# Help me pick an audiobook **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 7, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-audiobook/759278 "2016-07-07T01:08:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-audiobook/759278/1 "2016-07-07T01:08:43Z")
I logged on to Audible a few weeks back to connect a new device. I had a monthly membership a while back and gave it up as I’m so far behind on audiobooks. Well, they offered me 2 months at 99 cents a month . I’d have been crazy not to take them up on it. I spent the first credit on Good Omens [sup]1 2[/sup]. My current library includes: Gabaldon: The first 4 books starting with Outlander (have not yet listened to Drums of Autumn) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Heinlein) World War Z (the abridged version; there’s a complete version now that I might spring for) Under the Dome (not completed due to a mid-book change in commuting) Eragon and Eldest (completed Eragon, got Eldest in ebook form and ignored audiobook) The first 2 of the 3 “Golden Compass” books (have not listened to the second) The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp [sup]3 4[/sup] The Lightning Thief [sup]4[/sup] The Help (started, got sidetracked, then saw the movie) A Discovery of Witches (not yet started) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies [sup]4[/sup] Gaiman: Good Omens, American Gods (read the book years ago, but the audiobook was way on sale), The Graveyard Book, Fragile Things, Stardust [sup]4[/sup], a few standalone short stories, Anansi Boys So given that rather odd mix, what should I blow my last credit on? If enough good ideas show up, I might even let it renew for a momth or two at full price. Ideally it would be something long enough to make me feel I’d gotten my money’s worth if I were blowing a full-cost credit - a 3-hour novella won’t do. No pure horror. Humor is cool but not required - I was listening to Good Omens when I picked my daughter up somewhere and I made her suffer through some, and she was laughing within 5 minutes. Super-suspenseful not ideal, as I rarely have enough uninterrupted listening time since my commute has gone from 20 miles to 20 feet. I thought about Michael Chabon: either The Yiddish Policemen’s Union or The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. 1. You HAVE read this, haven’t you? If you have not, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??? :D. 2. For some reason, a significant portion of my audiobook library involves Neil Gaiman. 3. Turns out Yancey’s written an eclectic assortment of stuff including the Fifth Wave series and a book I read years ago, about his time as an IRS agent, but I had not made the connection until recently. 4. I almost never re-listen to an audiobook; these are exceptions because I’ll often listen as I’m going to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![sam0156](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sam0156](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sam0156)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-audiobook/759278/2 "2016-07-07T02:13:43Z")
The Ocean at the End of the Lane was read by Neil Gaiman on audiobook- I read but did not listen. It was worth the read. Another recent read was Fates and Furie, by Lauren Groff- I think that would be a story that would translate well to audiobook. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-audiobook/759278/3 "2016-07-07T02:58:06Z")
I took a quick look through my Audible collection, and these stand out as excellent aural books with good narrators. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) - read by the author In The Heart of The Sea (Nathaniel Philbrick) Pandora’s Star (Peter F Hamilton) Surface Detail (Iain M Banks) Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson) Darwinia (Robert Charles Wilson) ---
**Author:** ![TipTapTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@TipTapTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TipTapTwo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-audiobook/759278/4 "2016-07-07T18:40:31Z")
I second the notion of a book by Robert Charles Wilson. _Darwinia_, _Spin_, or _Chronoliths_. Also I second, _Angela’s Ashes_, at ~400 pages it is shortish, but the real life story of an impoverished Irish family living between America and Ireland is really moving; It had me crying. If you liked _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_ Then I suggest something from the Hainish Cycle, by Ursula K. Le Guin. If you feel “meh” about an anthropological study of different planets and their people, and an ethnographic interaction between the star-fairing and indigenous people; then be prepared to get excited about