Books on "tape"

[Glyfair]

Since I got an Ipod for Christmas this year I have been looking more and more at audio books (my old MP3 player wasn't really appropriate). I have had one or two before for my car, but really never got much into them (unless you count old-time radio).

The biggest issue I have is price. For the most part they are in the price range of hardback books and often higher. The few examples that are less expensive (such as audible.com) are subscription based services and I'm not sure I'd use them that often (I still prefer old fashioned books).

After a recent blog of Monte Cook's I looked at few of the free places online. Unfortunately, the results were pretty poor. The Warlord of Mars book was read in an utterly boring fashion. The Odyssey was better, but still not very engaging.

I know there are good examples out there. One of the few I used to own was The Screwtape Letters. It was read by John Cleese and was utterly engaging. Of course, most free sites aren't going to afford someone of his stature, but there must be some better options out there.

 

[Mark]

The library is your friend.

 

[sckeener]

The library and podcasts....

If you like horror, give Pseudo Pod a try.

 

[griff_goodbeard]

The Hobbit + Lord of the Rings ftw.

Make sure you get the unabridged version performed by Rob Inglis. He's got a great voice and you get the feeling he's acting the book, not just reading it. He also does character voices and sings the songs (which are very entertaining). By far my favorite audio book ever.

 

[Atlatl Jones]

The Hobbit + Lord of the Rings ftw.

Make sure you get the unabridged version performed by Rob Inglis. He's got a great voice and you get the feeling he's acting the book, not just reading it. He also does character voices and sings the songs (which are very entertaining). By far my favorite audio book ever.

Agreed. Rob Inglis also did fantastic versions of the first two Earthsea books, but they're unfortunately not available on CD or digital format.

The set of the seven Narnia books that came out a couple years ago is also excellent. Each book is read by a different author, and they include such greats as Kenneth Branaugh, Patrick Stewart, Michael York, and Derek Jacobi. I don't like listening to extremely long books, because they take too long, but each Narnia book is only a few hours long.

Try out some nonfiction too. I really like listening to popular science and history books, like Malcolm Gladwell's Blink, and Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation.

As for where to get them: your public library is your friend. Audible is reasonable, and even if you only subscribe for a month or two, you can download books and listen to them after the subscription has ended.

 

[Glyfair]

As for where to get them: your public library is your friend. Audible is reasonable, and even if you only subscribe for a month or two, you can download books and listen to them after the subscription has ended.

I was looking and contemplating that. Subscribe for a few months and use the credit for the more expensive books, and then pick up a few of the less expensive books that I'd like to keep (such as Cleese's Screwtape Letters).

 

[Jubilee]

Also, the current monthly subscriptions from Audible allow you to 'save' up your monthly credits (up to 6 if you do the 1 credit per month, or 12 if you do 2 credits per month), so even if you don't get a new one every month, you can get a number of them when you decide to.

I had audible for about 2 years and loved it. Never had trouble finding two books to download each month, and I usually took advantage of their 50% sales when they came around. I had to cancel for the time being for financial reasons, but as soon as it becomes realistic, I'll be resubscribing.

Unfortunately, the online audio libraries won't work with an Ipod, so if you go the library route, it'll be CDs and Tapes.

/ali

 

[Sarigar]

Some libraries subscribe to services to supplement their audio departments. Check with your local library's on-line services to see if they have anything like this. Unfortunately some of the better audios are tough to find, and Inter Library Loans do not extend to audio/visual materials.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

After a recent blog of Monte Cook's I looked at few of the free places online. Unfortunately, the results were pretty poor. The Warlord of Mars book was read in an utterly boring fashion. The Odyssey was better, but still not very engaging.

IME you will find this occasionally no matter what you pay. Reading books becomes a very specific type of performance. It requires a voice suitable to the material (you wouldn't listen to, say, Pride and Prejudice read by James Earl Jones), and a style of reading that is engaging.

Example: I've listened to Sterling's Snow Crash several times since as much as I like the writing I enjoy the vocal delivery of the reader, who gives characters different "voices" sufficient to distinguish them, but doesn't go too far overboard into caricature. Even though I don't care for all of those "voices" the performance is otherwise spot on.

On the other hand I picked up Gibson's Spook Country and find it impossible to even begin to engage with the material as the delivery is so slow-paced and monotone it is TEDIOUS to listen to. I certainly can't listen to it in the car as it requires so much attention and effort to stick with it I flash back to the worst professor I ever had which was in history and I slept through HALF of his lectures because he was so painful to listen to.

 

[Umbran]

Some libraries subscribe to services to supplement their audio departments. Check with your local library's on-line services to see if they have anything like this. Unfortunately some of the better audios are tough to find, and Inter Library Loans do not extend to audio/visual materials.

Some services used to supplement are not iPod compatible. Ours, for example, uses a Microsoft technology that is not currently interoperable with an iPod, without taking certain steps that might technically violate copyrightl.

On the other hand - in Boston there's the Minuteman Library network. And inter-library loans within the network do include audio-visual materials. Check with your local librarian for details on what's really available to you.