readers advisory for all discussion

I don't know why it took this long, but it occurred to me that this group could be an excellent resource. So, here goes.

I have generally not been a fan of audio books. I prefer to read myself and can become irritated with the voices people give their characters. That being said, I have learned that I enjoy listening to something while knitting, and with the combination of being unemployed and the impending holidays, I have a number of knitting projects. While I love podcasts, I would prefer to not fall behind on my reading during this season.

I am looking for audio books that are as good as if not better than the actual books.

My Audio Book History:

I have a long love of public radio shows such as This American Life and The Moth, so I am familiar with and already seek out audio by their contributors such as David Sedaris, Starlee Kine, Sarah Vowell, Mike Birbiglia, George Dawes Green, etc.

I have enjoyed the New Yorker's fiction podcast, but it can be somewhat hit or miss for me and no reader particularly stands out in my mind. The same applies for PRI's fiction show. I cannot remember the name of it offhand.

I greatly enjoyed the audio book of the first Dresden Files book. It came highly recommended and definitely lived up to that. I am also planning to listen to The Lies of Locke Lamora and Monster Hunter International, also based on the recommendations of friends. I hear wonderful things about Stephen Fry's recordings of the Harry Potter books, but am reading them on paper.

I did not enjoy the audio book of Snowdrops and switched to the ebook a quarter of the way in. I am not loving Tina Fey's reading of Bossypants which is surprising me.

What I Want:

I take notes while reading classics or nonfiction, so neither of those genres would be good fits for audio. This also applies to "serious" fiction.

I read just about every genre, although horror is rarely to my taste, so the field is wide open in that respect.

I do not care for over the top accents which are foreign to the reader. See my dislike of Snowdrops. I cringed every time the reader decided to put on his Russian.

I would like books which are already on my to-read list, particularly if they are on my priority-reads or tbr-within-the-month lists. However, I am not going to demand only books on my list already. I'm all about new stuff.

I know this is not the most specific request, but that is somewhat intentional. Because I read a wide range, I am interested in a wide range of suggestions. :)

all i can personally tell you is to avoid this one:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

My favorite audio I've ever listened to is Stephen Fry doing The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so I wouldn't be surprised if his Harry Potters are outstanding. It was seriously so much better than just reading the book, even. And I liked the book, I'm just not a die-hard fan.

I love love love Flo Gibson's reads. She does most of the classics - Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, the Jane Austens. She has a lovely, scratchy, British voice.

Holter Graham reads One L, and I don't know why someone who isn't a law student would read that, except that Holter Graham's voice is so sexy.

Books to avoid:

Shiver and City of Bones. Terrible Audios. And OMG Three Cups of Tea is one of the worst audios ever, imo.

I'm not entirely sold on Three Cups of Tea anyway. Wasn't there some scandal with the author too? I need to look that up sometime.

Yeah, it's not a very good book. I feel bad about the scandal because it's my impression that it's Jon Krakauer being catty. I think the substantive information is generally true, but that the co-author is a terrible writer and thought it was okay to fudge dates and condense information "for the sake of the narrative." The audio is awful, though. He does the voices of the Nepalese and Indian people, and they all sound like Apu from the Simpsons. So unfortunate.

oh dear

I enjoyed Hitchhiker's Guide on audio as well.

After looking at your to-read list, you should definitely try Ready Player One read by Wil Wheaton. That book is loads of fun and I hear he does a fabulous narration of it. (I'm definitely going to listen to it next time I read it)

I listened to Elantris, which is on your TBR list, and loved it. It took just a bit to get into it but once I familiarized myself with all the character and place names (sci-fi!), it carried my sister and I through a drive all around the southwest.

I also listened to probably 6 of The Princess Diaries books in about a week a few years back. They are SUPER short listens and total cheesefests but cute nonetheless. If you can handle the "teen" voice, they are easy to fly through.

In general, Neil Gaiman does a great job narrating his own books. The Graveyard Book on your TBR is definitely another recommend from me. (I wasn't the biggest fan of the American Gods audio though, but I think that was the slower pacing and not the narrators)

In other news, I just got really excited for how many great books you have on your to-read list:)

I would second any reading of Neil Gaiman's as it is always such a pleasure to hear him read. Even cereal boxes.

If you plan on reading Jane Eyre, while I can't speak for Flo Gibson's readings, I was VERY impressed by Amanda Root's 'performance' as it were. She has given me my happiest audio book experience yet. She especially makes a brilliant Rochester!

Awww, I <3 Amanda Root!

