Rememberings by Sinéad O’Connor: audiobook vs book, which should you choose?
Sinéad O’Connor’s 2021 memoir, from her Dublin childhood to fame and beyond, read by the singer herself.
Short answer: for the Rememberings audiobook vs book choice, we say listen on Audible (100% confidence, clear cut). Sinéad O’Connor reads her own memoir, told in one first-person voice, and Kirkus praises her reading, all of which favours audio. No reading check could be backed by a named source, so every point that counts favours listening.
Listen on Audible
Sinéad O’Connor reads her own memoir, so you hear her story in her own voice, the way she meant it. Kirkus says she performs it “with vulnerability and humor”, and it's her first-person account from start to finish.
Affiliate links: we may earn a small commission, at no cost to you. It never changes a verdict.
Confidence 100%, which puts it in the clear cut band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above. Is listening the same as reading? See what the research says.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | UK edition, our verdict | US edition |
|---|---|---|
| Read by | Sinéad O’Connor (the author) | Sinéad O’Connor (the author) |
| Length | 7 hours 14 minutes (7h 14m), unabridged | 7 hours 15 minutes (7h 15m), unabridged |
| At 1.5x | about 4h 49m | about 4h 50m |
| At 2x | about 3h 37m | about 3h 38m |
| Audio publisher and date | Penguin, 1 June 2021 | Dey Street Books, 1 June 2021 |
| Audiobook price | £11.20 on Audible UK | $21.59 on Audible US |
| Kindle price | £5.99 on Amazon UK | Not confirmed |
| Sandycove hardback, 287 pages, with black and white photographs, 1 June 2021 | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover, 304 pages, 1 June 2021 | |
| Listener rating | Performance 4.83 from 1,532 ratings | Performance 4.87 from 1,062 ratings |
Sinéad O’Connor reads both editions, released the same day and a minute apart in length. Whether they are one recording is not confirmed; no check changes either way. A Spanish translation, Remembranzas, is read by Laura Ramírez.
Ratings and prices checked 2 November 2026. They change often. Amazon US does not show Kindle prices outside the US, so US Kindle prices are not given.
Lengths checked 2 November 2026. Speed times are calculated.
Rememberings
Sinéad O’Connor
- Genre
- Memoir
- First published
- 1 June 2021
- Length
- 304 pages (UK paperback)
- On audio
- 7 hrs 14 mins, read by the author
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: read by the author (8), single point of view and narrator (7), award-winning or praised narration (6), 21 points. Reading: nothing confirmed, 0 points. 100% of the confirmed points favour listening, so the verdict is listen on Audible at 100% confidence (clear cut).
The recording in detail
- Scored
- Sinéad O’Connor, Penguin, 2021, 7h 14m, unabridged
- Critic review
- Kirkus: she performs the memoir “with vulnerability and humor”
- Alternatives
- Spanish translation, read by Laura Ramírez
- What you miss
- The black and white photographs in the UK hardback
What this book actually is
Rememberings is Sinéad O’Connor’s memoir, subtitled Scenes from My Complicated Life on the UK editions. It follows her from a Dublin childhood to her record deal in London in 1985, the 1992 Saturday Night Live appearance and the years after. It was published on 1 June 2021 by Sandycove in Ireland and the UK and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the US.
Sinéad O’Connor died in July 2023, aged 56 (Rolling Stone). The book covers child abuse in her childhood home, time in a reform institution as a teenager, mental illness and stays in psychiatric hospital, and religion.
The case for reading it
It is a short book, 304 pages in the UK paperback and US hardcover, and the UK hardback includes black and white photographs, which you only get in print.
Publishers Weekly calls it a “page-turner”, so it is an easy read on the page too.
The case for listening to it
Sinéad O’Connor reads her own memoir, and Kirkus says she performs it “with vulnerability and humor”. Listeners agree: 4.83 on Audible UK and 4.87 on Audible US, from more than 2,500 ratings between them.
At 7 hours 14 minutes it comes down to about 4 hours 49 minutes at 1.5x.
The audiobook in detail
Penguin publishes the UK recording (7 hours 14 minutes) and Dey Street Books the US one (7 hours 15 minutes), both read by Sinéad O’Connor, unabridged and released on 1 June 2021. Whether they are one recording is not confirmed.
A Spanish translation, Remembranzas, is read by Laura Ramírez. No PDF companion is listed.
Who should ignore this verdict
Lean towards print if you want the photographs in the UK hardback. Lean towards audio if you want to hear her tell her own story.
Audiobook
- Read by Sinéad O’Connor
- 7h 14m, or about 4h 49m at 1.5x
- Unabridged; Kirkus praises the reading
Read differently from most people? The app, coming soon, will let you switch off any of the thirteen checks. Get notified →
Related verdicts
Swan Song
Another memoir read by its author.
Strangers
A memoir read by its author.
Said the Dead
An Irish writer reading her own book, where print comes out ahead.
Stations
Set in Ireland, and better read.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates the Rememberings audiobook?
Sinéad O’Connor reads it herself, in the UK and US editions.
How long is the Rememberings audiobook?
7 hours 14 minutes on Audible UK and 7 hours 15 minutes on Audible US.
Is the Rememberings audiobook abridged?
No. Both editions are unabridged.
How many pages is Rememberings?
304 pages in the US hardcover and the UK paperback. The UK hardback is listed at 287 pages with black and white photographs.
When did Rememberings come out?
1 June 2021, in Ireland, the UK and the US.
Is there a Sinéad O’Connor film?
A biopic was reported in August 2025 to be in development, directed by Josephine Decker and written by Stacey Gregg (Rolling Stone). There was no release date as of November 2026, and reports do not say it is based on Rememberings. A documentary, Nothing Compares, was made earlier by some of the same producers.
Are there other books about Sinéad O’Connor?
Yes: Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters by Allyson McCabe (2023), the essay collection Nothing Compares to You (2025) and a book of interviews, The Last Interview and Other Conversations (2024).
Should I read or listen?
Listen, at 100%, clear cut. It is her own story in her own voice, and Kirkus praises her reading.
Do you agree with this verdict?
We said listen on Audible. One tap, no sign-up.
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How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: Audible UK and US, Penguin UK, Kirkus (print and audiobook reviews), Publishers Weekly, the National Library of Ireland catalogue, Open Library, Rolling Stone and Wikipedia.
- Verdict last reviewed: 2 November 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
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