# Recommend an audiobook **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 30, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321 "2010-05-30T21:37:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/1 "2010-05-30T21:37:14Z")
So I have 5 credits at [Audible.com](http://Audible.com) that I need to ‘spend’ on books. I generally like science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, mystery… well, basically most fiction except for romance and westerns. Ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/2 "2010-05-30T21:59:53Z")
[Janet Evanovich](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Evanovich)’s “One For The Money,” or any of the Stephanie Plum series of detective novels are very good. They are quite funny and I can listen to them time and again. If you can get [Rebecca](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_(novel)) by Daphne du Maurier on a book on tape that is also a great novel. Any book by [Donald E Westlake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_E._Westlake) is also even better when it’s a book on tape. My favourite book by him is “The Ax” “Coma” by Robin Cook is also very good. [Eric Schlosser](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Schlosser)’s two novels “Fast Food Nation” and “Reefer Madness” are also enjoyable listening ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/3 "2010-05-30T23:32:59Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > [Eric Schlosser](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Schlosser)’s two novels “Fast Food Nation” and “Reefer Madness” are also enjoyable listening Novels? ---
**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:** [May 30, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/4 "2010-05-30T23:54:01Z")
I highly enjoyed [Anansi Boys](http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_HARP_001138&BV_SessionID=@@@@1231158250.1275263207@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccladekieemldkcefecekjdffidfji.0) by Neil Gaiman. Lenny Henry does an excellent job, although some people thought his Jamaican accents were too … Jamaican. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/5 "2010-05-31T00:36:29Z")
I loathed _The Quiet American_ and _Brave New World_–avoid those stinkers! The reader in both was atrocious (and may have been the same dude, a British guy with a nasally voice, a profoundly upper-class accent, a repertoire of abominable fake accents, and no self-awareness). The titular character in Quiet American was from New England, I think, but I kept forgetting that, because the reader thought all Americans talked like John Wayne. Anyway. Not your question. Just a warning. Some favorites: _Kidnapped_, by Robert Louis Stevenson. The reader has a rich Scottish brogue that is a delight all by itself; its relevance to the story makes the book that much richer. [Gentlemen of the Road](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentlemen_of_the_Road). It’s a pretty fun adventure story by the author of _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay_, two Jewish mercenaries operating near a Jewish Khaganate in Europe in the 7th century or so. Again, the reader’s voice makes a huge difference: it’s rich and mellow and has just a hint of amusement. _The Maltese Falcon_. Don’t remember much about the reader here, but it was good stuff. There was also an Elmore Leonard that did me right. I’m not really a fan of Leonard’s, despite having read a half-dozen of his books (every time I hear paeans to his awesomeness, I give him another try), but for–oh, that’s right, [Pagan Babies](http://www.elmoreleonard.com/index.php?/weblog/rwanda_-_strange_setting_for_elmore_leonard_book/). Okay story, but the sense that the author was kicking back on your couch, feet on your coffee table, glass of bourbon in one hand and cigarette in the other, telling you the story and not giving a shit what you thought about it, was so immediate and visceral that I enjoyed the story far more than I otherwise would have. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/6 "2010-05-31T01:13:49Z")
Jonathan Stroud’s ‘Bartimaeus trilogy’ is great fantasy. So are Diana Wynn Jones’ Chrestomanci books - start with “A Charmed Life” I found the Mike Resnick ‘Starship’ audiobooks good, if not shattering great - they’re smart and clever science fiction. Any Larry Niven, especially the Known space books - Ringworld, Protector, Fleet of worlds. I guess that’s enough to recommend for now. Hope you find some books that you like! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/7 "2010-05-31T01:50:38Z")
My favorite audiobook ever is **Witch Child** by Celia Rees. not only is the book a facinating bit of historical fiction, the woman who reads it, Jennifer Ehle, has a lovely voice. It is [at audible](http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_LILI_000999&BV_SessionID=@@@@0352113658.1275270479@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccgadekiefdefkcefecekjdffidfji.0), too. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/8 "2010-05-31T02:07:35Z")
Don’t know if it’s available, but nothing beats the Frank Muller reading of _Silence Of The Lambs_. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/9 "2010-05-31T02:27:26Z")
I second the _Bartimaeus_ audiobook(s) recommendation. Funny, dark and the reader, Simon Jones, is wonderful. He IS Bartimaeus. Also, Neal Stephenson’s _Snow Crash_ is oodles of fun. Best thing I listened to all year. It’s long, too, so it’ll last you a while. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/10 "2010-05-31T04:27:32Z")
I generally listen to non-fiction. But I did enjoy _Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell_ by Susanna Clarke. Simon Prebble did an excellent reading. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/11 "2010-05-31T04:33:08Z")
> [@](#): > > The Maltese Falcon. Don’t remember much about the reader here, but it was good stuff. Unfortunately I don’t remember who did it but I have this terrible audiotape of _The Maltese Falcon_. The reader did a really bad job with the character voices - he made Sam Spade sound like Ron Howard. ---
