Narrators you don't like?

[John, Moderator]

I fear Dick Hill is detracting from my current book; I had mixed feelings about him reading Jack Cafferty's memoir earlier this year, but in this one he might be making the author seem more self-impressed than might be the case with the print book, or a different reader.

[Jude]

Ah, Dick Hill:-)! I think if you go to 'self-important' in the dictionary, he is the illustration. One of the readers whose name indicates a pleasure I must forego.

[Barbara]

I just started listening to a Brilliance Audio production of Olive Kitteridge and remembered that I really don't like Sandra Burr as a reader. She does a lot of things for Brilliance and always sounds like she is reading a children's book. I'm trying to adapt and make it through because I like the book.

[John, Moderator]

I've deleted Obamanos from my player, and doubt I'd listen to another with Dick Hill, although I might pick up that book again in print (though not soon).

[Sara ♥]

I'm currently listening to a Dick Hill book: Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power. Admittedly, I am NOT a history buff, and I don't think even Nathaniel Parker could make me find this more than BARELY interesting (okay, maybe HE could, but even Jim Dale couldn't), but WOW, it's dry. My two biggest complaints are:
        (1) the difference in volume between the regular text and the voices he uses for direct quotes (my hearing is BAD ENOUGH! Stop trying to deafen me every time you quote Lincoln, man!) and
        (2) he reads SOOOOOO INCREEEEEDDDIBLLYYYYY SLOOOOOOWWWWLLLLYYYY! That, and you can tell just from the way he reads that he's pompous. Jude, you were EXACTLY right: "self-important" is the word (errr... phrase)!

OH!! I just realized that Dick Hill narrated the version of 2001: A Space Odyssey I listened to, too.... I KNEW his voice sounded familiar!! No offense to any fans of that book, but I don't think it could have been MORE boring. It was definitely more boring than Lincoln. And then (I don't know why I did it), I watched the movie. At least THAT I could watch at 1.5 speed!!

[Heidi]

John wrote: "I've deleted Obamanos from my player, and doubt I'd listen to another with Dick Hill, although I might pick up that book again in print (though not soon)."

I just started Whiskey Sour and I think Dick Hill is the male narrator -- I was thinking I was not really liking him, now I know why! p.s. I dislike when audiobooks have more than one reader (unless it is a play) -- it is disconcerting to me.

[Sara ♥]

Heidi wrote: "p.s. I dislike when audiobooks have more than one reader (unless it is a play) -- it is disconcerting to me."

Really? I love when books have full casts... It makes it more like I'm listening to a movie... :) Princess Academy was especially good...

[Barbara]

If the multiple readers are each reading a different chapter, then they take some getting used to.
If there is a reader for each character, then I really enjoy it. It adds so much life to the story.
For example, in The Elegance of the Hedgehog and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Although some readers have such a variety of voices that they are able to do that is a joy to listen to.

[Barbara]

Oh amen to that! Her men's voices drive me up the wall.

[John, Moderator]

Barbara: Whose mens' voices are you talking about?

[Barbara]

Sorry!Thought I was replying to the comment on Sandra Burrs.
Mostly I was thinking of the Cedar Cove book series. The reading in Olive Ketteridge was better.

[Dung Beetle]

I’ve been listening to Gone With the Wind, read by Linda Stephens. Although I think she’s doing well for the most part, I don’t like her male voices, and I especially hate the sound of her Rhett. Every time “he” speaks, I picture a blonde woman wearing a suit and a black moustache.

[John, Moderator]

I seem to recall Linda Stephens does a good job with Lee Smith's southern fiction
(Fancy Strut, etc.).

[Barbara]

Barbara, re: Sandra Burrs, in Olive Ketteridge her other voices bother me less than what seems to be her natural one. However, I have successfully adapted and am really enjoying the book. Olive is so wonderfully flawed, but understandable.

[Matthew]

Arthur Morey is one narrator who bugs me. He read "Bridge of Sighs" which is the only Russo book that I didn't love and later when I was listening to "Rabbit, Run" I realized that part of the reason I wasn't enjoying the book was that Morey was narrating.

[Jolie]

I absolutely DESPISE dramatized narration! I tried listening to a version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and it was horrible! Too many readers and sound effects.

[Flannery]

The worst offense I've ever listened to was in Shatter by Michael Robotham, narrated by Sean Barrett. The killer sounded EXACTLY like the main character! I rather enjoyed the story but a few of my friends also listened and had the same problem. We'd have to wait at the beginning of chapters to see if the character would start swearing or being lecherous to know if it was the killer. Talk about major confusion!

