Do you "search" by narrator?

[Carrie]

Moved from Listening Challenge 2012 thread

Karen wrote: "This is a question that many narrators are curious about - would love to hear more from listeners on whether you ever search by narrator (on Audible or elsewhere - in the Los Angeles library system you can search by narrator I know)? Or do you have other ways of seeking out additional works by narrators you've enjoyed?
Thanks!

[Carrie]

Carrie wrote: "Moved from Listening Challenge 2012 thread

Karen wrote: "This is a question that many narrators are curious about - would love to hear more from listeners on whether you ever search by narrator (on..."

I definitely search by narrator on audible. If a narrator is someone I haven't listened to before I'll try to listen to several samples on audible to get a feel for the voice and style. If it's a reader I particularly like, it will influence how I use my credits. I've definitely bought books because I liked the narrator.

Of course the reverse is true as well. I avoid books I might otherwise try because I know I don't care for the readers style.

[Carrie]

I hope I did okay moving the discussion! I'm not real savvy!

Anyway, to continue the discussion-- The reader obviously has a big impact on how enjoyable an audiobook is, but that doesn't mean people are going to agree with what makes a good narrator. Susan Duerden is very popular with the SOA listeners, but I find I enjoy the books she's read in spite of her narration, not because of it. I simply don't like her tonal inflections, particularly on the dialog parts.

I do searches on narrators I've really enjoyed, such as Tom Stechschulte, and felt the books went up a complete grade simply because listening to his voice is such a pleasure. Carnal Innocence was so wonderful, that I bought and listened to several of Feehan's Ghostwalker series on the strength of his narration alone.

And Anna Fields could read almost anything and be worth listening to. (Although I must admit I stopped listening to Ain't She Sweet because even Ms. Fields couldn't save those characters.)

[D.G.]

Oh yes. I search by narrator and try books based on narrators alone.

Just recently I bought a book in the Audible first in a series sale based on the narrator.

[Carrie]

D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ wrote: "Oh yes. I search by narrator and try books based on narrators alone.

Just recently I bought a book in the Audible first in a series sale based on the narrator."

Which one? (I mean, the sale is still going and maybe I need to buy something else.......)

[D.G.]

Cast in Shadow, narrated by Khristine Hvam. She narrated Daughter of Smoke and Bone which I floved!

I'd never heard of this book but I figured with her as the narrator, I should definitely give it a try!

[Dee]

i think Kristine Hvam also did the Jane Yellowrock series...I know I picked up book 1 at the sale because of that, even though I have it in print.

I know since I get a lot of my audiobooks through the library, sometimes you can click on the narrator, other times you can't

[Kelli]

I definitely search by narrator name alone. I've picked up quite a few audiobooks I wouldn't have if I hadn't been looking for works by a specific narrator. I'm also far more likely to try something outside of my usual listening/reading tastes if I really like the narrator's style/voice.

[Carrie]

D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ wrote: "Cast in Shadow, narrated by Khristine Hvam. She narrated Daughter of Smoke and Bone which I floved!

I'd never heard of this book but I figured with her as the narrator, ..."

Thanks. I've heard of the book. I'll go have a listen.

[Carolyn F.]

I try search by narrator and I wish Goodreads had that capability. You have to find a book with the narrator's name listed and then click the name. It's unbelievable how little information is here about the narrators. So I've filled up their information page (I'm a librarian here) with just the basic info I can find and any images that are on Google, etc. I'll even add their website if they have one. I really think that narrators are very important to whether you like or don't like a book for those people who don't actually physically pick up the book and read it.

I always make sure that if they are doing a great job that I note myself as a fan here on Goodreads. Maybe our little corner of the reading world could promote them a little more.

[Carrie]

Carolyn F wrote: "I always make sure that if they are doing a great job that I note myself as a fan here on Goodreads. Maybe our little corner of the reading world could promote them a little more."

Great idea! I didn't know there were any narrator pages here on goodreads. Thanks for trying to remedy that situation and I'll definitely try to "become a fan" of my favorite narrators.

[Dee]

when you upload book details there is a place to add other people from the author (illustrator, translator)...narrator is one of those options. Susan Erickson has a narrator page

[Carrie]

I just sent a suggestion to the Goodreads "help" people to add narrator search capability. Hopefully it won't be hard to add that feature. Audible can be searched by narrator.

[Lea's Audiobooks]

Here are my comments from the other thread before we decided to move it with Karen's question. Thanks Carrie for moving it. Great job!

Anne wrote: "I have never picked my books by narrator...intersting approach...is there a place to search by narrator not book?"

Are you familiar with Audible? It is my primary method of searching by narrator. Just place the name of the narrator in the search field and it will bring up all books. You can then take a look by genre.

Another search option - on Amazon's Advanced Search, place the narrator name in the Keyword and it will bring up a list as well.

I don't usually pick a book by a narrator but if I'm thinking about purchasing a book and it is performed by a narrator I trust (to perform to my expectations), it nearly always tips the decision in favor of the book. If it is a book I enjoyed in print and it is narrated by a trusted narrator - almost 100% chance I'll buy it.

