Tell us about one of your best audiobook experiences --- either a book you listened to, or a trip or moment that was made more special by listening to an audiobook while you were experiencing it.
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I listen to a fair number of audiobooks in the car on the way to work, but one of my best experiences was just this week. I picked up Lisa Scottoline's newest Dead Ringer and ended up spending my lunch hours listening because I couldn't "put it down." Humorous, suspenseful, and full of great characters, this was a wonderful story. I do not recall the name of the woman who read it, but she was fantastic. She became Bennie Rosato and did a darn good job of it. I highly recommend this audiobook and anything by Lisa Scottoline.
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I listen to audiobooks in the car on my ride to and from work, 35 minutes each way. I am an avid reader, but with all the paperwork involved in my job (I teach high school English), there is never enough time to read as much as I'd love to. Audiobooks let me enjoy a book instead of wasting my travel time. One of the best books I have listened to is Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I fell in love with Patchett's style and knew that this was one book I would have to "reread" in print, simply to repeat the experience of hearing her story. Last time I was in a bookstore, I bought a copy of the novel and took it with me on my next vacation. Had it not been for the audiobook, I might not have gotten to read this book for some time, and would have missed this treat. I have since bought Patchett's The Magician's Assistant, hoping it will be as beautifully written as Bel Canto.
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My best audio experience was while driving 5 hours to and 5 hours fro on a trip to a week-long Juvenile Justice training period. The audio was Lonesome Dove. The book and movie are my favorites anyway. The trip was a joy with the audio as my companion.
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The best experience was listening to Cheaper by the Dozen with my kids. We all absolutely loved it, the dated, "old-fashionedness" of it just added to the appeal. When the kids were young we listened to books on tape on even short trips. The Hank the Cowdog series was a favorite because the humor worked for both kids and adults. Now that the kids are teenagers, it is a little more difficult to find tapes that everyone appreciates.
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Bridget Jones's Diary is a great audiotape. The speaker, I forget her name, is perfect for it. I would recommend it to anyone.
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The best experience I had listening to an audio book was when I listened to the first Harry Potter book for the first time. I had read the book (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) and enjoyed it immensely. But when I heard Jim Dale voice every character in the book with a distinct personality, and read with such enthusiasm, it added a whole new level of enjoyment to the story. The reader makes so much difference in how much I enjoy a book. Jim Dale has done an outstanding job on the Harry Potter productions. (OK, I know at 48 a "kid's book" shouldn't enchant me so much, but there you have it.)
Another great experience, due again to an excellent reader, is The Lord of the Rings trilogy, read by Rob Inglis. He breathes life into every character through his voice characterizations. And hearing him actually sing the songs adds an extra enjoyment to an already wonderful listening experience.
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I have been making 8-hour car trips on a regular 10-day basis and have audiobooks to thank for keeping my sanity. Of course first, they make the trip seem shorter by entertaining me on the entire trip, and second, I can sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic and have something to keep my mind occupied besides the accident rubberneckers that are causing the delay.
There are so many authors that I enjoy and so little time to read all of them that this is also a great feature of reading while riding. Altogether, it was a great idea to put books on tape/CD.
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A month ago was the first time I downloaded an audio book. I chose To The Nines, Janet Evanovich's latest. I streamed it through the computer. The quality was wonderful, and I think my enjoyment was enhanced because I was involved in a technology new to me.
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A recent experience was made more bearable by listening to an audio book. I recently had 9 teeth extracted and during the pulling and bone trimming I was listening to a Tony Hillerman mystery with the volume turned up! It helped me endure an unpleasant experience
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All my life I have been of the opinion that if I was going to be waiting anywhere I should take a book with me because free time without a book was useless. When I was young, because I am one of those people who cannot read while riding, I used to think how nice it would be if there was someone who could read a book to me while I was in the car.
About twenty years ago a woman who I was working with knew I was an avid reader and asked me if I knew the library had books on tape. I had heard that the blind could get these but never knew anyone could also check them out.
