OT, what are some audiobooks you really like?

[ncl]

I am struggling to find one I like right now. i have rejected SEVERAL already. Frustrating!

[yogapam]

I’ve listened to a lot of audiobooks lately & I find the narrator makes a big difference. What genre are you interested in?

[Pam61]

Clanlands is excellent, and funny! It's narrated by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish of the Outlander TV series on Starz. They've also done the recent eight episode show Men in Kilts. Both of the actors/authors are great and it's fun to hear them poke fun at each other and listen to their Scottish accents. The book is a love letter to Scotland and tells of their adventures traveling together, as well as discussing some of their friendships and relationships on Outlander. A bit of history, culture, travel, adventure, and wit all rolled into one!

[bzar]

i like to use the library's Overdrive app. if you like non-fiction, i liked these written by Ron Chernow:

*1) Titan : the life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. / Ron Chernow (read by Grover Gardner);
*2) The House of Morgan An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance (read by Robertson Dean)

Ron Chernow also wrote "Hamilton" the book on which the musical was based.

i listened to all of the Harry Potter audios - all read by Jim Dale, who is just perfect for these audios.

i listen to lots of other audios on Overdrive, mostly non-fiction.

*EDITED TO ADD:
although these are both non-fiction, i found them to be fascinating, each as great as an epic film. Rockefeller is about the oil dynasty that Rockefeller literally built from scratch. House of Morgan is about JP Morgan, the origins of modern banking in the the US and the grandfather of Henry Morgan who founded Morgan Stanley.

[Izzy]

I do 75% of my reading is with audiobooks because I listen in my car and on my walks. I agree what was said upthread, the reader makes all the difference. Most are good. There are some books I had to drop the audio and read it because the reader was ruining the book with fake accents or too loud or too soft. Fiction wise, I love the Beatriz Williams books. The readers are excellent. They are historical fiction. Kristin Hannah books are also good. Others are John Sanford, Kate Quinn, Fiona Davis, and Lee Child. I use audible and overdrive.

[TracyQ]

I have a lot of hits and misses with audiobooks.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance
Sh$tshow, Charlie LeBuff
Wild, Cheryl Strayed

Just started Greenlights, Mathew McConaughey

[BunnyHop]

I've enjoyed quite a lot of them in recent years.

Just got The Martian narrated by R.C. Bray on cd from the library, and so far, so good. There's another version narrated by someone else that seems to be less popular.

I enjoy the classic novels quite a lot, somehow they seem to be written to be read aloud in a way that a lot of more modern stuff is not. Have recently enjoyed Jane Eyre, Anne Gray, Villette, Call of the Wild and several by Anthony Trollope.
I've shied away from darker stuff like The Count of Monte Cristo, Huckleberry Finn, and Moby Dick.

Do you want something read by one person, or by a cast? With or without sound effects?

The Chilbury Ladie's Choir is done by a cast, and is said to be excellent. I keep forgetting about it when I get things from the library, and haven't heard it yet.

I've gotten a lot of good ideas from the reddit group here: https://www.reddit.com/r/audiobooks/

Another way to go is Librivox, where the audiobooks are all free, and downloadable. They're crowdsourced, so there are many where the quality of the narration varies quite a lot, and I've mostly enjoyed the ones done by a solo narrator.

I'm a fan of the Harry Potter series and enjoy both of the audio versions, Stephen Fry and Jim Dale.

[Terry]

If you like urban fantasy, The Dresden Files and The Hollows.

[ncl]

These are great. I would say I am looking for literary fiction or historical fiction, sometimes lighter fiction for a lighter read (things that would not be considered literary). I don't tend to go for hardcore science fiction, though have liked a couple of Blake Crouch books (Recursion was good). Occasionally I will read fantasy and enjoy it. I do like time travel in books for whatever reason and magical realism is also good. I like memoirs but not biographies. It is a must for me to have likeable characters. My favorite books are a mixture of good writing and good plot. I love when an author can write well and give me compelling movement in a story but sometimes I just read for either one of those as I find it harder to find both together. Also, on audio I tend to go for fiction more than nonfiction (unless it is nonfiction that reads like fiction). I don't like sound effects. I can listen to a cast (like Daisy Jones and the Six) or one reader. I don't tend to like short stories and I love a good series.

Bzar, I also listened to all the Harry Potters on audio and loved them! If only I could find another series I liked on audio that much!

Pam61, I love Outlander (am reading the last published one right now in hard copy) and have watched some of the Clanlands on video.

Izzy, tell me what Fiona Davis books you have enjoyed on audio. I listened to the Lions of Fifth Avenue on audio and loved it but have not read/listened to any of her other books. I have also listened to some Kristin Hannah (liked the Nightingale, hated Firefly Avenue). I will check out the other authors you mentioned.

TracyQ, would be interested to hear what you think about Greenlights. I hear it is good and it is on my list!

Terry, I do sometimes read urban fantasy, so will check out those you mentioned.

Some audios I have recently enjoyed:
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (epistolary, charming, also short)
Nobody Will Tell you this but me by Bess Kalb (memoirish about a relationship between mother and granddaughter)
Celine by Peter Heller (this was great, well written and compelling story with movement)
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo read by the author, a book in verse read by Acevedo who is a slam poet. New discovery. Have listened to a couple of hers now and loved them.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett read by Tom Hanks. Not even sure how much I would have liked this if I read it in print but Tom Hanks was such a fantastic reader, performer....I think I would listen to anything he read.
The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton
This Tender Land by William Kent Kreuger
The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
The Stationary Shop by marjan kamali (probably my favorite book of 2020)
More in the past I enjoyed the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris, womens murder club books by James Patterson-lots of great movement in these stories, Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series.


My favorite all times audios...
Harry Potter books
Maya Angelou (she reads them, so fabulous)
Water for Elephants was especially memorable
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

[diggerholliday]

Some audio books I have really enjoyed because of both the story and the narrator are:

Circe by Madeline Miller and narrated by Perdida Weeks
The Case of the Damaged Detective by Drew Hayes, narrated by Scott Aiello
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, narrated by Michael Page
Sherlock Holmes narrated by Stephen Fry

Books I have listened to just because I love the narrator's voice, cadence and style are those narrated by Caroline Lee:
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
Golden Earrings by Belinda Alexandra
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
The Lake House by Kate Morton
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty