Outlander Series discussion
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Audiobooks
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Michelle
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Dec 22, 2008 05:33PM
Have you listened to the audio books read by Davina Porter? I'm a huge fan of audio books in general, and these are the best. They are on audible.com but I have also seen them at my library.
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I have Outlander, and I hope to get DIA soon. Outlander was my first audio book ever, and I am not disappointed.
I have done audiobooks now and again on road trips, but my commute is not long enough for me to really do an audiobook in a respectable amount of time. I am glad that the audiobooks are good, though, for when I will reread before the next book comes out.
The audiobooks help enormously when trying to figure out how to pronounce those Gaelic words and phrases.And Davina Porter is great. Her accents are very well done. When I first put in Outlander, I was a bit dismayed that Jamie's voice was going to be done by a woman, but I quickly forgot all about that.
I can't remember the last time I read one of Gabaldon's books, but I've listened to them over and over since then.
I actually have Outlander in my car right now just waiting to be listened to again!
I agree, I love reading the books but they were also very enjoyable on CD. We have a long commute and my husband even enjoyed listening to them!
As I was reading Outlander, I kept thinking that I needed to check out the CD from the library just to listen to that great Scottish language. I will probably still do that, even though I've finished it.
I listen to audio books all the time and the Outlander series is my favorite to listen to. I'm on my third time listening to them. Davina Porter is just incredible. She can somehow do Jamie's voice so perfectly that I get chills.
I didn't think I would like a female doing Jamie's voice either but after listening to Davina Porter, she's fabulous! I love how she does the different accents and tones even for Fergus's french accent. The Scots Gaelic sounds beautiful!I can't wait to listen to Outlander (listening to Drums right now). :-)
Davina Porter is very talented. The voices of the characters seem so organic and natural. I wonder how soon the audiobook for Echo in the Bone will come out after the publishing date. Now that I'm thinking about the audiobook, I think I'll go re-listen to Outlander!
I don't know if this has been mentioned, but my kids have rented books for trips from our bookstore. I think it was about $5. so check and see if yours has that available.
I have been able to download the MP3 version of two Lord John books from my library's website. I'm hoping that more of these books will become available in that format soon. I listened to Drums on tape and enjoyed it completely.
Cool about the MP3! that would be great for trips. Where did you download from?
If your library's a patron of net library you can log in through your library's site at first to get a user name and password. You can either log in at the library itself or from your own computer. http://www.netlibrary.com/
Thank You for the info. Carolyn your the best.
I have been looking at the audio books for months now and I can't decide whether to buy them or not....the reason being, especially with Outlander, it was very difficult to read and re-read the BJR/prison ordeal...is it difficult to listen to as well?
You just fast forward to the next section. (I'm a bit of of a wimp)
I am in the middle of the Jamie at the abbot scene where Claire is helping him. The prison scene was very hard to listen to....but I love hearing the rest of the book.
Hi everyone. I'm new to the group and loving Voyager. I read the first 4 books years ago and am now listening to the audiotapes with Davinia Porter. She is amazing with Scottish, English, French, Spanish, Boston voices. It's truly amazing how she does it. Just by her voice you can tell which character is speaking without any clues. I'm enjoying the audio much more than I did reading these books. The accents make all the difference in the world.
I was thinking the same thing as Cynthia, that's why I've been scared to listen to it on tape. I'd be a mess! I may just have to fast forward myself. Beside that I highly agree with buying the audio books, Cynthia. They are seriously amazing like Barbara described. Davina Porter is so talented and makes you really feel the book and all the characters in the books.
Rae wrote: "I was thinking the same thing as Cynthia, that's why I've been scared to listen to it on tape. I'd be a mess! I may just have to fast forward myself. Beside that I highly agree with buying the audi..."Thanks Rae, I appreciate your input! I thought about buying the CD's and only listen to them as I drive, but then I probably would not pay enough attention to the road, I can see myself getting " all involved in a scene" and drive down a street the wrong way!
