Lets Talk About Audiobooks

[Lunan]

i am an avid reader and listener to books
i have recently gone thru the Wheel of Time (all 12 including New Spring)

lovely books pure art of the true "high fantasy" realm

i have gone thru the fisrt 8 books of the Honor Harrington series (much better to listen then to read as i was barely able to get thru basalisk station on just reading) and i have found it wonderfully engaging since i am unable to find unabridged copies of the last 3 in ther series i will start the laborious process of reading them (with the narrators voice in my mind) though it will be a month or so before i can dedicate time to around 3000 pages (the last 3 books)

i have recently gone tru the alex deleware books by Jonathan Kellerman (how he can write such engaging books and his wifes writing makes me cringe has always seemed odd since i know faye ans jonathan work together on the outlines and even some major plot lines for thier books)
they are great thrillers very exciting

and of note Anne Mccaffrey's dragonriders of pern really come to amazing life when listened to
Anne Rices Vampires most particulary the first 4 read by Frank Muller (i wish he had never had that accident his voice was amazing)

when you LISTEN to Jeffrey archers wonderful Kane & Abel you get such an amazing perspective that you don't from the pure reading
and Robin Cook's Thrillers are trully terafing when read to you Coma and particularly Blindsight really reach in and grab you

Harry Potter - these you should Read first and the LISTEN to (i prefer Jim Dale but the British guy is pretty good too)

Dick Francis - all his books are read by Brits particular Simon Prebble and Tony Briton and i tried reading one of his books and just couldn't. Listening to them on the other hand Great entertainment

Tom Clancy - why be killed with readign his books when you can listen and trully enjoy (and understand) the incredibly linked stories he has given us

and oh so many more. What do you guys think of audio books and those that you have personally listened too, and i take recomendations i have way too many hours travelling between work school home etc

[Garibaldi's Hair]

(i prefer Jim Dale but the British guy is pretty good too)

You might find that Jim Dale is also a "British Guy".

[phazedout]

my main issues with Audiobook sis abridgment. I'm a bit of a Pratchett nut (my fnadom may even Rival my B5 fandom but I can get to PRatchett cons in the Uk rather more easily than schlepping it over to USA).
That said there are some ISIS audiobooks of pTerry's stuff in an unabridged format. These were read initially by Nigel Planer, and latterly by Steven Briggs, 'twas most good.
I'm also listening (in a related sort of theme) to a podio book called Seventh Son by Jc Hutchins. I had to (well Ok chose to) drive for 3.5 hours each way to the west of IReland this w/e and I burned the whole thing (all 26 chapters! ) onto a CDRW in mp3 format (wot my car will play) it really made the journey fly by.
So all-in-all, yes to Audio books.
Phaze
on the "beers and 2:30am bedtimes do not a happy phazey make" ID

[WorkerCaste]

I've read between 100 and 200 books with my ears over the last 4 years, and exactly one was abridged. There's one other I'm considering listening to abridged, but by and large I avoid abridged works. My commute time is a bonus anyways, so I feel absolutely no need to get through a book quickly.

Lunan, out of curiousity why do you feel you should read the Potter books (with your eyes) before reading with your ears? The Jim Dale versions are unabridged. What do you see as the difference? Granted, I always flip through the books to look at the illustrations, but I hit the audiobooks first.

When I physically pick up a book to read, I usually default to SF. Because I go through so many audiobooks due to my commute, I feel free to do a number of non-fiction, mystery and so forth. Some of my favorites include:

The Killer Angels
Washington's Crossing
Isaac's Storm
Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey and Maturin series (Master and Commander)
In a Sunbruned Country and other Bill Bryson books
Laurie King's Mary Russell series (Bee Keeper's Apprentice)

[SmileOfTheShadow]

The only time I've ever considered audiobooks is with nonfiction. A lot of nonfiction is formatted to where you can start/stop pretty easily and whenever, whereas I'd actually like to read a whole and complete story if it's fiction.

[Lunan]

You might find that Jim Dale is also a "British Guy".

the other guy whose name completly escapes me has a much more pronounced brit acent, i always figured jim dale was somewhere from the midwest states

[Lunan]

Lunan, out of curiousity why do you feel you should read the Potter books (with your eyes) before reading with your ears? The Jim Dale versions are unabridged. What do you see as the difference? Granted, I always flip through the books to look at the illustrations, but I hit the audiobooks first.

i have found that with the potter books and a few others that when i read it first then listen to it i get very diffrent things from it. heinlein and tolkien also fall in this catigory quite well, best example is read the moon is a harsh mistress then listen to it (the lloyd james reading is the one i recomend, i'm not fan of george whatever who also read it)

[Karachi Vyce]

Anne Rices Vampires most particulary the first 4 read by Frank Muller (i wish he had never had that accident his voice was amazing)

Oh god, I can't imagine. I couldn't even bring myself to read all of those dogshit books, I can't imagine struggling through the audio versions.

