Around the World discussion

Does anybody have recommendations of around the world books that are available on audio? I'm specifically interested in books that are written by non-US authors, or are at least not set in the US.

A few I've been able to find:
France - The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Lebanon - House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East
Norway - The Redbreast
Sri Lanka - The English Patient
Portugal - Blindness
Sweden - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Brazil,The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Denmark, A Conspiracy of Faith by Jussi Adler-Olsen
France, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Haiti, Moondogs by Alexander Yates
Israel, Lion's Honey: The Myth of Samson by David Grossman
Japan, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Malawi, Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
Nigerta, Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
South Africa, Matthew Flinders' Cat by Bryce Courtenay
Turkey, The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk
Zimbabwe, The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith

Turkey - Istanbul: Memories and the City (memoir)
Dominican Republic - This is How You Lose Her (short stories)
Zimbabwe/Rhodesia - The Boy Next Door (novel)
Wales - Among Others (sci-fi fantasy, award winner, great performance and accent)
Ireland - Skippy Dies (novel, better in audio than print)

Most books are available on audiobook. I read probably half my books in that format.

My fav's -

Austria - The Bells
Bosnia - People of the Book
Germany - The Book Thief
Indonesia - The Persimmon Tree
Iran - The Blood of Flowers
Israel - The Dovekeepers
Norway - The Snowman
Vanuatu - Fishing for Stars (sequel to The Persimmon Tree).

Some of my favorites

Yemen Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Vietnam Matterhorn
Palestine Mornings in Jenin
Kenya A Guide to the Birds of East Africa
Congo Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart

TransAtlantic
Songdogs
Dancer
You see I really like Comum McCann

Here are some others:
Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life
All That I Am
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern
WorldBetween Love and Honor
Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness
Scribbling the Cat

were all wonderful for me.

The Sandcastle Girls could work for Syria or Armenia

I’m on a mission to convert myself into an audiobook enthusiast. Over the past few months I’ve listened to about 6 in a row. Overall, I’d say I prefer non-fiction in this format, but I did enjoy my fiction choices too.

Nobody has added to this thread for 7 years! Are there any ATW audio reads that you recommend from the intervening years?

Andrea wrote: "I’m on a mission to convert myself into an audiobook enthusiast. Over the past few months I’ve listened to about 6 in a row. Overall, I’d say I prefer non-fiction in this format, but I did enjoy my..."

I love Robin Miles as a reader and she did both of Nicole Dennis-Benn books, set in Jamaica.

Andrea wrote: "I'm on a mission to convert myself into an audiobook enthusiast. Over the past few months, I've listened to about 6 in a row. Overall, I'd say I prefer non-fiction in this format, but I did enjoy my..."

I've been trying to get myself into audiobooks as well recently. I've realized that even though I'm young, there's not enough time to read all of the books I want to read in life, especially since I'm a slow reader. I'm also trying to learn how to cook, relearn how to crochet, and for my health, exercise more. Therefore, I think it would be great too if I could find some books that I could listen to while doing something else.

Unfortunately, the first audiobook I tried about a week ago was incredibly slow and, therefore, near impossible to understand. I think the author, who is a non-native English speaker, narrated the book, A Sinner in Mecca: A Gay Muslim's Hajj of Defiance, which I loaned from RBDigital. Understandably and perhaps for that reason, I believe he has/had some difficulty speaking English. I wanted to like the audio version, but they're one or two words every five or so seconds. Thus it was impossible to piece together the words to understand what was said. The second audiobook I tried listening to was a version of A Clockwork Orange. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me initially, I believe that it was OCRed as opposed to being read by a human narrator, so it was incredibly monotone.

Therefore, I would love it too if I was able to find at least a few audiobooks that I would like. Unfortunately, part of the problem is that I lost my phone when I moved out of the dorms of the college I attend. That was over three months ago, and I haven't been able to find it since. I think it's lost for good, especially since I scoured everywhere, looked places I was sure it wasn't and called or otherwise contacted numerous people. I've been trying to use my laptop to listen to books and do things I usually would with a phone, but it's quite large and doesn't have wifi capabilities built-in like my phone did so I cant go on the internet without a router wifi connection. The only place I can usually listen to books then is at the library or at home. :(

Does anybody else not have a phone they can listen to audiobooks on, and if so, what do you do? What are the best free or relatively inexpensive audiobook programs, software, sites, etc. out there?

Rachel wrote: "Does anybody else not have a phone they can listen to audiobooks on, and if so, what do you do? What are the best free or relatively inexpensive audiobook programs, software, sites, etc. out there?..."

That's too bad about your phone, Rachel. For me the main attraction of audiobooks is the portability, as I mainly listen while walking (I can't concentrate when I'm running!). So far I've been relying on my libraries' audiobook offerings and listening via the Smart Audiobook app. I've also just finished listening to one I borrowed via RBDigital. If my experiment works and audiobooks become a normal part of my reading, I may consider joining Audible.

Sorry to hear about your phone, Rachel.

Most of the time, I listen with 1.25-1.5x speed, which helps me to focus. Don't know why the narrators always speak so slooowly.

Btw, Spotify has some audiobooks too. But you need a subscription to listen to the tracks in sequence. I don't know if you have Google Home mini? I mostly listen to Spotify with that.

For audiobooks subscription, I would recommend Audible or Scribd (this one also includes ebooks, magazines and articles). I have an affiliate link that will give you 2 months free trial for Scribd, if you're interested.

I recommend Scribd too, it works out cheaper than audible (and I try to avoid Amazon companies due to ethical concerns). Many libraries have audio books you can listen to for free if you download the app that they use so it's worth asking them about that too.
I listen to a lot of audio books because I have chronic migraines (almost every day for the past 10 years) so for me they make a big difference to my quality of life

Around the world audio books I have enjoyed:
Half of a Yellow Sun
My Sister, the Serial Killer
The Inheritance of Loss
Love After Love
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World and others by elif shafak
Homegoing
Children of Blood and Bone
When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
Americanah
Circe

USA:
The Color Purple
Beloved
Salvage the Bones
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body
The Book of Dog
Sabrina & Corina: Stories
Jubilee

UK:
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
All of Harry potter which is fantastically narrated by Stephen fry

Check with your public library for apps like Hoopla or Overdrive because these apps usually have the speed settings. And for me, I dont listen to the same things I read. Id try memoir or YA or a thriller, something where plot is the thing.

Great that you’re getting into audiobooks Andrea! So many favs - I’ll try to keep the list short. Here goes:

Nigeria - What Is the What (This was my first audiobook I think and it was a great listen), Stay with Me
Syria/U.S./various - The Map of Salt and Stars (one of my all-time favorites - the narrator, Lara Sawalha, is awesome and especially suits this book)
India - The White Tiger, The Palace of Illusions
Trinidad - 'Til the Well Runs Dry
U.S. The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress (Anne Marie Lee is a great narrator), The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
Liberia - The House at Sugar Beach
Armenia - The Hundred-Year Walk: An Armenian Odyssey
Canada/Japan - A Tale for the Time Being
Democratic Republic of the Congo/Burundi, etc. - How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child
Syria/various - Nujeen: One Girl's Incredible Journey from War-torn Syria in a Wheelchair
Zimbabwe- Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa
Barbados/various - Washington Black

I usually listen at 1.25x or 1.50x - it’s great to have the speed-setting option. Overdrive/Libby are the apps libraries here use.

Hannah wrote: "I recommend Scribd too, it works out cheaper than audible (and I try to avoid Amazon companies due to ethical concerns). Many libraries have audio books you can listen to for free if you download t..."

Goodreads is owned by Amazon... :-)

Vya wrote: "Most of the time, I listen with 1.25-1.5x speed, which helps me to focus. Don't know why the narrators always speak so slooowly. Btw, Spotify has some audiobooks too."

RBDigital used to have an app that worked with Windows computers, which allowed you to speed up the audio. Unfortunately, the app no longer works on these computers since Windows no longer allows for the type of encryption RBDigital uses. On the other hand, my Mom, who I am living with over the summer, said I could use her Ipad when she wasn't to listen to audiobooks. RBDigital is supposed to work better with Ipads, Iphones, and Kindle Fires.

As to Spotify, while I don't have a Google Home Mini, I do have a subscription. They have an excellent discount for college students where you can receive Hulu, Showtime, and Spotify all for $4.99. Therefore, it's great to know that they have some audiobooks which I was unaware of. It makes sense though as I know at least at one time they were trying to expand the type of content they provided, which is why they have podcasts.

Vya wrote: "I have an affiliate link that will give you 2 months free trial for Scribd, if you're interested."

I would love to receive a 2 month free trial for Scribd so that I can try out Sribd. I was considering a subscription to Audible since as a Student Prime member I am able to receive Audible for a slightly discounted price ($10 instead of $15). However, I was irritated by the fact that Audible only allows you to pick one audiobook per month unless you want to pay more no matter the size of the book. From what I've read about Scribd after briefly researching them it doesn't sound like this is the case with them. I think the fact they have articles would be great too since, as a college student, I end up reading quite a few for research.

Hannah wrote: "Many libraries have audio books you can listen to for free if you download the app that they use so it's worth asking them about that too."

Jenny wrote: "Check with your public library for apps like Hoopla or Overdrive because these apps usually have the speed settings".

The app that my library primarily uses is the one for RBDigital. Unfortunately, as I explained earlier in this post, their app no longer works great with Windows computers due to Window's new encryption restrictions. They don't have Hoopla. However, they do have access to Overdrive. Yet, at the same time, it doesn't seem like there are many audiobooks on Overdrive, at least in coordination with my library. The ones they do have always seem to be "checked out" or borrowed.

Thanks for the great suggestions guys. :)