Audiobooks discussion
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June 2015
I changed by current book to Dead Line by Chris Ewan, narrated by, Simon Vance I forgot I had this one in my Overdrive account and it expires before the other one!
I just finished The Alloy of Law in anticipation of the new Mistborn novels coming out in the fall and in January. I must say, Brandon Sanderson is the antidote to waiting for George R.R. Martin. This one was solid, although not quite as good as the original Mistborn books. I love the subtle references to the original gang. Great narration as always from Michael Kramer
Nancy wrote: "I finished The Invention of Wings this morning (actually sat in my car in the parking lot at work to do this). What a great story. I especially loved Hettie/Handful. I will sta..."
Julie wrote: "Nancy
That's what I finished yesterday - The Invention of Wings. I also loved Handful's voice and character . Really good story !"
Sandy wrote: "Tracy wrote: "I'm reading, not listening to Day Shift right now, no Whispersync avalable, and then I think I will listen/read The Miniaturist.
Has anyone ever rea..."
Nancy wrote: "I finished The Invention of Wings this morning (actually sat in my car in the parking lot at work to do this). What a great story. I especially loved Hettie/Handful.
I will sta..."
Nancy, One Plus One is a good follow-up to the heaviness of The Invention of Wings. One Plus One kept me smiling. I could so picture this one as a romantic comedy movie!
Fran wrote: "Alina wrote: "I just finished listening to To Kill a Mockingbird. I loved it and can't believe I never read it before now. Cissy Spacek narrated it and did a fantastic job. 5*"Alin..."
Fran, I totally agree! Atticus Finch is definitely a class act!
Travis of NNY wrote: "You know I read Lois McMaster Bujold following Scalzi and the thing that jumped out at me was the switch from Scalzi the said" junkie to Bujold who blends conversation in a variety ..."The Spenser (Spenser for Hire, TV) novels from Robert Parker are read by Joe Mantegna, and I like his voice, but the books are full of 'he said, she said', even with short sentences being exchanged between only two people. I couldn't listen to one whole book.
Heidi (Yup. Still here.) wrote: "I am listening to Naughty in Nice... I really like this series on audio."Those are fun books :)
I am starting one of this summer's SYNC offerings, Terry Pratchett's Dodger.
I am two thirds of the way through The Shadows by J. R. Ward. While there are whole scenes that are fun and funny, this one suffers from a lack of focus and the drawing out of many scenes. There are literally seven or eight storylines going on in this book... WAY too many. And I just know there is going to be a sad ending for the main couple... I try to avoid those kinds of stories like the plague!If I can ever get through this one, maybe I'll go back and try The Bells of St. Mary series... I barely started the first book some time back but got sidetracked.
Alina wrote: "Nancy, One Plus One is a good follow-up to the heaviness of The Invention of Wings. One Plus One kept me smiling. I could so picture this one as a romantic comedy movie! .."
Good!!! That's exactly what I was hoping for :-)
Sandi wrote: "Xe, I thought R.C. Bray did win for the narration of The Martian. I thought he tweeted about it.I finished The Girl With All the Gifts. It was so good that I had a hard time choosing my next list..."
Oh he did - but I thought he was also nominated in the same category as THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS...but the night was such a blur, I don't remember now. But yes, he definitely wont for THE MARTIAN :)
Vanessa wrote: "I just finished The Alloy of Law in anticipation of the new Mistborn novels coming out in the fall and in January. I must say, Brandon Sanderson is the antidote to w..."I love the Mistborn series!
Leslie wrote: "Heidi (Yup. Still here.) wrote: "I am listening to Naughty in Nice... I really like this series on audio."...I am starting one of this summer's SYNC offerings, Terry Pratchett's Dodger...."
I hope you like it. If you want to try some of Pratchett's Discworld books, try Wyrd Sisters or Going Postal before you try **The Colour of Magic**. Much better intro's to the Discworld.
