I adore audible.com and have listened to more audiobooks in the past 7 years than I’ve read the old-fashioned way because of it. They’re convenient, allowing me to listen while driving to and from work, cleaning, or crafting. Audiobooks have a depth to them that paper books usually do not – a good narrator can bring a story to life in a way you didn’t realize possible. (Though the corollary is also true – a bad narrator can certainly ruin a story.)
My latest audiobook listen is Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. It was on sale at the site and is a whopping 34 hours long, so it was a great value. I’ll admit I was also swayed to purchase it because of the new HBO series. If Sean Bean’s in something, I’m sold!
The narrator, Roy Dotrice, is great. He has different voices for each character and the timbre of his own voice lends an epic, historical feel to the story itself. I’m hoping to finish the book before I start watching the series because I like to compare.
Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, which are your favorites? If not, are you avoiding them for a particular reason?
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King is my favorite set of audiobooks, but Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card is up there as well. For non-fiction, have to go with On Writing by Stephen King and America by Jon Stewert.
The Dark Tower series is definitely in my list of all-time favorites. After the last listen, I don’t think I mind George Guidell’s narration too much anymore either.
[...] Game of Thrones, the HBO Show and the audiobook. [...]