Audiobooks read by Oscar winners and nominees

1. Uncommon Type

Written and narrated by Tom Hanks, nominated for Best Supporting Actor 2020

A man who loves bowling finds himself to be ESPNs newest celebrity whilst an unconventional billionaire gets his first taste of real life. The range of stories written by Hanks is truly remarkable and his addition narration adds an extraordinary amount of depth.

A collection of 17 brilliant stories written and read by the world-famous actor. 

2. HR: The Complete Series

Narrated by Jonathan Pryce, nominated for Best Actor 2020

This hilarious BBC Radio 4 comedy follows the fails and misfortunes of two terrible HR workers. Johnathon Pryce stars as Peter, an abusive and tardy HR worker whose life begins to unravel when one of his abusive phone calls is intercepted.

The complete series sees Peter face increasing work worries, navigate a difficult love life and protect his pension.

3. A Ladder to the Sky

Narrated by Richard E. Grant, nominated for Best Supporting Actor 2019

If you look hard enough, you can find stories pretty much anywhere. They don’t even have to be your own. Or so would-be writer Maurice Swift decides very early on in his career in A Ladder to the Sky. Stories will make him famous, but they will also make him beg, borrow and steal. They may even make him do worse…

Richard E. Grant is one of a number of narrators in this thrilling masterpiece from John Boyne.

4. Hut 33

Narrated by Olivia Colman, winner of Best Actress 2019

Set during World War Two, Hut 33 follows the adventures of a team of codebreakers at Bletchley Park as they work tirelessly to break German codes, matching wits with the fabled Enigma Machine. Unfortunately, they hate each other…

Olivia Colman stars as the formidable Minka alongside a number of other British actors in this hilarious BBC Radio 4 comedy. 

5. The Order of Time

Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, nominated for Best Actor 2014

Time is a mystery that does not cease to puzzle us. Philosophers, artists and poets have long explored its meaning while scientists have found that its structure is different from the simple intuition we have of it. Enlightening and consoling, The Order of Time shows that to understand ourselves we need to reflect on time -- and to understand time we need to reflect on ourselves.

Benedict Cumberbatch, a self-professed fan of Carlo Rovelli’s, narrates this award-winning audiobook with lyricism and thoughtfulness. 

6. Matilda

Narrated by Kate Winslet, winner of Best Actress 2009

Matilda Wormwood is an extraordinary genius with really stupid parents. Miss Trunchbull is her terrifying headmistress who thinks all her pupils are rotten little stinkers. But Matilda will show these horrible grown-ups that even though she's only small, she's got some very powerful tricks up her sleeve...

Award-winning actress Kate Winslet narrates this much-loved story from Roald Dahl.

7. The Hours

Narrated by Rosamund Pike, nominated for Best Actress 2014

In Michael Cunningham's The Hours three separate women, living in different locations and eras, are linked by their passion for Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway. As they each live through a Tuesday in June, their thoughts and experiences mirror each other and become interwoven.

This audiobook won Gold or Best Drama in the New York Festivals Radio Awards 2018, and Oscar nominee Rosamund Pike stars as Clarissa, alongside Fenella Woolgar as Virginia Woolf and Teresa Gallagher as Laura in this emotional dramatisation of Michael Cunningham’s novel. 

8. Go Set A Watchman

Narrated by Reese Witherspoon, nominated for Best Actress 2014

Go Set a Watchman is the world-renowned author Harper Lee’s second novel, published posthumously, was narrated by Oscar nominee Reese Witherspoon.

In it, Scout has returned to Maycomb from New York to visit her father, Atticus. She is forced to grapple with issues both personal and political as she tries to understand both her father's attitude toward society and her own feelings about the place where she was born and spent her childhood.