**Author:** ![Sehmket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Sehmket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sehmket)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/12 "2010-05-31T04:33:39Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I highly enjoyed [Anansi Boys](http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_HARP_001138&BV_SessionID=@@@@1231158250.1275263207@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccladekieemldkcefecekjdffidfji.0) by Neil Gaiman. Lenny Henry does an excellent job, although some people thought his Jamaican accents were too … Jamaican. I’d like to second this, the reading was just delightful. Also would like to say Gaiman’s _American Gods_ (of which _Anansi Boys_ is… kind of a sequel, although you by no means have to read one to get everything in the other. They’re just set in the same world, with some of the same characters, and \*Gods \*came first). \*Gods \*also has a great reading, with wonderful voices. I’d also like to nominate all of the _Artemis Fowl_ books by Eoin Colfer. They were fairly short - about six hours - but they had great voices and were just plain fun. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/13 "2010-05-31T05:15:29Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Don’t know if it’s available, but nothing beats the Frank Muller reading of _Silence Of The Lambs_. Or him reading the parts list for a Whirlpool Series 949 Dishwasher… My point? Anything read by Frank Muller is excellent, esp. _The Great Gatsby_, or _the Tale of Two Cities_ (although, don’t forget, Dickens got paid by the word… it’s lonnnng). Same for Dick Hill (those books with…Harvey Pooter?) or Scott Brick (does a GREAT job on Brad Meltzer’s political thrillers-- try _The Millionaires_– and _Ender’s Shadow_ and its sequels). Another vote for Janet Evanovich, or Sue Grafton’s “_A is for.._.” series. But the best synergy of reader and text, in my mind (which IS where all the action takes place)… _ **Fear Nothing** _ and the sequel _ **Seize the Night** _. Dean Koontz is an uneven novelist, but these two books are very amtospheric. The protagonist has Exoderma Pigmentosa, so can’t go out in the daylight. And the reader captures the not-fitting-in-which-ironically-makes-him-more-self-reliant character. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/14 "2010-05-31T06:14:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I generally listen to non-fiction. But I did enjoy _Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell_ by Susanna Clarke. Simon Prebble did an excellent reading. > [@digs](#): > > Or him reading the parts list for a Whirlpool Series 949 Dishwasher… > > My point? Anything read by Frank Muller is excellent, esp. _The Great Gatsby_, or _the Tale of Two Cities_ (although, don’t forget, Dickens got paid by the word… it’s lonnnng). Simon Prebble and Frank Muller are fantastic readers. _The Big Over Easy_ (Prebble) and the first four books of the Dark Tower series (Muller) are absolutely excellent audiobooks. I also quite enjoyed _Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell_ in itself, although it’s a pretty meandering book and the inclusion of footnotes can get a bit confusing. If you have any tolerance at all for the Redwall series, I _strongly_ recommend the audiobook. The writing is very distinctly for children, but the audiobook features a full cast, and it’s a completely captivating performance. I’ve probably listened to _Redwall_ and _Mossflower_ more than any other of my audiobooks simply because they’re so much fun. I would recommend the _Codex Alera_ series, but you’ve said in a previous thread that you don’t like the books. You might give the _Dresden Files_ audiobooks a try; they’re read by James Marsters. I’ve yet to listen to one, but I’m told he does a very good job. I suppose that depends on how likely you are to reread books, though. Oh yes, and the _Discworld_ audiobooks. Nigel Planer does most of them, and he’s very good too. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/15 "2010-05-31T06:15:04Z")
I loved _Wee Free Men_ by Terry Pratchet and Tim Dorsey’s _Torpedo Juice_ on audiobook. Torpedo Juice is my favorite of all time and I can listen to it again and again. It’s the book that got me hooked on Dorsey. I had to go buy all the other books and read everything Serge had ever done. The books are hilarious and in my opinion the characters are awesome and the storylines are well crafted. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/16 "2010-05-31T19:48:27Z")
> [@digs](#): > > But the best synergy of reader and text, in my mind (which IS where all the action takes place)… _ **Fear Nothing** _ and the sequel _ **Seize the Night** _. Dean Koontz is an uneven novelist, but these two books are very amtospheric. The protagonist has Exoderma Pigmentosa, so can’t go out in the daylight. And the reader captures the not-fitting-in-which-ironically-makes-him-more-self-reliant character. I entered the thread to recommend these two books. They are especially great for a late night drive. I’d also recommend Joseph R. Garber’s _Vertical Run_ ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/17 "2010-05-31T23:45:30Z")
Thanks and keep the suggestions coming! I’ve read some of these before, like the Stephanie Plum books and the Dresden series–so you’re on the right track for sure! ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/18 "2010-06-01T00:44:23Z")
I got a free audiobook with the purchase of the tape recorder I used for my master’s thesis. I used it to get Derek Jacoby reading “I, Claudius.” It was absolutely wonderful! 🙂 ---
**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:** [June 2, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/19 "2010-06-02T14:50:28Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > I got a free audiobook with the purchase of the tape recorder I used for my master’s thesis. I used it to get Derek Jacoby reading “I, Claudius.” It was absolutely wonderful! 🙂 [chortle] …imagining “I, Claudius” on 42 micro-cassettes… _“This concludes cassette 38. Please fast forward to the end and insert cassette 39.”_ [/chortle] ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321/20 "2010-06-02T14:59:56Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > I second the _Bartimaeus_ audiobook(s) recommendation. Funny, dark and the reader, Simon Jones, is wonderful. He IS Bartimaeus. True. Of course, Simon Jones is also Arthur Dent, which gets slightly confusing, as Bartimaeus and Arthur Dent are really not similar at all. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-audiobook/541321.md?page=2)