I’m still shocked about the Curry/Verne disappointment too. I even looked at dipping into another Curry narration for redemption, but while he’s done many books, none of the options struck my fancy (most of his narrations are in the Series of Unfortunate Events series, which isn’t a rabbit hole I’m willing to go down right now).

We’re doing no particular order in the Poirot books, which feels slightly freeing from my normal bingeing. All of them are so well-contained; I think I can recall only one reference to another Christie novel in the five or so Poirot books we’ve done so far. Most of them have Hastings, who’s Poirot’s own Dr. Watson, and all of them begin the same in-joke about Poirot being retired. Jessie actually has been watching the David Suchet adaptations recently (Hugh Fraser, who does the wonderful narrations for most of the Poirot audiobooks, plays Hastings). One of them had Tim Curry, who, fun fact, is not Dustin Hoffman and was not in Hook.

If you want to get into Vonnegut, start with Slaughterhouse Five. While I’m not a full-on connoisseur still of his work, I think that’s the most essential. I read it in college and it’s one that will really affect you. It too has an Audible version, natch, which I listened to in 2015. It’s read by James Franco in a rather flat performance, but the flatness was almost suiting.

The Handmaid’s Tale is probably the book that should be first in line because of the forthcoming show, but the decision has been made. I’m super stoked for that series and expect it to be The Next Big Thing, or hope so, because the world needs that. Right now, I’ll try for it as #2, though Jane Eyre is available through Overdrive, so it’d be kind of fitting to start my 2017 with your top 2 books of 2016.

I think what’s most exciting about the prospect of audiobooks, aside from the ability to listen to them in the car where most of my downtime occurs, but the PERFORMANCES. I took a voice acting class a few years back (it was taught by the male cafe worker who brings Emma Stone HER coffee at the end of La La Land) and considered trying my hand at it. But no matter, that added layer on top of just great literature is tantalizing. It’s another whole medium of art. I’m particularly jazzed to check out T-Newt, Claire Danes and John Malkovich of your top 10. A friend told me that Jeff Garlin’s biography audiobook is read by Leonard Nimoy TO Garlin in the room. While I appreciate Garlin in Curb Your Enthusiasm, I never would’ve cared to read his book. But that alone might be worth it.

Maybe the most shocking thing on this list was the fact that Tim Curry narrating a Jules Verne novel wasn’t the BEST thing you did all year.

I didn’t realize 2001 was written in conjunction with the film. Can you imagine being in the room collaborating with Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke? I think I had always thought that Kubrick adapted it and did whatever the fuck he wanted, because Kubrick. I did know about the sequels.

The cutest was definitely that you and Jessie starting the Agatha Christie kick. Are you doing it in any particular order? Are you going to watch the available film adaptations and write a 45 year in the making Binge Project?

I bought SPQR for my Dad last Christmas, and I feel like he enjoyed it, but now I’m not so sure. I’ll have to ask for his take. While I’ll likely never dive into many of these historical novels, they gave me ideas for my father, at the very least. Of them, Alexander Hamilton is the one I want to read/listen to the most. It might be the one I want to read the most overall of any of them. I still find it hard to say reading, when I’m listening to them. What’s the correct term?

I’m ashamed to say I’ve only read Ready Player One (I liked it much more, though I think if I read it again I’d be much less enthused), Good Omens (just wonderful!), The Road (I wasn’t as enthused but I still really liked it), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (I was a kid) and the three Magicians (maybe an all-time series for me) of your list. Some of the classics I may have, but my memory of them is nil at this point. Kurt Vonnegut is one of my biggest literary blindspots, although I have more holes in that than…well, Louis Sachar’s Holes, which I wouldn’t blame anyone for guessing it as the book I read.

In a way, the limitless number of books, movies and TV shows in the world feels like all the light we cannot see. Thank you for taking the time to shine a light on a few of them.