I have five children who all live out of town so I am on the road a lot. So the first trip I took where I had a book on tape was one of the most memorable trips I had ever taken. I immediately told everyone I knew about books on tape --- the most marvelous invention of the 20th Century.
I like to listen to all types of books but really enjoy the mysteries, although a few years ago I listened to the Harry Potter book and enjoyed that. I have listened to all of the Harry Potter books and would encourage it to anyone who wants an exciting trip.
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Beowulf. Seamus Heaney's reading of his interpretation is THE BEST!
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I recently drove across Nebraska, enroute to my daughter's wedding in Breckenridge. The trip time was just enough to listen to an audiotape of Michael Crichton's Prey. It was as if the car was on autopilot. The story made an otherwise tedious drive quite enjoyable.
I have also listened to audiotapes of mystery stories while painting rooms or doing other home improvement work inside. I can listen while doing manual work without distraction. Audiotapes allowed me to discover the books of James Lee Burke, to enjoy Ed McBain's 87th Precinct stories, and to experience several of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe puzzlings, while engaged in routine labor. They're a good alternative to the written word.
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Several years ago I had to make a cross country car trip of almost 3,000 miles alone with my 11-year-old twin sons. I rented the unabridged audio of The River God by Wilbur Smith and the nightmare trip I was dreading became a joyous adventure. We all became so engrossed in the story that the days and miles passed effortlessly. Both boys developed a keen and lasting interest in ancient history. On a subsequent trip we listened to The Clan of the Cave Bear with the same results. I wouldn't consider a long car trip without an audio book to keep me company.
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I absolutely love reading and continue doing so when in the car using audiobooks. It is a great way to keep up with all the books I intend to read. What could be better? If I get stuck in traffic, no problem. I listen away and sip on my iced tea --- no road rage here.
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The first audiobook I listened to was Stephen King's The Langoliers, read by Wilem Defoe. He had a different voice created for each of the characters and I was instantly hooked on books on tape. On a whim, I had checked out a Dick Francis book on cassette, The Danger, read by Tony Britton. I've listened to everything Britton has read. Those are my top two best experiences. A close second will have to be Jim Dale's reading of the Harry Potter series.
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I suffer from chronic insomnia. A friend, also an avid reader, and in my bookclub, had eye surgery and began to listen to books on tape while healing. Her positive remarks on them caused me to try listening during my waking hours during the night. I started with Grisham's Runaway Jury, which was so good I didn't fall asleep again until the red eye of the sun was glaring at me across the little pond to the east outside of the window, not so good for an insomniac!
Since then I've learned to let audiobooks of all sorts capture me and then release me gently back to sleep, much quicker and more readily than before. I now look forward to these interludes in what for me used to be the cold, cruel hours of the night. This does not in the least interfere with my daytime book reading; it is simply another form of communication, and I think a valuable one.
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By far, our best audio book experience was listening to the Harry Potter tapes. We had all read the books and were going on vacation to our cabin in an area that has limited radio reception and next to no TV reception. We brought along the tapes for the first book and had a great time listening to them. My nephew, who had not read the book, is now an avid reader. We all felt that these books were the perfect addition to our retreat into the wilderness, and they have in fact become a tradition that we look forward to every year.
These tapes are wonderfully done and are an experience in themselves, even if you have seen the movie. The man who reads them is an accomplished actor in theater, and I promise, you will not be disappointed!
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Definitely Katherine Graham's biography, which she reads herself and is so touching when her voice catches reading about her husband's suicide. Also, Colin Powell reading his own biography --- always special when an author reads his/her own.
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I recently took a trip to Glacier National Park and heard about the bear DNA study. I listed to the audio book Blood Lure by Nevada Barr when I returned and discovered that that was the main background of the plot. It made the mystery even more interesting.
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I really love audiobooks. The best audiobook I think I have read was The Nanny Diaries. It was absolutely the funniest book I ever listened to. I was cleaning while I was listening to it and before I knew it the whole house was clean and thensome. Another one of my favorites is False Memory by Dean Koontz. That book made me interested in his other books.
