Anyone have any recommended Audiobooks?
Ones I've enjoyed:
The Martian - Andy Weir
The Discworld Series - Terry Pratchett (Not Nigel Planars narrations though, Stephen Briggs is much better)
Most Neil Gaiman books narrated by him (voice like honey)
Congo (and a few others by Michael Chricton
City of Thieves - David Benioff
Lonesome Dove - Larry McCurty
Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follet
I came here to put this at the top of my list. Harry Potter, read by Stephen Fry, is a no-brainer.
+100
A few that spring to mind
Harry Potter read by Stephen Fry (see jjjaar's comments)
Neil Gaiman - anything by him but Anansi Boys ready by Lenny Henry is doubly awesome.
Ready Player One, read by Wil Wheaton
Mythology titles: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman and/or Mythos (Greek Mythology) by Stephen Fry. Both read by their authors
Tech stories: Daemon - starts like Ready Player One then goes in an entirely different direction, a bit darker.
Philip Pulman - His Dark Materials
And in general, podcasts. Get a podcast on a topic that you've always wanted to know more about.
Hope this helps. :-)
Cheers!
I was trying to remember which ones I'd listened to off the top of my head and realised all of them except Tech Stories and His Dark Materials - will check them out!
To clarify, Tech stories was category. The book is Daemon by Daniel Suarez. It continues directly into a sequel named Freedom.
They were written around 20 years ago but set in the future. There are some tech predictions which didn't come true e.g. the continued existence of Yahoo! But the story is good.
Daemon sounds really interesting, I might give it a go next
I've been on a bit of an investigative journalism podcast binge and need some happier things to remind me that the world isn't so bad! If you want some gnarly podcasts, check our Hunting Warhead (gets pretty dark, like pitch black dark) and Caliphate.
Earth abides. Just finished it and it is amazing. Also day of the triffids. And the chrysalids. And hitch-hikers guide to the galaxy.
Just started "Cuckoo's Egg" which is a story about chasing a hacker in 1986, and is a true story - it is fantastic so far, such excellent storytelling.
You can also get radio dramas off youtube, the author of the triffids has a lot in there and they're all really good. Download the audio and it will be free. Radio dramas are similar to audiobooks except they "act" out the action with sound effects, eg foot steps running through the forest. Makes it go faster and you can get more into it.
For podcasts, if you like hacking and stuff you can't go past Darknet Diaries. Also Hacked and Hackable (2 separate podcasts). ReplyAll is very good when it is good but it is occasionally bad.
Thanks!
I started Reply All with the Indian Phone scam and was hooked. I liked Darknet Diaries, but I might have started a little earlier as I felt the reporting quality wasn't top tier.
It's definitely caught up now! My favourites are the 2-parter on Manwell (a computer game hacker), HackerGiraffe, and the 2-parter on the Xbox hackers. And the one about bluray DRM. They're all really good. I tend to enjoy the ones about people getting up to mischief rather than the ones about nation state hacking.
Do give Hackable a go, it is super light and fun. I am sad that they stopped without any warning. Hacked is rather like Darknet Diaries but a little lower budget
If you like historical fiction then Shogun by James Clavell is a good read. The audiobook is 55hours long so you'll get your moneys worth!
Cheers - it's been on my list as a reading book for a while. Will check it out as an audiobook.
Came to suggest this, the narrator for the Audible read copy is really great.
Very surprised no mention of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy with that list. I suggest the original radio play from the BBC, if you have a choice of versions, but it only covers the first book.
And as a general comment, the BBC has produced a ton of great audio over the years, both fiction and non-fiction. All their radio stuff is available without region locks. Radio 4 is the station you want to check out, though be aware they can be a bit stodgy and old fashioned too.
Apologies to Quantumcat, who did mention hitchhiker’s. I’ll leave my comment as an endorsement of their good taste.
Oh yeah I think BBC radio is who have put the John Wyndham radio dramas on YouTube (just remembered his name). Where can you go to get the audio directly (instead of having to sneakily strip audio from youtube)?
Recent stuff is on the Radio 4 website for ‘catch up’ style for a month or two.
Amazon has lots of items if you search for BBC audio.
I don’t listen to very much, but have sourced mine from “eyes dart left-right” black market sources.
Lolita narrated by Jeremy Irons.
I've read it before but I always enjoy listening to a book I've read. I feel like everyone has different interpretations of what happens, so it'll be good to hear someone else put different emphasis on different parts.
I'd read it before i listened and it really gave a new perspective. Jeremy Irons has an incredible voice for it.
Everydata. Fascinating listen about misinformation.
https://www.audible.com.au/pd/Everydata-Audiobook/B01DV2QF52
Thanks, will check it out!
