funny, and the science problems keep coming. Wil Wheaton's sarcastic reading suits Watney well. About the length of a flight from Europe to the US West Coast.
Listen on Audible →
Tara Westover grew up in a survivalist family in the mountains of Idaho, never went to school, and taught herself enough to get into university at seventeen, eventually earning a PhD at Cambridge. It is a story about the cost of leaving the family you were born into. Julia Whelan's narration is among the most praised on Audible. Long enough for most flights between Europe and Asia.
Listen on Audible →
A man wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he is there, and slowly realises that the survival of Earth depends on him. What follows is funny, clever and surprisingly moving. Ray Porter's performance is the reason many people say this is the best audiobook they have heard, and there are sound elements in the recording that make it even better in audio. Long enough for the longest flights.
Listen on Audible →