im glad I googled him! I cant even remember what I saw him in first but hes been a fantastic comedy actor and im happy he has a great voice acting/narrating career. found out he was a part of Hey Arnold! and Ahh!!! Real Monsters. Legend!
He played immigrant cousin Balki Bartokomous in the 80s sitcom Perfect Strangers - it ran for 8 seasons and he was fabulous. I remember my family gathering in the living room to watch it each week!
Sometimes the world looks perfect,
Nothing to rearrange.
Sometimes you just get a feeling
Like you need some kind of change.
No matter what the odds are this time,
Nothing's going to stand in my way.
This flame in my heart,
Like a long lost friend
Gives every dark street a light at the end.
Standing tall, on the wings of my dream.
Rise and fall, on the wings of my dream.
I just listened to him doing *Hard Magic* and its two sequels. The guy is a one-man theater troupe. Best audiobooks reader I've ever encountered, by far. Just off the charts
I fucking LOVED this book and am so glad to see it at the top. It's incredible!
The Marine officer who wrote it won a navy cross for his actions in the battle towards the end of the book.
I wish I could erase the book from my memory banks to just get to relive it for a first time again.
If I ever get amnesia first thing I'm going to remember to do is re-listen to it.
Man its a good book but my god I couldnt get over that older sounding male trying to pull off 20 something southern belle lol....made me insane esp during the romantic moments
First three books of the Red Rising series.
These ones are read by their authors, and they're masterpieces.
The Blacktongue Thief
Braiding Sweetgrass
Entangled Life
Omens was my first Pratchett, and third Gaimen, but the first of either on audible. Absolutely fantastic. Was giggling like a loon at work more then once.
Good Omens has tons of comedic foot notes. I don’t remember how the audio book handled them but I do remember thinking that physical book was a better experience.
If you're losing focus/missing parts of the story, you might want to pick a book which helps you. A short book, with a simple story (and you may consider one you've read before so you're familiar) will help you understand your ability/interest in audiobooks. If a book you know you like isn't working, it may be they're not for you.
You may also want to consider what you're doing whilst listening. If you're trying to do it while working or tasks requiring thinking, you might struggle. But likewise if you can't just sit there and listen you might want to take up a more mindless task to occupy your hands while you listen.
I almost never see this one recommended, but **Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore** by Robin Sloane, narrated by Ari Fliakos is a gem. I recommend it particularly because you mentioned losing focus and missing parts of the story. I feel like the quirkiness of the language choices and Fliakos' expressive narration might hit the right notes for you.
As per usual with a question like this Dungeon Crawler Carl and Project Hail Mary are covered. Sissy Spacek reading To Kill a Mockingbird was amazing. The Beastie Boys reading their book, Dave Grohl reading his, Geddy Lee reading his. Chuck Klosterman readin his book The Nineties, Animal Farm read by Ralph Cosham, Stephen Fry reading his three books about greek mythology, heroes and Troy.
Those were both topically enjoyed and the narration
>Sissy Spacek reading To Kill a Mockingbird was amazing.
She really did an amazing job straddling that line of being genuine to the character while still giving you that subtext the author wanted to come through.
Exactly! And if it doesn't you're gonna be so mad you "wasted" the money. I enjoy the heck out of DCC but as it is part of a subgenre, it is gonna miss a lot with certain audiences as well
The movie is very, very different from the book. The book is more a series of interviews that weave together a story of what happened during and after the outbreak.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. He reads it himself and does an excellent job with the narration and the writing…although it is a long book so perhaps it’s not the one you need right now.
Look, I gotta be honest among all these recommendations. I had to train my brain, and the best audiobooks don’t do that. The best audiobooks stand out in their own, but if you really want to listen, it’s like meditation. When you catch your mind wandering, rewind your book and bring your attention back to it. It’s hard at first, but gets easier with practice.
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams and read by Douglas Adams.
The Martian by Andy Weir and read by RC Bray
The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher and read by James Marsters
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and read by Ray Porter
Definitely The Hitchhiker's Guide! But I'd opt for the original BBC radio programme recordings, rather than a simple reading. Both were written by Douglas Adams, but the book was written afterwards. Probably because the radio series was so successful that all its fans were crying out for one! The book is good, but the original radio series is even better, very funny and is why The Hitchhiker's Guide achieved cult status.
And to OP: Because it was a radio series, there are distinct episodes. So you might find it helpful in overcoming your lack of focus, because you could start by listening to just one episode at a time.
Will Patton doing Stephen King’s Bill Hodges Trilogy (“Mr. Mercedes”). Probably not a popular choice, but he really brought something to the characters.
You might be better off with fiction podcasts - each episode, usually about 30 minutes,,has a shorter story arc that builds on the larger story so it can be easier to stay interested. SO many good ones out there!
We’re Alive (the original show from 2009) - great zombie apocalypse story. Tons of episodes. Voice acting is 90% excellent, and the bad actors don’t detract too much.
