I know this was posted somewhere in the BookRelay forum, but I'm looking for audio book suggestions. Every time I go to the library and stroll through the audio aisles I get overwhelmed and never know what is worth my time. Anyone listened to anything they absolutely loved? How about great readers to watch for?

That just kinda depends really. The ones I liked the best were the Sleeping Beauty ones by Anne Rice... but um.. don't listen to them in public. :blush:

There are several really good chic-lit ones out there, but good luck finding them at the library! Hopefully you have a better one than I do, its hard as heck trying to find chic-lit there.

I do like the guy that reads the Harry Potter books. Then again I've heard others say they couldn't stand him.

I recently heard the Marian Keyes books on audio read by I think N. Cusack, and I liked her voice.

There have been very few that just annoyed me to the point I wouldn't listen to the book.

Some of the ones I've enjoyed the best were books for teens or YA. Like the Harry Potter ones or the Angie Sage book.. Septimus Heap(sp?). The readers seam to be more anamated in those.

For me a good rule of thumb is would you read it in paperback. If you would read it in paperback, then give the audio a go.

I know there is one book that Alan Rickman did, but its a classic, but I just think he has a great voice.

Also, it might surprise you to know that several celebs do audios. (It did me anyway.) I heard one done by Julia Roberts, and one by the chick from Back to the Future (can't remember her name off the top of my head.) Oh wait.. I think its Lea Thompson? If you do find books done by Celebs, I would try those. They tend to have a great voice.. the Julia Roberts one was really good, can't remember the book, but I remember that it sounded good.

OH.. and I almost forgot. I had tried to read David Sedars a long time ago, but gave up. I found an audio of his and LOVED it. He does his own audios, and it just makes them so dang funny!!! I would recomend any of his on audio.

PM me your addy... I have:
Watermelon by Marian Keys
The Other Woman by Jane Green
Elements of Style by Wendy Wasserstein
on audio that I'll send ya!

Thank you so much for your generous offer! I've PMed with my address. If you'd like anything from my shelf please don't hesitate to ask.

Chick Lit is next to impossible to get at our library in print or audio. I tried to put a hold on Shopaholic and Baby, but before the book was even released there were 215 people on the waiting list! To top it all off they have ONE copy! It's so frustrating...

I don't usually listen to audiobooks (my commute to work isn't long enough! :lol: ), but I joined a bookring for Charles Dickens as read by Hugh Laurie and it was GREAT! It was abridged; I bet most audios by celebs are abridged - how could they find the time to read an unabridged one? But it was well worth it as an easy way to get into Great Expectations.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4677742

I've personally really enjoyed David Sedaris reading his own books... Bill Bryson reading some of his (and the others I didn't enjoy just because the book didn't grab me, not anything to do specifically with the audio), and the C.J. Critt narrations of the Stephanie Plum novels.

My all time favorite Audio was Shadow of the Wind . You have to get unabridged because the book is fabulous and the narrator is absolutely wonderful.

Just thought of some more. Not sure what you do or dont like to read.

You should be able to find a bunch of Agatha Christie books @ the library, I've listened to several of them, and actually I haven't read in print one of her books. On audio I find it a bit hard to keep up with the Christie books. I end up loosing some of the details... then again heck, it could be the same for me while reading the books. So I would suggest to listen to them when you can concentrate.

Also I heard some of the Chronicles of Narnia books on audio. There was one i really liked, but it wasn't a typical audio it was more of a production. It had all kinds of sound effects, diff. people saying their parts. It didn't really read like a book, but I did like it. Sometimes when some books it can be hard to tell in conversations who is talking, but with that one, it was easy.

I've also read/heard Big Mouth Ugly Girl, and it was pretty cool because it was done with a boy and a girl, so the boy read his parts and the girl read hers.. the book I'm sure was that way. It was like Ugly Girl parts were read and written by Ugly Girl and Big Mouth the same.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and keep them coming if you think of any more! I'm jotting them down and looking them up to see if my library has them. I went at lunch and picked up Dawn by Elie Wiesel because I LOVED Night by the same author. I also picked up Running with Scissors.

:rofl:
My mother found these books at the used book store and I kept trying to nicely explain what they were. She assured me she really, really wanted to read them. I wasn't long before I was getting a call from her telling me she couldn't read them. They were a bit too graphic for her. I refrained from saying "told you so" but just barely. :giggle:

I wish our library had a better selection too. If there's a mystery series with an absurd number of books invovled, they've got it. Otherwise pickin's are slim. :rolleyes:


The narrator really makes or breaks it with a lot of audios!


