My joy of audiobooks
Sometimes hearing a novel can be better than reading it…
I fell in love with audiobooks a few years ago when I lived up in Haverhill, MA and spent a lot of time driving. Moby Dick was the epic I listened to, and, since I only listened in the car, it took a looooong time.
Now, you can listen to audiobooks via your phone (or other device) via Audible or Hoopla or Libby or… whatever, it’s much more convenient. (BTW, did you know that Spotify has audiobooks? If you’re a premium listener, you can listen for “free”)
Aside from the whole eye/ears thing, and the narrator question, the primary difference between listening and reading is that you can’t effectively skim an audiobook. Sure, these days you can set it to play back faster, but when you listen to an audiobook, you hear every single word the author wrote.
When the author is good, that means you enjoy every single word. When the author isn’t? You drift a bit.
For Moby Dick this meant that I heard every word of Melville’s description of flensing the whale. It was gruesome. But not boring.
Other favorites…
Stephen King reading his story The Body. This is the “novella” that the movie Stand by Me is based on. The book is better than the movie, and the audiobook has one scene that is so funny, I had to pull over I was laughing so hard. I listened to a lot of the Dark Tower Series. King narrated the first few himself. Unfortunately, I can’t remember which book I stopped at, and I’m not starting over…
The entire Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. My wife hates Holdbrook-Smith’s voice, but I am in awe of this man’s ability to give every character — even the ones who only have one or two lines — a completely different voice and accent. I’ve never read the books. Don’t want to. I’ve listened to this series several times.
The Harry Potter series narrated by J.K. Rowling, and narrated by Jim Dale. Totally amazing. Not only are the voices phenomenal, having to hear every word made me appreciate the quality of the writing. It was a COVID project. Not a burden.
Almost anything narrated by Kate Reading. I think the first I heard was Jim Butcher’s Furies of Calderon series. Something so compassionate about her voice. The Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas is particularly good.
Fanboy at the Audies
Several years ago, my audiobook Loki Ragnarok was a nominated finalist for an Audie Audiobook Award for Original Work. Before the awards ceremony, I was wallflowering about when I heard a voice I recognized. Yes, it was Kate Reading. I introduced myself and gushed something or another.
This year, I had the honor of working with her on the audiobook for my novel The Council of Wise Women. More about that in another email.
Tell me what audiobooks you enjoy. Any you suggest avoiding?
– Mark
Click the picture to go to the audiobook!
