Audiobook to fall asleep to

[ZaraSkyTraveler]

I watched a thriller before bed and couldn’t sleep. So I found a funny audiobook to listen to last night and take my mind off work (busy stressful time). However, the narrator kept talking loudly and woke me up.

can anyone recommend a soothing narrator reading a story that is interesting and focuses my mind but doesn’t make me jump awake?

I have tried sleep sounds and bedtime stories for adults and neither were enthralling enough to take my mind off work enough to sleep.

its maybe the holy grail - enticing enough to take my mind off things but with a soothing, quiet voice that lets me doze off if I fall asleep.

I like old favourite kids books. The Secret Garden is a good one.

The Children of Green Knowe. It's quite magical. I love the descriptions of the rain and the snow. Makes me glad to be tucked up in bed.

Anne of Green Gables read by Rachel McAdams. She reads it so well. I could listen to it on repeat for ever.

Anything that's not too complicated and is mostly happy. I don't want to drift off to sleep listening to anything sad or gruesome.

Tom's Midnight Garden is another one.

If you like non fiction, Jen Hadfield, Storm Pegs is an absolute joy. It's read by the author who is also a poet. I'm very nearly 50, work in a bookshop and said I'd never listen to an audio book. Well here I am recommending one! It's that good!

Michael Palin and Bill Bryson. It doesn’t matter if you drift off and rejoin the story, soothing narrators (although I prefer the ones not narrated by Bryson himself), non complex plots.

Voices are so important! But generally, nothing with a plot for me.

I loved Nicola Walker narrating The Peepshow, which I think I downloaded from a recommendation on here.

Windows in the willows is very soothing to listen to. There's a free one on BorrowBox that's very good although I can't remember the narrator

thats an amazing tip @Fluffywabbits! I normally listen at 1.5 as narrators speak so slowly. I will try that tonight!

Anthony Horowitz's Hawthorne series read by Rory Kinnear SHOULD be brilliant but he does a ridiculous voice for the female police officer. That one voice is so bad I can't listen to them. I've tried two and had to give up.
@EarthyMamma I would listen to the Cormoran Strike books by daylight first time as they're so good and then move them to nighttime listening.
@Mumteedum you can filter by narrator on Audible.

Try white noise.

I love the narrator Julie Teal she's very soothing

If you have Audible, I have A Christmas Carol read by Hugh Grant. It's very relaxing! And free with membership!

I like the Harry Potter books narrated by Stephen Fry. I find that the combination of his voice and the fact that I know the stories very well sends me off incredibly quickly.

I find Kazuo Ishiguro books brilliant for falling asleep to. They're unexciting, but the relationships are interesting, and the narration is always rather subdued.

I also love Michael Rosen reading his own book Many Kinds of Love. Again, a quiet voice reading something interesting yet unexciting.

Except when he reads a woman speaking and does an irritating and unnecessary falsetto

I find it’s the volume for me. I need it just low enough that I’m almost straining to hear. For me that’s volume 2 on Alexa (she’s on a shelf next to the bed). The book or podcast can be as boring or exciting, but as I get too tired I can’t strain to listen any more and drift off

I think I might be the only person who can’t get on with Stephen fry as a narrator.

Murderbot Diaries - I know the name doesn't sound promising, but the narrator is brilliant and has an incredibly soothing voice. They're also brilliant stories!

Yes. Especially when only listening to about 10 minutes per night as I fall asleep. There's loads of digressions and side-plots that were completely skipped out of the movies because apparently a 12 hour cinema trip per book isn't to everyone's tastes.

Stephen Fry reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a good one as the story is nonsense so I don’t get distracted listening to it as I might with Sherlock. It’s very soothing.

Also deep slow breathing while you listen. I count six in, six out. After a few minutes your body goes into a state of relaxation. It’s helped me no end.

Juliet Stevenson is my favourite narrator. She has read a lot of classics and I like falling asleep to a Jane Austen.

Miss Pettigrew lives for a day is also lovely and soothing, but generally it needs to be a familiar story so I'm not kept awake listening...

You’re not alone. I particularly can’t bear his Harry Potter readings.

Are these on BBC Sounds, please?

I like Stephen Fry generally as a narrator but I can't sleep to him reading HP books because there's too many voices, particularly children's voices

Totally get this! For me this sweet spot was:

• nostalgic childhood/teen favorites like the Borrowers by Mary Norton or the Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

• things like Pride and Prejudice which I've never read but have watched so vaguely know the story (I found a version read by Rosamund Pike who has a lovely mellifluous voice)

• books about archeology e.g. Pompeii by Mary Beard

Not sure that meets the brief of 'interesting and focuses the mind' especially if sleep stories aren't engaging enough for the OP 🤣

Yes but I prefer to search: Drama on 4 - episodes available now. I prefer the layout this way.

BBC Shortworks is good too even though the stories are 15 minutes.