Audiobooks Are Your Holiday Entertainment

Nick Sampson | December 15 2025

This holiday season, you may not find yourself with the time to watch your favorite shows or movies. The holiday music may be getting on your nerves, and you certainly do not have the time to sit down and read your favorite books. With holiday driving, parties, school events, shoveling, cleaning, and whatever extra obligations come up this time of year, free time can feel nonexistent.

One thing, however, is still available as your go-to form of escape. Audiobooks are your holiday entertainment.

Now, give me a moment to explain why.

In years past, audiobooks were often thought of as dry and boring. Words read straight off the page by a monotone, uninspired voice. If that is your immediate impression, it is time to know that the audiobook landscape has changed dramatically over the last five to ten years.

Today’s audiobook narrators are trained actors and voice specialists. They are masters of accents and dialects, supported by full studios, producers, and directors. These are not hobbyists reading into a microphone. They are professionals.

Many well-known actors have stepped into audiobook narration. James Marsters, who played Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Ray Porter, who appeared in Almost Famous and voiced Darkseid in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Richard Armitage, who portrayed Thorin in The Hobbit. Gerard Doyle, known for his extensive work in television and theater. This is only a small sampling of the talent now found in audiobooks.

The Epic Realms Podcast has spoken with, and will continue to speak with, audiobook narrators at all levels of the industry. The hosts’ love of audiobooks and fascination with the different processes narrators use is a topic that comes up often. Some narrators read the entire book ahead of time, making detailed notes and character choices before recording. Others go in completely cold, discovering the story as they perform it. There is no single method, and that diversity is part of what makes audiobook narration so compelling.

Below are just a handful of audiobook narrators who have been featured on the Epic Realms Podcast.

Jarrett Lemaster has appeared in films such as Turnaround Jake, Birth of the Dragon, Homestead, and Nefarious, along with numerous commercials. He is also a musician and has a strong love for urban fantasy, though his work spans multiple genres. He is well known for narrating The Knights Templar Chronicles by Joseph Nassise, The Sinking Man series by Justin Leslie, and the Alexander King series by Bradley Wight.

Andrea Emmes is an award-winning audiobook narrator with a background in theater and musical theater. She has performed for Disney and worked as a Las Vegas headliner. After physical setbacks shifted her career path, she committed fully to audiobook narration. She is particularly known for fantasy, young adult fiction, and LitRPG titles, with credits including Little Women and works by Selkie Myth, Ashley Fontainne, Matt Forbeck, and many others.

Ray Porter is a legend in audiobook narration. In addition to voicing Darkseid in Justice League, he played Hickman in Rebel Moon and took on the role of the main villain in the television series Monk, blending elements previously portrayed by Tim Curry and Adam Arkin. His on-screen credits include Almost Famous, Lost, and The Runaways, but his audiobook work is where he truly shines. From RPG titles like Pathfinder Tales and Dark Sun to major novels such as The Terminal List and Project Hail Mary, Ray Porter’s range spans military fiction, fantasy, science fiction, thrillers, mystery, horror, and more. He is also the iconic voice of the Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor and Sons of Valor by Bryan Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson.

Luke Daniels is a Hall of Fame audiobook narrator and classically trained stage actor who comes from a family of performers. He has narrated romance, fantasy, urban fantasy, LitRPG, and more. Known for his distinct character voices, extensive dialect mastery, and sharp delivery, Luke has built a devoted following. He works closely with independent authors like Justin Leslie and Hunter Blain, as well as major authors such as Robert Crais and Nora Roberts. He is especially beloved for narrating Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles.

This is only a small list of narrators who can completely change how you think about audiobooks.

So this holiday season, while you are cleaning for a party, traveling to visit family, standing in line at the store, or commuting through winter traffic, put on an audiobook and disappear into your favorite worlds, or discover entirely new ones.

Or, of course, tune in to the Epic Realms Podcast, where you can listen to authors and audiobook narrators alike. Sign up for Audibles 30 day free trial - https://amzn.to/49cBZQ0