9 Nonfiction Audiobooks for Comics Lovers

9 Nonfiction Audiobooks for Comics Lovers We all love comics; lets face it, if you dont love (or at least  want  to love) comics, you probably wouldnt be here. But I also love audiobooks; I love being able to listen to books while Im grocery shopping, sorting laundry, and walking to the metro. GraphicAudio has some great options for comics and comics-type stories (they produce audio dramas for important Marvel storylines), but I have trouble listening to fiction in audio. Theres something about the way I process information that makes me prefer nonfiction in audio, rather than fiction. If youre  in the mood for a geek audiobook (something thats not quite comics but is comics-adjacent enough or is about geek culture), check out these 8 nonfiction picks. Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation by Blake J. Harris Who doesnt remember the Sega vs. Nintendo console wars (if you dont remember them, well then I just dated myself). This might not  sound like a fascinating story, but Harris writes in a narrative style that makes this read like a thriller. Im serious. A video-game behind-the-scenes soap-opera-thriller. Who knew? Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation by Aisha Tyler Aisha Tyler scores pretty high on my nerd list. She does an amazing job on  Archer  (NOOOOOOPE) and I love her Girl on Guy podcast, in which she interviews important personalities (and many, many nerds). This memoir is deeper than youd think; its about Tylers many humiliations and what shes learned from them. And of course, its also funny. Very, very funny. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach All of Mary Roachs books are amazing, but Packing for Mars holds a special place in my heart because its about one of my first loves, space.  What is it like to live in space? How is thinking about humans living in space a proxy for what it is to be human? This is as much a book of anecdotes with a singular, unifying theme as it is a story of people  living in space, but its very well-written and entertaining. Marvel Comics: The Untold Story  by Sean Howe Why would I want to read a behind-the-scenes story of a publisher? you might be asking yourself. Trust me, though,  Marvel Comics: The Untold Story  is something you want to read. Even if youre relatively new to comics, the ins and out of the comics giants history are fascinating, and this  history makes it easier to understand how Marvel got to where it did, and the challenges it faces now. Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl  by Issa Rae To be a geek is to have been awkward, and/or to currently be awkward. I firmly believe this; Im still awkward, and though Im more comfortable than most introverts in social situations, I am so incredibly bad at small talk. Issa Rae is a nerd at heart, an introvert like the rest of us, and the fact that this memoir/essay collection (which are always perfect for audio) is about accepting yourself as you are?  You can bet Im recommending it. Death By Black Hole (and Other Cosmic Quandaries)) by Neil deGrasse Tyson Im not an rocket scientist (Ill wait while you recover from the shock of that revelation) but I find astrophysics absolutely fascinating, and no one speaks to the layperson better than Neil deGrasse Tyson. Ive read pretty much all of his books, but Death by Black Hole  continues to be my favorite. Its a series of essays on space phenomena; it makes these complex ideas accessible and easy to understand, and you can listen in pieces because these essays stand alone from one another. Its well-written and simply fascinating. How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise  by Chris Taylor As a person who is a die-hard  Star Wars fan and swore up and down by  the OB1 theory of the Clone Wars (if you have no idea what Im talking about, dont go down that rabbit hole. Trust me), I absolutely LOVED this book. The present and future of the franchise is changing seemingly from one day to the next, but this gets into a lot of the nitty gritty about its past and its evolution from movies into a cultural phenomenon. Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World  by Jane McGonigal I get  really  tired of people hating on video games for all of societys ills. Its just lazy and helps no one. Im not much of a gamer personally (except  Mass Effect. I still cant talk about that ending.) but I love learning things about geek culture generally. McGonigals book is actually about how video games, gamer culture, and the things that attract people to video games actually help us and how they can make the world better. The Fangirls Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks  by Sam Maggs We covered  The Fangirls Guide to the Galaxy  when it was first released, but I wanted to include it on this list because its just so good. I love this book. I think it shines in print because of the thought and care that went into each page of it (literally the physical pages are beautiful), but Im guessing its also absolutely lovely in audiobook form. ____________________ Whats cool, new, and worth talking about in the world of comics? Subscribe to our weekly podcast Oh, Comics! to find out. Sign up to The Stack to receive  Book Riot Comic's best posts, picked for you. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.