Audiobooks

[Tyrone_Shoelaces]

Potter Audiobooks Available for Downloads

http://my.aol.com/news/news_story.psp?type=4&cat=0800&id=2005090719050001915006

[Bean]

Also the Harry Potter iPod is avaliable.

[so sorry]

call me when the emma watson blowup is available...

[Bean]

Gross.

[Lord Voldemoo]

cool, I love audiobooks for road trips. I've read all the books, but it would make for a nice distraction during a trip to L.A. I need to make next month. Thanks for the heads up Bean.

[Fievel]

Okay commuters and people that don't like to read.....

What audiobooks have absolutely rocked your world, and why? Was it the story? Was it the reader(s)? Was it the effects that they used?

My favorites:
-The Dark Tower series by Stephen King (and most of his works).
-The Talisman and The Black House by Stephen King & Peter Straub.
-The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series by Douglas Adams (read by the author!)
-Anything read by Frank Muller (Stephen King books, John Grisham, etc.)

I could go on listing a ton more, but I won't bore those who actually read this thread (for now, anyways). What are YOU listening to, and what would/do you recommend to those that want a book to listen to?

I have an Audible.com subscription and am looking for titles that I may have missed before I cancel it. I'm currently listening to the Ender's Game series (I'm on Children of the Mind) and am loving it.

[athenabodicea]

I recommend all of the H@rry Potter audio books... They were fantastic and I will go out on a limb to say that the reason they were so awesome is because the narrater (Jim Dale) ROCKED!!!! (Don't get me wrong here-The books were great regardless).... but Jim Dale's narration is absolutely amazing in each and every H@rry Potter audio book... He actually got into the Guinness book of world records for creating "Most Character Voices in an Audio Book - 134" for H@rry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". I can tell you (after listening to all H@rry Potter audio books to date) that Jim Dale really does have a distinct voice for each and every one of the characters. It is amazing, but you can actually tell which character he is speaking as when he is narrating.

It isn't that I don't like to read because I love reading... However, since I do alot of travelling, audio books have always been a part of my life....
I actually read the first H@rry Potter book and because I loved it so much I bought the audio book. Trevor and I listened to it on our cross country trip. Audio books are a great way to pass the time on long trips. We even listened to them while we were camping. Trevor and I would build a fire and play cards at the picnic table while listening to it.

For me, it isnt so much the story which makes a good translation to audio book (H@rry Potter rocks no matter what) but the key to a good audio book is having a great narrater. Some narraters just put me to sleep....
Since having listened to Jim Dale narrate the Harry Potter books, I have been unable to really become interested in any other audio books... He is that good...
He has actually won alot of awards for his audio work...

You can read about him here

Oh yeah...Trevor and I also saw him perform as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol on Broadway.. That was the last year A Christams Carol ran on Broadway & once again Jim Dale was fantastic....

So, even if you have read the books & seen the movies... I recommend that you try to get your hands on one of the H@rry Potter audio books.. You will probablly find it to be another great translation (especially if you are a big fan as I am)....

[brainiac]

Coming into this a bit late and hoping I don't kill yet another thread...

Some of my favorites:

The Border Trilogy narrated by Brad Pitt:
(All The Pretty Horses; The Crossing; Cities of the Plain.)
Cormac McCarthy's stories of boys coming of age on the Texas/Mexico boarder are laconic excercises in what isn't said.
Brad Pitt's narration gets this dry as the Texas dust laid back feeling just right.
When death is just a knife blade away, Pitt's voice is the right one to tell it.


Anansi Boys narrated by Lenny Henry:
Henry does everything from elderly Jamaican ladies to plummy posh Brits and does it well.
Riveting voice work and I'm glad I listened to the CD before I read Neil Gaiman's book.
There is so much flavor in his readings that I wanted it never to end.
Lots of fun to listen to.

The Green Mile by Frank Muller:
The first time that I really understood what it means to be a great narrator came from this King book read by Muller.
His "I'm a done Tom Turkey!" is my favorite phrase to this day --
said with the appropriate cackle, of course.

[MiltonWaddams]

You know what's awful? The Series of Unfortunate Events books read by Tim Curry. I enjoy Tim Curry as much as the next guy, but that motherfucker overacts his way through those terrible books.

I have the Golden Compass trilogy on audiobook read by Pullman and a full cast of actors, it's fucking badass.

[monorail77]

Athena, I thought Stephen Fry did the Harry Potter audiobooks? Has anybody heard his versions?

I really loved Asimov's Foundation series that I listened to long ago. Narrated by David Dukes. He also did some Tom Clancy narrations that were really good.

Also liked the Larry Niven's Ringworld audio (unabridged, Blackstone Audio). Narrated by Tom Parker.

Also John Lithgow's performance of Michael Chrichton's Disclosure was pretty great for characterizations. Not a great book, though.

The multiple voices used for the audio production of Ender's Game was very fabulous.

[Bob Samonkey]

Either of the audio books that Bruce Campbell did. Both are awesome.

[colonel_lugz]

Either of the audio books that Bruce Campbell did. Both are awesome.

where might one purchase such an item good sir?

[Bob Samonkey]

Damn. I do not know. I rented them from the hastings near me but they have since got rid of them. I really would like to own them too.

[colonel_lugz]

Damn. I do not know. I rented them from the hastings near me but they have since got rid of them. I really would like to own them too.

Well, there's my task for this evening....back with treasure soon

[MonkeyM666]

I always enjoy a pratchett audio book regardless of the reader. Arthur C Clark is always nice on the bus in the morning as well...

I must say that I like there to only be one narrator not a whole cast. It just throws the vibe out in my mind.

[Wolfpack]

Timothy Zahn's first three Star Wars novels, ready by Anthony Daniels and Denis Lawson. Oh yeah, just hook it up to my veins!

[brainiac]

Just finished the "His Dark Materials" trilogy on CD books.

It did have multiple readers and I think it enhanced the story a great deal.

The children sounded like children (you never know whether it is real children
or adults who sound like children in voice-over work) and the adult voices were excellent.

I enjoyed the presentation and it made me interested in seeing the movie when it comes out.

Nicely done.

[Fievel]

I couldn't find a more appropriate thread to bring this up...

But I'm just now getting into the Har.ry Potter series, and I'm going about it the audio way. I've seen the movies up to the current one (hopefully will see that soon) and have progressively enjoyed those more and more. I'm on the third disc of The Goblet Of Fire.

Wow.
Wow.
Wow.

I'm simply amazed at how fun these books are!!! Great characters, great dialogue, great stories.
And, it helps that Stephen Fry is an amazing reader.

I was hoping to start these in time to be able to at least spend a day in the pre-Book 7 hype with the rest of the world, but I won't make it.

Good stuff.

[Evil Hobbit]

I'm reading Half Blood Prince in companion with the Fry audiobook and as fievel stated:

WOW WOW WOW

whole new experience to the novels. I'm so pumped to get my hands on the final chapter saturday. Boy I hate that I got work and can only start in the evening. Must read now!

[Fievel]

I just finished listening to the final book the other day. I've skimmed over the reviews in the Deathly Hallows thread, so I'm not going to talk about specifics.

What I will talk about is Stephen Fry's performance.

Listening to the first book, I was amazed mostly by how much he sounded like Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid. Snape comes close to Rickman every once in a while, but Hagrid is the closest to the movie actor's voice.

I chose Stephen Fry over Jim Dale simply because Fry was the reader for the UK version and he had some history with The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. I figured that if I was going to devote the time to these books, that I'd try to go as "authentic" as possible and grab the UK version. The Hitchhiker's connection is just gravy on top.

I have no idea how many hours the entire saga was, but I listened to them throughout the summer. When I started them, I was engaged and living at my mom's house. By the time I was finished I was married, living with my wife, and likely an expecting father (still awaiting the doctor appointment). I guess you could say that I grew up in a really short time listening to these books. I'll be hoping to give my future kids the books to read someday.

As an entire saga, it's perfect. Each book is seamlessly more mature than the previous and also reflects H.arry's maturation. There is such a gerat balance of humor, drama, action, and mystery throughout. There's literally something in every book for everyone.

