Recommend an audiobook

So I have 5 credits at Audible.com that I need to ‘spend’ on books. I generally like science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, mystery… well, basically most fiction except for romance and westerns. Ideas?

Janet Evanovich’s “One For The Money,” or any of the Stephanie Plum series of detective novels are very good. They are quite funny and I can listen to them time and again.

If you can get Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier on a book on tape that is also a great novel.

Any book by Donald E Westlake is also even better when it’s a book on tape. My favourite book by him is “The Ax”

“Coma” by Robin Cook is also very good.

Eric Schlosser’s two novels “Fast Food Nation” and “Reefer Madness” are also enjoyable listening

Novels?

I highly enjoyed Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Lenny Henry does an excellent job, although some people thought his Jamaican accents were too … Jamaican.

I loathed The Quiet American and Brave New World–avoid those stinkers! The reader in both was atrocious (and may have been the same dude, a British guy with a nasally voice, a profoundly upper-class accent, a repertoire of abominable fake accents, and no self-awareness). The titular character in Quiet American was from New England, I think, but I kept forgetting that, because the reader thought all Americans talked like John Wayne.

Anyway. Not your question. Just a warning.

Some favorites:
Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson. The reader has a rich Scottish brogue that is a delight all by itself; its relevance to the story makes the book that much richer.

Gentlemen of the Road. It’s a pretty fun adventure story by the author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, two Jewish mercenaries operating near a Jewish Khaganate in Europe in the 7th century or so. Again, the reader’s voice makes a huge difference: it’s rich and mellow and has just a hint of amusement.

The Maltese Falcon. Don’t remember much about the reader here, but it was good stuff.

There was also an Elmore Leonard that did me right. I’m not really a fan of Leonard’s, despite having read a half-dozen of his books (every time I hear paeans to his awesomeness, I give him another try), but for–oh, that’s right, Pagan Babies. Okay story, but the sense that the author was kicking back on your couch, feet on your coffee table, glass of bourbon in one hand and cigarette in the other, telling you the story and not giving a shit what you thought about it, was so immediate and visceral that I enjoyed the story far more than I otherwise would have.

Jonathan Stroud’s ‘Bartimaeus trilogy’ is great fantasy. So are Diana Wynn Jones’ Chrestomanci books - start with “A Charmed Life”

I found the Mike Resnick ‘Starship’ audiobooks good, if not shattering great - they’re smart and clever science fiction.

Any Larry Niven, especially the Known space books - Ringworld, Protector, Fleet of worlds.

I guess that’s enough to recommend for now. Hope you find some books that you like!

My favorite audiobook ever is Witch Child by Celia Rees. not only is the book a facinating bit of historical fiction, the woman who reads it, Jennifer Ehle, has a lovely voice. It is at audible, too.

Don’t know if it’s available, but nothing beats the Frank Muller reading of Silence Of The Lambs.

I second the Bartimaeus audiobook(s) recommendation. Funny, dark and the reader, Simon Jones, is wonderful. He IS Bartimaeus. Also, Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash is oodles of fun. Best thing I listened to all year. It’s long, too, so it’ll last you a while.

I generally listen to non-fiction. But I did enjoy Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Simon Prebble did an excellent reading.

Unfortunately I don’t remember who did it but I have this terrible audiotape of The Maltese Falcon. The reader did a really bad job with the character voices - he made Sam Spade sound like Ron Howard.

I’d like to second this, the reading was just delightful.

Also would like to say Gaiman’s American Gods (of which Anansi Boys is… kind of a sequel, although you by no means have to read one to get everything in the other. They’re just set in the same world, with some of the same characters, and *Gods *came first). *Gods *also has a great reading, with wonderful voices.

I’d also like to nominate all of the Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer. They were fairly short - about six hours - but they had great voices and were just plain fun.

Or him reading the parts list for a Whirlpool Series 949 Dishwasher…

My point? Anything read by Frank Muller is excellent, esp. The Great Gatsby, or the Tale of Two Cities (although, don’t forget, Dickens got paid by the word… it’s lonnnng).

Same for Dick Hill (those books with…Harvey Pooter?) or Scott Brick (does a GREAT job on Brad Meltzer’s political thrillers-- try The Millionaires– and Ender’s Shadow and its sequels).

Another vote for Janet Evanovich, or Sue Grafton’s “A is for….” series.

But the best synergy of reader and text, in my mind (which IS where all the action takes place)… Fear Nothing and the sequel Seize the Night. Dean Koontz is an uneven novelist, but these two books are very amtospheric. The protagonist has Exoderma Pigmentosa, so can’t go out in the daylight. And the reader captures the not-fitting-in-which-ironically-makes-him-more-self-reliant character.

Simon Prebble and Frank Muller are fantastic readers. The Big Over Easy (Prebble) and the first four books of the Dark Tower series (Muller) are absolutely excellent audiobooks. I also quite enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell in itself, although it’s a pretty meandering book and the inclusion of footnotes can get a bit confusing.

If you have any tolerance at all for the Redwall series, I strongly recommend the audiobook. The writing is very distinctly for children, but the audiobook features a full cast, and it’s a completely captivating performance. I’ve probably listened to Redwall and Mossflower more than any other of my audiobooks simply because they’re so much fun.

I would recommend the Codex Alera series, but you’ve said in a previous thread that you don’t like the books. You might give the Dresden Files audiobooks a try; they’re read by James Marsters. I’ve yet to listen to one, but I’m told he does a very good job. I suppose that depends on how likely you are to reread books, though.

Oh yes, and the Discworld audiobooks. Nigel Planer does most of them, and he’s very good too.

I loved Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchet and Tim Dorsey’s Torpedo Juice on audiobook. Torpedo Juice is my favorite of all time and I can listen to it again and again. It’s the book that got me hooked on Dorsey. I had to go buy all the other books and read everything Serge had ever done. The books are hilarious and in my opinion the characters are awesome and the storylines are well crafted.

I entered the thread to recommend these two books. They are especially great for a late night drive. I’d also recommend Joseph R. Garber’s Vertical Run

Thanks and keep the suggestions coming! I’ve read some of these before, like the Stephanie Plum books and the Dresden series–so you’re on the right track for sure!

I got a free audiobook with the purchase of the tape recorder I used for my master’s thesis. I used it to get Derek Jacoby reading “I, Claudius.” It was absolutely wonderful! :slight_smile:

[chortle] …imagining “I, Claudius” on 42 micro-cassettes… “This concludes cassette 38. Please fast forward to the end and insert cassette 39.” [/chortle]

True. Of course, Simon Jones is also Arthur Dent, which gets slightly confusing, as Bartimaeus and Arthur Dent are really not similar at all. :wink: