[modhatter]

I like to "listen" to audio books when my eyes are tired or when I drive.  As well as a good story line, the person reading the book can greatly enhance or detract from the book.  I would love to find some more good ones.

My favorite to date was "The Help"  I thoroughly enjoyed that one.  I also listened to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  That was informative and good but not as entertaining as "The Help"  I do not like science fiction or horror or blood and gore.  I prefer more realism in a book, or a good court case book without the cigarette smoking gruff talking detectives running around.  I also enjoyed "The Politician" about John Edwards (looks like they'll need to make a sequel to that now)

Anyone have any recommendations?

 

[MeiLinMiranda]

Juliet Stevenson reading Jane Austen. If you don't think you like Austen, just listen to a sample. Her performances are stellar, and she brings out the humor in the writing wonderfully.

 

[drenee]

Water for Elephants; the Irish Country series by Patrick Taylor, The Street of a Thousand Blooms; Gone with the Wind.

deb

 

[Carol (was Dara)]

I don't think I've ever listened to an audio book but I did listen to some books-on-tape as a kid. 

 

[SylvieB1984]

I don't think I would be able to get into an audio book. I'm the type of person who actually needs to see the words. I would love to be able to though, could make for some good driving during longer trips.

 

[mesmered]

Richard Armitage reading Georgette Heyer's A Convenient Marriage, available at Amazon. So well read I nearly drove off the road! Had to write a post about it on my blog last year! www.mesmered.wordpress.com

 

[drenee]

I don't think I would be able to get into an audio book. I'm the type of person who actually needs to see the words. I would love to be able to though, could make for some good driving during longer trips.

I wasn't sure if I would like audiobooks either. I tried one from my library for free and I was hooked. I joined Audible and I love it. Check your library's online selection. I was able to use Overdrive (free and easy to use) and download books from home.
deb

 

[KindleChickie]

Frank McCort reading his book, Angels Ashes.

http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B002UZZ14S&qid=1306760632&sr=1-1

 

[SylvieB1984]

I wasn't sure if I would like audiobooks either. I tried one from my library for free and I was hooked. I joined Audible and I love it. Check your library's online selection. I was able to use Overdrive (free and easy to use) and download books from home.
deb

Thanks for the info Deb

 

[drenee]

You are very welcome.
deb

 

[sighdone]

Chris Barrie reading Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers is good.

Stephen Fry doing Harry Potter too.

Also, Christopher Hitchens reading his own books is a delight.

 

[JRainey]

Patrick Stewart reading A Christmas Carol is the one that immediately comes to mind. My mother listened to it non-stop in the car every Christmas when I was growing up, and she still does, and it is absolutely stellar! Of course, he performed the book as a stage show and eventually played Scrooge in a TV movie version, so it's no question that man really "gets" the book.

 

[balaspa]

I listened to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo via download to my iPod.  I loved it.  The reader of that series is excellent (and I am forgetting his name).  It made me want to listen to the next in the series instead of reading it...however, I have had trouble even listening to it.  I find the second in the series dragging a bit.

How is listening to books being read to you via Kindle, anyway?  I haven't tried that.

 

[modhatter]

Those sound like some excellent suggestions that I will check into.  I too use my library and Audible, but sometimes what I want to read is not available at the library yet and I either have to buy it or wait.  Also, not all books are not made in audio.  In that case I usually buy it for my Kindle.  Yes, like a good book, if you get your hands on a good audio book with a good speaker,  can be awesome.  I mentioned The Help because not only the story line interesting, but it had several readers all in different voices with very good authentic dialect which made it very real.  I got that one on Overdrive, but like all good books, you will have to put it on hold and wait your turn till it becomes available.

I just finished listening to a very informative and interesting book called Bittersweat Season, by Jane Gross.  It is a book about her experience and eventual research on the problems and reality of dealing with an aging parent who can no longer care for themselves.
It is a situation that I am in and coping with, and reading her experience was very helpful and humbling for me.  So anyone nearing this point in life or in the midst of, should definitely get this book.  I got it from my library.  Has very good reviews, but again only of interest to someone who finds themselves at this juncture in life.

 

[Andrea Pearson]

Yes! The best audio book I've listened to recently is Dark Matter. It's a mystery/ghost story. If it isn't your cup of tea, perhaps someone else on the thread would be interested? I really, really enjoyed it! It's by Michelle Paver, is based in Northern Europe (or thereabouts) during the 1930's, though it's a modern book. I was very impressed with her writing, descriptions, and character development, and the man who reads it has a nice voice.

Anyway. Yeah.

Also, I really enjoyed Ayn Rand's Anthem. It's not terribly long, but is a good story.

 

[Edward C. Patterson]

I highly recommend The Complete Harry Potter Series read by Jim Dale
and
the recently released The Adventures of Hucklberry Finn read by Elijah Wood (who does a bong up job on Twain).

Edward C. Patterson

 

[luvmy4brats]

Some of my favorites have been mentioned, but I'll also add The Book Thief. The narrator is fantastic.

 

[Jon Olson]

I like to "listen" to audio books when my eyes are tired or when I drive. As well as a good story line, the person reading the book can greatly enhance or detract from the book. I would love to find some more good ones.

I drive a lot, and have listened to hundreds over the years. You might try "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," by Junot Diaz. (Be aware that the digressions are footnotes. Still, it's wonderful.)