A few years ago I listened to Stephen King's Dark Tower series and turned a bunch of friends on to it as well. I'll be recommending these books to them. As much as I dearly love the Dark Tower series, there's so much more emotion and satisfaction at the end of this journey. Not to mention an actual end to the journey.

My wife listened off and on when we'd ride travel together in the car. She had read the books throughout the years as they came out and was done with Deathly Hallows as I was about halfway through the series. But she really enjoyed listening along. I'll be giving her my copies to listen to now. She won't start them for a while, but after hearing snippets of the audiobooks here and there, the next time she goes through the series she wants it to be the audio version.

Between the stellar performance of Fry and the simple audio effects throughout (reverb/echoes/etc) these books are all well produced audio performances.

Highly recommended, even if you've already read the series.

Oh, and no disrespect to Jim Dale. His version is possibly brilliant, but my chosen version of Stephen Fry will forever be the version I use as reference.

[CeeBeeUK]

They might be good, but you try ripping 100 odd CDs into itunes in audiobook format. I'm sick of looking at the little blue bar and I'm only on book 3

They are good books and Stephen Fry is a good narrator. I'm just slightly jaded at the moment!

[Jahbulon]

What I will talk about is Stephen Fry's performance.


Listening to the first book, I was amazed mostly by how much he sounded like Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid. Snape comes close to Rickman every once in a while, but Hagrid is the closest to the movie actor's voice.

I listened to it too, and all I have to say is Stephen Fry IS Dumbledore!

[junesquad]

Is the link dead?

[Chris a.k.a StuntMike]

World War Z is a good audiobook for a long roadtrip.

[Lord Voldemoo]

World War Z is a good audiobook for a long roadtrip.

Absolutely! Nice production values and cast.

As I understand it, though, there are a couple of good stories that are in the book itself that were cut from the audiobook (something about a submarine??)

If anyone wants to know more about the comparison, check out the book of the month thread for WWZ. I'd find it myself but I'm too lazy. Beware spoilers in there!

I listened to much of Golden Compass (unabridged) while traveling this weekend...good audiobook, I'd recommend it.

[Fievel]

World War Z is a good audiobook for a long roadtrip.

Absolutely! Nice production values and cast.

As I understand it, though, there are a couple of good stories that are in the book itself that were cut from the audiobook (something about a submarine??)

If anyone wants to know more about the comparison, check out the book of the month thread for WWZ. I'd find it myself but I'm too lazy. Beware spoilers in there!

I listened to much of Golden Compass (unabridged) while traveling this weekend...good audiobook, I'd recommend it.

Yeah, there are some stories missing from the audio version of WWZ, and that sucks. Sucks because I'll have to try and read the book to find what I missed, but sucks even harder because they did a great job with that audiobook. I'd love to have heard more stories.

I listened to Golden Compass last fall and enjoyed it. I need to go on to the other books sometime.

Right now I'm listening to Angels & Demons (Dan Brown) and am thoroughly enjoying it.

[The Vicar]

Just finished World War Z.
Impressive cast and very, very good.
Working under the shadow of a guy like Mel Brooks might make a lesser man shrink. Max steps up and does it his way. That's good news for us.
Looking to find some Harlan Ellison on CD....which may take some doing.

[Chris a.k.a StuntMike]

Yeah, there are some stories missing from the audio version of WWZ, and that sucks. Sucks because I'll have to try and read the book to find what I missed, but sucks even harder because they did a great job with that audiobook. I'd love to have heard more stories.

The book is worth the read for sure.

[Seppuku]

Bah, these things are my new addiction. I even found myself almost walking in front of a bus yesterday whilst listening to the Audio Bible on headphones.

Best ones I've listened to lately are:

Ethan Hawke reading Slaughterhouse Five.

Lenny Henry reading Anansi Boys.

Elliot Gould reading a whole bunch of Raymond Chandler novels.

Charlton Heston reading The Old Man & The Sea.

Neil Gaiman reading Coraline.

& Harlan Ellison reading...um, Harlan Ellison.