Finished Fahrenheit 451 ; I hadn't read it for a few decades and it sure stands up to the test of time, incredible! Bradbury's future society has condensed great literary works and any thoughts at all into a sentence or two..holy cow, the man predicted the advent of Twitter back in 1953! I especially enjoyed the coda at the end by Bradbury (from 1981) in which he really makes an eloquent point that censorship, abridging and political correctness are just forms of book burning. Now I'll need to move on to another classic that I haven't read in ages 1984
CatBookMom wrote: "Leslie wrote: I am starting one of this summer's SYNC offerings, Te..."If you want to try some of Pratchett's Discworld books, try Wyrd Sisters or Going Postal before you try **The Colour of Magic**. Much better intro's to the Discworld."
Thanks! I have already read The Color of Magic and a few other Discworld books in print but haven't tried them in audio yet. Is there a preferred narrator I should look for?
Absolutely loved the late actress Anna Massey's recording of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca. Got it from the SYNC series.
I'm a huge fan of her narration as well.
I just finished listening to Edge of Eternity. It held my interest enough to the end, and I guess I've now completed the trilogy, but there just seems to be something missing from all the books. They all seem a mile wide and an inch deep. And the way the book is structured, the characters just end up Forrest Gumping their way through all the greatest hits of the last part of the 20th Century.John Lee is a great narrator though.
Dave wrote: "I just finished listening to Edge of Eternity. It held my interest enough to the end, and I guess I've now completed the trilogy, but there just seems to be something missing from ..."John Lee helped that trilogy along and I too got to the end. Breadth not depth - long history lesson.
Dave wrote: "I just finished listening to Edge of Eternity. It held my interest enough to the end, and I guess I've now completed the trilogy, but there just seems to be something missing from ..."Forrest Gumping...Ha! A great description for a lot of those historical sagas.
Joy wrote: "Just bought The Martian for hubby after coming home from work last night and seeing him tied to his desk listening to it on YouTube. I knew from the comments here it was a worthwhile purchase. I lo..."Ahhhh The Martian was comfortably my best book of last year. Top notch narration too!
I'm now spooking the bejeezus out of myself with ole' Mr. King's Bag of Bones, narrated by the man himself. Enjoying it very much so far.
Leslie wrote: "Heidi (Yup. Still here.) wrote: "I am listening to Naughty in Nice... I really like this series on audio."Those are fun books :)
I am starting one of this summer's SYNC offerin..."
Leslie, hope you enjoy Dodger; for me, Pratchett's YA books are either huge hits (I was crazy about the Tiffany books and Nation) or meh so maybe don't give up on the others if this doesn't grab you. My husband loved Dodger; I liked it ok; enjoyed the relationship between Dickens and Dodger even though I'm frequently (irrationally) annoyed by historical characters popping up in fiction.
I just finished listening to The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann, read by the fabulous Simon Vance. Actually I picked it because of the narrator, but was delighted with how good it was. Late 18th century intrigue, mystery, and adventure. Found it on Overdrive at my library's website. Has anyone read or listened to this book?
I finally finished The Shadows by J. R. Ward. *heaves huge sigh of relief* It had the makings of a good BDB story and some really good scenes, but Jim Frangione's narration was just off and Ward's writing kept stepping on itself. With too many storylines the core of the story kept getting interrupted by drawn out scenes from the minor plots. This is the first time I've had to force myself to finish a book that wasn't essentially objectionable.
Well, after all my indecision, I ended up reading Pride and Prejudice (again), and Anne of the Island. I listened to the Lindsey Duncan version of P&P, and I really think it's the best one. Her delivery is perfect, and she gets all the characters just right. I don't think there's a better reader of Austen's novels.Anne of the Island was OK. I'm reading the Anne of Green Gables series for the first time, and I think they're a lot less fun for an adult than a child. This one was my least favourite. Montgomery doesn't seem to have put as much effort into it as the first two. I can't bear to listen to most of the people who narrate the Anne books, but I found this great reading on Librivox by Karen Savage. She's miles better than any of the professional readers.
Leslie wrote: "CatBookMom wrote: "Leslie wrote: I am starting one of this summer's SYNC offerings, Te..."If you want to try some of Pratchett's Discworld books, try Wyrd Sisters or Going Postal before you try *..."
