Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion
2012 Challenge Archive
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Audio Book Challenge: Delightful Diction or Nightmare Narration?
OK - so I will create the list of participants in this post and link name each to their post in this thread :)Jane - Loud Mouth
Dee - Loud Mouth
Judy - Whisper
Fran - Whisper
Sassafrass - Loud Mouth
Sass - part 2!
JenC - Mega Phone
JenC part 2!
Niq aka Quill -
MountainKat - Softly Spoken � 30-Apr Modulator � 24-Aug
MountainKat - Part 2 - Loud Mouth
Rishika - Softly Spoken
Sallie - Mega Phone
DG - Loud Mouth
DG part 2!
Yz - Softly Spoken
Lizz Neill - Whisper
Vi - Whisper
Jade aka MrsTosh - Softly Spoken
Megan L - Mega Phone
KarenH - Softly Spoken � 24-Mar
Shell - Softly Spoken � 24-May
Lynne - Softly Spoken
LisaKay - Mega Phone
Lisa Kay part 2!
Rose - Loud Mouth
Valerie~Varuca~ - Softly Spoken
Ian - Loud Mouth � 10-Jun
Christine - Whisper
Courtney - Softly Spoken
~Sara~ - Whisper
Penney - Loud Mouth
Nicola - Loud Mouth
Barbara - Modulator
Joellen - Softly Spoken
Suzanne - Whisper
and me ;) - i'm upgrading to Mega-Phone51/50 complete; pending reviews 10
Running Count:
Delightful Dictation: 24
Nightmare Narration: 2
Somewhere in the Middle: 15
Narrators
David Colacci & Kathy Garver
Amanda Ronconi (x2)
Sandra Burr (x2)
Abby Craden
Steven Percy
Susan Denaker (x2)
Kathe Mazur (x2)
Oliver Wyman
Susan Erickson (x2)
Patrick Lawlor & Renee Raudman
Nadia May
Clare Corbett
Elisabeth S. Rodgers
Roxanne Hernandez & Blas Kisic
Gordon McKenzie
Xe Sands
CJ Critt
Matilda Novak
Anne Flosnik
Bernadette Dunne
Phil Gigante
Davina Porter
Ellen DeGeneres
Deidre Lovejoy
John Pruden
Alan Alda
Karen White
Natalie Ross
Laurel Merlington
Susan O'Malley
Emily Gray
Tanya Eby
Daniel Hill
1. White Lies - JAK - narrated by David Colacci and Kathy Garver - 2/16 - 2/20 - My Review - NN
2. A Little Night Magic - Lucy March - narrated by Amanda Ronconi - 2/20 - 2/23 - My Review - DD
3. Prey: A Novel - Linda Howard - narrated by Abby Craden - 2/22 - 2/29 - My Review - ItM
4. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void - Mary Roach - narrated by Sandra Burr - 2/23 - 2/28 - My Review - DD
5. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie -narrated by Steven Percy - 2/28 - 3/15 - My Review - DD
6. Sizzle and Burn - Jayne Ann Krentz - narrated by Sandra Burr - 3/16-3/20 - My Review - ItM
7. There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell: A Novel of Sewer Pipes, Pageant Queens, and Big Trouble - Laurie Notaro - narrated by Susan Denaker - 3/11 - 3/22 - My Review - DD
8. Body Double - Tess Gerritsen - narrated by Kathe Mazur - 3/20 - 3/25 - My Review - DD
9. The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove - Christopher Moore - narrated by Oliver Wyman - 3/23 - 4/13 - My Review - ItM
10. Vanish - Tess Gerritsen - narrated by Susan Denaker - 3/25 - 4/13 - My Review - DD
11. Portrait in Death - JD Robb - narrated by Susan Erickson - 4/13 - 4/19 - My Review - DD
12. The Night Ferry - Michael Robotham - narrated by Clare Corbett - 4/16 - 4/26 - - ItM
13. The Schoolmaster's Daughter - John Smolens - narrated by Elisabeth Rogers - 4/26 - 5/1 - - DD
14. Shadow Man - Cody MacFayden - narrated by Kate Reading - 4/26 - 5/1 - - DD
15. The Mephisto Club - Tess Gerristen - narrated by Kathe Mazur - 5/1- 5/7 - - DD
16. Perfect Chemistry - Simone Elkeles - narrated by Roxanne Hernandez & Blas Kisic - 5/7 - 5/11 - - DD
17. The Missing - Chris Mooney - narrated by Bernadette Dunne - 5/4 - 5/16 - - ItM
18. Breaking the Rules - Suzanne Brockmann - narrated by Patrick Lawlor & Renee Raudman - 5/11 - 5/19 - -DD
19. Agnes Grey - Anne Bronte - narrated by Nadia May - 5/19 - 5/22 - - ItM
20. Elijah - Jacquelene Frank - narrated by Xe Sands - 5/17 - 5/25 - - DD
21. A Secret Affair - Mary Balogh - narrated by Anne Flosnik - 5/22 - 5/25 - - High side of ItM
22. Blood Brothers - Nora Roberts - narrated by Phil Gigante - 5/25 - 5/31 - - DD
23. The Dirty Secrets Club - Meg Gardiner - narrated by Susan Erickson - 5/25 - 6/5 - - ItM
24. A Book of Tongues - Gemma Files - narrated by Gordon McKenzie - 6/1 - 6/8 - - DD
25. Seriously...I'm Kidding - Ellen DeGeneres - narrated by herself - 6/5 - 6/18 - My Review - DD
26. The Keepsake - Tess Gerritsen - narrated by Deirdre Lovejoy - 6/8 - 6/13 - My Review - ItM
27. One For The Money - Janet Evanovich - narrated by CJ Critt - 6/11 - 6/13 - - ItM
28. Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs - molly Harper - narrated by Amanda Ronconi - 6/13 - 6/19 - - DD
29. Pearl Harbor: FDR Leads the Nation Into War - Steven M. Gillon - narrated by John Pruden - 6/19 - 6/21 - - ItM
30. Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself - Alan Alda - narrated by self - 6/18 - 6/22 - - DD
31. Animal Magnetism - Jill Shalvis - narrated by Karen White - 6/19 - 6/23 - - DD
32. Undone - Karin Slaughter - narrated by Natalie Ross - 6/23 - 7/2 - - DD
33. Weekend Warriors - Fern Michaels - narrated by Laurel Merlington - 7/2 � 7/6 - - NN
34. Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army � Christie Blatchford � narrated by Matilda Novak - 7/6 - 7/11 - - DD
35. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery - narrated by Susan O'Malley - 7/12 - 7/16 - - ItM
36. The Toll-Gate - Georgette Heyer - narrated by Daniel Hill - 7/16 - 7/21 - - ItM
37. Ice Cold - Tess Gerritsen - narrated by Tanya Eby - 7/21 - 7/26 - - ItM
38. The Hollow - Nora Roberts - narrated by Marie Caliendo - 7/26 - 7/31
39. Anne of Avonlea - LM Montgomery - narrated by Laurie Klein - 8/31 - 8/4
40. Fancy Pants - Susan Elizabeth Philips - narrated by Anna Fields - 8/5 � 8/9
41. The Warlord Wants Forever � Kresley Cole � narrated by Hagan Verret and Simone Fomhar � 8/9 � 8/10
42. Cold Comfort � Quentin Bates � narrated by Davina Porter - 8/11� 8/22 - - DD
43. At Grave's End � Jeanine Frost � narrated by Tavia Gilbert - 8/23 � 8/29
44. The Stonecutter � Camilla Lackberg � narrated by David Thorn - 8/29 � 9/6 - - DD
45. Fool Moon � Jim Butcher � narrated by James Marsters - 9/7 � 9/11
46. Circle of Quilters - Jennifer Chiaverini � narrated by Christina Moore - 9/6 � 9/14
47. A Hunger Like No Other � Kresley Cole � narrated by Robert Peckhoff - 9/11 � 9/15
48. The Lifeboat � Charlotte Rogan � narrated by Rebecca Gibel - 9/16 � 9/20
49. Borkmann's Point - Håkan Nesser - narrated by Simon Vance - 9/20-9/22
50. Timeless - Gail Carriger � narrated by Emily Grey - 9/22 - 9/27 - - DD
51. Seduce Me in Dreams - Jacquelyn Frank � narrated by Coleen Marlo - 9/19-9/28
Listened Not Counted
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (Finished 4/25) - Narrator been used 2x already
Pending Reviews
The Hollow
Anne of Avonlea
Fancy Pants
The Warlord Wants Forever
Fool Moon
Circle of Quilters
A Hunger Like No Other
The Lifeboat
Borkmann’s Point
Seduce Me in Dreams
At Grave’s End
Delightful Diction or Nightmare Narration15 February - 14 November 2012
Loud Mouth: Completed 24/30
1.
: Narration by Natalie Ross and Phil Gigante - 4 stars. � 12-MarStoryline - 5 stars. Loved this book - nothing more to add!
Narration - 4 stars. Natalie Ross is the main narrator and does a great job with the accents. Phil just drops in occassionally to contribute a male voice, so Natalie is my official narrator under review. Joyce Bean narrated the previous 3 books - Natalie does a much better range of Irish, Scottish and American accents. She really brings Dani to life.
2.
: narrated by Phil Gigante. � 15-MarBook: 1 star. Mix a frustratingly obvious mystery (not) with a couple of illogical and pathetic main characters, and *ta-da* = an eye-rolling romance. Urgh!! I had so much trouble not giving up on this book. I read it for a challenge and that is the ONLY reason I persisted. No more DP for me.
Narrator: 4 stars. Great characterisation (when I could separate my hands from my hair and distance myself enough to appreciate the narration). Not too keen on his masculine laugh (it reminds me of a puppet laugh or the Count from Sesame Street) - but I think the book really affected my ability to appreciate his vocalisations.
3.
: narrated by Natalie Ross and Phil Gigante. � 2-AprStory - 4 stars. This book is a lot more verbose and protracted than previous offerings by KMM which I felt detracted significantly from the flow the story. I love the whole concept and world development, but there is a lot of repetition of internal thoughts by Mackayla - that really bored me! The same themes were pounded into my brain for pages, especially in the first 3 parts of the book. (I'm quite sick of the word 'duality'.) But the twists and outcome were great. I'm sure I'll read more in this world - I note there is a 'Fever 6' in the offing :)
Narration: 5+ stars! Excellent narration by both Ross and Gigante. Natalie does an amazing scene where she needs to laugh and talk at the same time. I was in awe of her verbal skills!
4.
: narrated by Amanda Ronconi. � 10-AprStory - 4 stars. I love Molly Harper's snark and sarcasm. The one-liners felt a bit more forced in this book, but it is still a fun read/listen. I'll tackle the next book when I'm in the mood for some more of Molly's life observations :)
Narration - 4 stars. When I first heard the narrator, I wasn't sure if her voice would get irritating after the first couple of chapters. But I was pleasantly surprised at how well the narrator settled into the story. Amanda's characterisation of 'Missy' from the Newly-Born Welcome Committee (not entirely sure of the name) was expert!!
5.
: narrated by James Marsters. � 16-AprStory - 3 stars. This was a fun bit of escapism. I'm not sure it would have held my attention in paperback, but as an audiobook it worked pretty well. It only really had me riveted toward the end, but I do like the premise so I will probably continue with the series if the reviews of later books are positive.
Narration - 3.5 stars. Decent narration which was impaired by sub-standard audio controls/editing I think. I could hear too much mouth-movement and breath in-takes (saliva/lip-smacking - the microphone was too close to the narrator's mouth I think). Not all was audio's fault - some of the deep breaths were part of the narration/characterisation; these were too exaggerated and bugged me (1/2 star deduction!).
6.
: narrated by Samuel L Jackson. � 16-AprWhat a hoot! Great little poem :)
Narration - 5 stars. Really well narrated - great for an infusion of fun in a neat little package.
7.
: narrated by Sean Crisden � 20-AprStory - 5 stars. I had previously read this story in ebook. Needless to say, I love this series! F&C is slight departure from the previous two books as it focuses more on Ty and Zane's relationship and their personal perceptions and development. I think I prefer these books to read, not listen. There are so many details to accumulate and this can be difficult in audio; my concentration is reduced as I am generally driving, so necessarily my attention is on the road.
Narration - 3 stars. Good solid narration. Perhaps he spoke just a fraction fast at times? but I liked his characterisations once I got into the story. Having previously read the book I already had preconceived notions of accents - I was expecting Zane's to be Texan, however I think this would have stretched any narrator on top of the Ty's US/English accent plus all the side characters' accents (Italian, Turkish, etc etc)...
8.