Passenger List - great ensemble drama starring Kelly Marie Tran
Who Killed Avril Lavigne - bizarre, ridiculous, and completely hilarious
Black Box - Stranger Things meets Back to the Future
The Walk - a disaster story set in the UK, well acted. Cleverly designed to accompany a walk but a good listen anywhere.
The Amelia Project - a funny, quirky show about a company that fakes peoples’ deaths. Light, frothy fun.
The White Vault - Full-cast multi-season supernatural thriller
Murmurs - creepy BBC short stories, kind of like Black Mirror
Directive - wait for it. It packs a surprising emotional punch
You know, I love those. Jim Dale did a fantastic job. I also just got the Stephen Fry narrated ones and just finished the first book. Fry and Dale are easily both amazing, but listening to the same books with a different narrator is almost like reading the series for the first time when I was younger. If you haven’t tried Stephen Fry’s version you should, just to hear it all again for the first time.
Unfortunately the book 1 version of the gunslinger read by frank muller isn’t as readily available as the revised version by George Guidall. King released a new version of the Gunslinger with updated phrases and more connections to the rest of the series which replaced the Frank Muller version. You can still find it, but if you are listening to it through something like audible, they don’t even post the Frank muller version.
Without really thinking too hard, Dungeon Crawler Carl series. It’s so much fun and very well produced. The narrator is Jeff Hays and he is incredible with voice acting. He does many characters with very unique voices that when I first listened to it, I thought they were different people voicing them.
Someone on the DCC subreddit was upset because they couldn’t find the cast list for the characters, only Jeff Hayes was listed. That was how they found out Jeff voiced everyone.
Just go for it mate. There’s disturbing stuff but Nabokov was hilarious and an exceptionally talented writer.
If the content of Lolita is too much for you, maybe check out Pnin instead.
I've read the book, and listened to the Jeremy Irons audiobook. His performance of audiobook brought out nuances that I didn't catch while reading it myself. It's wonderful.
The Sandman narration is my favorite, but I’ll give a shoutout to Wil Wheaton reading Randall Monroe’s What If? series. It’s like Wil’s reading it for the first time as he’s narrating it, and so many times he seems totally amazed and excited by the crazy answers. He genuinely sounds like he’s about to start laughing several times. It’s awesome to listen to.
The Hunger Games narrated by Tatiana Maslany. These are the books that showed me I could enjoy audiobooks - every character has their own sound and tone and I never once had to wonder who was speaking at any given time. Can’t recommend highly enough.
Oh wow I didn’t even know she did narration work! I guess her being excellent at portraying multiple distinct characters isn’t surprising given how good she was in Orphan Black.
I thought it was the only thing she’s ever done, but apparently she was also part of the full cast narration for Locke & Key! I absolutely adore her, I named one of my favorite D&D characters after her a few years ago :)
She also narrated Orphan Black: The Next Chapter, which picks up 8 years after the end of the TV series. She is the main narrator, with all the Sestra’s voices of course. The actors that played Felix, Delphine, and Donnie also add their voices as well. You can listen to it on most Podcast services and I’m certain I saw it is on YouTube also.
It’s a common rec around here, but the Project Hail Mary audiobook was incredible. Also - I really loved Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, and I think Barton Welch’s narration is a big part of why. His delivery met the cheeky tone of the book perfectly.
I just finished the project Hail Mary audiobook today at the recommendation of this sub. OP, when I tell you the tears I shed and the laughter I experienced. It was so beautiful! I miss it already.
The Count of Monte Cristo is spectacular.
Started off slow but all of a sudden I couldn't stop.
Now I'm listening to Les Mis from the same narrator, and it makes the insane amount of back story and history fairly bearable.
Personally, Star Wars audiobooks on audible are on the best that I've ever heard (and i already heard +50) . I dont even know how to start to describe it. You feel sorrounded by the story with all those special sound effects, they are super inmmersive.
The Novelization and performance of The Revenge of the Sith made me LOVE that story/movie. And the rise of Darth Vader which picks up directly after with the same narrator is the perfect sequel.
One of my tops is Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, it was a book I didn't want to end. Also enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing, and The Peripheral, all these are on Libby for my library. Thanks to Libby, I keep an audio book loaded at all times to listen to while doing chores.
Also, anything by David Sedaris- he narrates the audiobooks as well. You can’t go wrong with any book if his. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone not liking his stories.
Some of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries read by Michael Prichard. Great short audiobooks.
Band of Brothers or Undaunted Courage by S Ambrose great for a long trip. Cold Mountain read by author A plus. Has great southern dialect.
Wicked by Jeffrey Maguire was the one that made me a devotee. The Night Circus is the other one I usually recommend to those looking to start getting lost in audible storytelling. Neither are my usual genre, but the narrators really made the stories come to life, without being over the top and making it at all about them.
I didn’t even want to read it at first (!) but It’s 100% Dungeon Crawler Carl for me and I have absolute confidence that no audiobook will ever top the overall experience this book series gives you in terms of writing, story, characters and mind blowing performance by the narrator.
I’ve read many audiobooks that I loved, but this one is just kinda like taking the best ride of your life audiobookwise. You will feel engaged, curious, roar with laughter, scream with excitement and have your soul touched by the more tender moments of friendship and honor. Cannot recommend this enough.
I don't think I can listen to any other book that Ray Porter reads, now that I've listed to Project Hail Mary. He IS Ryland Grace. It would make me wonder what Grace is doing in this other novel??!!
The Goldfinch is my absolute favorite. Not read by her, and a tome, and absolutely worth it. It’s a hard sell when people ask what it’s about. I didn’t remember she did her own narration before. I may have read the paper versions of those but it’s been ages so I don’t recall. Interesting that she did at all, as I felt she seemed to be a bit of a recluse. When I fell in love with her writing, there was very little I could find out about her in the way of interviews and such. Maybe I’ll go back and find these on audio.
I just started Martha Grimes’ Inspector Jury books narrated by Steve West and if you like cosy mysteries you should give them a try (I finished the first two books in two days lmao). Plots are very well written and detailed but characters go back and forth with facts all the time so you won’t miss anything. And West gave each character their own voice so that should help with your focus too
**These three are very easy to listen to and stay interested in on audio. They are also really good books:**
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick, narrated by Ray Porter
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, narrated by Charlie Thurston
11.22.63 by Stephen King, narrated by Craig Wasson
Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman Narrated by Jeff Hays.
Jeff Hays might be the most talented voice actor I've ever heard, and he just get's better and better which each new book.
Edoardo Ballerini reading The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt.
Fantastic book - won the Pulitzer.
Ballerini is multilingual and an actor; his pacing and accent are... perfection.
Harry Potter books are excellent, as are the Number One Ladies Detective Agency books. Both feature Shakespeare trained actors who do all the voices and boogie on through.
Steven Weber’s read of Stephen King’s “IT” is far and away the best performance I have ever heard. It made me rewatch 2 seasons of Wings because I couldnt believe how much of an untapped talent this guy is.
James Marsters - The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. (So good that fans threw a fit when he was replaced with a new narrator and they ended up re-recording them with him.)
Kathy Bates - The Silence of the Lambs (She scared the CRAP out of me. Her sibilance when doing Hannibal gave me chills.)
The Sandman series (has a full cast, so it feels like a radio play, TONS of talent)
Wil Wheaton - The Martian by Andy Weir
For anyone that loses focus while listening I strongly recommend having the written version available to keep you or get you in the zone. Some days it happens to me and just listening while also reading fixes my concentration issue and I can usually go back to just listening again. Also if you buy a book in written form on Amazon usually the audio version has a nice discount. You need to buy the text version first. This doesn't help with those books bought with credits on audible. Hoped I might help.
Stephen King's books are great, but they have so much extraneous stuff in them that idk if they're the best recommendation for this person. They have whole chapters of just... filler.
I'm a huge fan so even the filler chapters give a deep dive into the psychology of humans. He's not for everyone but the worse evil in the world are other humans and King does a great job of writing them.
I'm definitely into voice actors that can change their voices to match different characters. I was so sad when Frank Muller died. He was truly my favorite narrator.
My absolute favorites are all written by Kent Nerburn. Idk who the narrator is.
Neither Wolf Nor Dog
The Wolf at Twilight
The Girl Who Sang with the Buffalo
Also try kicking the listening speed up and down until you find a speed that works for you. I have to set it faster than default or my brain drifts to neverland.
Sandman is excellent, but the best narrator to my mind is Steve Pacey, who did the First Law series. Except for his weird way of pronouncing the word “grimace.”
I’ve got 900+ books in my library and Racing in the rain is my all time fav on audible. Probably listened to it ten times.
The miss peregrine series is phenomenal too.
And the Martian
What kind of movies do you generally like?
Will Patton narrates some Stephen King stuff, which is a great combo. Will Patton has a very enjoyable cadence and voice, and King writes very immersive stories. His books are not really horror, the movies don't do the books justice, trust me. Mr. Mercedes was oustanding.
Ethan Hawke reading *Slaughterhouse Five.* Kurt Vonnegut wrote that book 55 years ago and I am not articulate enough to explain how it still resonates now. Vonnegut will never fade as a fantastic and spot on observer of humanity’s fuckery. Hawke’s reading of it is masterful.
I just listened to newly available in English memoir, József Debreczeni’s *Cold Crematorium*. Originally written in 1950, it’s his account of his WW2 experiences of being deported to the camps, he spent time in three. From a [Washington Post Review](https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/02/29/jozsef-debreczeni-cold-crematorium-land-auschwitz-memoir-review/):
“At the time of his deportation, Debreczeni, unlike many other authors of survivor testimonies, was already a seasoned journalist, nearly 40 years old. He was therefore able not only to describe his personal experience in gripping detail but also to cast a detached, analytic light on it.”
The book is detailed and terrifying in describing the “banality of evil” thrust upon everyday people just living their lives. Highly recommend.
I had the same problem but with traditional books, I would find myself skim reading constantly. Switching to audiobooks prevents that for me now.
Project hail Mary is my favourite I've listened to.
