Pauline wrote: "As much as I love Miyazaki, I definitely love the book better. Much more humor and a much more complex plot"

I'm with Pauline on this one - I liked the book better than the movie.

Robin (The Crown Conspiracy | Avempartha | Nyphron Rising)

Yeah, I enjoy reading books out loud. I try to do character voices. ;) When I write a novel, I am going to be one of those authors who reads the book for the audio versions. :D

I love the concept of the author reading the book him/herself. I've never done audiobooks before, though, or e-books for that matter. Though, someone I know raised an interesting point...for e-books, there's no waiting in line at a midnight release and no "sold-out" let-downs. I like it. :)

No problem! Borders has been having some ridiculous sales where items are 70%-80% off. I think they are trying to compete with used book store prices. Also, they have been sending out coupons for 40% audio books, which isn't too shabby either. So, if there are any favorites you want to own, you can pick them up for a good price.

Adrianna - Wow, that is a good deal! They are so expensive usually. Thanks for the tip!

Pauline: The books are usually better than the movies, so I will have to read Howl's Moving Castle the next time I have a break from school.

Linda: I usually buy my audio books from Borders when they are on sale from 4 dollars to 1 dollar. (laughs) Talk about a good deal!

I would also like to say that the HP audio books are fantastic. I've read them all and listened to them all. I believe Jim Dale won a grammy for his work on those.

I also like the Golden Compass books on audio.

I listened to Ender's Game on CD and remember enjoying it, but can't remember any specifics.

I get my audiobooks from the library!

As much as I love Miyazaki, I definitely love the book better. Much more humor and a much more complex plot

Which do you like better, the book or the film? I love all of Miyazaki's films! :)

Adrianna wrote: "I loved the Miyazaki film of Howl's Moving Castle. I bought a copy of the book (non-audio), but I haven't had the time to read it yet."

Oh, it's brilliant. Much better than the book, and totally different.

I loved the Miyazaki film of Howl's Moving Castle. I bought a copy of the book (non-audio), but I haven't had the time to read it yet.

My favorites are the ones done by Diana Wynne Jones ones. Howl's Moving Castle and Conrad's Fate especially.

I just listened to a new audio book with my husband when we were driving home from our parents' house. It was a lot of fun; we don't usually listen to books on tape. This one was called "War of Gifts" by Orson Scott Card. The next one I wanted to listen to was "Plum Lucky," but the husband wasn't too interested in the author's writing style.

Well, I have now finished listening to the entire Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. I loved the whole thing! the only complaint that I have is that Sanderson uses the word "said" over and over again. I don't know if it's more noticeable on an audio book that if you read the book, but it was definately noticeable to me! It didn't take away from the story, though. Sabriel is my next audio book--after I finish listening to the Ranger's Apprentice books for my daughter.

I've recently tried to listen to more audio books so I can "read" while driving. Here are two I really enjoyed (not Fantasy but certainly worth mentioning) -
Jeeves in the Morning

The Big Sleep

The reader makes all the difference. What I particularly enjoyed about these was that they are dialouge heavy books so they are great for audio format.

Barbara - I know you are going to love Mistborn - it's a great series.

Thanks for the suggestions! I started the Golden Compass a few years ago and never finished. I guess I should think about trying it again. Right now, I'm just starting The Final Empire - Mistborn series.

For the third time, I am listening to The Golden Compass trilogy. This is the BEST audiobook I have every read -- Philip Pullman, the books' author, does the main narration, but there are many other voices that speak for the characters. It is so good! I got mine at www.booksonboard.com -- they have a great price on the Dark Materials set.

Barbara wrote: "Given those parameters, does anyone have any suggestions??? ..."

Well I don't do a lot of audio so I can't recoommend too much other than to say that I think Neverwhere by Gaiman was well done (author red his own stuff) and I've heard anything that has Tim Curry as the narrator is also very good so you might be able to search based on that.

-- Robin The Crown Conspiracy | Avempartha | Nyphron Rising (Oct 2009)

I am an avid audio book listener. I listen when I'm exercising and when I'm commuting to and from work to make it more interesting. Harry Potter is, by far, my #1 audiobook of choice because Jim Dale is so fantastic! I am not fussy, though. I can only think of one time that I stopped listening to a book because of the narrator. Some of my favorite audiobooks of late are: The Curse of Challion & it's sequel Paladin of Souls, Dragonsinger trilogy, Eragon book, The Hunger Games, & Elantris. I'm trying to decide what to listen to next. I love a wide range of fantasy books. I love a great story/series with lots of action, twists and turns, unpredictablity, and great characters. (Don't we all!) My one limitation is authors that insist on writing graphic sex scenes in. Almost every time it is so out of context with the rest of the book that I find it very distasteful. Given those parameters, does anyone have any suggestions???

