The best gifts are fun to shop for, offer plenty of choices to suit different interests, and are easy to send and receive. Audiobooks check those boxes nicely, including a vast number of genres and styles available from an array of online sources — and no wrapping necessary!
The following audiobook sellers allow you to give individual titles or to purchase credits or memberships for recipients, who can then choose their own audiobooks.
Audible: Audible’s online store has a huge selection of audiobooks (its parent company is Amazon, after all) that can be played through the free Audible app. Select your title through amazon.com or audible.com, click the button Give as a gift and schedule a time when you’d like your gift delivered by email. You can also give someone an Audible membership (one, three, six or 12 months, $15–$150), so they can select their own audiobooks.
Libro.fm: Gift specific titles as well as credits (2 to 24 credits $30–$342; one credit per audiobook) for audiobooks, playable through the free libro.fm app. As with Audible, you can schedule a time when you’d like the gift delivered by email. Bonus: Purchases through libro.fm support independent bookstores.
Apple Books: To gift an audiobook through Apple, open the Apple Books app on your iPhone or iPad (it’s already installed when you purchase Apple devices). Select an audiobook, click the gift icon (it looks like a little wrapped present), then type in the recipient’s email address, a gift note and when you’d like it sent. You can also send someone an Apple gift card to use how they wish.
Audio Editions: This is a great resource if you want to give audiobooks on CDs. Purchase individual titles from audioeditions.com and have them shipped to your recipient. Many are available as an MP3 CD as well. (You can also buy audiobook CDs from Amazon and other sellers.)
Gift ideas
At AudioFile Magazine, where I’m editor, we review and recommend more than 2,000 titles each year. Here are a few top-notch audiobooks from 2023 to consider giving your favorite book-listener.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, read by Meryl Streep
Who wouldn’t love having Meryl Streep read this wonderful novel to them? The actress narrates with sensitivity and shifting rhythm and tone in this story centered around a woman who reflects upon a long-ago love affair. It’s written by the masterful Patchett, a Pulitzer finalist for her 2019 novel The Dutch House. (11½ hours)
