In the New York Times, John Schwartz writes about audiobook performers, who may be "little known outside of the community of devoted listeners," but serve an important role. "If somebody’s going to spend 10 or 20 hours in my ears, turning me into a local jogging spectacle, I’d better enjoy the experience," writes Schwartz. "That means, of course, picking the right books to listen to. It also means listening to the right reader."

  • http://www.facebook.com/mr.intj Scott Smith

    Seriously. There have been several audio books that I ended up putting on my reading list, because the reader was too annoying to listen to.

    • http://www.matthewpetty.com/ Matthew Petty

      Agree! Same with podcasts.

  • lvl99

    A good story and good reader/dramatisation is important. I think it’s what makes this book so damn good: http://krakenboner.tumblr.com/post/14351174157/erotic-book-out-now

  • http://twitter.com/beep54orama B E Pratt

    A good reader is probably on par with a good translator since that is , essentially, what is being done. But my favorite audio books are the ones done ensemble, like a radio play. Not all books can work this way, but for something like, say, Ross McDonald, it is a marvelous experience. 

  • http://www.matthewpetty.com/ Matthew Petty

    It’s like the separation of content and presentation that HTML/CSS folks talk about. You want the information, and you want it clear and attractive, but too much embellishment and the decoration gets in the way.
    Some readers get in the way of the material.

  • penguinchris

    I first “read” Neuromancer several years with an unabridged audiobook which is probably from around when the book came out (I found it online). I worked in a library shelving books and listened to a lot of audiobooks to retain my sanity.

    I too have had to stop listening to audiobooks due to the person’s voice. But this time, I don’t know who the guy was but his voice and style of reading was perfect – a little bit quirky-sounding but pleasingly rather than annoyingly, sort of frantic-sounding in a way that compelled you to keep listening and which matched the pace of the story, altering his voice for dialog subtly but just enough to distinguish between characters.

    I have read the book in print since then, and I think the audiobook performer added quite a lot to the experience (although the experience of reading it the first time adds a lot too, so it’s hard to judge for sure). It’s a great read either way but I’m glad I listened to the audiobook first since it was so good.

  • http://twitter.com/sciencegoddess Joanne Manaster

    My favorite narrator is Davida Porter. She was just perfect in reading Anna Karenina. I ended up listening to books I normally wouldn’t just to hear her voice. I also enjoyed a version of Life of Pi with a great reader, but I can’t think of his name. 
    I am listening to Guitar Hero, read by the author. Not sure I love his voice, but it does make the connection with the author. Also, Jonah Lehrer’s latest book was narrated by himself whereas the previous two were not. It wasn’t terrible, but his other book narrators made the listening much better. 

  • tw1515tw

    In the UK Stephen Fry reads the Harry Potter books. In the US, it’s Jim Dale. I have no idea why. 
    I prefer Stephen Fry’s narration.  

  • Russell Letson

    As much as I love reading the prose of George MacDonald Fraser and Patrick O’Brian myself, the performances of David Case (Flashman) and Patrick Tull (Aubrey-Maturin) light those books up wonderfully well. On the other hand, I found the reading of a very prominent SF writer of his own novel so painfully flat that I couldn’t listen for more than ten minutes.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=709717510 Andrew L. Yi

    I totally agree that the right narrator makes or breaks the whole experience!  David Sedaris reads David Sedaris like no other human on earth could or ever will…

  • traalfaz

    I have been to a couple of panels at science fiction conventions where this very topic was discussed.  I listen to audiobooks pretty much constantly and will put up with almost anything, but a good reader makes it a much nicer experience.

    I do play my books on a player running RockBox (Sansa Fuze, the old one WITHOUT the touch screen) so I can alter the playback speed and pitch independently.  This helps if I get a particularly slow reader, or one with a very high or low voice.  It also lets me get through a book faster, I am currently listening to books at between 150 and 190% normal speed.  It’s surprisingly easy to get used to, and getting through a 20 hour book in 12 hours is nice.

  • Dave

    Not to be confused with the rather awful movie, Hearts in Atlantis, read by William Hurt, was the first audiobook that made me think there needed to be some equivalent of an Academy Award for narration. The book is good, but Hurt makes it amazing.

    http://www.amazon.com/Hearts-In-Atlantis-Stephen-King/dp/0743509870/ref=tmm_abk_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1338039693&sr=8-1

  • http://germanwotd.com Amelia_G

    My audiobooks predate the global financial crisis, because I haven’t been pulling all-nighters since the Lehman Bros. bankruptcy, but my favorite was the woman who read “Pattern Recognition.” She did such a good job, including with the foreign words.

  • http://twitter.com/rmp135 Ryan Poole

    My favourite narrator is George Guidall, in specific his narration of The first four or so Dark Tower novels. Frank Muller wasn’t a bad substitute but Guidall really brought the characters to life. When I read the remainder of the series, my internal dialogue became his voice. A narrator that everyone loves but I’ve never liked is Roy Dotrice. He sounds like a boring old man that puts me to sleep.

  • http://www.peterbagge.com/ Buddy Bradley

    I think an audiobook performer can really shape your general impression of the book. I’m presently listening to a fantastic reading of Ghost in the Wires by Ray Porter, which has made me love the book.

    However, I wasn’t as happy with Porter’s reading of The Four-Hour Workweek, so I probably would have enjoyed that book more with a different performance. It’s strange that the same performer could mold such differing impressions on me.