: narrated by Sawyer Allerde � 29-AprStory - 5 stars. Probably my favourite series and one that I have both in ebook and audio. I love it :)
Narration - 4 stars. Some ppl really don't like the narration of this audiobook, but I was pretty happy with it; I read somewhere that the narrator made some of the voices sound like comic-book characters, but I didn't find this at all. Perhaps because I'm not from the US? Most of my american accents are courtesy of sitcoms etc - there are some pretty weird accents on those, so it didn't seem out of place in this audio :) My main complaint is that I think Zane should have a deep Texan voice, and Ty's should also be deeper rather than not. The narrator's natural voice was deeper than his MC characterisations.
9.
: narrated by Sawyer Allerde & Ray Romano(?) � 2-MayStory - 5 stars. I hadn't read this book since the first time back in December so it was time for a reread! :)
Narration - 4 stars. Refer above comments. I would also add that Sawyer is pretty bad at female voices but since there is only 1 female in this book (Ty's mother, Mara) it isn't a huge issue :)
Note: It says on GR that Ray Romano also narrated parts of this book, but I truly couldn't pick that up :( Audible does not credit him with any narration, so I think someone is pulling our legs!
10.
: narrated by Sean Crisden � 16-MayStory: 5 stars. I just love this couple and all their inner (and outer!) turmoil.
Narrator: 5 stars. Sean has really settled into his narration of these characters. He conveys Zane & Ty so well, and it is easy to identify which character is speaking without the author prompts.
Now I just have to be patient for book 5 to come out in audio :)
11.
: narrated by Laural Merlington � 23-MayStory: 4 stars (reread)
Narrator: 3 stars.
When I first read this book I rated it 5 stars. The storyline didn't have the same impact for me on this occassion, and much of this was due to the narration. I can see that LM is a very competent narrator, but her characterisation of Ellie St Clair had me almost disliking this heroine. She was portrayed as condescending, stuck up, proud and really - just a bit of tool. I think LM nailed Cooper pretty well, and I enjoyed her take on a lot of the minor characters. But again, her characterisation of Emmett London sounded like a 60 year old English professor - that killed that scene straight up.
I enjoy this storyline, so no doubt I'll listen to this again when I need some downtime and light escapism... :)
12.
: narrated by Rebecca Cook � 24-MayStory: 4 stars (reread). This is a great novella that fills in some gaps in the Carpathian time line, telling us how the ancient warriors/hunters went 'missing' and brings back our first 'ancient'. For such a short book, CF does a great job of imparting a full story mixed with emotions and action.
Narrator: 4 stars. Rebecca Cook does a very solid job with this novella. I can't complain about any part of her narration, but it didn't have that special 'lift' to make me rate it 5 stars.
13.
: narrated by Natalie Gold � 28-MayStory: 5 stars (reread). Another piece in the puzzle is filled in. I love the Carpathian books set around the home mountains and involving the ice-caves. I'm almost starting to wonder if I prefer CF's novellas to her full novels, as she has to reign in some the extensive love scenes to ensure her storyline is complete...
Narrator: 5 stars. Natalie Gold portrays the heroine so well in this narration, and does a great job with all the other characters. She has a wonderful husky voice for the h which lifts this narration to 5 stars ;)
14.
: narrated by Saul Reichlin � 12-JunStory: 4 stars. What the??! Talk about an abrupt finish!
I loved the story although it dragged for the first third or so... And of course I had always intended to read the final book in the trilogy - but did the ending have to be so sudden and so unresolved?
Narrator: 5 stars. The narration was excellent. I love how fluidly Saul pronounces the Swedish names and places. To the point that I actually repeat the pronunciations even though I have no idea where they are or how to spell them.
15.
: narrated by Therese Plummer � 20-JunStory: 3 stars. I enjoyed this book, but I had trouble believing anyone could be so forgiving and god-damned nice! Claire (h) was amazingly resilient, and so willing to get knocked down and then bounce right back up again for another punch-down! Does that make me sound like a flaming bitch? ...Because I can't believe it? I'll probably check out the next in the series sometime, if I can find it in audio at the library.
Narration: 4 stars. Therese Plummer did a very good job with the narration. I couldn't complain.
16.
: narrated by Joyce Bean � 25-JunStory: 4 stars. This was a reread for me - a trip back onto Harmony to play with the dust bunnies. This first installment introduces us to Fuzz :) Lydia (MC) was a bit precious, but you get that...
Narration: 4 stars. Joyce Bean narrates a story very well. Her tone is more of an alto and she pulls off men's voices pretty well, along with the women.
17.
: narrated by Tavia Gilbert � 8-JulStory: 3 stars. Another reread. I just can't take to Cat (the MC). I really can't see what has attracted Bones to her. The only thing I truly enjoyed was the action.
Narration: 3 stars. Tavia has clearly worked on the Cockney accent, but her tone was too high for Bones. He sometimes sounded like a woman. The other characters were all well executed, but not pegging the voice of the male MC can't be rated as anything more than average.
18.
: narrated by Joyce Bean � 23-JulStory: 4 stars. A fun continuation of Lydia Smith and Emmett London's romance on Harmony. This was a fraction better than the first story IMHO.
Narration: 4 stars. Well narrated - not much more to add :)
19.
: narrated by Tavia Glibert � 20-AugStory: 2.5 stars. Fast disappearing on my radar of books that I'm interested in reading/listening.
Narration: 3 stars. Narration just doesn't do it for me.
Go to message 7 for balance of books.
I'm with you Judy, lol - Whisper for me :)I am finally on the board!! But this may be my only audiobook, LOL! I just don't have the opportunity in the car to listen and seem to fall asleep when trying to listen to a book at home. But I have one, although very short.
1. The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe and narrated by David Ian Davies. 4/13. I downloaded this edition from my library but it's not listed here on ŷ. I linked it to the printed version but actually listened to the audiobook. David Ian Davies was very dramatic and over the top. Maybe this story called for that kind of telling, but I thought it was distracting. I am curious to hear David Soul's rendition and compare.
Loud Mouth: Completed 24/30...The final 11...
20.
: narrated by Robert Petkoff � 24-AugStory - 4.5 stars. I wasn't concerned with the violence in the relationship this time round (this was originally one of my first PNRs back in 2009). I really enjoyed the whole story, loved the characters - especially the traits of the Valkyrie, and look forward to listening to more in this series.
Narration - Robert Petkoff: 5 stars.
Excellent narration with very well executed accents from a range of backgrounds (US, English, Scotish, Russian etc) all seamlessly integrated. This book was a pleasure to listen to and I would recommend this series as an audio option simply due to RP narration. (My paperbacks are heading to the book exchange!)
21.
: narrated by Stephanie Riggio � 6-SepStory - 3 stars. I think if I had read this a year ago I would have rated this higher, but fantasy isn't holding my attention the way it used to.
In a nutshell, the heroine, Ellie, is sweet with a spine of steel, but constantly apologising - almost for her own existence at times. The hero, Rain, battles his inner 'beast' to work at winning Ellie. There is a cast of bad characters, some of whom are the same person. The 'baddies' fairly consistently have luck go their way. The 'goodies' are still trying to work out what the hell is going on.
This novel finishes at no particular point with not much resolved. Essentially is sets the scene for the other four books I think.
I may continue with the series because I do want the 'goodies' to win. But I'm not sure if I am interested enough to wade through the boring bits...
Narration - 3 stars. Good but not great. Ellie sounded like a little girl but the other characters flowed nicely. There were some issues with editing; some long pauses at points that didn't appear to be section breaks or anything more than a paragraph.
22.
: narrated by BBC Radio Production - various actors � 9-SepStory - 3 stars, although it was difficult to hear the delivery of the lines.
Narration - 1 star. I really don't like these BBC radio plays. There is WAY too much background noise or affected characterisation that makes it difficult to hold the volume at an appropriate level. Some of the characters were computerised voices with so much synthesis in the production that I couldn't hear what was said. The explosions, which were numerous, hurt my ears, along with the engine noises and other extraneous sounds.
From the bits that I could hear there were some pretty amusing one-liners but I really can't properly judge the book known as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - only this radio-play.
I would definitely recommend that this radio-play be skipped in preference to the real book.
23.
: narrated by Christopher Evan Welch � 13-SepStory: 4.5 stars. Toy zebras are evil...
Enzo, the dog, knows this and is reminded of it regularly throughout the book. Crows aren't good either.
This is a beautiful story that engaged me at the beginning but didn't really earn it's final star rating until the end. There are twists and turns in this book that keep the reader off balance and firmly in the hero's (and dog's) court.
I liked the way the author relieved pressure after a big scene by bringing the dog's thoughts back into play on a lighter issue or observation. It allowed the reader to take a breath, smile and absorb some of the drama.
My only complaint: Without a doubt I found it inconceivable that so many bad things could pile up on such a good person all at once - I felt that it was a bit OTT - 'You think this is bad? But wait, there's more...'. This is where I deducted my half star.
Narration: 5 stars. Christopher Evan Welch, gave it life. His voice flowed with the story, providing drama and excitement without overdoing it. Excellent.
I highly recommend this book - but you might need a tissue or three.
...Somewhere the zebra is dancing.
24.
: narrated by Jenny Urban � 17-SepStory - 3 stars. It took me a while to warm up to this book. The beginning is slow (although understandably so I guess), and I hadn't reread the precis prior to listening, so I wasn't exactly sure who the other MC was going to be...
But I loved the ending and the resolutions.
Narrator - 2 stars. I'm not keen on Urban's narration style. She reads a bit too quickly and with flat tones. I would prefer to not listen to her narrate a story, however if I really wanted to listen to it, I would probably still put up with the monologue.
25.
: narrated by Lauren Fortgang � 20-SepStory - 4 stars. I have to say I REALLY enjoyed this story. I'm sort of surprised at how well the author kept my attention. Things moved along at a good pace with plenty of friction. I loved how the MCs didn't trust or much like each other (OK, one of them wanted to kill the other - minor inconvenience); this really worked well. I now want to watch the relationship develop - preferrable slowly.
There was quite a bit of background repetition, predominantly surrounding Gin's dead family, but fortunately it didn't go on for too long. Being told once, perhaps twice, works - any more and feel I'm being pounded over the head! *sloppy, sloppy, sloppy*, to quote a well-used phrase within the book.
Narration - 4 stars. I wasn't keen on Lauren's male voices to start with and there were some strange pauses in mid-sentence, especially noticeable in the beginning. (I think this mainly occurred where the end of one word require greater diction before the next word. Eg. hard sounding consonant ending a word to a hard sounding consonant beginning the next word.) But she has a lovely husky voice and a southern twang that relaxed and was very easy to listen to.
26.
: narrated by Stephen Fry � ?-Sep
I'm thinking I'll join this as well. I'll go with Loud Mouth for now.30/30 Completed
TBC on post Post 968
1. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon, narrated by Davina Porter done 3/2/12
*5 STARS*--I'm FINALLY done one. I probably shouldn't have started with the outlander series, but I've been wanting to read this for a long time. I'm glad I listened to it though because I don't think I could have done the characters justice in my head at all! Davina Porter is amazing. She has such a great quality to her voice, I could just listen to her all day.
2. Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon, narrated by Davina Porter done 3/25/12
*5 STARS*--So, so good. I love Davina Porter. I'm so sad, I can't listen to any more of this series until I'm finished with the challenge. I've got to get to work on other books now so I can finish this and get back to the series. I really feel like Davina Porter has made both of these books for me. I don't think I would have liked either books nearly as much if I wasn't listening to her.
3. Ruthless by Anne Stuart, narrated by Susan Ericksen done 3/29/12
*4 STARS*--Susan Ericksen is phenomenal. I think I'll listen to anything she narrates. I didn't LOVE the story, but she made it so much better. There just wasn't enough love in this love story for me to want to read it, but listening to Susan's interpretation made it all the better. I think it was hard for me in the beginning because when I started listening, I could only picture Eve Dallas from the In Death series, but I got over that in the first chapter or so. I think I may actually continue with this series at some point just to listen to Susan Ericksen again.
4. Earth (The Audiobook): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race by Jon Stewart, narrated by Jon Stewart done 3/31/12
*4 STARS* very funny commentary. Jon Stewart made me laugh out loud MANY times. Although said in a funny way, what he was saying was so true. Listened to this quickly because I just couldn't stop listening.
5. April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Death and How It Changed America by Michael Eric Dyson, narrated by Michael Eric Dyson done 4/2/12
*4 STARS* Great subject. The narration was ok, I liked it better when he was reading MLK's words as opposed to when he was writing what he wrote. I'm not sure how much I like the authors reading their own books. I think it works when the author is an actor--like Ellen DeGeneres or Tina Fey, but when they are just regular folks, I think the narration suffers. I'm sure that's not true in all cases, but I found it to be true in this one.
