Audiobooks

Welcome to our 4th year of discussing our audiobooks. I apologize for starting so late this year. 2022 has already been quite the challenge for me. I hope everyone is doing well.

If you are listening to a book for one of the challenges feel free to include the link to the challenge.

2021: Favorite listen? Favorite narrator? Listen that you would not recommend? Anything you relistened to?

2022: What do you look forward to listening to this year or even this month? Any relistening in your plans?

Thanks for getting the thread started!

I'm listening to The Mysterious Affair at Styles, by Agatha Christie, read by Hugh Fraser. The best choice for the Poirot+Hastings stories :)

Currently listening to Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott for AuthorCAT (19th century).

And to think back to last year? I'd have to check my list... :-)

I am listening to Nachtfeuer by Hanna Caspian, the second volume of the Gut Greifenau series. It is a bit like Downton Abbey and takes place on an estate in Eastern Germany in the beginning of World War One.

Last year I did not finish any audiobook because my life was so hectic that I didn't have the concentration to listen to anything. In January this year, however, I finished Abendglanz, the first volume of the series mentioned above.

Believe it or not, last year was the first time I tried an audio book. Our book club was reading Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan which has a harmonica as a main part in the story. I read an article where the author talked about the book and she mentioned that the audio had music in places that supplemented the book. I decided to try listening to the book while I was driving and liked it a lot. I felt it really added to the book. So I guess my first audio was a success.

>5 dudes22: That sounds great. I read Echo but would consider a re-read via audio.

I'm in the last 9 or so hours of King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett which is a historical novel about Macbeth or Thorfinn. Shakespeare got most of the story wrong and this book is quite fascinating though at 40 hours is a bit of a slog.

>6 avatiakh: I have King Hereafter in print and would like to read it for Macbeth month in the ShakespeareCAT, but I'm reading The Ringed Castle and I can really read only one Dunnett a year.

>7 rabbitprincess: I loved the Lymond series and plan a reread via audio. I know what you mean about taking it slow with Dunnett, it took me several years to get through the series.

Most of my reading these days is in audiobook format because of vision issues, so I'm not going to post everything that I'm listening to here. I'll just list the stand-outs,. Lasat year, I was in a reading slump for most of the year, so did not do much listening, but two of the audios that stand out as an interesting experience were audio editions of graphic novels: Lock & Key by Joe Hill and The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. I know it's not the same as actually reading the graphic novel since the artwork is just as important to the story, but I'm glad it still gives me a chance to be able to enjoy them in some way.
Right now I am listening to something completely different, The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch, narrated by Simon Vance, for the 1001 Boosk to Read Before You Die book club that I just joined. I am thoroughly enjoying this so far.

>9 staci426: I love Simon Vance! I'm currently listening to him read David Copperfield and it is wonderful.

My 5 stars audiobooks from 2021 were:

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, narrated by Juliet Stevenson
The Man With the Golden Typewriter: Ian Fleming's James Bond Letters by Ian Fleming, narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt
A Room With a View by E. M. Forster, narrated by Rebecca Hall
Still Life by Sarah Winman, narrated by the author
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, narrated by Ray Porter
The Weirdies by Michael Buckley, narrated by Kate Winslet

Currently, I am listening to:
Bleak House by Charles Dickens, narrated by Simon Vance

I just finished I'll be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara (true crime/memoir), and started The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley.

I do like Jayne Entwhistle (sp?) as narrator, but that being said, I do still lose focus on the Flavia books sometimes. I keep thinking I'll just read the ebook instead for a change, but it never happens because I always have more print/ebooks in the queue than I have audio books, so when I am moving on to the next audio, I'd rather read something I want to get to sooner rather than later (usually for a monthly challenge), so if an audio is available, I go for that rather than just picking something to move on to another audio.

I've read a lot of audios since the beginning of the year.
January
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis by Saramago
Billy Bathgate Doctorow
The Woman in Black Hill
King Lear William Shakespeare
My Name is Red Pamuk
The History of the Siege of Lisbon Saramago
Royal Assassin Hobb
February
The Brothers K Duncan
The House by the Medlar Tree Verga
Baltasar & Blimunda Saramago
Ubik Dick
Much Ado About Nothing W.Shakespeare
The Same Sea Amos Oz
The Seven Good Years Keret

I am currently listening to, Metamorphoses by Ovid and To the End of the Land by Grossman

>1 luvamystery65: Glad to see the thread brought back for another year and; I hope the rest of 2022 brings you (and everyone!) good health and happiness!

I've been on a "British Colonialism in Central and South Asia" kick so far this year so I've been listening to a little bit more NF than I usually do! It started with a Classic Kipling book I read for another group and went on from there:

🎧 Kim (by Rudyard Kipling; narrated by Sam Dastor) - Fiction
🎧 The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia (by Peter Hopkirk; narrated by Alex Wyndham) - NF; History
🎧 The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company (by William Dalrymple; narrated by Sid Sagar) - NF; History
🎧 The Moonstone (by Wilkie Collins; narrated by: Ronald Pickup, Sean Barrett, David Timson, Jamie Parker, Jonathan Oliver, Fenella Woolgar and, Joe Marsh) - Fiction

Victorian England: The first book in this series is set in India and I re-listened to it in light of my newfound interest. The second & third books however are squarely set in London:
🎧 The Strangler Vine (Avery & Blake #1; by M.J. Carter; narrated by Alex Wyndham) - Historical Fiction; Mystery set in India
🎧 The Infidel Stain (Avery & Blake #2; by M.J. Carter; narrated by Alex Wyndham) - Historical Fiction
🎧 The Devil's Feast (Blake & Avery #3; by M.J. Carter; narrated by Alex Wyndham) - Historical Fiction

This had been in my TBL queue for years and I finally listened to it and met the MysteryKit Challenge for "Series"in January:
🎧 The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike #1; by Robert Galbraith; narrated by Robert Glenister) - Fiction; Modern Mystery

Currently listening to: Koh-i-Noor (by Anita Anand & William Dalrymple; narrated by Leighton Pugh) - NF; History

Next Up: I've got Hard Times (by Charles Dickens; narrated by Anton Lesser - another male British narrator and one of my favorites) to look forward to after Koh-i-Noor :-)

So, I've been listening to a lot of male British narrators and have developed a taste for the controlled exuberance of Alex Wyndham. Last year, I had listened to Edward III: The Perfect King (by Ian Mortimer) which I loved-- so much so that I was absolutely bored out of my mind when the audiobook company re-assigned Mortimer's works back to James Cameron Stewart and I actually returned Henry V: The Warrior King of 1415.

