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Narrators you don't like?
I listened to one of the A Song of Ice and Fire books in mp3 format that had been converted from CDs. Scott Brick did the "end of disc four. Beginning of disc five" interstitials and just that much "narration" made me all twitchy and grumpy for like five minutes, every time.(Again, sorry, Scott Brick! I'm sure you're a lovely man.)
I had always wanted Don Pardo (the announcer from SNL) to do my college graduation ceremony. "KE-rry, EENNNNNNgelunt!!"
Aw jeez J, just listening to that now. Thanks for making me feel like even more of a jerk!
I really liked Scott Brick in Still Life With Crows. I thought he gave Pendergrast a great sultry southern voice. I won't listen to any of the other books in the series unless they're narrated by Scott. However, I was less enthusiastic for his narration of Riptide. I felt like perhaps he was over emoting in places. I suspect that narrators have good performances and not-so-good performances based on a myriad of factors.
Kerry wrote: "Aw jeez J, just listening to that now. Thanks for making me feel like even more of a jerk!"Ha! I had completely forgot what that snippet was about. I was just trying to think of something new for you to hear, while trying to think of where I could find something old to compare it to.
:)
Bronson Pinchot.. Ruined Hard Magic for me..
Kerry wrote: "I listened to one of the A Song of Ice and Fire books in mp3 format that had been converted from CDs. Scott Brick did the "end of disc four. Beginning of disc five" interstitials and just that mu..."I join you in Jerkiness, Kerry. I don't like him either.
I find his voice very soothing! I can't wait to listen to a whole book.
Brandt wrote: "Bronson Pinchot.. Ruined Hard Magic for me.."Really? I really enjoyed that narration, with the exception of Fey's extremely slow drawl. 30+ years in Alabama and I've never met anyone that spoke that slowly.
Count me as another person who dislikes Mr. Pinchot's narration (and his acting...). I listened to him read a very emotional autobiography of a doctor who was appalled at how the poor and disadvantaged were treated in hospitals (I think the book was called County) - he nearly put me to sleep :-(.
I thought it was the story I disliked. I now, with time and experience, realize it was the poor narration.
I thought it was the story I disliked. I now, with time and experience, realize it was the poor narration.
I thought Pinchot was fine reading My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store, despite my lack of respect for the author and his wife's common sense.
haha you all hate 2 of my favorites I love Scott Brick's narration of Harlan Coben's stand alone's and adored Bronson Pinchot's narration of The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom and was just extremely disappointed to find out there won't be an audiobook for the second one in the Hero's series!
I loved Bronson Pinchot's narration of Matterhorn (by Karl Marlantes,) which is actually one of my all time favorite audiobooks! The story is largely based on Marlantes' own experiences in Vietnam and I was completely enthralled by the story and narration. Considering that previously I had avoided stories about Vietnam (I'm not big on history that happens while I'm alive) the impact was all the more intense.
I also liked his reading of Chip Kidd's The Learners which was about a Yalie's participation in an social experiment (based on real events, though the story is fictitious): One person was asked a series of questions. The other person delivered an electrical charge to the respondent if the answer was wrong. The one in delivering the charge was also left to determine how much of a shock to deliver to the answering participant...
I also liked his reading of Chip Kidd's The Learners which was about a Yalie's participation in an social experiment (based on real events, though the story is fictitious): One person was asked a series of questions. The other person delivered an electrical charge to the respondent if the answer was wrong. The one in delivering the charge was also left to determine how much of a shock to deliver to the answering participant...
The only time I've listened to Bronson Pinchot was "Wise Blood" by Flannery O'Connor - really loved it.
OK, I'll try his work again :-)
I think this thread illustrates how different we all are in preferences. The first audiobook (and only) I listened to narrated by Kate Reading was Boneshaker. In my review I wrote, I had a difficult time getting past Kate Reading's narration. I have heard good things about her, but I found her voice to be too rhythmic, putting emphasis on the end of sentence as if she was asking a question. Her enunciation was impeccable.
Maybe it was just this one book. I've listened to samples of other books, and I don't hear that same tone as pronounced. I'm almost afraid to try another book.
She gets that way at times in the Wheel of Time books, but mostly I find her voice to be lovely. I also like the co-narrator of WOT, Michael Kramer.
The only reading by Kate Reading that I have heard is Paladin of Souls by Lois Bujold which I think is superb. It's one of my keepers.
Kate Reading did a great job reading The Painted Veil, as well as Cousin Bette (as Johanna Ward) - her delivery seems best for Classics to me.
