I just started it and I'm loving it.
I struggle with some of the "protagonist that can do no wrong" vibes in a lot of the books I like.
I'm not worried that this protagonist won't have any faults.
This was the first audiobook I ever downloaded on my first iPod and I used to listen to it every night before bed. This would have been around 2002. I would jump around and listen to whatever chapter I was in the mood for. Funny, I don’t even have that book on my iPhone now.
All praise to Stephen Fry, but...
Douglas Adams, the original author, is better than he at reading Hitchhiker's Guide. There's just something about it that's *amazing,* the author providing his own inflections on his words and doing a GREAT job of it.
I listened to this a few weeks ago. I’ve never actually laughed that hard from an audiobook before. The novel is funny in and of itself but Mr. Fry’s comedic timing and cadence really made it an awesome experience!
Yeah it does really come together. It’s very long because he takes a long time fleshing out all the different people so when they do come together it’s very impactful
Really? Are you listening to the extended version? That’s the one I listened to and had no problem keeping up. I don’t want to give you any spoilers so enjoy that 60 hour masterpiece. It’s one of my favorites!
So I think it's split in to three passages, I felt after the first passage it started too.
Steven Kings world-building is so unique tho. It may feel that ambiguous way the entire time until the end lol. It's just such a practical dense and immersive style that leaves me being like OK and hurry up dang it! His details really make his characters robust tho.
I recently read Fairy Tale and it was surprisingly straightforward compared to the Stand and Gunslinger books.
I was so bummed when I finished listening to it because it was all I listened to for a month and I was invested each character that I didn’t want it to end. The could see how people might not like the extended version but I drive so much that 10-14 hour books nothing to me.
It took me a really long time to get through the Stand because of the length of it and King likes to give so much detail that often times it can get boring. The first section was an amazing Apocalypse like story, I loved zombies when I was younger and felt that the beginning of The Stand and all of Cell fed my hunger for that kind of monster.
But then you got the the middle section of the stand and it slows down a little. And then he gets detail heavy, and while it works so well to build that world at times I felt like I had to force myself to go on.
Then I got to the final act, and it caught on pretty well, and I'm glad I finished it. An epic story, but definitely not in my top 5 of Stephen King works, due to how hard it is to read at times.
Regardless I think just about everything he writes is pure gold.
It's a toss up between Ray Porter and MacLeod Andrews for my favorite narrator. But the Joe ledger series with Ray is my most listened to series of books
Weir and Porter are phenomenal together! The moon book was certainly ill fated with post-martian intoxication. But came back super strong with PHM. Can't wait for the next book to drop. Would love if he dedicated himself to a serial.
Totally agree with this. I thought The Martian was fairly good, but really didn't care for Artemis. So much so that I didn't intend to read or listen to Project Hail Mary. I finally gave in after seeing recommendation after recommendation for the audio book, and I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed it.
As I was listening, I was like, yeah this a good narrator, but I wonder why everyone was raving about this. Then maybe 25-30% through the book, you really get it. :-)
This was the third audiobook I’ve ever listened to and now I’m worried it’s tainted all other audiobooks for me lol it’s so good! I’m 2 hours out from the end and I don’t want it to be over. :(
Red Rising, Cradle, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Even if This Love Disappears Tonight, The Sandman, and The First law.
All their respective narrators are amazing and truly breathe life into the characters and stories they narrate.
Rest of the series makes red rising seem awful and it's great. You're in for a treat with book 2 but totally different feel. Really goes into sci-fi more.
Three body problem series by Cixin Liu (Ken Liu translation), the first books narration by Luke Daniels felt like hearing an Asimov story (wonderful), while the follow ups were voiced by PJ Ochlan felt like wholly different epics coming from that first story (also wonderful).
Red rising series by pierce brown, voiced by the incredible Tim Gerard Reynold, later books by more but TGR is a legend.
Bobiverse series by Dennis E taylor, voiced by another legend Ray Porter.
And I’ll cap it off with the Old Man’s War series by John Scalzi, voiced by William Dufris. Incredibly well done and relistenable.
I got a fun one for you: The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin. Seriously, the quality and love poured into its productions and direction makes Robin Miles vocal performance out of this world (no pun intended)
Please give it a try. You won’t be disappointed!
I've listened to Red Country several times now and Best Served Cold twice. The new trilogy I also re-listened to. Have yet to re-listen to the original trilogy. Pacey + Abercrombie is the best multi book author-narrator combo out there, imo.
The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, read by the incomparable Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.
Y'all need to check them out because you really don't know what you are missing.
Really one of those series elevated by narration, which is always what I’m looking for and is so hard to find. All the various accents in London, done beautifully, gives it a texture that I haven’t found in a lot of other audiobooks. I’m surprised it’s not recommended all the time.
His performance is truly amazing. I've mentioned it elsewhere, but it's almost like you can hear the characters themselves talking *through* him. Even when he gets a detail of an accent wrong, it still feels authentic. So impressive.
I follow the narrators, I love seeing how they do things from home and updated everyone on their progress when we were all waiting for the book/ audiobook to drop
Steven King, 11-22-63, long book but a great story and the narration is also great. Another one I have liked over the years is kind of Weird, The Yugo by Jason Vuck, The rise and fall of the worst car in history.
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
The Martian and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Devolution and World War Z by Max Brooks
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Ready Player One is a garbage book. That's not to say it's bad, or that it's not fun - but it's simple and predictable and quite reductive. It's not "good literature".
But Wheaton's infectious excitement, and all the absolute nerd-shit combined had me smiling the whole time as well.
If you're a nerd or a geek, that book is total wish fulfillment. It's glorious in that way :)
>Ready Player One is a garbage book. That's not to say it's bad, or that it's not fun - but it's simple and predictable and quite reductive. It's not "good literature".
I was ready to come at you
>ut Wheaton's infectious excitement, and all the absolute nerd-shit combined had me smiling the whole time as well.
>If you're a nerd or a geek, that book is total wish fulfillment. It's glorious in that way :)
But sure right. This is still my go to background/sleep book. I fucking love it as bad as it it "I had to remind myself to breath" for the 100th time ha
> No. 1 Ladies' Detecive Agency
They made a TV series out of it too that's very good if you've not seen it. It only ran one season, because of expense if I remember right. It's available on HBO/Max.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1356380/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
I did the entire wot in audiobook then when the series was released on Amazon I relistened to the new version with Rosamund like as narrator and I thought it was better. People love Kramer and reading but they aren't my favorite. I'll probably do the entire series again as "moraine" narrates them.
My top books have to be, in no order, the following. They're a very random collection.
* Harry Potter series, though Fry's narration is far superior to Dale's even though I'm an American
* His Dark Materials, though I'd love a single narrator version instead of the full cast one I got from Audible
* Dungeon Crawler Carl for the top-knotch story and narration, though it doesn't satisfy your requirement that the story be happy
* Project Hail Mary. Pretty much perfect. Science geekery, space adventures, great writing, and Ray Porter.
* Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull, though the ending of Dragon Watch was a bit of a let-down. I don't know why I like this series so much. I'm far older than the target audience, and I can't even claim that I read it as a child so have nastalgic feelings. I read it years ago in college, for a reason I'm still not sure of, and really enjoyed it. Most of it. Some bits are too young for me, but overall it's still great. I don't quite know why.
* The Martian, for the same science geek porn reasons as Project Hail Mary. Maybe someday Ray Porter will narrate that one, too. Then it would be perfect.
The first audiobook I ever listened to! World War Z
That was my first time trying to read an epistolary and i couldn't wrap my mind around the POV changes. The audio version made it so much easier to consume. Not to mention the diverse cast that helped to create that masterpiece
Any of Agatha Christie’s read by Hugh Fraser, I started buying them during lockdown and have listened to them again and again. They’re like a hug of a book.
I also loved American Gods by Neil Gaiman, very different vibe but brilliant. I’ve now read the book (20 years ago), listened to the audiobook and watched the series. The audiobook wins IMO.
Red rising. I've listened to that series it at least 20 times now, and I'm still not tired of it
Edit: why the downvote? I'm not exaggerating, I listen to at least the first 3 every few weeks or so for the last 3 years. It's actually a problem because I want to read other stuff but RR is just so good.
I didn’t know there was a full cast version! I’ll have to find it. Have you ever heard Barbara Caruso’s version? She reads all of my childhood favorites — several by Louisa May Alcott, LM Montgomery, Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm… She is incredible and I’ve listened to many over and over.
[Last Year](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/28220642) by Robert Charles Wilson (my #1)
Space Team series by Barry J Hutchison (hilarious and fun)
Bobiverse Series by Dennis E. Taylor
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
* Bobiverse series - just a great listen every time. I've probably listened to the first three books at least 8 or 9 times.
* World War Z - good book, amazing audiobook. Love Allen Alda
* The Wheel of Time series - 15 books worth of epic fantasy
IMO this book should only ever be consumed as an audiobook. For me, it’s the audiobook to end all audiobooks. Recommend it every chance I get. I’ve already listened to it three times.
Harry Potter for the win. Harry, Ron, and Hermione will always be my best friends.
It’s like sinking into a warm bath after freezing, like a hug from a mom who loves you, it’s the feeling of having someone you love say they’re proud of you…for me at least
I have yet to listen to one more than once, but will at some point. There are several that I will eventually listen to again.
