# Please Recommend Some Good Audiobooks--Preferably Available Through iTunes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-good-audiobooks-preferably-available-through-itunes/290629 "2005-02-18T01:14:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-good-audiobooks-preferably-available-through-itunes/290629/1 "2005-02-18T01:14:09Z")
Now that I have an iPod and thus finally a good way to store something the size of an audiobook, what are some good ones? I mostly read science fiction when I’m reading for pleasure, and it’d be great to have something to listen to while traveling for a long time. I see that, for example, there’s a full-cast version of all of the _His Dark Materials_ trilogy, but when I can just read-read my copies of the books, I don’t feel that I can justify the price of a brand-new hardcover, though I still might give them a try. Plus, I can read a book in two to three hours, while most novels take at least 8 or 10 hours. I’ve already got access to all of the recent audiobooks of _The Lord of the Rings_ and _The Hobbit_, as well as all the released _Harry Potter_ books (but most of them I’d have to import 1:1 through the sound card) that would give me a starting point. Heck, if I looked around my house, I could probably find unabridged audio versions of _Paradise Lost_ and _The Canterbury Tales_ (there are some odd things in my house.) I’ll read almost anything if I’m stuck for material, but I’m not about to pick up Proust for pleasure. Dostovesky, Kafka, or Tolstoy perhaps, (yeah, I know, it’s odd) but I just mostly read science fiction and fantasy. The way I see it, I primarily read to be entertained, not to become a better person (this is a constant point of disagreement between me and my brother.) So, what are your favorite unabridged audio books with a good reader? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-good-audiobooks-preferably-available-through-itunes/290629/2 "2005-02-18T01:28:33Z")
I once picked up Al Franken’s **Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them** through iTunes/Audible for $1. :eek: Not sure if it was a pricing error or a sale, but it’s not there now. You can also check out Robin Williams’ various interviews in the audio books section as well – I enjoyed his two-parter with John Lasseter, Pixar junkie that I am. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-good-audiobooks-preferably-available-through-itunes/290629/3 "2005-02-27T17:27:59Z")
Incidentally, if you like audibooks, try [www.simplyaudiobooks.com](http://www.simplyaudiobooks.com) - this is not a paid announcement, I am a satisfied customer. ---
**Author:** ![bsane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@bsane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bsane)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-recommend-some-good-audiobooks-preferably-available-through-itunes/290629/4 "2005-02-27T21:58:04Z")
I thoroughly enjoyed both Snow Crash and Diamond Age on my iPod. Not sure if they’re on the music store, but I got them through [Audible.com](http://Audible.com) which is the place to go if your into audio books and have an ipod. The first audio book I got was actually from the music store- it was Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet. I enjoyed it quite a bit… I also like Bill Bryson’s books just make sure that he narrates them…