I finished Nachtfeuer by Hanna Caspian, the second book of the Gut Greifenau series. And I jumped straight into the third volume, Morgenröte, because I just have to know what happens!

>13 Kristelh: How did you find listening to the Shakespeare plays? I've tried listening to a few in the past, but find it a little difficult to know who's who.

>14 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I've had The Strangler Vine on my radar for a while now. Maybe I should finally get around to listening to it. Not sure if I've listeed to anything narrated by Alex Wyndham before.

>16 staci426:, I think they are difficult. You really should sit down as if at a play and try to avoid distractions, which I confess, I don’t do. Also would be helpful to have written book available as you listen. I find myself missing stuff and should probably re listen.

I finished the whole of Hard Times (by Charles Dickens; narrated by Anton Lesser) a bit early (was in my March stack). It's a satirical anti-industrialism work and the shortest Dickens novel in his oeuvre. One of the first characters we meet is Josiah Bounderby, a man who boasts of his origins in poverty. At this point, all I could think of was the absurdist sketch, "The Four Yorkshiremen" from "At Last the 1948 Show"; and from there, imagining all the characters in the novel as Monty Python comics. Anyway, from the ridiculous Mr. Bounderby to the Queen of Passive Aggressiveness, Mrs. Sparsit, they were all vividly and evocatively drawn. Anton Lesser is a master audiobook narrator-- the kind where you can't quite believe the book is being read by just one person! But he doesn't call attention to himself. You just sort of slip into Dickens' world with Lesser as your discreet audio guide.

https://youtu.be/DT1mGoLDRbc

I just finished Reality and Dreams by Muriel Spark that I wasn't able to find in print. The narrator, Jenny Sterlin, was terriblel, but I continued because it was a fairly short book. I'm sure the narrator reduced my final rating of the book.

>18 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Anton Lesser is one of my favourite audiobook narrators.

I listened to Death in Delft (Master Mercurius #1 by Graham Brack; narrated by Alex Wyndham) in a couple of days last week (short book and I was motivated). This is a historical fiction mystery set in the Netherlands in 1670. Three girls have disappeared and the Protestant Minister/Roman Catholic priest (This duality is explained in the novel) is called in to help with the inquiry. Johannes Vermeer (Master Painter) and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (Father of Microbiology) appear as a sort of police sketch artist and forensic lab technician respectively. During Audible's site-wide sale last week, I purchased this one and listened to it quickly with the idea that if I liked it, I would go ahead and get the other two titles in the series. Unfortunately, it's pretty clear up front what has happened; the personal theology professed by Mercurious is slippery at best; the research was laid in a bit artlessly and; even one of my favorite narrators managed to disappoint in being overly actorly and sounding a bit too much like Simon Vance at times (Nothing wrong with Simon Vance! But if I wanted to hear SV, I would pick up an audiobook narrated by him!) Anyway, needless to say, I did not pick up the other two titles in the series.

In The Devil's Feast (by M.J. Carter; narrated by Alex Wyndham), the story lifts a bit from Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers. (The "lift" is part of the story and fully acknowledged so it's not plagiarism). Not having read The Pickwick Papers before, I decided to get the audio (narrated by David Timson). The conceit is that a few well-meaning but naive gentlemen form an amateur social science club. They go around England collecting & recording stories. This is longer that I had anticipated at 31+ hours so I expect this will carry over into April.

How is everyone doing? I've had a bit less time to listen to books than I normally do, but I did listen to The Survivors by Jane Harper and I love Stephen Shanahan's narration of her books. I'm currently listening to The Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier. I'm listening to Good Enough by Kate Bowler, narrated by the author. It's a devotional, I'm listening to for Lent. Very short and sweet with no expectations of perfection. She has a podcast called Everything Happens that I've been listening to as well.

I have on my short list for next month, Evil Has a Name: The Untold Story of the Golden State Killer by Paul Holes, Jim Clement and narrated by them. Holes was one of the investigators on the case. The Wizard's Butler by Nathan Lowell and All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks.

I finished The Pickwick Papers (by Charles Dickens; narrated by David Timson last night! I listened to a little bit every day, and looked forward to "Wellerisms"-- the analogous quips Sam Weller comes up with (e.g., "Vich I call addin' insult to injury, as the parrot said ven they not only took him from his native land, but made him talk the English langwidge afterwards.") Some scenes/characters are absolutely charming, hilarious and/or tense, e.g. the the Christmas Party/skating sections and the aforementioned Sam Weller respectively and; everything is detailed to the extent that a very clear picture is painted in the listener's mind. That said, I also found a web-site that carries the original illustrations which is "icing on the cake!" (https://www.charlesdickenspage.com/illustrations-pickwick.html). The British audiobook narrator, did a yeoman's job on this one: delineating dozens of characters with pitch and accent. Many of the secondary characters sounded very much like the vegan contestant on the last British Bakeoff- which made me think Timson had a Yorkshire background-- but it turns out he's from Leicester. Granted less than a hundred miles away, but I just don't know enough about the regional variations to know if I'm listening to a Leicester accent or an affected Yorkshire one. Either way, the performance was engaging and entertaining; but those who find non-RP English a challenge may have trouble with this audio as well.