this masterfully crafted sociological sci-fi. I suggest _The Left Hand of Darkness_, _The Telling_, _The Dispossessed_, _City of Illusions_. Save the other stuff for later if you like those 3 first. Also, I do suggest watching the movie, The Lathe of Heaven. It is a very good adaptation of her book of the same name. If you want something lighter/quirkier from Neal Stephenson, I would liken _Snow Crash_ to a mix between _Good Omens_ and _Ready Player One_. Sorry, I mostly only know sci-fi. VIctor Hugo’s _Les Miserables_ moved me to tears, though. _War and Peace_ is surprisingly good and engaging, even if everyone pooh-poohs it for being so long. Finally, I absolutely must talk about this little 500 pg gem that I randomly found years ago. _Captain Corelli’s Mandolin_ (just Corelli’s Mandolin in America) by Louis de Bernières. It is a story of love between an Italian Captain and a Greek woman, set following the Italian invasion of Greece during WWII; we see the aftermath of Mussolini losing power and the Italians joining up with the Alliance powers. The Germans who were jointly holding onto Greece with the Italians, now have new orders to kill all of their old Italian allies. The great thing about this book, is that it humanizes every person on each side of this conflict. It shows people growing as people, and living with or reasoning out their decisions. To quote Wikipedia and the author himself, "Bernières himself described this as a novel about ‘what happens to the little people when megalomaniacs get busy.’” > **[Captain Corelli's Mandolin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Corelli%27s_Mandolin)** > > Captain Corelli's Mandolin, released simultaneously in the United States as Corelli's Mandolin, is a 1994 novel by the British writer Louis de Bernières, set on the Greek island of Cephalonia during the Italian and German occupation of the Second World War. > The main characters are Antonio Corelli, an Italian army captain, and Pelagia, the daughter of the local physician, Dr Iannis. An important event in the novel is the massacre of Italian troops by the Germans in September 1943—the Italian A... ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-audiobook/759278/5 "2016-07-08T03:10:21Z")
The reader is as important as the text to me. Anything read by Scott Brick, Judy Kaye, George Guidell, or the late Frank Muller. And I would listen to Neil Gaiman read a Sears catalog. I go through 5-10 audiobooks/month. I’ve been listening lately to a genre I call Troubled Detectives. My daughter recommended the trilogy written by Robert Galbraith (J.K.Rowling in drag) and Tara French’s books. Beautiful prose, perfectly read, and a lot of angst with your murder investigation. And a recommendation I’ve been making for years here: _Fear Nothing_ by Dean Koontz. It’s the Suspensey Sci-Fi story of Christopher Snow, who has a condition where he can’t go out in daylight. So of course he and his dog get to know his small coastal town at night, and he sees things he shouldn’t… But the reason I’ve listened to it (and the sequel) a couple dozen times is that the reader sounds like Christopher. And night, and fog. It’s the moodiest reading I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-audiobook/759278/6 "2016-07-08T03:21:02Z")
> [@digs](#): > > The reader is as important as the text to me. Anything read by Scott Brick… I agree, and I’m also partial to Scott Brick. He narrates “In The Heart Of The Sea” that I recommended above. He’s done a huge amount of narration, and I sometimes just pick something of his when I don’t have any better ideas. I also love Peter Kenny, who hasn’t done so much, but is absolutely perfect for Iain Banks. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-audiobook/759278/7 "2017-07-13T16:13:21Z")
A bumpdate from last year’s thread. I wound up getting American Gods (very good), The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (OK tale, not the best reading), Good Omens (delightful as always) and something called A Discovery of Witches (meh; I later got the ebook versions of the rest of the series and wasn’t all that impressed). Nowadays, often when I browse a book at Audible it’ll say “get it for 1.99 when you buy the Kindle version”. Sometimes that combination is actually a better deal than spending the credit on it - e.g. We Are Legion is 3.99 in Kindle format and 1.99 for the Audible narration. Snow Crash is on sale for 4.99 right now (through July 15th). I read a bit about it and decided I didn’t think I’d love it, but I may rethink it. Audible now carries all the Harry Potter books - in French and German as well as English. Last time I had looked for them, they were not available. I never did get the full version of World War Z; they have both the full version, and the “fill in the gaps” version (that I guess has everything NOT in the first one). I’ll probably spring for that one, for our next long trip if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![wintertime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c68b51/32.png) [@wintertime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wintertime)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-pick-an-audiobook/759278/8 "2017-07-13T18:21:32Z")
