Audiobooks discussion
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June 2015
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Marilee wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I just finished Not My Father's Son: A Memoir by Alan Cumming. I don't usually like celebrity biographies but this focuses on just some specific instances in his li..."The series set in Roman Britain sounds interesting--plus the bonus of a Simon Vance narration. I put the first, Medicus, on my Wish List.
I finished off two Agatha Raisins, Perfect Paragon and Love, Lies, and Liquor. I purchased all titles available in the series some time back but now have come up against the gap. Books 18 and 19 aren't available--one is but with a narrator who gets low marks for the reading--and I'm wondering if skipping to book 20 will mean I miss too much. These last two Agatha books weren't quite as aggravating because Agatha was more to be pitied than censured, so I am willing to go on... or should I wait with fingers crossed that Audible will get the two missing books before long?
I finished China Dolls last night and I really liked it. Narration of Jodi Long was good. Nothing special, but a good fit for the story.I started Henna House on Kindle this morning since none of the audiobooks I ordered from the library are available yet :0(
Jeanie wrote: "I finished off two Agatha Raisins, Perfect Paragon and Love, Lies, and Liquor. I purchased all titles available in the series some time back but now have come up against the gap. Books 18 and 19 ..."I read a few in print because of the narrator. I have read them all and I think you can skip a few without missing too much.
I finished Trapped. There's 2 more books in the series, but I'm going to take a break from it for a bit. Starting Saturday, I'll be involved with a buddy read for Finders Keepers. I'm looking forward to it.
Tonight I finished A Symphony of Echoes from the Chronicles of St. Mary's. The opening with Jack the Ripper creeped me out so much I nearly paused in order to move on to something else... glad I didn't because the rest wasn't nearly so bad. I even listened to the short story, When a Child Is Born--good Christmas story and not necessary to read it in order since it doesn't rely on any previous action--although it does allude to action in the previous two books. I'm on to the next book in the series now.
Joy wrote: "Thanks. I'm really enjoying The Liar so far (disk 4 of 13). I may end up buying this from audible bc only listening on CD is annoying. I also have The Collector on my TBL from some audible sale, I think last year...."
You may be disappointed in *The Collector*. Or not. I have started reading it twice and haven't finished it yet.
I finished The Prince of Tides last night. What an engrossing read, and wonderfully delivered.Continuing on my Dark Tower re-read, I'm on to The Drawing of the Three.
I paused reading A Second Chance from the Chronicles of St. Mary's. I hate it when a book starts out with a horrific situation and then goes back to where it all started but with humor this time. It's hard to laugh even at people who are now all blue when you know its leading to the rape of Troy's women. Even though I know it will work out somehow, the intro left me not in the mood to continue right now.Instead, I started The Martian and am about four hours from the end. It's going to be a very late night for me... I'm loving it!
I'm listening o The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry about 25% through and not liking it. Firstly it's the library version so unlike the audible version it's narrated by a man....which is a bit jarring because the main character is a woman, so every time he says "when I was a girl" it sounds strange. Not a deal breaker, but I'm finding the writing very odd. It jumps around and also assumes the reader has some background knowledge of whatever war the author is referring to in Ireland (which I don't). Getting close to giving up on it.
I started the Librivox recording of The Riddle of the Sands but ended up abandoning it to read the book in print. The narrator wasn't bad but it just wasn't holding my attention - a lot of nautical details which I find easier to understand by constantly referring to the maps and charts in the book.Now onto Mil Nicholson's narration of Dickens' Our Mutual Friend. I am enjoying this a lot but may put it to one side as my library hold on the next Vorkosigan book (A Civil Campaign) has come through...
currently listening to Close to the Bone by stuart macbride. these books are crime stories set in scotland with a good dose of humour chucked in. the plots are a bit ridiculous at times but I enjoy them all the same. really glad to have found this group by the way.
Steven wrote: "currently listening to Close to the Bone by stuart macbride. these books are crime stories set in scotland with a good dose of humour chucked in. the plots are a bit ridiculous at times but I enjoy..."Glad you've found the group! Another mystery series set in Scotland and humoirous is M. C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series if you'd like more of the same.
