red snow Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I have tried and failed a few times listening to audiobooks, the voice actors tended to be over the top American accents (which for some reason to me just feels wrong when reading Fantasy) I would like to listen to some Audiobooks by Jeremy Irons though, dude has a wicked voice. I'm listening to an old copy of Robert Massie's Peter the Great. The narrator sounds like the preacher from the Simpsons giving a sermon. Luckily the book is good enough to endure but it is hard work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TVVT Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I travel by train pretty much every day for work, and sometimes i need a little break from the commuting life. So, i listen to audiobooks on a regular basis. And: the narrator matters a lot! Once i downloaded War and Peace by Tolstoy, read by a German guy, in English. For all intents and purposes: i speak German, and English. But having the accents combined is not neccesarily something i was looking for. So, after 5 minutes i deleted it. I also listened to Stephen Fry's narration of Harry Potter, sublime, i tell you. It's all about the voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentRoamer Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 One of the off-putting elements' for me is that you add a 3rd party interpretation between yourself and the author. When the narrator reads something (particularly character dialogue) they are already adding their own interpretation of the text. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 One of the off-putting elements' for me is that you add a 3rd party interpretation between yourself and the author. When the narrator reads something (particularly character dialogue) they are already adding their own interpretation of the text. To some extent you could argue you do that when reading it yourself. I do agree though that if the narrator takes a flippant or sarcastic tone then it can ruin dialogue. I'd hope the author or at least an Editor familiar with the text would act as a director and provide notes on these types of things though. I suspect the ones that don't are the ones people find most annoying though. It's great when the author can do the reading but this depends on whether the author has that skill set. Neil Gaiman is actually pretty good (from the short stories I've heard from him). I think it's really good for autobiographies - I just listened to Chris Hadfields and I don't think an actor could really convey the joy or wonder of a space-walk in quite the same way as someone who has actually done it. Luckily Hadfield is an expert with public engagement, I'm sure an astronaut with no storytelling skills and a monotonous voice would be worse than an actor. EDIT: I just thought of an example when my internal voice for Flashman ruined the book to some extent because I couldn't help but hear Russell Brand narrating the story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night'sQueen Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 I'm listening to an old copy of Robert Massie's Peter the Great. The narrator sounds like the preacher from the Simpsons giving a sermon. Luckily the book is good enough to endure but it is hard work. LOL I can't believe I forgot to mention David Sedaris. I read his books before listening and listening is even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 David Sedaris has such an unusual voice. He's wonderful to listen to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Sorry for derail, but, OP, I hope you listened to Gavin Menzies as fantasy, because that's about all it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlady B Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 I have only heard The Little Prince in audiobook... and I laughed the entire time. I think it takes a lot of concentration to follow a book by audio, like, it's not that I can engage in another activity while listening to it: I pay attention to what I'm doing, or sit and listen to the book. And it takes away some of the magic of actually reading a book. I tried other audiobooks, for short stories mainly, as an extra tool while learning other languages, but certainly it's not my thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night'sQueen Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 @Ser Scot, I agree!!! I just missed a chance to see him live and I'm so bummed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night'sQueen Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Larrytheimp, let's say I took it with a grain of salt having read the criticisms beforehand. I still found some of the concepts very interesting. PhalaeNopsis, I get what you're saying. I work with my hands and some of what I do has become very routine so listening to an engaging book helps me get through that. When I really have to concentrate on something, like fire and sharp tools, I turn everything off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 PN,I usually read the book first then listen to the audiobook as I drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cry_Havoc Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Richard Poe's narration of Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian made me fall in love with the novel. My first read through was an absolute struggle, which was strange as my reading of The Road seemed so smooth. But, after hearing Poe's narration of Blood Meridian, the novel came to life for me and it's now my go-to audio book when I listened to everything else and I'm all caught up on podcasts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 I've now listened to the entire Culture series as audiobooks. I think some of the books have been recorded more than once. The Peter Kenny readings are pretty good. I originally had a recording for Excession that a coworker gave me and the recording is just about the worst professional recording I've ever heard and it reminded me of how important narrators are. If you have a professional who sounds like he's reading the book for the first time on the microphone it can really ruin the whole experience. Don't sound surprised after every sentence! Since I've been an audiobook listener for a while now, I