Lol that could probably happen! It's easy to get tied up in the story with the great narration and story. :-D
Does anyone know why we can't get the last three books unabridged from audible.com? Echo isn't out yet, but I'm hoping its unabridged. I can't even imagine abridging these books! Also, I LOVE Davina Porter; she's amazing at the voices!FYI, because it's been discussed, I also have all the hard cover books--I got them all 2nd hand except for Echo, and I own the 1st 4 from Audible.com, but not the next 3 because they're abridged. I have to get them on disc from the library if I want them, but then I'm tethered to the CD player, since I have to use headphones.
Christina wrote: "Does anyone know why we can't get the last three books unabridged from audible.com? Echo isn't out yet, but I'm hoping its unabridged. I can't even imagine abridging these books! Also, I LOVE Davi..."I have done the same thing. I got the first 4 from audible but had to listen to FC and SAA on cd from the library. I have read echo but will get the audio when audible has it. I hadn't thought about it util you mentioned it but I will be so mad if it abridged.Davina Proter does a wonderful job with all the voices but Jamie is the best.
I've got all the books as unabridged on CD's and the next one (ECHO) is on its way. Try Barnes & Noble, http://www.audiobookstand.com/default... has some in different versions such as MP3, download , CD's; http://www.recordedbooks.com/index.cf... Recorded Books has all of them and I believe you can rent them from them to. I listen to mine in the car while I drive. So I don't care about the traffic.
The only problem with places like audiobookstand.com and rcordedbooks.com is they are VERY expensive. Audible.com is much more reasonable prices, especially based upon which plan you choose.
My local library already has the Davina Porter recorded version of Echo (how did they do that?) so it exists somewhere. Not going to put myself on the 75-person waiting list, tho'.
Audible.com has EITB as of yesterday!! yeah! I got my new credit today so going to d/l it.
Audible has the UNABRIDGED version, too! Also, to answer my original question, this is copy/pasted from the audible site:Please note: Even though Recorded Books has produced unabridged editions of both The Fiery Cross and A Breath of Snow and Ashes, they do not have what's called "digital rights" for those recordings. That means they can sell them in CD format, but they cannot yet distribute them via digital services such as Audible and iTunes.
The last time we checked with Diana's agent, his belief was that it could take until sometime next year to resolve the situation. It's wrapped up in contracts and such that have to be untangled. Unfortunately, that's out of our hands. But we keep pushing. Stay tuned!
Hey--I've waited this long, what's another year? That will just give me a reason to re-listen to the whole series in a year or so!!
Ive read the whole series, still savoring Echo and today I just got Outlander from Audible! I was wondering if it would be as good a listen as it is a read. After reading all of your rave reviews I'm giving it a try. Jamie come to life almost. I will start listening after i finish Echo.......maybe! LOL
I've LOVED them all, both in print and on audio. I feel like the print is a bigger commitment of time, since I can listen while I do other stuff. But Audible doesn't have Firey Cross or Breath of Snow in unabridged format. Geraldine James is NOT the same as Davina Porter, so you may want to wait a year to buy them unabridged.
I saw Diana Gabaldon last week in Naperville, IL and she said that as the previous contracts expired, the unabridged recordings would become available on audible.com--but some are 10-year contracts.I did get Echo in the Bone unabridged yesterday on Audible.com, a surprise since it had not made their "coming soon" list. I usually end up reading print as well as the audio, I like the audio better for the re-reads. Great narration, and it is nice to know how the words are supposed to sound.
Becky Preston
Yes! The audible books are as good as reading them!!! You can do your laundry and dream about Jamie Fraser at the same time!!!!
I think Jamie is getting a bit older now--how old is he in Echo? Shouldn't he be in his 50's? Not complaining, just wondering, LOL!!
I'll check my library because the price is just too high - even on E-bay. As for Jamie being older: this has bothered me a bit because a man in that day and time with such physical labor being a dominant aspect of his life, would probably be worn out. On the other hand, my hubby is almost 48 and he looks great, so maybe Jamie holds up with all of Claire's good nutrition, etc..!
Sheri, I didn't want to go into that, because it is a fantasy for everyone, but you are absolutely correct. Even today, imagine an older man that has lived really hard, and has had many years of poor nutrition. Jaime is a warrior and a manual laborer, he'd have bad arthritis, his teeth would be better than most but would still be bad, etc. Ach, dinna fash--it's all for a good story!