I'm still not sure if Audio Books don't take away some of the fun of interpreting literature for yourself. Also, I'm not sure if some of the people who listen to these things know how much shit is often cut out. Still, that seems like a small price to pay for being able to listen to some heavy lit while hurtling down the M1 at 80 mph on your motorbike. They've even allowed my totally illiterate and dyslexic father and younger brother to get into books they'd otherwise have found impenetrable.

[Fievel]

Bah, these things are my new addiction. I even found myself almost walking in front of a bus yesterday whilst listening to the Audio Bible on headphones.

Raises the question: Might you have walked into the bus if it were any other book?

I'm still not sure if Audio Books don't take away some of the fun of interpreting literature for yourself. Also, I'm not sure if some of the people who listen to these things know how much shit is often cut out.

I love 'em. It all plays out in my mind as I'm hearing it. I think, for me anyways, it works better as far as interpreting - depending on the reader, of course. I'm a horrible physical reader (discipline-wise).
As far as stuff getting cut, stick with the Unabridged version and you're good to go.
I have Anansi Boys waiting to go, but I need to hit American Gods first. I started listening to that 4 years ago, got pretty far in (when it started to get REALLY interesting), and then for whatever reason stopped. I realized that I had forgotten enough that I'd have to start it over from the beginning and that has prevented me from going back.

[Fievel]

I've got my annual Michigan-to-Arizona road trip coming up in a couple weeks and I'm at a loss for listening material. If anyone has some suggestions, I'm completely open. Here's some criteria:

-I want to be entertained.
-I want to experience a movie on the road.
-Length is not important (SHUT UP!!!!). If I don't finish it on the trip, that's not an issue. It just needs to consistently hold my attention.

Genre:
-Sci-Fi is a first choice.
-Action/Adventure
-Mystery/Thriller
-Horror
-Humor

I don't want some dry brain-fuck of a book. Really, what I'm looking for is the Michael Bay of audiobooks. I'm looking at 30-31 hours on the road. While I'd like to think a little, I don't need to search within myself to find some deeper meaning about my existence within this particular place in the universe. I want to be entertained. Any help is appreciated.

Stuff I've enjoyed in the past:
Stephen King
Star Wars (only listened to a few... would be open to particular series)
John Grisham
Elmore Leonard
Michael Crichton
Tolkien
Harry Potter
Christopher Moore
Douglas Adams
Dan Brown
Orson Scott Card


If you know of print books that fit this bill but don't know if the audio version is any good, please recommend those anyways.

[Bloo]

If you haven't read or listened to READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline, it's pretty good. Not a classic but a lot of fun with some great 80s nostelgia, and some good action. Audio is read by Wil Wheaton. I used the book for a project in my YA Lit class and listened to the book quite often while traveling for work.

Here There Be Dragons by James A Owen is very good Fantasy.

Elmore Leonard's audio version of When The Women Come Out To Dance (aka Fire In the Hole) is also very good. A series of short stories (including the basis for Justified) with each story being read by a different person.

Those are kind of my go-tos off the top of my head.

[travis-dane]

You should try Clive Barkers The Great and Secret Show, it is a mix of Horror, Sci Fi and Magic.

It is planned as a trilogy, the first book, The Great and Secret Show, came out in 1989 and the second book Everville was released in 1994.

You dont have to worry about the trilogy aspect though, the books can be read or heard on their own. In fact I've red the second book first, but you should start with The Great and Secret Show, it is a fascinating story, it pulls you in, has very strong characters and some fantastic worldbuilding.

Here is a short synopsis from amazon:

Englishman Barker's latest novel, the first part of a trilogy, is an ambitious fantasy/horror fusion of dazzling scope which stands alone as a complete story. Nebraska postal clerk Randolph Jaffe works in the Dead Letter Room, opening and inspecting loads of undeliverable U.S. mail. Soon, through a series of cryptic dead letters, he taps into an ethereal network of mysterious revelations which provides access to enormous power channels. The customary battle of light forces versus dark forces commences, with greedy Jaffe heading the latter, and mad yet philanthropic scientist Richard Fletcher representing the former. Despite occasional and convenient lapses into nonsensical elements of fantasy which characterize too much of the genre, this original, intelligent treatment of a complex idea by the author of The Damnation Game ( LJ 5/15/87) and Weaveworld ( LJ 10/15/87) is amazingly believable and compulsively readable. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/89.

