Project Learn To Love Audiobooks is progressing full steam ahead. I’m actually starting to really enjoy it. I walk around with my headphones on the entire time, and it’s definitely made me watch less YouTube videos that actually bore me just because I want to hear someone talk in the background. That’s good, isn’t it?
So I thought I’d give you an update on what I’ve listened to since the last time I wrote about it on the blog:
I liked the blurb of His Quiet Agent by Ada Maria Soto, but when I started listening to it, I did not like the narrator’s (Kevin Theis) voice. Of course, it’s a personal preference what kinds of voices you like, but this narrator grated on my very last nerve so I couldn’t continue listening to him. Instead, I downloaded an ebook sample, and ended up buying the book instead.
The narrator (Alexander Doddy) for Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall did a good job, but I still couldn’t finish listening to the audiobook. I was confused and had a hard time following along, and when I downloaded an ebook sample I understood why: in the beginning of every chapter is a short flashback-type passage, marked only by italics in the book. And when the narrator read that part out loud, I didn’t get it, since nothing else but the italics indicated the flashback. Instead, I bought and read the ebook. So that’s something for us authors to think about if we want to do audiobooks, I guess.
Play it Again by Aidan Wayne (narrated by Sean Crisden) was a wonderful book and I loved it. When it came to listening to it on audio, though, I’m om the fence. The premise for the book is that the two main characters meet and connect on social media and a lot of their communications are written. And to be honest, it got a little boring to listen to the narrator saying the usernames again and again, and on top of that, he used quite a neutral voice when reading the messages…which makes sense but also made the narration a bit flat. On the other hand: the parts that wasn’t the written communication between the MCs was fantastically narrated and I adored it. So much so that when I bought the ebook (I listened to it through a subscription service and liked it so much I wanted to own it) and thought I’d read the rest of the book instead of listening to it, I missed the narrator and decided to suffer through the somewhat impersonal narration of the written communications. Hence being on the fence 🙂
Finally Without You by Marley Valentine (dual narration by Teddy Hamilton and Tim Paige) was a five star book and definitely five star narration. It was a pure pleasure listening to these two gentlemen bringing Deacon and Julian to life, and the way the Deacon-narrator said Julian’s name made shivers run down my spine. Can definitely recommend! 😍
Have you listened to any great audiobooks that you feel I just have to read? Tell me in the comments! 🙂
Nell Iris 