Can we have an Audible recommendations thread please

[thelittlebooktroll]

I have just purchased an Audible membership and would love advise on how to spend my credits wisely. I would love to find some ghost stories for bedtime reading. I understand I might have to remortgage now as its sooooo expensive

Booktroll - I've bumped an Audible book recs thread we had a little while ago. Have a browse through this. I have an Audible account and would be happy to give you a list of what I have bought with likes and dislikes

Thanks Duchess that would be great

Will come back this evening with my list. Narrators can make or break a good story. I have my favourites. Not all actors make great narrators unfortunately.

Just coming to the end of my first audible - the goldfinch by Donna tartt wonderful.
Looking for something as good next so marking place and making a recommendation

Right - here's my list

Likes first:-

Eeny Meeny by M J Arlidge
The Book of Strange New Things - Michel Faber
History of the Rain - Niall Williams
H is for Hawk - Helen Macdonald
Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler series - eight novels beginning with The Various Haunts of Men
Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (great narration by Adjoa Andoh)
Her - Harriet Lane
A Man Called Ove - Frederik Backman
The Paying Guests - Sarah Waters
Dracula (dramatised version with Alan Cummings & others) - Bram Stoker
Restoration - Rose Tremain
Merivel (sequel to Restoration) - Rose Tremain

Dislikes:-

The Buried Giant - Kazuo Ishiguro (good narration but didn't like the story)
Lancaster & York: The Wars of the Roses - Alison Weir (tedious)
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage - Haruki Murakami (great story, poor narration)

I'm an avid audio book listener and also borrow loads from the library's downloadable audiobooks on their website. Always worth checking out your library too.

And don't forget to look out for the Audible daily deals, and the two for one deals (there's one on at the moment) - where you get two books for one credit from the selected list.

I loved listening to Agatha Christie novels and short stories on Audible. Really easy to dip in and out of.

I also listened to The Woman In Black by Susan Hill because I was too much of a wuss to read the actual book

I loved The Stranger by Harlen Coben
I've listened to all the Peter Grant books by Ben Aaranovitch - I've loved those.

I'm a big fan of Robin Hobb books, but got the latest one and the narrator was just terrible and made me wish I'd read the book instead.

Girl on the Train was very good too.

The Stand by Stephen King was excellent - that was my first book on Audible and really drew me into the world of audio books.

I struggled with Wolf Hall, but to be honest I've not managed to complete written, audio or TV version of it - I guess it's just not for me.

Some other favourites that I've listened to (from the library) -

A Room With A View - E M Forster (narrated really well by Joanna David)
Mom and Me and Mom - Maya Angelou
Case Histories - Kate Atkinson (narr. Susan Jameson)
The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham
The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry
The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
Big Brother - Lionel Shriver
Lady Chatterley's Lover - D H Lawrence
Enduring Love - Ian McEwan
The Light Between Oceans - M L Stedman
Gentlemen and Players - Joanne Harris
Brighton Rock - Graham Greene
One Night in Winter - Simon Sebag Montefiore
Brooklyn - Colm Toibin
The Clothes They Stood Up In - Alan Bennett
My Cousin Rachel - Daphne Du Maurier
1984 - George Orwell
The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett
A Cupboard Full of Coats - Yvvette Edwards

Not really in your remit, but Tina Feys autobiography (narrated by her) is AWESOME.

Fantastic adding lots to my wish list. Listening to Jamaica inn by Daphne Du Maurier at the moment. She is one of my favourite authors but the narrator does a really bad Mary. Sounds like one of those ladieeeeez in Little Britain

I'm an audible fan too! I listen while I cook, clean and sometimes with one earphone in whilst with the kids

I've just finished The Secret History by Donna Tartt, I loved it and I adored her voice in it, others I know haven't!

Before that I listened to What Alice Forgot (it was cheap) and Girl on a Train, enjoyed them both !

Listened to the Bone Clocks but couldn't get into it so gave up , and just about to start Americanah...

Sign up to the Daily Deals and check the shop each day for bargains!

Got the deal on the Nikki French book this morning. Finally a half decent book in Daily Deals.

I like to listen to really long books with lots of sequels. I prefer to read shorter books. I have no idea why. Anyway, I enjoyed the Clan of the Cavebear books, Game of Thrones and the Outlander series. It really depends on what type of books you like to read normally though, as there is pretty much anything available. The narrator is really important though. I've chosen books based on the narrator alone, and had to stop listening to others to prevent apoplexy at the awfulness.

I love Audible, relatively newly converted but have really enjoyed, amongst others:

Treasure Island
Just What Kind of Mother Are You
Perfume
Alys, Always
Six Degrees of Assassination
How Did All This Happen (John Bishop)
Love, Nina (Brilliant)
The Chaperone (Brilliant)
Life and Laughing (Embarrassed myself whilst out walking the dog....)
The Way We Live Now (sublime Timothy West)
Serrailler Series (thanks to Duchess for that lot - so good)
Americanah
Any Human Heart (Fabulous)
Waiting for Sunrise
Irene (Gruesome but addictive)
Alex (part two of Irene, more of the same).

You can listen to a small sample of the narrator's voice on the audible website. Can give you a bit of a steer as to how the book will go. Some narrators seem to be like (or in fact are?) robots. The amount of choice on audible has massively increased in the few years I've been a member, with classics often having various versions. Make sure you spot whether the purchase you choose is unabridged, abridged or dramatised.

As I've mentioned elsewhere on this site, my favourite so far has been Peter (Spooks) Firth reading The Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker. I also enjoy easy listening to Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh ( can you do some more, please Benedict Cummerbatch?) I find them great for boring long drives, train journeys, dog walks and tedious house work.

Don't forget you can return ones you don't like which I've done successfully on several occasions.

You are so right Tobee. I have just listened to the samples in my wish list and deleted a few with narrators I don't think I will warm to.

Love audible, I really don't think I've had any that I didn't enjoy. Top of the list though must be:

11.22.63
Americanah
Fault in our Stars
Any human heart
Rebecca
My Cousin Rachel
Grapes of Wrath (don't think I would ever have read this but loved listening to it)
The Night Watch
Fingersmith
Code name Verity
The Martian
Good Omens

Great timing for me - am due a credit tomorrow and just finished Girl on the Train this afternoon - which I enjoyed but wanted to speed up in last quarter.

I find that I tend to listen to crime/thriller/funny books more readily than contemporary fiction. Maybe because I can get interrupted a lot and it doesn't bother me as much with certain books. Some of my favourites so far:

Bill Bryson Collector's Edition - this was read by Bill Bryson and he has a very sweet way of reading, sometimes he laughs a little at what he's reading and it's very endearing.
Bossypants - Tina Fey
The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd
Dark Matter - Michelle Paver
The Book Thiek - Marcus Zusak.

Another Audible addict here. I've enjoyed the Serrallier series (sp?) too, and I've just finished working through some newish PD James recording of all the Adam Dalgliesh books. I loved the Goldfinch too, and the Robert Galbraith/JK Rowling books. I'm on the hunt for some new crime fiction, though I've also just downloaded the Dirk Gently/Douglas Adams books from my library - wish our library had a bigger range or varied it.
Also enjoyed:
Apple Tree Yard read by Juliet Stevenson
Lots of Michael Connelly books
The Lawrence Block burglar books
Capital read by Colin Mace
The Casual Vacancy read by Tom Hollander (he should do more)
Ellie Hatcher books by Alafair Burke
Series by Elizabeth Corley read by Jonathan Oliver
Running like a girl read by Alexandra Heminsley
And lots of Sherlock Holmes and Poirot

Which explains why I spend so much on my Audible account - best not let DH know ...

Just bought the little friend by Donna Tartt it's 3.47 today!

spinningheart - crime/thriller/funny for me too in the main for audiobooks. Long descriptive passages on the audio generally are tricky for me, though I have managed a few longish classics. But I've had to work at it a bit (with great results though).

Currently listening to:

Cosmic with the children which is bleedin' brilliant
and

Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which is totally out of my normal comfort zone and is rude (!) but also touching and funny. It must have been on a special deal as I wouldn't have used a full credit on it. Can't remember, but enjoying it so glad it has ended up in my App.

EAT mum - if you like Tom Hollander, you absolutely must look up his recent radio play on iPlayer "Far Side of the Moon". He is absolutely brilliant as Patrick Moore, I was blown away. I love him anyway but that just sealed it for me! Not listened to an audio book by him, but would definitely look out for one.

Sorry, Far Side of the Moore, not Moon!

Oh thanks Anonymous- I'll look out for it. He has a great voice for audio books - compelling without distracting from the story.

These reviews are great. Perhaps there should be an audible topic where we could post audible reviews as it's different from reviewing books as the narrator is so important.

I spent my first two credits on books I know and love - Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier and Wuthering Heights by E Bronte.

Jamaica Inn was well read by Tony Britton but I didn't like the way he read the female voices. Actually didn't like the way he did any of the voices so probably wouldn't recommend.

Loved Wuthering Heights read by Juliet Stevenson. Beautifully narrated!!

Also downloaded a few Agatha Christie dramatisations and Brideshead Revisited. I am going to end up spending a fortune on audible.