Audiobook Week: Recommended Audiobooks

As part of an Audiobook Week discussion, hosted by Devourer of Books, here's a MY list of recommended audiobooks.  It's almost more difficult to recommend audiobooks than regular books because you have to recommend both the story and the narrator.

For someone new to audiobooks, I definitely think the Harry Potter series is a good place to start.  I've only heard the Jim Dale versions but have heard good things about the Stephen Fry versions as well.  I'd also suggest they visit a site like Audible.com which allows listeners to preview books--important to make sure the narration isn't going to drive you crazy.

For me, the fiction books that lend themselves to audio format are the ones told in the first person. Because it seems like they are telling you a story rather than some other person reading a book to you.

The Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat, is probably my favorite series. Rosenblat does a terrific job with the accents and difficult Arabic words. You never have to wonder who is talking because they sound unique. German, British, American, Egyptian...she masters them all.

I also really like the Aisling Grey, Guardian series by Katie MacAlister (also narrated by Rosenblat), the Tempe Brennan series by Kathy Reichs (again, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat)--noticing a theme?-- and the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward narrated by Jim Frangione.

My husband really likes the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, and the Incarnations of Immortality series by Piers Anthony. He can't stand the Amelia Peabody series, though, and that seems to be a consensus among most male audiobook listeners I've asked.

Review: Lover Eternal by JR Ward [Audiobook]

Audiobook Review: Lover Eternal by JR Ward
Black Dagger Brotherhood series #2

• Narrated by Jim Frangione
• Run Time: 14 hrs 11 min
• Unabridged
• Publisher: Recorded Books
• Format: Downloaded via Audible.com
• Also available directly through Recorded books in CD and cassette formats.

As with all of my Black Dagger Brotherhood audiobook reviews, this is essentially a reread. I've read them all in print, but listening to them is a bit different.  This is one of my favorite BDB books, but I think the cinematic melodrama suffered a bit with the audio format.

Rhage is known as Hollywood within the Black Dagger Brotherhood ranks. He's a vamp who has sex often with multiple partners--sometimes in public--and is considered the playboy of the group. But his laid back attitude is actually a façade, carefully crafted to keep his darker nature in check. Because once he loses his temper, his curse takes over--turning him into a dragon-like creature with little sentience and no ability to tell friend from foe.

Audiobook Week Meme

Devourer of Books is hosting Audiobook Week! And for Hump Day, there's a nice, easy meme

Audiobook are you currently reading/you read most recently: Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

Impressions?: I'm in the middle of the Sookie series and am thoroughly addicted.
How long you’ve been listening to audiobooks: Years, although much more frequently the last 2 years.
First audiobook you ever listened to: I can't remember! Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was an early one.
Favorite audiobook title: I don't have a single favorite, but the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters and narrated by Barbara Rosenblat is definitely my fav. series
Favorite narrator: Barbara Rosenblat--no question. She is amazing with accents. I like Lorelei King who voices the Stephanie Plum series as well.
How do you choose what to listen to versus read? I do both. I will listen to books I've already read, because they give you an entirely different experience. Or I will give a new author a try if the book is read by a favorite narrator.