[wilkie2006]

Originally Posted by Toby Take a Bow

Ooh. Must check them out so.

Do, they're brilliant. I listen to the BBC's World Service Documentary Archive via iTunes. They're free and there are hundreds of them. Enjoy!

[wilkie2006]

Originally Posted by Black Oil

I think they can be good provided they're done well. I listened to the likes of The Road and Shutter Island, found them very engaging. Haven't listened to any in a while and of course, when I was young it was cassette tapes from the library. Don't get that now, eh?

I read The Road in paperback and really enjoyed it. Aside from the narrative, I thought that McCarthy's unusual syntax was brilliant. Could you pick that up from the audio book?

[Toby Take a Bow]

Originally Posted by wilkie2006

Do, they're brilliant. I listen to the BBC's World Service Documentary Archive via iTunes. They're free and there are hundreds of them. Enjoy!

I've already subscribed to them. Some of the topics look great, and the one on Syria I've listened to was great: very professional and very interesting. Thanks again!

[r3nu4l]

Audiobooks? I'm in two minds to be honest. I have the Count of Monte Cristo, purchased from iTunes (here). It was only £2.99 when I bought it (57 hours of audio ). The narrator is excellent and it's very enjoyable to read.

My boss downloaded Catch22 from Audible and again the narrator was great and really brought the book to life (I had read the paperback).

However, I also downloaded all of the John la Carré giveaways from the Guardian and I can't get into them at all, I find the narrator really boring and my mind keeps drifting away to other things.

So for me I thnk they are a risk and you really, really have to listen to a preview first before going ahead.

There are loads of librivox audiobooks available that are completely free (mostly classics). They are hit and miss because they are amateur readers but they can be fantastic.

I have 'Audiobooks' as an App on my iPad (available on iPhone too) and there's plenty of free choices there. I'm currently listening to the 911 Commission report on that app.

[The Black Oil]

Is an iPad not a bit heavy to hold for listening, what's the Sept 11 report like, btw?

Would add to the recommendations for the BBC World Service documentaries, some great stuff on there.

I was going to get Mark Kermode's audiobook, but it's dearer than the paperback. Coming back to The Road, I'm afraid it's 3 or more years since I listened to it and I was unfamiliar with any of McCarthy's work before that, I can't really comment on the syntax, wilkie2006. I did get pretty sucked in by the audio version, though.

[r3nu4l]

Originally Posted by Black Oil

Is an iPad not a bit heavy to hold for listening, what's the Sept 11 report like, btw?

I listen to my books in the car so I plug the iPad into the car stereo and listen Also when I'm travelling for work I bring my iPad for taking notes and typing up reports so the iPad is handy for listening to books as I type . Unfortunately my work BlackBerry has a tiny amount of memory and I'm not allowed to store audiobooks on it.

The 911 Commission report I have on Audio is 'okay', it switches narrators and there's one woman who narrates whose voice grates on me. Thankfully I also have a PDF of this book so might actually switch to that.

[Dades]

Originally Posted by Nevore

Some of the readers are just damn irritating.
I can't listen to the Game of Thrones for example, thankfully I listened to a sample before purchase.

No way!

Did you listen the American narrated version? I have the Roy Dotrice (English Shakespearian guy) versions and thought they were phenomenal. Even the other English guy who did A Feast For Crows was great, I thought.

This might sound terrible, but I can't listen to an audiobook read by an American.
I really tried a couple of books but it just got on my wick.

[r3nu4l]

Originally Posted by Dades

This might sound terrible, but I can't listen to an audiobook read by an American.
I really tried a couple of books but it just got on my wick.

I thought it was essential for Catch 22! Can't imagine a rich, cultured British timbre making the book as 'authentic'.

Unless it was Hugh Laurie using his 'House' accent

[wilkie2006]

Hey,

If anyone's interested, The Guardian's giving away a free copy of Jonathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close".

I've started a thread in the bargain forum with details on how to download...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...did=2056559521

[Posy]

Originally Posted by wilkie2006

Yea, I expected audio books to be like podcasts too! I really enjoy the BBC's documentary series but I've never found an audio book that can live up to them

Are these just on the iTunes store?

Originally Posted by r3nu4l

I thought it was essential for Catch 22! Can't imagine a rich, cultured British timbre making the book as 'authentic'.

Unless it was Hugh Laurie using his 'House' accent

I think English books should be read by someone English and American books by an American. 'The Catcher in the Rye' or 'The Great Gatsby' for example would need to be read by Americans imho.

[wilkie2006]

Originally Posted by Posy

Are these just on the iTunes store?

Nope. Just found this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/docarchive

(Although if you're in Ireland you might have a problem accessing them - I'm in London so I don't know)

[Grover16]

I think they can be good provided they're done well.

[Balmed Out]

I love audio books. Have a 45 - hour long commute so I go through a book and a half each week and dont know how id manage the commute without them. You can pick them up in the library too.
As for the narrator they can be a little annoying to begin with but once your 40 minutes into a story itd have to be a very poor one for me to even notice the narrator.

[The Black Oil]

For a second there I thought you said you had a 45 hour commute. I take it libraries have them on CD?

[Balmed Out]

Yeah all the libraries have them on cd