From 19th century England to America, I'm now listening to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (by Seth Grahame-Smith; narrated by Scott Holst). I ripped this from CDs all those years ago when these mashups were the rage; but am only getting around to it now! It's more horror than silliness than I expected and I find the audiobook narrator a bit too Midwestern-bland for my taste but I'll roll on with this one and expect to have done with it by this time next week :-)

I finished David Copperfield read by Simon Vance, which I thoroughly loved. I listened to it slowly, from January to March, and felt like I was immersed in David's world. Vance also does an excellent job of different voices. Uriah Heep was particularly annoying, just like the character.

I've just started listening to Jane Austen's Emma, read by Juliet Stevenson. Her depiction of Mr. Woodhouse is fantastic. I've read the novel a couple of times and listened to this audio at least once, so it's a re-read (re-listen?). I plan to read the annotations along the way from the gorgeous Emma: an Annotated Edition.

i just finished listening to the last 4 books in the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger; Changeless, Blaimeless, Heartless & Timeless. Emily Gray did a fabulous job with the narration. Such a fun series.

Another stand out listen was The Changeling: A Novel by Victor LaValle, narrated by the author. My experiences with books narrated by the author have usually not been so great, but this time around, was the exception. I thought LaValle did an excellent job with it.

Currently listening to The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. A little over half way though, I think.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout is up next.

>22 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Wondering if I should try Pickwick Papers in audio. I tried reading it in ebook format via Serial Reader, but I found it a tough slog. Maybe a lively audio reading would be more engaging.

****

I'm *still* listening to The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Not in an audiobook frame of mind these days, which is annoying because I have so many good ones to listen to (and a bunch of Libro.fm credits stockpiled).

>26 rabbitprincess: I deliberately doled out small sections for me to listen to each day and thought it added to the experience in mirroring the episodic nature of the book-- so I'm kinda surprised the Serial Reader format didn't work out for you. So yeah, maybe an audio performance? I've really been grooving on the Naxos Audio Editions of the Classics lately so there's that...

>27 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I think I might not have been in the right headspace for Serial Reader at all at that time. I've had a hard time with it occasionally during the pandemic for whatever reason.

I finished listening to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (by Seth Grahame-Smith; narrated by Scott Holst) this morning. This is a Historical Fiction + Fantasy Horror mashup which fills in the gaps of Lincoln's life with tall tales of vampire slaying. The core history is actually solid and the scenes of predation, whether from the vampires' or the hunters' parts, pretty gruesome; but the whole lacked cleverness or humor which would have made this alternative narrative really sparkle. As is, it's a bit heavy feeling. The audiobook narrator is from the Midwest and delivers a very sincere, if directionless, reading.

Next: Robinson Crusoe (by Daniel Defoe; narrated by Andrew Cullum)

i did a relisten of Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay, narrated by Simon Vance. The first time I listened to this, I considered it to be my least favorite of Kay's works, thinking that, since it was the only one I had listened to rather than read in print, his works did not translate well to audio format. But I now disagree with that opinion. This reread was a 5* listen for me. Not sure why it didn't work the first time around, I guess I wasn't in the right frame of mind for it. I"m planning on doing a reread of all of Kay's work in audio to see how they all hold up and finally get caught up on the rest of his works that I haven't read yet.

I finished. Robinson Crusoe (by Daniel Defoe; narrated by Anrew Cullum)) - I decided to pick this title up because it features heavily in The Moonstone (by Wilkie Collins; narrated by Ronald Pickup, Sean Barrett, David Timson, Jamie Parker, Jonathan Oliver, Fenella Woolgar and, Joe Marsh) and is mentioned a couple of times in The Pickwick Papers (by Charles Dickens; narrated by David Timson); but "Oh boy." I had been culturally brainwashed into a "Disney-fied" version of this character so I wasn't quite prepared for the reality. Written in the early 18th-century about a figure in the late 17th-century, Crusoe is definitely a man of his times... and not in a good way. As a 21st-century reader, there is a lot here that is difficult to process. As for the narrator, he is perfectly fine-- sounds a bit like John Lee at times!

I'm currently listening to The Jungle Book I & II (by Rudyard Kipling; narrated by Ralph Cosham) which I am enjoying immensely. Speaking of being "Disney-fied", the text is so much richer and gorgeous than the singing bear version, but darker too. Kipling doesn't shy away from the matter-of-factness of death. Also, there are actually only a few Mowgli stories! The rest are other anthropomorphized animal stories and, all so far hypnotic. Ralph Cosham tells the story and disappears until all you hear is the jungle. :-)

I just finished listening to The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri, one in the series featuring Inspector Montalbono. I've been trying to use my time in the car to increase my reading and trying out some smaller books so I don't run out of time.

Currently listening to Becoming by Michelle Obama.

I had two more come in at the library at the same time. Should have put one off, but missed initially that it was audio, not ebook. Ah well, hopefully I can finish all in time.

So, next up will be How We Got to Now / Steven Johnson, Becoming Mrs. Lewis / Patti Callahan.

I finished listening to The Jungle Books I & II (by Rudyard Kipling; narrated by Ralph Cosham) and waited a couple days before starting anything new. I just wanted to bask in the book’s “afterglow”: There were moments of joy, horror and heartbreak… all smoothly and elegantly told by the late Ralph Cosham.

I eventually picked up The Black Tulip (by Alexandre Dumas pére; narrated by Peter Joyce) - Set in the 17th century in Holland when tulips were hyper-inflated in value and passions ran high, one tulip grower has become the object of bitter envy from another. Very melodramatic and ably told by the British narrator, Peter Joyce. Under ten hours in length, I should finish over the weekend.

I listened to The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey yesterday on my long drive. It is read by Xe Sands, who also read Gailey's Magic for Liars that I read last year. I loved both books, even though there is some light body horror in each one. Other than that, the plots are not that similar, but they both have a similar feeling to them.

I finished listening to The Black Tulip (by Alexandre Dumas pére; narrated by Peter Joyce) early last week.
An amateur tulip grower in the Seventeenth Century unknowingly becomes the object of envy from his neighbor. There is a substantial prize for growing an absolutely black tulip and, as the innocent and clueless horticulturist makes progress, he finds himself caught up in politics and prison! I have to admit, I did not find this as much fun as I had hoped and things weren't helped by having an older gentleman audiobook narrator read the role of a much younger man. It made the romance between the prisoner and the jailer's daughter a little creepy.

I just wrapped up listening to Stephen King's The Dark Tower (Gunslinger #1; narrated by George Guidall) over the weekend.
The Gunslinger pursues The Man in Black across an Old West-style landscape… I listened to it years ago and admit I was more than a bit bemused by it; but now I marvel at the mix of fantasy, The Old West and, Horror. It's very surreal and intriguing, mesmerizing in its own way.

Now I'm listening to Different Seasons, an anthology of four novellas written by Stephen King and narrated by Frank Muller: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body and, The Breathing Method). Each story was recorded more than twenty years ago so the sound quality is not very good; but the performance quality in itself remains. I just finished listening to "The Shawshank Redemption"-- Frank Muller gives the character, "Red" a touch of a Maine accent and tells the story well; but it's hard to dislodge Morgan Freeman from the mind's eye! Also, this is one of those rare instances where the movie is better than the book... Next up is, "Apt Pupil".

I'm just finishing up a book club book: Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan.

Next up will be a reread (though I've never listened to any audio version:
Anne of Green Gables / L.M.Montgomery

I've just finished The First 15 Lives of Harry August by Claire North. I started out reading it and then switched to audio because I was finding it hard to read. Narrated by Peter Kenny, I found it more interesting the further I got into it and as the substories got longer.

I'm halfway through The Diary of River Song, Series 5, a Big Finish box set of audio dramas. Doctor Who audios are my favourite :)

I finished listening to Different Seasons, an anthology of four novellas written by Stephen King and narrated by Frank Muller: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body and, The Breathing Method. Of the four stories, only the last one, "The Breathing Method", about a pregnant woman who does Lamaze-style breathing exercises in the days before Lamaze was a thing, qualifies as a horror story (Just a sort of warning for those who automatically equate King with Horror that you may need to adjust your expectations a little bit.) "The Body", about a group of boys who head out to see a dead body out by the railroad tracks (and which is the basis for the film, "Stand by Me"), has a horrific element in it; but is more of a nostalgia piece. Apt Pupil is hero-less tale about a boy who becomes fascinated with a Nazi living under an alias in a small town in Maine. Terrible things happen and as a study of warped psyches and the monsters men can become, maybe a horror story? Psychological thriller? And finally, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" is about a man sent to prison for murdering his wife. A good story made great by the movie. Overall, I'm giving this collection 3.5 stars: Just not the best of King's writing and; the audio production quality was poor (tape hiss, booth noise, mispronunciations, bad editing). The fun thing about "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", "Apt Pupil" and "The Body" is that they are all set in the fictitious town of Castle Rock and, there are little references to other stories within. :-)

I just started The Old Curiosity Shop (by Charles Dickens; narrated by Anton Lesser). I’ve only just started so I don’t know what it’s about yet; but expecting an exposition on poverty and need for social justice somewhere along the way as well as exquisitely drawn characters that I will think of as actually have lived!

Currently listening to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. Tom Hanks is the narrator.

I just finished A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron, narrated by William Dufris. Great narration job.

>41 LibraryCin: - BB from you in 2018.

>42 dudes22: Oh nice! Glad you liked it. Now I'm curious about the narration of the audio. :-)

I've just finished listening to The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin, excellently narrated by Robin Miles. She really brought this book to life and had an authentic sounding accent for each of the main characters. The audio edition also had some interesting audio effects in the background which added to the enjoyment of the audio experience. Highly recommend this one on audio if you are interested in reading it.

I've just finished The Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser, narrated by Mary Sarah which is a YA book about a girl who can jump into books.

I've finished A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler, a historical fiction novel about Alva Vanderbilt which I was reading for my RL book club this week. The narrator was Barrie Kreinik who did an excellent job.

I finally finished The Old Curiosity Shop (by Charles Dickens; narrated by Anton Lesser)! It's a story about Nell and her grandfather who hit the road as beggars after they lose the Old Curiosity Shop and worldly possessions to the avarice of a nasty little man, Daniel Quilp. I do not know why it took me so long to drag myself through it as it has all the things I like about Dickens: characters drawn in sharp relief, melodrama, a little something to think about in terms of social awareness... And Anton Lesser was as excellent as ever, rendering characters lifelike and sympathetic. I may have just done a little too much Dickens this year? Is that a thing?

I've also listened to Murder on Nob Hill (bSarah Woolson #1; by Shirley Tallman; narrated by Anna Fields), a cozy mystery set in 1880, San Francisco. Sarah Woolson is a strong-willed and determined attorney who decides to find out who really killed her client’s husband. The author’s research was kluged in rather artlessly; the main character’s personality is so unrelentingly self-righteous as to be off-putting and; the late Anna Fields couldn’t pull off the Scottish and Chinese characters with credibility. Overall, a disappointment and an argument against continuing with the series.

I've started The Woman in White (by Wilkie Collins; narrated by Glen McCready, Rachel Bavidge and others). It's the story of the role that an escapee from an insane asylum in London plays in the domestic affairs in a Cumberland country house. The presumptive hero, Walter Hatright, a drawing instructor hired at Limmeridge House, first encounters the madwoman in the middle of the night in London and later discovers that there is a tie-in with one of his students. The structure of this is like that of The Moonstone-- a mystery whose narrative unspools though multiple POVs. Glen McCready seems a bit old to be playing the role of the lovesick drawing master; but still, an engrossing story.

