Audio-Bibliophiles discussion

Share your recommendations for your favorite Classics audiobooks here.

I loved To Kill a Mockingbird narrated by Sissy Spacek.

I love Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted Tales :D

I'm re-listening to The Picture of Dorian Gray being narrated by Stephen Fry and it is just perfect. I highly recommend it. It is abridged, though.

I've always wanted to read Jane Eyre and Great Expectations, but those thick classics were a bit daunting to me, so I got them both as audiobooks and enjoyed them so much! I've also listened to several Jane Austen novels, and they are so much easier to understand when performed that when I read them. I will continue to get my classic "fix" this way.

Jane Austen was the first thing I listened to on Audio book, I suddenly got the wit, humour and deep irony in these fantastic books, with several laugh (or should I say snort) out loud moments. Dickens on the other hand has to be on the page, strange that...

I was surprised by something like that too. For me Shakespeare has to be on the page. Which is incredibly strange because really Shakespeare is meant for an oral presentation

Yes, The Bards scripts reads very well, and considering when it was written they work surprisingly fluidly in TV and film adaption (the recent BBC 'Hollow Crown' sequence is a good example), but not so well in Audio

For me one of the greatest books of all time is The Scarlet Pimpernel
: ) Love it!

For Shakespeare you may wish to consider the Smartpass series available on Audible and probably elsewhere. There are usually multiple narrators who are all superb. Some of the excellent performers include Stephen Elder, Joan Walker, Nick Murchie, Lucy Robinson and the list goes on. These are full-cast recordings that include the unabridged and dramatized performance as well as the option to listen to the plays with entertaining and enlightening commentary. I have listened to Hamlet and Macbeth. Both were over-the-top incredible. I think that the Smartpass recordings leverage everything an audiobook and Shakespeare was meant to be.

Robert wrote: "For Shakespeare you may wish to consider the Smartpass series available on Audible and probably elsewhere. There are usually multiple narrators who are all superb. Some of the excellent performers ..."

Thanks for the tip Robert, I rarely find multi-voice or full cast recordings in Audio book format, its either an aesthetic or more likely a financial decision

Lorraine wrote: "I've always wanted to read Jane Eyre and Great Expectations, but those thick classics were a bit daunting to me, so I got them both as audiobooks and enjoyed them so much! I've also listened to se..."

I've always enjoyed reading the classics, but with so many great books out there I don't have time to peruse them, so I'm re-visiting my favorite's (Jane Austen, Bronte, Mitchell) via audio book while driving around town. They are so wonderful to listen too.

Simonacooper wrote: "Robert wrote: "For Shakespeare you may wish to consider the Smartpass series available on Audible and probably elsewhere. There are usually multiple narrators who are all superb. Some of the excell..."

multiple narrations are a lot of fun. I didn't grow up in radio days, but it is something probably close to it! The Help (not a classic yet) had multiple narrators and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Lorraine wrote: "I've always wanted to read Jane Eyre and Great Expectations, but those thick classics were a bit daunting to me, so I got them both as audiobooks and enjoyed them so much! I've also listened to se..."

I am also a little intimidated to try to read and understand some of the Classics. I think I will give one a try and see how I do :)

Hi, Christine,
I just finished the audiobook, "The Woman in White". I really, really enjoyed it!! It also happens to be in Audible's BOGO sale this month. I loved Jane Eyre, too! Great Expectations, for me, was just ok. (But I read them both) I might really love Great Expectations on audio. Listen to the samples and find a narrator who you enjoy listening to their voice. I think you'll change your mind about the classics. :)

Lori wrote: "Hi, Christine,
I just finished the audiobook, "The Woman in White". I really, really enjoyed it!! It also happens to be in Audible's BOGO sale this month. I loved Jane Eyre, too! Great Expectatio..."

Great Thanks!! I hadn't considered listening to the sample but did see where there was more than one reading of a few books. I did buy One Flew Over the Cukkoo's Nest last night. Thought I d give it a try.

I also recently finished and liked The Woman in White from Audible, although some things were predictable there were also plenty of surprises. There are 2 narrators and it took me a while to get used to the woman's style. But it was worth it

'Rebecca' read by Anna Massey, she has the tone beautifully , mid-20th century clipped public school, conveying the sang-froid and unpleasantness of many of the characters in best Ealing Studio patois.

Don't miss this promo read and listen for free
Can't believe both are free over $600 for audios

http://www.audiobookfans.com/free-aud...

Below is the current list:
1. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
2. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
4. Moby Dick: or, the White Whale by Herman Melville
5. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
6. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
7. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Tom Sawyer’s Comrade by Mark Twain
8. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
9. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
10. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
11. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
12. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum
13. Dracula by Bram Stoker
14. White Fang by Jack London
15. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
16. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
17. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
18. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
19. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
20. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
21. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
22. The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
23. House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
24. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
25. Peter and Wendy by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie and F. D. Bedford
26. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
27. The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe

I enjoyed the heck out of listening to Machiavelli's "The Prince" on audiobook about a year ago. Despite it's bad press, it's actually a really good book and an easy listen in the car (I got into audiobooks during med school in SoCal...oh California freeways, how I miss thee).

Dr. Leonardo Noto

I highly recommend the novelization of Macbeth by A.J. Hartley and David Hewson. They did a wonderful job capturing the themes and tension. Alan Cummings narrates and is just perfect!

We raffled off a free copy of that a couple of months ago Sherry. I'm glad to hear it was good.

Shirley wrote: "Don't miss this promo read and listen for free
Can't believe both are free over $600 for audios

I picked up several of these along with the free kindle editions to try out the new whispersync. I actually don't know if I'm going to make much use of it but at least the narrations are all excellent from what I've listened to so far, so there's that!

