Really good audiobooks

harpospeaking · Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 194 Location: San Diego, CA

Back in the day, the 80s and the 90s to be more specific, books on tape (now known as audiobooks) gave adults the enjoyable luxury of being read to. I was never read to as a child, so I think my enthusiasm for audiobooks is me making up for lost time.

I have recently really enjoyed Juliet Stevenson's reading of both Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility. Her amazing storytelling skills add layers upon layers in the narration of Jane Austen's timeless masterpieces. She's very cognizant of the humor in Jane Austen's storytelling and it's so wonderful to hear the wit and irony of her writing in Juliet Stevenson's recordings.

Are there any readers or versions of audiobooks that you can heartily recommend?
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Griffin · Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 932 Location: England

I have to admit that I love the feel of holding a book and the look of the print as well as the text, so I have never gone for audiobooks.

Maybe one day I will. I have heard the actor Martin Jarvis reading the Just William stories on the radio tho' and they were a lot of fun. Jarvis was also clearly enjoying himself, which I think made it so good. But that's the closest I've ever got. Also, I have a whole library in my bedroom anyway so I'm used to the classic 'technology' of the book.

Admittedly with Juliet Stevenson reading Austen, you can't go wrong. She's a terrific actor. I'd love to hear Sean Connery read the James Bond books tho'! Or Ian McKellen reading Lord of the Rings?
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David · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject:

While I'm not sure I would really take to listening to an actual novel on tape I recently was given the complete set of David Sedaris books (excepting of course the latest) on CD's and the next 3 weeks were spent driving to and fro with a huge smile and chuckles flowing. They are all read by David with some input from his equally mad sister Amy!
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Judy · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 1:27 am Post subject:

Anthony Bourdain's 'Kitchen Confidential' read by the man himself is fantastic.

I'm not a huge fan of audiobooks, despite my partner Greg selling them for a living - I tend to fall asleep listening, so prefer to actually read a book myself.

But KC is excellent.
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clotilde · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 4:09 pm Post subject:

If anyone is looking for audiobooks in French, I can't say enough good things about these two:
~ Un Amour de Swan [Editions Thélème] (this is perhaps the most readable section of Marcel Proust's A La Recherche du temps perdu), read by French actor André Dussollier (no relation),
~ Les Liaisons dangereuses [Gallimard] (Dangerous Acquaintances), read by a team of French actors, including Karin Viard.
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KatyYandell · Joined: 12 Mar 2011 Posts: 1

Is there any audiobooks available in Russian? Have you also considered the the 3 week diet If their is any please let me know.