There is a audiobook out there, but I dont know if it is any good, I hope it is...

[UtterTivotion]

Have you tried the Rivers of London series? Ben Aaronovitch has written 3 (so far) books set in an authentic London crossing police procedurals with magic and mysticism.

My wife highly rated the audiobooks (not sure on the US narrator) and I read the e-book versions and loved them too.

YMMV!

[Wolfpack]

Peter Hamilton's Void Trilogy should cover most of your trip, Fievel.

[Seppuku]

I listen to a ton of The Teaching Company lectures while I'm out and about cycling these days. I'm, like, well smart and...stuff.


The Price of Fear is great. It's a series of horror plays written by people like Roald Dahl and presented by Vincent Price, who occasionally plays a large role in them as himself. There are a few of them online here.

[Al Shut]

[quote="travis-dane"]You should try Clive Barkers The Great and Secret Show, it is a mix of Horror, Sci Fi and Magic.

[...]

There is a audiobook out there, but I dont know if it is any good, I hope it is...[/quote}

I imagine a lot of Barker's stuff sounds pretty silly when read out loud

the book is top, though

[Fievel]

Ended up listening to Ready Player One, which I started on an earlier trip.... fuck that was a blast!!

When that was done started listening to The Passage by Justin Cronin. I went into this really not knowing much about it other than it had to do with vampires (and I knew it wasn't Twilight).... and after a serious time jump and tonal shift my interest is hanging by a thread. I'll finish it out, but that jump was not what I was expecting.

[TonyWilson]

Ended up listening to Ready Player One, which I started on an earlier trip.... fuck that was a blast!!

When that was done started listening to The Passage by Justin Cronin. I went into this really not knowing much about it other than it had to do with vampires (and I knew it wasn't Twilight).... and after a serious time jump and tonal shift my interest is hanging by a thread. I'll finish it out, but that jump was not what I was expecting.

Stick with it if you can, the story shifts again and gets seriously tense and scary. And the sequel actually jumps back to the outbreak. Def worth it if you have the time.

[Bloo]

Glad to hear you enjoyed Ready Player One. I'm currently listening to Redshirts by John Scalzi and read by Wil Wheaton (who is making a hbit of doing this geek/nerd friendly books LOL). I'm having a bit of trouble following it at the moment as Scalzi has "so and so said" after almost every bit of dialogue, which was playing with my ears. Also several of the characters have similar sounding names. But the story is a corker, so I'll put up with it, also Wil Wheaton is very good as the "reader" I guess you could say.

[Wolfpack]

I'm currently listening to "The Blade Itself" by Joe Abercrombie. Good narration, but I keep fading in and out. Not sure if I should listen to Book 2.

[TheBaxter]

Glad to hear you enjoyed Ready Player One. I'm currently listening to Redshirts by John Scalzi and read by Wil Wheaton (who is making a hbit of doing this geek/nerd friendly books LOL). I'm having a bit of trouble following it at the moment as Scalzi has "so and so said" after almost every bit of dialogue, which was playing with my ears. Also several of the characters have similar sounding names. But the story is a corker, so I'll put up with it, also Wil Wheaton is very good as the "reader" I guess you could say.

i just finished reading this book (redshirts). i don't know if it was in my head because of reading your post, but i was EXTREMELY distracted by all the "he said/she said"s used after practically every single line of dialogue in the book. if you had a drinking game for every time the word "said" is said, you'd be drunk before finishing the 2nd page. that's just really poor writing style in my opinion. i can't say how annoying it would have been if i hadn't read your comment first, but i'm pretty sure i would've noticed anyway. overuse of the word "said" is a bit of a peeve of mine already.

as for the rest of the book, i liked the story. parts of it were very funny. not sure how much i cared for the last couple "official" chapters when the book goes from meta to being meta squared. i think i liked the codas even better though. the first one isn't really necessary, but 2 and 3 actually get pretty deep and touching in their way. a pretty radical shift from the main book which is more just light-hearted and fun.