>47 Tanya-dogearedcopy: I have a pretty high tolerance for some Dickens, but The Old Curiosity Shop is not one of my favorites. The only character I enjoy is Dick Swiveller; the rest is a bit tedious, except when Quilp gets his due.

Since I last posted, I've read Phobos, by Eddie Robson, a Doctor Who audio drama by Big Finish featuring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. I'm currently listening to The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America, by Thomas King, read by Lorne Cardinal.

I finished Morgenröte, the third volume of the Gut Greifenau series by Hanna Caspian. This series is divided into two trilogies, so after listening to the first three volumes one after the other, this is a good place to pause. I love the story and the characters, but I am starting to get a little tired of them.

I felt like a complete change and so I am currently listening to Inselstolz which is a collection of nonfictional texts about life on the German islands of the North Sea. They are read by prolific German actors Axel Prahl and Katharina Thalbach who possess very distinct voices, so although not all of the texts are that interesting, it is a good listening experience.

I have been listening to the Scottish Bookshop Mystery Series by Paige Shelton on You Tube.

Currently listening to They Said This Would be Fun by Eternity Martis

I'm setting aside Woman in White (by Wilkie Collins (narrated by Glen McCready, Rachel Bavidge and others) for now. I think if you've felt you've done a little too much Dickens recently, Wilkie Collins may not be the answer. After I've finished The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn (by Nathaniel Philbrick; narrated by George Guidall), I'll think about whether or not to continue. Luckily, it's not a complex plot and should be easy to pick up again if I decide to do so.

I've got another Canadian one going:
How to Pronounce Knife / Souvankham Thammavongsa

I have it from the library for only 7 days, so to get to it quickly, I set aside:
The Virgin Queen's Daughter / Ella March Chase

I've just finished listening to The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder, read by Traci Kato-Kiriyama.

I had to renew, again, The Curse of the Pharoahs by Elizabeth Peters. I only listen to it when I am in the car and do not drive much. My librarian knows me by name and I had no problem renewing.

I’m listening to The Siege of Krishnapur (by J. G. Farrell; narrated by Peter Wickham)— In this second title in the author’s Empire Trilogy (each of which covers a period of decline in the British Empire), British residents have taken refuge at the Residency at the fictional town of Krishnapur (a surrogate for Lucknow) as the Sepoys mutiny in 1857. The new-to-me narrator has an Old School British sound that I love. I should finish by the end of the week :-)

I finished The Warden and Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope, read by Simon Vance. These were re-reads for me, and I had forgotten how much I loved them. Simon Vance is my favorite narrator and he's recorded all of Trollope's Barsetshire and Palliser books, so I have a lot of wonderful listening ahead.

I finished The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn (by Nathanial Philbrick); narrated by George Guidall) but forgot to post review here! - Non-fiction title covering General George Armstrong Custer and the Hunkpapa Lakota leader, Sitting Bull against the backdrop of the Battle of Little Bighorn-- With an even-handed approach to both leaders, the author takes a new look at the iconic battle waged in Montana. Philbrick attempts to mitigate both the hagiography and the propaganda surrounding Custer & Sitting Bull respectively and; to reconstruct the motivations and movements of the battle about which there is a lot still unknown. Listening to this in audio does a disservice to the work: The lack of having corresponding maps at hand is keenly felt and; the narrator barely survives criticism in his voicing of Native American people.

I've just started listening to Truman by the late David McCullough (1992), and read by McCullough. It's an abridged version, which I don't normally read (or listen to), but given that McCullough is the narrator I'm assuming he picked out the best portions from his book for the narration. So far, so good--lots of insight into Truman's character as a young man in Missouri, including his teen-age dream of becoming a concert pianist.

>59 Tanya-dogearedcopy: That's too bad the audio was not worthwhile.

Read The Only Plane in the Sky: an oral history of 9/11. recommend. Audie award book. Oral history, nonfiction.

I just finished listening to Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson which was narrated by Catherine Taber and it was excellent.

The Siege of Krishnapur (Empire #2; by J.G. Farrell ; narrated by Peter Wickham) - I loved this historical fiction set in India in 1857. The Sepoys are in revolt and laying siege to the Residency. This is a satire about the Classism of the British Empire and creates striking and detailed moment in time in which the Empire falters. Peter Wickham has an Old School British style of narration that I gravitate towards. Titles 1 & 3 in the series are about the Irish Troubles and the British hold over Singapore (The Singapore Grip) respectively-- so each of the titles ion the trilogy reads as a stand-alone. All are about critical moments in the British Empire when it faltered...

The Storm of the Century: Tragedy, Heroism, Survival, and the Epic True Story of America's Deadliest Natural Disaster: The Great Gulf Hurricane of 1900 (by Al Roker & William Hogeland; narrated by Byron Wagner) - A mix of both expository & narrative non-fiction, the beginning chapters set up the factors that played into one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, the hurricane that pretty much wiped out Galveston, TX in 1900. Al Roker is an American weatherman who duly describes some meteorological things that went above my head sometimes, but I think that really says more about me than his accessible writing style as proven in the latter parts. The subsequent sections of the book adroitly relate the accounts of people who managed to survive the storm. The audiobook narartor was play: His cadence and sound reminded me of Bronson Pinchot; but there was a certain... je ne sais quoi missing-- So 3.50 for the book and; three for the narrator.

I listened to Fannie Flagg's book Welcome to the World, Baby Girl. I've been trying to use my time in the car this year to get into audio books more and this was a wonderful one to listen to. I even teared up a couple of times and I don't think I would have if I was just reading. There are 3 more books in this series and I may see if they're available on audio from the library.

I picked up The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett which has been on a "want to read" list for a while. I thought this might be an appropriate time to listen to it. Read by the author.

