I'm really digging audiobooks lately. They really make the
commute to work and back a lot quicker. I never thought I'd really like them,
so it was a nice surprise. If you're thinking of trying any out, these are the
ones I highly recommend:
JOYLAND by Stephen King (read by Michael Kelly):
This is the one that got me started with audiobooks. While I
was saddened to see that King had no intentions of releasing it as an ebook, I
saw I could get the audiobook. So I figured, why not? Glad I did. A great story
overall, and the reader does a really good job. After that, I was hooked, and
determined to find some more audio gems.
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman (read by Neil Gaiman):
My first introduction to Gaiman in the world of literature.
I’ve always heard of his name, and I loved his work on Doctor Who. I really enjoyed it. Think The Jungle Book… in a graveyard. Gaiman is one of the few who can
do his own audiobooks. And this led me to try…
THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman (read by
Neil Gaiman):
Easily one of the best books of the year, and a new all-time
favorite of mine. A bit of life mixed with fantasy (but not heavy fantasy). I
cannot say enough good things about both the book, and the audiobook.
Personally, I think Gaiman should just do every audiobook. I’d love it if he’d
do mine. It won’t happen… but it’d still be cool. One can dream, dammit!
1984 by George Orwell (read by Simon Prebble):
A classic that I’ve always been meaning to read. I will
admit it took me a little while to really get into it, but I ended up really
enjoying it. There’s a reason why this book is famous. It’s chilling and
tragic. Prebble does an excellent job reading.
IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote (read by Scott Brick):
It’s a bit slow going at first, but it doesn’t take long for
you to immerse yourself into this chilling true account of a horrible murder of
a family. The descriptions of what the police find the next day when they
arrive at the family’s house is absolutely terrifying. And as despicable as
killers are, you get a full picture of them and you see them as real human
beings—which makes it even more horrifying. Scott Brick is an excellent reader.
I look forward to his reading of The Devil in the White City—another book I’ve
been meaning to read. (BTW, if you haven’t seen it, the movie adaptation does a
very good job of staying true to the material, even though it was impossible
for it to be as detailed.)
THE CAINE MUTINY by Herman Wouk (read by Kevin Pariseau):
I didn’t even know this was a book. I haven’t seen the
movie, although I’ve been meaning to. Full disclosure: I’ve just begun this
one, so I’m not very far into it, but I’m already loving it. In fact, I even
went out and bought both the ebooks and audiobooks of his Winds of War series. So far, a very entertaining read. Pariseau is
great as the reader.
Those are just a few to get you started. I only started
listening to audiobooks about two months ago or so. You can get these at
Audible.com or iTunes. My personal recommendation is Audible, because a lot of
times if you already have the Kindle version of some of these books, you can
get a great deal and won’t have to pay full price. The Audible app is also
excellent. You can add and delete books whenever you please, so you won’t have
to worry about memory space on your phone.
