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Audiobooks

kiiltz

Member
Anyone listen to these?

I've been listening to these at work recently when it's not busy and it's a pretty fun way to pass the time. So far, I've been staying away from fiction in favor of more informative topics like the Great Courses series (Understanding Japan, Ancient Mesopotamia and the Story of Human Language) but right now I'm actually listening to Stephen Fry's Heroes which has been a delight to listen to, especially with his humorous digressions and voices. It's opened me up to the idea of more typical literature and I feel like it could be a good way to finally getting around to "reading" stuff like Les Miserable and War and Peace, books that I could never get around to reading because I could never decide on a translation (also I suck at reading now).

There's some pretty cool shit on there too, like Shakespeare plays and after listening to Stephen Fry I'm keen to listen to other people's recordings.

I have 4 credits saved up so if anyone has any recommendations, I'm open to suggestions.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
I love listening to audiobooks! I only have a 20 minute commute each way so I usually only get to listen to about 35-40 minutes of audiobooks five days a week. First world problems, but I'm getting ready to move closer to my job and now I'll only have a five minute drive - probably not enough to mess with the start/stop of audiobooks.

I'm more into "popcorn" Sci-Fi stuff so some of my favorites I've listened to in the last year are:

Galaxy Outlaws - This is kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. Nothing deep or thought provoking, but tons of fun to listen to and Naramore's narration is top notch. An absolute steal being that it's 85 hours (16 books) for 1 audible credit. Think of it like Firefly with wizards.

A Gift of Time - While the narrative structure of this book is admittedly quite a mess, it presents time travel in a fun and unique way that's oft not explored in science fiction. An interesting story that takes some really unexpected turns.

Paradox Bound - Another wonderful time travel adventure. Maybe I just like time-travel sci-fi? Anyway, Peter Clines never fails to disappoint and this novel is no exception. A fun take on time travel that revolves mostly around American history.

The Dispatcher - A short story by Scalzi that's brought to life here by Zachary Quinto. Set in an alternate future where suddenly nobody can die, the dispatchers are a group of people who are licenced and sanctioned by the government to end people's suffering.

We are Legion, We are Bob - Set in a not-so-distant distopian future, Bob wakes up from being cryogenically frozen after death only to be re-incarnated as a high level computer AI that's put on a space ship and launched towards a faraway star. An actually interesting take on what it might be like to live your life as a computer.
 

JBat

Member
I really enjoyed The Gone World if you are looking for sci-fi. Jshackles, you might enjoy it. It's about time travel and alt-realities. The narration is really good too. I usual go for fantasy. The wheel of Time is my favorite series but it's 14 books so it takes some commitment. I also recommend the Mist Born trilogy
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
I really enjoyed The Gone World if you are looking for sci-fi. Jshackles, you might enjoy it. It's about time travel and alt-realities.
Thanks for the recommendation, I'll have to check that out. As I mentioned before, I'm about to lose my "audiobook time" but I enjoy it so I'm going to try and dedicate some time after I move.

If you like good scifi fun and one of the best narrators in the world, listen to Expeditionary Force. Sooooo good.
I have the first book in my library, I've been meaning to get to it!
 

Weilthain

Banned
I used to listen to the lord of rings audio books all the time while going to sleep. Was really good but the narrator would start singing randomly and bother me.
I did all the Harry Potter audio books in Spanish as well they were awesome. I like books but I was never much of an actual reader.
 

nikolino840

Member
I used to listen to the lord of rings audio books all the time while going to sleep. Was really good but the narrator would start singing randomly and bother me.
I did all the Harry Potter audio books in Spanish as well they were awesome. I like books but I was never much of an actual reader.
The BBC adaptation of the 70's with Ian Holm as Frodo?
 

Dr.D00p

Member
So far I've listened to:

Jack Reacher collection
Dresden Files collection
Harry Bosch collection
The Lincoln Lawyer collection.

Still to listen to:

Alistair Maclean collection
Clive Cussler collection

I find them a great way to wind down by putting one on an hour or so before going to bed, helps me to sleep better when not looking at a TV screen or Computer monitor just before bedtime.

Also, special mention to Wil Wheaton's reading of 'Ready Player One'. It was brilliant.
 
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ROMhack

Member
I listened to a ton throughout my master's degree because by the time I was done with all my reading, I couldn't face doing anymore at home.

What I found is that simpler, plot-driven novels work better. I listened to a few of Murakami's shorter books and found they work excellently because so much of the plot is conveyed through dialogue and simple description. I also listened to similar novels like Never Let me Go and Childhood's End. All coming to about 8 hours in duration.

What didn't work as well were lengthy tomes that relied heavily on non-standard thematic devices. DFW's The Pale King stands out here because as much as I liked listening to it, the sheer density of the book meant I immediately forgot about a lot of what was happening. I had a similar experience with Hyperion.

I found two games that worked really well alongside them - Stardew Valley and Hot Shots Golf.

Both are easy to play, requiring not much thought so crucially don't activate the part of my brain that was supposed to be paying attention to the audiobook.
 

paparazzo

Member
I listen to them while driving for work and they’ve been great to help pass the time. My favorite so far is 11.22.63. Some other standouts are 1984 and The Martian.

Currently listening to the excellent fan-made version of Lord of the Rings by Phil Dragash, where he incorporates a lot of the music, accents, sound effects, etc. from the movies and puts the official audiobook to shame. I could never get through the books in the past, but this version really elevates it above the originals.
 

Dark Star

Member
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson is best enjoyed through audiobook... badass self help advice, story tellling and life lessons.
 
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ESPOMAN

Member
I always wanted to get into audiobooks. I just can't focus as well on them as compared to reading. I might try again someday.
 

pauljeremiah

Gold Member
I love audiobooks when I doing jobs around my garden or going on a long walk. I find them way better than listening to music.
 

kiiltz

Member
Thank you, but I've read it, twice. Excellent book.

Any more suggestions? Hit me with everything you've got.
I think the Great Courses have some book on it iirc. Based on the books that I've listened to I would recommend them but maybe just listen to the previews before you decide.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson is best enjoyed through audiobook... badass self help advice, story tellling and life lessons.
The sounds like a fun listen. I'll check it out.
 

Dural

Member
I love listening to audiobooks, I used to have to drive long distances at my last job and would listen to books while driving. I listened to most of the new Star Wars books after The Force Awakens came out, the production values were great on most of them. I listened to the whole gentleman bastards series, the reckoners series, the clockwork princess series, and many more. I really like using Audible and Kindle, I can listen to the book and pick up where I left off on the Kindle app.
 

mortal

Gold Member
Anything narrated by George Guidall lol

I enjoyed the audio versions of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, and The Drawing of the Three. Currently listening to Dune.
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
My favorite recently was 'Children of Time' by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The narrator is very good, and it is an excellent deep sci-fi novel but it is also not without humor.
 
Console Wars was enjoyable due to the overall excellent narration (outside of some weird choices, like the way Howard Phillips was narrated). Not a big fan of the book itself to put it mildly, though some parts are very funny. For instance the story of the friction between Nintendo and Toys "R" Us, told by a employee of the latter, at a summit SEGA held at the Boca Raton Club, Florida.
 
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