Speaking of Audio Books: It’s All About the Narrator
For me, the traditional printed book will always be the best means of delving into a juicy romance, but audio books have come to play a significant role in my endless search for that next great book. I tend to think of audio books as my “otherwise occupied books” since they are usually reserved for those times when sitting down to read a printed book is not much of an option.
Why choose an audio book? First is the fact that an engaging audio book is the very best workout companion. I don’t think nearly as much about my straining muscles or the fact that I am out of breath while listening to a book such as Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. In fact, I often have to completely ignore my protesting body’s grumbles as I break out in bursts of laughter.
Audio books also make great driving companions and sitting in traffic is not nearly as tedious when I am savoring Phin and Sophie’s pool game in Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. And then there is the fact that I am not overly fond of housework and listening to Brandon lambast Alyson for spying on his family’s farm in Katherine Sutcliffe’s Darkling I Listen makes dust mopping a lot more entertaining.
For some audio fans, eyestrain is the primary reason for listening to, rather than reading and I must admit that sometimes my eyes just need a break. Multi-tasking isn’t always preferable either while listening to a particularly intense passage. Scenes such as those found in Diana Gabaldon’s Voyager deserve my total attention and with a narrator as delightful as Davina Porter, there are times to just relax and relish every line (and back-up and enjoy all over again).
Speaking of narrators – what audio book enthusiast doesn’t wince occasionally upon hearing that word? Narrators can literally make or break an audio book and I find myself quite astonished at times by a publisher’s choice. Just as there are vastly differing preferences when choosing a book to read, there are levels of tolerance when it comes to the narrator’s voice intonation and delivery of the written word. Such was the case recently when an audio book failed utterly for me, due, not to the book’s contents, but rather the narration. I knew Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas was told from the heroine’s perspective and I attempted to overlook what my ears perceived to be a faint lisp in the narrator’s speech patterns and even reasoned that possibly the heroine was written to speak in such a manner. Having attended speech therapy as a young child, I understand the process of overcoming a lisp and hold no prejudice whatsoever against anyone speaking thusly. But when I heard the very manly Jack Travis speak with that slight lisp, I about came off my seat. No, my heroes do not speak with a lisp! From that point on, no matter how hard I tried to remain focused on the content, I found myself listening for another slip of Jack’s tongue (yes, it was inevitable) rather than the development of this vastly entertaining story. At the half way point, I stopped in great frustration and trotted off to the bookstore to purchase the print version. In the end, it was well worth the aggravation but I had to start at page one to replant Jack’s voice in my head.
Since the audio book site I frequent offers samples of the narration, most of my audio experiences are positive. And there are those instances when I enjoy the audio book more than the printed word such as with Judith Ivory’s The Proposition. I have difficulty with the whole Pygmalion storyline, especially when the character being tutored is a male, and this one garnered no higher than a C grade when I first read it years ago. Playing Mick’s speech in my mind was not only difficult but served to emasculate his character somewhat. Determined to try again, I purchased the audio version recently and gave narrator Steven Crossley the opportunity to remake my image of Mick. His deep booming voice left no doubt that Mick was anything but the manliest of men and his interpretation of the characters greatly increased my enjoyment of the book.
Similarly, Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips was one book I was hesitating to buy due to reviews that reported the heroine, Blue, was the disagreeable sort who snapped constantly at the hero. I can’t abide cranky heroines, but I had a long drive coming up and decided I could ignore Blue’s negative talk by looking at the countryside. The depiction of Blue by superb narrator Anna Fields made me see her as a self-deprecating woman whose voice often drifted into humor and cynicism rather than the difficult character I expected. It was without a doubt a solid audio success.
Another recent audio hit for me was Naked in Death by J. D. Robb. I had not attempted to read this series because, quite simply, I am not a fan of romantic suspense. Two years ago I tried reading this one only to quickly lose interest. Assuring myself I could multi-task if I became bored again with the suspense portions, I purchased the audio book as I was curious to know more about the Roarke and Eve so many love. Well, the suspense was pretty darn good and it was much easier to hear Roarke’s Irish brogue than imagine it. Narrator Susan Ericksen gave Eve more of an attitude than I envisioned, but overall this audio version inspired me to keep reading the series – all of which are available as audio books.
