What are we listening to? (audiobooks)

[issybird]

Trollope's The Vicar of Bullhampton read by Peter Newcombe Joyce. This is one of the better nonBarsetshire/nonPalliser novels I've read and Joyce is fine, although he's not nearly as terrific as my favorite Trollope narrator, Timothy West. My 23rd Trollope novel.

[issybird]

Jeeves in the Offing read by Ian Carmichael. Alas, while Carmichael's a good actor, as a Wodehouse narrator, he's no Jonathan Cecil. Or Martin Jarvis. Or Frederick Davidson. Or Simon Vance. All of whom do a much better job. The character voices are inconsistent, the interpretation of Bertie is just weird, and he speaks much too fast. In a first for me, I've reduced the playback speed to 0.9! It's virtually incoherent as rendered.

[CRussel]

How disappointing! I would have expected Carmichael to be better than that.

[DiapDealer]

Currently listening to The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. I know nothing about the author, but this book being shortlisted for the Booker Prize (and a previous book of his winning the Everyman Wodehouse Prize in 2016) tipped the scales for me to risk the unknown. So far, so funny.

[Apache]

I have recently finished Paying the Piper and The Sharper End by David Drake, The Magic of Recluce and The Death of Chaos By L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Phule's Paradise, by Robert Asprin. I just started Flynn by Gregory McDonald. I have always liked his Flynn Series better than the Fletch series.
Apache

[Tarana]

Currently listening to The Crystal Cave by Mary Stuart and narrated by Derek Perkins. I'm about 5 hours in and wow! What a great story and excellent narration. First person narrative of the wizard Merlin detailing his life from his beginning.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Nadia May (or Donada Peters as I first heard her, and real name Wanda McCaddon) is still my absolute favourite narrator. No muss, and definitely no fuss, just a well read story.

Sadly, I just read that she passed away November 2023. She's one of my favorite narrators as well.

[Strether]

Listening to Every Good Boy Does Fine, by Jeremy Denk. “A love story in music lessons.” Anyone interested in classical music, and piano music in particular, would enjoy this I think. I’d read the book a while ago, but Denk narrates the audiobook and his narration really allows his quirky personality to shine through. He even includes some musical segments where appropriate.

Jim

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Sadly, I just read that she passed away November 2023. She's one of my favorite narrators as well.

Ah, I'm saddened to hear it. Her reading of West With the Night is probably my all time number one audio book.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Sadly, I just read that she passed away November 2023. She's one of my favorite narrators as well.

Also one of mine. She narrated three of my first seven audiobooks! One was fiction, one biography and one history, which shows her range.

Thanks for the great listens, Nadia!

[Tarana]

Finished The Crystal Cave by Mary Stuart and narrated by Derek Perkins. I'd give this a 5 star. Very much enjoyed and Derek was a great narrator. Story is well paced. This is written as a memoir by Merlin looking over the early part of his life.

Now up: King City by Lee Goldberg and narrated by Patrick Lawlor. Police procedural.

[Tarana]

King City by Lee Golberg and narrated by Patrick Lawlor (police procedural) was just so so. Nothing to write home about. Kindof a clinker for this author.

Next was The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury and narrated by Mark Boyett. Now I've listened to this before with a narration by Scott Brick. I like Scott Brick as a narrator, but Mark Boyett nails this way better. So much so that I deleted the Scott Brick narration from my Audible Library. Boyett really made the characters come alive.

Currently listening to The Flu by Jacqueline Druga and narrated by Dave Courvoisier. So far, story is coming along and the narration is excellent. My Aunt and family are recovering from the flu so I thought this was a good time to listen to this. Been in my Audible library for some years.

[Catlady]

Congratulate me! I've finally read Anna Karenina! It's been hanging over my head since high school, but now I no longer have to feel guilty about blowing it off.

I listened to Wanda McCaddon reading the Maude translation; I don't know what the other translations are like, but I thought this one was just fine.

I liked the book well enough, but did not feel much sympathy for the character of Anna.

Now I have no idea what to read next.

[CRussel]

Wanda McCaddon (aka: Donada Peters, Nadia May) can make even Anna Karenina sound good.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Wanda McCaddon (aka: Donada Peters, Nadia May) can make even Anna Karenina sound good.

I'm sticking with Ms. McCaddon for another book: Vanity Fair. Though I thought I would read something in my preferred suspense genre after the long weeks hanging out with Anna K, I am interested in reading only in small doses these days, and those suspense books want to be read quickly. So I figured I'd go with another lengthy classic.

While I did read Vanity Fair long ago, I don't remember it.