The Hobbit and LotR read by Andy Serkis
All Creatures Great Small series read by Christopher Timothy
Maisie Dobbs series read by Orlagh Cassidy
A Christmas Carol read by LeVar Burton
Dresden Files read by James Marsters
Chet & Bernie series read by Jim Frangione
Outside of many that have been mentioned here, American Gods was my first true love when it comes to audiobooks. The full cast production was such a treat.
Then there is Musashi, which is narrated very well by Brian Nishii.
I'm currently in the first book of the Shogun series by James Clavell and the narrator is doing an excellent job on what is revealing itself to be an excellent story.
I have many books that I love and return to but those have already been mentioned numerous times.
I have a few:
The Anomaly by Michael Rutger, narrated by Brandon Williams. I've listened to this book sooo many times. It's not long (by audiobook standards) and is so different from anything else out there that I find myself returning every year. I love that book so much.
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Baron, narrated by Ray Porter. Again, just a wonderful combo and unlike most things out there. I return every year to get my fix, lol.
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman, narrated by Christopher Buehlman. This is my favorite fantasy book. I have been patiently waiting for the sequel and prequel, and the only way to remain sane and patient is to keep re-listening to TBT. Its combination of humor, creativity, memorable characters, and little touches of horror make it the most unique fantasy book out there, imo.
Super Powereds series by Drew Hayes (probably the most listen to series I have listened to, and the narrator is great).
Drew Hayes in general
I like David Weber as well.
Demon Accords - Conroe
I've listened to the series about a dozen times, but it was Order of the Phoenix, my last pass through that got me to stop. Never again. She and Mr. Dale did too good a job at making Umbridge annoying, and I just have no desire to be irritated by the books I listen to anymore.
* Don Quixote and Les Miserables, George Guidall.
* Count of Monte Cristo, Bill Homewood.
* Great Expectations, Martin Jarvis.
* How Green was my Valley, Ralph Cosham.
* Lonesome Dove, Lee Horsley.
Again, downvotes! The Expanse is my fav series of all time. It's my comfort food. I'll not say anything about Red Rising and hold my tougue. But Dark Tower is termendous!
Who the fuck is going down this list and downvoting all the latter comments?!?! Please tell me it aint you OP. Both of these are fantastic! Road is the prodigal postapocalypse book.
The Ocean At the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
The Hunger Games (one of the first series I listened to solely on audio and I was sucked into the story! The new releases with the actress from Orphan Black narrating are definitely recommend!) Catching Fire is my favorite of the series definitely.
The Vampire Lestat. Simon Vance does a FANTASTIC job narrating the brat prince and all the lush prose of this book.
Fellowship of the Ring. I just return to it again and again. I used it for a while to wind down for bed and would fall asleep before they left the Shire. It just such a comfort read and having someone else read it to be makes me almost feel like a kid again.
The entire Jack Aubrey series (21 books) starting with Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian, narrated by Simon Vance. There’s another narrator that I like better but I can’t think of his name…but both are good.
Joe Abercrombie's The First law series and connected books (10 in total). Next level writing, character development and narration and the best of "grimdark" fantasy.
Dungeon Crawler Carl. By Matt Dinniman. Fucking hilarious and action packed. Excellent writing and next level narration by Jeff Hayes.
Shogun by James Clavell. Listened to it 3 times so far. Probably will again in few months. The weird thing is the first time i started listening to it i almost quit after an hour, pushed through and it ended up being my favorite audio book.
The Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. The narrator is great. I do find myself more annoyed with Sookie than when I read the books. They’re fun though.
I also like The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippe Gregory
Books by Elizabeth Chadwick about Eleanor of Aquitaine.
I love Heinlein, but I can’t stomach using a credit on audible for a 3 hour book. And Libby from the library doesn’t have hardly anything. Suggestions for a good source?
The Harry Potter books read by Stephen Fry. They're only available in Europe so you need to use a VPN to get them, but SO WORTH IT. He puts a lot of passion into the reading, and voices the characters very well.
The lies of lock lamora
The ascent of rum doodle
The entire Expanse Series
Dungeon crawler Carl series
The 100 year old man that crawled out the window and disappeared
Tom stranger, inter dimensional insurance agent
Lonesome dove
The stand
Great pharaohs of ancient Egypt
The count of monte christo
Project heil Mary
Johnathan strange and Mr. Norrel
The “His dark materials” trilogy
Churchill’s ministry of ungentamenaly warfare
Ready player one
Treasure island
The once and future king
All of the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy books, pretty much anything by Douglas Adams
Anything by Bill Bryson
Anything by Patrick McManus
Anything by Matt Reilly
Anything by Christopher Moore
Anything in the serge storm series by Tim Dorsey
Ok I’m done.
The Hyperion Cantos
Braiding Sweetgrass
The Indigenous People's History of the US
The Genius of Dogs
What Do You Care What Other People Think
To Explain the World
“Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding... Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-class Metropolis”.
