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Post by matthewkeen on Feb 4, 2017 17:07:21 GMT
Greetings, fellow evictees of IMDB's purge!
How do you all feel about AudioBooks? Who are some of your favorite narrators? Who are some narrators you avoid? And have you ever grown to dislike a book because of the audio edition?
My answers:
1. Since I created this thread, it should be obvious how I feel: I'm a fan of the medium. I'm a Delivery Driver by profession. It's nice to be able listen to a book at work.
2. Stephen Lang, Dick Hill, Judy Kaye, Jay O. Sanders, Chet Williamson, full-cast narration, and authors who read their own titles.
3. In more than 20 years of listening, I've only encountered one reader that has completely turned me off from anything he narrates: Tom Stechschulte. If his name is attached, I'll skip it, even if it's a book I enjoy.
4. There are a few titles that fit this category. Lord of the Rings, for one. The length of the book is no big deal. I have zero problem reading books of that length. I read Tad William's Otherland series in a little over a month. But LotR became a chore. Every day during my shift, I felt dread at listening to the book. Rob Inglass is a fine narrator, with a lovely voice, but Tolkien's style of writing does not lend itself to the format.
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Post by tarathian123 on Feb 6, 2017 13:06:42 GMT
Love audiobooks if the narrators are profficient. I download from the library online borrowing service and have bought quite a few downloads from Audible. My preferences are British whodunnits, and British vintage radio comedy, but I also confess to being a PG Wodehouse fan.
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Post by matthewkeen on Feb 7, 2017 5:09:15 GMT
Love audiobooks if the narrators are profficient. I download from the library online borrowing service and have bought quite a few downloads from Audible. My preferences are British whodunnits, and British vintage radio comedy, but I also confess to being a PG Wodehouse fan. I love Wodehouse. I'm especially fond of the Jeeves stories.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2017 5:20:19 GMT
I have to agree about Tolkien. Love him when I'm doing the reading, myself, but it is so easy to get lost when you're just hearing the words by themselves. I've generally found Stephen King's writing style lends itself to being performed much better.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2017 15:11:03 GMT
In theory I love the idea of audio books and I do have a few, but I can see myself blanking right out and then having to rewind trying to find the last bit that I remembered hearing!
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Post by matthewkeen on Feb 8, 2017 23:28:02 GMT
In theory I love the idea of audio books and I do have a few, but I can see myself blanking right out and then having to rewind trying to find the last bit that I remembered hearing! That's certainly a risk, but I've found when I blank out, the bits I missed are rarely important to the overall story.
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Post by ivytempleton on Feb 10, 2017 3:09:52 GMT
I listen in my car on my way to and from work. I like something scary or a crime novel to hold my interest. Otherwise I find myself drifting. I love them. BUT if the narrator's voice is annoying it's an issue for me. I usually take out 3 or 4 and weed out what I don't like based on that.
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Post by hermionegranger on Feb 18, 2017 20:00:04 GMT
I liked Jim Dale reading Harry Potter. He created unique voices for each character - no small feat!
I don't generally listen to audiobooks though. I would only listen to them in the car, and I don't drive much anymore, and my mind tends to wander anyway if I'm not "actively" reading.
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Post by CrepedCrusader on Feb 20, 2017 23:22:09 GMT
I find that when I try to listen to audio books my attention inevitably starts to wander. I just can't concentrate on the story as much as I can when I read a book. I think the only audio book that I actually finished was for Stephen King's novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Apr 27, 2017 4:02:11 GMT
I find that when I try to listen to audio books my attention inevitably starts to wander. I just can't concentrate on the story as much as I can when I read a book. Same here. I've finished about three. Blood Meridian - which I opted to listen to since I couldn't stand the grammar of the text format Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - read by Hunter Thompson himself World War Z - read by a whole smorgasbord of people, including Mark Hamill and Martin Scorsese
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Post by TheGoodMan19 on Apr 28, 2017 22:26:02 GMT
My job has a lot of driving and audiobook make it much better. Light fiction mostly, Steve King, Dean Koontz, James Patterson. I tried a couple history books but the narrators are like those old history teachers in school that made everything boring.
Have to agree with the poster about Jim Dale and the Harry Potter books. I got them for my daughter (wasn't a Potterphile) but I love the narration. Good stuff
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Post by dougb on Apr 30, 2017 14:49:53 GMT
I would massively recommend "The Terror" by Dan Simmons read by Simon Vance (the best in the business). It's a slow burning horror set around the Franklin expedition's doomed attempt to find the north west passage in the 1840's. make sure you get the unabridged version though, about 30 hours long.
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Dec 27, 2017 20:39:49 GMT
I finally found an audio book I was able to sit through without spacing out or losing interest. That audio book is The Disaster Artist. Maybe it's because, as an actor, I can immedietely relate to the experiences. Especially a creepy director who is hot and cold with you. It helps that Greg Sistero sounds like a regular guy telling a story and not your Social Studies teacher. And his Tommy Wissau impression is killer.
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Dec 28, 2017 0:39:52 GMT
I read some Lovecraft stories read by Roddy McDowall. And Dracula and Frankenstein read by Christopher Lee.
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Post by dougb on Dec 28, 2017 14:17:21 GMT
Am listening in bed to Derek Jacobi reading Peter Ackroyd's "Hawksmoor". He's fantastic but his voice is so mellifluous that I just fall asleep so fast I'm forever having to go back and find my place again.
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