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When making my first post I mentioned a book on tape and thought I would ask others their opinion. I have found that books on tape can be great if the reader is good. And the oposite is also true a good book can be horible if the reader stinks. Of the books I've listened to The harry potter books have the best reader I've come across. The books are great but he brings an amazing richness to the characters through his reading that make them even better to listen to then I would have expected. What do you think about books on tape in general or about specific books that have been ruined or made better by a reader?
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I worked in a library, and most of the time people who borrow books on tape are blind or almost blind. But I tried myself and I find too that the quality depends much on the reader.
[ October 23, 2003, 11:07 AM: Message edited by: Anna ]
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I agree I would always prefer to have the book in hand but audio books are a nice change everynow and again, and they are a must have on long car trips.
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I listened to Ender's Shadow on tape and it was horrible. Both the abridgement and reading were bad. The reader mispronounced Bonzo!!
Seventh Son and Heartfire, on the other hand, are both very good on tape. They are abridged, but I had to look it up to make sure, so it's not a bad abridgement. And Nana Visitor (of Star Trek and Dark Angel fame) is an excellent reader.
Posts: 2149 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I just can't get into it. I know OSC has a story or two that are only available on tape, and eventually I will break down and get it, but I have never enjoyed hearing a book on tape.
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The unabridged LotR has a great reader too. Those and Harry Potter got me through two years worth of 3 hour commutes.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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We traditionally get books on tape for long family car trips. We found that everyone seems to enjoy children's or young adult books on tape. We did Hatchet, A Wrinkle in Time, and Harry Potter (which was when I fell in love for the first time...). We've also done several Clancy novels, and the readers and abridgements of those are great.
Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I love being read to, and I did hear that the Harry Potter reader was very talented! I should try those. Are they all on CD now instead of tape?
I bought the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy series on tape read by the author and it was WONDERFUL! Douglas Adams' reading makes the books a whole lot funnier, even, if you can imagine that! The only thing I didn't like about them was that in a couple of the books they did some weird processing to Marvin's voice to make it sound robotish, and it was annoying as all get out. But overall I highly recommend these. I can't even describe how hilarious and great they are! (Particularly I love that they didn't Americanize the Britishisms. The ice lollies are still ice lollies and not popsicles.) Posts: 968 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I liked the Harry Potter narrator too. I was a bit annoyed with him at first for reading every sentence a bit too dramatically (like he was reading to a 5-year-old), but got over that and enjoyed the books.
I listen to lots of audiobooks while I'm doing manual labor. Most audiobooks are decently read. A few are just awful -- there's a few I've quit listening to because the male narrator would read the women's voices in an annoyingly squeaky, uncertain tone... or the woman who read a book set in Oregon and misprounounced all the cities and rivers...
Some great ones = His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman (full cast recording, with the author doing the narration) anything narrated by Barbara Rosenblat -- the Amelia Peabody and the Vicky Bliss mysteries by Elizabeth Peters are really well done I'm listening to Ed McBain mysteries read by Jonathon Marosz right now, he's pretty good.
Have to go take bread out of the oven (cinnamon raisin macadamia, yum), more later
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I want to second dkw's recommendation of LotR -- the reader is excellent, and he even sings the songs that're included in the text!
Some other good ones = "Outlander" books by Diana Gabaldon; lots of fun Scottish accennts. "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" -- I listened to a Dove Audio version of this, one of the best I've ever heard, Tom Robbins is great to listen to.
I actually didn't like Douglas Adams's readings -- the ones I listened to, he'd read the books too fast; I've liked ones read by Simon Jones better (he was one of the "Hitchhiker's" radio voices).
Posts: 2911 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Hitchhiker's Guide... was originally written for Douglas Adams' BBCRadio show.
And while I wasn't impressed reading A Handmaids' Tale, the BBCRadio broadcast was thoroughly captivating. It seems to be one of those tales better read-out-loud by a talented voice actor who can project the "diarist" feeling.
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