Moby Dick Big Read: every day, someone (including some big names) reads a chapter of Moby Dick. There's some art for the chapter, too. All free! http://www.mobydickbigread.com/

I am currently listening to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn narrated by Elijah Wood. He does a good job. He's not one to change his voice a lot for the different characters so I do sometimes not realize a different character is speaking but that's a small criticism. I'm not very far into it but so far I recommend it.

☻Nikki☻ wrote: "I am currently listening to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn narrated by Elijah Wood. He does a good job. He's not one to change his voice ..."

That's so cool! I love his voice. I didn't realize he read audiobooks.

Today in the mail I received unabridged and nearly 60 hours long! Plus, at the store I purchased unabridged. Can't wait to start!But will have to wait in line behind and . I really love the classics on audio. (Does TWoW qualify as a classic? I think it does!)

I guess this would be considered a classic. I listened to it a few months back & have to say Anne Hathaway was an enjoyable & engaging narrator.

I loved this version!!!!!! Nikki I got it from audible too and Anne Hathaway did an amazing job.

I agree. Anna Hathaway was awesome in this. Also A tree Grows in Brooklyn is awesome.

I'm listening to Northanger Abbey, narrated by Juliet Stevenson. It's quite lovely.

I listened to Wuthering Heights narrated by Michael Kitchen a couple of weeks ago, and while I can't say I loved the novel, I did love the narration.

As I've been blind almost from birth, I cannot read books at all, therefore listening is the only enjoyable way for me to read great works of literature. (I hate reading with screen reader.) I'm into classics, especially Victorian literature, so I've read almost everything you mentioned so far.
My absolute favourite books are:
1. Jane Austen's complete novels narrated by Juliet Stevenson, Emilia Fox and Anna Bentinck
2. Great expectations by Charles Dickens read by Martin Jarvis
3. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens read by Martin Jarvis
4. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens read by Martin Jarvis, but I also love Simon Vance's version
5. Dombey and son by Charles Dickens read by David Timson
6. Bleak house by Charles Dickens read by Sean Barrett and Teresa Gallagher
7. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens read by Alex Jennings
8. Villette by Charlotte Bronte read by Karen Cass
9. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte read by Juliet Stevenson or Amanda Root
10. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte read by Emilia Fox, but Rachel Bavidge's version seems great, too.
11. Wuthering heights by Emily ronte read by Juliet Stevenson
12. North and south by Elizabeth Gaskell read by Clare Wille
13. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell, also read by Clare Wille

Ok, I give up. I'm simply unable to list all of them.

Does anyone listen to poetry audiobooks here?
I just love Naxos's Great poets series!

Dora, I've been meaning to listen to some poetry. After all, most of it is actually meant to be read aloud. This fall (when I have more time to listen) I plan to explore whatever traditional/ classic poetry I can find on librivox.

I'll have to investigate Naxo's - is that a publisher, that maybe I could find at my library?

Yes, Naxos audiobooks is a publisher. They produce very high-quality audiobooks, their narrators are worth listening to.

tx - off to the library today, so I'll check immed.!

Joy wrote: "Does anyone have a recommendation for Madame Bovary ? I found a version read by Donada Peters, but her accent is British, which seems somehow wrong since the book is French. I am going to explore t..."

give BooksShouldBeFree a try... volunteers, not professionals read and the recording devices aren't state-of-the-art, but it's done well under the circumstances.

The *only* poetry in my library is Spoon River Anthology. I've never had a desire to read the print version, but, what the hey, I'll try the audio.

In case of interest, I'll clarify. In other libraries in the system, there are a very few other poetry audiobooks. But those libraries have those items flagged as not lendable.

Where are the poetry lovers of Nevada? We don't even have any of our famous Cowboy Poetry available?!

Oh - light bulb - maybe it's on CD in the 'music' section.... My 'reference' librarians are not much help, and that's the kind of thing it wouldn't even occur to them to suggest. I'll have to look for myself....

Oh, and I should say, I will try librivox, and now that I know about it, BooksShouldBeFree. Thanks for that, Kimberly!

Currently Enjoying 1984 voiced by somebody famous, who is he, can't remember. Also recently finished 'Birds Without Wings' read by somebody utterly genius, and 'Black Swan Green' read by a voice actor who actually sounds 12, but surely can't be

I greatly enjoyed Moll Flanders and Robinson Crusoe by DeFoe. Has anybody else listened to these?

Has anyone listened to any Sherlock Holmes? I'm a big fan of the BBC show Sherlock & I'm thinking about reading the books. I can get the complete works on my Kindle for just a couple of bucks but thought possibly about listening to them if someone can recommend which version or narrator is best.

I haven't tried any of the original Holmes on audio but the series by Laurie R King with Mary Russell & Holmes is wonderful and they are all on audio. The first one is The Beekeeper's Apprentice. The idea is that Holmes has retired when he finally finds the perfect partner, a young American woman. Holmes comes across as very real, deploring the silly books Conan Doyle has written about him, but still very much in character.

I listened to The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy, read by Alan Rickman. It was marvelous! I think it's the only audiobook Rickman has read, which is a terrible shame -- he is SO good.

I'd also recommend "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston. It's ready by Ruby Dee and she is just masterful.
Another: True Grit by Charles Portis. It's read by the author Donna Tartt and so enjoyable.

Oh thank you for noting these - I'm always looking for more.

I have never read The return of the native until I heard Alan Rickman narrates the audio. It is sensational! Highly recommend.