Last night... okay, in the wee hours of this morning... I finished The Martian. Loved the story, loved the narration. I'll be re-reading this one soon... I need to because I missed some of the story because I was laughing out loud and couldn't hear the narrator ;)Earlier comments made me a bit hesitant because of sections that seemed too technical or drawn out--preparing the soil for planting, for example--but I didn't find this at all drawn out and thought it highly relevant to the story of survival. And while I am one of those who would prefer an absence of bad language, I found all expletives to be appropriate under the circumstances so it didn't bother me at all. Anyone on the fence or hesitating... don't wait to read this one!
Vanessa wrote: "I finished The Prince of Tides last night. What an engrossing read, and wonderfully delivered.Continuing on my Dark Tower re-read, I'm on to The Drawing of the Three."
I felt the same way listening to The Prince of Tides, and I want to read more Pat Conroy's works.
I'm listening to A Slight Trick of the Mindabout Sherlock Holmes in his 90s. Listening in advance of watching the upcoming BBC mini-series of the book.
I just finished reading The Miniaturist.Just started Mad Mouse. This series was recommended by John (first one Tilt-a-Whirl. Really enjoyable and funny mystery series with a great narrator - I'm hooked!
MissSusie wrote: "Started The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen narrated by Katherine Kellgren"I'll be interested in your take on this one.
finished Close to the Bone by stuart macbride and now listening to Just One Damn thing after another by Jodi Taylor.
Norma wrote: "I just finished reading The Miniaturist.Just started Mad Mouse. This series was recommended by John (first one Tilt-a-Whirl. Really enjoyable and fun..."
Just started Whack A Mole- what a fun series :)
It's as though the author had Jeff Woodman in mind specifically as the voice of Danny Boyle!
Started a new listen of the Peter Grant series from Ben Aaronovitch, beginning with Midnight Riot; guess it's been a long time since I listened - this is fun.
I listened to Homeland, first in the Legend of Drizzt/Dark Elves trilogy by R. A. Salvatore. Really liked this story and narration by Victor Bevine. Looks like I'll be following Drizzt into "Exile".
CatBookMom wrote: "Started a new listen of the Peter Grant series from Ben Aaronovitch, beginning with Midnight Riot; guess it's been a long time since I listened - this is fun."I enjoy this series, too. I really enjoy Kobna Holbrook Smith's narration although I find I have to listen a little more closely to him... but it's worth it. I guess Peter Grant will be a re-read for me in the not too distant future too.
John wrote: "It's as though the author had Jeff Woodman in mind specifically as the voice of Danny Boyle!"Perfect narration!
I'm listening to Jeff Woodman read the memoir Bettyville now and, while at first I was concerned I'd hear Danny Boyle instead of George, that didn't happen at all. Book is a bit more ... moving (sadder) than I was expecting, but that just means the writing is effective. My library has long queues for the print versions, so I got this one as part of the recent Buy 4 promotion.
I had a very productive weekend, and month of June. I finished Henna Houseon Kindle, listened to The Good House, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits and the The Shawl. I am hoping to finish of the month by finishing A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain in print.Hoping July will bring a whole new adventures in audiobooks!
Well ... having just finished the latest Agatha Raisin book, The Blood of an Englishman, I fear the new narrator ain't gonna cut it - her Sir Charles voice sounds like a really bad Bertie Wooster imitation!
John wrote: "Well ... having just finished the latest Agatha Raisin book, The Blood of an Englishman, I fear the new narrator ain't gonna cut it - her Sir Charles voice sounds like a really bad ..."I gave her a chance despite reading complaints but she did not impress me at all.
I'm about one fourth of the way into Lock In, narrated by Amber Benson. I'm interested, though not yet enthralled. If I like it by the end, I'm thinking I'll eventually listen to the Wil Wheaton narration just to round out the experience. I find myself wondering "how would Wil do that?" for certain bits of the text. I know AB gets the majority of votes for narration, but I'd still like to know how Wil does it.
I finished Finders Keepers. Woohoo! Another 5 star read from Stephen King.I will start You tomorrow. Obviously, I haven't had enough adrenaline rush.
