Audiobooks discussion

Started a new book recently, so thought it's time for a new quarterly thread.
The Private Patient by P. D. James, latest (last?) in her Adam Dalgleish mystery series, has gotten off to quite a slow start with delvings into almost every character who's uttered more than a handful of words, and no murder well over an hour into the story. Rosalyn Landor's narration works well for the setting at an upscale, private medical clinic.

I felt much the same when I started listening to A Private Patient, but it got better and I enjoyed it overall. After the action finally started. Which was, as you note, aways into the book.

Anyway, I've got Jim Butcher's Proven Guilty going now, and I'm more than halfway into it, and I've had this weird feeling for awhile that I've read it before, though I am reading the series in order and just finished Blood Rites so I don't see how that's possible.

I am listening to The Looking Glass Wars by, Frank Beddor I am loving it, the narrator is Gerard Doyle he does a very good job.

I took Corduroy Mansions back to the library without finishing it. I really didn't like those characters. But, as evidence that I still love Alexander McCall Smith, I picked up The Double Comfort Safari Club, the latest in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.

If you like Fantasy and a good re-telling of a clasic try The Looking Glass Wars by, Frank Beddor.The Narration is by, Gerard Doyle and he does a great job!

I have The Ha-Ha: A Novel going in the car. Thank you for the recommendation on that, John. I'm enjoying it immensely.

Just finished In a Sunburned Country listening at home, and loved it. Not sure why I hadn't finished it before; I recall starting it once or twice, and I have enjoyed other Bryson.

Also recently finished On the Beach, which I may have already mentioned here. It was good, and well narrated too.

I'm listening to The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Next up is On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers. I just got my 2 Audible credits a couple of days ago, but I'm going to finish these two books before I use them.

I just started Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood; what a treat, to hear songs intermittently throughout the story!!!
I am also listening to Break No Bones in the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs. It is narrated by Barbara Rosenblat, and this is a good performance by her.

I'm listening to The Chosen... Pretty good so far!

I'm Listening to Little Bee by, Chris Cleave. its pretty good.

I'm currently listening to A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. It's not an exciting story, so it is slow going. I think part of the problem might be the narrator. I like Mark Feuerstein as Hank on "Royal Pains" but hearing him read a book about 1907 Wisconsin is somewhat off-putting. I keep saying to myself "What is Hank talking about??"

Just finished Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. I couldn't tear myself away from it but for the life of me I don't know why. I think I was waiting for a likable character to show up. It's a big book with big themes told through eyes of people I'm glad I don't have to be around. And the ending was kind of phony. Really, I don't know if I liked it or hated it. I gave it a 3.

Now looking for something simple to listen to...just a good yarn with no subtext.

Linda wrote: "Just finished Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. I couldn't tear myself away from it but for the life of me I don't know why. I think I was waiting for a likable character to..."

I gave up on Freedom half way through.

I'm a couple of chapters into The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements as an e-book, so thought I'd chime in that I'm glad I didn't try listening to it; I find myself skimming through it, and would likely be bored (frustrated) having to listen to the whole thing.

John wrote: "I'm a couple of chapters into The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements as an e-book, so tho..."

It was actually pretty good in audio. I wish I had read it in paper because there were so many facts and I had to rewind a lot, but the narrator was excellent and the pacing was good. I thought it was quite entertaining.

Maybe it's a book that should be read and listened to at the same time. (Too expensive.)

I just finished a new release - Stormwarden, narrated by David Thorpe. It was fantastic and I'm waiting for #2 and 3 of the trilogy to be released, I think next week.

From a review on Audible I decided to get Faulkner's Light in August, narrated by Will Patton. An English professor in college taught me how to read Faulkner and I have never gotten over the experience of reading The Bear, a novella, in that class. This narration of this novel was fabulous and I was struck anew by Faulkner's depth of exploration of the vagaries of human behavior and feelings. I highly recommend both. I haven't yet decided on my next listen; perhaps The Last Light of the Sun. This one has a different narrator than most of Kay's books, so I'm hoping I'll like him better.

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "I just finished a new release - Stormwarden, narrated by David Thorpe. It was fantastic and I'm waiting for #2 and 3 of the trilogy to be released, I think next week.

From a revie..."

