For me, a good audiobook must meet stricter guidelines than a book I would read. I’ve had a string of amazing audiobook listens this summer and want to continue the trend by asking you all what your best audiobook experiences have been!
I think a good audiobook meets these criteria:
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on the longer side (+15 hours)
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not overly complex or hard to follow (because I’m often multitasking while listening)
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great narrator (subjective, I know, but you can tell when someone is phoning it in)
I started my string of audiobook wins this summer by finally discovering Stephen King, but have listened to other books over the years that translated really well to audio. For example, these are some audiobooks that really did it for me:
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It, Stephen King: amazing story, amazing narrator, almost 50 hours and able to get you to really care about the characters
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Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir: amazing story, cool out of the box sound effects, longer
-Salem’s Lot, 11-22-63, also Stephen King: great and long and same reasons as It
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Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowling: nostalgic, easy to follow long series
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A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin: only listened to the first book, as the second one got a little too complex with so many names and narratives to balance. I actually read the rest of the series and enjoyed it greatly because visibly reading it forced me to pay more attention
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The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown: I know I know I know, but fast paced, engaging mystery, easily followed, and as all book subreddits will tell you it’s not too complicated
So, what were some of your best audiobook experiences? Did they fit my criteria? Do you have different criteria for a good audiobook? I’m looking to continue my awesome audiobook streak, recommend away!
by fortnite-scary-balls
5 Comments
I have enjoyed many TJR books on audio if you’re into her (Daisy Jones and the Six and Carrie Soto is Back were both great on audio).
I also liked Dark Matter (Blake Crouch) and Conform (Ariel Sullivan) on audio.
I know everyone expects this, but
Dungeon Crawler Carl
The first book is short it might not be 15 hours. I can’t remember, but there are seven books and they equal probably about 150 hours of listening with the eighth book coming out in the spring.
Jeff Hayes the narrator has ruined audiobooks for me because he is just that good.
I am a middle-aged woman, and it does not seem like this should be my genre of choice, but it’s creative and funny. And the author Matt Dinniman does a wonderful job of tying it together items and plot points in previous books and bringing them into the later ones
I wait with bated breath for the eighth book
If you can get past the oddball blurb about the story, Dungeon Crawler Carl is an excellent book series with great narration.
Also recommending Dungeon Crawler Carl and a plug for The Expanse series – starts with Leviathan Wakes. The Expanse is sci-fi and just FANTASTIC
Dune is easily the most impressive audiobook production I’ve heard.
I also really enjoyed 1Q84 because there a three different narrators and they do a good job of embodying the three protagonists’ very diverse personalities.