Audible suggestions

[Pluvia]

I've been struggling to find anything interesting and intriguing and well-read. Just returned a third book after the first hour and been given a warning.

Favourite book that I go back to is Restless by William Boyd — well-written, interesting plot line, a bit of mystery, a bit of history and very well-read. Or the Cicero trilogy by Robert Harris. I like decent quality writing. Just tried a Donna Leon but the writing is so slow and repetitive and dated.

Years of Radio 4 and BBC drama means that I just can't bear it when it's clear that the reader hasn't done any prep. The bloke reading Wolf Hall mangled so much of it: clearly hadn't pre-read the book, hadn't worked on the different voices. Would love to listen to Kate Atkinson's Brodie series, but the reader of those mispronounces names (he went through two books pronouncing one character, Niamh, as Nee-am) and is really clunky. Kate Atkinson deserved better.

So — long shot, I know — is there anyone out there as picky as me and if so have you found anything that might fit the bill?

[despondentatwork]

Loved The Help....The Midnight Library. The Martian. I'm trying to remember more...I'll come back if I do.
Lots I've hated too.

[AnuSTart]

I absolutely loved the The Luminaries. The reader was fantastic. There's one scene in the book where there are 12 characters in a room and he voices them all so well that you can differentiate easily. Fantastic stuff! It's very 'literary ' though so if that is not your bag I'd avoid.

[Pluvia]

Yes, I listened to The Luminaries when travelling around New Zealand. Stopped at Hokitika because it figured so prominently in the book! Yes, I'm looking for those books where the reader is as good as the writer. I listened to The Poisonwood Bible, a book that I'd enjoyed reading, and the reader had clearly opened the covers and set off at breakneck speed without any idea of what it was about. Worst of all, she didn't seem to notice that various sections were in the voices of different characters. I couldn't understand what was going on because she didn't distinguish between the different characters: they all had the same voice.

[echt]

I've enjoyed Julian Clary's "Briefs Encountered", also read by him. He's one of the few authors who can actually read his own writing: a lovely voice. The editor really should have picked up on the over-use of "gaze/gazing", but the dialogue is very good indeed.

I also like Michael Jayston's reading of "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "Smiley's People".

I cheat rather with Audible, picking books I already know that are read by accomplished readers. Rupert Penry-Jones is superb in the Flashman novels, capturing his shameless, lolling mendacity perfectly. Colin Mace not so good, racing along so has no steam left for the tense passages.

"Paperboy", the childhood memoir of the late Christopher Fowler is excellent and well-read.

Alan Bennett is always very good indeed and they have good value purchases in his Plays and Short Stories.

[Hairbrushhandle]

I find with any audible book I need to force myself into if for an hour or so before it clicks. I do hate American type writer narrators though. Currently listening to a Karen slaughter book that sounds like it's just text to voice software.

I agree picking the narrator over the book often works best. Loved the strike novels.

[MadEyeMoodysEye]

Some of my favourites to listen to have been The Salt Path, Where the Crawdads Sing and The Song of Achilles.

[EvenmoreDisorganised]

I've just listened to all the Jackson Brodie books on Borrowbox and only one of them had the Nee-am narrator, that was annoying but overall it didn't spoil what was otherwise an excellent set of listens.

[BMrs]

Just came here to say have you tried the Libby app? It's a free library app where you can log in with multiple library subscriptions (you can join pretty much any library online) and all ebooks are free.

I recently discovered it after paying £7/8 for every book on audible and I'm surprised more people don't know about it.

[EvenmoreDisorganised]

Yes, I have Audible as well but do worry about wasting my money on books I won't enjoy and Borrowbox is great because its free. Not as much choice as Audible but there is still a lot there.

[Hairbrushhandle]

I find Libby/borrowbox awful in comparison to audible. I've tried them again and again but just can't find what I want on there or get it delivered to the device (e.g. DDs kindle)

[EvenmoreDisorganised]

I've never tried getting them delivered to anything except my phone which works perfectly but agree the choice is more limited / often you have to wait for a loan. However its free.

[Pluvia]

Thanks for those suggestions. I tried my library's audio books range a few years ago (I was doing a lot of dog-walking and got through a lot of books) but it was dire. Several books came in a format where you had to download and listen to each chapter individually and the chapters weren't, in many cases, accurately numbered. I'll check again, and try Libby and Borrowbox, and keep my fingers crossed.

I think so much comes down to the performance of the readers. I was told by someone in the know that the best readers are actors who mark up a book like they would a play or film script. Apparently they take days to prepare, work on voices, research pronunciation and so on. Good on those who liked the Kate Atkinson Brodie reader: I don't think he did a good job.

I've tried some of the Strike books but JKR needs a good editor. She's one of those writer who's so big she can refuse to be edited, but she's always been verbose and repetitive and the Strike books have got longer and more self-indulgent as they've gone along. Audio seems to highlight the poorer areas of writing. The repetitions become really glaring and you can't skip the long-winded exposition patches as you might in a book. I like JKR in theory — always think 'Oh, that sounds promising' — but return the book after the first hour or two because I can't bear how slack the writing it.

I did say at the start that I was a fussy reader. For those on Audible, I'd recommend Timothy West's readings of Trollope. I know, you're all thinking: Trollope, so dated, so dull... I listened to 32 hours of The Way We Live Now while on a rather boring holiday the other week and it was extraordinary how relevant it was to today. Timothy West is perfect for Trollope. And they're mainly free on Audible.

