Get 3 months for $0.99 a month

LIMITED TIME OFFER
Vacationland cover art

Vacationland

True Stories from Painful Beaches

 Preview
Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm PT.
Amazon Prime member exclusive: get any 2 titles with your free trial. Terms apply.
Just $0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 audiobook per month of your choice from our unparalleled catalog.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Vacationland

Written by: John Hodgman
Narrated by: John Hodgman
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offers ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm PT.

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $20.40

Buy Now for $20.40

About this listen

John Hodgman - New York Times best-selling author, semifamous personality, deranged millionaire, increasingly elderly husband, father, and human of Earth - has written a memoir about his cursed travels through two wildernesses: from the woods of his home in Massachusetts, birthplace of rage, to his exile on the coast of Maine, so-called Vacationland, home to the most painful beaches on Earth.

Vacationland is also about Hodgman's wandering in the metaphoric wilderness of his 40s, those years when dudes especially must painfully stop pretending to be the children of bright potential they were and settle into the failing bodies of the wiser, weirder dads that they are.

Other subjects covered include the horror of freshwater clams, the evolutionary purpose of the mustache, which animals to keep as pets and which to kill with traps and poison, and advice on how to react when the people of coastal Maine try to sacrifice you to their strange god.

After three best-selling books of fake facts, Hodgman is finally ready to tell the truth - in the same outlandish, audacious, and inimitable style that has won him fans in every medium he has worked: books, stage, social media, television, and movies.

©2017 John Hodgman (P)2017 Penguin Audio Entertainment & Celebrities North America United States Celebrity Maine Comedy Wilderness

What the critics say

"t's no surprise that an audiobook by humorist John Hodgman is funny. More surprising, though, are the emotional depths Hodgman reaches in this assortment of essays.... He brings the expected dose of sardonic humor to his narration but is also a gifted storyteller. With expert timing and pacing, he explores the foibles and malaise of middle age... This John Hodgman is more bittersweet than his comedic personas but also more compelling for those who appreciate some hard truths within their comedy." (AudioFile)
All stars
Most relevant
A very funny and touching book. I would recommend it whether or not you're familiar with John Hodgman's comedy.

Really Wonderful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved this book! I listened to it at work and at times found myself having to stifle a giggle or wipe away a tear.

Storytime with my favourite weird dad

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really good. If you like Hodgman you'll like this book. If you don't know Hodgman, try this book anyway.

Highly recommend

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hodgman is a delight, and his delivery of his own words is wonderful. I have enjoyed everything I've read of his so far, as well as books he didn't write but he did read. I'm looking forward to more!

Hilarious

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love John Hodgman. He seems like the kind of guy you could be friends with at any age. He has a way of being introspective and humorous at the same time. He's firm in what he believes to be correct- "a hotdog is not a sandwich" no matter what the Merriam-Webster dictionary says, but also "people like what they like" and that's okay too.

I listen to John's podcast- Judge John Hodgman on Maximumfun.org, I've listened to all of his books (and all the books he narrates), and I can tell you that this is my favourite. While his other books are funny in their own rite, this book is personal. For the first time I know of, he's shared his personal moments with his audience. He seems to have always been very protective of his family, and I very much love that he is willing to share his thoughts with us.

As a middle aged white man with weird facial hair, you might think that he has nothing to offer you, but what is great about John is that he makes room at the table. Not only does he make room but he politely tells other white men to kindly shut their mouths. I appreciate his insight, the love he has for the people and things around them. He gives you permission to geek out about Dungeons and Dragons, Game of Thrones and Sci-Fi.

I will absolutely be listing to this one more than once. His performance of Vacationland makes it SO SO great. His voice is calming and his timing and emphasis makes it even better.

#audible1

I want John Hodgman to be my weird dad

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I want to hate this book, but it is so lifeless and banal that I can't really be bothered. Apparently I was under the mistaken impression that "Humour" is supposed to be funny, rather than a pointless collection of boring stories about nothing.

Don't waste your time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.