# Suggestions for my next read-aloud book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365 "2005-09-06T16:57:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365/21 "2005-09-08T16:14:35Z")
Huh. That’s an interesting idea, **Mangetout**. I know we have a computer microphone thingy somewhere (note my use of complex technological terminology). I’ll ask my husband how good it is, and how to set up recording space etc. It’s amazing how differently books read aloud- we tried several that just didn’t work, like _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ and _The Left Hand of Darkness_. There’s an Ursusla K. Le Guin essay on the difference between authors who ‘hear’ their work, and authors who ‘see’ it, and the difference in written rhythm. if a books reads aloud well, you can get lost in the feel of the words. Most of the Discworld books are available in audio format, I think. If I were to record I’d probably do Robin McKinley or L. M. Montgomery. Or maybe Garth Nix. We’re Tolkien/Lewis-ites, but Mr. Lissar hasn’t read _Till We Have Faces_ yet: that’s a possibility. Bugger. McKinley wouldn’t be public domain. L. M. Montgomery would be, though. And someone bloody ought to record _Deerskin_ and _Sunshine_, although I don’t want to infringe on copyright. So far, my compiled list goes: _The Golden Gate, Persuasion, Good Omens, The Princess Bride, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, Momo, A Fortunate Life, Charlotte’s Web_. I’ve read most of Discworld, but Mr. Lissar has only read _Night Watch_ and _Thief of Time_, so I might do _The Truth_ or _Going Postal_. I liked _Good Omens_, but I remember occasionally feeling like Pratchett/Gaiman was shouting “Message, people! Message! Pay attention!” ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365/22 "2005-09-08T16:23:24Z")
> [@Lissla Lissar](#): > > The new one’s coming out this month! Yay! [Sept 27, baby!](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385324162/qid=1126197139/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-7032816-6751235?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) ---
**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:** [September 8, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365/23 "2005-09-08T16:37:07Z")
> [@Lissla Lissar](#): > > It’s amazing how differently books read aloud- we tried several that just didn’t work, like _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ and _The Left Hand of Darkness_. There’s an Ursusla K. Le Guin essay on the difference between authors who ‘hear’ their work, and authors who ‘see’ it, and the difference in written rhythm. if a books reads aloud well, you can get lost in the feel of the words. I nearly get lost in the feel of McKinley’s _Spindle’s End_ even reading to myself! One author whose writing is absolutely gorgeous but might be too dense for reading aloud is Patricia McKillip. Ooh, you mentioned Garth Nix. The Abhorsen books would be good for reading aloud. How about _To Kill a Mockingbird_? Or _Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn_? You’ve mentioned Milton and Heaney, so I’ll suggest another poet: Edmund Spenser. Very sensual writing. Chaucer is fun, too. ---
**Author:** ![Schuyler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@Schuyler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schuyler)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365/24 "2005-09-08T16:40:26Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > Seamu Heany’s translation of _Beowulf_ Epic poems and classic plays are good choices, since they are meant to be communicated aloud. I don’t have a lot of experience here, but Sir Gawain and the Green Knight could be good. I also retold that and Beowolf as stories, not epic poems, to our older daughter, and it was fun. > [@jsgoddess](#): > > an author whose name I simply can’t remember–a humorist who writes about things like hunting and fishing and who wrote a story about putting a live deer on a bicycle. Help! That would have to be Patrick McManus - another good suggestion. I’ll also put a plug in for Shakespeare, but those may work better as a dialogue - a comedy such a Taming of the Shrew maybe? Oh, finally, maybe Dickens - my mom read A Christmas Carol on a car trip, and it was neat. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365/25 "2005-09-08T17:37:10Z")
We’ve both read _Alphabet of Thorns_, but I could maybe get _A Song for the Basilisk_ out of the library. **jsgoddess** , have you read the new Garth Nix anthology yet? Mr. Lissar read me _Endings_ and the story about the Lady of the Lake. It’s a great collection. I think my favourite authors (just for everyone’s reference, and because I’m sure you all care) are Robin McKinley, C. S. Lewis, Garth Nix, Tolkien, Diana Gabaldon, Annie Dillard, L. M. Montgomery, Chaim Potok, and Tad Williams. I’ve read practically all of everything they’ve written. I have lots of secondary favourite authors, but those ones are on top. I wonder how Cynthia Voigt reads aloud. _A Solitary Blue_ might be good. We should have some friends over and do a Shakespeare play aloud. A comedy. Maybe in a month or two. ---
**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:** [September 8, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365/26 "2005-09-08T18:12:01Z")
Ooh, _A Song for the Basilisk_ is an excellent choice. No, I haven’t read anything by Nix other than the Abhorsen books (which I thought were spectacular) and the first book in the Seventh Tower? series, which was fine but had no closure at all. **Schuyler** , Patrick McManus! Of course. Thanks for doing my thinking for me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365/27 "2005-09-09T03:07:07Z")
I’ve been reading to **Zyada** for a while now, lately some of **Sampiro** ’s stories found on this very board, and tonight some selections from [_archy and mehitabel_](http://www.donmarquis.com/archy/index.html). (Scroll down for the pieces I’m working through. My favourite might be ‘_archy interviews a pharaoh_’, but I recall some of the later ones fondly and might change my mind. Maybe I’ll do some more poetry after that. [This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=282444) has some great suggestions, and [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=155831) has some prose I like. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365/28 "2005-09-09T16:17:47Z")
The new Garth Nix collection’s first story is about Nicholas Sayre. It’s very good. ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365/29 "2005-09-09T21:02:22Z")
> [@Lissla Lissar](#): > > We both sobbed when Matthew died in _Anne of Green Gables_. And when Ruby died in _Anne of the Island_. And when Anne’s baby died. I am a sucker for tearjerk moments, but he cried all the way through FOtR (the movie), so I think I’m very slightly less sappy. 😃 [hijack] Yaaay, someone else who’s read (and loves) them all! I just finished re-reading them for the bajillionth time last month. A question, since we’re here: in _Anne’s House of Dreams_, Anne and Susan (or is it Anne & Leslie?) are talking about “shortening” Little Jem. Do you know what that means? Is it just that he gets to wear shorter baby dresses, or is it something else? The way they talk about it sounds more significant than just the clothes. [hijack] Let’s see. You probably have them, but in case you don’t: there are a ton more L.M. Montgomery books, if you both like those – the Emily trilogy, and the Pat books, and the miscellaneous others. Have you read anything by Anne Lamott? I haven’t read her fiction, but I love her non-fiction: _Traveling Mercies_ and _Operating Instructions_ were both wonderful. She’s so funny and honest, and she has led an interesting life, to say the least. If you can do the accents at all, Brian Jacques’ _Redwall_ series is _wonderful_. I like the Jane Austen idea, too. I don’t know about reading it aloud, but I looooved _The Twentieth Wife_, by Indu Sundaresan. It’s completely captivating – I didn’t want it to end (I didn’t like the sequel as much, though). Let us know what you choose! ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365/30 "2005-09-09T22:27:16Z")
We have _Bird by Bird_, by Anne Lamott, and I’ve read _Travelling Mercies_ and _Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith_. We both really like her writing. She’s really funny and honest. She, Annie Dillard, Madeleine L’Engle, and Kathleen Norris are my favourite still alive writers who write about Christianity. Annie Dillard sometimes scares me, she’s so direct. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-my-next-read-aloud-book/320365.md?page=1)