Jeanie, I alternated between the two narrations. I would listen to a couple of hours of Benson, then an hour or so of Wheaton. For a couple of key chapters, I listened to both before moving on. It was interesting how the gender of the narrator affects the interpretation of certain events.
Sandi wrote: "Jeanie, I alternated between the two narrations. I would listen to a couple of hours of Benson, then an hour or so of Wheaton. For a couple of key chapters, I listened to both before moving on. It ..."Thanks for your comments. I'm about 1/3 through the Benson version, much more like 'the average' narration . Wheaton is always so sort of energized....
ETA: I think the short story at the end of Part 2 really should be heard before the rest of the book - or at least look for the print/ebook edition. That story is the back-story of the whole epidemic of Locked-In Syndrome.
I loved Wheaton's narration, but whenever I get around to a second listen I'll give Amber a shot.
I listened to the Wil Wheaton sample for Locked In--it was from early in the book so I already had the Amber Benson narration to compare. Wheaton talks faster and, in the sample at least, he didn't differentiate characters as much. This isn't a big problem since I'd rather have no significant vocal change rather than a poor female voice for those characters and the textual clues make it easy to know who is talking. In Ready Player One Wheaton did a good job with the one main female character... and a computer voice that seemed female. It's odd how both these deal with a conception of a virtual reality, although for different purposes. Agora or Oasis... I think I'd rather visit the Oasis worlds myself.
Jeanie wrote: "I listened to the Wil Wheaton sample for Locked In--it was from early in the book so I already had the Amber Benson narration to compare. Wheaton talks faster and, in the sample at least, he didn'..."Oasis for the win. Maybe we're finally making some progress in that direction with Oculus and the several other VR devices set to launch in the next couple of years.
i've been teleworking part time the last 2 weeks (and it will continue) and I REALLY miss my morning commute and my audiobook time
I'm commiserating with everyone who's feeling cheated out of their commuting (i.e. listening) time this summer! I'm off until Thursday this week, then I have my daughter coming to work with me, so we'll be listening to audiobooks together. First up will be Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I finished, and did not love Saint Mazie. It wasn't terrible, I just wanted more depth from it.
I loved Will Grayson on audio. I hope you enjoy it too.
Joy wrote: "That wa me, sitting in the parking garage this morning when I should have been heading to my office. Listening to The Liar and I was at a good part. After 15 minutes it was still a ..."I understand completely Joy. I actually go to the gym to increase my audiobook listening time. The lengths we will go to.
Julie wrote: "I want to thank whoever mentioned The Help . I read it previously, and couldn't quite understand what all the Hoopla was over it at the time. It was ok, but not anything that knocked..."I think a number of people could take credit for that. I think virtually all of us who have listened to The Help can identify with your socks-knocked-off feeling. It really is one of those "better in audio" books. Kudos to the narrators who did such a magnificent job it still ends up on most of our lists of best audio experiences and among the top 10 books recommended any time someone asks for suggestions. Really, it's a perfect example of why we become audiophiles.
BTW, did you know that Word's spellcheck recognizes the word audiophile? Cool,eh?
I finished Swan Song and have moved on to Night of the Living Deed by E.J. Cooperman. I got it because it's narrated by Amanda Ronconi. I figured I could use something lighter.
Joy wrote: "And The Help is my all time favorite audio book. The four narrators really brought the story to life for me. I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much in print. Funny bc my all time favorit..."
OK, so what's your all-time favorite book? Don't just leave us hanging...
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Audiobooks
Books mentioned in this topic
Swan Song (other topics)Night of the Living Deed (other topics)
The Help (other topics)
The Liar (other topics)
Saint Mazie (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Herman Koch (other topics)Herman Koch (other topics)
Andre Dubus (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
Benedict Jacka (other topics)
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I've heard good things about both those books/listens. I think I'll put them on my "to read" list.
At the moment I'm listening to Ruth Downie's Persona Non Grata. a bit of light but engaging historical mystery. This is third in her series [of 6] about Roman doctor Gaius Ruso and his misadventures in Brittania and Gaul. It's narrated by the always reliable Simon Vance. I was just in the mood for something smart but light.