I will give her another try. Thanks for your feedback.
My opinion on Scott Brick's narration varies with the author or book. He is indelibly 'the voice in my head' for some series characters -- so that fact intrudes a bit when I hear his voice on other author's work or in stand-alones. I have heard a slightly jarring twinge of initial character bleed-over after having previously identified him as Nelson DeMille's John Corey, Cannell's Shane Scully, Brian Herbert's Dune characters or Harlan Coben's mc's. His reading of Justin Cronin's The Passage and The Twelve has been stellar after settling in past that initial ear confusion.
It is a relief to find I am not alone is my disdain for Scott Brick (his narration). I don't think there is another narrator that causes such a love/hate reaction. It seems like half of the posts in this discussion are about him. I get so disappointed when an anticipated audiobook is released and I learn it has been narrated by Scott Brick. My problem with him is that he narrates in such whiny, arrogant tone that I end up hating the protagonist of every story.
Its nothing personal against Scott Brick. Many people rank him as their favorite. I understand he is fighting cancer, and I pray he has a speedy recovery.
The book, Norse Code, sounded like it was recorded using a cheap cassette player while the narrator recorded his first read through while sitting in a shower stall. Too bad, the story was quite good.
Jeanie wrote: "The book, Norse Code, sounded like it was recorded using a cheap cassette player while the narrator recorded his first read through while sitting in a shower stall. Too bad, the story was quite good."Isn't that the worst when you have a bad narration on a good book? You feel compelled to continue listening...neurological twitch and all.
J. wrote: "Jeanie wrote: "The book, Norse Code, sounded like it was recorded using a cheap cassette player while the narrator recorded his first read through while sitting in a shower stall. Too bad, the sto..."One positive side was that the next book I listened to sounded especially good!
I am in your camp regarding Scott Brick. He narrates some of my favorite authors, and it's always a disappointment to learn of it. One tip I got from another listener is to listen to Brick at 1-1/2 to 2 x normal speed. I tried it, and it definitely was an improvement. I was not aware of his health status; I am sorry to hear it and wish him well. Scott wrote: "It is a relief to find I am not alone is my disdain for Scott Brick (his narration). I don't think there is another narrator that causes such a love/hate reaction. It seems like half of the posts i..."
Scott wrote: "It is a relief to find I am not alone is my disdain for Scott Brick (his narration). I don't think there is another narrator that causes such a love/hate reaction. It seems like half of the posts i...""My problem with him is that he narrates in such whiny, arrogant tone that I end up hating the protagonist of every story. "
My experience exactly.
I really, really don'T like Frederick Davidson, aka. David Case. It was about two or three years ago that I fell in love with classics, especially Charles Dickens.. After finishing Great expectations, David Copperfield and Oliver Twist, I wanted to start a new one. Back then, I used torrent sites. One day, I came across Dombey and son, read by Frederick Davidson. It took me ages to download it, because it was around 1.5 gb. After about two minutes of listening, I decided to quit the book. I know that many people like him, but I really don't like the way he narrates. His intonation is so ridiculously devoid of emotion that it made me laugh out loud!
Funny how different people are, 2 of my favorite narrators are Scot Brick and Kate Reading. I dislike the person who reads the Pendergast novels. My least favorite is the girl who read Twilight, couldn't even stand the sample.
The worst narrator for me to date has been Joshilyn Jackson who narrated her own book A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty. I tried, really tried, to work past her accent but unfortunately it became so difficult I had to give up on listening to her. She was really horrible to listen to.
Well, the more I listen . . . the more discerning my ears are becoming. There have been a few narrators that I just couldn't get around . . . Bernard Mayes . . just the sample for The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire almost put me to sleep . . . I bought the eBook instead . . .
Thank goodness I can return the book to Audible and get my credit back. But sometimes even when you listen to the sound bite of the narration before buying the book . . . it often requires more listening to make a final choice. And even some of my favorite narrators are not always the best choice for a particular book.
The very worst recordings ever are Librivox recordings!
Zara, I really liked Joshilyn Jackson's narration of A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty, just to voice another opinion!
Chrissie wrote: "Zara, I really liked Joshilyn Jackson's narration of A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty, just to voice another opinion!"That's fine Chrissie. It was just the accent I had problems with. Otherwise it would have been fine I think.
Zara, I just thought it was good both sides were heard. Glad you understand.
