Brilliant Audio Books

[Wavingnotdowning]

Please tell me your best audio books - I am looking for inspiration.

I have just finished Anthony Horowitz Hawthorne series, they were brilliant and now I need something new to keep me entertained.

Thanks

Bob Mortimer’s autobiography read by Bob himself. Honestly, it’s just such a well written and thoughtful book. And so funny, despite describing sad times too.

Thank you ChunkyPanda - that would be brilliant as I have just recently read The Satsuma Complex, which was excellent. Have you read that one? Definitely going on the list xx

Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St Mary’s, read by Zara Ramm. There’s 14 of them, plus as many short stories of varying length, so enough to keep you going for a while.

I listened to With Love as Always, Mum xxx by Mae West.

It was very captivating if you're interested in crime. Thoroughly recommend it!

I'm not usually one for horror but World War Z by Max Brooks is a really, really good zombie book with some amazing cast members in the Audible recording.

@HowardTJMoon I've tried WWZ before on audiobook and couldn't get into it. Love the film though. Maybe I'll give it another try.

These all sound really good - Thanks

The only similarity between the film and the book is the title and that they've both got zombies. Other than that they've got nothing in common. It's a shame, really, as the structure of the book would lend itself very well to a TV series.

I have said exactly this many times! Book great and perfect for Netflix series, an episode for each viewpoint. The film was totally different 🤬

If you haven't read them, the Thursday murder club series is really entertaining by audio book and really nicely narrated.
Taylor Jenkins Reid books are great as audiobooks as they are often in interview form and hard to follow on paper I find.

The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch and narrated by Kobna Holdbrook Smith

Marking space for ideas. Thanks !

I'm enjoying Tom Lake by Ann Patchett at the moment on audi

As above rivers of London is fab, but in terms of a book which benefits from being read I absolutely loved project Hail Mary. It added so much to the characterisation

I really thought Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton was brilliant as an audiobook read by Gemma Whelan.

My favourite books are by Robin Hobb. They are fantasy books. Think there are 16 books in total.

Thursday Murder Club series are good with relatable humour.

DCI Ryan books by L J Ross another good series.

Ruth Galway series by Elly Griffiths. Although there are a few books where they switched the narrator. They were hard going.

I didn’t finish the first Rivers of London book, couldn’t get into it. Not really a fan of urban fantasy. The Robin Hobb series have been crippled by a narrator who reads them with the most ridiculous pompous fake British accent, as though this is somehow the way a fantasy character ought to sound. Completely ruined Fitz for me, switched it off after an hour (although the books themselves are among my favourite books of all time.) WWZ - brilliant as an audio book, although it could have helped that I was listening to it in early 2020 as Covid broke out against a backdrop of Iran making threats against the rest of the world.

I’m currently listening to Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. The narrator is fabulous. I enjoyed reading the book years ago, but the narrator has given the characters real life and soul.

Another fantasy series I really enjoyed (and will keep you going for hours and hours!) was the Empire series by Janny Worts and Raymond E. Feist. Brilliant female fantasy lead and political intrigue. I tried listening to other Raymond E Feist audio books but they were quite derivative, I concluded that Janny is the one who knows how to write a strong female character.

Non-fiction - I loved Caitlin Moran’s How to Be a Woman and Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

Another book that was very good for having been read to you was The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared.

A few that I have relistened to several times as I enjoyed them so much:-

Simon Vance reading various Jennings books. (I found them so much funnier than reading the books directly)
Thursday Murder Club
The Mists of Avalon - an old book, but I found it very dense to read on paper. Fascinating to listen to and I notice new things every time.
Wallander series

This is the age old problem of watching a film or tv adaptation after you've read the book. I daresay that if I watched WWZ after reading/listening to the book I'd probably hate it. But because I've not read the book I like the film.

I noticed Sky have got an adaptation of The Day Of The Jackal coming up. No doubt I'll hate that as they'll have brought it up to date.

Another vote for Thursday Murder Club.

Also “Where the crawdads sing” is excellent on audible.

Best ever though is Alan Partridge’s podcasts on audible. Beyond brilliant.

I loved the Hawthorn series too so will recommend another couple of Anthony Horiwitz audio books - House of Silk and Moriaty.

Very well written and great readers.

Damn! Spotted a typo and can't edit on my phone.
Anthony Horowitz

Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear

Josephine Tey series by Nicola Upson

Ruth Galloway series; The Brighton Mysteries; The Stranger Diaries series, all by Ellie Griffiths

Another vote for the Thursday Murder Club series to as I find listening to them much better than reading the books.

Also as mentioned by PPs The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch read by the wonderful Kobna Holdbrook Smith.

Tend to borrow from my local library via BorrowBox or Libby if possible.

I've only been listening to audio books for about a year. My stand out book was The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. Absolutely brilliant.

I listen to a lot of audiobooks. My favourites are...

The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
The Ghost by Robert Harris
Second Sleep by Robert Harris
The Blood Doctor by Barbara Vine
All the Robert Galbraith books
Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
The End of Men by Christina Sweeney
Yellowface by R F Kuang
Birnham Wood by Eleanor Catton