# Looking for some good audiobooks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2005, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717 "2005-08-12T13:14:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/1 "2005-08-12T13:14:23Z")
I recently listened to some audio books, Harry Potter and Bryson’s Short history of nearly everything. I really enjoyed them. I turn them on when I go to bed and listen while I’m drifting off. It’s like story time at bedtime all over again 😃 So basically I’m looking for any recommendations you have. Books can be any genre. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/2 "2005-08-12T13:27:25Z")
I’ve been listening to them all summer on my hourlong commute to and from school. My favorite, far and away, is Phillip Roth’s _The Plot Against America_. It’s Phillip Roth’s autobiographical account of his being a seven-year-old Jew living in New Jersey in 1939, when noted Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindbergh ran on an anti-war platform against FDR and won the presidency. It’s beautifully written, very ominous, just a great novel; and the narrator has a perfect voice for the job. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/3 "2005-08-12T13:38:46Z")
I was going to mention Bryson’s Short History, I love the historical science stuff. I’ve also listened to some mysteries on my commute to work, I liked the two by Jonathan Kellerman I listened to, “Monster” and “Therapy”. I liked “Monster” more. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/4 "2005-08-12T14:45:43Z")
I Know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb, read by George Guidall. It’s about a man with a mentally ill twin brother, who uncovers a lot of family secrets through reading his grandfather’s memoirs. It was very engrossing, and it’s a nice long one too; about 32 hours. I just tried and failed to listen to The Count of Monte Cristo. Maybe I would do better with that one by actually reading it. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/5 "2005-08-12T14:54:41Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > It’s Phillip Roth’s autobiographical account…Charles Lindbergh … won the presidency. I don’t doubt it’s a good book, but I do doubt it’s autobiographical. So many to choose from. My approach is to pick a book I’d like to read anyway, in whatever form, and if the library system has a recording then it becomes part of my commute. I won’t make any recommendations since I have no idea about your tastes, though. ---
**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 12, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/6 "2005-08-12T15:14:53Z")
I recommend the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books, read by Douglas Adams himself. I tried to read the first one a long time ago and it kinda fell flat, but Adams’ voice makes the story come alive. It turned me into a fan of the series. ---
**Author:** ![jbarro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jbarro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbarro)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/7 "2005-08-12T15:20:13Z")
Even though they’re “children’s” literature, I recommend the audiobooks for any of the Lemony Snicket stories (A Series of Unfortunate Events). They’re read by Tim Curry in a delightfully deadpan, morose tone. I could listen to his voice all day. Here’s a link to the author’s website, so you can get a feel for the books. [http://www.lemonysnicket.com/index.cfm](http://www.lemonysnicket.com/index.cfm) Also, I would highly NOT recommend any of the Star Trek novels on CD - horribly cheesy sound effects, voices, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/8 "2005-08-12T15:21:04Z")
I’d recomend Homer’s The Illiad and The Odysey, also maybe Virgil’s Aeniad (sp?) not only are these books a bit of a slog to read through, they were really intended to be read alloud and listened too. Audio CD sets of these non-copywrite classics are also quite good value often working out about $2.00 per CD in the set. I have also got the New Testament read by James Earl Jones simply because the idea of having the N.T. read by Darth Vader was appealing to my ideas of irony. Unfortunately that audiobook is a little spoilt by background music during the oration. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/9 "2005-08-12T15:34:02Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > I recommend the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books, read by Douglas Adams himself. I tried to read the first one a long time ago and it kinda fell flat, but Adams’ voice makes the story come alive. It turned me into a fan of the series. I recommend the CD’s of the original BBC radio show that started it all. Adams might have written it, but Simon Jones **is** Arthur Dent. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/10 "2005-08-12T15:41:15Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > I’d recomend Homer’s The Illiad and The Odysey, also maybe Virgil’s Aeniad (sp?) not only are these books a bit of a slog to read through, they were really intended to be read alloud and listened too. Ohh, now there’s an idea. I had to study all three of these many moons ago in school and really liked them but agree they are a bit of a slog. Cheers > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I won’t make any recommendations since I have no idea about your tastes, though Well to give you an idea the last few books I’ve read are. Currently reading Mao: The Unknown Story, before that I read a Ed McBain, the new Harry Potter, a biog of Louis B Mayer and a Robert Ludlum. Basically I’ll read/listen anything once it keeps me interested 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/11 "2005-08-12T16:00:23Z")
By the way, I recently found out I can get a [www.netlibrary.com](http://www.netlibrary.com) account free from my local library (likely everybody with a library account can) and download audio books directly. They are in a secure .wma format, so your device has to support that format. I’m pretty sure iPods do not support that, but many devices so, like my Creative Zen Xtra. ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/12 "2005-08-12T16:01:12Z")
