Audible.com Recommendations Needed

I signed up for audible.com two months ago. The audiobook that got me hooked was Homer's Odyssey translated by Robert Fagles and narrated by Ian Mckellen, which is not available for free download from OverDrive through my library system. A classics read by a great actor, I just couldn't resist. Now every time I get a credit I become excited and want to get the most out of it. I'm interested to know whether other people have used Audible and which books they have enjoyed. I'm mainly interested in classics and non-fiction, but all recommedations are welcome.

It's completely not your area, but Mary Janice Davidson's vampire series, starting with Undead and Unwed are funny and the narrator is fabulous. They're among the few books I've heard where the narrator sounded exactly like I'd imagined the protagonist sounding.

Also not your area, but the Lillian Jackson Braun Cat Who mysteries read by George Guidel are also very good. I'd pretty much listen to anything George Guidel reads, as his phrasing is so very smooth and natural.

I'm fond of Frederick Davidson (a/k/a David Case) as a reader for Dickens and Trollope, although Simon Vance (Robert Whitfield) does a good job, too.

Do you like memoir as well? I'd be happy to post a list of the audible downloads I've liked in classics/non-fiction if you'd like.

I just listened to The Scarlet Pimpernel David Thorn version - very good! I also liked Simon Vance's version of Casino Royale. I like to listen to the sample first at audible to see if I'll like listening to that voice or not. I also always check the reviews to see what people said about the narrator - it's so crucial to get a good one!

#3: Seajack,

Frederick Davidson has a very unique voice. The funny thing is I didn't know narrators use different names and when I heard Davidson's voice from David Case, I thought audible made a mistake. I like his reading of War and Peace, Around the World in 80 Days and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but not Journey to the Center of the Earth, because when he tries to imitate the German accent, I can't understand him at all. He does speak French well though.

Yes, I like memoirs and would like to see your list of audible favorites.

Here are the highlights from My Library - I've listened to other books avail at Audible as library books as well, but this list ought to keep you for a bit:

Death at the Priory by James Ruddick – good story focusing on the status (lack thereof!) of Victorian women

Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper – at first it might seem “cutesy” but actually pretty interesting.

Reading the OED by Ammon Shea – I liked it, but the words flew by, so I’ll have to go back and read the print version eventually.

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux – pretty good use of a credit, and you don’t need to have read The Great Railway Bazaar to appreciate the story (I did, but many years ago!).

Heart in the Right Place by Carolyn Jourdan – great memoir, although at first it isn’t really clear where the story is heading (best way I can put it).

Armadale by Wilkie Collins – I liked it, but Flo Gibson is rather an “acquired taste” as a narrator!

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – Davidson (Case) does a great job, though the story gets off to a rather slow start!

The Adventure of English by Melvyn Bragg – I recall liking this one, but exact details hazy.

Goodbye to a River by John Graves – definitely recommended! I’m not a dog person at all, but was hooked for mentions of “The Passenger”.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – well … I disliked the first part (Italy), and felt overall that she was a bit self-centered, but … she reads quite well, esp her Richard-from-Texas voice in India.

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens (read by Robert Whitfield) – another with a slow start, but not bad

#6: Seajack,

I'm adding Reading the OED and Ghost Train to the Eastern Star to my To Read list. Thanks for the recommendations!

Can you tell me more about Goodbye to a River? What exactly do you like about it?

First of all, Henry Strozier turned out to be an excellent narrator, and perfect fit for the book. I had gotten the book originally as I thought it'd be an interesting travel piece of a region that no longer exists (I believe actually it does, though likely much changed by now), but had feared it'd be a bit too "nature" oriented, which really isn't my thing, as well as perhaps a bit "hokey", but I was pleasantly surprised on both counts.

Interesting you were interested in "OED" as I preferred it to The Know-it-All by A. J. Jacobs (which I'd ripped from library CD's).

If I can think of any non-fiction in the near future that I liked, but didn't specifically get from Audible, but is available there, I'll post again.

Not sure if it'd fall within your interests but Atlas Shrugged (unabridged and read by Christopher Hurt, there are several others there) is much less daunting in audio than in print. And at 52 hours, you get your money's worth too.

#9: crazybatcow,

Thanks for the recommendation. Have you listened to the version narrated by Scott Brick? I'm on top of a long waiting list for that one.

I haven't listened to Brick do Atlas Shrugged but have listened to numerous (5 or 6) other books he's read. He tends to be a bit on the dramatic side of narrators, but if you don't mind a bit of over-dramatization, he's a very good reader.

I don't think that Christopher Hurt is a particularly good reader, and probably Brick would make it much more enjoyable since it's so very long. But I got it on sale, read by Hurt, for $5 so I won't complain!