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Our Editors Pick the Best Audible Books

These tech-centric audiobooks will keep you entertained anywhere you can listen.

October 17, 2018

Between testing technology, writing stories, and busy social lives PCMag editors don't always have a lot of time to sit down to read books. Luckily, since we're based in New York City, the MTA gives us plenty of extra time to listen to them.

Most of the audiobooks we've chosen are on-brand in that they involve tech or science fiction. As a PCMag reader, your tastes are likely similar. So we've surveyed our staff to get some recommendations for titles you might enjoy with a good pair of headphones on your commute.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Oryx and Crake is set in an extremely well-imagined, post-apocalyptic world. Bioengineering technology is a main plot element—along with a devastating man-made epidemic—but with this novel, Atwood transcends genre labels.
Carol Mangis, Managing Editor, PC Magazine digital edition

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
Ninefox Gambit is a really interesting military sci-fi story whose premise is basically the resurrection of an ancient admiral to win a war. But it's really about the slow unraveling of the reality of the universe because rather than manipulating atoms to control reality, reality bends to people's beliefs.
Ajay Kumar, Mobile Analyst

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
In The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Becky Chambers introduces readers to the Wayfarer and its crew of colorful characters. Less adventure and more of a travelogue through space, Chambers creates a universe that's full of fabulous food, intriguing individuals, and unwavering optimism. Chambers has two more books set in the same universe, focusing on different characters.
Max Eddy, Software Analyst

Disrupted by Dan Lyons

Disrupted by Dan Lyons
Disrupted is an ugly look inside Silicon Valley startup culture written by a bitter, middle-age ex-tech journalist. Sounds like an amusing romp, right? The bizarre cult-like workplace practices, cruel financial injustices, and overt ageism that Lyons portrays in this tell-all should be terrifying (especially to a 40-something tech editor like me), but his writing is so sharp and witty that it’s actually entertaining. "Juicy" doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Wendy Sheehan Donnell, Editor

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Elizabeth Holmes took the bio-tech world by storm several years ago with the promise of blood tests that only needed one drop of blood, not the larger vials labs currently require. It's too bad Theranos was all a scam, as Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou outlines in this riveting indictment of Silicon Valley's impulse to invest first and ask questions later.
Chloe Albanesius, Executive Editor, News and Features

All the Birds In the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

All the Birds In the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
Set in the not-so-distant future, Charlie Jane Anders’ sci-fi/fantasy/dystopian novel tells the story of two childhood friends who end up on opposing sides of a war for the future of humanity. It’s a tale of nature versus science in a story packed with likable if flawed characters—including a super-computer that takes on an identity of its own.
Jonathan Rougeot, Managing Editor

Artemis by Andy Weir

Artemis by Andy Weir
I grabbed this based entirely on the author, Andy Weir, who wrote The Martian, which was a great movie and an even better book. Weir is one of those authors who devotes months, if not years, to research before he puts pen to paper, and it shows. Sometimes, it can drag things down a little as he really wants to show you the science of Artemis—the first town built on the moon—is real. I wouldn't say the heroine of Artemis is anywhere near as interesting as the character featured in The Martian, but both make enthralling listens.
Eric Griffith, Features Editor

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
A 24-hour bookstore might not sound like the setting for a novel rife with technology. But Mr. Penumbra’s titular San Francisco shop isn’t quite what it seems. And when new employee Clay Jannon notices strange customers coming and going in seemingly algorithmic fashion, he determines to crack the code of the mystery that lies in the stacks.
Alex Colon, Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
The truest things in Super Sad True Love Story aren't the vagaries of love, but the riffs on how we'll live in the future. Lenny Abramov is one of the last holdouts of the analog life, reading print books and putting his thoughts down on paper. It's what contributes to him being a low-ranking (literally, thanks to algorithms) member of society and is partly responsible for his languishing love life. One of the only things that hasn't come to pass yet from this prescient book is that we're not all aspiring to crowd into the hottest bars on Staten Island.
Chandra Steele, Senior Features Writer
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About Chandra Steele

Chandra Steele

Chandra Steele is a senior features writer which lets her write about absolutely anything if it connects to technology. Fortunately that's everything. She also writes fiction, essays, and some other things. You can find her on Twitter at @ChanSteele.

Read the latest from Chandra Steele
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