[piscis]

I am listening to The Night Watch by Sarah Waters now, it is very good and the narrator amazing.

The weather woman by Sally Gardner is very good too.

[Lovetotravel123]

Demon Copperhead works really well on Audible.

[MadEyeMoodysEye]

@Lovetotravel123

Demon Copperhead works really well on Audible.

That's good to know, I was thinking of getting that one.

[Sockofthefall]

Absolutely love the ‘Rivers of London’ series by Ben Aaronovitch. However, the reader Kobna Holbrook-Smith is what really brings the books alive ( also enjoyed reading the books). Kobnas use of different voices for different characters is brilliant!!! I often re-listen when I have yet again made a poor purchase on Audible!!!

[cariadlet]

I often go for the narrator rather than the author.

Martin Jarvis is unbeatable. I've got quite a few Dickens novels narrated by him. I also have some Just Willliam short stories - good to fall asleep to because they're funny but I don't mind if I've fallen asleep and missed something.

I find Anton Lesser and Juliet Stevenson to be reliably good readers.

I have also enjoyed Moriarty (Anthony Horowitz) narrated by Julian Rhind Tutt; the Discworld novels narrated by Stephen Briggs; Every Day is Mothers Day (Hilary Mantel) narrated by Sandra Duncan; The House of Silk (Anthony Horowitz) narrated by Derek Jaco and My Sister the Serial Killer (Oyinkan Braithwaite) narrated by Weruche Opia.

[cariadlet]

If you enjoy BBC dramas (especially adaptations of books, many of these are also available on Audible.

[Pluvia]

Yes, I've just downloaded an omnibus of William Boyd novels adapted for BBC Radio 4 as dramas. Timothy West reading Trollope and Miriam Margolyes reading Dickens are free to download and are about as good as you'll get.

[Chamomileteaplease]

Great, I can get in a recommendation whilst also criticising the narrator.

Kate Quinn's The Rose Code. I am really enjoying it BUT god it annoys me when the narrator cocks things up.

Yes the narrator is mostly very good. BUT

she pronounces Coventry as Cuventry for some reason
she can't pronounce princesses, I really do not know why
she says Zee for Zed when the story is set in England so it really jars.'

Not the narrator but the writer wrote about a "four-way stop" I presume meaning a crossroads and then a parking lot. Fucking annoying when it's in England because it takes you right out of the that world and makes you think oh is the writer American? and yes she is.

Reading other posters' experiences I just don't get why the editor and whoever arranges the narration does their bloody job and makes sure it is done properly. I mean, that is their job 👿.

[Pluvia]

I've just downloaded Borrowbox but am struggling to find anything I want on the Audiobook section because there's no obvious search facility. Do you really just have to keep swiping until something you fancy comes up or is there an easier method? I've had to give up on it while I concentrate on work — which I would love to have been doing while listening to an audiobook!

[EvenmoreDisorganised]

There's a search button (magnifying glass) in the bottom RH corner of my Borrowbox app

[anythinginapinch]

OP, I absolutely agree about Timothy West and Trollope. Utter perfection. Bliss. So everything afterwards is something of a let down. A very close second is Samuel West reading absolutely anything.

I have a "notes" list of readers I like, and will choose books based on them first. Then I try the free books for new readers. Very very rarely does a good book overcome a poor reader.

My "notes" list says the following are good.

[anythinginapinch]

Highly recommend these ...

Rudyard Kipling Kim read by Sam Dastor
Jonoathan franzen The Corrections read by George Guidall
Andrew Taylor The American Boy read by Alex Jennings
Rose Tremain's Music and Silence read by Jenny Agguter
A S Byatt Possession read by Samuel West
T Hardy The Woodlanders read by Samual West
Conn igulden War of the Roses series read by Roy McMillan; and Dunstan read by geoffrey Beevers
Tolstoy Anna Kareninna read by David Horovitch
Hillary Mantel A Place of Greater Safety read by Jonathan Keeble
Wilkie Collins The Two Destinies read by Samuel West
Henry James The Spoils of Poynton read by Maureen O'Brien
Balzac Cousin Bette read by Lucy Scott
Iris Murdoch The Sea The Sea read by Richard E Grant
Hillary Mantell Beyond Black read by Anna Bentink
Bernard Corrnwell Sharpe series read by Rupert Farley
Sebastien Faulks Birdsong read by Peter firth
Jane Austen complete series read by Alison Larkin
Daphne Du Maurier The Scapegoat read by Paul Shelley
Barry Unsworth sacred Hunger read by David Rintoul
Thomas Mann Buddenbrooks read by David Rintoul

[Pluvia]

I think you can safely add Rosamund Pike to your reading list. You can tell she's put the prep in and has given thought to different voices. Restless by William Boyd (performed by Rosamund Pike) is one I play most years on a long annual journey I take in the car. You could call it a spy thriller, but it's rather more than that. I also recommend Brazzaville Beach by Boyd, also well-read.

Do authors know how poorly their work is being translated to audio? If I was Barbara Kingsolver I'd sue whoever recorded The Poisonwood Bible. And there are reviewers on there saying how well-read it is: they can't have listened to it, and if they have they have no idea what they're missing.