I like Rosenblat. George Guidall is also very good. The only reason I kept listening to my one and only Terry McMillan was because I so respected the narration of the late Lynn Thigpen. (I'm would have probably been okay reading it, but with the F-bomb every other word and having to listen to it every time instead of being able to glide over it on the page was almost too much. I felt dirty just listening.)

It's interesting how the brain does glide over offensive language in reading. I'm not prone to profanity (except when sorely tried by sudden and unexpected pain) but I haven't found that a reasonable use of profanity offends me in written works. Audios are a different story. It's like someone throwing rocks at me. I've enjoyed quite a few printed books that I gave up on as audios.

On the other thread Bumblebeez mentions Frazer's bad reading of his Cold Mountain. However, a true highlight of audio books was listening to Frank McCourt read his . I felt like he was telling the story just to me! And the songs were wonderful.

I do remember the narrator of Pride and Prejudice being so wonderful I listened to the tape several times and got a couple more Austens just to hear her. Her accents were stunning! Just looked her up, after checking my library's recording. She was Celia Johnson, a mostly stage actress, known in US for her role in Brief Encounter.

I would have never bothered to find out the above info without my PC. How did we manage 20 years ago without them?

I've used recorded books almost exclusively since 1982 through the Talking Books program that is part of the US Library of Congress National Library Service.

The narrators are always excellent. I've never had a problem concerning a narrator in all of these years. On the other hand, another such service I've used occasionally often has very poor narration, and seldom uses the same narrator for one entire book.

I've heard that the NLS has an excellent system for checking and rechecking the narrations before issuing the book for public use.

Granjan I'm surprised you liked Frank McCourts reading. I thought he was awful and I had really been looking forward to listening to the story. I had already read the book but I couldn't get through the first cassette. Oh Well! Maybe I wasn't meant to hear it again. I can't cut a loaf of bread without wondering if my "cuts" are too big.

I'm not much of a fan of multiple narrators either. It's still a book and I don't want it treated like a play. Good narrators can convey different genders and chararcters effortlessly.

I have to agree about Barbara Rosenblat and George Guidall. They are two of my favorite narrators. A poor narrator can indeed ruin a story for me. An example is The Black Rose by Thomas B Costain. I loved the story and took out an audiobook so I could listen to it on a car trip. I ended up not even finishing the first side of the first tape (my car only had a tape deck in it at the time). The narrator had a very nasal voice and sounded like he didn't like the story, the characters or his audience. It was very off-putting.

Recorded Books inc. and Books on Tape inc.usually have professional actors/actresses or other trained people to record their books. IT makes a big difference. I also will pass up listening to an author's rendition of their works, mainly because the professionals usually do a much better job.

The Washington Post today has an article on the narrator of War and Peace, about 70 hours on 51 CDs! The article also refers to the fact that unabridged audiobooks have taken over from the abridged versions. It is an interesting piece. You have to register to read the article but registration is free and they don't send junk e-mail or sell your e-mail address.

Once I accidentally downloaded an abridged audiobook from audible.com and, while I didn't realize I was listening to an abridged version, I felt totally cheated when I realized what had happened. I've noticed that all of their new books are unabridged.

All of the narrators of the audible.com audiobooks I've heard have been very good. I don't always notice who the narrator is or remember their names, but I do remember thinking George Guidall is one of the best.

Here is a link that might be useful: Can You Say 'War and Peace'? Great! It'll Only Take 23 Days.

Rob Inglis who narrates Tolkien's LotR is excellent. Martin Shaw has a more difficult task with The Silmarillion, but I think that man could read me the yellow pages and I would find it interesting. Frank Muller did an wonderful job reading Cormac McCarthy's novel All the Pretty Horses. I would not hesitate to listen to a novel any of these three read, provided of course that I was interested in the book in the first place!

I hate abridged novels, too. I suppose the abridged versions of certain kinds of nonfiction would be fine, ones where you get the general idea from a quick overview.

Rosefolly

I'd like to know if the "regular" audio books have a way of dealing with quoted material.

One problem with the Talking Books I listen to has always been that quoted material is hard to convey to the listener. Often the narrator doesn't even try to indicate quotes, or maybe there is a slight pause at the beginning and end of the quoted material.

A few narrators use different voices--their own voices but altered somewhat. This isn't very satisfactory.

It would probably be too awkward for narrators to say "Quote" and "End quote" every time there is quoted material, but sometimes I wish they would. It would be particularly awkward in a novel with a lot of snappy dialogue.

Does anyone have a solution to suggest?

I listened to Possession with those reams of Victorian style poetry and they used no "quote" or "unquote," but I don't remember how they set it apart other than a change in rhythm. I think I've complained here before that this novel, narrated by Brits, I suspect, used a coastal Carolina accent for the guy from New Mexico and it drove me nuts. Not that I could tell the difference between any of the accents of those majestic isles.

JWTTrans, do I correctly assume that Talking Books are exclusive for those with sight problems? Makes sense, no pun intended.

Yes, inappropriate accents can be maddening! Or even just a very pronounced accent I'm unfamiliar with can be tough going.

Talking Books are for anyone who has trouble reading printed material, including persons who have difficulty holding a book in place, turning the pages, etc. A statement from a medical professional is required before a person can get Talking Books.

pulling up!

How wonderful to find this site, though I must admit that it took me some time to find one that discusses this subject. The reason I sought it out was because I have been listening to audiobooks for years and they have brought me many hours of pleasure. Like you, though, I find that a book can be absolutely ruined for me by a poor narrator. I can be distressed by an irritating voice as much as the next person but what I find truly disturbing is when words are mispronounced. It is difficult for me to believe that narrators who are considered to be professionals, do not take the time and make the effort to research the pronunciation of unfamiliar words. Another pet peeve, though a minor one, is when a narrator uses the accent of a particular language for a character who is speaking that language. A french person speaking french does not have an "accent" unless that person is french and speaking english. It sounds foolish and often the narrator is difficult to understand in his/her attempt to illustrate the fact that the character is speaking in a language other than english. Other than that, what joy to be able to "read" while doing laundry, vacuuming, working in the yard, etc. :)

Two audio books narrators that I think are great fun to listen to are Patrick Tull, who has recorded the 'Master and Commander' series by Patrick O'Brian, and Lisette Lecat, who has narrated the 'Ladies #1 Detective Agency' series. Tull uses accents for the main characters, one English and one Irish. How he does it without getting mixed up, I'll never know. I started to listen to one of the books in the M&C series read by someone who did not use an accent to help you identify the main characters, and I got completely confused re: who was who.
Ms Lecat grew up in South Africa, I believe, and her pronunciation of the names of the characters, as well as the cities in the various African countries, adds a wonderful dimension to the books. It was also interesting to hear Ms Lecat pronounce the honorific Mma and Rra, which are used very frequently throughout the stories.