[Lunan]

Oh god, I can't imagine. I couldn't even bring myself to read all of those dogshit books, I can't imagine struggling through the audio versions.

i imagine that people may share your view or mine or have another entirely, but what do you think of audiobooks and why?

[WorkerCaste]

i have found that with the potter books and a few others that when i read it first then listen to it i get very diffrent things from it. heinlein and tolkien also fall in this catigory quite well, best example is read the moon is a harsh mistress then listen to it (the lloyd james reading is the one i recomend, i'm not fan of george whatever who also read it)

I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything, but can you say more about what comess across differently to you. Again, it's just curiosity. I read the first few books of the series before I listened, and the latter ones I listened before I read. I didn't really get anything different from the books per se. Of course, even when I read now I hear Jim Dale's characterizations in my head. BTW, you can find out more about Jim Dale here. Rather interesting man.

I think the George you're talking about for The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is George Wilson. Listened to him for about 15 minutes, rewound and returned the audiobook to the library.

[Lunan]

I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything, but can you say more about what comess across differently to you. Again, it's just curiosity. I read the first few books of the series before I listened, and the latter ones I listened before I read. I didn't really get anything different from the books per se. Of course, even when I read now I hear Jim Dale's characterizations in my head. BTW, you can find out more about Jim Dale here. Rather interesting man.

I think the George you're talking about for The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is George Wilson. Listened to him for about 15 minutes, rewound and returned the audiobook to the library.

thats the george indeed, on the otherhand his starship troopers was entertaining though again i like lloyd james more.

the diffrence is difficult to express exactly, its very abstract when i read lets sayorder of the phoenix i visualised certain things diffently then when i heard it, also diffrent things are emphasised when i read vs when i listen the battle in the ministry of magic for instance is much much faster in listening then reading(at least to me)

when listening to The Moon is a Harsh Mistress the great philosphy that is bedated in the hotel sceane early in the book when read i kind of go thru it when listened to i have a great debate in my head and think much deeper about it. and vice versa there are things when listened that you just go straight across but when read all of a sudden its much deeper and more meaningful to me. then again there are books that are just kind of the same each way anne mccafrey's Acorna books are an example, when listened to or read they are just great fun fluff. the foundation trilogy also has the effect of being quite diffrent when read then when listened. i'm sorry i can't articulate it better (writing has never been my strong point)
why don't ou give it a try see what you local library has that you have never listened to, then read the book first then listen (of course i assume it'll be sufficently interesting for you to pay attention to)

[Harrdy]

Regarding Terry Pratchett Audio Books I can recommend "A Hat Full of Sky", I really enjoyed that one. I haven't read the book yet, so I cannot compare how much is missing. But on its own that audio book stands out nice.
Granny Weatherwax is one of my favorite characters of PTerry, could be that I like the book for her 8-)

PeAcE

[Garibaldi's Hair]

the other guy whose name completly escapes me has a much more pronounced brit acent, i always figured jim dale was somewhere from the midwest states

Stephen Fry has certainly done some Harry Potter readings for British radio, and narrated a couple of the video games. Is it him?

He certainly has a strong "classical" British accent. It is, however, untypical of how we Brits generally speak ... which is more like Jim Dale.

[WorkerCaste]

why don't ou give it a try see what you local library has that you have never listened to, then read the book first then listen (of course i assume it'll be sufficently interesting for you to pay attention to)

Oh, I have. I have. I can think of more than a dozen without much effort, including the first 3 Potter books. Actually, about the only difference I've found favors the audiobook. If a book has long descriptive or expositional sections I tend to start skimming. Can't do that with an audio book. For me I find that the visualization aspect is the same both ways. That's one reason why I like "reading with your ears" rather than "reading with your eyes." I still think of it as reading because the mechanics are a small part of what reading means to me. That process of creating images in your mind and "seeing" the book play out, the fact that a book, even fiction, can change or inform your opinions on various things. All that stuff stays the same. On the other hand, I do realize that different parts of the brain are in use for the mechanics so I can see how there could be differences. That's why my curiousity was up. It's just something I don't expereince.

[WorkerCaste]

So, how do people listen? CD, tape, MP3? Also, how do you get you books. I do tapes for portability reasons, and I get my books through a NetFlix-like arrangement with Recorded Books.