Judith Ivory’s Sleeping Beauty sits firmly on my DIK shelf , so I was very pleased to find it in audio. I did listen to the audio sample and knew the hero’s tone of voice was going to be a challenge but I convinced myself I could enjoy hearing this beloved book anyway. Unfortunately, there was no way I could wrap my mind around the nasal, snobby, almost effeminate voice the narrator gave James and the not-so-enjoyable listening session was soon over.
Fortunately there are many immensely talented narrators out there who not only entertain but, especially important in romance, also distinctly differentiate male and female voices. Two of the most talented narrators I have had the pleasure to hear are Davina Porter, narrator of the Outlander series, and the greatly missed Anna Fields, who, among her many accomplishments, narrated 13 of Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ books before her unexpected death in 2006.
Each month I will return to the blog to offer my latest romance audio book recommendations (some newer – some older) and, hopefully, provide an avenue for audio book lovers to discuss their latest discoveries or reminisce about other books in their audio library – both good and bad. Among books in next month’s discussion will be Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series – talk about an excellent narrator!
As with my regular book collection, my audio library has a number of books I have yet to read – I seem to love to save for a rainy day. Among my most recent additions:
- Glory in Death by J.D. Robb. I’m hooked – I have to continue this series.
- The Touch of Fire by Linda Howard. A tough western originally published in 1992. More and more of Howard’s older books are appearing in audio format.
- Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward. I continue to follow the Black Dagger Brotherhood, although not as enthusiastically as I once did, so I am taking a trip down memory lane. I’m interested to see if a narrator can effectively portray so many voices.
One last note: Knowing where and how to purchase your audio book determines the price you pay. I rarely pay more than $11.50 regardless of the list price. In addition, there are multiple ways to listen to an audio book including your own PC if no other devices are available. So, if you haven’t tried an audio book, I encourage you to do so!
What are some of your audio book listening adventures of late – new or old – good or bad – based on narration? How do you find your audio books? What is your most recent addition to your audio library and what new releases look promising to you?
And I’ll see you next month.
-Lea Hensley
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Ali,
Welcome! Your perspective in our discussions of audio books will be most appreciated! I wanted to make sure you have seen our two other columns with discussions we have had on this blog as well.
June – Speaking of Audio Books: Male Narrators
http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=1835#more-1835
June 18th – Speaking of Audio Books: July Releases
http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=1954#more-1954
We have another audio column slated for July 7th and will continue to have audio book discussions twice a month. Hope we’ll see you there each time.
I will check out some of your favorite narrators. I am familiar with Barbara Rosenblat (great, great) and Susan Erikson and enjoy their narration.
See you again soon.
In reading the comments for this post, I realize two things. First, that I shall probably be visiting this site a lot in the future. I, in my dorky way, love to read bad reviews of things. I don’t know why. Maybe it is to break the monotonous reading of, “”oh my god this is so great the writing is so good I love love love it I read it five hundred billion times and loved it every time.”” Sometimes, I just like to read bad reviews of things, especially books I like, to see how much I agree or disagree with them. So I looked on google for the worst audiobook narrator. I thought to myself, “”If anyone says that George Guidall is a bad narrator, I shall fight to the death to defend his honourable and good name. I will go down fighting, just like the loyal fan that I am.”” Anyway, this sight was one of the first hits I found. Another thing that I realize is that the point of view that I am about to present to you is probably one that is not often presented here. I am blind, and therefore the only alternative to listening to audiobooks would be either reading a book in braille and having my fingers go numb after, oh, four hours or so, or listening to a monotone computer voice read to me, which I do not particularly have a problem with, but sometimes it gets kind of boring to hear the screenreader I am using read my books to me. However since I am an avid reader, sometime I have no choice as not everything is produced in audio. But anyway, now that I have finished with my introductory comments, for my comments about narrators. Narrators I like. I have found more female narrators that I like, rather than male. I find that female narrators don’t get as dramatic as male narrators. By dramatic, I mean shouting into the microphone, and other such annoying things. I have no issue with narrators that wish to give their characters individual voices, but please, don’t yell and distort the sound coming through the speakers. My favourite narrators, or at least some of them as I have listened to so many audiobooks that it is impossible to give a comprehensive list of narrators I like without seriously damaging the muscles of my fingers and wrists more than I already have, would probably be Susan Erikson, Jeff Woodman, George Guidall, Susanne Torren, Barbara Rosenblat, Kate Redding, and a few others that elude my mind at the moment. Now, for the worst. I can’t say that I have a lot of narrators that I avoid like the plague, but there is one that I seriously don’t like. This man, if indeed he is a man, is named Conor O’brien. He sounds like he is bored out of his mind, and is reading the book purely for the paycheck it offers. He is the most monotone person I have ever heard. In fact, a friend of mine gave him the name robot-man for that exact reason. The horrible thing is that the one book I heard narrated by this monster was a great book. It was the book Praying for sleep by Jeffrey Deaver. If I could see, I would easily take the print version any day.