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Last summer, we were on vacation when the newest Harry Potter book was released. We were visiting Yellowstone National Park and staying in the small town of West Yellowstone, just outside the park, where the only bookstore was not scheduled to receive any copies of the book on the publication date. We drove to the nearest large town, Idaho Falls, and bought both the hardback version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the CDs. That way, my husband and I could listen to the story in the car while our 12-year-old son read the book. We listened to the story throughout the remainder of the trip and, because it's so long, for a couple of days after we got home. Having waited so long for the book to be released, I was delighted to be able to satisfy my "fix" immediately without having to wait for my son to let go of the hardcover copy.
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I have two "best" audiobook experiences. The first is the first book that I ever tried listening to: White Shark by Peter Benchley. It was totally out of my usual genre and I loved it. I probably would never, ever actually read it, but listening to it was great! The second was The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. The music on the tape so enhanced the mood of the book that each time I listened to a chapter, I felt enhanced as a woman. What a wonderful overall experience!
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My trip to work was getting very mundane, and so I decided to listen to a book on tape that I had not gotten around to reading. The book was In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon. It's an older book on Christian living. I found that I would often get to work faster than I wanted to! It was a great listen.
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I'll never forget the time my husband and I listened to The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy one year as we drove the 6 hours to our cottage on Lake Superior, and back. It was read superbly (I forget by whom, and haven't been able to track it down; this would have been in the late 1980s, before we had kids). At any rate, the drive was so wonderful because I was steeped in Conroy's complex emotional world. Hearing it was so much richer than just reading it, because the reading was so superb. Though my husband and I had originally intended to listen only in the car, we just couldn't stop. So we sat outside the cabin and stared out at the lake and listened, we listened as we made meals and cleaned up, we listened before the crackling fire. It was the richest, most enjoyable reading experience I've ever had.
I think I've just sold myself all over again on the joy of listening to audio books. I'm going out to buy some more!
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A few years ago I took a college evening class that required an hour drive each way. I shared those hours with John Grisham. Driving in the dark rural countryside, listening to the concluding chapters of his books, was the most eerie and suspenseful time. I thank Mr. Grisham and the audios with getting me through the class and home safely to my bed.
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I listen to a lot of audio books. The best by far is Bel Cantowritten by Ann Patchett and read by Anna Fields. Fields manages to bring more than a dozen characters to life, most of them men and all of them done brilliantly. I have never been so caught up in an audio book. I can still hear her voice first as the opera singer, then the Japanese businessman and then the interpreter. I've recommended the book to just about everyone I know and then also recommended that they listen to it.
Another fabulous performance is Ed Norton's performance on Tom Wolfe's Ambush at Fort Bragg. It's a nasty little story of broadcast journalism run amok and Norton plays all the roles perfectly.
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My husband and I on a car trip listened to one of Bill Bryson's hiking adventures, A Walk in the Woods. We both enjoyed it, and the humor made the miles fly. I cross-stitch every morning before the world wakes up and listen to audio books. I listened to The Da Vinci Code and was inspired to find a cross stitch chart of the Last Supper. I found one and am getting ready to start it. I listen to audio books all the time. I have the best of both worlds. I can still read and still do the other things I like to do. I listen to books on tape while cooking, gardening, sewing, stitching, and the 5-hour drive to my daughter's house. Time flies by with a good book to listen to. Thank Goodness for books on tape.
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Listening to Angela's Ashes, read by the author Frank McCourt, was a joy. To hear his brogue and sing the songs he recalled from youth was such a pleasure. I was kicking pebbles when it was over.
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I listened to both Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling andBrunelleschi's Dome, both by Ross King. I never would have had the patience to read either of these books but listened to them both in the car and in bed at night. They were both wonderful in their respective ways and I learned so much about both Michelangelo and Brunelleschi. I also learned and was fascinated by so many of the problems and ways of solving them in both the fresco of the Pope's ceiling as well as the dome of St. Mary of the Flowers in Florence.
Listening to these books has made me want to read books like this as well as listen to more books of this nature. I found it was an excellent way to utilize the time spent while in the car, which is normally wasted, as well as a wonderful way to learn more about things in general.