Just recently finished [Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1593977417/ref=lpr_g_2/102-9560480-3763311?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Susannah Clarke, read by Simon Prebble. An excellent and unique novel, exceedingly well performed. Others I recently finished and would recommend are the Song Of Ice & Fire Series by George R. R. Martin, read by Roy Dotrice. I’ll also expand on **sciurophobic**'s recommendation and suggest any number of BBC Radio dramatizations. There’s an excellent series of Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, some fantastic Agatha Christie’s (I love John Moffat’s Hercule Poirot) and countless others. The 13 part Lord Of The Rings series is wonderful. thwartme ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/13 "2005-08-12T16:20:33Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > I recommend the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books, read by Douglas Adams himself. I second this recommendation. Actually I recommend every Douglas Adams book read by the author, including the excellent non-fiction book _Last Chance to See_. (Though the last two of the five Hitchhiker books fall short of the others.) I’ve also enjoyed some Dave Barry and Al Franken’s books. (_Dave Barry Does Japan_ and _Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot_, and a couple of others). I believe both were read by the author. > [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > I’d recomend Homer’s The Illiad and The Odysey, also maybe Virgil’s Aeniad (sp?) not only are these books a bit of a slog to read through, If you find it a slog to read through, wouldn’t it be even more of a slog to listen all the way? I’ve started on _Atlast Shrugged_ and _Anna Karenina_ (both are 30+ hour unabridged audiobooks) but I decided to get the printed books and skim through the rest. ---
**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 12, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/14 "2005-08-12T16:45:04Z")
You could look through [these](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=270509) [previous](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=140719) [threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=306054). I’d be interested in knowing which books actually work better as audiobooks than they do on the printed page. This is often (though not always) the case with audiobooks by people who are primarily performers or oral storytellers, such as Garrison Keillor, David Sedaris, and Dennis Miller. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/15 "2005-08-12T16:52:02Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > By the way, I recently found out I can get a [www.netlibrary.com](http://www.netlibrary.com) account free from my local library (likely everybody with a library account can) and download audio books directly. Yep. I’ve never been a fan of audiobooks, but now that I can stick the headphones on and listen while I ride my stationary bike, I’m delighted. Currently listening to _The Hermit of Eyton Forest_, by Ellis Peters. Read by Roe Kendall. This is my first exposure to Brother Cadfael and I’m enjoying it. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/16 "2005-08-12T17:20:39Z")
The “Earths Children” series by Jean Auel. This series consists of: Clan of the Cave Bear (horrible movie, but a GREAT BOOK) Valley of Horses The Mammoth Hunters Plains of Passage Shelters of Stone I’ve listened to all but the last (Shelters) on audio, and read the books over and over and over. My wife and I didn’t agree on how to pronounce names, but once we heard the audio versions, found that we were both partly wrong (each wrong on different names, and correct on different names). Your local library also either has lots of audiobooks, or can request via inter-library loan just about any title out there. -Butler ---
**Author:** ![Pixisis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Pixisis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixisis)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/17 "2005-08-12T17:31:41Z")
> [@winterhawk11](#): > > I recommend the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books, read by Douglas Adams himself. I tried to read the first one a long time ago and it kinda fell flat, but Adams’ voice makes the story come alive. It turned me into a fan of the series. the original radio broadcast is also very good, though perhaps too lively for bedtime … (and also only availble on tape) Douglas Adams “The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul” is another of my favories. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/18 "2005-08-12T18:44:07Z")
I recommend Jason Robards reading “Iron Weeds” ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/19 "2005-08-12T18:53:56Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I don’t doubt it’s a good book, but I do doubt it’s autobiographical. Oh, it’s definitely a novel, don’t get me wrong–but the narrator’s name is Phillip Roth, and I suspect that the novel’s genesis was the idea, “What would my childhood have been like if this had happened?” I’ve listened to several books that were crappy but had good narrators (something by Leonard Ellroy was in this category–a throwaway novel about hookers and mobsters with a wonderfully Chicagoan narrator) and other wonderful books with awful narrators (_The Quiet American_, a literate treatment of the Vietnam war narrated by a BBC-accented Brit whose Bostonian accent sounded like an idiot’s caricature of a Texas accent). I’ve been impressed with how much difference a good narrator makes on these things. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717/20 "2005-08-12T18:55:35Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > By the way, I recently found out I can get a [www.netlibrary.com](http://www.netlibrary.com) account free from my local library (likely everybody with a library account can) and download audio books directly. > > They are in a secure .wma format, so your device has to support that format. I’m pretty sure iPods do not support that, but many devices so, like my Creative Zen Xtra. I realize I maybe didn’t make this very clear, but not only is the account free, but the audiobooks are free to download, too. They use .wma security, and are “checked out”, so they expire at some point. No money is involved at all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-some-good-audiobooks/316717.md?page=2)