[Wolfpack]

I've been listening to Michael Sullivan's "Theft of Swords." It has been holding my interest more than Joe Abercrombie's "The Blade Itself," so I may download the next two books in the trilogy.

[Bloo]

Glad to hear you enjoyed Ready Player One. I'm currently listening to Redshirts by John Scalzi and read by Wil Wheaton (who is making a hbit of doing this geek/nerd friendly books LOL). I'm having a bit of trouble following it at the moment as Scalzi has "so and so said" after almost every bit of dialogue, which was playing with my ears. Also several of the characters have similar sounding names. But the story is a corker, so I'll put up with it, also Wil Wheaton is very good as the "reader" I guess you could say.

i just finished reading this book (redshirts). i don't know if it was in my head because of reading your post, but i was EXTREMELY distracted by all the "he said/she said"s used after practically every single line of dialogue in the book. if you had a drinking game for every time the word "said" is said, you'd be drunk before finishing the 2nd page. that's just really poor writing style in my opinion. i can't say how annoying it would have been if i hadn't read your comment first, but i'm pretty sure i would've noticed anyway. overuse of the word "said" is a bit of a peeve of mine already.

as for the rest of the book, i liked the story. parts of it were very funny. not sure how much i cared for the last couple "official" chapters when the book goes from meta to being meta squared. i think i liked the codas even better though. the first one isn't really necessary, but 2 and 3 actually get pretty deep and touching in their way. a pretty radical shift from the main book which is more just light-hearted and fun.

I'm reading reading Scalzi's Old Man's War book and it's bad at all with the "he said/she said" bull shit, I don't know if he had just read Stephen King's On Writing and thought "Ahh-Haa! I will write "said" after every bit of dialog"

[Fievel]

Ended up listening to Ready Player One, which I started on an earlier trip.... fuck that was a blast!!

When that was done started listening to The Passage by Justin Cronin. I went into this really not knowing much about it other than it had to do with vampires (and I knew it wasn't Twilight).... and after a serious time jump and tonal shift my interest is hanging by a thread. I'll finish it out, but that jump was not what I was expecting.

Stick with it if you can, the story shifts again and gets seriously tense and scary. And the sequel actually jumps back to the outbreak. Def worth it if you have the time.

Been a bit since I finished The Passage but wanted to comment on it - it sticks with me like a motherfucker. Man, Cronin throws you all around. You think the story is about this, but then it's about this. No, it's really about this. Oh, hey. Remember me? I implausibly survived it, via infection, all to tie it all together like a neat little bow on a package. I really enjoyed some of the smaller moments - the attack in the mall, the casino, Theo & Mausami in the cabin, but some of the Big Picture ideas (like the spoiler text) just made me laugh. It made me laugh because the book was so fucking long, taking all this time to create this mythological world set 93 after infection, and then he ends it with the aid of Sister Obi-Wan Infected from the beginning of the book. My reaction to that. And then I'm not even really going to comment about Amy's conversation at the very end......Sister Obi-Wan as bad enough, but Wolgast, too? REALLY?!?!? But like I said, I enjoyed it. I'll check out Book Two some time soon. It's 10hrs shorter, thank goodness!

[Wolfpack]

I'm listening to Ready Player One, narrated by Wil "Shut up, Wesley" Weaton. This book is chock-full of 80's nerdiness. One of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to.

[Fievel]

A great listen, for sure!
Wheaton's narration is just perfect.

[Bloo]

I did a report on Ready Player One last year for one of the college classes I was taking, it was for a YA lit class. I listened to the book all the time and it never gets old. In fact, I'll probably load it on my phone and listen to it today on my way to work (love these 2 hour drives to and 2 hr drives for a wedding dance).

[Wolfpack]

This guy liked it a little too much.

[Nice Marmot]

I'm about to embark on my first reread all at once of the Dark Tower series & have been seriously been considering the audiobook route.

First, has anyone listened to these books? If I remember correctly, whoever read them received high praise. And I BELIEVE he didn't live to finish the series out. I will look online in a little bit.

Second, anyone use or recommend Audible.com?