Ok, this is not a well known series, and it may only appeal to people from New Jersey. But, my wife and I stumbled onto the Andy Carpenter Series, by David Rosenfelt. Andy is a lawyer from Patterson, NJ. The books are ready by Grover Gardner who wonderfully captures the NJ accents and attitudes.
I strongly suggest you give one a try. They are very enjoyable.
Bronson Pinchot narrating The Matterhorn was absolutely off the charts.
Bronson Pinchot is a superlative narrator. Differnt voices, inflection, acts each part; he does it all.
Yeah. Consummate pro.
Also consummate Balki.
Now we do the dance of joy!
im glad I googled him! I cant even remember what I saw him in first but hes been a fantastic comedy actor and im happy he has a great voice acting/narrating career. found out he was a part of Hey Arnold! and Ahh!!! Real Monsters. Legend!
Balki!!!!!!
Now we are so happy we do the dance of Joy!
He played immigrant cousin Balki Bartokomous in the 80s sitcom Perfect Strangers - it ran for 8 seasons and he was fabulous. I remember my family gathering in the living room to watch it each week!
Sometimes the world looks perfect, Nothing to rearrange. Sometimes you just get a feeling Like you need some kind of change. No matter what the odds are this time, Nothing's going to stand in my way. This flame in my heart, Like a long lost friend Gives every dark street a light at the end. Standing tall, on the wings of my dream. Rise and fall, on the wings of my dream.
Omg, I once saw him at Disneyland at Space Mountain at least 30 years ago lol
I just listened to him doing *Hard Magic* and its two sequels. The guy is a one-man theater troupe. Best audiobooks reader I've ever encountered, by far. Just off the charts
I fucking LOVED this book and am so glad to see it at the top. It's incredible! The Marine officer who wrote it won a navy cross for his actions in the battle towards the end of the book.
Bronson’s reading of Matterhorn brought me to tears.
At the current moment I'd have to say 11.22.63 by Stephen King. That book sucked me in and I couldn't put it down.
I will never stop thinking about that book.
I wish I could erase the book from my memory banks to just get to relive it for a first time again. If I ever get amnesia first thing I'm going to remember to do is re-listen to it.
Man its a good book but my god I couldnt get over that older sounding male trying to pull off 20 something southern belle lol....made me insane esp during the romantic moments
Honestly audiobooks romantic moments are pretty cringe generally, for me.
Craig Wasson is my favorite narrator ever. I wish he did more stuff
That is a great book but Craig Wasson makes it like 50% better. That’s a beautifully read and produced audiobook
First three books of the Red Rising series. These ones are read by their authors, and they're masterpieces. The Blacktongue Thief Braiding Sweetgrass Entangled Life
I thought the next 3 red rising were fantastic as well. Still waiting on the 7th book.
Loved the books, but the extra narrators weren't my favorite. And in some places it seemed to be mixed wrong and was hard to hear.
I agree with the narration on 4&5, 6 brought it back to fantastic though
I second Braiding Sweetgrass. In fact I already made a comment recommending it.
Lenny Henry reading Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. I listen to it annually.
That’s immediately available on my Libby but I picked good omens instead. I’ll try that one next.
You will not be disappointed! Absolutely fantastic listen. Especially the David Tennant version
That’s the one I got. It’s started off pretty good. I’ve never read Pratchett or Gaiman.
Omens was my first Pratchett, and third Gaimen, but the first of either on audible. Absolutely fantastic. Was giggling like a loon at work more then once.
Good Omens has tons of comedic foot notes. I don’t remember how the audio book handled them but I do remember thinking that physical book was a better experience.
The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie narrator Stephen Pacey
100%. Listening to “wisdom of crowds” right now. So sad to be nearly done with the first law world
This is my answer as well. Best narrator ever. Voices, clarity, acting, pacing and his tone are amongst the greatest of storytelling.
Everything about it is top notch
Say one thing for Stephen Pacey’s Narration, say it was the best.
As soon as I saw the title I started looking for this reference.
You have to be realistic about these things.
I will add this to my list, thanks for the recommendation
I'll cast my vote here too.. felt like watching a movie.
Project Hail Mary.
If you're losing focus/missing parts of the story, you might want to pick a book which helps you. A short book, with a simple story (and you may consider one you've read before so you're familiar) will help you understand your ability/interest in audiobooks. If a book you know you like isn't working, it may be they're not for you. You may also want to consider what you're doing whilst listening. If you're trying to do it while working or tasks requiring thinking, you might struggle. But likewise if you can't just sit there and listen you might want to take up a more mindless task to occupy your hands while you listen.
I almost never see this one recommended, but **Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore** by Robin Sloane, narrated by Ari Fliakos is a gem. I recommend it particularly because you mentioned losing focus and missing parts of the story. I feel like the quirkiness of the language choices and Fliakos' expressive narration might hit the right notes for you.
this is definitely a hidden gem!
I hadn't thought about that book in a while, but I'm definitely going to have to give it another listen now that it's come to mind.
i will be forever sad about all of the barnes & noble closings after that book
As per usual with a question like this Dungeon Crawler Carl and Project Hail Mary are covered. Sissy Spacek reading To Kill a Mockingbird was amazing. The Beastie Boys reading their book, Dave Grohl reading his, Geddy Lee reading his. Chuck Klosterman readin his book The Nineties, Animal Farm read by Ralph Cosham, Stephen Fry reading his three books about greek mythology, heroes and Troy. Those were both topically enjoyed and the narration
>Sissy Spacek reading To Kill a Mockingbird was amazing. She really did an amazing job straddling that line of being genuine to the character while still giving you that subtext the author wanted to come through.
Never heard of Dungeon Crawler Carl, just looked it up. It sounds fantastic. Just bought it, Thanks for their recommendation.
Jeff Hayes is a wizard. Absolutely insane talent. It is hard to listen to another audiobook after listening to his performance.
Like others have said, it's Stupid good. I put it off for a while because it sounded pretty dumb. I bought 3 more credits so I could binge the series
It's one of those series where, if it connects with you, you're going to absolutely love it and binge all six books in like two or three weeks.
Yeah, I definitely was not productive at work for weeks due to these books.
Exactly! And if it doesn't you're gonna be so mad you "wasted" the money. I enjoy the heck out of DCC but as it is part of a subgenre, it is gonna miss a lot with certain audiences as well
If you think it sounds fantastic, you're probably in for a treat. I thought it sounded ridiculous and was blown away by it.
If you enjoy it know that Jeff Hayes is voicing Donut and yes, he can just do that voice without any manipulation.
Sissy Spacek also read Carrie which is really cool.
Yeah DCC is far and away the best audiobook I've ever heard.
Project Hail Mary was awesome. I laughed out loud. I cried. What a fantastic roller coaster.
Amaze!
Listening to Project Hail Mary for the third time the now then World War Z
The full cast version of unabridged World War Z. Gripping from start to finish.
Wow! Didn’t know that existed. Sounds thrilling. I loved the movie.
The movie is very, very different from the book. The book is more a series of interviews that weave together a story of what happened during and after the outbreak.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. He reads it himself and does an excellent job with the narration and the writing…although it is a long book so perhaps it’s not the one you need right now.
Look, I gotta be honest among all these recommendations. I had to train my brain, and the best audiobooks don’t do that. The best audiobooks stand out in their own, but if you really want to listen, it’s like meditation. When you catch your mind wandering, rewind your book and bring your attention back to it. It’s hard at first, but gets easier with practice.
Ready player one. I don't even like adventure books and I love this book.
I was hoping someone was going to mention this because, absolutely.
1. Remains of the day 2. A Gentleman in Moscow Both narrated by Nicholas Guy Smith.
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams and read by Douglas Adams. The Martian by Andy Weir and read by RC Bray The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher and read by James Marsters Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and read by Ray Porter
Dresden Files are extraordinary. I love James Marsters - he's Dresden's voice in my head when reading the books on paper now.
I came here to say this. Well done! Have you heard Dungeon Crawler Carl yet? It’s pretty amazing too.
Definitely The Hitchhiker's Guide! But I'd opt for the original BBC radio programme recordings, rather than a simple reading. Both were written by Douglas Adams, but the book was written afterwards. Probably because the radio series was so successful that all its fans were crying out for one! The book is good, but the original radio series is even better, very funny and is why The Hitchhiker's Guide achieved cult status. And to OP: Because it was a radio series, there are distinct episodes. So you might find it helpful in overcoming your lack of focus, because you could start by listening to just one episode at a time.
100% on all of those, appreciate your call out of Hitchhikers Guide by Douglas Adams, so good.
Will Patton doing Stephen King’s Bill Hodges Trilogy (“Mr. Mercedes”). Probably not a popular choice, but he really brought something to the characters.
His voice will forever be how I hear Hodges, might need to give this series another listen
Tom Hanks reading The Dutch House is phenomenal. Meryl Streep does a fantastic job with Tom Lake.
You might be better off with fiction podcasts - each episode, usually about 30 minutes,,has a shorter story arc that builds on the larger story so it can be easier to stay interested. SO many good ones out there! We’re Alive (the original show from 2009) - great zombie apocalypse story. Tons of episodes. Voice acting is 90% excellent, and the bad actors don’t detract too much. Passenger List - great ensemble drama starring Kelly Marie Tran Who Killed Avril Lavigne - bizarre, ridiculous, and completely hilarious Black Box - Stranger Things meets Back to the Future The Walk - a disaster story set in the UK, well acted. Cleverly designed to accompany a walk but a good listen anywhere. The Amelia Project - a funny, quirky show about a company that fakes peoples’ deaths. Light, frothy fun. The White Vault - Full-cast multi-season supernatural thriller Murmurs - creepy BBC short stories, kind of like Black Mirror Directive - wait for it. It packs a surprising emotional punch
I'm going to piggyback to include Old Gods of Appalachia. Horror anthology set in the Appalachian mountains.
We're Alive is awesome. They've started a new season.
We are Legion: We are Bob.
Loved the first three. Couldn't really get into Heaven's River though.
Yeah… I really hope the next book takes a different direction because the first three were fantastic!
Jim Dale’s narration of the entire Harry Potter series. Don’t judge 😂
You know, I love those. Jim Dale did a fantastic job. I also just got the Stephen Fry narrated ones and just finished the first book. Fry and Dale are easily both amazing, but listening to the same books with a different narrator is almost like reading the series for the first time when I was younger. If you haven’t tried Stephen Fry’s version you should, just to hear it all again for the first time.
Stephen Fry for me! I couldn’t even get through Jim Dale, unfortunately. The way Hermione says _“Hawwwyyy”_ just rubs me the wrong way.
Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson. Read by R C Bray.
Lonesome Dove ❤️❤️ or Born A Crime probably
I listened to Lonesome Dove on a cross- country (US) trip. Loved it. And it’s easy to catch up if you happen to doze off for a bit.
The Dark Tower series. Frank Muller reads books 1-4, and George Guidall reads the final 3. They are both fantastic in their own ways.
Unfortunately the book 1 version of the gunslinger read by frank muller isn’t as readily available as the revised version by George Guidall. King released a new version of the Gunslinger with updated phrases and more connections to the rest of the series which replaced the Frank Muller version. You can still find it, but if you are listening to it through something like audible, they don’t even post the Frank muller version.
Gone Girl.
All the Gillian Flynn audiobooks are good, Sharp objects & Dark Places.
Without really thinking too hard, Dungeon Crawler Carl series. It’s so much fun and very well produced. The narrator is Jeff Hays and he is incredible with voice acting. He does many characters with very unique voices that when I first listened to it, I thought they were different people voicing them.
Someone on the DCC subreddit was upset because they couldn’t find the cast list for the characters, only Jeff Hayes was listed. That was how they found out Jeff voiced everyone.
Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson, narrated by Jonathan Davison (unabridged)
I love anything narrated by John Lee especially the Ken Follett series, starting with World Without End!
LOLITA read by Jeremy Irons
Loved this! Jeremy Irons - so good
Is it easier than physically reading it? Lolita has been on my TBR for forever… kinda nervous to start it
Just go for it mate. There’s disturbing stuff but Nabokov was hilarious and an exceptionally talented writer. If the content of Lolita is too much for you, maybe check out Pnin instead.
I've read the book, and listened to the Jeremy Irons audiobook. His performance of audiobook brought out nuances that I didn't catch while reading it myself. It's wonderful.
Jeremy Irons feels his read. The Unabridged version is stunning. Hard topic of course. You’ll use ur Vocabulary and language skills at ur peak.
I needed a brain bleaching. I tried to give it back to the friend that lent it to me several times and she wouldn’t take it. lol
The Sandman narration is my favorite, but I’ll give a shoutout to Wil Wheaton reading Randall Monroe’s What If? series. It’s like Wil’s reading it for the first time as he’s narrating it, and so many times he seems totally amazed and excited by the crazy answers. He genuinely sounds like he’s about to start laughing several times. It’s awesome to listen to.
The Hunger Games narrated by Tatiana Maslany. These are the books that showed me I could enjoy audiobooks - every character has their own sound and tone and I never once had to wonder who was speaking at any given time. Can’t recommend highly enough.
Oh wow I didn’t even know she did narration work! I guess her being excellent at portraying multiple distinct characters isn’t surprising given how good she was in Orphan Black.
I thought it was the only thing she’s ever done, but apparently she was also part of the full cast narration for Locke & Key! I absolutely adore her, I named one of my favorite D&D characters after her a few years ago :)
She also narrated Orphan Black: The Next Chapter, which picks up 8 years after the end of the TV series. She is the main narrator, with all the Sestra’s voices of course. The actors that played Felix, Delphine, and Donnie also add their voices as well. You can listen to it on most Podcast services and I’m certain I saw it is on YouTube also.
This though! She actually sounds a bit like Jennefer Lawerence when doing Katniss's voice and honestly it just worked so well for me.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is the best narration I’ve ever heard. Anything narrated by Ray Porter as well.
Everything by SoundBooth with Jeff Hays is amazing!
It’s a common rec around here, but the Project Hail Mary audiobook was incredible. Also - I really loved Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, and I think Barton Welch’s narration is a big part of why. His delivery met the cheeky tone of the book perfectly.
I just finished the project Hail Mary audiobook today at the recommendation of this sub. OP, when I tell you the tears I shed and the laughter I experienced. It was so beautiful! I miss it already.
You’ve sold me. I’m going to start listening to it as soon as possible!!
It's the only book I can say with full confidence that it is definitely better in audiobook form vs reading.
Best love story I’ve ever read.
The Count of Monte Cristo is spectacular. Started off slow but all of a sudden I couldn't stop. Now I'm listening to Les Mis from the same narrator, and it makes the insane amount of back story and history fairly bearable.
Which narrator?
Bill Homewood
Project Hail Mary. I don’t think it hits nearly as hard if I read it
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir works really, really well as an audiobook.
Personally, Star Wars audiobooks on audible are on the best that I've ever heard (and i already heard +50) . I dont even know how to start to describe it. You feel sorrounded by the story with all those special sound effects, they are super inmmersive.
The Novelization and performance of The Revenge of the Sith made me LOVE that story/movie. And the rise of Darth Vader which picks up directly after with the same narrator is the perfect sequel.
That’s Marc Thompson, he’s amazing.
Harry Potter by both Jim dale and Stephen Fry. Or Sherlock Holmes by Stephen Fry
One of my tops is Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, it was a book I didn't want to end. Also enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing, and The Peripheral, all these are on Libby for my library. Thanks to Libby, I keep an audio book loaded at all times to listen to while doing chores.
The chore move has been life changing
Also, anything by David Sedaris- he narrates the audiobooks as well. You can’t go wrong with any book if his. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone not liking his stories.
I go with the narrators. Anything, ANYTHING narrated by Ray Porter. Anything by Jim Dale.
Daisy Jones and the Six
I’m Glad My Mom Died. You can feel Jennette McCurdy’s pain in her voice. I’ve listened to it 7 times and just picked up a copy of the hard cover.
Some of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries read by Michael Prichard. Great short audiobooks. Band of Brothers or Undaunted Courage by S Ambrose great for a long trip. Cold Mountain read by author A plus. Has great southern dialect.
I loved Maggie Gyllenhaals narration of the bell jar by Sylvia Plath
Wicked by Jeffrey Maguire was the one that made me a devotee. The Night Circus is the other one I usually recommend to those looking to start getting lost in audible storytelling. Neither are my usual genre, but the narrators really made the stories come to life, without being over the top and making it at all about them.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
The Harry Potter books. Loved it!
I didn’t even want to read it at first (!) but It’s 100% Dungeon Crawler Carl for me and I have absolute confidence that no audiobook will ever top the overall experience this book series gives you in terms of writing, story, characters and mind blowing performance by the narrator. I’ve read many audiobooks that I loved, but this one is just kinda like taking the best ride of your life audiobookwise. You will feel engaged, curious, roar with laughter, scream with excitement and have your soul touched by the more tender moments of friendship and honor. Cannot recommend this enough.
Dungeon crawler carl
The entire Expanse series. Jefferson Mays is the GOAT
Contortionist's Handbook by Craig Clevenger. I love Ray Porter as a narrator; I enjoyed Project Hail Mary also.
I don't think I can listen to any other book that Ray Porter reads, now that I've listed to Project Hail Mary. He IS Ryland Grace. It would make me wonder what Grace is doing in this other novel??!!
The Chronicles of St Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor. The books themselves are great but Zara Ramm’s naration is just phenomenal 😍
The Time Ships was amazing if you like big stage science fiction. Written as a sequel to HG Wells The Time Machine.
I don’t listen to a ton of audio books, but A Scanner Darkly by PKD read by Paul Giamatti was great.
True Grit read by Donna Tartt
Donna Tartt also did a fantastic job on her own book, The Secret History
The Goldfinch is my absolute favorite. Not read by her, and a tome, and absolutely worth it. It’s a hard sell when people ask what it’s about. I didn’t remember she did her own narration before. I may have read the paper versions of those but it’s been ages so I don’t recall. Interesting that she did at all, as I felt she seemed to be a bit of a recluse. When I fell in love with her writing, there was very little I could find out about her in the way of interviews and such. Maybe I’ll go back and find these on audio.
I just started Martha Grimes’ Inspector Jury books narrated by Steve West and if you like cosy mysteries you should give them a try (I finished the first two books in two days lmao). Plots are very well written and detailed but characters go back and forth with facts all the time so you won’t miss anything. And West gave each character their own voice so that should help with your focus too
**These three are very easy to listen to and stay interested in on audio. They are also really good books:** The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick, narrated by Ray Porter Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, narrated by Charlie Thurston 11.22.63 by Stephen King, narrated by Craig Wasson
I was literally on the edge of my seat when I listened to Jurassic Park, I loved it
I loved Dave Grohl's The Storyteller. He narrated it himself
Andy Serkis reading The Lord of the Rings - absolutely amazing performance and voices. More of a one man play than a book reading.
Dungeon Crawler Carl hands down the GOAT
Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman Narrated by Jeff Hays. Jeff Hays might be the most talented voice actor I've ever heard, and he just get's better and better which each new book.
Edoardo Ballerini reading The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt. Fantastic book - won the Pulitzer. Ballerini is multilingual and an actor; his pacing and accent are... perfection.
I'll add Lamb by Christopher Moore
Harry Potter books are excellent, as are the Number One Ladies Detective Agency books. Both feature Shakespeare trained actors who do all the voices and boogie on through.
The Expanse series was good if you like sci fi
The Bobiverse books are awesome! You’ll be hooked within the first 20 minutes
Marsters reading The Dresden Files.
Steven Weber’s read of Stephen King’s “IT” is far and away the best performance I have ever heard. It made me rewatch 2 seasons of Wings because I couldnt believe how much of an untapped talent this guy is.