I got Stormwarden with my credit too and Soulless then I got Wooster & Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest for .48 cents and The Dream Woman by Wilkie Collins for .97 cents

Susie wrote: "Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "I just finished a new release - Stormwarden, narrated by David Thorpe. It was fantastic and I'm waiting for #2 and 3 of the trilogy to be released, I think ..."

Cool! Hope you like it.

Finished The Chosen by Chaim Potok... I'm still trying to decide how I feel about the book, but the narration was great, and I feel like I learned quite a lot about Judaism, so that's good!

I'm back to reading All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. The narrator (Christopher Timothy) is the guy who played Herriot in the British Miniseries by the same title, which is awesome! He's a really good narrator! Plus, all the little anecdotes (which comprise the entire book) are great!

I am listening to and . Really enjoying the freshmen book.

I've started The Promise: President Obama, Year One, which isn't bad, but as with most other author-narrated books, they should've hired a professional instead.

Heidi I wrote: "I am listening ... . Really enjoying the freshmen book."

I listened to this book a long time ago, so I can't really remember what happened, but I remember REALLY liking it! :) I love Full Cast Audio...

Sara ♥ wrote: "Heidi I wrote: "I am listening ... . Really enjoying the freshmen book."

I listened to this book a long time ago, so I can't really remember what hap..."

I got the recommendation for this one from this group. I have about 20 minutes left of it and really like it. I actually just finished reading , (I loved it) which has a boy around the same age, so I feel like I have the whole 14 year old boy catagory down pat!

Heidi I wrote: I actually just finished reading Last Days of Summer, (I loved it) which has a boy around the same age, so I feel like I have the whole 14 year old boy catagory down pat!
..."

OMG, I LOVED this book. It had me laughing and crying. Glad to know it's available in audio.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest finally came in after a very long Hold at the library so I returned The Double Comfort Safari Club and will finish it later. I am now immersed in Simon Vance's outstanding narration once again.

Susie wrote: "Linda wrote: "Just finished Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. I couldn't tear myself away from it but for the life of me I don't know why. I think I was waiting for a likabl..."

Sounds like another The Corrections. I gave up on that one a lot sooner than halfway. I've reserved Freedom on audio from the library but now am thinking perhaps I'll give it a pass.

Decided I needed to listen to Fahrenheit 451 as I had never read it. Am finding it very good, if a little dated. But I guess the subject of book banning never goes out of style.

Just finished Rules of Prey by John Sandford. It is the first book in the "Prey" series. I read quite a few of them a long time ago and thought I'd sample audiobook versions. Pretty good storyline but might ultimately be too gory for me. As it is this one caused me to go buy new curtains for the back windows of the house!! Could get expensive...

Now listening to Heartshot by Steven F. Havill. Also the first book in a series about an Under-Sheriff in New Mexico. Milder that the "Prey" books. I like something like this to decompress after a big book (see notes on Freedom, above).

Linda wrote: "Just finished Rules of Prey by John Sandford. ... Pretty good storyline but might ultimately be too gory for me. As it is this one caused me to go buy new curtains for the back windows of the house!! Could get expensive..."

Ooooh, sounds like a great book for October!

Am now listening to Guy Gavriel Kay's The Last Light of the Sun. This one has a different narrator and I'm liking him better than Simon Vance.

Finished Soulless it was fantastic a great book and great narration by,Emily Gray. The worst part about it is the next one wil not be out on audio till next spring.

Also,just finished The Forest of Hands and Teeth by, Carrie Ryan it was ok I guess I'm not sure if I like zombie books this was a wierd dystopian I liked The Hunger Games better!Narrator was pretty good.
Now listening to Stormwarden by, Janny Wurts I'm about 3 hours in and loving the book and really loving the Narrator David Thorpe!If you like Epic Fantasy try this book!

Susie I just bought Soulless from Audible. Good to hear you liked it. A lot of people in my YA group were disappointed by Forest of Hands & Teeth, so I skipped it.

Ya it was a wierd book I guess right now its a "meh".

I'm really enjoying Dauntless by Jack Campbell. My only complaint is the one I have for many male narrators; he's making every female character sound like a weak, breathy lady in distress, or a witch. A middle aged war weary ship's captain would not sound like a frightened teenager hoping that the male lead will lead them all to safety. It's my sole complaint about the narrator, as I find it highly distracting from the well written space battle sequences.