On the other hand, if it is a book I loved in print or expect to love in print (by a favorite author) and it is performed by a narrator I don't care for, it is doubtful that I will purchase it.

[Dee]

audiofile does a pretty good job with narrator interviews and you can pull up a audiography for all the narrators which lists everything they have done, in case you find one you really like

http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/gvpa...

[Xe]

Dee wrote: "audiofile does a pretty good job with narrator interviews and you can pull up a audiography for all the narrators which lists everything they have done, in case you find one you really like

http..."

Dee - where are you finding a complete audiography? I know that for my listing, I am only allowed to list my fave 6 or so titles. Have you found full listings for all narrators?

[Dee]

so if you go to each narrator, say I want to see what else Simon Vance has narrated - I click on his profile and on the right, there is a grey box that says complete audiography - click on that and it lists all their books - let me know if that works for you or not

[Xe]

Dee wrote: "so if you go to each narrator, say I want to see what else Simon Vance has narrated - I click on his profile and on the right, there is a grey box that says complete audiography - click on that an..."

Ah! Yes, this will work for the prominent narrators such as Simon Vance and those listed as Golden Voices. It will not work for lesser known narrators who you might be looking for, unfortunately. For those folks, better to find their professional website, LinkedIn profile or listings on Audible (Audible tends to list most, eventually).

[Carolyn F.]

A lot of the narrators are actors so you can find stuff on www.imbd.com. That will give you a little info on them too.

[Karen]

Thanks, ladies, for all these comments - your opinions and shared information are so useful!

[Lea's Audiobooks]

Xe wrote: "Dee wrote: "so if you go to each narrator, say I want to see what else Simon Vance has narrated - I click on his profile and on the right, there is a grey box that says complete audiography - clic..."

Dee and Xe - are you saying we can't begin building a data base for narrators here at Goodreads if we start including the narrator in our book details? If nothing else, I'd like to search our own 250+ romance reviews by narrator. Is there a way we could set that up?

[Karen]

Xe wrote: "Dee wrote: "so if you go to each narrator, say I want to see what else Simon Vance has narrated - I click on his profile and on the right, there is a grey box that says complete audiography - clic..."
Narrators are only listed on that page if they've had a profile in the magazine, or if they are a Golden Voice. However, you can search the Audiofile reviews by any narrator name. In either case, the "complete" audiography only includes titles that have been reviewed for the magazine.
Same thing on Audible, you can search by narrator name. If listeners think it would be valuable, I may approach both goodreads and Audible to see if they'd start up narrator "pages".

[Dee]

Lea's Audiobooks wrote: "Xe wrote: "Dee wrote: "so if you go to each narrator, say I want to see what else Simon Vance has narrated - I click on his profile and on the right, there is a grey box that says complete audiogr..."

some narrator's have their own GR pages - here is Susan Erickson's - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

but as far as I can tell, you can't search by their name and have their books come up. I'd like to see that, as well as search by translator etc

[Dee]

actually...if you know the narrator, you can type their name and some of the books they have done will show up - but it isn't an entire listing...and it doesn't show the audiobook as the primary work - you have to go to the book page, search other editions and go to the audio

[Lea's Audiobooks]

I guess I don't visit narrator pages or author pages for that matter. I just want a listing of their books - plain and simple. Audible provides that for me with a narrator search.

Dumb question - but what does a page do for a narrator? Does it allow space for background, awards, etc.? If so, I definitely think Audible needs to feature such on their site.

On Goodreads, a narrators page would be nice but I'd totally be satisfied with a search by narrator feature. May be an overwhelming task however. If Goodreads had narrator pages, would it then be the responsibility of the narrator to fully list all of their narrations?

[Dee]

if when someone uploads the file for an audiobook, they input the author, there is also a place where narrator, translator editor etc can be put it. if that is populated then, it will show up if you search for their name

like when I type in a query for Xe Sands - this is what I get - http://www.goodreads.com/search?query...

they can input information that they want on a profile page - bio, website, influences - no place for awards, but then those aren't on GR authors pages either - they are tied to individual books

[Lea's Audiobooks]

Dee wrote: "actually...if you know the narrator, you can type their name and some of the books they have done will show up - but it isn't an entire listing...and it doesn't show the audiobook as the primary wo..."

Hmmm...sound like Goodreads isn't a good platform for narrator searches at this time. So, do I understand correctly that, on our Bookshelf, if we listed all the narrators, we couldn't perform a simple search on our bookshelf by narrator?

[Dee]

you can't search group bookshelves at this time - I think that is on the long-range plan, but its not do-able right now

best bet would be to have an excel spreadsheet that could be updated by members where they can list narrators etc

[Dee]

you could also set up narrator bookshelves and add books to those depending on the narrator - it would take some time to deal with the backlog of books, but then not hard to keep it up to date

[Lea's Audiobooks]

Dee wrote: "you could also set up narrator bookshelves and add books to those depending on the narrator - it would take some time to deal with the backlog of books, but then not hard to keep it up to date"

That sounds like a great idea! Maybe we can get volunteers from our group to work on all of our reviews once we have a plan?