Chrissie wrote: "Zara, I just thought it was good both sides were heard. Glad you understand."Not a problem. Of course both sides should be heard.
I totally hated Nathan Marosz's narration of the Theodore Rex, the second of a trilogy on Theodore Roosevelt. The first and third books of the trilogy are narrated by Mark Deakins, and he is totally wonderful. I listened to Theodore talk on YouTube and Mark's rendition was perfect. Teddy bit off his words and spit them out. So did Mark.
Dora wrote: "The very worst recordings ever are Librivox recordings!"I disagree. The quality of the recordings, as with any other audiobooks, depends largely on the reader and his/her talents. For example, Mark David Nelson is an excellent Librivox narrator of Science Fiction/Fantasy titles.
I suggest that trashing the entire crowd of Librivox readers because of bad experience with a few of them is a little harsh. I've listened to Librivox readers whose talents are lacking. But I also know that there are many readers who do a fine job.
Try to be little patient and do some research before indulging in wholesale rejection of a large number of volunteer narrators, who work hard to contribute their efforts to all of us for free.
Happy Listening,
Alan Mintaka
I think it is so laudable that people who are not professional narrators WANT to narrate entire books. It's an outstanding contribution to worldwide literacy. I admit that the voices I have heard have not been comparable to those on Audible, but the volunteers don't have Audible's resources at their disposal.
I've wanted to narrate for LV for a while, but time constraints and a weird voice (LOL!) have kept me from doing so.
I've wanted to narrate for LV for a while, but time constraints and a weird voice (LOL!) have kept me from doing so.
Did not like Sile Bermingham reading Bog Child Not sure if she would be better with other books but this one was disappointing. It was just so flat. The story was pretty good.
Jennifer (E-reads, E-listens, E-breathes) wrote: "I've wanted to narrate for LV for a while, but time constraints and a weird voice (LOL!) have kept me from doing so..."Same here. If it's any consolation, most people hate their own voices when they hear a recording being played. It's just that we're not used to hearing the way our voices actually sound to other people - we get the version that's modified by our sinuses and bones.
To me, my recorded voice sounds like that of a dumb dufus who picks dumps for a living. On the other hand, I've had people tell me that my voice would make for a good radio announcer or audiobook narrator. Go figure. I certainly didn't encourage the spontaneous remarks. The problem is that whenever I hear that voice, I cringe and think "How could they possibly thing that way?"
It's the old "everyone's wrong except me" mentality.
There's really only one objective way to find out if your voice really is "weird": that's to record it and play it back for an audience of some kind, and ask them what they think.
Even if you get a positive response, the hard part really begins if you decide to narrate an audiobook. You have to change your voice to play the different character roles, and listen to your attempts to try to fine-tune the impersonations. If you've started with a voice you already don't like, you might never get results that will satisfy you. Once again the only recourse is an audience of reliable critics.
Q: "How does my Scottish accent sound?"
A: "It sounds like a French accent!!!"
Back to the drawing board!
Happy Listening,
Alan Mintaka
Ha! Thanks so much, Alan. Your contributions to this group are always valuable, and I appreciate your input on this and other matters.
Sam Dastor does terrible American voices in Joseph Anton and his women's voices are especially horrible--nasal, whiny, and petulant.
Perhaps he doesn't like women :P
Osho wrote: "Sam Dastor does terrible American voices in Joseph Anton and his women's voices are especially horrible--nasal, whiny, and petulant."He's one of MY favorite narrators . . .
I really didn't like how Lisa Genova narrated Still Alice. Alice was a fifty-year-old woman and Lisa's voice sounds so young. Also, she has a nasaly tone to her voice and sounds like she is annoyed most of the time. She should have left the job to someone else.
Adam Paul - his voice is so monotone. I am not sure how he was able to read books. I like my audio book read with the author's tone or mood he/she intended.
Maggi-Meg Reed -Reed's narration of "HOME" by Marilynne Robinson was so boring I had to stop listening and read the book instead.
I know narrators are big girls and boys, but wanted to repeat that I find this thread a bit ... I dunno ... disheartening? But, it seems popular and I'm not into heavy-handed censorship.I will throw in that I find Ari Graynor completely wrong for the Spellman series, so that listening to the one book where Audible only had her version, not Christina Moore's, was very difficult.
Audiobooks
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Here is a new snippet on his website if you want to listen.
link
Personally, I'd hire him to do all my reading if I could.
Scott Brick: "Here's a birthday card from you mother, she says "I can't believe it's been...""