_(Urban) Fantasy_ Kobna Holdbrook-Smith was the perfect choice to read Ben Aaronovitch’s urban fantasy series with the police constable Peter Grant. The first book was [“Rivers of London”](https://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Rivers-of-London-Audiobook/B004VMVRCI?qid=1499963996&sr=1-10): > [@](#): > > Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic. A short story, “[A Rare Book of Cunning Device](https://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/A-Rare-Book-of-Cunning-Device-Audiobook/B071NDRLBK?qid=1499963996&sr=1-1)”, can be found for free on Audible. Fisher Stevens’ reading of Christopher Moore’s “[A Dirty Job](https://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/A-Dirty-Job-Audiobook/B002V0QR4K?qid=1499968728&sr=1-1)” was a delight, as was Susan Bennett’s performance of Moore’s satirical/fun Vampire Love Story series that includes “[Bloodsucking Fiends](https://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Bloodsucking-Fiends-Audiobook/B002V5B9SY/?ie=UTF8&pf_rd_r=EKBQS57N2EMG1HPHXA17&pf_rd_m=A2ZO8JX97D5MN9&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=detail-page&pf_rd_p=3004414202&pf_rd_s=center-4)” and “[You Suck](https://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/You-Suck-Audiobook/B002V8LFK8?qid=1499968848&sr=1-1)”. These are two books that I would likely never have read. But Bennett was irresistible, especially when she is reading from the diary of the self-proclaimed vampire minion Abby Normal. And since we are in the realm of fun & fantasy: Steven Briggs and Nigel Planer are great voices for [Terry Pratchett’s discworld novels](http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_search_tseft__galileo?advsearchKeywords=Pratchett+discworld&x=0&y=0). _SF_ R. C. Bray’s reading of “[The Martian](https://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Martian-Audiobook/B00B5HZGUG/ref=a_pd_Sci-Fi_c4_1_4_i?ie=UTF8&pf_rd_r=40KEXKWQ330JJ20FBX0B&pf_rd_m=A2ZO8JX97D5MN9&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=detail-page&pf_rd_p=3004414202&pf_rd_s=center-4)” by Andy Weir irritated me for a minute since I had already read the book and had a different Watney in mind. But this changed soon and rapidly. He has a good range and his tone shifts well to match the situation. And I liked more than I expected “[We Are Legion](https://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/We-Are-Legion-We-Are-Bob-Audiobook/B01L082HJ2/ref=a_pd_Myster_c4_1_4_i?ie=UTF8&pf_rd_r=DNACJB1BR7MT5PFX7CAJ&pf_rd_m=A2ZO8JX97D5MN9&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=detail-page&pf_rd_p=3004414202&pf_rd_s=center-4)” written by Dennis Taylor, and read very entertainingly by Ray Porter. The Cast-reading of Card’s [Ender’s Game: Special 20th Anniversary Edition](https://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Enders-Game-Audiobook/B002V5A12Y?qid=1499969043&sr=1-1) was also a nice surprise. _Crime_ There are plenty of books where narration and narrator work well together, like Dion Graham’s reading of “[The Force](https://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/The-Force-Audiobook/B06XCM7Y9V?qid=1499967742&sr=1-1)” by Don Winslow. But there is one match that is outstanding: Craig Johnson’s [Longmire](https://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/The-Cold-Dish-Audiobook/B002V1LT0G?qid=1499969166&sr=1-1) series is read by George Guidall, and boy howdy, is that a fit. _Adventure_ Patrick O’Brian’s [Aubrey–Maturin](https://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Master-and-Commander-Audiobook/B002V0KS9A?qid=1499969492&sr=1-10) series is so well-known that I will only mention that Patrick Tull is a great voice for those naval adventures during the Napoleonic Wars. And there are books that I will likely never read but I can listen to them being narrated. One such book is McCarthy’s “[The Road](https://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-Road-Audiobook/B002V0PTQ2?qid=1499968500&sr=1-1)”. I abandoned this book twice before I decided to listen to Tom Stechschulte’s reading; and while his voice makes it even more depressing, it also added that tiny bit of distance to not get worn down by its story.