I listened to News of the World and Simon the Fiddler-- both written by Paulette Jiles & narrated by Grover Gardner:

News of the World is the story of Captain Kydd, a Civil War/Confederate veteran who goes from town to town in Texas reading the news to paying audiences in 1870. While en route to one of his engagements, he is charged with returning a girl who had been kidnapped by the Kiowa to her surviving family. Just a great story (This is my third time through and second time in audio!) :-)

I then picked up Simon the Fiddler. Simon is featured very briefly in NOTW but the story is set in a little earlier (1865-66) and follows Simon as he makes his way from the last battle in the Civil War and on to his life thereafter. Jiles details much of the Texan sociopolitical/legal environment at this time which slows the pace down a bit; but it builds a stronger platform from which the climax of the story is launched.

I just finished listening to Dinner with Edward by Isabel Vincent and narrated by Elise Arsenault.

I re-listened to The Dispatcher and Murder by Other Means before l picked up Travel by Bullet. The Dispatcher series is a run of three short audio stories by John Scalzi and narrated by Zachary Quinto. The time is in the present, but one in which murdered people are inexplicably resurrected! The dispatcher is basically a sanctioned killer whose works enable the dying to return for the chance of a cure from that which killed them. These are detective mysteries set in Chicago and as much as I loved the first one which set everything up, I was less impressed by the newest offering: It had to do with crypto-currency and everyone, for various reasons is after possession of a thumb drive. Relationships are convoluted and I'm not sure I really was able to understand motives or, even why anyone in this day and age is carrying around a thumb drive, but whatever. Listening to the three stories back-to-back, a difference in sound quality is discernible between the first two and the last and; “Travel By Bullet” suffered by comparison (recorded in a bigger room resulting in some “boominess”?) 5, 4 and 3 stars respectively.

I then went on to listen to King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa (by Adam Hochschild; narrated by Geoffrey Howard) - Much like William Darymple’s book, The Anarchy that opened my eyes to British Colonialism and its effects in Asia, this NF title illumined the extent of Belgium's role in the Congo Free State. The commercial interests for elephant ivory and rubber basically depopulated and destroyed indigenous cultures on the African continent in the nineteenth century. I really miss the comforting older British voice of the late Geoffrey Howard. Solid 4 stars.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (by Washington Irving; narrated by Anthony Heald) - Classic short story set in the Fall of 1790 about the Headless Horseman! I listened to this narrated by another narrator (IIRC, Tom Mison) a few years ago; but decided to pick this one up for a "re-" listen. I had forgotten how amazingly deft Irving is in painting a picture, character and mood. The narrator neither disappointed nor particularly impressed; but 4 fun stars overall!

Currently listening to The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 (by Barbara W. Tuchman; narrated by Wanda McCaddon) - A little misleading in that it's really the world according to the Anglo perspective; but Tuchman does makes her disclaimers in the Introduction so you can adjust your expectations accordingly. Each chapter focuses on a topic (e.g., British nobility, anarchism) that contributes to a more comprehensive picture of what the time period leading up to WWI was like. The chapter on the Dreyfus Affair is a bit confusing with all the people and niche loyalties and alliances. Though I ended up satisfied with a general understanding of what was going on instead of focusing on the details, maybe a print copy to sort through this section would help others. Wanda McCaddon is an older British narrator who handles the text and foreign phrases well, though she pronounces Andrew Carnegie’s last name as “car-KNEE-gee” which is a little distracting and; she renders non-Anglo quotes in accented forms (again a little distracting, nearly comical). Still, after this, I’m happily queuing up Guns of August (same author, same narrator) :-)

I was listening to Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin but not thrilled by it. But the reviews here have been so positive that I think I'll just wait and try it in print some other time. It seems like something I should like so maybe just a "right book, wrong time" thing.

Finished:
🎧 The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 (by Barbara W. Tuchman; narrated by Wanda McCaddon) - This is a collection of an introduction and eight essays, each covering a topic relevant to the zeitgeist of the years running up to WWI from the Anglo perspective. At first, I was a little overwhelmed by all the names to keep up with and had trouble seeing the forest for the trees, but when I pulled back my focus, I was able to see and appreciate the trends being discussed. I did have a moment of confusion in listening to the audio when the narrator kept referring to the "Carkey" elections in England. It's turns out she was talking about English Khaki elections! So maybe print might be better for those who want to more dutifully track the people involved in the various movements (The Dreyfus Affair in particular is a tangle of people with various fealties and alliances) or; those unaccustomed to undiluted British accents. Still, in either print or audio, an enlightening work that can serve as touchstone for further inquiries, in particular the topics of British nobility, Anarchism, US Imperialism/Spanish-American War, The Dreyfus Affair, The Hague, Richard Strauss, British Parliament and, Jean Juarès. Solid four stars all way 'round.

🎧 No One is Talking About This (by Patricia Lockwood; narrated by Kristen Sieh) - Short, brilliant, moving book about how social media shapes our time, thoughts, actions and even identity. A woman who spends a lot of time online via The Portal is brought to earth (metaphorically speaking) when she receives a phone call from her mother... I see there are quite a few people who don't like it; but once you "get it", it's a marvel. It reminds me of the spreadsheets in A Visit to the Goon Squad (by Jennifer Egan) in that words are being wielded in a new way to tell a story. The narrator was fine, neither great nor terrible. "High-Four Stars"for the story alone; 3.0 for the narrator.

