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I've never listened to Bryce Courtenay, but I love his books - i just wish they were more readily accessible in the US - since they aren't printed over here - my mom sends me his new ones when they are released...

Dee wrote: "I've never listened to Bryce Courtenay, but I love his books - i just wish they were more readily accessible in the US - since they aren't printed over here - my mom sends me his new ones when they..."

I can't figure out why he isn't more popular in the U.S.
The Power of One is on the reading list for many middle schools, but beyond that his other books are hard to come by. The movie of the same name is fabulous with Morgan Freeman and a young Daniel Craig.
Loved it.

i emailed him or his website once about it - the general answer was that publishers in the US decided that they didn't think he was marketable enough here to warrent it...I think they vastly underestimate him and his popularity...

The power of one and Tandia
The Australia Trilogy

The story of his story made me bawl

Dee wrote: "i emailed him or his website once about it - the general answer was that publishers in the US decided that they didn't think he was marketable enough here to warrent it...I think they vastly undere..."

I enjoyed The Potato Factory so much I bought the others.

I have to complete set, they are travelling as part of another GR group right now - but if anyone would like to borrow them in the future, you can PM me and let me know

Dee wrote: "I have to complete set, they are travelling as part of another GR group right now - but if anyone would like to borrow them in the future, you can PM me and let me know"

I wonder if an author like that couldn't just self-publish in this day and age?

he probably could, but he's under contracts in australia for most of his works - so it makes no sense why they aren't sold in the US...even as ebooks

That's what I mean. If no publisher in the US wants to touch his books, then he could probably self-publish here. I mean, unless his contract with his Australian publishers don't let him to that?

i don't know - he publishes through Penguin Australia - i don't know if they are linked with Penguin US at all...I wish he would

Fran - i think there is also a mini-series of The Potato factory avilable - i think starring Lisa McCune - who is an australia actress, don' tknow about availability in the Us though

Fran wrote: "Finished Tommo and Hawk. It's the second in a series by Bryce Courtenay. The narration is terrific and the story keeps your attention. Courtenay calls it his gift to Australia since it is a fict..."

Dee wrote: "Fran - i think there is also a mini-series of The Potato factory avilable - i think starring Lisa McCune - who is an australia actress, don' tknow about availability in the Us though

Fran wrote: "..."

Thanks Dee. I have really enjoyed the audio books and I'll keep an eye out for the mini-series. Humphrey Bower does a great job with the narration. My credit just arrived this afternoon so I'm going to get the 3rd book in the series. Enjoy the dwindling weekend!

Just finished Nora Roberts' The Witness, thanks to the glowing recommendation by Wendy T. I loved it!

Also just finishing up Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think. I enjoy hearing about the technological advances coming in the future, and enjoyed this book a lot.

Having a hard time deciding now whether to jump right into War and Remembrance (since I had just finished The Winds of War last week) or whether to "sneak in" another one or two (like Dancing at the Rascal Fair?) before I start it ... since War and Remembrance is 56 hours long.

Finished "A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd--good but Maisie Dobbs light.

Enjoyed Jim Dale's version of "Peter and the Wolf" and "The Shoebird". Working on "Liesl and Po".

Finished "The Last Refuge", a sort of neo-noir mystery and not my cup of tea.
Finished "The Black Ecco" and liked it well enough to try another in the series eventually.
Finished "Relic" of the Pendergast series and will get "Reliquary" even though it scares me--Pendergast is just too intriguing a character.

Started "Plum Island" and "My Soul to Steal". "My Soul to Steal of the Soul Screamers series is a little frustrating because the main character is a little insufferable in this book and it's running toward horror in some spots.

I finished 11/22/63. It's an awesome book and the narration was great.

I've started The Graveyard Book.

Javasapien wrote: "Having a hard time deciding now whether to jump right into War and Remembrance (since I had just finished The Winds of War last week) or whether to "sneak in" another one or two (like Dancing at the Rascal Fair?) before I start it ... since War and Remembrance is 56 hours long. ..."


Oh! That is a hard decision. I followed Wouk's on TV ages ago. Maybe I should reread it!!! But Doig is so good too. I guess it all depends on what you feel for right now.