A topic close to my heart. I, too, love to multitask while listening. I try to listen to authors that I can’t seem to read, those whose “”voice”” I just can’t figure out. But then I also love listening to old favorites and favored authors.
Currently I am listening to The Man from Stone Creek, Linda Lael Miller, read by Buck Schirner. This book has lots of strikes. I don’t generally like the time period, early 1900s; I don’t like the setting, wild west; I have never been able to get into her books; and finally, but most important, the narrator’s voice/reading is perfect for the hero and all other male characters, but the female version of his voice reminds me of my lovely, but decidedly geriatric, great aunts. It squeaks, it quivers, it quakes, it fades in and out and it has one pitch, one tone and rarely evokes anything but a shudder. He does young to old females, forbidding and coquettish all in the same voice.
But I am enjoying the story and since I only hate half his performance, I have not ripped it out of the player yet.
Jennifer Van Dyck is another voice I don’t really like. She did Tribute for Nora Roberts and I listened to the whole thing only because I was 114th on the list for the book at the library. At our library you can get the audio much quicker than the hardback, and I so had to “”read”” it.
I stumbled upon this and I am so glad. I will be checking back regularly.
Some of my favorites are the Kay Hooper books read by Joyce Bean and Dick Hill. I also enjoyed Nora Ephron reading “”I Feel Bad About My Neck.””
David Sedaris is on my iTouch I love him so much.
Welcome Garland B!
We will have another audio column in 2-3 weeks and it looks like you have a lot to contribute to our continued discussions. We’ll see you then.
Eureka! Lynn/AAR steered me to this site and I am happy. A big fan of AAR and an even bigger fan of audiobooks. I am at the stage that when I get home and try to read after working all day I’m asleep before I finish a chapter. With audiobooks I can listen while driving, working out, mowing the lawn or doing housework. I have been hooked for several years now, progressing from cassette tapes to CD’s to downloads (now primarily on an iPod). A long time audible.com member (i used up 24 credits from my inital membership in 4 months) I try the library but the wait is too ling when you are eager to get into the next book, especially JD Robb’s In Death series. Love the characters, love the narrator and of course the stories. I’m also a huge fan of SE Phillips and was devestated when I learned of Anna Fields untimely death. She was an excellent narrator and as all of you have weighed in the narrator can definitely make orbreak the book. One of the first that I can remember that drove that point home for me was a Robert B Parker book (Spencer for Hire) that was narrated by Bert Reynolds. I thought, this will be great…but sadly I did not get through the first tape he was so bad. Can’t remember the narrators name but Nora Roberts trilogy about the 3 Irish sisters is just great. I’m no expert when it comes to dialects and accents and am not too picky but those folks that can “”do the Irish”” make for some wonderful listening. Lea, thanks for your column/blog whatever you call this “”place”” as I will eagerly look for new entries and future columns. Happy listening all.