[Patti]

I listened to a book by JA Jance that had Ellen Travolta reading and you could hear every noise along with the words.

[Christine]

I'm currently listening to Barbara Rosenblat read Comfort Food and if I hadn't gotten interested in the story I would have given up on it because of Rosenblat. I used to like her, but now she makes every character sound like a 60-year-old heavy smoker with a hangover. And I'm getting grossed out by hearing her frequent swallowing as if she's got too much spit in her mouth. Ugh. I think I'll avoid her in the future.

[Jo]

Hi All, I connot stand Anne Flosnik, the minute i see her name i immediately avoid the audiobook whether or not i like the author.

[Lisa]

Hi everyone. I just finished Alan Alda's autobiography, and by the end of it I had an intense hatred for the narrator Marc Cashman. To be fair, part of the problem was that I was already very familiar with Alda's manner of speaking, but because of that I could tell that the narrator was inflecting in all the wrong places and completely changing the context of what was written.

Through the whole audiobook I got the feeling that the narrator was trying to show off, throwing in accents where none were needed and stressing on women't voices in a way that just came across as all kinds of creepy.

[Stephanie *Eff your feelings*]

I know this is supposed to be narators we don't like, but I wanted to say that Neil Gaiman (author of coraline) narrated this book and was really good.

[Heidi]

Stephanie wrote: "I know this is supposed to be narators we don't like, but I wanted to say that Neil Gaiman (author of coraline) narrated this book and was really good."

He is excellent!

[Caleb]

I saw that Flo Gibson was listed here as being an acquired taste. That is a very good way to put it; she is good, I remember thinking so, but she kind of scares me...
Juanita Parker, I do not care for as a reader. I've listened to her narrate two books now and she hasn't gained any favor. I thought that it would be like it was with Ilyana Kadushin, where it took here a couple of books to warm up, but that's not happened yet for me with Ms. Parker.
I am rather new to listening to audiobooks, so I've not experienced a very large range of readers, but I am sure that as I listen to more I will find readers that I really like and others that I do not like. It's good to see what others think of particular readers.

[Janet]

Since we're naming narrators we like/LOVE, I must mention Kristoffer Tabori who read Middlesex -- which I listened to ages before Oprah discovered the book! I've listened to dozens (hundreds?) of audio books since then, and he remains the gold standard for me.

But Michael Emerson All the King's Men and Anthony Heald Shadow Country aren't far behind.

[Henry]

Scott Brick! Glad I'm not the only one.

[Serena_v]

Henry wrote: "Scott Brick! Glad I'm not the only one."

It's taken me about four years to get to a point where I like Scott Brick again. He narrated "The Godfather Returns", and I absolutely despised that book but made it through disc 9 or so before determining that scowling for an hour daily while commuting was probably permanently damaging my face. My tolerance level has grown through hearing him read several other books in the last year or so, and now I think he's probably one of my favorites.

[Becky]

Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant Tammet, Daniel

Read by the author who, probably due to his diagnosis of autism, has a voice lacking inflection. I plan to try to read it again in print.

I've been very pleased with the narrators selected for most of the audiobooks I've listened to.

[[deleted user]]

Becky, I was happy with it in print.

[John, Moderator]

I agree about Tammet's narration - I suspect it's better read than heard.

[Jackie]

Henry wrote: "Scott Brick! Glad I'm not the only one."

Thank you! I agree - there is something about his style that sounds arrogant and pompous. Plus, he narrates so slowly. I have tried two books narrated by him (Prodigal Son by Koontz and The Devil in the White City by Larson) and haven't been able to finish either. He doesn't draw me into the story at all.

[aprilla]

Jude wrote: "Ah, Dick Hill:-)! I think if you go to 'self-important' in the dictionary, he is the illustration. One of the readers whose name indicates a pleasure I must forego."

Whew, I'm not alone... while I hadn't gone that far yet, after listening to Mind Catcher narrated by Dick Hill I just might be following you... I'd certainly have enjoyed (most) of the book better without his interference!

[Cassi aka Snow White]

I don't know if it was just this book (haven't listened to anything else by her) but the rhythm of Justine Eyre's voice in grated on me.

[Alex]

aprilla wrote: "Jude wrote: "Ah, Dick Hill:-)! I think if you go to 'self-important' in the dictionary, he is the illustration. One of the readers whose name indicates a pleasure I must forego."

Each narrator has their 'wheel-house'. For Dick Hill, it's the Lee Child 'Jack Reacher' books, and to some extent, the P.T. Deutermann books.

