How to pick an audiobook you'll actually finish

Choosing an audiobook isn't quite the same as choosing a book. You're also choosing a voice, and you'll be spending many hours with it. A few quick checks can save you from giving up at chapter three.

Before you press play

1. Listen to the sample. Give it a full five minutes if you can. Ask whether you'd want this voice in your ears for the whole book.
2. Check the length. For your first few, pick something you can finish in about a week or two of your normal listening.
3. Check it's the version you want. Abridged editions cut parts of the book, so look for "unabridged" if you want the full text.
4. Look at the format. Single narrator, author-read and full-cast productions all feel different.

Books that tend to work well for beginners

• Memoirs read by the author, since it can feel like being told the story directly.
• Fast-moving thrillers, where the plot pulls you along.
• Books you've already read, so you won't get lost if your attention drifts.
• Short story collections, which give you natural places to stop.

Books that can be harder

• Stories with a huge cast and shifting timelines, which are harder to track without flipping back.
• Books that rely heavily on charts, footnotes or diagrams.