# Audio Book for 17 hour car ride - Need Answer Fast **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808 "2013-08-09T15:15:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/1 "2013-08-09T15:15:25Z")
I’m driving up to RI from Georgia to visit the place I lived till I was 20 years old. The car ride is an unavoidable 17 hours long. I have done this several times before going to Upstate NY and I always listened to Game of Thrones on audio book. Instead of the ride being misery it was something I looked forward to. Unfortunately my girlfriend and I are now current in the series. 1. Any other fantasy of this quality you would recommend? 2. For ASOIAF fans, are the Dunk and Egg Tales worth it? Thanks Dope Dopers! ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/2 "2013-08-09T15:20:41Z")
I thought the default answer was _The Dresden Files_. Should keep you going for quite a while. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/3 "2013-08-09T15:21:07Z")
try Stephen King’s _11/22/63_ ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/4 "2013-08-09T17:09:38Z")
LOTR, while older, hs always been a favorite. The acting is stupendous. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/5 "2013-08-09T17:37:21Z")
Not an audio book, but a radio play: On two recent, approximately 6-hour car trips back and forth to NY, I listened to the BBC radio version of LOTR on CD. 13 disks about 1 hour each. That kept me occupied for most of the drive. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/6 "2013-08-09T17:47:21Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > LOTR, while older, hs always been a favorite. The acting is stupendous. > [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > Not an audio book, but a radio play: On two recent, approximately 6-hour car trips back and forth to NY, I listened to the BBC radio version of LOTR on CD. 13 disks about 1 hour each. That kept me occupied for most of the drive. A clarification, in case one is needed: There exist two different audio dramatizations of The Lord of the Rings: a British version from the BBC, and an American version that was broadcast on NPR. I haven’t listened to either of them, but judging by the reviews at [Audible.com](http://Audible.com), the BBC version is easily the better of the two. There are also straight readings of the books, narrated by Rob Inglis, which are good. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/7 "2013-08-09T18:56:19Z")
Stephen King’s _Under the Dome_ will last round trip. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/8 "2013-08-09T19:51:04Z")
> [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > Not an audio book, but a radio play: On two recent, approximately 6-hour car trips back and forth to NY, I listened to the BBC radio version of LOTR on CD. 13 disks about 1 hour each. That kept me occupied for most of the drive. There are also radio plays, done by NPR, of the original three Star Wars movies. We listened to those while on a long road trip about a decade ago – if you’re into Star Wars, they’re pretty enjoyable. They take advantage of the additional time available to expand a bit on the stories. Some of the voice talent is from the original movies (Mark Hamill did the first two, Anthony Daniels did all three), but there are some interesting choices in other roles – for example, Perry King, of “Riptide” fame in the 1980s, plays Han (and he had actually auditioned for the movie role); Brock Peters, who had a number of roles in various Star Trek iterations, plays Vader. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/9 "2013-08-09T19:55:45Z")
I recently did Dan Brown’s latest, Inferno. It was a page turner. So to speak. Do not try The History of Salt. Do consider something from The Teaching Company, usually available to borrow from your local library. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/10 "2013-08-09T19:59:43Z")
Heinlein’s _The Rolling Stones_ ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/11 "2013-08-09T20:41:10Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Do consider something from The Teaching Company, usually available to borrow from your local library. [Audible.com](http://Audible.com) has recently started offering these (and has for some time now offered their competitor, the “Modern Scholar” series). Good stuff, but certainly not the same kind of thing as _Game of Thrones_; and I’d rather listen to them one lecture at a time than all at once on a 17-hour car ride, though YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/12 "2013-08-09T22:25:54Z")
I listened to My Family and Other Animals in unabridged form on a long car trip. I think it was about eight cassettes; this obviously was while ago. It was funny and light and very entertaining for some long miles by myself. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/13 "2013-08-09T22:39:22Z")
I really enjoyed the audio version of _Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell_. Simon Prebble did an excellent job with the reading. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/14 "2013-08-09T22:47:04Z")
_ **Reamde** _, by Neal Stephenson was a great audiobook! Loads of fun and really long. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/15 "2013-08-09T23:06:33Z")
I have to say that Alex Haley’s Roots was one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to, and I have listened to over 100. It’s 30 hours long. I’ll also secong Stephen King’s 11-22-63, also over 30 hours long but well worth the time. The Help is also an excellent audio performance at 18 hours. It moved me to tears in some parts. In the same medieval vein as Game of Thrones, you may enjoy Fool by Christopher Moore (it’s a comedy and very entertaining) or The Jester by James Patterson. If you want something light and funny, I highly recommend Tim Dorsey’s books. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/16 "2013-08-10T00:02:00Z")
Librivox has some nice free public domain audio books. Their “Tale of Two Cities” is pretty good, but I especially liked their version of “The Wrong Box,” which is very funny. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/17 "2013-08-10T16:05:57Z")
The Harry Potter series is really good on audiobooks–the first couple should keep you going for that long. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/18 "2013-08-10T17:12:22Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > The Harry Potter series is really good on audiobooks–the first couple should keep you going for that long. Concur. There’s a version with Stephen Fry, but you’ll never take my Jim Dale away from me. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/19 "2013-08-11T00:59:16Z")
Another radio drama - Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - IIRC the original preceded the book. The later series are arguably better than the later books. Jack Flanders is interesting as well - very new agey though [http://www.zbs.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=1&osCsid=d52a3806afcd10c41bd81d0f741a0bc9](http://www.zbs.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=1&osCsid=d52a3806afcd10c41bd81d0f741a0bc9) And N+1 for the BBC LOTR radio drama Brian ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808/20 "2013-08-11T02:44:47Z")
Harry Potter or Mistborn [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/audio-book-for-17-hour-car-ride-need-answer-fast/665808.md?page=2)