I would LOVE to be able to get into audiobooks. I’m so busy and the idea of listening to a good book while doing something else (laundry, cleaning, commuting, etc) is highly appealing to me.
But for whatever reason I cannot stand the narrator. Doesn’t matter who it is. They always, always, always bother me. The diction and tone always feels somehow disingenuous or something. The worst is when they change their voice to indicate a different character – I always find it embarrassingly bad. It completely eliminates my ability to take the book seriously. To me it always comes across as really, really, exceptionally bad acting. I recognize these people are professionals so there’s no need to point that out or defend them. It’s clearly an art form that doesn’t resonate with me.
This isn’t an issue with non-fiction: biographies, history, etc. But I love fiction and to this day haven’t been able to enjoy an audio version.
I just tried desperately to get through the audio version of God of the Woods, which, by all accounts, is an engrossing, fully enjoyable novel, and I couldn’t finish it. This is about the 20th time this has happened.
So. What the hell is wrong with me? Or is anyone else having the same kind of trouble?
by Signal_Contract_3592
3 Comments
I think this might be a you issue. You should find other things to tickle your ears, whatever they may be.
It sounds like it just doesn’t mesh with you.
Narrators can make or break an audiobook. If I don’t like the narrator, I’m not going to be able to finish the book and always listen to the preview before I buy one.
It just sounds like what is currently popular for audiobooks and what most people enjoy (dictation, changing voices for characters, etc.) are unfortunately things that *don’t* work for you. Which sucks and I’m sorry.
I never clicked with audiobooks until I started cranking the speed up significantly until the narration hit a speed close to if not faster than the speed I talk at in real life, or preferably the speed I read at.
I find the default speed is generally way too slow for me to stay focussed on what’s being said. I end up drifting off and not paying attention. When the speed is quicker I find my focus naturally prioritises the book over anything else.
I also find that at higher speeds I am much less bothered by any quirks in the narrators voice or delivery, as it is no longer as prominent.