I started "Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaimon. Somehow I always forget how well he writes and his great sense of humor. The narrator in this one is really good, as was the anniversary narration of its predecessor "American gods." I really enjoyed "The Graveyard Book" when I read it--it's narrated by gaimon himself if I'm not mistaken--and he's one of the few authors who does justice to his own work.

Currently listening to Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. Really like that guy! Ripping11/22/63 from CD to my iPod. Looking forward to that.

Jeanie wrote: "I started "Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaimon. Somehow I always forget how well he writes and his great sense of humor. The narrator in this one is really good, as was the anniversary narration of its p..."

Loved Lenny Henry's narration of Anansi Boys!And yes Neil Gaiman narrates The Graveyard Book love his voice could listen to him read the phonebook!

Just checked and my library owns 3 audiobooks written by Gaiman. Unfortunately, only his collection of short fiction, Fragile Things, is narrated by him. American Gods is narrated by George Guidall, who is also excellent, by the way. Anansi Boys is narrated by Lenny Henry. He's an unknown to me.

I've put Fragile Things on my list for now. Thanks for the recommendations re: Gaiman as a reader.

In the anniversary edition of "American Gods", Gaimon narrates a few sections. It is a full cast production with each voice spoken by the same reader each time. I really enjoyed the listening experience.

I tried to listen to The 19th Wife while reading Galway Bay. I did not succeed. The former was so complicated, flipping between different threads and time lines that I had to stick to just that. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I WILL now read both Galway Bay and listen to Scribbling The Cat. I just love anything Alexandra Fuller writes. I am already entranced. There are few authors that do this to me. One book per author is usually adequate for me.

I finished The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault. I didn't especially like it and had some issues with the production (music, confusing scene breaks, semi-dramatized), though the individual narrators did reasonably well with the material they had. But I didn't much like the writing either.

Finished Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by, Seth Grahame-Smith narrated by, Scott Holst. I enjoyed this book so much more than I had expected to! It read like a real biography and I found myself believing every word. Scott Holst’s narration was just wonderful Abe’s Midwestern accent with just the barest touch of twang from his roots was spot on! I will definitely be finding more from this new to me narrator.

Now starting Everneath by, Brodi Ashton narrated by, Amy Rubinate.

As part of Audiobook Month I am trying to listen to new to me narrators and both of the above are new to me.

I'm listening to Tales from the Arabian Nights, narrated by Toby Stephens. It's an abridged version with only 4 of the tales but I'm having TONS of fun imagining Toby Stephens narrating the book (I've had the hots for him ever since he played Rochester in the latest BBC version of Jane Eyre.)

Barbara, don't let the fact that Anansi Boys is not narrated by Neil Gaiman stop you from listening to it. Gaiman actually wrote the book with his friend Lenny Henry in mind as the main character (Henry's a British-Jamaican actor/comedian). Henry's narration of the book is wonderful. I'm a Jamaican living in the U.S. with close ties to family in the UK, and I felt sure Henry would do right by the British and Caribbean characters because of his background, but I was pleasantly surprised by his facility with American accents as well. Because of his performance, this book is one of those that is even better listened to than read.

Had lunch with someone coworkers today, and it turned out that 3 of the 8 of us were avid audiobook readers!

I finished The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian a few days ago, which I enjoyed, and have now started The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. For a while there I got bogged down on the descriptions of the meals, but all-in-all I am enjoying it.

@Susan - the Night Strangers was weird...did you think the ending was kinda WTF??

has anyone ever listened to anything narrated by David Thorn? I have The Ice Princess on audiobook from the library and he is the narrator

Susan wrote: "I finished The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian a few days ago, which I enjoyed, and have now started The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. For a while there I got bogged down on the descriptions..."

I read the Hunger Games and loved it and then tried to listen to the audiobook and did not care for the narrator so I gave it up.

@ Heidi -- I'm not minding the narrator.

Dee wrote: "@Susan - the Night Strangers was weird...did you think the ending was kinda WTF??"

I liked the end. I'm at that age where I'm on the side of being rejuvenated. :-)

We had 70F and sunshine yesterday (though definitely not today!), so I'm closing the thread.