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I usually listen to "books on tape" on long car trips, but picked upEllen Foster at my local Library one day.
Ellen Foster is written in the first person and is wonderfully narrated by the author, Kaye Gibbons, in her Southern "down home" accent --- just as you imagine Ellen speaking, as you read the book.
What a joy to listen to Ellen recounting the events in her life --- and to learn more about the depth of her character through Kaye Gibbons's writing and narration.
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I listen to audiobooks while walking in the park with my Greyhound very early in the morning. At that time I not only enjoy listening to my book but I am surrounded by the sights and sounds of the woods and animals awakening. I can't think of a better way to start the day.
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Once my husband and I were traveling and listening to a thriller. We got so involved that we almost ran out of gas. Thank goodness for the lighted up "gas pump" on the gauge!
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About two years ago I moved from Houston, Texas to New York City to live near my son, a struggling actor. I came up in my VW Beetle and picked up one of Lawrence Sanders's McNally books on tape. I believe it was McNally's Puzzle and that was indeed the start of a complete change in my life.
I fell in love with the book, with Archy McNally, with Boyd Gaines, with Lawrence Sanders, with my Beetle, with driving, with being alone --- with life! It was such fun. I should probably say that prior to the start of this trip I went through much deliberation of should I, shouldn't I, but something happened along the way. I really think it started with my complete enjoyment of Sanders's unique characters. Before the trip, I remember thinking that if I feel like this move is wrong I can always turn around and go back to Houston. With McNally talking, nothing could have been further from my mind. I was hooked on the adventure of life, whether it be Florida or New York.
I have been back to Houston several times since that first trip and I always have a new McNally in the front seat with me both going and coming back to New York City.
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For some reason I could not get into reading the first Harry Potter. When I took a long trip, I tried the audio and woweee, yipee!!! I loved it. Therefore, when I can get the audio of the series I listen, other times I read.
Another was Mystic River. I would have never picked it up, but when you travel too much, a big bunch of tapes looks great. As you know, it is terrific and the movie is even better!
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I have been an avid book reader my entire life. Recently, I took early retirement but due to the economy I had to return to the workforce. I got a job as a library courier delivering books and material between six libraries in our county. I am on the road about 80% of my time and I have access to, and listen to, all the audiobooks I could possibly desire. I highly recommend the unabridged versions. I enjoy listening to a book much more than reading it, especially with a good reader. As one author said on CSPAN's Booknotes, "Find something you really enjoy and then find a way to get paid for it."
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I had two audio books with me on a trip to Florida my husband and I took. He doesn't read and prefers a movie. I put in Janet Evanovich on the way down while it was my turn to drive. He got hooked. On the way way back we listened to a Robert Crais. It hasn't turned him into a reader, but at least he now understands what I enjoy so much about it.
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I began an audiobook reading with A Day Late and a Dollar Shortby Terry McMillan. It was a great book. Humorous, poignant, easy to follow, and read by the author herself, which was great. The novel simply flowed. Since then I have "listened" to my favorite authors frequently on the way to and from work; I travel over 30 miles one way. The experience has captured me fully --- I simply love listening and continue to be an avid reader.
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I'm not really into audiobooks but I must say one that captured my undivided attention and brought tears to my eyes wasTuesdays with Morrie. That was a choking-back tears experience.
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Several years ago I had to make several trips to the Bath Iron Works, a shipyard that builds naval destroyers in Bath, Maine. The yard is two and a half hours from my home and a grind to roundtrip in a day. Listening to Leon Uris's Trinity not only made the trip tolerable but something I looked forward to. The only catch was the suspicion I raised when workers wondered why I spent so much time in my car after driving in the parking lot. It seems I was always at a good part on my arrival.
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The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King was a wonderful listen, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and the other books in Alexander McCall Smith's series, The Will by Reed Arvin, and David Guterson's second book, East of the Mountains. The only thing I don't like about audiobooks is that I forget the titles because I leave them in the tape player and don't see the title every time I turn to the book in the way I do with traditional books.
