Whether patrons are looking to match the perfect story with an escapist drive, a socially distanced walk, or the opportunity to float away, safely indoors, this sampling of the season's top listens promises rich audio experiences. 

• Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan; read by Aoife McMahon (HarperAudio).

Ideal for a summer session, this sharp and modern debut, already making the rounds on “best of” lists, follows the romantic entanglements of an Irish expat living in Hong Kong. Narrator McMahon is a master at Irish fiction, winning an Earphones Award for giving voice to Sally Rooney’s Normal People.
 

• Beach Read by Emily Henry; read by Julia Whelan (Penguin Audio).

A triple honoree (LibraryReads, Indie Next Pick, and AudioFile Earphones Award winner), Henry’s sparking novel of secrets, wishes, and falling in love is fabulous for a day of sun and sand, as its title proclaims. Whelan performs with an airy, open voice and a lovely narrative rhythm.
 

• The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James; read by Juliet Stevenson (Naxos).

Listeners catching up with the classics might deeply enjoy meeting Isabel Archer, the key character of James’s piercing novel about Americans, Europeans, class, and deep waters. Narrator Stevenson's masterly reading offers expert pacing and spectacular nuance.
 

• The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones; read by Shaun Taylor-Corbett (S. & S. Audio).

Set to be the buzzy horror novel of the summer, this story blends Indigenous culture, social critique, and terror. Reader Taylor-Corbett was one of the narrators of Tommy Orange’s There There, an LJ Best Audiobook of 2018.
 

• A Burning by Megha Majumdar; read by Vikas Adam & others (Random Audio).

An Indie Next Pick (and an LJ starred review title), this debut is getting high praise. Set in India, it traces three central characters, whose lives are all intertwined with one another’s fates. The full cast of narrators fully brings to life the propulsive plot.