Audiobooks discussion
Better as an Audio-Book?
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I added Heart of Darkness (Kenneth Branagh version). His performance made the book really significantly better.
A Confederacy of Dunces, The Martian, and the series beginning with Dog on It all made me laugh out loud many times, and that wouldn't happen if I were just reading them to myself.
I voted on a couple and added quite a few to the list as well... I added all the Harry Potter Books but 7 & 8 as I haven't listened to them yet.
The Will Robie series
John Puller series
The Martian
World War Z
Troublemaker
Your never weird on the Internet
The Power of the Dog
I am Pilgrim
Jane Eyre Narrated by Susan Ericksen
11/22/63
Memory Man
Doctor Sleep
Yes Please
Gone Girl - I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have finished this in print. The Lord of the Rings - amazing narration.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - good book, even better in audio
Pride and Prejudice - listening lets you slow down and enjoy the prose (I don't know that I have a favorite narrator)
I'll add it to the list tomorrow as I'm on my phone now, but I just thought of another one. The Welcome to Nightvale book almost has to be listened to, I suspect. I will find out for sure this weekend and report back.
Burial Rites and perhaps the one I just listened to would also fit into this category - Fair and Tender Ladies. For me, I first need good writing and then good narration. Of coureseI want both!
When I think of more I will add them here.
The The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agencyseries is so much better (IMHO) on audio. I tried the print book but couldn't get very far. Lisette LeCat is fantastic, she has the dialect down pat and it makes these books a lovely experience.
For me I think it'd be easier to list the books that aren't better on audio, and that list would be pretty small. I find the narration adds to the overall experience much more often than it detracts from it.
I agree with Kristie . Most of the books I've listened to have been enhanced rather than hampered by listening .
I'd have to say there are some standouts where the narrator made the book so much better :
Dolores Claiborne / Frances Sternhagen
The Leisure Seeker / Judith West
Those were both really memorable characters ,due to the narrations .
I'd have to say there are some standouts where the narrator made the book so much better :
Dolores Claiborne / Frances Sternhagen
The Leisure Seeker / Judith West
Those were both really memorable characters ,due to the narrations .
The two books that come to mind for me as books that no one should read but everyone should take in by listening:Shantaram - Humphrey Bower
Matterhorn - Bronson Pinchot
I think the only cases I know where the book weren't better than the films were George Orwell, Kafka and Bradbury. But that those are due to my limitations rather than the authors! Also possible Edith Whorton (but The age of innocence was a breath taking film, a true feast for all the senses!)OK, maybe not the nose - no smelly-vision, exept for the smell of popcorn lol
A problem I have with audio books is that I sometimes don't understand a name. For instance, I'm listening to The Truth According to Us and I'm not sure about a main character's name. It sounds like Jawdy. Sometimes GR lists the names of main characters, but not for for this book. I need to read a few reviews to discover the correct name snd spelling. This isn't an isolated example.
Kathleen wrote: "A problem I have with audio books is that I sometimes don't understand a name. For instance, I'm listening to The Truth According to Us and I'm not sure about a main character's nam..."It's Jottie just spoken with a bit of a southern accent.
Thanks :-) Miss Susie. It seems like a strange nickname for Josephine. BTW everyone, so far The Truth According to Us is an interesting look at small town Appalachian life in 1938.
This is a new experience for me. I'm interested in Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty but was finding it hard going in either audio or print. Finally this morning I tried listening as I read and looked at the graphs and tables. Success! Much easier to understand. How much my old brain will retain........we'll see.
Kathleen wrote: "Thanks :-) Miss Susie. It seems like a strange nickname for Josephine. BTW everyone, so far The Truth According to Us is an interesting look at small town Appalachian life in 1938."
I enjoyed that book very much!
Kathleen wrote: "Thanks :-) Miss Susie. It seems like a strange nickname for Josephine.."I hadn't heard the nickname Jottie for Josephine before, but my aunt's name was Dorothy and er nickname was Dottie or Dot... I hadn't thought of the oddness of it until the nickname Jottie was noted. I guess everyday things just seem normal until their actual strangeness is highlighted.
Names are really hard in fantasy as they are often from made-up languages. I usually make up in my head how it is spelled and later find out from a review or description that I was way off!
Kathleen wrote: "A problem I have with audio books is that I sometimes don't understand a name. For instance, I'm listening to The Truth According to Us and I'm not sure about a main character's name."Often if you search on the internet you can find the correct spelling, Wiki or whatever. I do appreciate it when the names are listed on the GR book page. I usually jot down how I think the name sounds and check this out AFTER I have completed the book b/c sometimes too much is told about the characters. I don't like spoilers.
