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Original poster

Help me find a non depressing audiobook please.

65 replies

Iwontlethtesungodownonme · 14/09/2024 07:29

I have started to really enjoy listening to audiobooks on my walk to work but I’m struggling to find new ones. The narrator is a really big issue for me. If I don’t like the voice I can’t buy the book.
I love listening to Stephen Fry reading the Harry Potter’s as an example.

I have recently gone back to the Shardlake series and have enjoyed them all over again and at the moment am sort of enjoying The Wrong Sister but these books are quite relentlessly miserable. Nothing good ever happens to the main characters. I am quite low at the moment and need something a little less depressing I think.

Any ideas?

OP posts:
ThursdayLastWeek · 14/09/2024 18:48

Songlines · 14/09/2024 10:43

I love this thread, thank you. I've got 5 Audible credits and I'm going to use a couple today to try some of these recommendations. (Plus the latest Jodi Taylor, which came out on Thursday)

I’m trying very hard not to race through this too quickly today!
much better than the latest Time Police offering IMO

dulciede · 14/09/2024 17:49

On my long commute I started with older comedy like Jeeves and Wooster, and now I'm onto well written but light and comedic contemporary women's fiction comedy such as Marian Keyes, Jodie Taylor, Claire McCauley. I've got a Lucy Score to try next.

Original poster
Iwontlethtesungodownonme · 14/09/2024 17:22

Well, this afternoon has not gone according to plan and I don’t have time to myself this evening but I am determined to spend time tomorrow going through all these suggestions. Thank you so much.

OP posts:
oakleaffy · 14/09/2024 14:07

Isthiscorrect · 14/09/2024 08:51

Always listen to the sample if you can. Sadly some books are now voiced by AI which is absolutely dreadful. I'm surprised authors allow it.

AI is always noticeable and has strange pacing and mispronunciation
It’s awful
Sadly many Librivox recordings are bad as well.

There is a reason why good narrators are paid.
It’s a skill to read aloud well.

Sticky mouth sounds and slow delivery is irritating to listen to.

Rumpole of Bailey recordings I love ( on you tube - Robert Powell reading MR James was find appealing, too.

BananaSpanner · 14/09/2024 14:00

I loved the Hawthorne series by Anthony Horowitz, I think the first one is The Word is Murder. Despite the murder theme it’s lighthearted.

I’m listening to Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh at the moment if you like a US legal/psychological murder mystery type thing.

BrakesOn · 14/09/2024 13:52

Matt Haig's 'Midnight Library' is great on audiobook.

The Northern Lights series by Philip Pullman is read beautifully, I really enjoyed those although I'd say they were absorbing rather than uplifting!

Taking some of these recommendations to download too!

BestIsWest · 14/09/2024 11:38

I’m loving *A Voyage Around the Queen - Craig Brown *read by Harriet Walter. It’s quite amusing.

rockstarshoes · 14/09/2024 11:31

I really enjoyed the Thursday Murder Club books, quite gentle & funny with excellent narration.

drspouse · 14/09/2024 10:45

I'm listening to the Bridgerton series. Not one for in the car with kids though!
Have also enjoyed Cormoran Strike narrated by Robert Glenister but a lot of blood and gore!

Songlines · 14/09/2024 10:43

I love this thread, thank you. I've got 5 Audible credits and I'm going to use a couple today to try some of these recommendations. (Plus the latest Jodi Taylor, which came out on Thursday)

CurlewKate · 14/09/2024 10:34

Oh, and if you want a series that's absorbing but not heavy, Elly Griffiths' Norfolk mysteries are brilliant.

Goldenphoenix · 14/09/2024 10:31

The Rivers of London series is one of my all time favourites in audio book format. It's read by a brilliant narrator and is about a magical branch of the London police, the books are engaging and funny. I love them.

I also return to the Harry Potter series over and over again, Stephen Fry is such a great narrator.