Good to see Shogun (tre180 above) and Ken Follett made the list.
I dont know how you do it though. I tried listening to the Wheel of Time audio book while driving, and it was the closest I've ever come to falling asleep at the wheel. It was read by a wizard though.
I can barely listen to podcasts while driving.
I found the GTA5 radio stations online and have that in the car to match my driving skills and missions.
I find (if they're good) they keep me awake! If you want to try it again check out the podcast Caliphate, or the audibook the Martian. Those two got me into listening to words while driving instead of music.
Thank you! I'll check out the podcast. And you're not the first person to recommend the Martian.
Great thread!
Absolutely anything narrated by Ray Porter or by Julia Whelan (I could listen to Julia read the phone book, but maybe that's just me…)
Solitute by Dean M. Cole (first in a three part series)
The Amos Decker series by David Baldacci (six books, the first one is Memory Man, I think)
The Bobiverse Series by Dennis E Taylor (four books, starts with We Are Legion)
I also quite like the Stella Cole series by Andy Maslen (starts with Hit and Run), although I haven't heard/read the third one yet.
Thanks, I've got We Are Legion lined up after seeing it pop up on a few reddit threads. Will check out some of the others too!
I love audiobooks. Some of my faves are:
-The Revenant- Michael Punke
-Endurance- Alfred Lansing
-Marching powder- Rusty Young
-When the lion feeds- Wilbur Smith
Jane Austen collection with 2 books narrated by Emma Thompson.
Ugh. Why not suggest reading Shakespeare?
The Stand by Stephen King narrated by Grover Gardner - 47 hours. You said long right?
Also Saigon by Anthony Grey and the Enders Game series.
A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson is great for the car. Extremely interesting. Tried another Bill Bryson book a few weeks ago on a two day drive, but made us too sleepy LOL!!
Also a vote for all the witcher books. Fantastic story and best narration ever!! Just make sure you listen in right order (lady of the lake last).
The series that really got me into audiobooks is The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.
They are all excellently narrated by James Marsters (with the exception of one book) and this has sent me down the wormhole of finding more books narrated by him.
Another one that I found incredibly useful (even though not strictly an audiobook book) is Michel Thomas French language courses - the first time I have found anything like this that actually worked for me. I could actually have short, understandable conversations in French when I went to New Caledonia a while back - amazed my wife as I hadn't let her in to the fact that I was learning the language.
But, please give The Dresden Files a go - I didn't think it was my style of book but once I finished the first one I had to keep going through the rest of the series.
Cheers - I've listened to a few (maybe 2 or 3?) but couldn't get into them that much. I hear they get much better further along in the series though. I have a bit of a background with the characters so maybe I'll jump in like book 5 or something?
I found they did appeal me the more I read but they may not be everyones' taste.
Usually when authors write an extended series of books, to me, I feel like there is a lot of padding and rehashing, but with these books I haven't felt that way too much.
It all depends on what genre you are more attracted to also.
A friend that I introduced to these also raves over the Iron Druid series but I can't get a lot of interest going for them.
Each to their own.
The divergent series audiobooks were pretty good listening.
We also really enjoy Australian true crime podcasts. When outback random Australian stories are good too.
Whilst doing the Anne beadell highway we listened to Len beadell’s stories which was just awesome. Nukes, roads, tractors, overloaded land rovers and more. He has quite the way with words!!
The Goon Shows.
Love these auido books
Craig Ferguson - American on Purpose
Craig Ferguson - Riding the Elephant
Mark Manson - The Subtle Art of Not Giving a (profanity) 2016
Podcasts. Spotify can download Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend and WTF with Marc Maron. I listen to these every week.
For a change of pace whilst driving I found the Stephen Fry autobiographical books definitely worthwhile -
Moab is My Washpot
The Fry Chronicles
More Fool Me
I used to spend 10-12 hours every day on the road so was always looking for something different but worth listening to.
Another area I dabbled with were the lectures done by The Teaching Company (TTC) - pretty much any subject you may be interested in is covered - history/philosophy/science/arts etc
Another series that pulled me in was The Expanse series by James S A Corey.
Also - Old Man's War by John Scalzi.
Anything from the kindergarten range
None, I’d fall asleep at the wheel.
How long is your drive? If you have 120 hours to fill, try The Decline and Fall of the Roman empire by Gibbon. Packed with colour and historical detail. Not for the faint hearted though.
I like the idea of his podcasts (thorough and well researched) but can't stand his narration - I hate the accent, the nasally whine and the massive volume changes. That said, I have listened to the Ghengis Khan series + Prophets of Doom.
Harry Potter partly because it goes for so damn long, but mostly because Stephen Fry is amazing and so soothing.