6. The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles by Dr. Bruce Liption, narrated by Bruce Lipton done 4/3/12
*2.5 STARS* Ok, same thing as before, but this subject matter was pretty dry, so it was even worse. I just felt like the guy liked hearing himself talk. LOL
7. Trace of Fever by Lori Foster, narrated by Jim Frangione done 4/6/12
*4 STARS* Jim Frangione definitely made this for me. I love the deep timbre of his voice. It make me shiver. LOL, so l love it when he does romances because it make them even more...delicious. He's one of my favorite narrators, so it was nice to find out he narrated this book. I thought the story was ok, but it was made much better by a wonderful narrator.
8. Time Out by Jill Shalvis, narrated by Carol Monda done 4/12/12
*4 STARS* for the book, I probably would give it a 3.5 for narration. The narrator made the male voices too similar so it got hard to figure out who was talking at times, but the book was so good, that I ignored it as best possible and powered through. I liked the narrator for the female voices though.
9. Bring It On by Kira Sinclair, narrated by Kelsey Larsen done 4/12/12
*3.5 STARS* Very cute friends to lovers story. Nothing too surprising but still very enjoyable. I listened to this on audio, and the narrator really needs to work on her male voices. they were just so unbelievable, I found myself rolling my eyes every time she did one.
10. Night After Night... by Kathy Lyons, narrated by Gabra Zackman done 4/26/12
*3 STARS* The story was cute, had a nice paranormal twist to it, but the narrated had timing that was just off and stilted at times, so it just felt like she was pausing at the wrong times in the sentence or paragraph. That really distracts me. I've had audiobooks by this author before, and I have thought the same thing. I don't think I will listen to any more of her narration.
11. One Man Rush by Joanne Rock, narrated by Madison Vaughn done 5/3/12 *4 STARS* This was a cute fun read, but I didn't like the narrator's interpretation of the male voices. It just sounded too fake. I think that female narrators really have to be careful when doing male parts. At first her voice really took me out of the story, but then I was able to tune it out more and just concentrate on what the narrator was saying and not how. But, I really prefer the narrator pulls me into the story.
12. Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty, narrated by Zoe Winslow
done 5/16/12
Loved the story and the narrator did a great job, but there were things I didn't get. The main character, Desi, was from back east, but she had this huge southern drawl. While I didn't mind the drawl, it just didn't fit with the character. The book overall was fantastic, and this narrator was one of the few that I've listened to that did a decent job with the male voices as well. I am going to definitely check her out again.
13. King of Sword and Sky by C.L. Wilson, narrated by Emily Durante done 5/27/12
*4.5 STARS* (5 Stars for the story, 4 stars for Narration)
I have listened to all of the Tairen Soul books so far on audiobook and I liked this one the least. Emily Durante's voice wasn't one that I would associate with the Fey. I usually expect them to have more historical/British voices and she did them in a regular American accent. It really threw me off. But her voice wasn't bad, just not what I was used to with the other books. She did mess up a few words and that annoyed me to no end. She kept calling the name Saul, Soul. I didn't like that at all! I listened to Emily Durante in a lot of other books and I can say that I didn't feel like this was her best work.
14. Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton, narrated by Kimberly Alexis done 6/6/12
*4 STARS*
Kimberly Alexis was awesome with her narration. I loved her accents and her interpretation of the book. The story itself was pretty good too, but I know that the narrator made the book for me. I just have to say though that this audiobook had all these musical sound effects that made me crack up. LMAO, It was hilarious how it would start with the eerie music to make the tension more significant. LOL
15. Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.
*5 STARS* What can I say? As an adult if I could think of anyone I would want anyone reading me a bedtime story it would be SLJ. LMAO, so funny. I just kept picturing him as Jules in Pulp Fiction while I was listening. ROFL!
16. Hot Island Nights by Sarah Mayberry, narrated by Helen Stern
(I'm not sure when I finished this one. Sometime before my vacation)
*4 STARS*
I give this Helen Stern 5 stars for narration. She did an excellent job with the male voices and she flowed seamlessly through the changes between the British accent and the Australian. She truly made the story for me. The story itself was pretty good, but I doubt I would have liked it as much if hadn't been for Ms. Stern's interpretation of it.
17. Up Close And Dangerously Sexy by Karen Anders, narrated by Lola Holliday done 6/22/12
*3 STARS*
I thought that this was ok. I probably would have liked it more if I hadn't listened to it on audio. The narrator really messed up some pronunciations and that really grates on my nerves. There was a whole section where the female character was ogling the male one, but the narrator kept saying it like "ah-goling" instead of the way it should be pronounced.
The dialogue was like: I shouldn't be ah-goling him, then he says are you "ah-goling" me? Then she says "I don't ah-gole".
Oh it was so horrible to have that repeated time and time again. I wanted to scream my head off. LOL
Anyway, the story was good but the narration not so much. I'd give that a 2 and the story a 4 to average out at a 3
18. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, narrated by Aasne Vigesaa done 7/3/12
*5 STARS* Awesome!!! Awesome!!!! Awesome!!!! This narrator had it all: Voices, accents, pacing, interpretation. I loved it! Add do the fact that the story was also fantastic, this was fantastic listening experience!
19. Savor the Danger by Lori Foster, narrated by Jim Frangione done 7/11/12
*4 STARS* Good story. Jim Frangione is a good narrator, but I'm realizing that all of his voices basically sound the same. And as much as I love listening to him, I have heard better narrators in that respect. But this is my second bood narrated by him so I won't be able to listen to him again for a while.
20. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich, narrated by Lorelei King done 7/13/12
*3 stars* it was alight. I still prefer C.J. Critt as narrator over Lorelei King. She's just not as good with the voices as C.J. was. I miss her. :( She made the series come alive for me. But, I digress. This series is going down hill. I keep listening as I can't seem to let go, but I hope that the series is going to wrap up soon. It's just more of the same.
21. Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill, Narrated by Cynthia Holloway done 7/14/12
*5 STARS*
This was awesome! I loved Merit! She's my kind of heroine. Strong but vulnerable...amazing but flawed. I loved watching her make it through the strange world of vampirism and I thought she did it with surprising skill.
The whole Ethan, Merit, Morgan triangle is quite interesting. I can't wait to see what comes of that in the future.
I also loved the other secondary characters...Mallory the roommate, Catcher Bell the sorcerer, Jeff the werewolf, and Grandpa--the Umbud.
This was such a great first book of the series, I'm immediately going on to book 2. I think Cynthia Holloway did a fantastic job with the Narration. She had a great handle on the pacing and even the male characters. So listening to the series will be another plus.
22. Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill, Narrated by Cynthia Holloway done 7/18/12
*4 STARS* for both the story and narration. Cynthia Holloway has some missteps in this one. they weren't horrible, but I wasn't as impressed as I was with the first book. But, I have really gotten to like her so I'll continue with the series on audio since she's the narrator. I just won't continue until after this challenge since this my second book narrated by her.
23. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, narrated by Sumii Malhotra done 8/2/12
*5 STARS* for both the story and the narration. The narrator did an amazing amount of accents and was able to sustain them through this 26 hour long book. The only complaint I have about though is that the narrator spoke so SLOWLY. I sped up the narration to 1.5 x speed and it was perfect. LOL
TBC on post 968
I'm in - I listen to a lot of audiobooks and have some strong opinions about narration. I'll go for mega-phone!!31/50 complete
1. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (3 stars) Cast recording
I'm not sure that this actually counts as an audio book since it was more like a recording of a radio broadcast of a play, but it exists word-for-word in book form so I'll review it. The actual audio recording was poor with wide variations in volume and a muffled quality, but I enjoyed the play and the actors. It was a little different from other audio books; there was music between scenes and sound effects (phone ringing, footsteps, etc.)
2. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (3 stars) Cast recording
I liked the narration of this book; it's the same type of narration used in the whole series. This is the sequel to one of the best books I listened to last year: Ender's Game. I didn't like this book as much as the first, but the narration is good, good accents (Portugese in this one) and "voice", as far as emotion etc. There are some confusing parts, such as journal entries and letters interspersed throughout the story, which wouldn't be a problem in the printed book, but I didn't know they were journal entries or letters until after they were read and there was a notation.
3. The Dangerous Old Woman by Clarissa Pinkola Estes (4 stars) read by the author
This is not my usual genre. It was chosen as next month's book for my "real life" book club and suprisingly I enjoyed it. The author did an excellent job with the storytelling elements and her voice was very soothing and easy to listen to. I expected it to be very "crunchy" - my word for hippie-ish mother earth let's all hold hands and meditate. And it was, but I took away some insights that I'm looking forward to discussing in my book club. The most striking "ah-hah" I had was the quote, "behave yourself - barely". I love this and will strive to live by it.
4. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (3 stars) Read by Emily Janice Card and Emma Bering
Emily does the main narration of the story, with Emma reading the diary entries. I far preferred Emma's french accent, Emily did a mediocre job with all accents. Her reading was appropriate for an angsty emo teen girl with suicidal tendencies - far too many of them. I get it. You want to kill yourself, apparently every 5 minutes.
5. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (3 stars) Read by Jodi Long
Good narration, appropriate amount of emotion, a little bit of change in voices for different characters but it sounded appropriate for the story.
6. The Great Santini by Pat Conroy (4 stars) Read by Dick Hill
Excellent narration, very much enjoyed the narrators voice, characters and especially the southern accents.
7. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (3 stars) Read by Jim Dale
The narration was better than the book itself - a little confusing having listened to Jim Dale narrate all of the Harry Potter books, so when I hear his voice I expect HP. I like his narration generally, but he does a strange thing with his 'r' sounds that's a little off-putting to me. It makes the character sound dumb, for lack of a better word.
8. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (5 stars) Read by Roy Dotrice
EXCELLENT narration, emotion, voices, accents, and overall storytelling. I really enjoy Mr. Dotrice's narration of this series!!
9. Bossypants by Tina Fey (4 stars) Read by the author
This was so super-duper funny. Tina Fey, of course, did an excellent job reading her book. But it was more like her doing stand-up and I did laugh out loud multiple times while listening.
10. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (3 stars) Read by Kim Mai Guest
The narration was such that I didn't notice it at all, so that makes it very good in my opinion!
11. The Water Seeker by Kimberly Willis Holt (4 stars) Read by Will Patton
I loved the narration of this coming of age on the Oregon trail book. The voice was perfect, with a sort of Clint Eastwood to it - very Old West.
12. Room by Emma Donoghue (5 stars) Read by a cast including: Michal Friedman, Ellen Archer, Suzanne Toren.
Aside from the fact that this book was excellent, the narration was superb. I'm not sure which narrator was Jack's voice, but it must have been one of the women that could speak like a 5 year old boy - it was spot on! My heart beat so fast in certain parts of this book - it was amazing and the narration just added to it.
13. Angels Fall by Nora Roberts (3 stars) Narrated by Joyce Bean
I've never listened to a NR on audio, and it turned out to be about what I expected, not awesome but adequate and not hard to follow.
14. Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card (2 stars) Cast narration
I'm abandoning this series; it's just not interesting any more. The cast narration was fine, but the editing was horrible. There were voice-overs of one particular word with a completely different voice, but it wasn't consistent. I assume it was to cover the mispronunciation of a word in the title - hegemon. They missed probably half of the mispronunciations.
15. The Lady and the Unicorn: A Novel by Tracy Chevalier (3 stars) Narrated by Robert Blumenfeld and Terry Donnelly
The narration was very good with Robert doing all the men's parts and Terry doing on the women's. This worked well with the POV shifting among many characters. Good French accents.
16. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (4 stars) Read by the author
I read this as a teen, but couldn't have told you what happened or who the characters were. The narration was not awesome, but read by the author. She did fine, but there was no varaitions between characters, but some emotion and variation in volume where appropriate. It very much reminded me of a teacher reading aloud a book they have read many times.
17. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (4 stars) Read by John Keating
Very good narration, a nice soothing lilting English accent. The German accent wasn't as good, but that part was short.
18. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (4 stars) Read by Margot Dionne
Nothing stood out to me with the narration, which is good. I'm still confused about the story a little, though.
19. The Passage by Justin Cronin (5 stars) Read by Edward Herrmann
Very good narration, very good book. His voice went deeper in the scary parts, just enough creepiness!
20. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (4 stars) Read by Martin Jarvis
I really enjoyed the narration of this classic. I prefer to listen to classics rather than read the print edition; I tend to stick with it until it's finished rather than put it down and pick it up again over and over until I give up on it. The narrator did an excellent job with all the different voices of the very different characters of the book.
21. Left Neglected by Lisa Genova (4 stars) Read by Sarah Paulson
I liked the narration of this book more as it went along - I was annoyed by the character though. She's a high-power, greedy, status-loving mother (an oxymoron as far as the story goes) and Ms. Paulson did an excellent job with the whining about anything and everything. There were some quirks that probably would not have stood out in the print version. For instance if someone asks the main character a question, she has long inner dialogues that the reader is unsure if she is saying them out loud or not until the narrator reads what was actually said out loud.
22. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (5 stars) Read by Roy Dotrice
I have listened to all of the series thus far on audio and I highly recommend it. Mr. Dotrice does a superb job of narration. His voices are very well done, he's probably my favorite narrator at the mo, and this book in particular has been my favorite of the series.
23. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (3 stars) Read by Anna Fields
Very good narration - lots of accents needed for this one and she pulled them all off well. I've always wondered how the selection process for an audiobook nets a male or female narrator; this book had overwhelmingly male characters, but the reader was female. Just wonderin'.
24. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (3 stars) Read by CJ Critt
The narration on this one was good, not much to say since there weren't many accents needed or much in the way of "emotion". But I did like how she narrated the little girl - Turtle. She probably speaks less than 10 words in the whole book but her voice was perfect.
25. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin (4 stars) Read by John Lee
I have given every other book in this series 5 stars, but this one only 4. I think it may have partially been because of the narration. The other books have been narrated by Roy Dotrice, who does a stellar job at narration - he has so many voices for all of the many characters, it helps me keep them straight. But John Lee has a nice voice, it just doesn't change all that much and was a little on the snoozy side. The next book thankfully is narrated by Mr. Dotrice again.
26. Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker (3 stars) Read by Titus Welliver
Mediocre narration of a mediocre book. The narrator basically read the book in an old west accent with no variation for characters or emotion. The book was just meh.
27. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (5 stars) Read by Jenna Lamia
Excellent narration of an excellent book! 'Nuff said!
28. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (2 stars) Read by Tom Stechschulte
I didn't get this book and really didn't like it. The narration certainly didn't help me keep anything straight either.
29. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig (4 stars) Read by Kate Reading
Very well narrated, cute story. The narrator did an excellent job with both male and female, as well as french and english accents.
30. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (3 stars) Read by Juanita McMahon
I think the reader did an excellent job narrating mediocre book, though most of the characters were female, and lesbian at that, so they all sort of blended together. I had a hard time separating them towards the end since they all end up sleeping with one another at some point.
31. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (4 stars) Read by 'various narrators'.
There were 3 narrators to the novel; 2 male and 1 female, Oscar and his grandparents. Oscar's narration was very good - young autistic boy (very similar to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which also has good narration of a child main character. I liked the book, so that helped.
I review audiobooks with emphasis on narration anyway, so I'd like to join. I would like to start with Whisper level though; I am not yet a true fan of audiobooks. :)Audio Book Challenge: Delightful Diction or Nightmare Narration?
Level: 1 - Whisper
Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, narrated by Davina Porter - 2/19 **** My review
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen, narrated by Katherine Kellgren - 2/20 **** My review
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, narrated by Emily Klein - 3/10 *** My review
Lost Voices by Sarah Porter, narrated by Julia Whelan - 3/15 ** My review
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat - 4/9 *** My review
Extended 4/13
Level: 2 - Softly Spoken
Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, narrated by Patrick Fraley - 4/13 ** My review
The Gentle Brush of Wings by David Niall Wilson, narrated by Basil Sands - 4/14 and 4/16 ** My review
Good Living: A Free Story from Selected Shorts: New American Stories by Aleksandar Hemon, narrated by Boyd Gaines - 4/17 and 4/18 *** My review
Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson - 4/18 **** My review
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, narrated by Richard Burton, (Ralph Richardson, John Neville) - 4/25 *** My review
Extended 4/25
Level: 3 - Modulator
Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
Cast in Moonlight by Michelle Sagara West, narrated by Khristine Hvam - 4/14 ** My review
The Importance of Being Earnest: Performance by Oscar Wilde, narrated by (cast) (view spoiler) - 4/17 My review
Oh, the Places You'll Go! and The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go! narrated by John Lithgow - 5/4 **** My review
Oh, the Places You'll Go! and The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, The Lorax narrated by Ted Danson - 5/4 **** My review
The Cat in the Hat and Other Dr. Seuss Favorites by Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat narrated by Kelsey Grammer - 5/19 **** My review
The Cat in the Hat and Other Dr. Seuss Favorites by Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who narrated by Dustin Hoffman - 5/19 **** My review
The Cat in the Hat and Other Dr. Seuss Favorites by Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas narrated by Walter Matthau - 5/19 **** My review
The Cat in the Hat and Other Dr. Seuss Favorites by Dr. Seuss, Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? narrated by John Cleese - 5/19 **** My review
The Cat in the Hat and Other Dr. Seuss Favorites by Dr. Seuss, Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose narrated by Mercedes McCambridge - 5/19 *** My review
The Cat in the Hat and Other Dr. Seuss Favorites by Dr. Seuss, Horton Hatches The Egg narrated by Billy Crystal - 5/19 *** My review
Extended 5/19
Level: 2 - Loud-Mouth
Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales, narrated by (cast) (view spoiler) - 5/26 *** My review
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, narrated by Kate Simses - 5/27 ** My review
The Poets' Corner: The One-and-Only Poetry Book for the Whole Family by John Lithgow, narrated by John Lithgow, Morgan Freeman, Susan Sarandon, Helen Mirren, Glenn Close, Gary Sinise, and others. - 7/1/12 ** My review
Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev, narrated by Jim Dale - 7/10 *** My review
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley, narrated by Rosalyn Landor - 7/13 **** My review
The Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht, narrated by Stacy Keach, (Emily Bergl, Jessica Chastain, Jill Gascoine, and others) - 7/13 *** My review
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, narrated by Kate Burton, Mark Capri, Jennifer Dundas, Gregory Itzin, Christopher Neame, Peter Paige, Douglas Weston, and others - 7/17 *** My review
Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce, narrated by Grace Kelly and Full Cast Audio - 7/18 *** My review
The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry, narrated by Davina Porter - 8/16 *** My review
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost, narrated by Tavia Gilbert - 9/7 **** My review
(view spoiler)
Audio Book Challenge: Delightful Diction or Nightmare Narration?Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
Part 1, Books 1-20
I'm going to give this one a shot! I think I will start at Softly Spoken and see how it goes. I'm terrible at planning what I am going to read so I don't want to overcommit.
Upping this challenge (again) to the Loud Mouth level! And since I am, I am going to add a couple of books with duplicate narrators that I've already listened to!
20 of 30. Updated 8.24.12.
1. Glory in Death by J.D. Robb, Narrated by Susan Erickson 2.26.12
I loved this audio book! I think Ms. Erickson's narration made it even better. She does an excellent job with accents and distinguishable voices for the different characters. The pacing is also very good as was the story in general. My only excuse for not listening to it soon is that the series intimidates me! But I will be trying to get through them as I enjoy them very much.
2. Soulless by Gail Carriger, Narrated by Emily Gray 3.12.12
This was my first book by Carriger and my first narration by Emily Gray and I have to say both were delightful!! I honestly feel that this book was made better by the narration, I can't prove it since I haven't read the book, but I can imagine it! Ms. Gray had a wonderful accent and did a good job with the different characters' voices. I look forward to
3. The Blessing by Jude Deveraux, Narrated by Don Jellerson 3.13.12
I'm not sure if it was the story or the narration, but this one was just OK for me. The narrator wasn't bad, there wasn't anything that annoyed me or anything, but there wasn't anything exceptional either. I did find that this book worked better for me in double speed, with the added advantage that I finished it sooner too!
4. Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison, Narrated by Sophie Eastlake 3.23.12
I thought the narration of this book was very good! I liked how she handled the sarcastic humor. The characters were easy to distinguish and the feeling I got while listening reflected what was going on in the story at the time - sometimes light and funny, sometimes tense with suspense. There were times I felt like I was listening to Tavia Gilbert in one of the Night Huntress books - from me that is a good thing! I thoroughly enjoy those books in audio, but I know not everyone does. If you are one of those that don't, I'm not sure if this is a book I would choose in audio.
5. The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper, Narrated by Amanda Ronconi 3.25.12
I really enjoyed this book! The narration was really well done. My only complaint is that this book and the first in the series How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf were in first person POV and narrated by the same person. When I first started this book, in my head I kept hearing it as the heroine from the first book. Once I adjusted though, it was just fun!
6. The Heat Is On by Jill Shalvis, Narrated by Gayle Hendrix 4.1.12
There was nothing wrong really with the narration in this book, but there wasn't anything great about it either. Some audiobooks, I think, are actually better than reading the book itself and I can't imagine not listening to them. That was not the case with this one. My only complaint would be that the male characters' voices were somewhat stilted and unnatural.
7. Redwood Bend by Robyn Carr, Narrated by Therese Plummer 4.7.12
I love the Virgin River series and I have come to love Therese Plummer's narration as well! In the first few books there were some mispronunciations that I found quite annoying. But not enough to stop listening! This was a very easy book to listen to and I look forward to the next one - I think it comes out soon! If I were to nit pick to come up with a complaint, it would be that from book to book, the hero and heroine sound similar. That wouldn't be a problem unless you listen back to back.
8. The Bride by Julie Garwood, Narrated by Rosalyn Landor 4.13.12
I loved this book and I think Ms. Landor could make the phone book entertaining! Well, perhaps that was an exaggeration, but I do enjoy listening to her! Previously (and again more recently with A Rogue By Any Other Name - my first duplication of narrators since this challenge started) I have only heard her do Regency historicals and wasn't sure how she would manage a book with Scottish characters. I had no need to worry! Her characterizations were as good as usual and the recording was excellent!
9. Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson 4.16.12
I saw other people talking about this book and had to go back and listen again! It cracks me up every time! Samuel L. Jackson does a great job. There is one line that whenever I hear it or think it, the giggles start and I laugh until I cry! This audiobook is permanently installed on my iPhone for whenever I need a laugh.
10. Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas, Narrated by Emily Durante 4.28.12
While I really liked this book and gave it 4.5 Stars, I struggled with the narrator. She had some difficulty with the male voices, IMHO. They were inconsistent at best and unlistenable at times. The first time I heard Jack "speak", I almost switched to reading rather than listening. Then I would hear him again and I would think, that isn't so bad. And the next time I would consider switching again. Fortunately, this book was from Ella's POV, so the males were limited to just speaking, not thinking.
11. The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann, Narrated by William Dufris 5.16.12
The narrator of this book had a nice voice and did a pretty good job. I felt like the story was sluggish though and I'm not sure if it was the pacing of the reading or the story itself. I saw someone else make the same comment about it in the FAC challenge thread. The last third of the book I listened to at double speed and it didn't feel rushed. so maybe a combination of both? So this one gets a sideways thumb from me, not bad but not good either.
12. Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis, Narrated by Karen White 5.31.12
NIce book, nice narration. Not my favorite narrator, but certainly nothing to complain about.
13. Lucky in Love by Jill Shalvis, Narrated by Suehyla El Attar 6.10.12
I enjoyed this book very much and the narration too. This was the first one is this series I've listened to. The narrator was quite good. I liked her pacing and her characterizations. I usually have a hard time switching to audio in the middle of a series because it is never the same as what I have had in my head for the earlier books, but because this book was basically a different set of characters other than a few secondary ones, I had no issues with that at all. If I were to nit-pick I would have to say that there was one little thing the narrator did that was a bit annoying - the g's at the end of her words. So it was ring-g or sing-g and so on. And ringing or singing were especially bad - ring-ging-g or sing-ging-g. It wasn't enough to make me quit listening or never listen to her narration again, but it did occasionally pull me out of the story.
14. Immortal Rider by Larissa Ione, Narrated by Hillary Huber 6.16.12
This book was great and so was the narrator! I really enjoyed how Ms. Huber was able to translate the humor and sarcasm that is so wonderful in the author's books. Her voice is well suited to the nature of the story as well. She did a wonderful job with the characters and the pacing was excellent! I was sad to see a different narrator for the next book in the series, I only hope it lives up to this one.
15. Chasing Perfect by Susan Mallery, Narrated by Tanya Eby 6.22.12
The story was pretty good, but the narrator is not. I've said this before, but I think I really mean it this time - I'm done listening to Tanya Eby! I really wish some of my favorite authors wouldn't use her so much. I honestly don't get why she is so busy! Beyond her lisp, which is annoying enough, she uses the same inflections and intonations whether the characters are happy or sad, excited or angry. And if that still isn't enough, it is hard to tell her characters apart, there were times if the book didn't include who was speaking I wouldn't have known. Thank god for "he said" and "she said"! I really did try to keep an open mind, but she just doesn't work for me.
16. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Narrated by Josephine Bailey 7.11.12
I really enjoyed this audiobook. I am almost ashamed to admit that I had never read this book before, my English and Literature teachers were all more attached to other authors. I suggested this for my local book club for two reasons - one, because I don't particularly like what they choose and two, because I knew they would support it as an option. I liked the narrator, I thought her style to fit the classic nature of the book. She was very pleasing to listen to and did a good job with the different characters as well as the pacing of the story.
17. Once Burned by Jeaniene Frost, Narrated by Tavia Gilbert 7.19.12
I really liked this book and I love Tavia Gilbert's narration! Her style works for me! I like her characterizations and was easily able to tell everyone apart when speaking. Her cadence is wonderful and she carries the author's sense of humor off delightfully. I liked Vlad and Leila, maybe not as much as Cat and Bones, but I am really looking forward to more about them!
18. Weekend Warriors by Fern Michaels, Narrated by Laural Merlington 7.24.12
This book was just OK for me and so was the narration. It felt rather old to me, much older than it was. I've listened to this narrator before and I don't think it was anything special then either. Just OK, nothing bad, but nothing especially good either.
19. At Last by Jill Shalvis, Narrated by Erin Bennett 8.13.12
I think this book suffered because of the narration. There wasn't anything awful like a lisp or stutter, but the characters weren't well distinguished and there wasn't much emotion. I still liked the story though! I have read that the narrator does a better job with the next book in the series, so I might give that a shot and see.
20. Dream Lake by Lisa Kleypas, Narrated by Jeff Cummings 8.24.12
This was a new narrator for me. My biggest complaint would be his female voices, the heroine's in particular. She was described as having a breathy voice and in trying to deliver that it sounded even more fake. Fortunately much of this book was from a male perspective and those parts were OK. He did a good job varying the voices of the different characters and conveying emotions in the story. Overall it was just OK for me, I wouldn't avoid his narration in the future, but I wouldn't listen to a book just because of it either.
Continued in message #13.
i figure i'm not planning ahead of what i'm going to listen, but doing my normal- i'm just going to endeavor to seek out new narrators
Dee wrote: "i figure i'm not planning ahead of what i'm going to listen, but doing my normal- i'm just going to endeavor to seek out new narrators"I'm just afraid because I love series! When I get going, I may up it though. I do see a lot of car time in my future - new grand baby to to visit. He will limit my reading time, because honestly no contest there, but it is almost two hours in the car to get down the mountain and back.
Audio Book Challenge: Delightful Diction or Nightmare Narration?
Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
Part 2, Books 20-30
I'm going to give this one a shot! I think I will start at Softly Spoken and see how it goes. I'm terrible at planning what I am going to read so I don't want to overcommit.
Upping this challenge (again) to the Loud Mouth level! And since I am, I am going to add a couple of books with duplicate narrators that I've already listened to!
30 of 30. Updated 10.11.12. DONE!!
21. A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah Maclean, Narrated by Rosalyn Landor 4.21.12
Rosalyn Landor is one of my favorites, particularly for historicals, especially regencies! I know if she is the narrator, I'm going to enjoy listening to the book - as long as the book is good too! This one was, and I really enjoyed it.
22. Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb, Narrated by Susan Erickson 5.18.12
I enjoyed the narration of this book as much as I did the others in the series - I know I still have a long ways to go though! I really need to get back to them!
23. Storm's Heart by Thea Harrison, Narrated by Sophie Eastlake 5.25.12
I really enjoy the narrator of this series! She makes the books even more enjoyable to me, I can't imagine reading them instead of listening!
24. A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James, Narrated by Susan Duerden 9.8.12
I adored this story! I love fairy tales and this was a wonderful telling of one! It was original and yet still true to its foundation. I just had fun while enjoying this story. I listened to the audio of this book and thought it was quite good. The narrator, Susan Duerden, was new to me and I really liked the how she read this book. She was able to grab me with her characters and the emotion she gave them. I am definitely reading more in this series and will listen to more by this narrator. Good thing she reads the next books too!
25. Sail Away by Lisa Jackson, Narrated by Kate Rudd 9.13.12
Another new narrator for me and I thought she was quite good. Nothing extraordinary, but certainly easy to listen to.
26. Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione, Narrated by Erin Bennett 9.20.12
I had listened to one book prior to this by the narrator, and this one was recorded before that one. In fact this is the earliest release I saw at audible narrated by her. There isn't anything terrible about her narration, but there were some flaws. In this recording there were several occasions where, for whatever reason, that a distinctly female voice would come out of a male character. It was quite distracting! Other than that, there was a lack of emotions in a rather emotional story. Also, the characters weren't very distinct, that was pretty easy to manage though. I think in the other book I listened to, At Last, had similar issues but perhaps not as pronounced. I had heard that Forever and a Day, that she also narrated, was better, but I didn't listen to that one. I'll giver her a try again in the future and hope she does improve.
27. Sunrise Point by Robyn Carr, Narrated by Therese Plummer 9.26.12
This is one of my favorite series to listen to! After listening to several narrators that don't put any emotion into their reading, I really appreciated listening to this book! It was a joy! Therese Plummer's narration is like eating chocolate, it just makes me feel good. It probably has something to do with the books I've heard her narrate - all of the comfort food variety!
28. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich, Narrated by Lori Petty 9.28.12
I listened to the abridged audio of this book, because that is what I had, and I didn't really enjoy it. The Stephanie Plum books are just OK for me to start with and the narration made this one even worse. I'm not sure what it was, but I didn't care for it. I know the accents were over the top and maybe that was enough. Oh well, the length was good to fill a spot at the end of the month and I had to get through it before I could move on anyway.
29. Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage by Jennifer Ashley, Narrated by Angela Dawe 10.8.12
Delightful book, wonderful narration! I loved the story and can't wait to read more, or actually listen to more! I really enjoyed Ms. Dawe's narration of this book and am really glad she does the following books in the series. She did a good job with the characters and accents. Emotions too - after listening to a couple of narrators who lacked the emotion in their storytelling, I realized how important it is and how much I miss it when it is missing.
30. When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James, Narrated by Susan Duerden 10.11.12
I adored this book!! It was just wonderful to listen to - I even listened through a football game, that is a big deal! The story was just wonderful and the characters even more so. I don't think I know enough superlatives to describe how I felt about this book! I loved the banter between Linnet and Piers, their chemistry was so obvious. Linnet's feistiness was the perfect balance to Piers' gruffness. Oh, I wish I wasn't done with this story - I want it to go on and on... I really like this narrator! I feel that her narration made the story even better, I can't wait to listen to more of her work!(less)
Thoughts on Narrators:
New Found Gems: Susan Duerden, Sophie Eastlake, Emily Gray, Angela Dawe and Suehyla El Attar
Old Favorites: Tavia Gilbert, Therese Plummer, Rosalyn Landor, Susan Erickson, Hilary Huber and Amanda Ronconi
Willing to Try Again, Even Though I Wasn't Wowed: Karen White, Erin Bennett, Kate Rudd and Jeff Cummings
I am Not a Fan: Don Jellerson, Lori Petty, William Dufris, Laurel Merlington and Emily Durante
I Will Avoid Like the Plague: Tanya Eby
i'm finding a few of the series I'm listening to now, have different narrators...or at least some of them do
I am going to do the mark twain series is that ok?
Audio Book Challenge: Delightful Diction or Nightmare Narration? Level: 1 - softly Spoken
Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
complted 7 / 10
1) master mystery By: reeve and john w. completed on 20/2The Master Mystery by Arthur B. Reeve and John W. Grey - While Harry Houdini didn't rise to fame as a screen actor, silent film makers of the day sought to capitalize on his fame. The Master Mystery was Houdini's first such attempt, and it was embraced by the viewing public, leading to other screen roles following.
The hero (or superhero) is Quentin Locke, scientist, agent of the U.S. Justice Department, and not surprisingly, an escape artist extraordinaire. The Master Mystery follows agent Locke through many pitfalls, in true serial fashion, as he is tasked with uncovering a band of thugs and a peculiar metal robot (reportedly the first robot in film) with a brain, called an automaton, which has been robbing potential inventors of their patent rights.
All in good fun by today's standards, we find our hero escaping a straightjacket, a diver's suit, and an electric chair to name but a few, and of course winning the hand of the daughter of one of the industrialists along the way. Free audio book summary and reading by Roger Melin
2)Cranford By: Elizabeth gaskell Completed by 28/2 rates 5 starsCranford is the best-known novel of Elizabeth Gaskell. The fictional town of Cranford is the backdrop to a series of episodes in the lives of Mary Smith and her friends, Miss Matty and Miss Deborah.
3) Dracula by Bram Stoker Completed 1/3/12 5/5 ratesDracula by Bram Stoker revolves around a struggle between good and evil, tradition and modernity, and lust versus chastity. The author didn't invent vampires, but his novel has so captured the public's imagination that he is rightly considered their popularizer. Stoker also wrote The Lair of the White Worm which was partly based on the legend of the Lambton Worm. Listen and you will meet not only the Count himself, but heroes Jonathan Harker and Abraham Van Helsing, plus an array of madmen, psychiatrists, and fair maidens who cross paths with the fanged menace.
4)A Room with a View by E.M. Forster (romance) Completed 4/3/2012 5 stars
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster. When Lucy Honeychurch travels to Italy with her cousin, she meets George Emerson, a bohemian and an atheist who falls in love with her. Upon her return to England, she is forced to choose between free-spirited George and her more conventional fiancé, Cecil Vyse. The story is both a romance and a critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century.
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster - Free audio book summary from wikipedia. Reading by Kara Shallenberg.
5)The Daffodil Mystery by Edgar Wallace(mystery) Completed 7/3/12 5 stars The Daffodil Mystery by Edgar Wallace. Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (April 1, 1875–February 10, 1932) was a prolific British crime writer, journalist and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and countless articles in newspapers and journals. Over 160 films have been made of his novels, more than any other author.
He is most famous today as the co-creator of "King Kong", writing the early screenplay and story for the movie, as well as a short story "King Kong" (1933) credited to him and Draycott Dell. He was known for the J. G. Reeder detective stories, The Four Just Men, the Ringer, and for creating the Green Archer character during his lifetime.
The narrators were awesome ..
6)The Bat: Mary Roberts Reinhart Completed 22/3/12 The novelization of the play of the same name that had an initial run of 867 shows on Broadway and has been performed all over the world and been made into three movies over a span from 1926 to 1959. An intricate mystery, with a wide cast of characters.
7)A House to Let by Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell and Adelaide Anne Procter Completed by 16/4/12 A House to Let is a novella originally published in 1858 in the Christmas edition of Dickens' Household Words magazine. Each of the contributors wrote a chapter (stories within a story, and in the case of Adelaide Anne Procter, as a story in verse) and the whole was edited by Dickens.
The plot concerns an elderly woman, Sophonisba, who notices signs of life in a supposedly empty dilapidated house (the eponymous "House to Let") opposite her own, and employs the efforts of an elderly admirer, Jabez Jarber, and her servant, Trottle, to discover what is happening within.
Free audio book summary by Ruth Golding. 4 stars
8) Pride and Prejudice by jane austine:
9) The Hunger games by suzzane Collins:
Jane - question for you - books with multiple narrators - if we are doing the upper levels - does each one count towards our 2 narrators only? or can I say pick the narrator that does the predominence of the book (if they can be identified)
Im in & will probably do Megaphone...I listen to audiobooks everyday @ work so i should make that easy 1. Anna Fields: Heaven, Texas,Susan Elizabeth Phillips...3*s...the narration was ok - didnt much care for the way the narrator tried to do the other voices in the book but it was not annoying.
2. Margeurite Gavin: Black Magic Sanction...4*s...I think Ms Gavin did a really nice job with this book
3. Kate Reading: The Masque of the Black Tulip...4*s...I liked the way Kate read this book. I really enjoyed it.
4. Annika Boras: Tiger's Quest...4*s...I really like her dictation - there was just one part in the book where she is speaking like a bat & it came across as screeching so that was rather annoying but other than that she does a great job with all of the characters.
5. Susan Eriksen: Anyone but you...4*s...I really liked her. I have heard her before but cant remember what book it was but thought she did a good job with this one.
6. Juanita Parker: Dark Magic...4*s...has been a decent narration so far.
7. Rebecca Soler: Cinder...4*s...I loved this one...definitely will read her narations again...
8. Julia Gibson: Scarlet Nights...4*s...I really liked they this book was narrated...
Judy wrote: "I'm in for this one too! I feel like an underachiever compared to Jane and Dee, but I'll sign up for Tier 1-Whisper. :)"I have to ask if that is a Cardigan Corgi in your pic....I have a Pembroke Corgi in mine. I was just curious because he/she looks adorable
Audio Book Challenge: Delightful Diction or Nightmare Narration?Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
Loud-mouth
19/30 Listened
Male Narrators (13)/Female Narrators (3)/Male-Female Narration (2)/ Cast (1)
1. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon - 2/25 ★★★★½ My Complete Review
Narrator: Davina Porter (A+)
Davina Porter was, as usual, amazing. I don't know how she does it either. I've never listened to a narration where the male character comes to life in such a way that I don't even think is a woman doing his voice. The emotions and feelings were so precise and the pacing was really good...at times though you hear stuff in the background but I think that's a mistake of the recording, not necessarily the narrator.
