Booking Through Thursday: Audio-books

[fajrdrako]

Got this from Booking Through Thursday: The question, "Audio books: yes or no?"

The answer: Of course yes. Audio-books are fun. They are ways to revisit books I have read and loved. They are ways to entertain myself while cooking or washing dishes. They are ways to check out authors I haven't tried. They are ways to listen to the voices of some of my favourite readers - Sam West, Robert Lindsay, Paul McGann, Ioan Gruffudd, Roy Dotrice (who reads the George R.R. Martin books) - I can't recall who read The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, but he was excellent. Or the person who did the reading for Jonathan Strange and Mister Norell.

The reader makes so much difference. I once listened to an audio version of Dolly and the Bird of Paradise by Dorothy Dunnett. The narrator-protagonist is a make-up artist from the Glasgow area, with a marked Glasgow accent. To my horror, the reader's accent was straight New Jersey. I couldn't listen to more than a chapter or two.

There are downsides to audio-books: They're expensive. I can't afford them. The library doesn't get as many in as I'd like, and the ones they do get are often damaged by overuse. I don't have time to listen to them - I prefer silence when walking or on the bus, or when doing most things. And often the books I like and the readers I like aren't matched up.

Still: a good audiobook is a joy and a delight.