🎧 Sea of Rust (by C. Robert Cargill; narrated by Eva Kaminsky) - Brittle is a sentient robot and a veteran of the war that annihilated the humans from the face of the earth. Plagued with memories, existential questions and dwindling resources, she scavenges the former Rust Belt and gets caught up in a cause greater than herself… Years ago, when book blogging was a thing, I had asked a couple of my online friends for their audiobook recommendations. “The Guilded Earlobe” had listed this post-apocalyptic tale about a robot who looked for magic in the flash of green at sunset, as one of his all-time favorites. So, I dnloaded the book but it never quite made it into rotation until now. I liked it. It had an interesting premise, action sequences, character development, vivid, descriptive language that enabled the reader to easily imagine the scenes… There was absolutely nothing wrong with it— So I’m a little bemused as to why I don’t like it more. Again, the narrator was okay-- but nothing particularly outstanding. A fun 3.5 stars for the story and narrator.

Started:
🎧 The Guns of August (The Coming of the Great War #2; by Barbara W. Tuchman; narrated by Wanda McCaddon) - This is a companion piece to The Proud Tower and both books are about the run-up to WWI. This volume is more focused on the months, and in particular as the title suggests, August (1914) leading up to the war as things are tightening up geopolitically in Europe. I have several tabs bookmarked on my browser for maps as this is one of those times where having a sense of where everything is is helpful; and not having a visual as you listen along shows the limitations of audio. Still, things are moving along.I've gotten used to the narrators delivery style so no more quibbling about that!

I've just finished Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg and narrated by Kate Reading who does an excellent job. The main character is the town of Elmwood Springs, Missouri and the residents and their stories over decades starting after WW II and continuing until the 1990s (I think). A great car book.

My latest audio is The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson narrated by Katie Schorr.

I wrapped up The Guns of August (The Coming of the Great War #2; by Barbara W. Tuchman; narrated by Wanda McCaddon) a couple weeks ago. Interestingly, this focuses on the German sweep through Belgium and up to the First Battle of the Marne-- which she counts as the first battle of The Great War rather than the one at Tannenberg. Also, there's no coverage of the Balkan theater, which is a bit odd all things considered. So, ultimately, limited in scope but what she does write about is pretty clear. Online maps and The Great War YouTube video channel helped significantly with visualizations and added details. 4 stars.

I also listened to North to Paradise: A Memoir (by Ousman Umar; narrated by Kwesi Busia). This is the story of a young teen from Ghana who decides to migrate North to Barcelona.The writing is a bit rough so I thought the audio would enhance the book experience-- which it did and didn't at the same time. There's no disguising that the writing needs a bit more editorial oversight; but it was nice to hear a native Ghanian give voice to the work, though admittedly there were a couple times when a pronunciation would snag me out of the story (e.g., "Arabic" pronounced ah-RA-bik). I wanted this to be better than this actually was. 2 stars.

I started Pet Sematary (by Stephen King; narrated by Michael C. Hall.) This is a story about a doctor's family who moves to an old neighborhood somewhere near Castle Rock, Maine (reference to Cujo early on.) In the back of the lot, there is access to a pet cemetery built on old Native American burial grounds. As the doctor discovers the magic and horror of his new surroundings, King ruminates on death, writes about sex a little more graphically than before and, has indulged in some rather detailed descriptions of gross things-- but also painted pictures of heart-breaking idylls and raw emotion. This feels like the best mix of Cujo and the novellas in Different Seasons. The narrator, star of cable's "Six Feet Under" and "Dexter" nails the Maine accent of a key figure in the book; but otherwise seems pretty deadly neutral. I really, really wish celebrity narrators were not a thing. Anyway, taking this one slow as there are lots of triggers.

I have listened to several audiobooks since last writing an update in this thread.

Back in August, I finished The Matrimonial Advertisement, written by Mimi Matthews and narrated by Justine Eyre. I absolutely loved it. The second installment of that series, A Modest Independence, was narrated by someone else, though (Alex Wyndham) and I did not enjoy his narration at all and switched to the ebook after one and a half hours or so.

Next, I listened to Das kleine Friesencafé by Janne Mommsen, a shallow story taking place on the island of Föhr, which was very disappointing.

Eine Halligfahrt by Theodor Storm was beautiful and one of the few five star reads I had this year. I loved both the story and the narration by Peter Groeger.

After that I listened to my first Georgette Heyer, The Black Moth. This version was narrated by Stewart Clarke and it was stellar. I enjoyed the story, but the narration was even better because Clarke does such a good job reading the different characters.

I listened to Frisch hapeziert - Die Kolumnen by Hape Kerkeling, narrated by the author, a German comedian. I like his style of narration, but content wise it was not as good as I had hoped.

Currently I am listening to When Harry met Harry by Sydney Smyth, a contemporary romance story which I like so far.

I feel like I have really gotten the hang of audiobooks this year and have a very good flow now!

Thank you everyone for keeping this thread going.

Sat down and finished Pet Sematary (by Stephen King; narrated by Michael C. Hall) yesterday and;
Now I've started The Wright Brothers (written and narrated by David McCullough).

I finished listening to When Harry Met Harry by Sydney Smyth. I totally loved the characters although the plot could have been a little more interesting in the second half. Still, I was sad when it ended because I did not want to say goodbye to the two Harrys.
If you have an audible subscription, this is included for free (at least in Germany, but I do think that these things are the same anywhere).

I finished another short audiobook: Once Upon A Christmas Eve by Elizabeth Hoyt. The narrator, Ashford McNab, did a very good job, and I liked the setting and the atmosphere, but not much else. I won't seek out other works by this author.

This morning, I finished The Wright Brothers (written & narrated by David McCullough). While I learned a couple interesting bits of trivia, I came away feeling like the Wright Brothers themselves were strange, unknowable people. Not sure if this is actually the case or the writing. The meat of the story takes place from 1899-1909. From their decision to build and fly the first manned, motor-driven vehicle to the first flight at Kitty Hawk, was only four years! They basically created the field of practical aeronautics, in having to develop wind & propeller theorems, and testing them out. After their success, they were feted throughout Europe and America; but ended up spending most of their careers defending their patents in lawsuits. Nominally interesting, but I can't help but feel there are better books out there on the subject. As to the narration, it was disappointing. When I listened to the sample, I thought McCullough sounded like Edward Herrmann, but the author actually sounds old and tired, and his French highly suspect (The Wright Brothers would find a highly receptive audience and welcome in France-- so there's quite a few references to French names and places).