2. Storm Front by Jim Butcher - 2/29 ★★� My Complete Review
Narrator: James Marsters (C)
Maybe James Marsters has gotten better as the books move along but for this first book, he was average at best. His voices are not distinctive enough (sometimes I can't tell if it's Dresden or somebody else speaking), he had problems pacing his breathing, sometimes he portrayed the wrong emotion and he fibbed some lines (I read along with the ebook for parts of the book when I wasn't sure I was going to stick with the audio.)
3. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran - 3/3 ★★� My Complete Review
Narrator: Paul Sparer (B)
I feel that although pleasant, the audio is not the best medium to enjoy this book because it doesn't give you time to think and this book definitely needs to be digested slowly.
The narrator did a good job with the narration - he has a deep voice, a bit 'God-like' so it was appropriate. This is not a fiction book so there was no need to have different characters so I cannot evaluate him on that. My problems with the audio have nothing to do with him but more with the nature of the book.
4. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie - 3/9 ★★★★� My Complete Review
Narrator: Martin Jarvis (B)
The narrator did a good job portraying both the humor and the sinister atmosphere that sometimes prevailed in the book. I thought his voice was a bit too old for Jerry's (who's basically the main character) but then his voice grew on me. His portrayal of Miss Marple was a bit too high for my taste but as Miss Marple only shows up in the last quarter of the book and has just a few appearances, that is really not a big deal.
5. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - 3/17 ★★★★
Narrated by Cast (B+)
There were several narrators in this audio production (at least 5 or 6) but most of the narration fell under Stefan Rudnicki who performed the sections from Ender's perspective. His narration was great - his voice has this resonance that tells you 'space' for some reason and he was perfect with the emotions, pace and tone. The rest of the narrators did a good job as well, specially the one that performed Colonel Graff. I didn't care much for the narrator that performed Valentine (I think she was just overly dramatic) but having a woman in the role was definitely more appropriate and added to the audio as a whole.
6. 25 Things to Say to the Interviewer, to Get the Job You Want: Being Qualified Isn't Enough by Dexter Hawk - 3/17 ★★ My Complete Review
Narrated by Lloyd James (B+)
First, let me clarify that I have a crush on Lloyd James and he was the only reason I finished this book (which was really not that good.) Lloyd James was very good as usual. He sounded "eager, hardworking and ambitious" (the traits people listening to this book are supposed to have.) And his voice! At some point, I tried to speed up the narration but I couldn't do it. I found myself wanting to listen to every word.
7. Sabriel by Garth Nix - 3/21 ★★★★ My Complete Review
Narrated by Tim Curry (A-)
Tim Curry was marvelous as the narrator. His pacing, voices of different characters and emotions were right on point. His voice is also very soothing but powerful at the same time so it really conveyed that magical feeling you would expect in fantasy.
8. A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie - 3/26 ★★★★ My Complete Review
Narrated by Rosemary Leach (B-)
This narrator had a wonderful touch with the women, specially with the old ladies but she was missing something with the men, who sometimes sounded all alike. Also, I felt that the voice of Miss Marple wasn't consistent throughout the book, I don't know if this due to interpretation or if the narrator really lost the character along the way.
The editing in the narration was dreadful as if somebody did it in their basement and not in a professional studio. You could REALLY hear the cuts and this were really jarring, specially when they happened in the middle of a speech.
9. Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles - 3/27 ★★★★ My Complete Review
Narrators: Roxanne Hernandez & Blas Kisic (A-)
Everybody who read my review of Perfect Chemistry knows how much I loved Roxanne and specially Blas as the narrators and they were the reason I decided to continue the trilogy (this is one of those books where I liked it so much that I wasn't sure if the rest could compare.) Like in the previous book, Roxanne and Blas were excellent with the voices, emotion and characterization.
10. Rain Fall by Barry Eisler - 4/1 ★★★★½ My Complete Review
Narrator: Brian Nishii (A)
This narration was simply brilliant. When I learned that only 2 out of the 7 books in this series are narrated by Mr. Nishii, I almost wept. How could anybody else be the voice of John Rain? Not only is Mr. Nishii Japanese (like the main character) so he can properly pronounce all the dialogue in that language (and there's a lot in the book) but he also has that cadence in his speech that tells you immediately where he's from. The voices were just adequate but his performance of John Rain was phenomenal. You could feel the loneliness, the isolation and the pain without any overt sentimentality. The emotions were just pitch perfect.
I'm so in love with this narration that I'll switch to print for every book that he doesn't narrate.
11. Hammered by Kevin Hearne - 4/10 ★★★�
Narrator: Luke Daniels (A-) My Complete Review
Luke Daniels is now one of my favorite narrators. I just can't imagine enjoying this series any other way - he's ruined me for all others! :p All the voices are distinct; the emotions are on point (you can hear Atticus� smile when he’s talking to Oberon) and the accents are very good. I recommend this series in audio to anybody that is looking to try an audiobook for the first time.
12. Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch - 4/24 ★★★★½ My Complete Review
Narrator: Michael Page (A)
Michael Page was simply masterful with the narration. It took me a while to get used to his voice in the first book but as the series is full of men, his gravely voice is really an asset. It’s amazing how he has such two different voices for Locke and Jean, and how he’s able to portray Locke’s emotions when he’s really feeling them and when he’s pretending. He has this panache even pronouncing the section numbers that tells you that you can’t wait to hear what’s coming up next. I really, really hope he continues narrating the series when we finally get the rest of the books.
13. Snow Blind by P.J. Tracy - 4/27 ★★★� My Complete Review
Narrator: Mel Foster (B+)
Mel Foster is not the usual narrator for this series but he did a very good job with it. It was obvious he worked so the voices sounded similar to Schirner's narration. At the beginning I could feel the difference but those things faded after a while.
14. Crossed by Ally Condie - 4/30 ★★½ My Complete Review
Narrator: Kate Simses (B-) & Jack Riccobono (C)
This is the first alternating narration I’ve listened where I actually preferred the female’s interpretation of the male character. Jack Riccobono has a nice voice and he could do different characters well but he sounded a bit whiny and maudlin when narrating Ky’s thoughts and feelings. Of course, Cassia only saw only what he wanted to show her and never had to deal with his insecurities so maybe that’s why he seemed stronger when Kate Simses narrated him. Regardless, I had to switch to print at about the 80% point because I feared that I wouldn’t finish it otherwise.
15. On The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin - 5/1 ★★★★� My Complete Review
Narrators: Richard Dawkins (A)
Richard Dawkins is the narrator for this audiobook and he did an amazing job - you could tell he's probably read this book a million times and knows it like the back of his hand. His diction was very precise and clear; and his enthusiasm for the subject was contagious. It almost feels like Darwin is the one speaking.
16. Tricked by Kevin Hearne
Narrator: Luke Daniels (B+) - 5/5 ★★★★ My Complete Review
Great job as usual although Oberon's voice was different from previous books (a bit more shushy.) This caused some unnecessary distraction which brought down the enjoyment somewhat.
17.Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Narrator: Rebecca Soler (C+) - 5/8 ★★� My Complete Review
The narration was adequate but too deliberate - I had it at 2x during 70% of the book. Rebecca Soler did voices and accents well though but I think she really needs to speed up her pace a bit.
18. Faithful Place by Tana French
Narrator: Tim Gerard Reynold (B+) - 5/23 ★★★★ My Complete Review
Tim Gerard Reynold did an excellent job with the narration (although is singing was atrocious.) His Irish accent was distinctive enough that it was understood but not so strong that it was unintelligible. His portrayal of the different characters was on the money and the voices were distinctive enough that you could know who they were as soon they spoke.
19. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Narrator: Robin Bailey (B) - 5/28 ★★★★�
Robin Bailey did a good job with the narration except for Poirot's voice which was just average: the voice was deeper and his French accent wasn't as heavy as I've seen it portrayed by others. A few times where Poirot was speaking, I couldn't tell it was him. The rest of the characters however, were really well done.
dang DG - starting off with a bang and a long 'un ;)
Audio Book Challenge: Delightful Diction or Nightmare Narration?Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
Loud-mouth
30/30 Listened
Male Narrators (21)/Female Narrators (6)/Male-Female Narration (2)/ Cast (1)
Books 1-19
20. I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño - 5/30 ★★★� My Complete Review
Narrator: Johanna Ward (B)
Ms Ward did a good job with the characters and the pacing. She also had good knowledge of Castilian Spanish because she pronounced the 'Z' in the proper way (it may sound weird for people that are not familiar with this pronunciation but it is correct.:) However, she mispronounced Velázquez' name which drove me nuts (in Spanish, the U in QUE is silent but she would pronounce it as in Queen.) But this is something that would probably only bother a native Spanish speaker like me so if you want to listen to this, I wouldn't let that deter you.
21. Lirael by Garth Nix - 5/31 ★★� My Complete Review
Narrated by Tim Curry (A-)
Tim Curry kicked ass with the narration like the previous book. The parts where he was portraying the evil spirit were really scary.
22. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - 6/6 ★★★★ My Complete Review
Narrated by Grover Gardner (A)
The narration by Grover Gardner was simply wonderful. The omniscient narrator sounded like a slightly amused and indulgent uncle enjoying the follies of rambunctious nephews while the voices of Tom & Huck were imbued with an innocence and sense of playfulness that you can only find in the very young.
23. Tales from the Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang - 6/12 ★★★★ My Complete Review
Narrated by Toby Stephens (A)
This narration was outstanding. Mr. Stephens had such a flare with the voices, the emotions and the characters that the narration fairly sparkled. Most of my enjoyment came from imagining his face while he was narrating the book (I've had the hots for him ever since I saw him as Rochester so I'm familiar with all his facial expressions :p)
24. No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole - 6/14 ★★★★ My Complete Review
Narrated by Robert Petkoff (A)
I was so enthralled by Mr. Petkoff's yummy narration that I enjoyed the book even when I wasn't crazy about the plot. His performance of the characters - specially the men - was perfect and his accents were so freaking good that I had heart palpitations the first time I heard a (male) Scottish character. Mr. Petkoff didn't demure from performing the love scenes as they were written - there was moaning, groaning, gasping, panting, you name it. His interpretation was so well done that most of the time I was fanning myself as I was listening.
25. Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night by Kresley Cole - 6/17 ★★★★ My Complete Review
Narrated by Robert Petkoff (A)
My main reason for picking this book wasn't really the story but the narration. The voice for Bowen was scrumptious, specially when he was in a charming frame of mind. The first time I heard him, my feelings were very similar to Carrow's:
"Oh great Hekate, is that his voice?" Carrow cried "I just had an orgasm."
I'm still just 'meh' on the series but I'll definitely keep listening as long as Mr. Petkoff is the narrator.
26. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut - 6/20 ★★� My Complete Review
Narrated by Ethan Hawke (B)
Ethan Hawke did a good job with the narration. There wasn't that much dialogue so he didn't have to flex his acting muscle that much portraying different characters but his dreamy tone gave you the sense that this man wasn't living in the present but in his head.
27. Envy by Sandra Brown - 6/22 ★★★★½ My Complete Review
Narrated by Victor Slezak (A-)
Victor Slezak kicked ass with the narration. He has that tough guy voice that's just perfect for Sandra Brown's heroes.
28. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - 7/10 ★★★★
Narrated by Tom Parker (B+)
Really enjoy the book and the narration...some parts had me in stitches. He did a great job with all those different southern accents...they were really distinguishable!
29. Bittersweet Rain by Sandra Brown - 7/11 ★★½
Narrated by Joyce Bean (B)
I've listened to several books by Joyce Bean and almost always enjoy her narrations (with the exception of the Fever series.) I also enjoyed this one even though the book was all over the place.
30. On the Edge by Ilona Andrews - 7/23 ★★★★½ My Complete Review
Narrated by Renee Raudman (B+)
It took me a little bit to get used to Renee Raudman's narration...don't know why because her voice is pleasant, her male voices are adequate and she doesn't have the self-important staccato tone that I detect in some PNR/UF narrations. But I got past whatever I didn't like soon enough and I was able to really enjoy her narration.
its really good - lots of american history - the lead up to the American Revolution, but you are right, its long ;)
D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ wrote: "I'm in!1. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon/Narrated by Davina Potter "
Davina Porter is one of my favorite narrators. She has such a range of accents and hits each one perfectly. She makes this exceptionally long series thoroughly enjoyable.