Let's see, audios I have loved.... :giggle: Oh, and if you live in a state bigger than mine, you might want to try interlibrary loan!

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (YA paranormal. The narrator sounds exactly like the girl telling the story should.)

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella (The narrator had perfect comic timing for this story! I probably would have only thought the book was so-so if I'd read it on paper.)

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold (Longish fantasy. Fine but not too astounding early on, and then bam! Hook-you-in city!)

The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (Sci-fi. I think The Curse of Chalion turned me into an instant Bujold addict.)

Poison Study and Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder (Fantasy. Actually Poison Study was quite good but not great, Magic Study was great.)

The guy who narrates Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series is really good.

Add another vote for Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. Once I heard one on audio I never wanted to read them any other way!

Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series is really well done in the unabridged versions narrated by Davina Porter. The shorter ones are narrated by someone else and just don't have as much flair.

I just listened to Bubbles Unbound by Sarah Strohmeyer -- cute!

Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson (Lit/fic. Has a huge following around here. I'm not quite as taken with it -- well done, but not my favorite cuppa. But the narrator was perfect for it!)

I also LOVED Twilight.. :)

Also another favorite of mine is The Messenger by Marcus Zusak!! :drool:

I too loved Gods in Alabama in audio, the narrator was exceptional.

The Phillip Pullman His Dark Materials trilogy in the unabridged version was read by an entire cast of people, so it was like a play. Some books that's annoying, these were great.

Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody series but only if narrated by Barbara Rosenblat.

Recently I've listened to and enjoyed, Middlesex (Eugenides), The Things We Do For Love (Hannah) and Wish You Well (Baldacci)

Tim Curry does some readings, (Lemony Snicket books among others), I would listen to that man read the phone book.

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time IMO are better when listened than when read in print.

I didn't like Baudolino by Umberto Eco, the reader was trying too hard to read in a dialect which was very distracting.

I have to agree. I LOVE the books he reads!!!!! I have one of the books he did... I think its the grim grotto, later on in the Lemmony Snicket books, I'll send it to you too. :wink:

Well I am a Audiobook Fanatic! I am so hooked :D
I like mysteries/Thriller..

Jonathan Kellerman- Dr Delaware series

MC Beaton- Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin series

Joanne Fluke

Nelson Demille

Jeffrey Deaver

Diane Mott Davison

Lilian Jackson Braun

Carolyn G Hart

Margaret Truman

Dan Brown

and lots more! You can check out my TBR and AVL!

You can

Oh.. yeah.. that goes too!

Check out my avl. While I'm sending you those others, you may as well see if there are more you want! :wink:

Thanks so much for the offers! :hug:

needmorezoloft: I think I'll just stick with the three you mentioned before. If you want me to send postage I'd be happy to. You're also welcome to anything on my AVL or TBR shelves.

mom2cass: I'd really enjoy Murder at the Pentagon by Margaret Truman. Same goes to you with postage or trade. Just let me know!


P.S. I was able to check out Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim from my library today. Apparently whoever had it on hold before me got tired of waiting.

I second saradee's mention of Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I NEVER never never would have tackled this book in print, and if I had I would not have been experiencing it right. The narrator's representation of the different accents was wonderful, and I know I would not have been hearing them correctly in my head as I was reading. It lent so much to the telling of the story.

I also agree that it depends on the types of books you'd likely read in print. I'm finding that while I don't read a lot of chick lit in print, I also just care for chick lit on audio.

If you have ever read Koontz, I recommend audios of his, abridged or unabridged. I've actually never been able to stand reading his books in print because they are loooong. The cool thing though is that becuase his plots generally occur in the space of a few days, it takes you about that long to listen to the audio, so it's like the events of the story are happening in real-time. Can be kinda neat. One of my all-time favorite audios is unabridged Odd Thomas.

I'd also say that while the narrators make or break it, it can almost always be cool when something is read by the author. They are so familiar with their own work that they can really embody characters and emotions.

Way back in the summer of 1998 I listened to books on tape during my commute to my internship and really enjoyed it, but I have not been into them since then. After reading this thread yesterday at work, I started to think back to the books that I listened to during that time. I can remember only three... The Partner by Grisham, a John Saul book that I can't remember the name of, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings read by Angelou herself. I remember at the time really enjoying listening to them, but the past couple of years I've been hesitent to try them again because of some crazy internal struggle... would I rather listen to this or read it myself?... I have almost felt like it's cheating to listen to it on tape/cd.

