Audiobooks to Listen to while Playing Animal Crossing!

Animal Crossing came out yesterday and I am so so so glad. And I love listening to audiobooks while I play Animal Crossing. There is nothing better than watering your flowers, fishing and bug catching with a gentle story being told in the background. I tend to go for more relaxed audiobooks, nothing too complicated or full of action that might ruin the Animal Crossing ~vibes~ for me. So here are my recommendations, and a few I plan to listen to!

If you have a pig villager, or a hankering for pastoral mischief, look no further than The Blandings Castle series by P.G. Wodehouse. I cannot recommend a series more for listening while playing Animal Crossing because the stakes are very very low and every book follows a similar plotline of someone impersonating someone else and something nefarious to do with the pig. I’ve read eight or nine of these now and they’re always read by very posh older gentlemen in very soothing tones.

If your luck ran out and your island is full of smug and snooty villagers, then I think you can’t go wrong with a Jane Austen. Personally, I think Emma is a great pick if you’re surrounded by gossips, and the new movie is out this year.

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere and are taken by the Spring vibes and the sound of water, Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome is the story of, you guessed it, three men (and a dog) in a boat taking a holiday down the river Thames. I just listened to this in February and recommend both unabridged and abridged (which is on Spotify, read by Hugh Laurie).

If you feel like leaning into the oddity of being the only humanoid on an island of talking animals, look to further than the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. I really recommend the witches branch of this series, starting with Equal Rites, but Lianne has a great video breaking down the vast universe and all the best starting points. Oddball characters, magic, fantasy lands, I didn’t really like the first book which I read physically but they shine in audiobook format.

Personally, I just started Lady Susan by Jane Austen but it’s pretty short and two and a half hours is nothing when it comes to Animal Crossing. I’m really tempted to go back and listen to the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris on audiobook as I’ve been slowly re-reading them since I finished my first read of my favourite waitresses tales.

If you are looking to load up on audiobooks, consider Libro.fm as all the money goes to your local bookstore! Or you can get a free book using my link. Libro is a great alternative to Audible!