Narrators you don't like?

[John, Moderator]

I've run into a book where she was badly mis-matched as a reader, but otherwise I'm a Nadia May fan.

[Scott S.]

I love Scott Brick's narration. He's probably my third favorite behind Oliver Wyman & Bronson Pinchot.

[Briar Rose]

John wrote: "I've run into a book where she was badly mis-matched as a reader, but otherwise I'm a Nadia May fan."

I'm reading a book right that doesn't suit her narration style at all, and I've found a few others like that too, but otherwise I also enjoy her work.

[Heidi]

I think we have established there are people who are not fond of Scott Brick's narration. At some point I think we just need to start a thread just for people to discuss him because it seems to keep coming up here. IMO if you don't like him don't listen to him. There are plenty of other narrators and books out there. Just my two cents.

[John, Moderator]

Indeed, there are members who pretty much only post messages to bash him whenever his name comes up, and little else. I have said before that I don't find this thread particularly ... constructive, but am loathe to arbitrarily close it.

[Heidi]

John I started the Narrators You Love Thread as a direct response to this one a few years ago. I prefer to focus on the positives :)

I am not naive and have had what I would consider bad audio experiences directly related to the narration but I just choose not to listen to the narrator again. I often give narrators a second chance before giving up on them all together because I do find most of the time it is not actually the narrator themselves but the "wrong narrator for the wrong book" if that makes sense.

[John, Moderator]

My preference would be for a polite response in your thread along the lines of "Sorry, but I'm not a big fan of that reader at all." Once, with no piling on.

I once read a book in a series I like where the narrator was obviously hired for her strength with Chinese names/words/accents, while overall ruining the book for me, so much so that I cringe whenever I see her name in a new book.

[Mirkat]

Has anyone here ever encountered Renee Raudman as a narrator? Here's something I wrote about her narration of I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You :

Also, since I listened to this as an audiobook, I have a comment about the narration. At first, I just found myself annoyed. Those of you who share your homes with cats or dogs: Do you ever do a special voice to demonstrate what the cat or dog would say about a given situation? Imagine someone doing that for "teenage girl." This was what Renee Raudman's performance of Cammie Morgan's voice felt like to me. It's as Raudman thought "what do adorable high-school sophomores sound like?" There's a certain cutesy cartoonishness to the narration that I can't properly describe. I almost bailed on this story for the narration alone. I found, though, that if I sped up the recording slightly, the "cutesy" factor was mitigated somewhat.

[John, Moderator]

Mirkat wrote: "Has anyone here ever encountered Renee Raudman as a narrator? Here's something I wrote about her narration of I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You:

Also, since I ..."

In that case, you'd best steer clear of her reading Homer's Odyssey.

[Mirkat]

John wrote: "In that case, you'd best steer clear of her reading Homer's Odyssey."

Heh, that's a funny coincidence. Actually, I'm listening to a sample right now, and Raudman seems to have dropped the cutesy affectations. Go figure. :)

[Janet]

Joy wrote: "My response is to want to look up and listen to something read by Scott Brick just to see if I feel as strongly about him as others seem to, one way or another."

Unfortunately, he narrates a lot of my favorite authors, books that I otherwise would listen to. If you do choose to listen to a book Brick narrates, it helps to speed up the audio a bit. I'll be curious to hear what you think.

[John, Moderator]

Mirkat wrote: "John wrote: "In that case, you'd best steer clear of her reading Homer's Odyssey."

Heh, that's a funny coincidence. Actually, I'm listening to a sample right now, and Raudman seems to have droppe..."

She reads Homer's "dialogue" in a sort of boyish Dennis the Menace tone.

[Sara ♥]

Mirkat wrote: "Has anyone here ever encountered Renee Raudman as a narrator? Here's something I wrote about her narration of I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You:

Also, since I ..."

The sad thing is that I sorta got used to the terrible narration by the 2nd or 3rd book... (I'd read the books previously, but needed to reread when book 4 or 5 came out and didn't have much time to actually sit and read.)

The worst part to me was the random Texan character in one of the books... She had the most hideous Texan accent, I wanted to gag... I was like, "She's from Dallas, not out in the country!! People from DALLAS might say y'all, but they don't have accents!!" It was horrible...

