Audiobooks discussion

I highly recommend and , and for light books.

I enjoyed the audiobook version of My Life in France.

Hearing the narrator read Child's discovery of recipes, and musings on friendships was a very enjoyable without being tacky or feeling like a made-for-TV-movie.

Heidi I wrote: "I highly recommend and , and for light books."

I agree with those and add The Sugar Queen.
I'm not sure what you consider chick lit maybe try Mary Kay Andrews Savannah Breeze

Like you, I enjoy a variety of genres. Some of the audio books I enjoyed most this year were:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Faithful Place by Tana French

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Each of these books was a perfect blend of story and narration.

I listen to a lot of stuff that likely wouldn't interest most folks here, but here's my shot at the ones I think might be well received by some:

Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic -- inspirational story of a guy born without limbs. He is somewhat religious in perspective, but does a great job reading the book himself in an Australian accent.

Half Empty by David Rakoff -- if you're a fan of David Sedaris, you might like this one.

Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann -- one that's definitely better om audio I think!

The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb -- story was a bit predictable I thought, but terrific narration.

Injury Time by Beryl Bainbridge -- funny and very well narrated.

Defending Angels and Angel's Advocate by Mary Stanton -- paranormal cozy (sort of chick lit crossover)

I haven't listened to a lot of audiobooks so far, but I would recommend:

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton... already mentioned above. It is a gothic style mystery.

The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery... historical fiction

Rebecca by Dauphy du Marier... a classic

Nena- If you are looking for laugh out light books try anything by, Celia Rivenbark she narrates them herself and I love them. some of the titles are:
Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny with a Chance of Scattered Hissy Fits and Conniptions
You Can't Drink All Day If You Don't Start in the Morning
Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank: And Other Words of Delicate Southern Wisdom
We're Just Like You, Only Prettier: Confessions of a Tarnished Southern Belle
Bless Your Heart, Tramp: And Other Southern Endearments

Nena:

On second thought, I'm not so sure "Injury Time" is the kind of funny you're looking for - try "Three Bags Full" instead, which may look a bit silly with talking sheep and all, but the narrator really pulls that off. One of two books I can think of (besides the nonfiction The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World) where the humor would be lost in print!

Susie wrote: "Nena- If you are looking for laugh out light books try anything by, Celia Rivenbark she narrates them herself and I love them. some of the titles are:
[book:Belle Weather: Mostly S..."

Some are better than others (I wasn't real thrilled with her latest "Belle Weather") - her story of the family trip to Disney World was about my favorite ... that and her discovery that "spinning class" meant you paid someone good money to supervise your stationary bike riding (I was equally astounded at learning that myself).

Hi! i'm looking for science fiction, fantasy or young adults books. If you know any, please let me know.
Thanks!

Oh oh oh Fran YA is my genre. My most recent favorite YA audiobooks were , , . For fantasy I loved and -- but I did not listen to them on audio. Another fantasy I liked was . Those are off the top of my head, but I may come back with more from my read pile.

In Young Adult-Shiver& Linger by,Maggie Stiefvater are really good on audio. I second the Bloody Jack Series narrated by, the wonderful Kathleen Kellgren.And of course anything written and read by, Neil Gaiman!

For Fantasy I would highly recommend Stormwardenand its follow ups by, Janny Wurts narrated by, David Thorpe.
Also Soulless by, Gail Carriger narrated by,Emily Gray was really good.

Susie wrote: "In Young Adult-Shiver& Linger by,Maggie Stiefvater are really good on audio. I second the Bloody Jack Series narrated by, the wonderful Kathleen Kellg..."

I second Soulless and Shiver (but only if you can handle werewolves).

Have you listened to Major Pettigrew's Last Stand? Adorable book. Lightly romantic. The old guy is so sarcastic in an understated British sort of way. I loved it.

Nena wrote: "I thought that there should be a thread for recommendations.

Wanted: I am looking for light, heartwarming, feel good books. Chic-lit that will make me laugh out loud. Thrillers and Mysteries..."

Nena, for light feel-good books on audio I love the Mitford series by Jan Karon; they start with At Home in Mitford. At first I wasn't sure about the narrator, John McDonough, but I have come to really enjoy his renditions of these stories.
And for a light mystery series where the characters can also become endearing, the Southern Sisters series, which starts with Murder on a Girls' Night Out by author Anne George is wonderful. I love the narration by Ruth Ann Phimister.

Nena: "Injury Time" I got with an Audible credit; the "Angels" books were public library downloads, although I believe Audible has those, too.

Janice: I have never listened to a Karon book, but if you like those, you'd probably enjoy the "Dearest Dorothy" series by Charlene Baumbich.

The sheep book has a new sequel ... in the original German, that hasn't been translated yet, let alone recorded for audio.

The narrator did such a great job, I was tempted to track her down and send a thank you note!

Janice - I love the Southern Sisters mystery series - are they on audio?

Catie - I am on the 4th Kate Daniels (Magic Burns) book right now, but I have read them all in print. How is the series on audio? Also, is Poison Study on audio? I really liked that book. (Maria is a member of the YA group I am in on here :)

Also...I second the Markus Zukas audiobook recommendation. Book Thief and I am the Messenger are two of my favorite audiobooks ever. Sorry to go on and on!

I forgot to add for a light YA audiobook I also recommend The Year Of Secret Assignments.

Catie and Nena come on over to the YA for Adults group on here! I love YA books. Nena is right - no shame in that :) Catie I listened to the sample of the Kate Daniels series on audio and did not like the narrator, so I just read them. Sounds like I did not miss anything. She actually reminded me a little of the narrator for the Hunger Games - a book I highly recommend just read and skip the audio. Also - Graceling is wonderful on audio with the full cast. Loved it!

