Books That May Or May Not Be Better Appreciated In Audio Format

[Kiel]

I'm currently listening to World War Z and it's pretty impressive so far. I loved the book when I read it, and picked up the audio book because it just made sense for this book. It is an oral history of the zombie war after all. Each interview is a different actor, including some pretty good ones like Henry Rollins, Mark Hamill, Rob & Carl Reiner, and Max Brooks is the narrator or interviewer.

I enjoyed WWZ as well With the different people involved

And on the other hand I can say a series to stay away from is the Dune series. They got the worst guy on earth to read for them.

 

[topher]

Memoires of a Giesha


Hated the movie, loved the unabridged audio book. Normally not the kind of material I'm into, but it was so captivating.

Also, the Wheel of Time series is a good listen. I was able to borrow and rip the series from the library.

 

[SetaSouji??]

for each book 30 cds eh?

Yeah, the books border on 800-900 pages. It's a fantastic story though, got a bit of everything. If you want to sample his storytelling before jumping into the Wheel of Time you can check out The Chronicles of Conan. Shorter yet an amazing telling of Conan tales.

 

[RabbitTroop]

I think a lot of people forget that storytelling is an oral tradition, and as such, audio books are the most pure form of the format we have (save for going to book readings). There are definitely bad audio book version of good books, but they're usually the exception and not the norm. My only gripe about audio books is that it normally takes me twice as long to get through one than it would take just to read the book. Then again, I normally listen to books while I run or when I walk the dog. I can't just sit and listen to them anymore like I did years ago. I get so distracted and miss a good half of what is being said if I do. Here are a few good books I've listened to this year:

Dan Simmons - Hyperion & the Fall of Hyperion (each are 30+ hour epics, and the first is voiced by a full cast of characters... Really excellent)

Paolo Bacigalupi - Ship Breaker

Neil Gaiman - American Gods (highly recommended as well. Excellent reading).

Carrie Ryan - The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Stephen King - On Writing

Cherie Priest - Boneshaker

 

[RabbitTroop]

Yeah, the books border on 800-900 pages. It's a fantastic story though, got a bit of everything. If you want to sample his storytelling before jumping into the Wheel of Time you can check out The Chronicles of Conan. Shorter yet an amazing telling of Conan tales.

Brandon Sanderson is continuing the Wheel of Time books... He is known for writing gigantic epics as well. It's a series I haven't gotten into, due to the size and the commitment, but I know I'll have to jump in eventually.

 

[SouthtownKid]

I think a lot of people forget that storytelling is an oral tradition, and as such, audio books are the most pure form of the format we have (save for going to book readings).

That is complete bullshit. There is more than one form of storytelling in the world, and as proud a tradition as oral storytelling has, it isn't the native format of novels. Novels are constructed specifically to be read, not heard. When listening to someone else read a novel to you, you're inescapably affected in your visualization of the material by the idiosyncrasies of the reader's tone, cadence, etc.. It's a totally different experience, and you're losing a part of the participatory nature of reading.

If you like audiobooks, cool whatever. But don't even suggest that they might be a more pure form of a novelist's novel than the actual novel itself.

 

[topher]

Brandon Sanderson is continuing the Wheel of Time books... He is known for writing gigantic epics as well. It's a series I haven't gotten into, due to the size and the commitment, but I know I'll have to jump in eventually.

I finished his WOT: The Gathering Storm, he did a great job. I even went back and read some of his other material. All has been great.

With the WOT audio, I was alternating reading and listening to get through the full series before the final books from Sanderson started rolling out.

 

[norton9478]

When listening to someone else read a novel to you, you're inescapably affected in your visualization of the material by the idiosyncrasies of the reader's tone, cadence, etc.. It's a totally different experience, and you're losing a part of the participatory nature of reading.\f.

What about books read by the author?

 

[SouthtownKid]

What about books read by the author?

Better, but even so. Dialogue written to be read is often constructed differently than that written to be performed aloud.

