Audiobooks

The Sparrow

I've just started getting into audiobooks and I find them a great companion to reading. Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for good audiobooks?

Obviously one of the main elements of the audiobooks is the narrators with narrators like Stephen Fry or Patrick Stewart really enhancing an already good book.

So what are your favourite narrators and what audiobooks stand out?

tyrocks00

I don't have any recommendations because I've never been able to get into audiobooks. I guess they're a good idea if you have a long commute, but I like being able to read at my own pace and reread the areas I like and skim the areas I dislike. What do you think? I kinda wanna give them another shot now..

The Sparrow

Well I don't use audiobooks as a substitute for reading. If there is a book that I want to read, I read it. But there are so many books out their on the fringes that I would probably enjoy but I just don't have time. But if I get them in audiobook form I can put them on my mp3 player and listen to them as I commute or go for a walk or jog or whatever.

So I'm always reading a paper book and listening to an audiobook as well and getting the best to read/ listen to twice as many books as I normally would. And it is a great way to revisit some of your favourite books. For instance I've already read LOTR but there is a great BBC version which I can listen to on the move and relive it's greatness!

iguana

I also find audiobooks great for doing housework to. I get so, so bored when I'm washing up or cleaning, but with a book in my ear I can keep my mind occupied while I work.

fenris

Audiobooks are great for catching up on a series before you read the latest installment.

The Black Oil

They're great if you're stuck in the garden for hours fixing the shed or something like that. Or for commuting. It helps if there's a good reader, too.

KonFusion

I'd reccomend Alice In Wonderland, unabridged version. Kinda trippy to fall asleep listening to, and provides some interesting dreams

also just a great story in general.

Some good narrators that come to mind: Stephen Fry and Morgan Freeman.



Now if I could only get Bob Dylan and Tom Waits to do audiobooks.....:rolleyes:

Ruu_Old

Jim Dale narrates the Harry Potter ones, hilarious stuff, very engaging.

BanzaiBk

I'd recommend you listen to "Fatherland" by Robert Harris. It's one of the best audiobooks I've enjoyed. Listening to the content of the book is unmatched by reading it I think.

penny1001

Ive bought a few online recently. any sites where I can share and download for free?
Penny

TheManWho

Barack Obama narrates his own books, as does Richard Dawkins. Hearing it read as the author intended gives the material a more genuine feel so I would recommend anything by those two.

r3nu4l

penny1001 wrote: »

Ive bought a few online recently. any sites where I can share and download for free?
Penny

Here's a site where you can legally download audiobooks (mostly classics).

Try Project Gutenburg as well..they may have audiobooks, plenty of ebooks there anyway

beans

'Naked Lunch' read by William Burroughs is a right laugh.

As messed-up as the source material is, hearing it read by a slurring, at times demented junky makes it that much more surreal

I was a huge fan of Alistair MacClean's audiobooks as a child, but have gotten out of the habit since.

The Black Oil

I've listened to these. Couldn't wait to be back to using the iPod to hear the next segment with some of them, very enjoyable and engrossing if they're done well.

John Simpson - Strange Places, Questionable People
John Simpson - The Wars Against Saddam: Taking the Hard Road to Baghdad
Agatha Christie - Endless Night
Agatha Christie - Poirot's Early Cases
Dennis Lehane - Shutter Island
Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner
Richard Matheson - I Am Legend
Bill Clinton - My Life
Max Brooks - World War Z
Cormac McCarthy - The Road

BanzaiBk

All of the Cormac McCarthy books I've read were better when I listened to them.

Enii

Bill Bryson's "Thunderbolt Kid" is awesome on talking book - Bill himself reads it! Most books can be got on MP3 too.........check your local library!

Kai

I have an hours commute to and from work so i use it to catch up on the books id love to read but just dont have the time. As others have said you can't go wrong with the Cormac Mccarthy novels, I listened to Blood Meridian, No Country for Old men and The Road recently and enjoyed them all immensely. As I get older i find i just dont have time to sit and read a book anymore so audiobooks have really taken over for me. I find i can finish an audiobook where if I was actually reading it i would just give up on it. For instance i listened to Moby Dick last week and enjoyed it but i seriously doubt i would be able to finish it by reading.

I work as a software engineer so perhaps long days spent reading and writing code leaves me with little patience when it comes to my personal reading.