10 audiobooks for fans of Beautiful Ruins
- 1
The Best Short Stories 2024: The O. Henry Prize Winners
by Amor Towles, Jenny Minton Quigley, Emma Binder, Michele Mari, Brad Felver, Morris Collins, Jai Chakrabarti, Amber Caron, Francisco González, Caroline Kim, Katherine D. Stutzman, Juliana Leite, Kate DiCamillo, Colin Barrett, Robin Romm, Allegra Goodman, Dave Eggers, E.K. Ota, Tom Crewe, Madeline Ffitch, Jess Walter, Allegra Hyde, Brian Robert Moore, Zoë Perry
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Kristen DiMercurio, Blair Young, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Vikas Adam, Helen Laser, Johnny Rey Diaz, Jeena Yi, Jason Culp, Annette Amelia Oliveira, Dylan Moore, Alana Kerr Collins, Full Cast
Why this book?
Edoardo Ballerini's nuanced narration brings the same literary sophistication to these award-winning short stories, several of which—including a piece by Jess Walter himself—share the intricate plotting and emotional depth of *Beautiful Ruins*. The collection's mystery-driven narratives maintain that balance of elegance and intrigue that makes the audiobook format feel like settling in with a master storyteller.
★ 3.79 ABR Score (1.2K ratings)★ 4.13 Goodreads (1.2K) ★ 4.26 Audible (34)More about this pick
Prize-winning stories from Newbery winners, National Book Award nominees, and Pulitzer finalists get the full-cast treatment they deserve in this year's essential collection.
- 2
Table for Two
Rules of Civility #1.5 incl'd
by Amor Towles
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, J. Smith-Cameron
Why this book?
Edoardo Ballerini's masterful narration brings the same richly layered storytelling and atmospheric depth to *Table for Two*, creating an equally immersive listening experience that weaves together mystery and human connection across time and place. Both novels explore the complexities of relationships and secrets with elegant prose and intricate plots that reward close attention, making them perfect companions for listeners seeking sophisticated narratives.
★ 4.36 ABR Score (73.6K ratings)★ 4.19 Goodreads (71.8K) ★ 4.6 Audible (1.8K)More about this pick
Towles returns to his New York and Los Angeles settings with six stories plus a novella about Hollywood's golden age. Ballerini and Smith-Cameron split duties, each bringing distinct voices to Towles's elegant character studies.
- 3
Playground
by Richard Powers
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Robin Siegerman, Eunice Wong, Pun Bandhu, Krys Janae, Kevin R Free
★ 4.24 ABR Score (47.6K ratings)★ 4.14 Goodreads (46.5K) ★ 4.53 Audible (1.1K)More about this pick
Powers connects four lives across decades and continents in this oceanic meditation on technology and nature. The ensemble cast guides listeners through underwater Montreal, Pacific naval bases, and AI boardrooms with distinct vocal textures.
- 4
The Divine Comedy
La Divina Commedia #1-3 • Book 1
by Dante Alighieri
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
★ 4.08 ABR Score (176.2K ratings)★ 4.09 Goodreads (174.4K) ★ 4.25 Audible (1.8K)More about this pick
Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise guided by Virgil remains literature's most ambitious spiritual quest. Edoardo Ballerini brings operatic grandeur to the medieval Italian epic while keeping the narrative momentum clear.
- 5
The Aeneid
by Virgil, Scott McGill, Susannah Wright, Emily Wilson
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Emily Wilson
★ 3.89 ABR Score (144.9K ratings)★ 3.88 Goodreads (144.8K) ★ 4.71 Audible (21)More about this pick
Aeneas flees burning Troy to found Rome in Wilson's electrifying new translation, with Edoardo Ballerini capturing both the epic's violence and its surprising emotional intimacy.
- 6
The Storyteller
by Jodi Picoult
Narrated by Mozhan Marno, Jennifer Ikeda, Edoardo Ballerini, Suzanne Toren, Fred Berman
★ 4.57 ABR Score (299.1K ratings)★ 4.3 Goodreads (278.1K) ★ 4.61 Audible (21.0K)More about this pick
When an elderly man asks baker Sage to help him die as penance for his Nazi past, she must confront family history and impossible moral choices. Multiple narrators handle the interconnected timelines skillfully, from modern grief support groups to Holocaust survival stories.
- 7
I Must Betray You
by Ruta Sepetys
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Ruta Sepetys
★ 4.56 ABR Score (103.0K ratings)★ 4.4 Goodreads (101.3K) ★ 4.77 Audible (1.7K)More about this pick
Ballerini's dual narration captures the suffocating paranoia of Cold War Romania so viscerally you'll feel the weight of every impossible choice Cristian makes. A gripping true-stakes thriller about resistance that refuses easy heroics.
- 8
Caligula and Three Other Plays
by Albert Camus, Alyssa Bresnahan, Edoardo Ballerini, John Skelley, Michael Braun, Ryan Bloom - translator
Narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan, Edoardo Ballerini, Michael Braun, John Skelley
★ 4.07 ABR Score (2.6K ratings)★ 4.07 Goodreads (2.6K)More about this pick
Camus's theatrical exploration of absurdism and tyranny gets full dramatic treatment from a cast that captures the philosophical weight of power's corruption.
- 9
Trust (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
by Hernan Diaz
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Jonathan Davis, Mozhan Marnò, Orlagh Cassidy
★ 3.79 ABR Score (4.8K ratings)★ 4.14 Audible (4.8K) - 10
Sunrise on the Reaping
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Narrated by Jefferson White
★ 4.90 ABR Score (1.2M ratings)★ 4.5 Goodreads (1.1M) ★ 4.85 Audible (32.5K)More about this pick
Young Haymitch faces the brutal Quarter Quell with twice the usual tributes in this Hunger Games prequel. Jefferson White captures the desperation beautifully.
Browse Related Lists
How We Rank Audiobooks
Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.
Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.
We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.
Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.