 

[norton9478]

Better, but even so. Dialogue written to be read is often constructed differently than that written to be performed aloud.

Guess it depends.

Douglas Adams started out writing for radio (with the narrator as an integral character), So I would guess that the construction of his books is going to be spot on.

 

[norton9478]

The worst way to listen to an audio book is with the text-to-speech on the Kindle.

I'd use it for "A Brief History of Time" since I don't have an author read copy.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Guess it depends.

Douglas Adams started out writing for radio (with the narrator as an integral character), So I would guess that the construction of his books is going to be spot on.

Lots of people write for more than one medium. What I'm talking about is that writers write differently for different mediums. Yeah, Adams is kind of a special case in that his Hitchhiker's Guide books are adapted from his radio scripts, rather than the other way around as would usually be the case. But I'm talking about stuff originally written for prose.

 

[Taiso]

For me, listening to a book on audio robs me of the desire to labor over discovering the meaning of new words I haven't come across before, or words I barely know and are nagging at me to understand them better.

When I listen to a book on audio, I'm less likely to stop 'reading' it to find the definition of a term.

In that sense, listening to an audio book is definitely a less personal experience.

And there's the voice of the author, which is subjectively interpreted whe you read it, as opposed to listening to it. There is less intimacy there.

But all of that said, listening to a book on audio still has plenty of validity as a means of enjoying the work, if you have the patience to experience it in such a fashion. Some of the people that they use to read them engage me just fine and I enjoy the work on a different level altogether while still being able to immerse myself in the events contained well enough.

 

[SouthtownKid]

Yeah, I'm not willing to give that stuff up. To me, it cheapens and lessens the experience of a book.

 

[Taiso]

I pretty much do both.

When I drive, or am sick or otherwise unable to read, I'll do the audio thing.

But when I'm able to read, I read.

A book.

Eventually, I'll catch on to the e-reader thing. In time.

But the texture and feel of turning pages and feeling that book's uneven weight in my hands as the spine creases and the mass shifts from one side to the other with each passing day, the feel of the cover and pages on my fingertips and seeing the paragraph arrangements on actual PAPER, rather than a backlit screen...these are the things that I treasure about the pasttime. I know e-readers are the wave of the present, but dammit I still like walking into bookstores, amassing piles of books and taking them home to read.

 

[Nesagwa]

Back in my day we listend to books on wax cylinders and funny papers were a nickel!

Yeah, I'm not willing to give that stuff up. To me, it cheapens and lessens the experience of a book.

I really prefer motion comics to the printed ones.

 

[SouthtownKid]

oh, no you do not.

 

[RabbitTroop]

That is complete bullshit. There is more than one form of storytelling in the world, and as proud a tradition as oral storytelling has, it isn't the native format of novels. Novels are constructed specifically to be read, not heard. When listening to someone else read a novel to you, you're inescapably affected in your visualization of the material by the idiosyncrasies of the reader's tone, cadence, etc.. It's a totally different experience, and you're losing a part of the participatory nature of reading.

If you like audiobooks, cool whatever. But don't even suggest that they might be a more pure form of a novelist's novel than the actual novel itself.

I unrespectfully disagree.

 

[SouthtownKid]

I unrespectfully disagree.

You disagree that a book originally written to BE a book, is not better in a non-native format it wasn't originally intended to be presented?

 

[Marek]

So now I'm listening to Discworld on tape.

I've heard the first two Rincewind books and most of Mort.

Terry Pratchett is definitely the best possible followup material for my Douglas Adams binge.

I fucking love this guy. Its everything I liked about Harry Potter minus all the awful shit that kept me from finishing the series.

Great stuff, really truly. Its perfectly, beautifully absurd.

edit: The character voices the reader conjures up are pretty lame by comparison to Adams. They mostly end up sounding burbly, and nasal which is fine sometimes, but 9/10 all have that effect sort of.