Read more. Sit less. My favorite Audiobooks will help you meet two goals at once.

I have spent a lot of time in the car recently. And for this book geek, car time = audiobook time. Nothing makes better use of that time, keeps me awake, and gives my driving buddy and me more to talk about than listening to a great book while we burn the miles.

Audiobooks are also a great way to get in more steps. Listening to a book while taking a long walk — or getting on a treadmill — is a great way to keep boredom at bay. I often keep going, long after I’ve met my daily step goal just to find out what happens in my book.

Choosing an audiobook is more complicated than choosing a book. The narrator makes such a huge difference in your enjoyment that I almost always start there. Even then, the narrator has to be exactly right for that particular book. This person talks to you for hours. You have to enjoy their voice and the way they interpret the text.

Here is a list to get you started.

The Cold, Cold Ground

by Adrian McKinty, read by Gerard Doyle

This writer/narrator combo may be the best I’ve ever listened to. The Cold, Cold Ground is the first book in the McKinty’s Sean Duffy series. Sean is one of the finest detective characters you will ever meet. A few hours into a drive, we find ourselves talking about Sean (and his colleague Crabby) as if he was in the car with us. We worry for his safety. (He does take too many risks.) Frown at how much he’s drinking these days. And high five if it seems likely that he will get the girl. More than entertainment, these characters have become part of our journey.

Heart of Darkness

by Joseph Conrad, read by Kenneth Branagh

If you missed this book because it’s a classic and you thought that translated to ‘boring,” this is the way to fix that poor life choice. This is an adventure classic. It’s the inspiration for the film Apocalypse Now, It’s a brilliant descent into hell. And Branagh is genius as the narrator. Don’t miss it.