Me too! I've been trying to find other stuff read by her, but no luck yet. Hey, wouldn't it be great if I had access to some kind of audio book recommendation site...?

Did you know you can search by narrator at Audible? I searched her and it looks like the only other books she's narrated are Persuasion, Nicola and the Viscount, The Owl Tree, and an abridged dramatized version of Mansfield Park.

Aww, her doing Persuasion!! Because she is the only Anne.

I'm definitely going to have to check these out!

"The Help" is the best audiobook I ever listened to, along with all of David Sedaris's recordings. My favorite Sedaris is "Santaland Diaries."

David Sedaris is another one of my favorites on audio, I agree. I've heard The Help is a really great audio and that it fixes the eye-dialect problem because all of the characters have accents. Good thinking.

If you don't mind a long audio book, I really loved the narration of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Simon Prebble. There were a few accents but he did them well.

I also enjoyed Treasure Island, as read by Simon Vance, although there were a few pirate voices that grated on my nerves. Overall it was still very good. Only about 6 hours long if you want something on the short side.

I'm currently reading Watership Down read by Ralph Cosham. It's a pretty straightforward reading with a few different rabbit voices for the main characters.

I guess I gravitate toward books with British male narration. I did listen to the abridged version of A Short History of Nearly Everything as read by the author. Bill Bryson has a soft, pleasant voice and the abridged version is great for an overview of science while taking a weekend drive or something. However, it is non-fiction and you may want to take notes, but for that I suggest you read the unabridged "book with pages" version anyway.

abridged isn't my thing, but the others sound great!

I just finished my very frst audio book while cruising up and down I-95 and to my own surprise really enjoyed it. Since i dont actually have anything to compare it to though, all i can say is that i dug Roxana Ortega's reading of A Visit from the Goon Squad

Lol, I just read that. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it better in audio form?

I listen to the terry pratchett books on audio, or use to when I worked at the bookstore while I shelved (The Color of Magic) mostly because there are like a zillion and after I read 3 I started to get oerwhelmed at the number that were left and they didn't require full attention.

I also listened to some stuff that was like BBC drama versions of books. they have one of the ripley series, I'm not a fan of the series but they were okay.

totally off topic old time radio like the shadow and the radio version of the hitchhikers guide is awesome.

And on podcasts savage love and reasonable doubts are both great.

now that I'm horrendously off topic I'll go find another thread to bother.

Yeah, I adore both of those podcasts, as well as Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me; Point of Inquiry; New Yorker Fiction Podcast; PRI's fiction podcast the name of which escapes me; Planet Money; and This American Life.

I feel like I'm forgetting something.

cool

I would definitely recommend you The Red Necklace as read by Tom Hiddleston.

I'm not one for audiobooks either, but Tom, perhaps because he's also an (excellent) actor, does such a fantastic job with the different voices and accents.

I think it falls under Childrens books, but I think you might enjoy it anyway. I found the story surprisingly interesting!

I'll add it to the tbr

So, I finished Ready Player, One and I loved it! As one can see by the happy review I wrote. I've also added Gaiman's Graveyard book to my library hold list and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I've actually read the former, but knowing it is Gaiman reading his own stories makes me want to hear it again. I love how he tells a story. He could read me a grocery list and I would probably listen just as intensely as I do to his proper stories. ^_^

I'm planning to start listening to RPO in the next day or so. Thank you!

I just put a hold on RPO!

I love audiobooks!! The best ever...The Help. My husband is now hooked on it. I had to borrow his car and he told me to be sure and stop the audiobook and switch to radio. Funny for him!

I also enjoyed many of John Grisham's novels, Life of Pi (the first couple of disks are a little slow, but plow through), Malcolm Gladwell (NF...especially Outliers), Freakanomics, Social Animal by David Brooks.

Most of what I "read" is an audiobook because I have a tendency to fall asleep when I stop moving and feel comfortable. Listening fits into many simple activities I do. You can check out my other reviews if you like.

"The Beans of Egypt Maine" is also a good audiobook.

Pillars of the Earth by John Lee was well recorded. There were some times where he would use a high pitched voice for women that I disliked, but I got used to it after a few chapters. Overall, though, he's a fantastic narrator.

I also listened to Hyperion as an audiobook. There were numerous narrators for each "tale" within the book. I really disliked the only female narrator and had to switch to a physical copy (luckily, her part took up abour 10% - 15% of the time, I estimate), but the men all ranked between good and amazing. One particular narrator who told the Solider's Tale did such a fantastic job that it made the whole audio experience worth it to me.

I'm not sure what you mean by wanting to avoid listening to 'serious fiction' but I've been told that the audio of Birds Without Wings makes a great book excellent.