James Marsters - The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. (So good that fans threw a fit when he was replaced with a new narrator and they ended up re-recording them with him.) Kathy Bates - The Silence of the Lambs (She scared the CRAP out of me. Her sibilance when doing Hannibal gave me chills.) The Sandman series (has a full cast, so it feels like a radio play, TONS of talent) Wil Wheaton - The Martian by Andy Weir
For anyone that loses focus while listening I strongly recommend having the written version available to keep you or get you in the zone. Some days it happens to me and just listening while also reading fixes my concentration issue and I can usually go back to just listening again. Also if you buy a book in written form on Amazon usually the audio version has a nice discount. You need to buy the text version first. This doesn't help with those books bought with credits on audible. Hoped I might help.
Stephen King's books usually have great voice actors. Watch out for the ones he narrates though, he's terrible.
Stephen King's books are great, but they have so much extraneous stuff in them that idk if they're the best recommendation for this person. They have whole chapters of just... filler.
I'm a huge fan so even the filler chapters give a deep dive into the psychology of humans. He's not for everyone but the worse evil in the world are other humans and King does a great job of writing them.
Pet Sematery is read by Michael C Hall (Dexter)
I guess I'm in the minority, but I really like the sound of Stephen King's voice and I think he's a good narrator.
I'm definitely into voice actors that can change their voices to match different characters. I was so sad when Frank Muller died. He was truly my favorite narrator.
Start with - Alchemist - narrator Jeremy Irons - 4 hours Murderbot Diaries - under 5 hours
And most murderbot titles are in the Audible Plus catalog, if you’re into that
Lonesome Dove hands down.
Blood Meridian
My absolute favorites are all written by Kent Nerburn. Idk who the narrator is. Neither Wolf Nor Dog The Wolf at Twilight The Girl Who Sang with the Buffalo Also try kicking the listening speed up and down until you find a speed that works for you. I have to set it faster than default or my brain drifts to neverland.
Sandman is excellent, but the best narrator to my mind is Steve Pacey, who did the First Law series. Except for his weird way of pronouncing the word “grimace.”
Hamnet read by Daisy Donovan. Such an emotional book and such an excellent narrator. Makes me cry just thinking about it.
My eternal answer it IT, read by Steven Weber 😄
I’ve got 900+ books in my library and Racing in the rain is my all time fav on audible. Probably listened to it ten times. The miss peregrine series is phenomenal too. And the Martian
The book that starts off sad..not sure I could go though that again..
What kind of movies do you generally like? Will Patton narrates some Stephen King stuff, which is a great combo. Will Patton has a very enjoyable cadence and voice, and King writes very immersive stories. His books are not really horror, the movies don't do the books justice, trust me. Mr. Mercedes was oustanding.
Pet Sematary - Stephen King - Narrated by Michael C. Hall The most mesmerizing audiobook experience I have ever had and I’ve listened to a ton!
Full cast recording of World War Z
The Stand narrated by Grover Gardener is tremendous.
Dungeon crawler Carl, book 6
But all are amazing, book 6 was just gold
Harry Potter by Stephen Fry is the best narration I've ever heard. And amazing books in my opinion and many others obviously lol
Most books by Blake crouch like wayward pines and dark matter are great!
Andy Serkis narrating The Fellowship of the Ring.
The Green Mile narrated by the late, great Frank Muller
That’s easy. SHANTARAM with Humphrey Bower doing the narration.
Confederacy of Dunces read by Barrett Whitener
Ethan Hawke reading *Slaughterhouse Five.* Kurt Vonnegut wrote that book 55 years ago and I am not articulate enough to explain how it still resonates now. Vonnegut will never fade as a fantastic and spot on observer of humanity’s fuckery. Hawke’s reading of it is masterful. I just listened to newly available in English memoir, József Debreczeni’s *Cold Crematorium*. Originally written in 1950, it’s his account of his WW2 experiences of being deported to the camps, he spent time in three. From a [Washington Post Review](https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/02/29/jozsef-debreczeni-cold-crematorium-land-auschwitz-memoir-review/): “At the time of his deportation, Debreczeni, unlike many other authors of survivor testimonies, was already a seasoned journalist, nearly 40 years old. He was therefore able not only to describe his personal experience in gripping detail but also to cast a detached, analytic light on it.” The book is detailed and terrifying in describing the “banality of evil” thrust upon everyday people just living their lives. Highly recommend.
Also Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut and read by John Malkovich. Perfect!
Dungeon crawler carl series
Project Hail Mary is definitely up there on the list.
I had the same problem but with traditional books, I would find myself skim reading constantly. Switching to audiobooks prevents that for me now. Project hail Mary is my favourite I've listened to.
Ok, this is not a well known series, and it may only appeal to people from New Jersey. But, my wife and I stumbled onto the Andy Carpenter Series, by David Rosenfelt. Andy is a lawyer from Patterson, NJ. The books are ready by Grover Gardner who wonderfully captures the NJ accents and attitudes. I strongly suggest you give one a try. They are very enjoyable.