John wrote: "Nena: "Injury Time" I got with an Audible credit; the "Angels" books were public library downloads, although I believe Audible has those, too.

Janice: I have never listened to a Karon book, but i..."

Yes, I had forgotten about that series. I have listened to the first two, I will have to get back to the others. I do like "Dearest Dorothy", thanks for reminding me of them.

Heidi I wrote: "Janice - I love the Southern Sisters mystery series - are they on audio?

Catie - I am on the 4th Kate Daniels (Magic Burns) book right now, but I have read them all in print. How is the series..."

Heidi, I love the audio version of the Southern Sisters; the narrator is Ruth Ann Phimister, and she does such a great job with them. I have grown really fond of Patricia Ann and Mary Alice. I have listened to all except the last one, and I keep putting off finishing with that last book, knowing that the author is now deceased and that will be my last time to spend with these endearing ladies.

I wanted to ask, I think at some point someone in this group mentioned a good audio version of Cutting for Stone; can you refresh my memory as to who does a good job with narration of this book? My local library has a "Suggestions for Purchase" option on their web page, and I would like to suggest an audio version of this book. Thanks.

Thanks for the answer Janice. I had no idea that series was on audio. I am putting off reading the rest of the series for the same reason. So sad :(

Another author who does "cozy mysteries" is Dick Francis, who just passed away earlier this year. He wrote over 40 books, mostly stand alone though there are 4 that share a recurring character, and another two that share a different recurring character (Break-in and Bolt). I've read print on around 5 and listened to audio of around 15 and have loved every one. My Mom has read almost all and loved them all too. Dad and husband as well have enjoyed the many they listened to. Some of my favorites if you're looking for a place to start: To The Hilt, Hot Money, Break In, and Bolt, but most all the others I've read are close behind. Probably the ones in the last years are ones some people like the least (some co-authored with his son) but still many people think they are just as good. Of the recent ones I've only listened to Silks so far but I enjoyed it about as much as the others.

Simon Prebble is the narrator on lots of them and he is one of my all time favorites.

One I forgot to mention that folks here might like: Sharp Objects -- I don't like horror and suspense as genres, but this one mixes both, and I could not stop listening!

Nena -- I thought you wanted fun and happy books? "Sharp Objects" isn't that at all!

Well then you might as well throw in the audio edition of: Pointing from the Grave: A True Story of Murder and DNA, if you like legal - scientific thrillers.

If you are into sports at all, I really enjoyed Open: An Autobiography.

Also really likedKitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

I've finished all the books in the Alex cross series and for the most part enjoyed all of them. I wasn't a huge fan of 'Trial'.

The Stuart woods 'Stone Barrington' series is fun. It's set in the city and occasionally mentions Connecticut (an area very close to where I grew up)

The Steig Larson trilogy was also very enjoyable.

Janice wrote: "I wanted to ask, I think at some point someone in this group mentioned a good audio version of Cutting for Stone; can you refresh my memory as to who does a good job with narration o..."

Janice, I listened to Cutting for Stone narrated by Sunil Malhotra - he was excellent!

Did you know that you can go to the top of the page and on the right hand side is a space to type in called "search posts" for that particular group? I use it sometimes if I'm looking for a discussion about a particular audiobook.

Hope your library gets Cutting for Stone - I thought it was great!

I listen to a lot of stuff that likely wouldn't interest most folks here

Okay, John, I'll bite. What do you listen to and recommend that might not be of general interest?

I so agree about the Mitford Series. I never would have even picked up the book book...not my genre. But fell in love with this series due to the "story telling" quality of John McDonough's narration. His timing and pauses add to the enjoyment.

Shoshana:

Here are a few I've listened to within the past year or so that I feel might be rather narrowly focused, but maybe someone here would be interested .....


The Mind's Eye

Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America

Zen and Now: on the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

French Revolutions: Cycling the Tour de France

Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This?


The Olive Route: A Personal Journey to the Heart of the Mediterranean

Nena wrote: "I thought that there should be a thread for recommendations.

Wanted: I am looking for light, heartwarming, feel good books. Chic-lit that will make me laugh out loud. Thrillers and Mysteries..."

Have to read "The Year of Yes" by Maria Headley! Loved it! Was a very funny, positive, true story! My favorite! Saw her & her husband on a talk show & they are 2 totally different kinds of people, nothing alike (she said she would never have dated him if it hadn't been her year of yes)!

Thanks, John. You and I have some overlapping interests. I've got The Mind's Eye and several books on North Korea and China lined up for early winter. I'm half an hour from the end of Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent and sense from the paucity of reviews that natural histories aren't the most popular genre!

I'm personally not into the books on specific items such as cod, hamburgers, potatoes, etc. myself, but they seem popular enough to me.

My print, audio and e-book TBR's have gotten so out-of-control I couldn't begin to predict what I'll be tackling in the months ahead!

Carol wrote: "Janice wrote: "I wanted to ask, I think at some point someone in this group mentioned a good audio version of Cutting for Stone; can you refresh my memory as to who does a good job w..."

Carol, thanks for the narrator's name for Cutting for Stone, I am going to ask the library to purchase that one. And thanks too, for the information about how to search for past posts on these discussions, I had not noticed that search option at all; I will probably make good use of that!

If you like non-fiction, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larsen was great. Kristen Hannah writes good chick-lit books and I have listened to some of hers. They are long but good.