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In 1994 my husband died. Although I have been an avid reader my entire life, after his long illness and death I simply could not concentrate long enough to make sense of any book. This angered, dismayed and saddened me. I have always loved books and have probably spent a good half of my life escaping into a juicy novel. So to not be able to escape my grief at Den's death by burying myself in a book was sheer torture to me.
In my desperation, I found audio books. I had never listened to one before, so I didn't have any expectations. It was simply an attempt to relax and get away from myself for a while. Boy, did I get a surprise! Listening to audio books is like being read to as a child. It was a real lifeline for me. Today, I must have my audio book while I do housework, hobbies, yardwork or walking. Thankfully, after several years I regained my ability to immerse myself in books, so now I can 'read' while I work or play and still curl up with a good book in the evening!
The only thing I can't do is drive while listening. I'm terrified of becoming too involved in my book and not paying attention to the road. But other than that, I'm likely to have those headphones on just about any place, any time. What a wonderful gift I stumbled across!
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I never listen to audiobooks anymore, so this story goes back a few years. I used to rent tapes from a company I "think" was called Books on Tape, because they had a large selection of classic books and also all of their books were unabridged. At the time I was in Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, and I had rentedWalden and Cape Cod by Henry David Thoreau, to listen to while I was driving. I already owned both books, but I wished to have them in the car while I was moving around. One day I had the tape in and I was driving up the highway past Plymouth (Pilgrims), and at the exact moment I looked up at the highway sign saying "Plymouth," the narrator said "Plymouth" and that weird moment threw me into a much longer reverie on the passage of time, history, what other eyes had seen, a philosophy on nature and our natures. I still quote from Walden at times, one of my favorites being, "I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."
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One of the best "listens" I've ever had was from Peter Coyote's reading of Lonesome Dove. The book is fantastic and the reading just adds such a dimension to it. Every character came alive. I listened to this mostly while I walked and often I would just keep going because I couldn't stand not to listen. His vocal tone and range for this genre is just wonderful. I remember walking down the street when the main character died and just crying my eyes out --- who knows what the neighbors must have been thinking.
My next greatest experience came when I listened to Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. This was a multi-voiced recording done by British actors/actresses plus Pullman himself adding to the narration. What a wonderful experience. The woman who did the voice for Lyra was stunning --- innocent, young and strong. Pullman has a wonderful voice and his musical words, along with his voice, really added to the whole experience. I sure did a lot of walking and felt totally sad to have it all end. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
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For me it has to be Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg --- there's just something about hearing one of her stories with her reading it. She has the characters down perfectly and boy do you laugh through it.
This was actually close with the Harry Potter series --- you do become absorbed very quickly.
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One of my favorite audiobook experiences has to be listening to all of the Harry Potter books! What a treat to hear the marvelous reader with his vast array of different voices. As much as I'm looking forward to the next Potter installment, I plan to wait for the audio book!
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Several years ago, my husband and I were driving to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for the weekend. On the way, I put Allan Folsom's The Day After Tomorrow audiobook into the car's cassette player. Neither of us spoke a word during the entire several hours we were on the road. We were absolutely fascinated with the twists and turns the story took. When we pulled into our friends' driveway at the beach, we still had about 10 minutes left on the tape. Neither of us wanted to wait until the return trip home to hear the story's ending, so we sat in the car until the conclusion of the tape. Our friends, eagerly awaiting our arrival, kept looking out their window, wondering why we didn't come in. The story was just too good to miss! We finally walked into their home, totally pre-absorbed, jabbering to each other about the story's ending, while giving hugs and hellos to our friends. They must have thought we were crazy.
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A Walk Through the Woods by Bill Bryson. I don't do well with fiction audio tapes because my attention keeps wandering out the window, and I miss important happenings in the audio book. Therefore, I keep having to rewind to the parts that I missed. This is why I like nonfiction audio tapes in the car --- it doesn't matter quite so much if you miss bits and pieces. Bill Bryson's book was perfect for this. It is an account of his walk along part of the Appalachian Trail with a buddy from Des Moines. It is a very humorous account of this walk, and I loved hearing it on a trip that we were taking to the East Coast.
