Ain’t that the truth. There are a lot of audiobooks in which the author decided to do the recording himself so as not to have to split the royalties, but they almost always interfere with my ability to “see” the script flow in front of me. David McCullough is an exception, of course - not only are his histories fascinating and his delivery completely professional, but his books fill up a lot of commuting time.
A professional actor’s performance almost always makes what would be an irritatingly dull dialogue on paper stand out simply by changing his/her accent or even just cadence (any detective novel read by Jerry Orbach, for instance). Humor stories seem to be especially enhanced - I’ve never laughed so hard at Dorothy Parker stories than when performed by Shirley Booth.
I love audiobooks, but our library has a limited collection.
Other sources I have used:
audible.com: Mostly pay options, but the subscription options are generous.
Tell Tale Weekly: Lots of short stories, mostly priced under $1.
Audio Books for Free: While you can get the downloads free, you can pay small amounts for convenience features or better quality files. All books are in the public domain, so it’s mostly old stuff.
As for specific titles, I love listening to Peter Mayle, who narrates his own books, including A Year in Provence, and several other books either about or situated in southern France.
All in all, it is hard to beat the Lake Woebegone stories in audio form while on the plane. Some are funny, some are sad. All paint a lovely mental picture.
If that’s the case, you really owe it to yourself to track down some of the Recorded Books editions of Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael novels read by the amazing Patrick Tull. I’ll listen to anything he reads, and have never been disappointed. I’ve raved about his readings of the Patrick O’Brian Aubrey-Maturin series in other threads, as well as his take on John Mortimer’s Rumpole, etc.
BTW, NetLibrary doesn’t have any of the O’Brian, Ellis Peters, or Mortimer novels read by Patrick Tull, but they do have Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield, which Tull does his usual outstanding work on.
Just downloaded Geek Love by Katherine Dunn fron netlibrary, sounds interesting. “Geek Love is the saga of a traveling carnival, the owners of which try to save it from financial failure by using ingested chemicals and toxins to create the birth of amazing freaks for the show. The outcome is a family that is both proud and vain about its specialness.”
Next time you have a looong car trip and want something truly engrossing (and entertaining) may I recommend Tom Robbins Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates . Am listening to Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby on my trips home from work and enjoying it.
I agree with those who find that the narrator can make a big difference. I have an audible.com subscription, and I always listen to the sample (I think it’s usually 15 minutes) to see how I feel about the narration before deciding on a book. (My husband, on the other hand, doesn’t pay any attention to this, so YMMV.)
I find that author-narrated books work better with non-fiction, for some reason, although that’s not always the case. As others have noted, Douglas Adams is wonderful on The Hitchhiker’s Guide series.
Some fiction audiobooks that I have enjoyed include:
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, narrated by Jeff Woodman, Barbara Caruso, and Richard Ferrone
The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst, narrated by Erik Singer
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, narrated by William Hope and Laurel Lefkow
Brick Lane by Monica Ali, narrated by Elizabeth Sastre
the Robert B. Parker Spenser mysteries narrated by Joe Montegna
the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum mysteries narrated by Lorelei King.
Some good non-fiction audiobooks:
Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson, narrated by Michael Pritchard
Longitudes and Attitudes by Thomas L. Friedman, narrated by the author
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, narrated by Stephen J. Dubner
I’ve recently started listening to audiobooks on long drives. My favorites so far have been:
Bangkok 8, by John Burdett-the death of a Marine on embassy duty in Thailand is investigated by the only honest cop on the Royal Thai Police Force. It’s got really engrossing storylines, good twists, some really funny parts, and B.D. Wong does a good job narrating.
Sailing the Wine Dark Sea, by Thomas Cahill-this is by the author of How the Irish Saved Civilization. It’s about the influences of ancient Greek literature and culture on modern life. It covers Homer’s epics, Sappho’s poetry, and the range of Greek philosophy.
The ones I have were read by Frank Muller. He does a wonderful job of making each character sound distinctive, and of bringing out their personalities. It’s like a whole layer on top of the book, the way a great storyteller can make a story that much better.
I listen to several audio books a month - it’s how I get myself motivated to exercise. I agree that the narrator is key - my favorite is Barbara Rosenblat.
Some highlights (I like series): Amelia Peobody and Vicky Bliss mysteries, by Elizabeth Peters They are fun to listen to, a bit cutesy to read
Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes series, by Laurie R. King - excellently written. Not sure if the first 3-4 are available in audio.
Thursday Next novels, by Jasper Fforde - even funnier when listened to than read. I’m currently listening to his new one: Nursery Crimes.
super “lite” fare: PG Wodehouse, the Rumpole stories, Simon Brett’s Mrs. Pageter mysteries.
Jim Dale reading Harry Potter is AWESOME. I’ve listened to all of them multiple times.
but as a pinko I’m liking it a lot.