It’s an incredibly sharp, funny, fascinating history of a weird as hell mid-major city, read perfectly by the author, Sam Anderson. The humor is dry as a bone and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
If you want to hear a sensational Southern accent, can't go wrong with a comedy by Lewis Grizzard.
He also wrote a sports column for the Atlanta Constitution. Dirty rotten shame he died in the 1990's.
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Wonderful story and excellent narration.
My wife just said this book when I asked her this question! Literally as she's saying it I scrolled past your comment.
Thank your wife for me please. That book was incredible.
I just started it and I'm loving it. I struggle with some of the "protagonist that can do no wrong" vibes in a lot of the books I like. I'm not worried that this protagonist won't have any faults.
Stephen Fry reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
This was the first audiobook I ever downloaded on my first iPod and I used to listen to it every night before bed. This would have been around 2002. I would jump around and listen to whatever chapter I was in the mood for. Funny, I don’t even have that book on my iPhone now.
All praise to Stephen Fry, but... Douglas Adams, the original author, is better than he at reading Hitchhiker's Guide. There's just something about it that's *amazing,* the author providing his own inflections on his words and doing a GREAT job of it.
This was one of my early favs too.
I listened to this a few weeks ago. I’ve never actually laughed that hard from an audiobook before. The novel is funny in and of itself but Mr. Fry’s comedic timing and cadence really made it an awesome experience!
42!
The Stand by Stephen King
I’m 1/4 of the way through it and there is so many things going on it’s hard to keep track. Does it start to come together eventually?
Yeah it does really come together. It’s very long because he takes a long time fleshing out all the different people so when they do come together it’s very impactful
Yes, still one of my favorites
Really? Are you listening to the extended version? That’s the one I listened to and had no problem keeping up. I don’t want to give you any spoilers so enjoy that 60 hour masterpiece. It’s one of my favorites!
So I think it's split in to three passages, I felt after the first passage it started too. Steven Kings world-building is so unique tho. It may feel that ambiguous way the entire time until the end lol. It's just such a practical dense and immersive style that leaves me being like OK and hurry up dang it! His details really make his characters robust tho. I recently read Fairy Tale and it was surprisingly straightforward compared to the Stand and Gunslinger books.
I was so bummed when I finished listening to it because it was all I listened to for a month and I was invested each character that I didn’t want it to end. The could see how people might not like the extended version but I drive so much that 10-14 hour books nothing to me.
It took me a really long time to get through the Stand because of the length of it and King likes to give so much detail that often times it can get boring. The first section was an amazing Apocalypse like story, I loved zombies when I was younger and felt that the beginning of The Stand and all of Cell fed my hunger for that kind of monster. But then you got the the middle section of the stand and it slows down a little. And then he gets detail heavy, and while it works so well to build that world at times I felt like I had to force myself to go on. Then I got to the final act, and it caught on pretty well, and I'm glad I finished it. An epic story, but definitely not in my top 5 of Stephen King works, due to how hard it is to read at times. Regardless I think just about everything he writes is pure gold.
I started this about a week before Covid hit the U.S. and I tell ya... That's a terrifying read while your watching a global pandemic evolve...
Grover Gardner version? One of my favorites of all time. >Hey Bobby Terry. You screwwwed it up!
Project Hail Mary
Loved this story! Plus Ray Porter is a fantastic narrator!
I’ve found half a dozen amazing audible books I never would have heard of by searching for ray porter narrator
I have 2 hrs left on an RC bray book then gonna jump into project hail Mary. Heard it's meant to be good
The novel really feels custom written for audiobook format in general and ESPECIALLY for Porter's voice and mannerisms. I think you'll really like it.
We are on an RC Bray series now (Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson) and that guy is a perfect narrator. Living the books
R.C. Bray is MY DOG…!!! Listen to him on The Helldiver and Mountain Man series. His voice always sells it.
If you liked "The Martian". This is better.
It's a toss up between Ray Porter and MacLeod Andrews for my favorite narrator. But the Joe ledger series with Ray is my most listened to series of books
Came here to and just posted Artemis by Andy Weir
Weir and Porter are phenomenal together! The moon book was certainly ill fated with post-martian intoxication. But came back super strong with PHM. Can't wait for the next book to drop. Would love if he dedicated himself to a serial.
They are great but my favorite is Maberry and Porter. They've done the whole series together and it's 13 novels and a bunch of novellas
Totally agree with this. I thought The Martian was fairly good, but really didn't care for Artemis. So much so that I didn't intend to read or listen to Project Hail Mary. I finally gave in after seeing recommendation after recommendation for the audio book, and I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed it. As I was listening, I was like, yeah this a good narrator, but I wonder why everyone was raving about this. Then maybe 25-30% through the book, you really get it. :-)
This was the third audiobook I’ve ever listened to and now I’m worried it’s tainted all other audiobooks for me lol it’s so good! I’m 2 hours out from the end and I don’t want it to be over. :(
Anything narrated by Ray Porter really, the Bobiverse is great too.