Stephen Briggs is the best Pratchett narrator, IMO. He was a good friend of Pratchett's and he seems to really 'get' the books. Nigel Planer is OK too.
Briar Rose wrote: "Well, after all my indecision, I ended up reading Pride and Prejudice (again), and Anne of the Island. I listened to the Lindsey Duncan version of P&P, and I really think i..."That's interesting. As a relatively un-sentimental person, I was surprised at how much joy I felt reading the first two Anne books. I actually really enjoyed Shelly Frasier and was bummed that she didn't narrate any of the subsequent books. I've got Anne of the Island slated for later this summer.
Briar Rose wrote: "Well, after all my indecision, I ended up reading Pride and Prejudice (again), and Anne of the Island. I listened to the Lindsey Duncan version of P&P, and I really think i..."Karen Savage is an excellent narrator. Besides volunteering for LibriVox she has also narrated professionally. As an ex-pat living in the U.S., she switches easily between her native UK accent and an American one. :)
Kristie wrote: "Dave wrote: "I just finished listening to Edge of Eternity. It held my interest enough to the end, and I guess I've now completed the trilogy, but there just seems to be something ..."I also love the term "Forrest Gumping" - that is what bothered me about Edward Ruthefurd's books such as Paris and New York, too much name dropping. I started the Fall of Giants trilogy and quit after about 100 pages of the print book for just that reason. Plus I wasn't looking forward to suffering through all the evils of the 20th century!
Finished The Cuckoo's Calling, loved it, and I think I would have appreciated it just as much if I hadn't known Galbraith was a pseudonym. I really liked Strike and his assistant (don't know if it's Robin like my name or Robyn, one drawback of audio books). The story was engaging and the clues were organically built in. The narration was excellent and I'm planning to listen to the sequels.
Robin wrote: "Finished The Cuckoo's Calling, loved it, and I think I would have appreciated it just as much if I hadn't known Galbraith was a pseudonym. I really liked Strike and his assistant (d..."I thought the Strike character was quite unbelievable. He's described as fat, he smokes and drinks (therefore he'd stink from that) then he doesn't look after his leg properly and it has sores on it...and if you don't care for stumps and prosthetics correctly they also smell. Then he lives at the office and doesn't shower regularly. So he's a fat, bearded, dirty, smelly guy, and we're expected to believe that supermodels are dragging him into bed and that his secretary's boyfriend his insanely jealous of him?
All of that just didn't work for me, I was eye rolling my way through it.
I did think the narration was OK though.
Robin wrote: "Finished The Cuckoo's Calling, loved it, and I think I would have appreciated it just as much if I hadn't known Galbraith was a pseudonym. I really liked Strike and his assistant (d..."Me too, and I liked The Silkworm even better. Patricia has a point though, LOL.
I started One Damned Thing After Another, as others here have recently done, and am really enjoying the sense of humor. I realized I have to listen sharp though, because the narrator tends to give the punch lines a straight reading--very British.
Jeanie wrote: "I started One Damned Thing After Another, as others here have recently done, and am really enjoying the sense of humor. I realized I have to listen sharp though, because the narrator tends to give..."I'm enjoying them too, just about finished the second one and have the third ready to go.
It's a dangerous job though...I won't be applying to be a historian there any time soon!
Just in case you didn't see it - there are 3 short "between" books which are all available for free at Audible (2.5 / 3.5 and 4.5)
Patricia wrote: "Jeanie wrote: "I started One Damned Thing After Another, as others here have recently done, and am really enjoying the sense of humor. I realized I have to listen sharp though, because the narrato..."I hadn't noticed those yet. Thanks for the heads up!
Vanessa wrote: "Briar Rose wrote: "Well, after all my indecision, I ended up reading Pride and Prejudice (again), and Anne of the Island. I listened to the Lindsey Duncan version of P&P, a..."I read all the Anne books as an adult when I was in college and also loved them. I read them in print though so that could have made a difference. I got hooked on the series after I watched the Megan Follows movie versions on PBS.
Robin wrote: "Finished The Cuckoo's Calling, loved it, and I think I would have appreciated it just as much if I hadn't known Galbraith was a pseudonym. I really liked Strike and his assistant (d..."Same here!
