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Audio books have been my life saver this year in staying connected to books. I have officially listened to more audio books than read books this year. It's weird but I've accepted it.
I've also started to learn the complexities of audio books; what makes them great, what makes them suck. So I give you a brief audio update on the last three audio books I've digested or tried to atleast.
Here's an example of what makes an audio stink. (no offense to the great Meg Gardiner, who is a fabulous mystery writer). The story was good but the narrator was...well, terrible. Flat as can be. No emotion. Felt like she was reading a school assignment. Yes, she was delivering the words from the book but I did not feel it at all. She wasn't the character she was reading. She did not portray any emotion to her words to make me feel invested in the story and its characters. Sorry, but I did not finish this one. Got about 3 discs in.
Too bad. Guess I'll stick to reading Meg from now on.
The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Greggory
This one, on the other hand, didn't blow my mind BUT was so much better in the narrator department. I'm a huge fan of Philippa G's books, having read most of them while I was hormonal on maternity leave. :) This was my first try with the audio. This was one I had to pay attention to, just like in reading, because of all of the similar sounding character names and the historical aspects.
Delightful all around. I would be interested in giving her other novels a try.
This one was by far my favorite audio book as of late. Though it took me the entire three weeks of check out time from the library, it was worth it.
I'm a 80s gal and this was known for being chock full of 80s trivia and fun facts; from old video games, popular TV shows, number one music hits and random other tidbits of pop culture. Sheila from Book Journey is the one I have to thank. She recommended this to me, saying it was one of her favorite audio books this year. I'm not really a fantasy girl so this one surprised me. There were a few moments over half way that it got a little tedious. The explanation of the games and virtual reality got to be a bit much but overall this audio rocked!So now I'm on to either Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier or Life of Pi by Yan Martel or Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan.
Choices. Choices.
Happy Reading (or listening) and as always, thanks for stopping by!
red headed book child
3 comments:
You're so right. So many things contribute to the audio experience. I realllllllllllllllllllllly need to listen to Ready Player One. I'm saving that one for a long road trip with the hubs. I just now we're going to love it.
Several people have raved about Ready Player One. I've started it, but was interrupted and haven't gotten back to it.
I'm interested to see what you think about Rebecca. It's one of my favorite books. I've downloaded the audio, but haven't listened to it yet.
I agree that narrators make or break the audio experience. One of the best ones I've ever listened to is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein...the narrator is unbelievable! And on the flip side, I listened to Stephen King's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and disliked it mainly because I found Anne Heche's voice so annoying.
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