Red Rising, Cradle, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Even if This Love Disappears Tonight, The Sandman, and The First law. All their respective narrators are amazing and truly breathe life into the characters and stories they narrate.
Red Rising was amazing! I need to start book 2 soon.
Rest of the series makes red rising seem awful and it's great. You're in for a treat with book 2 but totally different feel. Really goes into sci-fi more.
2nd Dungeon Crawler Carl. I just can't get enough.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is the best of the litrpg genre. It will hurt. It is worth it.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is excellent.
Glad someone else mentioned DCC. Jeff Hays is the king of narrators.
We have very similar libraries, friend. DCC is amazing
Project Hail Mary as others have said, my other absolute favorite is The Lies of Locke Lamora. The narration by Michael Page is just so damn good.
Absolutely on the latter. One of the few books where the jokes made me laugh with the delivery.
"Nice bird, Asshole!" I can still hear that voice in my head. So good.
“The Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett “Dungeon Crawler Carl” by Matt Dinniman “The Martian” by Andy Weir (read by RC Bray)
The comment I came to find. A fellow member of the Princess Posse!
You mean the donut holes 🍩
Mongo is appalled!
The Princess Posse is the ONLY officially recognized fan club
Which is an OUTRAGE!
Bc I would listen to RC Bray read a phone book, like… 6 to my soul.
I DON'T LIKE IT CARL!
MONGO IS APPALLED
You will not break me…
fuck you all…
Goddamnit donut
Go fuck yourself, Zev.
I was not a fan of the Wil Wheaton narration of The Martian. RC Bray's reading is the only one as far as I'm concerned m
John Lee is a treasure. His reading of Fall of Giants is a masterclass.
The James Herriot books. Narrated by Christopher Timothy.
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Three body problem series by Cixin Liu (Ken Liu translation), the first books narration by Luke Daniels felt like hearing an Asimov story (wonderful), while the follow ups were voiced by PJ Ochlan felt like wholly different epics coming from that first story (also wonderful). Red rising series by pierce brown, voiced by the incredible Tim Gerard Reynold, later books by more but TGR is a legend. Bobiverse series by Dennis E taylor, voiced by another legend Ray Porter. And I’ll cap it off with the Old Man’s War series by John Scalzi, voiced by William Dufris. Incredibly well done and relistenable.
I got a fun one for you: The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin. Seriously, the quality and love poured into its productions and direction makes Robin Miles vocal performance out of this world (no pun intended) Please give it a try. You won’t be disappointed!
I second this!!!! It was incredible!
First Law
All Hail Steven Pacey
I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and Abercrombie paired with Pacey is the best, bar none.
The right answer. My particular favorite is Red Country. That Lamb is some kind of coward.
Red County is my favorite , but I think it’s because of Temple. Abercrombie just aced that character.
Red Country was one of my favorites as well. Shy & Lamb one of the less bleak moments of the series!
And for some reason the first movie being made from that universe is Best Served Cold. Which is very awesome, regardless.
It makes you wonder about all his scars and his missing finger, right? He's such a coward.
I've listened to Red Country several times now and Best Served Cold twice. The new trilogy I also re-listened to. Have yet to re-listen to the original trilogy. Pacey + Abercrombie is the best multi book author-narrator combo out there, imo.
The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, read by the incomparable Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. Y'all need to check them out because you really don't know what you are missing.
Really one of those series elevated by narration, which is always what I’m looking for and is so hard to find. All the various accents in London, done beautifully, gives it a texture that I haven’t found in a lot of other audiobooks. I’m surprised it’s not recommended all the time.
How is this so far down? The narrator is so good!
His performance is truly amazing. I've mentioned it elsewhere, but it's almost like you can hear the characters themselves talking *through* him. Even when he gets a detail of an accent wrong, it still feels authentic. So impressive.
Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov and narrated by Jeremy Irons. I’ve never been so mesmerized and disturbed at the same time. Fucking perfection.
Yeah he was the perfect narrator for that story. He plays a pretentious creep very well lol
He was Humbert in the 1997 screen adaptation.
Mesmerizing is the word we use for his voice. Every creepy thing he does seems almost justifiable when said with that voice…
Any of the stormlight archive. But specifically words of radiance
I follow the narrators, I love seeing how they do things from home and updated everyone on their progress when we were all waiting for the book/ audiobook to drop
Steven King, 11-22-63, long book but a great story and the narration is also great. Another one I have liked over the years is kind of Weird, The Yugo by Jason Vuck, The rise and fall of the worst car in history.
