What are we listening to? (audiobooks)

[HoopyFrood]

Originally Posted by Rylon

I'm on a BBC Radio kick right now. I'll be listening to Radio 4's adaptation of The Sign of the Four tomorrow or the next day. After that, it's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Great Stuff.

You are talking about "Hitchhiker's...Galaxy" read by the author aren't you? It's the only way to go.

[dreams]

The Booktaker: A Nameless Detective Mystery by Bill Pronzini - I really enjoyed this quiet detective and the bookshop centered mystery. I listened to parts while driving and found that I missed some details. I think I will listen to it again while doing yard or housework as I tend to pay more attention when doing mindless activities. -- still free at Audible --

METAtropolis by Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, Karl Schroeder - free from Audible in January 2012 - posted by koland on MR. So far, this is a very fun "comic book" world of characters and their lives. I wish I had picked up the continuation - METAtropolis: Cascadia - when it was free in January also.

Spoiler:

Welcome to a world where big cities are dying, dead - or transformed into technological megastructures. Where once-thriving suburbs are now treacherous Wilds. Where those who live for technology battle those who would die rather than embrace it. It is a world of zero-footprint cities, virtual nations, and armed camps of eco-survivalists.

Welcome to the dawn of uncivilization.

METAtropolis is an intelligent and stunning creation of five of today's cutting-edge science-fiction writers: 2008 Hugo Award winners John Scalzi and Elizabeth Bear; Campbell Award winner Jay Lake; plus fan favorites Tobias Buckell and Karl Schroeder. Together they set the ground rules and developed the parameters of this "shared universe", then wrote five original novellas - all linked, but each a separate tale.

Bringing this audiobook to life is a dream team of performers: Battlestar Galactica's Michael Hogan ("Saul Tigh"); Alessandro Juliani ("Felix Gaeta"); and Kandyse McClure ("Anastasia 'Dee' Dualla"); plus legendary audiobook narrators Scott Brick (Dune) and Stefan Rudnicki (Ender's Game).

John Scalzi, who served as Project Editor, introduces each story, offering insight into how the METAtropolis team created this unique project exclusively for digital audio.

©2008 Joseph E. Lake, Jr., Tobias S. Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, Karl Schroeder; (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

[Rylon]

Originally Posted by HoopyFrood

You are talking about "Hitchhiker's...Galaxy" read by the author aren't you? It's the only way to go.

Nope, the original radio series that the book was based on.

[HoopyFrood]

Originally Posted by Rylon

Nope, the original radio series that the book was based on.

Hmmm, interesting.

[covingtoncat73]

I listened to "The adjustments Bureau" by Phillip K. duck last night. I got it eaudio from the library. The reader did a good job.

[steven522]

I'm currently listening to The Teaching Company's Great Courses lecture: "Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity" by Professor David Christian.

If you have any interest in the history of the universe and the creation of and rise of life on planet earth, then this is a good one to get into.

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by steven522

I'm currently listening to The Teaching Company's Great Courses lecture: "Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity" by Professor David Christian.

If you have any interest in the history of the universe and the creation of and rise of life on planet earth, then this is a good one to get into.

That sounds interesting. I'd love to hear that. How do you access it?

[steven522]

I would recommend that you check your local library and see if they have these on CD. I rip mine to an MP3 player and listen on my drive to and from work. I think you can download these from "The Great Courses" website, but they are fairly expensive purchases.

[tubemonkey]

iTunes U is a great source for audiobooks and all sorts of topics - classes, science, literature, nature, history, etc. Content is free and there's an iTunes U app for your iDevices.

For audiobooks, I like the Lit2Go series of classic literature from the Univ of South Florida. You can download from either iTunes U or the website.

Currently, I'm listening to a lecture series from Stanford Univ on Hannibal (~13+ hrs).

[dreams]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

<snip>

For audiobooks, I like the Lit2Go series of classic literature from the Univ of South Florida. You can download from either iTunes U or the website.

<snip>.

Thank you for this. I am always looking for other sources for audiobooks to use while doing house and yard work. I find that it is the narrator's voice that makes a big difference in my enjoyment of the story. I will have to sample a few of those offered there.

I'm still listening to METAtropolis by Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, and Karl Schroeder. It's like comic book stories come to life.

[Marrella]

Recently finished audiobooks:

The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells. Though I read The Time Machine (which I also own as an audiobook) years ago, I had never tried anything else by this author. Overall, I was very pleased with the experience. The story is more of a fantasy adventure than science fiction, with undertones of Frankenstein. The version I listened to was the SFF Audio Podcast #140. And while this is a professionally produced audiobook (from Tantor Media, read by Jonathan Kent), you can legally download it for free through iTunes or from the SFF audio website.

Another freebie: A Hunger for the Infinite: A Galactic Center Story by Gregory Benford. This is currently free from Audible. It's a novella set in the universe of his Galactic Center series. I generally like Benford, but I wasn't really thrilled by this story.

Currently listening to:

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I am about two hours in and I am enjoying it very much so far. I am listening to the British (?) version read by Rupert Degas who does a great job with the characters.

In my bedroom: In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker. I have been a fan of her Company series ever since I read this book years ago and was very pleased to see it as an audiobook. This is a re-listen. I still think the Spanish accents of the characters are a bit exaggerated, but it is still a good narration (by Janan Raouf).

[DrNefario]

I've just started listening to Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell, narrated by the author, as recommended on a recent edition of Starship Sofa. I'm enjoying it so far, although I really need to figure out how to fix the ordering of these multi-part podcast books on my iPod.

It's SF, about a space trader.

The audio versions of the whole series are available free from podiobooks.com (which appeared to have been hacked when I was searching last night, but is okay again now), and iTunes.

[taosaur]

I'm about a third of the way into Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings, which will make my Sanderson reading/listening complete except for the Wheel of Time sequels (don't know if I'll get around to them--I have no intention of reading Jordan's originals).

This one is great so far--probably the most novel and original of Sanderson's worlds, vying with Elantris for that distinction, but simultaneously the most D&D-ish with all the enchanted artifacts and the monster fights.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by dreams

Thank you for this. I am always looking for other sources for audiobooks to use while doing house and yard work. I find that it is the narrator's voice that makes a big difference in my enjoyment of the story. I will have to sample a few of those offered there.

I'm still listening to METAtropolis by Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, and Karl Schroeder. It's like comic book stories come to life.

YW

I have METAtropolis, but haven't listened to it yet. I got it because it was free.

[dreams]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

YW

I have METAtropolis, but haven't listened to it yet. I got it because it was free.

Me too, and I kept putting it on the bottom of the TBL (To Be Listened ) pile. Then one day, while reloading my clip, I did a preview listen and decided to give it a try. It's a fun listen.