[Sara]

I listened to "Years of Wonder" by Geraldine Brooks; while she is a very talented author, she is a horrible narrator. I ended up giving up the Audio version and stick to the printed words.

[Mirkat]

John wrote: "She reads Homer's "dialogue" in a sort of boyish Dennis the Menace tone."

Ohhhhhh. Yeah, I think that would bug me. The sample only included a short part of the intro, which she read in a more "normal" fashion.

Sara ♥ wrote: "The sad thing is that I sorta got used to the terrible narration by the 2nd or 3rd book... (I'd read the books previously, but needed to reread when book 4 or 5 came out and didn't have much time to actually sit and read.)"

If I hadn't already decided not to continue with the series, that might just have clinched it. ;)

[John, Moderator]

It's a good story, so I'd encourage you to look into the print edition, although almost all of the book is Renee speaking as the author (as in the sample). I'm not a pet person, but Homer is a great guy.

"For a cat nobody wanted, I sure get A LOT of offers to look after him!"

[Mirkat]

John wrote: "It's a good story, so I'd encourage you to look into the print edition, although almost all of the book is Renee speaking as the author (as in the sample). I'm not a pet person, but Homer is a grea..."

Thanks for the tip... I will put it on my list. :)

[Patricia]

Joy wrote: "My response is to want to look up and listen to something read by Scott Brick just to see if I feel as strongly about him as others seem to, one way or another."

I've only listened to one book he's narrated The Heist and I really liked his voice and his narration. It was a dud of a book though, he just had to keep repeating "Kate said" & "Nick said" over and over again. There wasn't much for him to work with.
Based on my admittedly limited experience, there wasn't anything that I could hear that would promote such dislike.

[Sara ♥]

That'd be a good study... WHICH books narrated by Scott Brick do people like VS which they don't.... Maybe it's at least partially a narrator-book mismatch issue? (Do we have a Scott Brick thread?)

I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Except the one narrator I despise, who shall remain nameless as they are a member of this group... But I DO feel bad about it at least....

[Trish]

Christine Mcmurdo-Wallis. Fortunately she appears to have only narrated a dozen or so books. I listened to Lisa Jackson's The Morning After which is part of a series. Ms. Wallis has a smoker's voice, pauses too dramatically after sentences, and you can hear her drawing breaths and swallowing. Yuchh!

[John, Moderator]

Trish wrote: "Christine Mcmurdo-Wallis. Fortunately she appears to have only narrated a dozen or so books. I listened to Lisa Jackson's The Morning After which is part of a series. Ms. Wallis has a smoker's voic..."

I thought McMurdo did a great job reading My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile.

[Heidi]

Patricia wrote: "Joy wrote: "My response is to want to look up and listen to something read by Scott Brick just to see if I feel as strongly about him as others seem to, one way or another."

I've only listened to ..."

I have listened to 1 or 2 books narrated by him and had no reaction one way or another about his performance - certainly not the extreme reaction mentioned by some others here.

[MissSusie]

Sara ♥ wrote: "That'd be a good study... WHICH books narrated by Scott Brick do people like VS which they don't.... Maybe it's at least partially a narrator-book mismatch issue? (Do we have a Scott Brick thread?)..."

I really enjoy his narration of Harlan Coben's stand- alones.

[Robin P]

Sara wrote: "I listened to "Years of Wonder" by Geraldine Brooks; while she is a very talented author, she is a horrible narrator. I ended up giving up the Audio version and stick to the printed words."

Most authors are not good narrators, which makes sense - the thing they are od at is writing. When I was new to audiobooks, I listened to a recording by
Tony Hillerman, whose works I always enjoy. He read in a flat voice that added nothing to the story After that, I always chose George Guidall or another professional for Hillerman's books. The exception is for actors, for instance Sidney Poitier or Billy Crystal reading their own autobiographies. The great news is that a whole group of performers is able to earn a living now by narrating audiobooks, as was described in a NY Times article not too long ago.

[Scott S.]

True, I've only found a couple of author's that were good narrators. I thought Scott Sigler did a good job narrating his books, but he has switched to full time writing.

[John, Moderator]

The example I usually give of a (fiction) author who reads her own work well would be: Bee Season.