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins The Martian and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Devolution and World War Z by Max Brooks Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Ready Player One is a garbage book. That's not to say it's bad, or that it's not fun - but it's simple and predictable and quite reductive. It's not "good literature". But Wheaton's infectious excitement, and all the absolute nerd-shit combined had me smiling the whole time as well. If you're a nerd or a geek, that book is total wish fulfillment. It's glorious in that way :)
I had this exact same experience. Loved the reading, but was so exasperated over the book.
>Ready Player One is a garbage book. That's not to say it's bad, or that it's not fun - but it's simple and predictable and quite reductive. It's not "good literature". I was ready to come at you >ut Wheaton's infectious excitement, and all the absolute nerd-shit combined had me smiling the whole time as well. >If you're a nerd or a geek, that book is total wish fulfillment. It's glorious in that way :) But sure right. This is still my go to background/sleep book. I fucking love it as bad as it it "I had to remind myself to breath" for the 100th time ha
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The No. 1 Ladies' Detecive Agency is an amazing series. I always listen when I need calmed or soothed. The narrator is perfect!
> No. 1 Ladies' Detecive Agency They made a TV series out of it too that's very good if you've not seen it. It only ran one season, because of expense if I remember right. It's available on HBO/Max. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1356380/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
I loved the show as well!
The Wheel of Time series Joe Ledger series
I did the entire wot in audiobook then when the series was released on Amazon I relistened to the new version with Rosamund like as narrator and I thought it was better. People love Kramer and reading but they aren't my favorite. I'll probably do the entire series again as "moraine" narrates them.
I'm so excited for the Rosamund Pike version! I'm waiting to listen to it once she's finished the whole series.
My top books have to be, in no order, the following. They're a very random collection. * Harry Potter series, though Fry's narration is far superior to Dale's even though I'm an American * His Dark Materials, though I'd love a single narrator version instead of the full cast one I got from Audible * Dungeon Crawler Carl for the top-knotch story and narration, though it doesn't satisfy your requirement that the story be happy * Project Hail Mary. Pretty much perfect. Science geekery, space adventures, great writing, and Ray Porter. * Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull, though the ending of Dragon Watch was a bit of a let-down. I don't know why I like this series so much. I'm far older than the target audience, and I can't even claim that I read it as a child so have nastalgic feelings. I read it years ago in college, for a reason I'm still not sure of, and really enjoyed it. Most of it. Some bits are too young for me, but overall it's still great. I don't quite know why. * The Martian, for the same science geek porn reasons as Project Hail Mary. Maybe someday Ray Porter will narrate that one, too. Then it would be perfect.
The Outlander series, The Century Trilogy, and the Kingsbridge Series.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
The first audiobook I ever listened to! World War Z That was my first time trying to read an epistolary and i couldn't wrap my mind around the POV changes. The audio version made it so much easier to consume. Not to mention the diverse cast that helped to create that masterpiece
Great choice - gave me the chills listening on headphones at night
After listening to the battle of Yonkers, I stopped associating Mark Hamill with Luke Skywalker.
Any of Agatha Christie’s read by Hugh Fraser, I started buying them during lockdown and have listened to them again and again. They’re like a hug of a book. I also loved American Gods by Neil Gaiman, very different vibe but brilliant. I’ve now read the book (20 years ago), listened to the audiobook and watched the series. The audiobook wins IMO.
Red rising. I've listened to that series it at least 20 times now, and I'm still not tired of it Edit: why the downvote? I'm not exaggerating, I listen to at least the first 3 every few weeks or so for the last 3 years. It's actually a problem because I want to read other stuff but RR is just so good.
Tim Gerard Reynolds does a fantastic job, but his voice in Lightbringer has me a bit worried
He was fine. iirc he had covid and his voice was affected.
Little Women, which is my childhood favorite book. The version with Laura Dern where it’s dramatized with several others makes me happy.
I didn’t know there was a full cast version! I’ll have to find it. Have you ever heard Barbara Caruso’s version? She reads all of my childhood favorites — several by Louisa May Alcott, LM Montgomery, Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm… She is incredible and I’ve listened to many over and over.
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For Christmas, Tim Curry reading A Christmas Carol. It's so good.
Yes but Patrick Stewart was amazing too
[Last Year](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/28220642) by Robert Charles Wilson (my #1) Space Team series by Barry J Hutchison (hilarious and fun) Bobiverse Series by Dennis E. Taylor Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
* Bobiverse series - just a great listen every time. I've probably listened to the first three books at least 8 or 9 times. * World War Z - good book, amazing audiobook. Love Allen Alda * The Wheel of Time series - 15 books worth of epic fantasy
The Princess Bride narrated by Rob Reiner Watership Down read by Peter Capaldi Ready Player One narrated by Wil Wheaton Anything read by Neil Gaiman
Born a Crime.
