If you’re anything like me, there’s always one thing that you end up dreading throughout your week: the ever-growing mountain of household chores. Whether it’s the dishes staring at you judgmentally from the sink or the endless piles of laundry, it’s just always there and it’s tough to find any fun in it. It’s why it usually stays that way, at least until Mount Housework decides it’s time to have its weekly avalanche. Plus, add in either a move or a renovation like I am next month, and it just makes things worse.

I sometimes try to fill the time with music, but you need to be in the right sort of mood to listen to it. Plus, after the tenth time of having a verbal struggle with Google Home where it’s determined to send you to the abyss of YouTube’s repository for strange cover bands, you end up wanting to listen to anything but. That’s where I found myself when I stumbled upon the wonderful world of podcasts (ironically, thanks to YouTube. Sometimes the algorithm knows what it’s doing).

The great thing about podcasts is you can take them pretty much anywhere no matter what you’re doing, so long as you have a phone and some headphones (hooray for mobile entertainment!). There’s such a wide range of podcasts too, from self-help to science lessons to my personal favorite, the fiction stories. I think there’s something to be said about how full circle these kinds of podcasts are, taking so much from radio theatre from the 1920s. But that’s another blog post for another time. I’m here to introduce you to my go-to for making housework anything but a pain and a bore: the fun world of aural storytelling.  

Among my podcast picks and dutiful housework companions, Midst ranks somewhere at the top. It’s a pretty unique experience, told by three anonymous narrators known as Third Person. It’s a largely improvised tale of political intrigue, mystery, and science-fiction all rolled into one, centered around three characters whose lives intersect when the moon of the planet of Midst falls out of the sky (talk about starting your story with a bang). If I’m all caught up on that and need to run around my space armed with a Swiffer, I’ve found myself in the world of Archive 81. It’s a found footage horror podcast that tells the story of the showrunner’s missing friend Dan, who disappeared after accepting a job to restore damaged audio tapes recovered from the mysterious Visser building. If there’s yet another mountain of laundry to deal with (there always is), I put on Welcome to Night Vale, a delightfully weird community radio show about an even weirder town in the middle of the desert. There’s an underground city of very tiny people who live under lane five of the local bowling alley planning a rebellion against the town above their heads. There’s a dog park that is forbidden to enter for reasons unknown and unexplained. There are slews of extremely strange local holidays and events (no one likes Street Cleaning Day) and even stranger characters. If you’d like to get a taste of what Night Vale has to offer, you can check out some books in our catalog written by showrunners Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor (The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home is my personal favorite).  

But what to do when I’m not in the mood for even podcasts and housework looms at the top of my to-do list? Never fear, Hoopla and Libby are here! 

Once podcasts opened the door to the joy of audio entertainment to me, I finally found myself gravitating toward audiobooks. While I am fully the kind of person who enjoys holding a physical book in my hand and the feel of a good hardcover or paperback page, there’s something to be said for (kind of) rereading a book you’ve already visited (or one that you haven’t yet) with the help of a skillful narrator. Your guide could have a wonderful tone of voice. They could be the author themselves. They could even be one of your favorite actors (audiobooks are the hot new thing these days). I’ll share a few of my top picks below, but there are always so many new titles to experience on our library’s digital platforms, so explore and listen to your heart’s content!

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (narrated by Neil Gaiman)

Anyone who knows me well will know that I will be the first to turn to Neil Gaiman if asked for book recommendations and the same goes for audiobooks. Plus, The Ocean at the End of the Lane sits right at the top of my list of favorite books and as someone whose to-be-read list keeps on growing, it’s one of the only books I end up rereading. Or in this case, relistening to. It’s part fairytale for adults, part a recollection of an imagined childhood and Gaiman’s narration makes the story feel as personal to the listener as it is to him. Our unnamed protagonist returns to his childhood neighborhood after his father’s funeral. He comes back to the pond where it all started to reminisce, especially about his childhood friend Lettie Hempstock and her family who had always seemed far wiser beyond their years. The story is as easy to get lost in as it is to lose yourself in a cleaning-fueled daydream.    

Gmorning, Gnight! by Lin-Manuel Miranda (narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda)

If you need to put a little more pep in your step while running around mopping (ugh) or dusting (even more ugh) then something like Gmorning, Gnight! will be right up your alley. The poems, inspirational aphorisms, and general good vibes are all a page long each, so this audiobook can accompany you right up until you sweep away the very last dust bunny. Although I highly recommend a second listen with a physical copy of the book in hand, so you don’t end up missing out on Jonny Sun’s delightful and simple black-and-white illustrations that make this read that much more special.

What If? by Randall Munroe (narrated by Wil Wheaton)

If, like me, you tend to lose your focus after the fifth Big Science Word pops up in a book you were otherwise very excited to read, maybe an audiobook will help you out! Granted, the Big Science in this book is made easy to understand for even the slightly curious beginner scientist (and if you have the physical copy of it with you there’s also Munroe’s iconic stick figure drawings to enjoy, of webcomic XKCD fame). What If? takes very silly hypothetical questions to their scientific limits, pondering hard-hitting inquiries about our universe such as “What if the atmosphere was made of chocolate milk?” or “What would happen if you tried to pitch a baseball near the speed of light?”. They’re the kinds of questions I’m sure all of us have had from time to time while doing the dreaded bathroom clean-up.    

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (narrated by Dominic Hoffman, and others)

This one’s a book for the book lovers. If you need to let yourself get away from the monotony of mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming, then let the world of The Starless Sea take you somewhere magical. Let it take you to an underground library with its own secret society which only a handful of mysterious doors will lead you to, to be more precise. Who wouldn’t want to go? Especially when the trail that leads you there starts with a book in your university library, with a memory only you would know printed inside. That’s where we find Zachary Ezra Rawlins at the start of this story and the places that it will take you will be beyond your wildest imagination (and far beyond the lawn you still have to mow).   

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (narrated by Bernadette Dunne)

Is there a better way to end a blog post about housework and chores than with a book recommendation about a haunted house? I think not. There have been so many adaptations of this classic Shirley Jackson novel. There’s director Mike Flanagan’s fantastic take on Netflix (one that I’ve watched since its release every time Spooky Season rolls around in October) to 1963’s and 1999’s The Haunting films (which are little less fantastic but at least you can stick the origin of the Owen Wilson “Wow” meme to them). Though, every once in a while, it’s nice to return to the root of something, which is why this eerie tale of ghosts, the supernatural, and the things our imaginations create also holds a spot on my reread/relisten list. Taking a walk through the titular house’s familiar halls with the four paranormal “investigators” that occupy it is sure to get your blood going even if all you’re doing is folding laundry (though the laundry could be haunted. Who knows?)   

I wish you all a swift finish to some boredom-free chores, home maintenance, or whatever else might be on your to-do list. As for me, I will be buried under several cardboard boxes of stuff I’ve tucked away for renovations with my ever-faithful audiobooks in my ears. Until next time, happy listening!