Listening to books you've already read?

[Dee]

So I was going back and looking through my audiobooks listened to and realized that with the exception of the Outlander series, they are all new to me books that i've never read. Then I realized that 2 audiobooks that I had DNF'd were actually books that I had read.

Which got me wondering - do you guys find it easier to listen to a new to you book? or an old favorite? and if you listen to an old favorite - do you find that the narration lives up to how you expected the characters to sound?

[Diana]

I try not to listen to books I've already read. The narrator's interpretation is usually opposite of what I imagined the characters. Two notable exceptions I found (so far) are the Amanda Quick's books narrated by Anne Flosnik and Nalini Singh's Archangel series narrated by Justine Eyre.

[Krissie]

I started out only listening to books I'd read (or books I'd written), then gradually branched out. I think I'm pretty much open to either, especially if it's a book I read long ago, like a lot of SEP's. They feel almost new.

[D.G.]

I'm not much of a re-reader so most of the audiobooks I listen are books I've never read.

That said, when I decide to re-read a book, my first thought is to do it in audio. That way, there's something new and fresh about the book I can enjoy.

If the narrator is good and faithful to the book, I find that I can enjoy a re-read by audio a lot because sometimes the interpretation helps me discover details I've never thought of. I didn't get Harry Potter until I listened to it in audio. All the humor passed me by when I read the first book in print.

What pulls me out of the story is when a character sounds different than it's described in the book. I recently listened to a Miss Marple book in audio and the narrator sounded too young for my taste and that bothered me.

[~KarenH~]

I don't do a lot of rereading anymore, mostly just because there are too many books out there that I haven't read yet to spend the time on ones that I already have. For that reason, most of my audiobooks are new to me. The only exceptions I can think of are Lara Adrian's Midnight Breeds series, which I listened to from the beginning after having read the series to that point, and then continued in audio with future releases, and Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling series. That one I'd read the first 5 books, then got away from it. When the audio versions were released, I started over from the beginning and am now continuing the series in audio.

[Lea's Audiobooks]

I often reread print books in audio and usually find it a positive experience. But when the narrator gets it wrong, such as in Foley's Lord of Ice, it makes me feel a little bonkers.

I do think I have greater expectations if I have read a book previous to listening. But if I realize during the audio that the narrator is following the author's character descriptions (that I may have looked over when creating an image of that character in my mind as I read), I often discover that I enjoy the book in a new way.

If I see a favorite in print released in audio, I will jump on it immediately if it is narrated by a trusted narrator. By that I mean a narrator I know studies the characters beforehand and works to perform as written.

Some of our listeners have to read a book first before listening. In the beginning I felt that way - especially those with a lot of world building - but now I go straight to audio in nearly every instance.

[Diana]

Lea's Audiobooks wrote: "I often reread print books in audio and usually find it a positive experience. But when the narrator gets it wrong, such as in Foley's Lord of Ice, it makes me feel a little bonkers.

."

I won't listen to a beloved book by a narrator I don't like. Sadly, Lisa Kleypas' Dreaming of You (my favorite historical) is off the table for me. I can't bear the idea of Roslyn Landor reading Derek Craven.

I love having my favorite print books in audio when the narrator gets it right.