At Christmas time I like to listen to
A Christmas Carol
The Chimes
The Cricket on the Hearth

Others that I try to get to but haven't yet
The Adventures of the Blue Carbuncle

I also think Ethan Frome though it is dark is a good one to read because it is set in winter, snow and fits the dark days of winter.

I've managed to sneak in a couple more titles in this past week:

The Zimmermann Telegram (by Barbara Tuchman; narrated by Wanda McCaddon) - In 1917, US President Woodrow Wilson was determined to keep America out of the Great War; but the Germans hoped to have USA’s attention and resources diverted to a war on the North American continent, specifically between the USA and Mexico. It all seems rather absurd and honestly, the intrigue and machinations read something like a comic farce writ large— especially when it backfires with an intercepted telegram! This is really interesting and expands the scope of the usual interest in WWI in Europe to Japan and Mexico. Wanda McCaddon delivers with her usual aplomb. 4 solid stars.

Christmas Eve, 1914 (by Charles Oliver; performed by a full cast) - This is an audio drama set about and during the Christmas Truce of 1914, the first year of the Great War. On the French line along which Allied and Germans were both entrenched, various parties from both sides made accommodations to retrieve & bury the dead left in No Man's Land, exchange souvenirs and Christmas presents and, play soccer matches! In this audio drama, a young British officer with a voice that has not changed yet, sets the tone with a rendition of "Silent Night" that compels the Germans to come forth with Christmas tress in hand to talk about a holiday truce (Note: The Germans actually shipped 100, 1000 Christmas trees to the Western Front that year!) Nothing about the performance of the cast members is lacking; but the writing fails to deliver the poignancy of the moment despite what should have been a guaranteed tear-jerker of a plot. Overall interesting, but hardly compelling. 3 stars.

I'm now starting A Christmas Carl (by Charles Dickens; narrated by Anton Lesser) - The Classic story of Scrooge, the miserly English accountant who is transformed after having been haunted by three ghosts over Christmas Eve. Every time I read or listen to this story, I'm amazed at the level of detail and, pick up something I hadn't noticed before! I've read/listened to a bitt of Dickens this year so it seems only fitting that I would end my listening year with the Victorian author and with one of my favorite narrators, Anton Lesser :-)

Currently I'm listening to my January book club book:
Once Upon a Wardrobe / Patti Callahan.

Next up will be:
All Together Now / Alan Doyle

I've just finished Allegedly by Tiffany D Jackson, narrated by Bahni Turpin. Judy hit me with an audio BB and it was everything she promised.

I managed to sneak in a couple more.... but I think thisis it for 2022!

A fews days ago, I decided to pick up Einstein's Dreams (by Alan Lightman; narrated by Grover Gardner), admittedly because it is short (2.50 hours audio) and I was looking for a "filler listen" before the holidays. My husband had recommended it but I couldn't get him to tell me what is about-- so I went in blind. It turns out to be a historical fiction featuring Einstein in 1905 when he wrote the four annus mirabilis papers (I'm sure I've committed egregious errors on redundancy with that last sentence...) which became the foundation of modern physics. The more grounded chapters feature Einstein in context of his imagined life while the meat of the book consists of the dreams that inspired him in his work on Time. The dreams are actually little narrative expositions of some/many theorems of temporal physics. While this may sound dull, they are actually fascinating, poignant, sometimes heartbreaking vignettes. The narrator completely disappeared from my listening consciousness, letting the text live.

The other audio I picked up was Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe (by John Julius Norwich, narrated by Julian Elfer). The quartet of regents in the subtitle were contemporaries in the first half of the sixteenth century and two were related as brothers-in-law! Norwich, as always conveys mastery of the material with an easily accessible style that makes it sound like he's writing just for you. Julian Elfer is a young British narrator who performs with a sure command of the text and language (a little French a little Latin, a little Spanish...) I may have discovered a new narrator favorite! Anyway, this is a book that I plan on re-listening to at one point, probably when I'm back into my Tudor phase :-)

So I did a quick look and the above two titles bring my audiobook count for the year up to 42 and, over 425 hours of listening. Not my best year; but there was quite a bit of good in what I did listen to. My favorites:

🎧 Kim and The Jungle Books I & II (by Rudyard Kipling; narrated by the late Ralph Cosham reading as Geoffrey Howard);
🎧 The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia (by Peter Hopkirk; narrated by Alex Wyndham);
🎧 The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company (by William Dalrymple; narrated by Sid Sagar);
🎧 The Siege of Krishnapur (by J.G. Farrell; narrated by Peter Wickham);
🎧 Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe (by John Julius Norwich; narrated by Julian Elfer)

So, yes, while I do love British narrators, the British narrators ended up featuring heavily into my queue only because I was reading & listening to a lot of books set in/about British Colonialism in the 19th century. Ralph Cosham & Alex Wyndham are "regular suspects" in my list. What is unexpected is that Simon Vance, Simon Prebble and Ralph Lister did not make an appearance. And, of course, as I mentioned above, Julian Elfer is new-to-me and a new fave. We'll see if Sid Sagar or Peter Wickham comes up again :-)

I'm listening to The Catch by Alison Fairbrother but I'm not sure I'll finish before the end of the year.

I finished a re-read of George Eliot's Middlemarch (1872), read by Juliet Stevenson. Brilliant performance of a brilliant novel.

Just finished another Doctor Who audio snack, Destiny of the Doctor: Babblesphere, by Jonathan Morris. This Fourth Doctor adventure is read mostly by Lalla Ward, with Roger Parrott playing the character of Aurelius.

I am listening to Black Wind by Clive Cusler.