Jim Dale is great! I used to listen to a lot of audio books in the car when I had a long commute. And my introduction to HP was when it was new and the print copies were all out at the library. I lucked into #1 on casettes (!) and listened at home during Christmas holidays that year, and fell in love with the series.

I got Peter Pan, which is narrated by Tim Curry a little while ago. I have listened to a bit of it, but have yet to get back to it. It's pretty fun to listen to. :)

I rarely get audio books because I'm a very visual learner and I like to read the words on the page. I find that I don't follow the plot as well when I'm only listening. Guess it goes back to the whole learning style thing.

Anyway, from the ones I've listened to, I wholeheartedly agree that the narrator makes all the difference. It requires a skilled reader with a voice appropriate for the work.

In the past, I've enjoyed a number of Agatha Christie novels via audio. I love a good mystery for a long drive.
Cat Among the Pigeons was one.

Robin wrote: "The "audio artist" can make so much difference in audio - One day I will get the Potter series in audio because I've heard the actor is just "so good"...."

I listened to the one read by Jim Dale. He is fantastic! Absolutely made the story new & improved. I had read the books, then waited quite a while for a new one. I had to take a trip to FL, two or 3 days of driving, so I listened to the first 3, I think.

The "audio artist" can make so much difference in audio - One day I will get the Potter series in audio because I've heard the actor is just "so good". I HATED the narrator on the third Twilight book (I read the other ones) and I really liked Gaiman doing his own work in Neverwhere.

I'm not sure if there in audio but the wayfarer remdemption by Sarah Douglas is pretty amazing. But you want it for a long drive. Won't that distract you from the road?

P.S. check out my book website http://www.freeewebscom/lelue/

I just listened to Sabriel read by Tim Curry and it was excellent.

I agree about Stefan Rudnicki. I could listen to him read the California tax statutes and be entertained. Recently he's been doing Alex Bledsoe's Eddie LaCrosse books (second coming out this fall).

I like George Guidall and Simon Vance, too. I also listened to Lenny Henry do Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys and it was superb.

If you like Terry Pratchett or Discworld, I highly recommend any readings done by Stephen Briggs. There was also a multiple reader version of Thief of Time which I prefer even more than the one by Briggs.

I also really liked the reader (as well as the book itself) for Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys. Neil reads Coraline and American Gods and he makes an excellent reader.

Oh, and anything read by Stefan Rudniki. I absolutely adore his voice. :)

Kind of surprises me. I never realized how many more SF audio books I have over Fantasy. Even more so the SF books tend to have better quality readers in general.

I've just finished listening to Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan. It's book 9 (currently of 11, with 3 more to be published). I've had to take a break after listening to 4 or 5 books in a row, and it's break time again!

The reading is very good (Kate Reading is fantastic), but the story is just sooooo long and slow moving. The series is great for listening to while I'm working - if I miss a bit, its not going to matter much in the grand arch of the story.

I've listened to the BBC's version of the Hobbit and i would recommend that. It's unabridged and they have good tunes for the songs.

I enjoyed Brendon Frazier's reading of Inkheart. I think he even won awards for it. I also liked the reader for Artemis Fowl. Brian Jacques' full cast for the Redwall series does a great job. For Eragon, I DID NOT like that reader. He sounded like a bad combination of Oscar the Grouch and Grover when he read Saphira's parts.

Rowena wrote: "This isn't fantasy, but I've just returned from a longish road trip (just over 1,000 miles each way) and I listened to True Evil..."

Wow that's really bad - You really should contact the publisher I'm sure they have corrected discs they can send you - not that it helps with what you went thorugh during your travel but at least you can get it if fixed if you give to a friend or listen a second time.

This isn't fantasy, but I've just returned from a longish road trip (just over 1,000 miles each way) and I listened to True Evil by Greg Iles.

Riveting story. Unfortunately, my copy of the CDs had been badly messed up by the publishers. It began really fast paced. Then around Disc 2, the story went back to the beginning, so I was listening to stuff I'd already heard with lots of extra passages of description. Drove me crazy!