I use audio books when I want to re-read a book. I also listen to several podcasts and so audio books compete with those. One of the best audio books that I ever listened to was "A Thousand Acres" by Jane Smiley and read by Kathy Bates. The story is an intense one and a re-telling of King Lear. It was AMAZING hearing her read it and I would listen to it again.

the audie awards are a good place to find superb performances too, here are the 2012 nominees http://www.theaudies.com/

I'm almost finished with my audiobook of The Night Circus and I LOVE IT! The narration is really good. All the voices are just brilliant - I highly recommend it.

On a side note: I am cheating on Night Circus with the audio book of Jonathan Strange Mr. Norrell and it's wonderful - so thank you for the recommendation!

Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series audiobooks are still on top of my list even after several years. Geoff Woodman made a splendid job with it. fast yet very clear. very lively too. Great voice with great story. Angela Dawe comes second on my list of most favorite voices in book reading. I'm still hoping to find a worthy novel to do her justice.

I loved Role Models by John Waters and read by himself. Definitely recommended if you like John Waters.

I'm in the middle of G.K. Chesterton's novel The Man Who Was Thursday and am loving that as well. The narrator does a great job of conveying the very British and often tongue-in-cheek humor in the book.

Seconding ('thirding'?) Neil Gaiman. He reads his work wonderfully, as do Sarah Vowell and Sedaris as already mentioned.

Stephen King is an EXCELLENT reader of his own works, and while I don't like horror necessarily, I've listened to him read his 'memoir' On Writing and it's great.

Spencer Quinn's detective series, told through the perspective of his dog, is a very enjoyable listen as well. There are a few of those out there - Dog on It was the first I think. Jim Frangione reads them.

Also, Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou may be too serious, but they are - along with the ones I mention above - part of that rare set of authors who read their own works better than anyone else could.

In terms of ones to avoid, even though I like Steve Buscemi, I remember hearing him read a novel (I think it was by Elmore Leonard) and I could not get through it...

Just to update, Red Seas Under Red Skies was brilliant on audio.

I love Simon Vance's narration. His accents are done well.

The White Tiger was well-read.

Lavinia is good.

For YA F&SF, Bacigalupi's Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities were good, clean dystopian fun.

Oh--and David Hyde Pierce did a Gulliver's Travels that I enjoyed.

Has anyone "read" the audiobook for DFW's The Pale King? I just got it from the library, but I am intimidated. ^_^

I think that "The Pale King" is intimidating in any form. I read the book for a book club read this summer. Although it is interesting,it is long and in need of editing. In my opinion, it is more of an unfinished manuscript than a novel. You would need to take a very long road trip to listen to the whole thing in the car:-)
If you are interested in listening to David Foster Wallace, "Infinite Jest" might be a better choice.

Emma Donoghue's novel, "Room" and a collection of short stories, "Astray" come across well on tape. As a matter of fact, I prefer the audio version of "Room" over the written text. In "Astray" the stories are historically based and are very compelling.

I have several Sherlock Holmes stories narrated by Basil Rathbone that are fantastic to listen to!

Some of the Doctor Who audio adaptions are very good too

I'll have to check out the Emma Donoghue shorts. I read Room a while back and the Holmes. I'll take a look at who translated that version of Crime & Punishment, although since I am now looking for audio books for the gym that one may not be a good call. Just Kids on audio might be ideal. I love Patti Smith. I should definitely look up Stephen Fry's stuff. I wonder if his memoir about bipolar disorder is in audio by him.

Scratch that, the Fry piece about bipolar is part of a documentary.

I just listened to The Great Gatsby narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal. It was spectacular. While it is "serious" fiction, it was under five hours and is quite easy to listen to. I understand your desire to underline passages in the classics and I found myself rewinding more than usual to listen to an exquisite passage over again. I'd like to read this now on paper, but I suspect that it is even better on audiobook. Jake Gyllenhaal did such a wonderful job at capturing the different characters.

I also loved the Storm Front, the first in the Dresden files. Haven't listened to any others yet, but I plan too.

I saw that you have Zone One on your TBR list. I tried listening to it, but it puts me to sleep. I will actually listen to it in bed when I'm having a hard time falling asleep. It lulls me like a lullaby.

As far as lighter reading goes, some of my other favorites are Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Ender's Game, special 20th anniversary edition, Divergent, and The Last Werewolf.

Gatsby is an amazing book, but I have already read it. I loved the Dresden books I listened to, but got impatient to finish and switched to my nook for them. I should probably revise my original request a bit, but...laziness.