The Iron Druid Chronicles series by Kevin Hearn and narrated by Luke Daniels Artemus Fowl series by Eoin Colfer narrated by Nathaniel Parker
The Bartimaeus trilogy (plus one)by Jonathan Stroud narrated by Simon Jones
The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher narrated by James Marsters
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and narrated by Wil Wheaton
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and narrated by Jim Dale
Kim by Rudyard Kipling and narrated by Sam Dastor
Frontier Magic series by Patricia C. Wrede and narrated by Amanda Ronconi
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and narrated by Martin Jarvis
These are all series or individual books that get higher ratings in audio than print alone... deservedly so. The narration brings something extra to each of these. There are more, but these are some of the best examples of enhanced by audio.
I agree Jeanie. The right narrator can add an extra dimension to a story, just as poor, or badly pased narration can destroy the experience. I had that experience recently with A Darker Shade of Magic where the narration was way too slow and made the book sound like a dirge. It was non-audible so I couldn't speed it up. I'm reading the second book on kindle and enjoying the story. It may take me some time as it is over 500 pages and my most ambitious kindle book to date! Maybe that's an idea for a thread - books made bad by audio? I don't know how to do threads, so if anyone wants to do it....
Karen wrote: "The The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agencyseries is so much better (IMHO) on audio. I tried the print book but couldn't get very far. Lisette LeCat is fantastic, she has the dialect down p..."
Hey Karen, this is Aurelia for AudioFile with an enthusiastic seconding of your vote for the audio of all the Ladies' Detective Agency books. Speaking personally, I adore Lisette Lecat's interpretation. Many in the series have received Earphones Awards. http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/revi...
Also, I thought you might enjoy my interview with Alexander McCall Smith. He was a delight. http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/auth...
Margo wrote: "I agree Jeanie. The right narrator can add an extra dimension to a story, just as poor, or badly pased narration can destroy the experience. I had that experience recently with [book:A Darker Shade..."Hello Margo, non audible app called Bookmobile allow speedup too if you are ever stuck again :)
Levi wrote: "Margo wrote: "I agree Jeanie. The right narrator can add an extra dimension to a story, just as poor, or badly pased narration can destroy the experience. I had that experience recently with [book:..."Thanks Levi, will definatly check that app out :-)
Margo wrote: "I agree Jeanie. The right narrator can add an extra dimension to a story, just as poor, or badly pased narration can destroy the experience. I had that experience recently with [book:A Darker Shade..."I listened to A Darker Shade of Magic last year when the Ford Audio Club gave it away and absolutely loved it. I am eagerly awaiting the next volume on audio book. This one is available from Audible.com. That's where I got it.
Jeffrey wrote: "Margo wrote: "I agree Jeanie. The right narrator can add an extra dimension to a story, just as poor, or badly pased narration can destroy the experience. I had that experience recently with [book:..."I'm reading the 2nd one on my kindle and it's great :-D Audible UK still aren't doing this series. Probably more copyright issues. I got the 1st audiobook as a giveaway and it's like it plays at 1/2 speed. Very frustrating :-(
Unabridged complete works of H.P.Lovecraft
Various narrators. Some of it I couldn't listen... because Lovecraft was a white supremacist and it gets into his stories, occasionally. http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Nec...
Various narrators. Some of it I couldn't listen... because Lovecraft was a white supremacist and it gets into his stories, occasionally. http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Nec...
The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J R Ward just wouldn't be the same without Jim Frangione reading. I love his voice..he is the brotherhood.
The Hobbit is not a book I had any interest in reading, but it was one my boys were interested in so I borrowed the audiobook version. I throughly loved the performance and listened to the whole book with my sons while driving on summer vacation.
I agree completely about Circe. The narrator really enhanced the story.
Michele Obama just won a Grammy for her autobiography, Becoming. Hearing her story in her own voice enhances it. Of course most people wouldn't be good enough narrators even for their own autobiographies but she is excellent. The same is true of Trevor Noah on Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood. He would be a terrific narrator if he didn't already have a full career. He learned several languages as a child and is a great mimic of accents and speech styles.
+2 or +3 for Circe. :-)Also -- I have both read and listened to all the books in the Dresden and Vorkosigan series. I think both series are probably more fun in audio.
Audiobooks
Books mentioned in this topic
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood (other topics)Becoming (other topics)
Circe (other topics)
Shantaram (other topics)
The Hobbit (other topics)
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https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...