You Don’t “Read” Audiobooks

[Kyle]

After many years, I’ve changed my position on this. I’ve decided that I can’t say I’ve read a book when I actually listened to an audio book. From now on I’m going to say that it was read to me.

“Oh hey, have you read the new John Grisham book? It’s amazing!”

“No! But I had someone read me his last one and I loved it!”

[Mike]

That seems like the clearest option that will do the most to smoothly facilitate conversation.

[Eliahad]

That's a cool way to say it . Just out of curiosity, does the performance of the work influence how much you appreciate the work?

[Mike]

That's a cool way to say it . Just out of curiosity, does the performance of the work influence how much you appreciate the work?

Man, I really want to say no, but how would I know for sure? I know I can tell good performance from bad and good production from bad, and I like to think that I'm smart enough to separate content from performance, but there's got to be some influence, even if it is subtle.

I know that this year, my least favorite book also had what I would consider to be the worst voice acting, but then I also had a weak voice performance from an author who read his own book, and I loved that one.

ADDENDUM: but a really great performance can add so much more, so I think I judge a work largely on just it's content, but a good voice actor can really enhance the experience. The woman who read The City We Became was absolutely brilliant. Best voice work I've ever heard.

[Stan]

For me, very much so. Some narrators are competent but nothing special. Some are amazing, with a different voice for every character and with pacing and intonation that bring out the drama and humor. I have not read a single Ann Leckie book but Adjoa Andoh has read five of them to me.

A few books get audio drama treatment, with different voice actors for every character and sound effects - many of these seem to be for BBC radio.

[Akiva]

In Russia, audiobook reads you!

[Kyle]

That's a cool way to say it . Just out of curiosity, does the performance of the work influence how much you appreciate the work?

I just had a conversation with one of my kids about this today! The answer is 100% YES. A bad narrator (someone who does opposite-gender voices poorly) can bring it down some, and a great voice actor can make it better. I don’t know that a bad narrator will make a great book bad- but it will make it just good. I often have problems when fiction authors read their own work. They’re not good at it. And I CANNOT STAND when a person does a racist accent. When the white guy narrating a book does a stereotypical Asian accent, it boils my blood.

[Mando]

That's a cool way to say it . Just out of curiosity, does the performance of the work influence how much you appreciate the work?

I just had a conversation with one of my kids about this today! The answer is 100% YES. A bad narrator (someone who does opposite-gender voices poorly) can bring it down some, and a great voice actor can make it better. I don’t know that a bad narrator will make a great book bad- but it will make it just good. I often have problems when fiction authors read their own work. They’re not good at it. And I CANNOT STAND when a person does a racist accent. When the white guy narrating a book does a stereotypical Asian accent, it boils my blood.

I listened to Fahrenheit 451 read by the author....so unpleasant. He has trouble breathing and it is way too noticeable on the audio version.

Douglas Adams is the exception to the rule. I listened to many of his works which he read. It totally made the book better.


So I say to you: "Heard any good books lately?"

[Mando]

Btw I disagree only due to the fact that I retain more and have to re-listen to it less on an audiobook than I would if I were reading it.
But that's just me.

[Kyle]

Btw I disagree only due to the fact that I retain more and have to re-listen to it less on an audiobook than I would if I were reading it.
But that's just me.

I agree with you, I'm being facetious- it is the same as reading it. But I think it's funny to tell people, "I had Stephen King read me his last short story collection. It was okay."

[Mando]

XD

[Mando]

My favorite Christmas audiobook was a book on tape by Patrick Stewart. It was him performing A Christmas Carol and he read all the parts even the bells signaling the hour!

"Guh-Doing!"

[bralbovsky]

Favorite is "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" read by Salman Rushdie.
Musical

[Mando]

now playing in my ears:

The Leviathan Chronicles

listening via Spotify

[Phoebe]

Have never heard Douglas Adams's voice and now have to resolve that.

[zen]

Late to the party on this one, but there are series that I specifically get the audio version of the book because the narrator is SO GOOD! The "Chronicles of Dorsa" by Eliza Andrews is one of them. I joined her Patreon leading up to the final book in that series partially because I'll get a free copy of the ebook and audiobook once they're released... and, for a while, she was releasing early reading chapters to her Patreon supporters... until she realized that she needed to make wholesale changes that meant massive editing of much of what had already been sent out and that the chapters going forward wouldn't necessarily make sense to the supporters until they read those edits, which she wasn't going to get to right away, so it wouldn't be good to continue posting chapters that people would read and go... "WTF is going on?" After that, I think she trashed about half of what she'd written. Ah... the writing process... what fun! She has posted some of the stuff she trashed from the previous volume. It wasn't bad? Just not where she wanted the story to go...

But the narrator for those books is BRILLIANT!

[Kyle]

By the way, if you find a narrator you like for an audiobook, try to find their website and send them a thank you email. I've had a couple who were really appreciative of it.

[zen]

The narrator for several of the Guy Gavriel Kay books that I've had read to me is also very good. He doesn't always use the same one, but his newer novels seem to have the same guy. (lowercase g...)

[Mando]

My daughter started reading books on Youtube for kids. The publisher is permitting this until Dec. 31

[Phoebe]

My new years' resolution is to have more audiobooks in my life. The idea is to replace television with them, because so much TV sucks - there is good, yes, but rarely good enough to surpass a book being read to you - and I can do so many other things with an audiobook playing. I already have the Douglas Adams on my list, and some others above - any new ones people want to recommend? Or is there a delivery method/podcast platform/company that is best for pursuing this option?

[Kyle]

I have an audible subscription, but mostly I use Libby, which is connected to my library card and I can check out books for free. I use my audible credits for books I really want (like to finish a series) that aren't on Libby.

[Mike]

I have an audible subscription, but mostly I use Libby, which is connected to my library card and I can check out books for free. I use my audible credits for books I really want (like to finish a series) that aren't on Libby.

Same.

[Phoebe]

My library has it! This is going to be good. I have been doing more complex knitting of garments and it requires looking at what you're doing, so not the greatest for TV (especially the amount of subtitled TV I watch). But books? Including the 1001 books on the "read it someday" list?! OMG. Downside: the app immediately populated with whatever google thinks of me, I guess, because what I see isn't the same as what others see on it, and it gave me a list of cookbooks and books about adults with autism. Thanks, google, don't suck, isn't that their motto? Don't be evil? Something like that. Stop sucking, google.