<>Chris wrote: "I have always enjoyed audio books read by |George Guidall He has done nearly 650 books, and I've stumbled across..."</i>

Hi all...I'll second the recommendation of g. d. one of the series he does that i enjoy a lot are tony hillerman's navaho/hopi detective books. really good! i didnt realise he did the gunslinger...will have to look for that!

I listened to the third Twilight on audio and it drove me insane - everytime the "reader" did Alice's voice it was like nails on a chalk board - I'm currently listening to Gravedigger's Daughter and this person is much better.

I have always enjoyed audio books read by George Guidall. He has done nearly 650 books, and I've stumbled across a few, such as:

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Family by Mario Puzo
The Gunslinger by Stephen King

He's done a lot more. I didn't ever set out to pick up one of his, but became familiar with his voice after a few.....

I've got all the Harry Potter books (read by Jim Dale) on my iPod. I read them all the first time, but since then I've listened to each book multiple times. His voices are amazing, you forget that there is only one man doing the reading. I've heard that the guy who read Harry Potter for the British Audio Books is also very good. I also agree that the Bartimaeus trilogy is a good listen, especially the first one, since it's the funniest. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is another good one, I think the footnotes might get a little confusing, but the reader does it well. I know Neil Gaiman frequently does recordings of his own books, and those are usually excellent.
I think the reader for the Eragon series is also very good, but you have to like that kind of story.

My mom was the head librarian in the department of her library that had the audiobooks. As long as I can remember, my mom has always had a book playing in one ear while she does chores and the like.

Also, Mom says that the Amelia Peabody books are excellent, she said that was the first book that she ever got my dad to listen to on a trip.

I read the books before trying to watch the series. I wasn't able to stay with it. The books are better on every level. It truly straddles multiple genres: horror, fantasy, mystery, and lots of humor. I tend to jump around a lot when reading from genre to genre, but I read all the Dresden books one right after the other. As for the Audio books, James Marsters does the narration and it's apparent that he really enjoys playing the main character and actually acts the part rather than just reading it.

I really liked Dresden Files when it was on TV (though I heard the books are better) one of these days I'm going to have to pick them up.

-- Robin (14 days until Avempartha)

All the Jim Butcher books on audio are very well done. Both Dresden Files and Codex Alera are well produced with talented voice actors.

I heard that Jim Dale did a fantastic job. I want to re-read the whole series from the beginning and I'm seriously thinking of doing via audio.

You know, the only audio books I've ever listened to were the Harry Potter ones, done by Jim Dale. I really enjoyed his reading, but I haven't gotten around to trying any other novels. Can anyone recommend one or two that are done really well?

They have those here, too, Amanda. My sweetie checked one out - I haven't tried it yet.

I'm listening to Inkheart right now read by Lynn redgrave. She's amazing. Our library has these really neat things called Playaways. Instead of getting CD's that may be scratched or dirty its all recorded on to an MP3 thing. All you have to do is plug in earphones and your set. I don't know how many library's have them though. Although it's kind of annoying because I got this book, Street Magic, and only until I was half-way through it did I find out that it was a seccond in a series and the library didn't even own the first. Anyways, Inkheart is a really great one to listen to.

Thanks, Eric. I looked at them, but getting the Boss a new stereo, since her display had died, was the higher priority at the time. I probably will break down & get one, but for my truck. I can't see listening to books in the shop. Tools drown out the sound too often, besides my spaciness.

An inexpensive MP3 player, and a boom box with a simple audio-in cable port might fit your bill, if you lose patience with the truck stereo.

They almost all have FF/Rew functions, too.

I wanted an MP3 system for my shop - actually, a stereo I could plug a thumb drive into. The shop is dusty. A CD/MP3 player lasts about a year before it starts having issues from all the sawdust. I found that only car stereos seem to have that capability inexpensively; $100 vs. $1500 when I queried Crutchfield about it. So I have my wife's old truck stereo hooked up to a power converter. Works great.

I still can't listen to audio books on it. I concentrate on something & completely zone out. Unlike CDA's, I can only go back to the beginning of an MP3 track, no FF or Rewind within them. The car seems to be the only place I can stay on track with an audio book.

My old vehicle had an mp3-friendly stereo system. That was nice. I ripped Abhorsen to MP3, then burned the whole book onto one disk.

Now I do the same, but instead of a disk I put them on my mp3 player.

It's nice that the audio books in the library are mostly CD now. I quit getting the cassettes after twice having my cassette player almost ruined by filthy tapes. Since I listen to books in my truck exclusively, I go through all the disks & clean them at home before trying to listen now.