love it when I get to see actors who I knew only for their narration on screen, like Roy Dotrice as the pyromancer in GoT Season 2, or Barbara Rosenblat (who I've listened to read a lot of mysteries) as Miss Rosa in Orange is the New Black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 I have only heard The Little Prince in audiobook... and I laughed the entire time. I think it takes a lot of concentration to follow a book by audio, like, it's not that I can engage in another activity while listening to it: I pay attention to what I'm doing, or sit and listen to the book. And it takes away some of the magic of actually reading a book. I tried other audiobooks, for short stories mainly, as an extra tool while learning other languages, but certainly it's not my thing. I don't think I've read and listened to a book yet with the exception of the Hobbit (teacher read it to us at school - she clearly had an agenda getting kids into fantasy!). A friend likes to do both with her favourite books as she says they are different experiences and you pick some aspects up more easily than the other format. I think humans are well tuned for listening to stories as that's how the vast majority of us experienced them until the last 100-200 years when literacy and access to books sky-rocketed. Richard Poe's narration of Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian made me fall in love with the novel. My first read through was an absolute struggle, which was strange as my reading of The Road seemed so smooth. But, after hearing Poe's narration of Blood Meridian, the novel came to life for me and it's now my go-to audio book when I listened to everything else and I'm all caught up on podcasts. I may have to look into this - I've had the book on the shelf for years and never quite got round to it. I'm certainly "reading" more via audiobook these days although I still prefer reading for fiction. I think my brain is primed for listening to lectures so I'm loving biographies and history as audiobooks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cry_Havoc Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 I don't think I've read and listened to a book yet with the exception of the Hobbit (teacher read it to us at school - she clearly had an agenda getting kids into fantasy!). A friend likes to do both with her favourite books as she says they are different experiences and you pick some aspects up more easily than the other format.I think humans are well tuned for listening to stories as that's how the vast majority of us experienced them until the last 100-200 years when literacy and access to books sky-rocketed. I may have to look into this - I've had the book on the shelf for years and never quite got round to it. I'm certainly "reading" more via audiobook these days although I still prefer reading for fiction. I think my brain is primed for listening to lectures so I'm loving biographies and history as audiobooks.I started the novel several times before I finally finished it. I assure you it's worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night'sQueen Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 Just started Wild by Cheryl Strayed read by Bernadette Dunne. Not sure yet if I like the voice. Kind of wish Amy Poehler was reading it. I'm all about her voice right now having recently listened to her book, Yes Please, and just having seen Inside Out last night. Richard Poe's narration of Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian made me fall in love with the novel. My first read through was an absolute struggle, which was strange as my reading of The Road seemed so smooth. But, after hearing Poe's narration of Blood Meridian, the novel came to life for me and it's now my go-to audio book when I listened to everything else and I'm all caught up on podcasts. ^^ This is now on my list. And I'm on wait list for Dune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Read Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I've listened to 20-30 audiobooks, and I do agree the narrator can make or break the story for me. Some I'd recommend in audio are The First Law series, The Farseer series, Gentlemen Bastard series, and quite a few others. I really enjoy the life the narrators add to the story, fueling my imagination as I listen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tower of Almond Joy Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I agree so much that a narrator can make or break a book. I just endured Reese Witherspoon narrating Go Set A Watchman. Her voice was so recognizable that it over powered the story, along with the fact that she couldn't do a man's voice at all...listening to her literally gave me a stomach ache not the story itself. My favorite narrator is an Australian woman named Caroline Lee, who narrated Liane Moriary's books (The Husband's Secret, Big Little Lies, and my favorite The Last Anniversary. No they aren't sappy girly books but mysteries.) I like to listen to Michael Connelly's novels (Harry Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer series). The narrator on one of the last ones sounded just like the Mayhem guy on the commercial. I laughed my way through quite a serious book. I listened to all the ASOIAF books. Considering that there were so many different character voices, I gave Roy Dotrice credit for that. Do I wish there had also been a female narrator - yes. I listened to them trying to catch up for Season 5. But given a choice, I prefer the books, which I do have. But after Reese Witherspoon, now any narrator will sound good..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I'm currently listening to Rothfuss' "slow regard of silent things". He's almost as good a narrator as he is storyteller! I do like it when an author is lucky enough to have this ability as it means things are delivered exactly as intended. PArticularly good when it comes to "alien" names/words as I get to know how they are supposed to sound. I guess he wouldn't have the time to do this for his main books though as it would take up far too much time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Neil Gaiman is an excellent reader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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