[Margaret]

Re:Tony Hillerman. All my many stories by Hillerman were narrated by George Guidall, perfectly. However I do delight in his memoir,Seldom Disappointed which he did narrate. His mater-0f-fact tone seemed appropriate. Maybe I enjoy it (repeatedly) because his years and many of his experiences parallel mine,(allowing for gender differences.)

[Ann]

Neil Gaiman started out a recording he did of one of his books saying that he wanted to read it himself to add the inflection where he wanted it to be and it was a delight.

[[deleted user]]

The Guy Who Narrated The Stand. I don't care for Him Either

[Samyann]

I can’t think of a particular narrator I don’t like, but a couple things really bug me.

One, hearing breathing or shuffling in the background noise.

Two, sex from the point of view of a female protagonist … read by a man. Doesn’t matter who the reader is … but I can’t help laughing at the attempt of a man to verbalize a female orgasm. It’s just funny :-).

[Trish]

I love Ann Lamott's books, but didn't care for her narrating.

[Post Hypnotic]

Interesting discussion here. I'm reminded of a "contest" audible did some years ago where they pitted two narrators reading the same book (mostly public domain works like Mark Twain, etc.) and asked listeners to vote for their favourite. What I found very interesting, and I bet audible did, too, was that the split was always 40/60 - never 50/50 or 30/70. In other words, our individual reactions to narrators is very subjective.

That said, I have to agree with the observation that the author is often not the best reader for their book, but again, that's not always the case. Some authors have acting backgrounds and do a very good job narrating.

[Denise]

Chrystal714 wrote: "Are there any narrarators you really don't like to listen to? Any you would suggest others avoid?

I have found it is rare that I like a author narrarated book. I do tend to like actor narrarated..."

I just tried listening to my first Erin Mallon narration. It's the only audio book I can recall that I absolutely couldn't get through because of the narrator's voice (not the content of the book). For much of the book, she sounds like she's in pain. I think it's supposed to be her "sultry" voice, but really -- just sounded like wincing/whining. Also, this book had a British character and she tried to read his part in full male British accent and it was awful.

[Cindi]

Just finished listening to Believing The Lie read by Davinia Porter. Well, more accurately, about 2/3s through I switched to reading it on my Kindle. Mostly because I was going on vacation without a CD player. But also because I found Ms. Porter's reading a bit irritating, specifically that she over-emphasizes 'ee' sounds, drags them out just a tad too long. LOL'ing at myself--I know it's a small petty-sounding gripe. But once I noticed it, then I REALLY heard it every time, and after a few hours of it, it became like the proverbial nails on a chalkboard. "She is kEEEeeen on becoming quEEeeen." Otherwise, she's quite a good reader but that one quirk was so irritating.

[Lorie]

Lorelei King made me lose interest in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series - I loved C.J. Critt! Other books she reads I just can't seem to feel for the characters. I also don't like Fredrick Davidson's narration - he makes every book sound stuffy and female characters in particular all seem to be silly or simpering. And as much as I appreciate Stephen King, I wish he would not read his books. "On Writing" is the one exception. I thought it made sense for him to read that but every time he says "Long Island" with a clunk in the middle it gives me a twitch!

[John, Moderator]

I'm with you on both counts!

[Koeeoaddi]

Anne Hillerman wrote a somewhat creaky, but readable Chee/Leaphorn book and I am grateful to her for keeping her father's fictional world alive. I had to read it in print, though, because the female narrator's male Navajo voices were unintentionally hilarious. Too bad, too, because otherwise she was quite good.

[Powder River Rose]

Ray Bradbury narrating Farenheight 451. I'm sure the story was good but I had to give up. He was terrible.

[Sara]

Robin wrote: "Sara wrote: "I listened to "Years of Wonder" by Geraldine Brooks; while she is a very talented author, she is a horrible narrator. I ended up giving up the Audio version and stick to the printed wo..."

Thanks Robin! You're absolutely correct. I've listened to Sidney Poitier's book and he did a fabulous job. Because he is a wonderful performer. However; I've also listened to "Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini and he is a Medical Doctor turned to an Author, and he has done such a superb job at both writing and narration of the book.

[Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition]

A Storm of Swords, 3rd book of A Song of Fire & Ice (a Game of Thrones)
Omg, I am really trying to get through this book, but I am listening to it on "Audible" and the narrator's gruff, abrasive voice is making it impossible to endure for long periods of time....and the book is so long...and I foolishly ordered the 4th book in the Audible version also!
I never knew how much I skimmed through the wordy parts of the first two books until I had to listen to every single word of the third book! I even sped up the narration, but it doesn't help. His female voices really spoil the narration for me - I wish there were a male and female narrator for this series, there are whole sections of the book that are from a female character's point of view and he makes them sound like trolls!

[John, Moderator]

It would help if you gave the narrator's name (and why did you put "Audible" in quotes?).

[Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition]

John wrote: "It would help if you gave the narrator's name (and why did you put "Audible" in quotes?)."

The narrator is Roy Dotrice.

[Denise]

OK, ok...I know Scott Brick has been debated to death, but here are my two cents. I've never understood why people were so irritated by his voice...until now. I've listened to him narrate several mystery/suspense books and he really never bothered me. Now I am listening to his narration of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry. He is a bit too intense for this wonderful book! It isn't suspense...Stop yelling at me, Scott! I listened to the first hour or so of it, but will return to reading this one.

[Denise]

Terry wrote: "John wrote: "It would help if you gave the narrator's name (and why did you put "Audible" in quotes?)."

The narrator is Roy Dotrice."

I apologize - I don't remember which other GOT narrator I listened to (I think it was John Lee, but I'm not 100% sure) , but one thing that irritates me with this series is that there's no consistency with how things are pronounced from book to book or narrator to narrator (or even from narrator to the HBO series). It does make things confusing. For example, Brienne of Tarth and Petyr Balish. Couldn't they just ask George R. R. Martin how they're pronounced and stick with that? I've heard Brienne's name pronounced Bry-EEN (ugh), Bree-enne, and Bree-anne.

[Denise]

Lorie wrote: "Lorelei King made me lose interest in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series - I loved C.J. Critt! Other books she reads I just can't seem to feel for the characters. I also don't like Fredrick ..."

I have gotten used to Lorelei King on the Stephanie Plum series, but now she's starting to work on other books and I can't listen to them. I hear Ranger or Lula in every book of hers. Then I think, "What's Ranger doing in London in 1892?"

[John, Moderator]

That's EXACTLY what happened to me listening to C. J. Critt reading stuff after hearing her Plum voices!

[Robin P]

Terry wrote: "A Storm of Swords, 3rd book of A Song of Fire & Ice (a Game of Thrones)

One of the first books I got from Audible several years ago was A Dance with Dragons, and I didn't realize how important it was to listen to the sample. From the beginningI didn't care for the narrator, who is Roy Dotrice, so I never got into it and still haven't. However, many people obviously like his narration of the series. I didn't get far enough to tell how he did the different characters.

That is a problem for me when the sample is from the prelude or first chapter. For instance in all the GOT books the very first chapter is about someone who is killed off. You get no chance in the sample to hear the major characters. I guess it's difficult to choose a good selection as there shouldn't be spoilers. But maybe the author could help. I noticed with Hollow World that the sample is from about the 3rd chapter where the action really begins rather than the introductory material. Knowing how involved Sullivan is with his different formats of publication, I would bet that he selected that.

[Briar Rose]

I was amused to read the reviews of Swallows and Amazons on Audible.com versus Audible.co.uk. The narrator is English. The US reviews all praise her, saying things like "perfectly suited to the book" and "pitch-perfect". The UK readers have panned her across the board, saying she's ruined the book with her "mock upper-class accent" and "pre-school storytelling tone".

It shows how subjectively we hear narrators, and how much cultural expectations play a part in what we hear.

[Jeanie]

Briar Rose wrote: "I was amused to read the reviews of Swallows and Amazons on Audible.com versus Audible.co.uk. The narrator is English. The US reviews all praise her, saying things like "perfectly sui..."

It's a good thing I'm from the US... I'm getting that one in the current Audible kids sale. ;)

[Janet]

I just finished listening to my first Margaret Coel novel narrated by Stephanie Brush, and it will probably be may last. The narration was barely tolerable. I think the book would have been better served by a male voice.