Christina, you're right. But it's all relative,right? So if he's hot for an 18th century dude and wouldn't do it for us here in the 21st, that's OK. Like I said, I find it kind of comforting in that we're in our 40's and this makes their love and commitment more meaningful to someone our age or thereabouts. You don't just stop feeling that way 'cuz you're "old". LOL
Christina wrote: "I think Jamie is getting a bit older now--how old is he in Echo? Shouldn't he be in his 50's? Not complaining, just wondering, LOL!!"Jamie is 58 at the end of Echo...Claire is 62!
I decided to revisit the series before Echo came out as it had been over a year since I had read the books. I am doing it with audio books and am on "Drums of Autumn". The thing that I really don't think I noticed on the first read is how much humor the books contain. I find myself laughing aloud a lot. So glad I am doing this except now I will need to read the next two.
This may have been addressed before, but is anyone here a member of audible.com? does anyone know how it works and if it's worth it. I've been on there and have chatted with someone about it, but i still don't understand how it works.
Three years ago when I was first introduced to the series, I read all six. By the time I fiished ABOSA I wanted to reread the series but knew my eyes couldn't handle it. So I spent a small fortune and bought all 6 from Recorded Books (got a 40% discount for getting all at once) and have never regretted it. I've listened to the series 3x already, the last in preparation for Echo. Having read Echo, I am now listening to it--as I got it from Recorded Books. Davina Porter is absolutely fabulous. Listening to the books, after having read them, allows me to sit back and just enjoy the thrill of a journey.
So you think it's worth it to pay like $60 for one recorded book? cause i've been considering getting them and I've been pretty hesitant cause it really is going to cost an arm and a leg. grrr.
Gam26 wrote: "Christina wrote: "Does anyone know why we can't get the last three books unabridged from audible.com? Echo isn't out yet, but I'm hoping its unabridged. I can't even imagine abridging these books! ..."What exactly is the difference between the books being Abridged or unabridged? What does that mean exactly?
Alicia wrote: "So you think it's worth it to pay like $60 for one recorded book? cause i've been considering getting them and I've been pretty hesitant cause it really is going to cost an arm and a leg. grrr. "When I placed my orginal order for the first 6, I called Recorded Books (1-800-636-3399)and asked if I could get a discount for purchasing the complete set at once. By asking I got 40% off. As a result I am on RB's mailing list, and when I saw that I could get 40% off Echo by preordering before it was available I jumped at it. For me it was worth the money because I just love this series but I don't think I would have bit for full price. I would have waited for the public library's copy.
Alicia wrote: "Gam26 wrote: "Christina wrote: "Does anyone know why we can't get the last three books unabridged from audible.com? Echo isn't out yet, but I'm hoping its unabridged. I can't even imagine abridging..."Unabridged means the whole story as written by Diana gabaldon is narrated. Abridged means parts are taken out.
Fran wrote: "Alicia wrote: "Gam26 wrote: "Christina wrote: "Does anyone know why we can't get the last three books unabridged from audible.com? Echo isn't out yet, but I'm hoping its unabridged. I can't even im..."Oh i see. That;s stupid. Why would they do that?
On Audible.com you can get the recorded Echo unabridged. But ABOSAA and FC are not unabridged.
If you go to recordedbooks.com you can rent "The Fiery Cross" and "A Breath of Snow and Ashes". I did this. I got FC right away, but there must be a waiting list for ABOSAA, because I have had it as my 1st pick, and it keeps getting passed over. (If you rent from Netflix, you will find that RB is simular).
About only having abridged versions of FC and ABOSSAA, From what I have read, there have been some legal issues. Some company owns the "digital rights".
I have read the Diana G. hates having her books in the abrigded form. I don't blame her. She works very hard, and puts alot of thought into all her novels.
I wouldn't want to read an abridged book, so I can't see that I would want to listen to an abridged audio format either, unless I had already read the book, perhaps. I can't wait for my name to come up on our local library's list! I'm next for BOSAA even though I've already read it and am almost finished with EITB.
I've also heard there are different narrators for abridged v. unabridged and the abridged narrator not supposed to be as good.
I just bought Outlander unabridged off of ebay for $25. I thought that was a great deal. Now after hearing all the good things everyone is saying about it, I'm excited to start listening to it. I've never bought an audiobook before but I can't think of a better one than Outlander to experience first.
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