elainec – My sister downloads audio books to her PC and makes CDs to listen to in her car or through her home’s stereo system and now that she has purchased a Kindle, she uses it for listening as well. My daughter has progressed beyond her iPod and now listens to her audio books on her iPhone. I use an iPod almost exclusively although I still have a large “”books on tape”” collection and keep a tape player around if I want to hear one of those. Not all are available today and I dread the day that listening to them is no longer an option.
carol – I use an arm band for listening to my iPod but hadn’t considered carrying it around as you have suggested. I don’t know why not since that is often the way I carry my phone around the house!! I bet the cords for the ear phones are not as bothersome that way.
i discovered the best place for putting your ipod while listening to audios. i have tried all other places (belts, arm bands, etc.,). wear a sports bra instead of a regular bra. stuff the ipod or iphone right in the sports bra in-between your breasts. it is not visible, it is easy to get to, it does not move. i am large in the chest and if you are large too this is the ideal way to carry around your ipod-iphone while doing housework, walking, working out, etc., absolutely no one will notice. the only thing visible is that your earbuds or ear phones disappear into your clothes.
This has been a fascinating discussion topic. I love listening to audio books and have a couple hundred of them. My husband and I listen to some together, especially on long trips from MI to FL. We also have one each for when one of us is alone in the car.
Since I’m not an auditory learner, I like to read the book first. I miss things when I just hear them. Also, narrators give an interpretation to the book that may or not be to my taste.
My one and only experience with an abridged book was Evanovich’s “”One for the Money””. It just gave the facts – grisly beatings and murders. If I hadn’t already read the book and laughed raucously at some of the by-play between Stephanie and Morelli, for instance, I probably would never have read another of her books. It’s unabridged only for me.
Like MarissaB, I love narrators who can speak in different voices. Barbara Rosenblat can do women, men, children, German, Italian, etc., etc. You think there’s a whole cast of people reading the work! She is incredibly talented.
Other favorites of mine are Jenny Sterlin, George Guidall, Davina Porter, Simon Prebble (that he can read all those sex scenes of Stephanie Laurens -whoo-ee!), C.J.Critt, Anne Flosnik. Kate Reading, Rosalyn Landor, Lorelei King, and Charles Keating. We listened to all the Harry Potter’s by both Jim Dale and Stephen Fry. We liked both narrators.
I like that Audible.com now lets you hear a sample of the narration before you pay for the download. I am very glad my husband is a techie and knows how to do that and then burn Cd’s or MP3’s for us to listen to in the car or ipod. Before that I bought many directly from Recorded Books (expensive), Brilliance Audio (more affordable), or borrowed from the library (hit-or-miss, long waits).
Audio books brings another dimension to “”reading””. :-)
“”Any other male narrators who get it right?””
I listened to one recently who did very good female voice. But I can’t remember what book it was. If I figure it out, I’ll post again.
Diana – interesting question about male narrators attempting to portray female voices with a high pitch. Steven Crossley, who I mentioned above, does a good job with female characters. I think it is mostly due to the fact that he can pitch his voice so low for Mick. Phil Gigante also does a decent job with Moning’s Highlander series although I do think he changes pitch somewhat for female voices. I can’t recall being irritated (I have listened for to at least 4 books he has narrated). I think this is a great question for next month. Hopefully we can get more responses at that time.
A great reader/writer is Joshilyn Jackson reading her book Between Georgia. The author is also an actress. Great audiobook (and book).
I have enjoyed many different narrators, but I haven’t seen anyone mention Jim Dale, the narrator for the Harry Potter books. He is incredible–his ability to make every character’s voice distinct is really phenomenal. And he doesn’t sound weird when he is Hermoine!
I have also listened to several of Suzanne Brockmann’s books and I especially enjoyed Patrick Lawlor and Melanie Ewbank. Joyce Bean and Dick Hill have read a few of Linda Howard’s books and they are very well done. And finally, Susan Ericksen performing Eve Dallas and Rouke is wonderful.