Anyway, last night I finally decided to bite the bullet and go to the library and check out their books on cd. I ended up getting Vanished by Tess Gerritsen (read by Anne Heche). I popped it in this morning and listened to the first cd on my 1.5 hour commute to work this morning and really enjoyed it!! I think this could be a new habit...

I just wanted to say thanks for the thread that gave me some motivation to try audiobooks again!

I really enjoyed Emily Fox's reading of the Bookseller of Kabul. Also Fallen Angels by Tracy Chevalier.

I enjoy the Scarpetta series ( Patrica Cornwell) : Tempe Brennan series ( Kathey Reichs) and the Grafton books on audio.

Kerry Shales narration of A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is a hoot.

Oo, and any Agatha Christies.

Totally agree! Most of the time I prefer a plain single reader but this audio version is absolutely excellent! I love the voice of Lyra. One day i will buy a set for my PC.

Well, I'm in the dungeon file room at work all week posting income tax payments. While this isn't the most exciting work I can think of :rolleyes: the advantage is that I get to listen to my audiobooks. I've been through 3 so far this week.

~The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis = really enjoyed it. It was short and the reader was great. I'm going to continue with the series.

~Dawn by Elie Wiesel = I loved Night by the same author and this book was equally as deep and thought provoking. 4 discs so it was also a quick listen.

~Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris = SOOOOOO funny! This was a recommendation from this thread and ya'll were right. I laughed out loud a few times so it was a good thing I was alone.


I've been searching my library for some of the others mentioned here, but not much luck. Next up is Running with Scissors. I'm going back to the library tomorrow to look for more titles.

Pardon my ignorance, but here in Costa Rica, audiobooks are not common.
I have seen a few on bookshelves, but I have never asked for one, because I think they are all cassettes, right?
Is there something like an audiobook in CD format?
The reason I ask is that the cassette player I have eats all the tapes leaving them useless, but I would love to practice my listening skills with an audiobook in CD, if there is such a thing, of course... :blush:
Could anyone educate me on this topic?

Actually, many of them are on CD. I very, very rarely listen to anything on cassette anymore. If you see one on someone's bookshelf that you're interested in you could probably just ask them what format it's in before you offer a trade or anything. Sometimes they're actually audio files that you can play on your computer or mp3 player.

Also check out the journal entries if you see something you are interested in. Many of us that regularly listen to & trade audios make it a practive to include whether the audi is Abridged or Unabridged, CD or Cassette, and how long it is.

Thank you both!
That is great news for me! :wink:
Do they include a book as well, or is it just the CDs or cassettes?
Are Audiobooks heavier than regular books, I mean, because of the packaging?

It's usually just the cassettes or CDs. I've never mailed one so I'm not too sure what the average weight is. It would depend on whether it is cassette/CD and how many disks/cassettes are in the recording. Someone else who has shared with other BCers would probably be more help.

I loved David Sedaris. I don't remember which book it was in, but the story "Six to Eight Black Men" is probably among the funniest stories I have EVER heard in my life. I had to stop the car I was laughing so hard.

I have an audio of The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl #4) and all the Sherlock Holmes books by Doyle, though the Holmes books were downloaded and the audio quality isn't top-notch. It's still listen-able, it's just not spectacular.

If anyone wants to trade... I'd love to, particularly if you have fantasy books or Agatha Christies. :D

I listened to "Six to Eight Black Men again when I got home last night. Then, I made my mom, my dad and DF listen to it after dinner. That was really the one that made me laugh out loud! Now I'm a bit sorry I didn't go to see him in April when he spoke here, but tickets were just too expensive!

I was in tears. I LOVE that story.

Actually its about the same as a book. It fits with media mail also, so mailing an audio book is about the same as mailing a mass market paperback. Some of the bigger audios like with more tapes or a bunch of cds maybe about the same as mailing a hardback. All in all, its dang near the same as mailing a book.

I have audio Christie :whistle:

I love David's work... but I never can remember the names of the stories with the stories. I may have to download those to my iPod and give them another listen. :whistle:

Someone must have requested Margaret Trumans audiobook from me! Sorry I was going to send it to you!

It's okay. I went back to the library today. Unfortunately, most of the ones ya'll mentioned were either checked out, listed as damaged or our library doesn't have them at all. Here's what I got:

~The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell

~If Looks Could Kill by Kate White (I loved A Body to Die For in print so I thought I'd give this one a try)

~Day by Elie Wiesel (this finishes the Night/Dawn/Day trilogy)

~The Confessions of Max Trivoli (this was on my wish list)

~Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came by M.C. Beaton