I listen in the car during my 3 hour (round trip) commute and usually get about 40 done per year but I'm going to start at Modulator since I've never before kept track of the narrator so I'm not sure who's been reading my books. Modulator: 20 books
READ: 0/20
Delightful Diction:
Nightmare Narration:
1.Eon: Dragoneye Reborn - Alison Goodman - Narrator: Nancy Wu
Dee wrote: "Jane - question for you - books with multiple narrators - if we are doing the upper levels - does each one count towards our 2 narrators only? or can I say pick the narrator that does the predomine..."I think what you are asking is whether with two narrators, you have to use them both in the one book review?
No - I'm happy for ppl to review one narrator for each book read, so that if there are multiple narrators (say two), the review is based on only one of them. Then if it is a series, the next review can be on the other narrator. For the tier 2 participants, this means they can take 4 books in a series that uses dual narrators to review two narrators. ...Is that clear?
For books that are more like plays (eg Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency) then that will need to be reviewed as a 'cast', single entity and equivalent of a single narrator. This could only to be repeated (same cast predominantly) if you are undertaking tier 2 levels.
I don't think the second issue will crop up much.
Rishika wrote: "I am going to do the mark twain series is that ok?"Hi Rishika - I don't know who narrates the MT series, but if it is the same narrator for the books, then you can only count one book towards your audio book challenge if you are targeting a tier 1 level (eg Whisper). If they are different narrators, then each new narrator (and their read book) can be marked off for the challenge.
Judy wrote: "Sallie(Shuga) wrote: "Judy wrote: "I'm in for this one too! I feel like an underachiever compared to Jane and Dee, but I'll sign up for Tier 1-Whisper. :)"I have to ask if that is a Cardigan Co..."
Jezebelle is 7 (Feb 4th) & she is personality deluxe. She rules the house. Shes the baby & knows it however, we have another Corgi, Rastus, he will turn 8 in March & they are our babies. Jezebelle loves to be loved on her terms but Rastus is full of lovings 24/7. We love them both but there are days when they argue & fuss just like kids & Im thinking children would be easier to deal with at those trying times LOL
Im glad your baby found a home - cant imagine what I would do without mine
Dee wrote: "yep that's what I meant ;)"Great :)
For those who don't go back to check msg 1, I also added that if narrators change in a multiple narrator series, then each additional narrator may added to the mix.
Jane (PS) wrote: "For those who don't go back to check msg 1, I also added that if narrators change in a multiple narrator series, then each additional narrator may..."Can you clarify...are re-listens allowed? And if they are not, what about re-reads in audio? Meaning, books you've read already in print and are listening in audio for the first time.
I'm re-reading two Agatha Christie series in audio but this is the first time I'm listening to the audiobooks. The narrators are seldom repeated for each book so it will work great for this if I can use them.
I love audiobooks. I don't get to listen as much as I used to, but I'll see if I can squeeze 10 for this challenge.So, I'm signing up for Softly Spoken.
1. Witness in Death by J.D. Robb
Narrator: Susan Erickson (currently listening)
D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ wrote: "Jane (PS) wrote: "For those who don't go back to check msg 1, I also added that if narrators change in a multiple narrator series, then each additional narrator may..."Can you clarify...are re-li..."
I'm fine with rereads/re-listens in any format. Thanks DG - I'll add that to the 'rules' :)
I'm going with Whisper for now but might move upList to come
Hi jane yes it is whisper in tier 1 so i would choose that to do in the challege. hope that is okay.
I think I'm in. So far, audiobooks and me haven't been working out fine. We are having a difference of opinion and I tend to space out more. I'll try for Whisper.
Audio Book Challenge: Delightful Diction or Nightmare Narration? Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
Level 2 - Softly Spoken 10/10 FINISHED 01.11.12
1. Living Dead in Dallas~Charlaine Harris/Narrated by Johanna Parker
I loved this story and Johanna she nareates the whole series of the books and never fails to dissapoint me. Her Southern Belle accent is on point everytime and love the voice changes she makes when she takes on the other characters especially Eric :).....
★★★★� Definaitely Delightful Dictation for me - 05.02.12
2. The Hunger Games~Suzanne Collins/Narrated by Carolyn McCormick
I really enjoyed this book, not at all what I thought it would be. The narration however was somewhere in between, it took me a while to get in to her voice, the spaces between words was somewhat off putting, as at times was her pronunciation. However this said I would plan to listen to the next book in the series which I believe she also narrates.
★★� Somewhere in the middle - 30.03.12
3. City of Bones~Cassandra Clare/Narrated by Ali Graynor
I enjoyed this book it was a re-read for me. I found the narrator very easy to listen to she has a nice tone to her voice.
★★★★� Definaitely Delightful Dictation for me - 15.04.12
4. The Awakening~Christine Feehan/Narrated by Allison Kruise
Didn't like this book, or the audio when it started there was rainforest noises....bad ones which put me off, but I stuck with it! The Narrator sounded like she was having an orgasm all way through the story talking in a seductive voice. I realise that the book was quite steamy but no need for the sultry tone over kill!
★★ Nightmare Narration 21.02.12
5. Message In A Bottle ~ Nicholas Sparks/Narrated by Kimberly Schraf
I adored this book the story was so sad I was crying throughout. I found the Narrator Kimberly Schraf to be very easy to listen to and would definitely listen to her again.
★★★★ Delightful Diction :) 22.06.12
6. Undead and Unwed ~ Mary Janice Davidson/Narrated by Nancy Wu
Great book and very funny had me laughing out loud, I loved the Narrator Nancy Wu she totally go into character and made me want to read the other books in the series. Brilliant.
★★★★� Delightful Dictation 28.06.12
7.No Man's Mistress ~ Mary Balogh/Narrated by Rosalyn Landor
Really enjoyed this book and the Narrator, she had the voice of the character just right...great!
★★★★� Delightful Dictation 19.09.12
8.Bared To You ~ Sylvia Day/Narrated by Jill Redfield
I love this book this is the second I have read it but first time by audio book. The narrator was wonderful, spoke clearly and with humour.
★★★★� Delightful Dictation 20.09.12
9. Three To Get Deadly ~ Janet Evanovich/Narrated by Lori Petty
Such a funny book, hilarious! The narrator speak with humour and a great New Jersey accent which matches the book perfectly. Will definitely be listening to the rest of the series.
★★★★� Delightful Dictation 18.10.12
10.The Irish Duke ~ [Author:Viginia Henley]/Narrated by Jenny Sterlin
Really enjoyed this book but was slightly dissapointed, I would have thought with the title being the Irish Duke the narrator might have used more Irish instead of American!! Enjoyed the story but would have prefered a better accent!
★★� Somewhere in between 01.11.12
I listen to audio books everyday all day at work. So I am signing up for the Mega-phone level! This should be fun!Audio Book Challenge: Delightful Diction or Nightmare Narration?
Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
Level: Tier 2- Mega-phone: 50+ books
1. The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton: Narrated by Cynthia Halloway - I give this narration a 3 1/2 stars. She narrates half of the Anita Blake series and does a good job. The only thing that gets me is some words she pronounces are pronounced funny. It bothers me. Finished on 2/15/12
2. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen: Narrated by Nina Siemaszko - I give this narration a 4 stars. The narrator was low key and a little slow but it worked well with the story. I highly recommend it. Finished on 2/16/12
3. Playing with Fire by Gena Showalter: Narrated by Jessica Almasy - I loved this story but the narrator was a little to "cheerleader/whiny" girl. I mean the character is a little whiny but I think the narrator went over the top a littl. I give the narration a 2 and 1/2 stars but give the story 4 stars. Finished on 2/23/12
4. Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton: Narrated by Kimberly Alexis - I really love the Anita Blake Series. They switch narrators during the series and switch back. I think I prefer Kimberly Alexis to Cythnia Halloway. I give this narration 4 stars. She is mellow and she pronouces the "paranormal" words right. Finished 2/28/12
5. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting: Narrated by Eileen Stevens - I give this narration 4 stars. It was pretty good and I loved the story but the difference in voices was not really up to par. I love when a narrator can have different voices for different characters so you are clear on who is talking. Finished on 3/7/12
6. Storm Born by Richelle Mead: Narrated by Jennifer Van Dyck - I give this narration 3 stars. It was ok but the narrator had the problem as it got to the end of the chapter she was having trouble speaking. That whole thing of when you need to swallow so you don't speak with a mouthful of spit. It was a littel distracting. Story was great though. Kind of like a milder version of Anita Blake. Finished on 3/13/12
7. Web of Lies by Jennifer Estep: Narrated by Lauren Fortgang. I give this narration 3 stars. I don't really like the country accent she has but it is the character so this one is confusing for me. The narrator is too slow and I feel like they need to be sharper then worry about the southern accent. Finshed on 3/15/12
8. Vanish by Sophie Jordan: Narrated by Therese Plummer. I give this narration 4 stars. It was a good narration and keep me mostly interested. The only problem I had was that all the men voices she does sound exactly the same. Other then that very good. Finished on 3/16/12
9. Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh: Narrated by Justine Eyre. I give this narration 3 stars. She did well with the different voices and accents for the different characters. I had a problem with keeping focused because she did kind of drone on and my interest was not held the whole time. Finished on 3/19/12
10. Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning: Narrated by Phil Gigante. I give this narration 2 1/2 stars. I must admit it is hard because this narration requires a lot of Scottish accents and the narrator does a decent job with them. It is the other voices that lack especially when a male narrator tries to do a female voice. It comes out all breathy and wimpy and it is not how women speak. I think I prefer women narrators doing men's voices. Loved the story though. I love the Highlander series. Finished on 3/21/12
11. Glory in Death by J.D. Robb: Narrated by Susan Ericksen. I loved this narration and give it 5 stars. I love the series and the narrator kept the story interesting and kept a good pace. She did all the voices really well. Can't wait to listen to the next one! Finished 3/23/12
12. Killing Floor by Lee Child: Narrated by Dick Hill. I give this narration 4 stars. I really liked this guys voice and he kept me interested most of the time. It is hard to keep me intereseted when the story isn't a romance story but this was a really good suspense story. I am looking forward to reading to the next one in the series. Finished on 3/28/12
13. Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews: Narrated by Renee Raudman. I give this narration 3 stars. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. Sometimes it got a little slow and the love story is going to slow for my taste so I am having a hard time staying focused on the story. Hope it picks up in the next one in the series. Finished on 3/29/12
14. The Darkest Fire by Gena Showalter: Narrated by Victor (Don't remeber last name). I give this narration 2 stars. The narrator made the guy sound like a meat head so it was a little distracting. Finished on 3/30/12
15. Kiss of Crimson by Lara Adrian: Narrated by Hillary Huber. I give this narration2 stars. The narrators voice is to gravelly for me and it is really distracting at times. And she makes the female character sound wimpy. I hate that. Finished 4/2/12
16. Captivate by Carrie Jones: Narrated by Julia Whelan. I give this narration 2 stars. The main character was whiny and I don't know if I liked the story that much. She whined about oh my sould mate. Seriously they are in high school and they are claiming they are soul mates. That always bothers me. Finished on 4/4/12
17. Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh: narrated by Anglea Dawe. I like this series and that narration is ok. I give it 3 stars. This series is a little weird but I am enjoying it immensely. Finished on 4/9/12
18. Vision in White by Nora Roberts: Narrated by Emily Durante. I give this narration 2 and 1/2 stars. It sounds like the narrator has some sort of a speech impedement, which sometimes isn't bad but sometimes during this story it was distracting at times. Story is good though. i like this series. Good characters. Finished on 4/13/12
19. Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder: Narrated by Gabra Zackman. I give this narration 5 stars. One of the better ones I have heard. She has such a clear solid voice that is not annoying. Plus I love the story and I never get bored. Finished on 4/23/12
20. The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann: Narrated by William Dufris. I give this narration 3 and 1/2 stars. The narration was a not great but it wasn't bad either. I loved the story. It took awhile to get started though but once it did it was a great story. Finished on 4/30/12
21. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon: Narrated by Davina Porter. I give this narration 5 stars!! I love this series and I am happy that they took the time to find a great narrator. If they hadn't I don't think it would have done the story justice. I actually prefer listening to this series then reading it because I love the narration so much! Finished on 5/2/12
22. Undead and Unemployed by MaryJanice Davidson: Narrated by Nancy Wu. I give this narration 3 stars. I love this story but I don't really have sympathy for whiny characters, which the main character is. Good performance. Finished on 5/4/12
23. Wings by Aprilynne Pike: Narrated by Mandy Siegfried. I give this narration 2.5 stars. It was ok but the narraor's voice was too child like. The story was ok but not one of my favorites. Finished on 5/17/12
24. Blood Cross by Faith Hunter: Narrated by Kristine Hvam. I give this narration 3 stars. It was just ok. I ost focus a couple of times so it wasn't a stellar performance. The story is ok too. Finished 5/23/12
25. Wraith by Phaedra Weldon: Narrated by Merissa Marignoni. I give this narration 3 stars. The story was great and the narrator was good. I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series!. Finished on 5/25/12.
