What are we listening to? (audiobooks)

[pwalker8]

Decisions, decision, decisions.

Should I listen to the Jim Dale version of A Christmas Carol, or the Tim Curry version... Both are unabridged, yet the Curry version is some 32 minutes longer (2:58 to 3:31).

[pwalker8]

Jim Dale this year.

[Tarana]

Jim Dale this year. I listened to Curry last year.

[WT Sharpe]

Just finished Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama. I enjoyed it, but I can see how the show pacing would put some folks off. Now I'm hearing Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi, which contains more cliches than I care for, but they're balanced by some laugh out loud moments.

[Catlady]

I listened to The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, by Max Shulman, narrated by George Newbern. Max Shulman was one of the authors with freebies in the Open Road sale, which led me to find this audiobook.

It was wonderfully funny; I'm a big fan of the old Dobie Gillis TV series and had read this book eons ago in high school. The only story I remembered pretty clearly was the most well-known in the collection: "Love Is a Fallacy." A couple other stories were clearly the source of specific TV episodes. All were charmingly funny.

No complaints about the narrator, except he wasn't Dwayne Hickman, and Hickman's voice is the one I identify with Dobie.

[David Munch]

Recently finished Frederik Pohls Gateway. It took some time to gain traction with me, but in the end i quite liked it. 4/5 here, and will likely also read the sequel. Very nice narration though, by Oliver Wyman and Robert J. Sawyer.

And for my next book, it will have to wait to be picked until we hit 2017.

[booklover6]

I stayed up way too late last night, listening to Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch) by Michael Connelly, read by Dick Hill. I couldn't stop! Finally turned it off and then still couldn't sleep for an hour. (The story, and the extra coffee I had in the afternoon....).

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Good books, well narrated by Orlagh Cassidy. I look forward to each new one.

re: Maise Dobbs

The version I'm currently reading (Birds of a Feather) is narrated by Kim Hicks, I much preferred the reader of the first book, Rita Barrington. Ms. Hicks has a quick, almost choppy style of reading that doesn't work for this book. Actually, I can't thick of much that it would work for.

I've got a hold on the third, which looks to be narrated by Orlagh Cassidy. I''ll take your word for her being a good reader.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Finished Heart of Valor, and quite got used to Marguerite Gavin narrating. Though, for me, she'll always be the voice of Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak. However, she does an excellent job with these Confederation books from Tanya Huff.

Next, I read #4 in the Phryne Fisher series -- Death at Victoria Docks, superbly read by Stephanie Daniel. I've read all these in eBook format, but am doing a re-read of them as audio books. They're still quite delightful, and I'm having to space them out a bit to savour the pleasure.

Now reading #4 in the Confederation series, Valor's Trial.

Finished Valor's Trial and enjoyed it. A solid 4 stars of its type. A good narrator certainly helps.

Next up, The Green Mill Murder, number five in the superb Phryne Fisher series from Kerry Greenwood. These are all read by Stephanie Daniel, and she does and excellent job. They're short, most in the 5-6 hour range, and set in 1928-1929 Melbourne, Australia. The series builds with each new book, with new characters getting added to Phryne's "circle of influence". Or, in some cases, her actual family. These are re-reads for me, since I've read all the eBook versions (and seen every television version), but in most cases I haven't listened to the book before.

[Catlady]

I am being seasonal and listening to Anne Perry's Christmas mysteries. The narrator is Terrence Hardiman, who is absolutely wonderful.

[WT Sharpe]

Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi is what I'm currently listening to. Pretty funny. A race of sentient slime desire to make contact with humanity, but fear their appearance and behavior would put people off (they look like mucus and communicate mainly by passing gas). So they hire a Hollywood agent to polish their image before the big reveal.

[Tarana]

Listening to Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett (#19 in Discworld).

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Listening to Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett (#19 in Discworld).

That's the book, read out of sequence, that got me back into Terry Pratchett's series, when it came out. I had gotten stalled on the first 2-3 books, when the initial novelty wore off. His later books are much more satisfying!

[issybird]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

That's the book, read out of sequence, that got me back into Terry Pratchett's series, when it came out. I had gotten stalled on the first 2-3 books, when the initial novelty wore off. His later books are much more satisfying!

Good gad, I hope Jon doesn't see this!

I'm listening to Quartered Safe Out Here: A Harrowing Tale of World War, written by George MacDonald Fraser (the Flashman author), an account of his WWII experiences as a soldier in Burma. Read by the forever wonderful David Case, whom I always think of under his nom de voix of Frederick Davidson. He also reads the Flashman books, a treat I'm parceling out to myself at long intervals.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

Good gad, I hope Jon doesn't see this!

ROFLU!

Currently trying to decide what book to listen to, having just finished the last of the Confederation series from Tanya Huff. It's a bit early to start my re-listen to this month's Book Club selection, Midnight Riot.