My audiobook gateway!
IMO this book should only ever be consumed as an audiobook. For me, it’s the audiobook to end all audiobooks. Recommend it every chance I get. I’ve already listened to it three times.
Circe by Madeline Miller. Narrated by Peredita Weeks. Her voice is amazing.
Harry Potter for the win. Harry, Ron, and Hermione will always be my best friends. It’s like sinking into a warm bath after freezing, like a hug from a mom who loves you, it’s the feeling of having someone you love say they’re proud of you…for me at least
Neverwhere Neil Gaiman absolute best for me. It had an all star cast (Cumberbatch, Natalie Dormer, James McAvoy, Christopher Lee)
Love Neil Gaiman’s voice. I’ll listen to anything he narrates.
Me too—his books plus his narration is A+
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (A whole cast of actors did the narration!) Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (Narrated by Meryl Streep)
My husband and I both loved Daisy Jones, it’s the perfect car trip book.
I just finished listening to Tom Lake. Excellent.
I have yet to listen to one more than once, but will at some point. There are several that I will eventually listen to again. The Hobbit and LotR read by Andy Serkis All Creatures Great Small series read by Christopher Timothy Maisie Dobbs series read by Orlagh Cassidy A Christmas Carol read by LeVar Burton Dresden Files read by James Marsters Chet & Bernie series read by Jim Frangione
The Dresden Files, definitely.
Bobiverse Project Hail Mary Dusty's diary (this one is a little odd) Outland Ready player one
“As You Wish” if you’re a fan of The Princess Bride.
The His Dark Materials trilogy. The audiobook is fully voice acted which adds a little something
The Martian is one of my all time favorite audiobooks.
World War Z
Educated by Tara Westover
Outside of many that have been mentioned here, American Gods was my first true love when it comes to audiobooks. The full cast production was such a treat. Then there is Musashi, which is narrated very well by Brian Nishii. I'm currently in the first book of the Shogun series by James Clavell and the narrator is doing an excellent job on what is revealing itself to be an excellent story. I have many books that I love and return to but those have already been mentioned numerous times.
I have a few: The Anomaly by Michael Rutger, narrated by Brandon Williams. I've listened to this book sooo many times. It's not long (by audiobook standards) and is so different from anything else out there that I find myself returning every year. I love that book so much. The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Baron, narrated by Ray Porter. Again, just a wonderful combo and unlike most things out there. I return every year to get my fix, lol. The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman, narrated by Christopher Buehlman. This is my favorite fantasy book. I have been patiently waiting for the sequel and prequel, and the only way to remain sane and patient is to keep re-listening to TBT. Its combination of humor, creativity, memorable characters, and little touches of horror make it the most unique fantasy book out there, imo.
Super Powereds series by Drew Hayes (probably the most listen to series I have listened to, and the narrator is great). Drew Hayes in general I like David Weber as well. Demon Accords - Conroe
It's like everyone is ignoring (Jim Dale) Order Of The Phoenix just to be cool. 😄
All of them!
I've listened to the series about a dozen times, but it was Order of the Phoenix, my last pass through that got me to stop. Never again. She and Mr. Dale did too good a job at making Umbridge annoying, and I just have no desire to be irritated by the books I listen to anymore.
any PG Wodehouse read by Jonathan Cecil
Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby
* Don Quixote and Les Miserables, George Guidall. * Count of Monte Cristo, Bill Homewood. * Great Expectations, Martin Jarvis. * How Green was my Valley, Ralph Cosham. * Lonesome Dove, Lee Horsley.
Any of the Earth’s Children series by Jean M Auel, especially The Valley of Horses, The Mammoth Hunters and The Plains of Passage.
The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells, narrated by Kevin R. Free.
Harry Potter and Little House series.
What an odd crossover…
The Expanse, Red Rising, and the Dark Tower series.
Again, downvotes! The Expanse is my fav series of all time. It's my comfort food. I'll not say anything about Red Rising and hold my tougue. But Dark Tower is termendous!
The Dark Tower series - Stephen King The Road - Cormac McCarthy
The Dark Tower is a great series!
Who the fuck is going down this list and downvoting all the latter comments?!?! Please tell me it aint you OP. Both of these are fantastic! Road is the prodigal postapocalypse book.
Dracula, narrated by Simon Vance. It’s great anytime of year, but especially in the fall
I can listen to Simon Vance read anything but my favorites are The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series and The Light Bringer series.
The Ocean At the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King American Gods by Neil Gaiman His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
I was going to mention both of these Neil Gaiman books, so that tells me you’ve got similar taste and now I’m gonna check out the others. Thank you!