But a word of warning here with a little story: the first audiobook I listened to was a Star Trek book (yes, I was a gigantic Trekkie/Trekker at the time). So I am driving down the interstate to visit my dad in the hospital, and the first time I heard the Enterprise shoot into warp, I nearly wreck my van. Yep, the sound effects were pretty good. So don’t get pulled too far into your book. You never know when you’re going to get sucked into a dying nebula or some such nonsense.
There are quite a few books mentioned here that I want to try. Ellen, I agree about Gaiman. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s so darn cute. William Hurt reading King’s Hearts in Atlantis is one I highly recommend.
Katie Mack, I have a really impressive collection of earbuds and headphones that I’ve managed to damage — usually the wiring gets pulled out somehow. Not that I’m hard on them or anything. I’ve got Sony, Bose, and Sennheiser that I need to toss out. I’ll give Phillips a try.
Since the topic here is narrators, I feel compelled to subject everyone to my usual rant. Okay, deep breath: Guys! Stop trying to “”do”” a female voice! Please! 9 times out of 10 you sound like a drag queen and I get images of Monty Python stuck in my head. They at least did it for laughs. I’m almost at the point of boycotting male narrators to save myself from having my eyes roll out top of my head. Victor Slezak and James Daniels are the only male narrators who get it right. They just read it. No simpering, no breathiness.
Any other male narrators who get it right?
Ellen, I have only heard one book narrated by the author: Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Favorites.
It is a collection of his short stories, some of them from 50 years ago. There is a little commentary before each story that explains why he wrote it. His voice is a little gravelly, but you can tell by the way he reads them that he loves these stories, and that they are probably his own favorites. There is no mistaking his eagerness to share them with us.
In one of them, where the modern day heroine sacrifices all for the sake of a Neanderthal child brought forward in time, his voice actually broke – so emotional was he. Needless to say, I cried with him.
So Neil Gaiman has a great voice? Good. I have a short story of his – A Study in Emerald – that I now look forward to listening to.
I’m a fan of audiobooks mainly because they keep me sane during work and on the car ride home. I just listened to “”An Unwilling Bride”” by Jo Beverley and that was fantastic. It’s definitely true that a narrator can make or break a story. However, I’m currently listening to “”At Last Comes Love”” by Mary Balogh, and while I don’t really care for the narrator’s voice, the story is amusing enough that I can get past it.
As far as authors reading their own books, I listened to some of Madeleine L’Engle’s books (A Wrinkle in Time, A Swiftly Tilting Planet and A Wind in the Door) and it was..interesting? I don’t particularly care for her reading voice (her lisp was somewhat distracting and she kept mispronouncing Guatemala (at least I think it was Guatelmala. I can’t remember which country it was). The way she narrated it also made me re-think what I felt about the main character, Meg. I never particularly disliked her when reading the books as a child, however, after listening to the books, Meg came across as incredibly whiny.
How about authors reading their own books? I’ve listened to a few, and found them a mixed bunch. I listened to Bag of Bones written and read by Stephen King and it was all right but nothing special. Then I listened to one of Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbar mysteries. Block read it, and while I think he is a superb writer, he is terrible at reading. I listened to Damnation Alley written and read by Andrew Klavan and he is a wonderful reader. If he decides to quit writing, he can take up narrating audiobooks.
So far Andrew Klavan and Neil Gaiman are the best writer/readers I have found.
Len Cariou reads some of Michael Connolly’s mysteries featuring Harry Bosch. He is so good that I hear his voice in my head when I read the books.
I also like Jonathan Cecil’s readings of P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster books. My next listen is Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome read by Hugh Laurie. Then I have The Graveyard Book read by Neil Gaiman (who has the most wonderful voice)!!
Diana – Phillips makes some excellent noise-canceling earbuds. I use them in the middle of the gym with about 30 treadmills going and can hear perfectly.
Megan Whelan Turner’s “”The Thief”” series is read beautifully by Jeff Woodman. I highly recommend it.
I get audio books from the library for my commute. I just finished listening to HEART SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill, with a brilliant narrator. I’m listening to DELICIOUS by Sherry Thomas now with a good narrator, but perhaps too complex a plot to listen to while driving :)
I cannot listen to Suzanne Brockman’s books. I don’t like the narrators on those.
