AUDIOBOOKS
I’ve listened to what were once called “books on tape” for some time. As a lawyer, my clients are scattered across the state of Florida, and so I’ve spent a lot of time in the car by myself. I’ve found, like many others, that a good audio book will make the trip go faster, and that it’s also a good opportunity to “read” books I haven’t been able to get to. A few observations:
· After considerable trial and error, I’ve found that fiction audio books hold my interest more than non-fiction. I need a story to carry me along. I once attempted to listen to the audiobook of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time while driving, and don’t recommend doing that (if you want to remain alert, and alive).
· Certain types of audiobook fiction seem to work better for me than others. If the book is very literary, where the beauty of the language is the thing (and I love these type of books), it’s hard for me to appreciate the language as much if I’m hearing it rather than reading. I tend to save those to actually read.
· A good narrator (or narrators) can make or ruin an audiobook. Some listeners have their favorite narrators they follow from book to book. I don’t do that, but when it hits, it’s an entire added dimension. I thought, for example, that Charlie Thurston’s narration of Demon Copperhead and Rory Kinnear’s narration of Sweet Sorrow made the books into almost something else.
· A bad narration, on the other hand, can be horrendous. I’ll leave the names and books off here, but I listened to one such audiobook where the narrator attempted some kind of whimsical, effete voice that didn’t work at all. I saw later where the author was encouraging people not to listen to the audiobook.
· I have mixed views on authors narrating their own audiobooks. One of the things that amazes me about narrators is how they’re able to almost seamlessly change voices and voice patterns for different characters. Most authors can’t do that, or do it well, although some can. Geraldine Brooks does a great job of it in Year of Wonders.
· It’s a close call, but I think errors are more apparent to me in audiobooks than on the page. Leaving aside the recent thriller I listened to where the word “nuclear” was mispronounced throughout, I catch some voice mismatches in almost all audiobooks. I was told early on that almost all published books have typos, so I suppose there’s that, as well.
· A few other favorites:
o Seascraper, by Benjamin Wood, narrated by the author
o 11-22-63, by Stephen King, narrated by Craig Wasson
o Shark Heart, by Emily Babeck, narrated by Karissa Vacker, Shaun Taylor-Corbett and Soneela Nankani
Enjoy!