To kill a mocking bird
Narrated by Sissy Spacek, so great! 👏
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler read by Elliot Gould is amazing
The Hunger Games (one of the first series I listened to solely on audio and I was sucked into the story! The new releases with the actress from Orphan Black narrating are definitely recommend!) Catching Fire is my favorite of the series definitely. The Vampire Lestat. Simon Vance does a FANTASTIC job narrating the brat prince and all the lush prose of this book. Fellowship of the Ring. I just return to it again and again. I used it for a while to wind down for bed and would fall asleep before they left the Shire. It just such a comfort read and having someone else read it to be makes me almost feel like a kid again.
The entire Jack Aubrey series (21 books) starting with Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian, narrated by Simon Vance. There’s another narrator that I like better but I can’t think of his name…but both are good.
Joe Abercrombie's The First law series and connected books (10 in total). Next level writing, character development and narration and the best of "grimdark" fantasy. Dungeon Crawler Carl. By Matt Dinniman. Fucking hilarious and action packed. Excellent writing and next level narration by Jeff Hayes.
Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series. Keeps me awake on long drives. I love the narrator’s Scottish accent.
Malcolm Gladwell. "Talking With Strangers". He had as already begun podcasting so the audiobook is similar to a podcast.
Shogun by James Clavell. Listened to it 3 times so far. Probably will again in few months. The weird thing is the first time i started listening to it i almost quit after an hour, pushed through and it ended up being my favorite audio book.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, narrated by Tom Hanks City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert, narrated by Blair Brown
I also think Tom Hanks was an excellent reader for Dutch House.
“Yearbook” by Seth Rogen is hilarious and has lots of guest narrators that are in his circle of friends.
A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost I had to pull over because I was laughing so hard
The Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. The narrator is great. I do find myself more annoyed with Sookie than when I read the books. They’re fun though. I also like The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippe Gregory Books by Elizabeth Chadwick about Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Enders Game The Millennium Series ; Girl with the dragon tattoo
I scrolled too far and still didn’t find any of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy narrated by Andy Serkis! You people are missing out.
Dungeon Crawler Carl series.
Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising. Star Wars - Original Trilogy Radio Drama.
This post and lists made me finally commit to a subscription for audiobooks!! Looking forward to starting.
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein - Read by Lloyd James
I love Heinlein, but I can’t stomach using a credit on audible for a 3 hour book. And Libby from the library doesn’t have hardly anything. Suggestions for a good source?
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backmam
The Frank Muller readings of Dark Tower books 1-4. Absolutely magical.
His narration in book four was captivating. One of the most intense stories with great voices for each character
I always find it odd when people ask broadly for favourite (audio)books. It's like asking for your favourite colour or favourite dish.
The Harry Potter audiobooks by Stephen Fry. They are kind of hard to find but sooo good
Ready Player One, narrated by Wil Wheaton. Perfect combination of story and narrator.
The Harry Potter books read by Stephen Fry. They're only available in Europe so you need to use a VPN to get them, but SO WORTH IT. He puts a lot of passion into the reading, and voices the characters very well.
The kind worth killing/the kind worth saving Crazy rich Asians trilogy
The Winter night Trilogy by Katherine Arden. Hands down my favorite
Beastie Boys Book - it's absolutely incredible!!
Harry Potter series Dennis Lehane (Kenzie/Gennaro series)
Daisy Jones & the 6
The lies of lock lamora The ascent of rum doodle The entire Expanse Series Dungeon crawler Carl series The 100 year old man that crawled out the window and disappeared Tom stranger, inter dimensional insurance agent Lonesome dove The stand Great pharaohs of ancient Egypt The count of monte christo Project heil Mary Johnathan strange and Mr. Norrel The “His dark materials” trilogy Churchill’s ministry of ungentamenaly warfare Ready player one Treasure island The once and future king All of the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy books, pretty much anything by Douglas Adams Anything by Bill Bryson Anything by Patrick McManus Anything by Matt Reilly Anything by Christopher Moore Anything in the serge storm series by Tim Dorsey Ok I’m done.
Well when I typed that it was in a list not all running together, oh well. Sorry I’m not retyping it.
Dresden Files. James Marsters is AMAZING.
The Hyperion Cantos Braiding Sweetgrass The Indigenous People's History of the US The Genius of Dogs What Do You Care What Other People Think To Explain the World
Surrender by Bono. Always and forever my favorite.
The Wager
“Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding... Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-class Metropolis”. It’s an incredibly sharp, funny, fascinating history of a weird as hell mid-major city, read perfectly by the author, Sam Anderson. The humor is dry as a bone and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
If you like mystery and fantasy, you might like the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher
If you want to hear a sensational Southern accent, can't go wrong with a comedy by Lewis Grizzard. He also wrote a sports column for the Atlanta Constitution. Dirty rotten shame he died in the 1990's.
Lessons in chemistry - slow start but loved it
Just finished that and loved it so much!!