Does anyone else find this a problem with male narrators?

I just wanted to interject here to ask that when folks comment on specific narration, please include the name of the narrator (if possible) - thanks!

Christian Rummell

I recall a conversation on here several weeks ago amongst people who like long books. I've just discovered the group "Reading the Chunksters" (love the name!) , and thought some of you might want to check it out if you hadn't already heard of it: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/3...

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Am now listening to Guy Gavriel Kay's The Last Light of the Sun. This one has a different narrator and I'm liking him better than Simon Vance."

All of Kay's books until this one have been narrated by Simon Vance, who I ordinarily like, but feel his narration of Kay's novels leave something to be desired. I took a chance on this one because the new narrator is Holter Graham, who I wasn't familiar with but I liked the sample. So far he is proving to be far better than Vance, at least for Kay's work.

@Laurel, ITA about some male narrators being terrible at women. Nora Robert's Circle Trilogy (one of the few works by Nora Roberts that I can stand) is narrated by Dick Hill, who is fantastic except for women. He sounds like a whiny, sarcastic teenager when he does women. Dick Thorpe, who does Stormwarden is an exception. I found no objection to his 'woman' voice. Also Holter Graham is okay with women so far.

ETA: That's David Thorpe, not Dick Thorpe. I guess I had Dick Hill on the brain. :-\

Thanks Sandra! I'm really enjoying audiobooks, and will happily try out the narrators you suggested.

That's funny about Dick Hill - I've heard him narrate two non-fiction books, and to quote Lucy Ricardo: "One of them was swell, and the other one was lousy!"

On this Columbus Day, Huffington Post has a brief article about five books which expose Columbus' "scandals and violence" . Three of the titles are on audio. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10...

A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World has a section on Columbus, but covers the atrocities of the Conquistadors fairly thoroughly.

Great book - I read somewhere that "Dandelion Wine" is coming out later this year - can't wait!

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Decided I needed to listen to Fahrenheit 451 as I had never read it. Am finding it very good, if a little dated. But I guess the subject of book banning never goes out of style."

Barbara wrote: "I took Corduroy Mansions back to the library without finishing it. I really didn't like those characters. But, as evidence that I still love Alexander McCall Smith, I picked up [bo..."

My sentiments, exactly, Barbara. I didn't finish Corduroy Mansions, either, but I greatly enjoyed Double Comfort Safari Club. I'm presently listening to another mystery story in Southern Africa--Deon Meyer's Blood Safari. This is very different from Double Comfort Safari Club but has some scenes eerily reminiscent of McCall Smith's book. I'm about halfway through the book now and am still unsure I like it. I agreed to review the book because I thought it was set in Cape Town, where I once lived, but through the first half of the book, Cape Town is barely mentioned. I was hoping for a story unfolding in places that would bring back nostalgic memories, but most of the story so far is set in or near Kruger National Park, at the opposite corner of South Africa.

My next audio book will be The Art of Racing in the Rain, which I've heard is a good story.

I just started The Atlantis Complex... I'm SO GLAD that Nathaniel Parker is back! (They had some other guy read book 6... although I think they rerecorded it with Nathaniel Parker. I'm guessing a LOT of people complained...)

I feel that way about the Spellman (Files) books -- my library had the first two by Christina Moore, who is perfect as Izzy, while Audible has the third one by Ari Graynor (who sounds a bit monotonous to me from the sample), and then the fourth one by Christina Moore!

#46 & #47- That is one of my biggest pet peeves if a book is in a series it should be the same person reading them all the way through!

John wrote: "I feel that way about the Spellman (Files) books -- my library had the first two by Christina Moore, who is perfect as Izzy, while Audible has the third one by Ari Graynor (who sounds a bit monoton..."

John that must be why I did not really enjoy the first Spellman audiobook! It was narrated by Ari. I didn't know there was another narrator.

Kent, I had to take Double Comfort Safari Club back to the library temporarily because The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest came in after a very long Hold. But, I made note of my progress and will definitely finish it. When you finish Blood Safari, let me know your final verdict. Simon Vance appears to be the narrator and I certainly like the job he does on the Stieg Larsson trilogy.