Audiobooks only - list your faves and why

[Duer 157099]

I've become an audiobook addict, almost exclusively non-fiction, but am willing to listen to fiction occasionally.

I'm particularly interested in political/economic history, or travel stories.

Just wanted to start a thread here for future reference. Preference given to titles available via library, but I also use Audible.

Right now I'm listening to a marathon 36-hour one: Che Guevara by Jon Lee Anderson. When I finish it, I'm going to watch the recent film with Benicio del Toro. I'm finding this book to be fairly consistent with the flavor I got from watching The Motorcycle Diaries (but haven't read, yet).

[Idealism]

1. Audacity of Hope

Get to hear our President say "motherf@#$er"

Priceless.

[Duer 157099]

2. LOL, agree. Listened to it right after he was elected

I wanted to listen to it after the deal was done, lol

:thumbsup:

[sailor65]

3. Two suggestions

George Orwells's 1984, but you MUST get the one narrated by Frank Muller, because no one brings it to life the way he did.

"Demons," by John Shirley, because the multiple narration is outrageously good.

[Duer 157099]

4. Thank you - I have 1984, but haven't listened yet, not sure of narrator

but the other one, I haven't heard of, so thanks!

For humor, my own rec would be any of Bill Bryson's books that he himself narrates. I just love him, and him doing the narration makes a huge difference - although it seems that the one's he's done are only abridged versions (like Notes from a Small Island) and I always prefer the unabridged ones. But in his case, I made an exception (but listened to both versions anyway). But he narrated unabridged versions of The Life and Times of Thunderbolt Kid, and In A Sunburned Country, both highly recommended.

edit to say: I just checked and Muller is the narrator of my 1984 version

[sailor65]

5. That's good about Muller

you'll very much enjoy it I think! Muller drives it straight home.

Now as far as "Demons," it's fiction, rather intense at times, and most definitely not kid friendly. If you enjoy the occasional horror/fantasy with a fascinating twist, then you might like it. They use a group of narrators and the effect is terrific.

[Duer 157099]

6. I'll have to make sure to listen during the day, though lol

I usually listen at night while in bed, and I had to stop listening to a few like HP Lovecraft and that sort, lol - just not conducive to nighttime in the dark!

[exboyfil]

7. George R. R. Martin's first three books in

A Song of Ice and Fire. Not the fourth book though because they had to switch from Roy Dotrice to John Lee (due to scheduling conflict). Also the fourth book is not as good. I had not read/listened to fantasy in about 20 years, and it was nice to have it portrayed in a more adult fashion. Also Martin's willingness to let fate claim major characters leaves the reader guessing.

The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote - read by Grover Gardner - 150+ hours of listening pleasure. He makes you feel that you are really there.

Also I Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. In particular I Claudius.

Also Starship Troopers and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein. Heinlein's early books translate very well to audio. Not so much his later books like A Stranger in a Strange Land.

Other excellent books are anything by David McCullough (especially Truman) and Stephen Ambrose.

Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Check them out through Audible.com. Wonderful listening at a great price. I run long distances, and these books help keep me going. I have purchased over 100 titles form Audible over the years.

A set of books not available from Audible, but I once could rent from Books on Tape (and listened to everyone) was Durant's The Story of Civilization (11 volumes). A great overview of Western Civilization.

[Duer 157099]

8. Thank you, that looks like a good list

I started to listen to Heinlein's Stranger but for whatever reason, it didn't take - perhaps there's a reason after all.

I especially love the really looooooooong ones, so that Civil War one sounds fantastic. Also the Western Civ. I'm currently awaiting The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire from my library, I expect that will be a good one too.

[exboyfil]

9. I listed to the "Unabridged" Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

by Edward Gibbon. It was represented as Unabridged by Audible at the time, but it was actually Abridged (length should have clued me, but I jumped on the title at the time without looking really closely). I am a little disappointed in them on that. They later have offered the full version (I am still not certain if it is really Unabridged because Gibbon is huge). I am thinking the whole thing would be 300 hours. The Audible is broken up into three volumes (coming in at 120 hours which does not sound right???). I think it is still an abridgement???

[Sabriel]

10. Try this list

I've read The Professor and the Madman but not listened to it. Simon Jones (the reader) has been excellent on other books, though.

http://www.writerswrite.com/books/awards/audie.htm

[goddess40]

11. I listened to that book and enjoyed it nt

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

12. I really only like them on long road trips

But they are so great when you have a nice long time to really listen. So far the best ones have been:

The Suspense Radio Theater collection. Really fun. Lots of recognizable voices and interesting stories. They also left in the old sponsor ads which are hilarious in and of themselves.

Lies My Teacher Told Me.
Really interesting stuff I really did not know. Woodrow Wilson was a real shit. Helen Keller was a commie, etc. The very last disc was boring - the part about how textbooks are selected was just a total snooze, but the historical stuff that makes up most of the book is pretty fascinating.

Thunderstruck by Eric Larsen.
About the convergence of two events - the discovery of wireless radio by Marconi and the subsequent use on ships, tied into the famous Crippen murder with Dr. Crippen and his wench fleeing across the Atlantic all the while being tracked without their knowledge. It's really great how the two stories are told simultaneously and how they dovetail. You'll learn more than you ever wanted to about radio, physics, etc. but it's worth the investment of time. It was also interesting as to how jealous and backstabbing the scientific community was towards Marconi. He had one rival who could have beat him to radio transmission over large areas, but that guy took himself off the case to investigate spiritualism and mediums! Ha! Talk about a bad career move.

[amyrose2712]

13. My favs are fiction.

I normally read non-fiction and save the fiction for audiobooks. I love sci fi the most. Star Trek and any other the Star Wars novels
My favorites are: "Star Trek- The Lost Years"(all time favorite) , "Star Wars- The Han Solo Trilogy", "Star Wars- The Thrawn Trilogy" "The Hobbit" and " The Lord of the Rings"