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So, for most of this school year, I will be spending substantial amounts of time driving all over the state of Indiana in my car. Radio generally sucks here, and besides I like a good story to keep my mind off the fact that I am, in fact, driving all over the state of Indiana.
That said, I need recommendations for good books on CD that I can play in my car while driving. I'm looking for fiction, not too expensive, and not too...heavy. If it's the sort of thing I'd have to read a couple of times through to get the complete meaning, it's probably not going to work.
posted
If you're a mystery lover, I'd say anything Dick Francis. Also, I enjoy the Mrs. Polifax series by Dorothy Gilman. You can usually check them out from your local library. There are several companies such as Recorded Books, Inc. and Books on Tape (which also has books on cd) who lease books on a 30 day period. They mail them to you and have a prepaid return package. I've used them in the past and they have reasonable prices and large catalogs. Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Also, consider joining Audible.com, they have monthly subscriptions where you can get a book or two a month for reasonable prices. You can burn them to CD or put them on an mp3 player to listen to. Great stuff.
Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Aside from a good story, I think the most important aspect of a quality audio is the reader. My preference is for a single reader.
Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series is terrific and very well read.
"Harry Potter" all the books are read by Jim Dale and I don't think that there is a better reader in the business.
Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys" is very good.
"The Five People You Meet In Heaven" is just beautiful. It is a parable and is very well written story, but the music and the cadence of the audio version magnify this work to something spectacular.
"The Virtues of War" by Steven Pressfield is terrific. It is considered historical fiction, but I read "Alexander The Great and His Time" by Agnes Savill and with very few exceptions, Pressfield's research and conclusions appear to be spot on.
Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series is very well read and is a very good story.
GRR Martin's "A Song of Fire and Ice" series is a terrific story, but the audios were done some time ago and are only available on casette, so though the reading is good, the sound quality is moderate.
Ellis's "Founding Brothers" and "His Excellency: George Washington" are non-fiction, but an absolute must listen IMO.
Posts: 2425 | Registered: Jan 2002
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You know, I almost, almost bought this last time I was in B&N. I went with Son of a Witch instead. I'm also going for stuff I haven't read yet, which means no Harry Potter, Dark Tower, or Fire and Ice.
His Excellency, George Washington sounds appealing, too.
Thanks, andi, Steve, and Lady, for the suggestions! Posts: 4077 | Registered: Jun 2003
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Ooh, one more that I loved, though it made driving difficult due to uncontrollable fits of laughter, was Ellen Degeneres's "The Funny Thing Is...". It is read by the author.
Posts: 2425 | Registered: Jan 2002
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I second LadyDove. I have Books 3 and 4 of HP and they are read beautifully. As a matter of fact, I let my mother borrow them last week.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Unless you've already exhausted it, check your local public library for audiobooks. Often the best ones are checked out, so check the catalog and place holds on ones you want.
Some other good ones =
The Prairie Home Companion "Pretty Good Joke" tapes.
Non-fiction... Stephen Ambrose, Barbara Tuchman (A Distant Mirror), and David McCullough all write very readable/listenable histories.
David Brin's The Postman.
Rob Inglis does a great narration of Lord of the Rings.
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Actually, I tried the public library first. Though they have a great selection of movies and are in all other ways completely wonderful, their selection of audio books on CD is not so hot (and it does have to be on CD; that's what I have in my car).
Lord of the Rings is right out for the same reason as Harry Potter, Fire and Ice, etc. Humor, though...I hadn't thought of humor. I'll look into "The Funny Thing Is" and the "Pretty Good Jokes" album.
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Depending on your driving, Cracker Barrell Restaurants has a rental policy. You can pick up a book at one store, listen to it while your driving, and return it to another, when you can then pick up a second book.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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