Notgoodatpoetrybutgreatatlit · 14/09/2024 10:15

Also I loved Sherlock Holmes read by Dereck Jacobi honestly he is brilliant. He makes the relationship between Holmes and Watson very believable.
And there are the odd occasions when he clearly struggles to take some of the more ludicrous situations seriously which is just charming.
I'm off to listen to Arthur Lowes version of Diary of a Nobody.

JollyHostess101 · 14/09/2024 09:55

I’ve recently loved How to Stop Time by Matt Haig and all of the Thursday Murder Club on audible!!

MontyDonsBlueScarf · 14/09/2024 09:50

The Wolf Hall trilogy read by Ben Miles. Not my normal sort of audiobook but utterly compelling.

WispasAreNicerThanFlakes · 14/09/2024 09:42

The Harry Potter series is my go to when I need an audio comfort blanket.

I’m listening to Terry Pratchet’s equal rites today and I love it. There are new productions of many of the books and they’ve been excellent so far.

The stranger times series has made me laugh a lot too.

ItsFineReally · 14/09/2024 09:38

+1 for Project Hail Mary

Completely absorbing and the narrator is excellent.

saltysandysea · 14/09/2024 09:35

Jeremy Clarkson & Diddly Squat. A year on the form - appreciate he is a bit marmite.

anythinginapinch · 14/09/2024 09:21

Well obviously Martin Jarvis reading Just William, if we're talking about"uplifting" books!

Agree with CurlewKate aboit T West and Trollope - absolutely perfect. Also no surprise but T West's son, Sam West, is also a sublime reader. Maybe try the Mary Wesley series by him?

BettyBardMacDonald · 14/09/2024 09:17

There's an anthology series of golden era detective stories called "Bodies from the Library " voiced by Philip Bretherton (Alistar from As Time Goes By.)

He's an astonishingly good narrator and the stories are well chosen. Very soothing voice.

The Christie novels narrated by Hugh Fraser also soothing.

Also check out the Perveen Mistry mystery series by Sujata Massey. She's a lawyer/sleuth in 1920s India. Beautifully narrated esp the woman who does books 2-4. Read them in order so you get the characters' full backstory.

Songlines · 14/09/2024 09:16

ThursdayLastWeek · 14/09/2024 09:03

The Chronicles of St Mary’s and associated books from the same universe. Zara Ramm is brilliant.

One of my favourite narrators in David Thorpe - he’s prolific luckily!
He narrates a lot of historical stuff (Susanna Gregory) and fantasy stuff (Adrian Tchaikovsky).

A book I enjoyed recently is The Mars House by Natasha Pulley

The Chronicles of St Mary's (plus the Time Police books) narrated by Zara Ramm are brilliant. They are my go to listens in all sorts of situations. You can often get the short stories included in your Audible subscription, if you have one

NowyouhaveDunnett · 14/09/2024 09:12

Notgoodatpoetrybutgreatatlit · 14/09/2024 08:56

Diary of a Nobody By George and Weedon Grossmith, read by Martin Jarvis. Written in 1890 something. It is so funny and so relevant , the main character experiences so many annoying everyday incidents just as we all do. The problems he has with tradespeople are so so typical.
Whilst listening to it on the tube I kept laughing out loud which is obviously a massive breach of social etiquette but I couldn't help it. I loved it so much I even talked to primary kids about it who were visiting our secondary school for taster day.
I doubt it made much sense to them.

One of my favourite books of all time! BBC sounds has it read by Arthur Lowe and oh the pathos!

Original poster
Iwontlethtesungodownonme · 14/09/2024 09:10

Oh, you brilliant lot. Thank you so much. Am going to spend a lazy afternoon going through all these.

OP posts:
Flavabobble · 14/09/2024 09:06

NowyouhaveDunnett · 14/09/2024 08:22

Project Hail Mary is a fabulous audiobook

This is the one I always want to recommend!

PoshTosh · 14/09/2024 09:05

Elinor Oliphant is completely fine

the Rosie project

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