Narrators make the difference. Some authors try to narrate their own books and while good authors, are often bad narrators. Find a narrator you like, and see what else they’ve worked on.

That said, comedians usually do a good job of narrating their own books, and often ad lib or throw in extra side stories that aren’t in the print edition.

If you like classic sci fi, I recommend “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” by Heinlein, narrated by Lloyd James. It’s a classic, and the narrator does a fine job.

Artemis by the guy that wrote The Martian was fun and well narrated. I can visualize it as a streaming tv show.

The Murderbot books are also narrated well, and an interesting listen. I enjoyed them more than the tv series.