The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe by Donald H. Wolfe. This was a fascinating account of Marilyn's life and most interestingly her death. My husband and I also listened to this on a trip. The author discusses her ties to the Kennedys, and even suggests that Robert Kennedy was responsible for her death. Lots of food for thought.
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I listened to ALL the Harry Potter books on tape. I just love Jim Dale's voice. They were recommended to me through a dear friend of my daughter's and I can't thank her enough.
I started listening to audiobooks while I was working in a warehouse, doing filing for 8 hours a day. I no longer work there but still listen to audiobooks in my car and at home. I think they are AWESOME!
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Regarding the question of audio books that may have had an effect upon the listener, my little story is not a personal experience, but one I found touching nonetheless. The husband of our local librarian was listening to The Bridges of Madison Countyin his car at the insistence of his wife. During one part of the book, when a certain revelation is made, the husband, who had agreed to listen somewhat patronizingly, had to pull over as tears clouded his eyes!
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The location of my workplace changed and it was twice as far away; fifty minutes one way. How to fill the time? --- with audio books. I started Stephen King's Dark Tower books with The Gunslinger and was hooked on audio books and on the series. They were all wonderful tales that made the drive to work fly by and now I won't go anywhere in the car without an audio book.
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One of my best audiobook experiences was actually stumbling onto a series that I could start with book 1 through the end using my library services. The Mitford series by Jan Karon and the entire series Left Behind by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. My pleasure in having a book read to me while working or doing chores or just plain relaxing became a pleasurable way to read after retirement. I had not done any series or followed any particular author, just preferring mysteries mostly, especially the English ones. But behold, serial books were for the real readers I thought until these two authors' audio books came to me via my library. I am now hooked and subscribed Bookreporter to keep me up to date on all authors and types of books. What a new world this computer has now offered me. Now I can't find enough audio books fast enough. But the serials of these two authors have just enchanted me.
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In my experience, the audiobook I enjoyed the most was on a train trip to San Francisco. I had a three-day train ride and during that time I listened to David Sedaris's box set, which is all four of his books on tape. I enjoy both reading his books and listening to them as he reads them himself and he is such a hysterically funny guy. All his books are essays/stories about his life but they are funny without even trying to be. Of course they are even funnier when read aloud by him. Anyway, listening to his books while riding on a train for three days made the parts of my trip that were boring and tiresome go quicker.
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I am an artist and it used to bother me that I didn't have time to read when I was either filling orders or getting ready for a show. In one of those "light bulb moments" I realized that I could listen to audiobooks while I worked in the studio, and from that time to the present my productivity has increased amazingly. I am never happier than when I am working on an illustration while listening to an interesting book. I am able to keep up with my friends in current book discussions and not feel guilty because I'm getting behind on my work --- the best of both worlds!
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The first audiobook I ever read was It's Always Something by Gilda Radner. The things that made it a wonderful experience for me was 1) She did the audio reading herself and 2) I had recently been diagnosed with lupus and seeing how she coped with the cancer that took her away too soon helped me cope with my illness.
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My husband, who is not a reader, and I, who is an avid reader, were preparing to visit Savannah, Georgia as part of an extended weekend mini-vacation. I had heard of the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil but had never read it, and of course, had not seen the movie.
This was our first experience in using audiobooks, although my parents had been for years. So I checked out the 10 CD volume at the library. We found ourselves so engrossed in the book that we were actually sorry to see the CDs end, and while we did not finish the entire story on our way to Savannah, hearing the book provided even more "sights and sounds" of the city that we wanted to experience. We finished the story on the way back to Tampa.
Since then, we have viewed the movie, and returned to Savannah with our adult daughters for another visit, where we found even more of the sites described in the book and movie.
We now take an audiobook with us to the location we are going to visit whenever we take a vacation. These can be of several types --- fiction, nonfiction, biographies or tour guides.
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I was taking my first long distance driving trip alone after my divorce. I took along Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher. It was 23 tapes, 46 sides. It "carried me along" for the whole trip. Donada Peters was the reader, and I felt like I had a friend riding with me.