Thanking the audiobook gods for Simon Vance's narration of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, otherwise I likely wouldn't have picked it up for another five or ten years. He got me through the slow parts in the beginning and I really enjoyed myself by the end.
Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Thanking the audiobook gods for Simon Vance's narration of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, otherwise I likely wouldn't have picked it up for another five or ten years. He got me thr..."Amen! I'm sure I wouldn't have made it through without him either. I also really liked the next two in the trilogy ... with Simon Vance making it both easy and pleasant.
@Briar Rose -- thanks for the info. Briggs is the narrator of this edition of Dodger so I will be able to remember that!
All the recommendations for Lonesome Dove have me interested but wondering about the other books in the series - I saw a reference to this being book #3 of 4 but also references to it as #1. I guess my real question is - ok to start with this one?
You should start eith Lonesome Dove. Read in what I believe are published order.
Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Thanking the audiobook gods for Simon Vance's narration of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, otherwise I likely wouldn't have picked it up for another five or ten years. He got me thr..."There is no way I would have finished any of the books in the series without Simon narrating them to me!
I have just abandoned Kim for the second time and don't think I'll try again. That's after finishing Ride With Me, Mariah Montana which was quite humorous and a nice ending to the McCaskill trilogy. There was some great snarky banter throughout and the narrator was great.
Fran wrote: "I have just abandoned Kim for the second time and don't think I'll try again. That's after finishing Ride With Me, Mariah Montana which was quite humorous and a nice en..."Doig's dialogues are simply masterful, aren't they?! I adored the trilogy.
Fran wrote: "I have just abandoned Kim for the second time and don't think I'll try again. That's after finishing Ride With Me, Mariah Montana which was quite humorous and a nice en..."I read Rudyard Kipling's Kim with Sam Dastor as the narrator. It immediately zoomed into my list of top ten books of all time. For me, it was the story, it was Kim, and it was the endearing voices Dastor gave to all the characters but especially Kims holy man. I had had no idea what to expect from the book Kim when I started it, but it was nothing like what I thought it would be... or even what it started out to be. It was far better than I dared imagine.
Fran, I understand you have the Ralph Coshem narration. I have loved him in other things, but quite frankly can't imagine his voice fitting this endearing, unexpected, marvelous story of Kim. Maybe someday you can see if your library has another version and try that.
Jeanie wrote: "Fran wrote: "I have just abandoned Kim for the second time and don't think I'll try again. That's after finishing Ride With Me, Mariah Montana which was quite humorous ..."I have the Simon Vance narrator version and I think you're right. Vance's reading is beautiful but not at all adding to any type of character development. It's very matter of fact. Maybe what I should do is just wait and try the Sam Dastor narration. I should, by all things known about me, like this book. In all my years of listening to audiobooks, I have only abandoned ten audiobooks and three of those I ended up reading. Kim, Kim, Kim, Kim, Kim! Ack!
Kristie wrote: "Fran wrote: "I have just abandoned Kim for the second time and don't think I'll try again. That's after finishing Ride With Me, Mariah Montana which was quite humorous ..."Brilliant! And the dialogue changed over the span of time. So well done! This was part of my personal challenge for 2015 to finish series that I started. Feeling accomplished ;-)
Julie wrote: "Fran Sometimes it's really hard to find a follow-up book to read after reading a really good one that you liked a lot.
I've remembered reading books that were just SO good, then it will take me q..."
I was thinking that may have been what happened both times, but part of my strategy when listening to audiobooks is to completely change up genres, narrators, time periods and settings so I'm starting fresh. It just didn't work this time and I don't remember what I had been listening to the first time I abandoned it. One thing I'm considering is getting the whispersync to give it one last try - in the distant future that is.
Last night I finished Just One Damn Thing After Another and it really was one thing after another! Phew, what a wild ride. I'll continue this one but I'll needa rest to get my breath back. I really liked the main character and thought the narrator was good given it was first person POV, but the male voices slid around a bit... okay, nearly all the character's voices seemed to do that a little, but the female lead, Max, did most of the talking anyway so it didn't matter.
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Started Columbine and so far it's riveting.