[Janet]

I just finished 24 Hoursby Greg Iles and narrated by Dick Hill and I found Hill's reading and various voices (especially the female ones) hilarious. I don't think this was the effect Iles was shooting for. I'm torn between denouncing Hill as a terrible narrator and giving him another shot. If I do, any recommendations? Is he good in the Lee Childs books?

[Chris]

I have listened to Dick Hill read a Lee Child book ( I think it was the Killing Floor but I'm not 100% sure now) but found it ok, I don't recall having any problems listening to female voices.

[Tim]

I really liked Ilyana Kadushin's reading of Twilight. It made me want to listen to something else she read, but I'm not interested in the books I found. I also like Scott Brick (at least his work on Dune). As for Kate Reading, she does an excellent job on the Wheel of Time series, so I'd argue the problem is the book. I tried reading The Host (not as audio) and had to give up since it was so bad. I like William Dufris (he does some of the Heinlein books), but I don't love him.

I love the full cast audio productions, at times they can really enhance things as in The Star Beast or Red Planet (both Heinlein juveniles).

I'm enjoying the story of Solaris: The Definitive Edition, but I hate the reading done by Alessandro Juliani. It's just so flat and disaffected.

[John, Moderator]

The actor Elliott Gould reads Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, and I mean "reads", not quite monotonous, but close at times. Had I known, I would've read the print version.

[Sara ♥]

Tim wrote: "I tried reading The Host (not as audio) and had to give up since it was so bad."

I liked it better on audio, that's for sure!

[Heidi]

Sara ♥ wrote: "Tim wrote: "I tried reading The Host (not as audio) and had to give up since it was so bad."

I liked it better on audio, that's for sure!"

I gave up on it too - I was listening to it on audio though. S. Meyers is just not my type of writer I guess.

[Fran]

I am not a fan of Jim Dale. I found the children's books he read to be dull, bland, and boring. I was disappointed to see he narrated The Night Circus.

[Denise (Ducky)]

Sara ♥ wrote: "Tim wrote: "I tried reading The Host (not as audio) and had to give up since it was so bad."

I liked it better on audio, that's for sure!"

I agree. It wasn't bad on audio.

[Denise (Ducky)]

Heidi wrote: "Dacia wrote: "Wow Heidi, I couldn't disagree more. I LOVED "the Host" and I thought it was even better because Kate read it. I haven't listened to anything by her yet that I haven't liked. "

Yo..."

I liked her too and Host.

[Lindsey]

I've only listened to about a dozen audio books but haven't really cared for most of the narrators.

Carrington MacDuffie read the Friday Night Knitting Club. It was not a good book and just as bad narration. The only thing I can say about her voice was it was shrill.

Currently listening to Aimee Bruneau narrating "So Much Pretty." Not a fan of her narrating style. Her voices for children sound like terrible baby talk. She also has a bit of a whistle when she speaks, like the old guy from Family Guy.

I don't like when authors give very distinct voices to characters. For the most part it is distracting. In the future I will actively avoid reading any books with kids. Most narrators use baby talk and it's so annoying I tune out the content.

My favorite so far was actually Khaled Husseini reading his book "The Kite Runner." No over the top voices, just pleasant to listen to. I also liked Tina Fey narrating her book "Bossypants."

[John, Moderator]

I don't read that many books with characters who are (small) children, and haven't noticed the "baby talk" you describe. Authors reading their own work is usually considered a minus by consensus of members here, with the occasional exception. Perhaps fiction audiobooks, just aren't for you?

[Lindsey]

funny thing is the characters for the most part are adolescents but the narrators speak like they were 6 ( such as Friday night knitting club) I do enjoy some but I guess I'm picky. if you look at my book shelf for on cd its obvious I've made a few questionable book choices ;)

[Ancestral]

The bland, drone-like voice of Lisa Coleman had me wanting to give up on Midwinter Sacrifice ; luckily Mons Kallentoft is an excellent writer so I held on, but never again will I be tempted to listen to an book narrated by Lisa Coleman.

[Heidi]

I disliked the Twilight books (I tried them in print and cringed each time) but liked the narrator as well.

[Jeanie]

Frederick Davidson has a nasal voice and a cadence that gets under my skin over time. He's an Audible favorite for some listeners, go figure. Flo Gibson is another favorite for some but not for me.

I find Dick Hill to be just right for Reacher, but not for other books I've read.

The reader who takes the prize for awful was the one who read the first several Christine Feehan Dark/Carpathian novels--she couldn't find a correct pronunciation with a GPS system. I've blocked on her name and the narrator was switched later in the series so...

[John, Moderator]

I'm listening to Frederick Davidson (a/k/a David Case) read a book these days as it happens - Flo Gibson is ... an acquired taste.