26. A Quick Bite by Lynsay Sands: Narrated by Victoria McGee. Ok so I give the story itself a 4.5 stars, but the narration is another story. This narrator was trying to hard. I think they were aiming for a "sexy" voice and it totally backfired. It sounded more like the woman on the GPS who gives you directions. I give the narration 2 stars! Finished on 5/30/12
27. Single White Vampire by Lynsay Sands: Narrated by Jeffery Cummings. I give this narration a 3 stars. It was just ok. The only thing that was weird for me is that the narrator sounded like the teacher from South Park! Or at least his voices did! Good story though and I am really enjoying the Argeaneau series!. Finished on 6/6/12
28. Love Only Once by Johanna Lindsey: Narrated by Laural Merlington. I give this narration a 3 stars. It wasn't the best but wasn't the worst. I loved the story though! Finished on 6/18/12
29. Bite Me If You Can by Lynsay Sands: Narrated by Rick Robertson. I give this narration 3 stars. I liked the series a lot but the narration isn't the greatest but it isn't bad either. Finished on 6/22/12
30. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig: Narrated by Kate Reading. I give this narration 4.5 stars. The narrator easily switched between English and American accents and between male and female. Great adventure/love story! I can't wait to listen to the rest of the series! Finished on 7/11/12
31. Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas: Narrated by Susan Duerden. I give this narration 3.5 stars. It was good but the narrators's voice was a little too breathy sometimes. To me that is distracting. Finished on 7/13/12
Awesome, Jane. Thanks.I'll probably be re-listening to HP this year. :)
Uh oh, Audible is having another sale! Three romance books for two credits - that place is dangerous!
yeah, i don't have any credits...lol! but I did just contribute over $100 to them with their first in series sale
Dee wrote: "yeah, i don't have any credits...lol! but I did just contribute over $100 to them with their first in series sale"Oh my!! That is a lot of new series!
Ok, I wasn't going to do this challenge because reviewing books is just not my thing, but I kept being drawn back to it, so I guess I'd better just give in and go for it! I think I'll start with softly spoken - that only works out to about 1 book a month, and I think I can handle that. I listen to way more audiobooks than that, it's the reviews that are going to do me in! :)10/10 Completed
1.Succubus Dreams Narrated by Elisabeth Rodgers 2/19/12 The first three books in this series are the only ones that I've ever listened to by this narrator, but I will definitely look for more by her. Her voices for the various characters are understated, no drastic differences that if not done well can be very annoying, but distinctive enough that I never had a problem knowing who was speaking. Her voice was also very easy to listen to in general - no mispronunciations or strange timing issues. I gave the book 4 stars overall, and the narration alone would also be a solid 4 stars.
2. Inner Harbor Narrated by Guy Lemonier 2/22/12 I'd never heard of this narrator when I started listening, and after a quick check discovered that Inner Harbor is apparently his only audiobook performance. I wasn't impressed with the narration. It wasn't horrible, nothing really grating, but just kind of "blah". There were many stretches that were very emotionless, and it wasn't always easy to tell which character was speaking. If there were other books available by this narrator I might choose to read the book rather than listen if possible, but I wouldn't avoid the book entirely if listening was the only option. Overall, 4 stars for the book, 3 stars for the narration.
3. Bonds of Justice Narrated by Angela Dawe 2/26/12 I love this series. I started out reading it, and switched over to audio at about the halfway point. Angela Dawe does a good job of narrating the series, although not outstanding. Overall I enjoyed the narratioin, but there were some instances where the emphasis was on the wrong word in a sentence so the meaning wasn't clear until I thought it through a bit. I don't remember noticing that in previous books in the series though, and it only happened a few times, so it wasn't enough to really bother me. I gave the book 4 stars, and I think the narration would also be 4 stars, but maybe a low 4.
4. Scandal in Spring Narrated by Rosalyn Landor 2/28/12 Rosalyn Landor seems to be a love her or hate her narrator, and I fall firmly into the love her category. I find her voice very smooth and easy to listen to, and she does a great job of distinguishing the various characters so I don't have to work to keep track of who is speaking. Combined with Lisa Kleypas' wonderful writing, it's an amazing combination. For me this was the weakest book in the series, so I only gave it 4 stars (but maybe a high 4), but I would give the narration 5 stars.
5. Temptation Narrated by Carrington MacDuffie 3/3/12 I'm not a fan of Jude Deveraux, and I don't know that I've ever listened to this narrator before, so I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that for the most part I enjoyed this book. The story was entertaining, although the I thought the ending was weak, but the best part was the narration. The voice was smooth and easy to listen to, the accents were well done, and the different characters were easy to distinguish. I will definitely look forward to listening to more by this narrator. 3 stars for the book, and a very solid 4 stars for the narration.
6. Carolina Moon Narrated by Dean Robertson 3/5/12 I started this expecting a male narrator (based on the name), so it was somewhat of a shock to be listening to a female. She does have a rather low voice, and in some ways reminded me of Anna Fields, but unfortunately the tone of voice was were the similarity ended. This narration seemed to me to just be flat - very little emotion, and nothing to distinguish one character from another in stretches of dialog. In fact, in some places there wasn't even enough of a pause between speakers for me to know the speaker had changed. It made following conversations difficult at times, and it seemed to get worse as the book progressed, although that may have been because there was more dialog in the latter parts of the book. I gave the book 4 stars overall, but the narration only gets 2 stars.
7. Dragon Bound Narrated by Sophie Eastlake 3/7/12 I don't know why I waited so long to listen to this book, I loved everything about it, including the narration! The voices were great, not overstated but easy to distinguish one from another. I could really feel the emotion, and humorous scenes (and there were quite a few) were handled perfectly. The narrator's voice was somewhat young sounding, so I can see some people thinking she might be better doing YA books, but I thought she did a fabulous job on this book. 5 stars for both the book and the narration!
8. Celebrity in Death Narrated by Susan Erickson 3/14/12 I'm really having a hard time coming up with words here, so I'll just say that I LOVE this series, and Susan Erickson's narration of these books is (in my opinion) as close to perfection as it's possible for a narrator to get. The distinct voices, the emotion, the timing, everything is just wonderful. I'm waffling between 4 and 5 stars for the book, but a giant 5 stars for the narration! :)
9. The Girl Who Played With Fire Narrated by Simon Vance 3/19/12 This was my first exposure to Simon Vance (I read the first book in this series), although I've been hearing for years how wonderful he is. I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed. I'm not sure I could have stayed with this book in audio with a less competent narrator - I kept getting lost in all the Swedish names and places. I liked the storyline, but the author's style just didn't work for me. The narration, however, was very good. The voice was mellow and easy to listen to, different characters distinctive enough to keep track of who was speaking, but not to the point of being "cartoonish". I don't speak Swedish so I don't know if his pronunciation was any good or not, but he didn't sound like he was struggling with the words like some narrators will do when difficult names and/or places are part of the narration - and there were plenty in this book! 3 stars for the book, 4+ stars for the narration.
10. Hidden Summit Narrated by Therese Plummer 3/23/12 I've enjoyed every book in this series, and this one is no exception. The books just give me a giant case of the warm and fuzzies, and I think a good portion of the credit for that goes to the narrator. Her voice just seems to fit these books. She did have a few minor pronunciation issues in a couple of the early books (emphasis on MINOR), but I haven't noticed any problems like that in the more recent books. Virgin River is definitely my go-to series when I need something sweet and wonderful - I'm going to have a problem when Robyn Carr decides to end the series! 4+ stars for both the book and the narration. :)
Completed:
~KarenH~ wrote: "Ok, I wasn't going to do this challenge because reviewing books is just not my thing, but I kept being drawn back to it, so I guess I'd better just give in and go for it! I think I'll start with s..."I never review the books I read/listen to, but I think I can review narration pretty easily. I have definite likes and dislikes when it comes to someone's voice, different voices for characters, accents (or lack thereof), and the line between reading the book and dramatic acting (which I despise - how do they know the author wanted them to insert a heavy sigh?). It's always interesting to listen to the author read their own work rather than a professional reader, too. I don't think it needs to be a long essay, just what your thoughts were as you were listening so others can see if they might like to listen to the same book - at least that's what I'm hoping to get out of this challenge. I'll look forward to reading what you think, KarenH!
KarenH - Don't feel like you have to write a novel...I think the idea is to share what you like or didn't like about the narrator.Was there a range of voices and emotions? Did the characters sound right? (Meaning, if the character was said to be 'cold', did the voice sounded cold? Could you tell characters apart? How did they do with characters of the opposite sex? (Man narrating a woman character and viceversa) Did they spoke too fast/slow/didn't breathe properly?
Dee wrote: "yeah, i don't have any credits...lol! but I did just contribute over $100 to them with their first in series sale"Wow! When I hopped on, I only had about 20 books to choose from... Clearly DRM kicked in again, damn them!
I'm pretty chilled on the review. Don't feel you have to write more than a few lines for feedback... So long as you comment and assess the narrator, I'm happy :)But JenC & DG's list of things to watch for are good pointers. My classic hate is when they drop their voice too low/soft and I can't hear them over road noise... I now refuse to keep adjusting the volume, so I sometimes miss a few sentences ;)
Rishika wrote: "Hi jane yes it is whisper in tier 1 so i would choose that to do in the challege. hope that is okay."No probs Rishika :)
Thanks for the input everyone! I'm really not too concerned about it, I'm sure I can come up with something or I wouldn't have changed my mind about participating. It is nice to hear that expectations aren't particularly high though! :) It also helps to know that I have at least a couple of books coming up in the near future narrated by narrators that I can count on enjoying.
I'm listening to Outlander by Davina Porter. I'm enjoying it so far. Can't seem to stop listening, which is bad. But, my gosh, it's sooo long. It didn't seem that long each time I read it in print form. For those who know, are the other audiobooks in the other series as long? Outlander is in 4 part, each over 8 hours long.
They're longer, Niq!I'm listening to A Breath of Snow and Ashes, which is 57.5 hours. I think this is the longest overall though.
Romance Readers Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
Dark Needs at Night's Edge (other topics)Lothaire (other topics)
Shadow's Claim (other topics)
Uncovered (other topics)
She Did A Bad, Bad Thing (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Janet Evanovich (other topics)MaryJanice Davidson (other topics)
Mary Balogh (other topics)
Nicholas Sparks (other topics)
Sylvia Day (other topics)
More...
Duration: 15 February � 14 November 2012
Audio books are becoming more and more popular and we post quite a bit about good and bad narrators. So it’s time for ... an audio book challenge! The requirement for this challenge is to review each audio book with a key emphasis on the narration. To push comfort zone levels, particpants must listen to books with a different narrator for every book if one of the first three levels are selected. A narrator may be used twice in the challenge if the second tier levels are selected.
At completion of the challenge, select your favourite narrator AND tell us which other narrator you will looking out for in the future.
Select your listening level and relax with 5, 10, 20, 30 or 50 audio books over the next 9 months.
Listening levels:
Tier 1 - Different narrator for every book
Whisper: 5 books
Softly spoken: 10 books
Modulator: 20 books
Tier 2 - A narrator may be used twice throughout the challenge
Loud-mouth: 30 books
Mega-phone: 50+ books
So get friendly with your download library, tune your volume, clean out those ear-buds and get audio!
...And don’t forget:
*Post a review for each book with emphasis on narration
*tell us your favourite narrator
*AND let us know the narrator to watch out for!
You can read any genre and books from other challenges may be used. All discussions, questions and lists are to be posted in this thread.
Additional Rules:
*For audio books with two narrators - participants may review one narrator for each book read, so that if there are multiple narrators (say two), the review is based on only one of them. This means that if it is a series, the next review can be on the other narrator. For the tier 2 participants, this means they can take 4 books in a series that uses dual narrators to review two narrators, assuming the narrators don't change.
*If narrators change in a multiple narrator series, then each additional narrator may added to the mix.
*For books that are more like plays (eg Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency) then that will need to be reviewed as a 'cast', single entity and equivalent of a single narrator. This could only to be repeated (same cast predominantly) if you are undertaking tier 2 levels.
*Rereads or re-listens are fine and may be counted in this challenge.
*If you like to mix print with audio, then you must have listened to at least 80% of the book for it to qualify for this challenge. (MountainKat's query msg #116)
Please update your list post as you progress and when you have finished. Do not repost your list each time as we do in most other challenges. I will create a link up front in message 2 to take everyone to their list :)