One holiday season a few years ago, we decided to give only consumable gifts on the principle that no one needed any more stuff. It’s a good idea, but it does mean you end up with a lot of pink Himalayan salt and wild huckleberry jam. Audiobooks are a great kind of consumable — entertaining, informative, shareable. The trick, of course, is to pick the right thing. So here are a few suggestions for this gift-giving and traveling time of year.

“To the Islands’’ by Randolph Stow, narrated by Humphrey Bower (Bolinda)

Randolph Stow is one of Australia’s great unknown writers. A contemporary of the late Australian Nobel laureate, Patrick White, he has long languished in the shadow of the more famous man, and hardly anyone outside Australia has ever read, or heard, his soaring prose. Bolinda Publishing has recently released audio versions of several of his novels, including his 1958 classic, “To The Islands,’’ which tells the allegorical story of a white man’s journey of penitence and redemption to the islands of the aboriginal dead.

“Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood,’’ written and narrated by Trevor Noah (Audible Studios)

Trevor Noah, host of “The Daily Show,’’ is a professional talker with a great accent, and there is always something enjoyable about hearing an author with some vocal skill reading his own work. This is all the more true when the subject is his own life, as it is in this lively, absorbing account of what it is was like to be a smart, mixed-race boy growing up in South Africa under apartheid.

“This Was a Man’’ by Jeffrey Archer, narrated by Alex Jennings (Macmillan Audio)

For those on your list with time on their hands looking for a series, Macmillan has just released the seventh and final book of The Clifton Chronicles, a labyrinthine saga set in the United Kingdom in the mid-20th century. The books, the first of which was published in 2011, tell the story of Harry Clifton and his family as they battle their way through a sequence of mishaps and scandals, including political espionage, corporate malfeasance, and various love matches, both appropriate and not. The series is wonderfully narrated by the English actor Alex Jennings (“The Queen,’’ “The Lady in the Van’’) whose voice is a perfect match for Clifton’s world.

“An Economic History of the World since 1400’’ narrated by Professor Donald J. Harreld (The Great Courses)

The formula behind The Great Courses series is a perfect combination of substantive material and conversational delivery. The idea is to replicate a great college lecture, and every one of the courses I’ve tried has managed it well. This is an easy and enjoyable way to get briefed on subjects about which you know less than you should. And, while it may take a little more effort than, say, “A Game of Thrones,’’ the payoff is a better understanding of some of the more complex dimensions of our extremely complicated world.

“The Nix’’ by Nathan Hill, narrated by Ari Fliakos (Random House Audio)

I have to confess that I have not read all of Nathan Hill’s 625-page novel, but I was intrigued enough to have downloaded the nearly 22-hour audiobook narrated by the actor Ari Fliakos (“Limitless’’). Described by The New York Times as the “love-child of Thomas Pynchon and David Foster Wallace,’’ this sprawling, surrealist saga of misadventure by a wildly talented debut author is the wild card on my list.

“Anne of Green Gables’’ by Lucy Maud Montgomery, narrated by Rachel McAdams (Audible Studios)

For children, or anyone who adores this childhood classic, Audible Studios has just released a new version of “Anne of Green Gables’’ by the actress Rachel McAdams (“Spotlight,’’ “True Detective’’). The novel has been recorded many times in the past (compare the 2008 Listening Library edition by actress Kate Burton of “Grey’s Anatomy’’ and “Scandal’’), but McAdams delivers a fine, fresh performance in a voice that is softer, more girlish, a little less crisp, and possibly more relatable for younger listeners.

“Words on the Move: Why English Won’t — and Can’t — Sit Still (Like, Literally)’’ written and narrated by John McWhorter (Audible Studios)

And speaking of “relatable’’ — a word my parents would not have recognized — anything by the linguist John McWhorter, a professor at Columbia, is a good pick. His writing style is remarkably conversational (occasionally I’ve wondered whether he dictates his books), which makes for excellent audio, and his tremendous competence and wide-ranging knowledge are a joy to experience. Also look out for his “Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English’’ released by Audible in 2009.

Christina Thompson is the editor of Harvard Review.