I’m downloading DEAD AND GONE as I type this. Woo hoo! I’ll be buried under my dorky spaceman noise-canceling headphones for the next few hours.
I have some thoughts to share about narrators. Talk to you tomorrow.
Oh Kris – I thought it may have been just me on Emily Durante!
MarissaB – When I listened to Barbara Rosenblat narrate Ivory’s “”The Indiscretion”” last year, I had no idea she had won an Audie Award but her performance was outstanding. It was another case wherein I enjoyed the audio version even more than the book.
Heads up. Vision in White (the new Nora Roberts) is also narrated by Emily Durante, who is the narrator mentioned above with the very slight lisp. It has really thrown me off. I am still listening, but it is an ongoing irritant. Her charactarizations of the various voices isn’t that strong either, although since all four heroines for the series are introduced, it is a bit much for a narrator.
DJ, I think differently from you.
I prefer an audio book that is performed and not just read to me, so the different voices is mandatory. When it is well done, it can bring the book alive for you the way a straight reading just can’t. I think I have listened to Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander narrated by Davina Porter at least 10 times, and it is almost 33 hours long. I keep thinking I will fast forward to another of my favorite parts, but I have too many of them, so I end up listening to the whole book again and again.
Perhaps you should try listening to Davina Porter or Barbara Rosenblat, who has won 6 Audie Awards (more than anyone else). Like the title of this topic says, It’s All About the Narrator.
BTW, has anyone listened to Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series? It is narrated by the author and a full cast. You can pretend you are sitting in a theater with the stage blacked out, but the actors still continuing the performance. Outstanding.
I have also tried listening to Harold Lamb’s Hannibal:One Man Against Rome narrated by Charlton Griffin. Nope, I just could get past chapter 3. It wasn’t the narrator. I just couldn’t remember all the names of people and places, plus the dates. Some books are just hard listens.
Azure – I just started Lover Eternal last night and you are so right! If I had not read it 3 times (yes, I really loved the first 3 in this series), I definitely would be lost. Now I am wondering if I can just follow it and find some enjoyment since I know the story so well. This would be a total loss for someone who had not read this series.
Lea-
I’m afraid you might be a little disappointed with Lover Eternal. The narrator, Jim Frangione, pretty much does a straight reading without doing any of the voices. It’s kind of frustrating, because I occasionally lose track of who’s talking during a conversation.
Library Addict: I’m with you on Susan Erickson’s pronunciation of “”Peabody.”” Unfortunately, I’ve listened to enough of the audios that now I find myself pronouncing it “”Peabuddy”” in my head when I’m reading the books!!
I had another experience with a mispronunciation, this time listening to the audiobook of a more famous book. A while back, I purchased Redwell Audio’s version of Gone with the Wind. In the very first sentence, the narrator introduced the Tarleton twins as the “”Tar-le-tan”” twins. I couldn’t quite get over that one.
As for Welcome to Temptation, I couldn’t get through the audiobook because of the narrator, not the writing style. The narrator was just awful! Bet Me had a much better narrator.
Sandy, I’d have to agree with Lea on Crusie. I recently listened to Bet Me (one of my favorite books), and the “”he said,”” “”she said,”” “”Cal said,”” “”Min said”” really didn’t work in audio format.
I loathe audio books where the narrator takes on different voices, accents, etc. Loathe them.
MarissaB – I frequent audible.com as well and find I can usually rely on them having the latest releases and my Audible membership means lower prices.
I see so many great recommendations for audio books I have never considered and my wish list just grew quite a bit. And there are so many different thoughts within these posts that I feel certain we will have many good discussions in the future as well. I know that as an audio fan, I can’t find all that much in the way of reviews for the narration, production, etc. I hope together we can prove to be a solid source for such recommendations as well as sharing those audio books we have loved (or not).
I agree with the unabridged advice for most books although I am sure there are some abridged favorites. The abridged recordings I tried didn’t work for me since it is a much faster telling of the story and I felt cheated of the story’s full impact.