Listening to an audiobook for the first time

Hey gang, I work as a custodian at a local school. I recently switched back to the night shift where I spend the majority of my time alone in dark corridors and empty hallways.

Anyhow, I decided I'd download an ebook to listen to while cleaning. I chose Stephen King's "It" because I'm a huge fan and apparently also a moron.

I've never done an audio book as I like to read anyways. I have a cousin who swears by them, but I think it's because he's not the strongest reader.

So here I am at night listening to this book, and it starts a bit slow, now I'm about halfway through and things are picking up. I clean an outside courtyard of rooms and unfortunately most of the hall lights are out. So THAT fun.

The narrator is pretty good. It's an older recording and besides the plot horror in between the narrator's speaking I can hear other voices. Like the recording was made in a place where other audio books were being recorded. So I'll be cleaning and I can hear these other voices and it totally freaks me out.

Anyways, as I'm halfway through I was wondering if any members had any other suggestions for me.

Preferably not horror this time!

Thanks!

a reply to: denybedoomed

Oh, man ... I wish I could remember ... my aunt used to do a lot of driving and she'd swear by audio books. I wish I could remember some of her favorites because a good narrator can make all the difference between an awesome read and boring as hell.

Here.

I went and did some digging around for good audiobook narrators. Here's a list of some you should check out. It lists some titles they've done. The comments below lists more you might think about.

I can vouch for Maya Angelou having an awesome voice. I was lucky enough in high school to be able to see her speak in person and her speech was half talk, half poetry reading. Her voice was superb.

Two of my friends listened to Moby Dick on tape (after hearing me rave about the book) and loved it!

I love audio books its like being 5 again and having someone read you a story. Your eyes dont get tired and your neck doesnt get tired. audio books come in diffrent styles too some where they add in noises and each person in the story gets a different voice actor. Libravox i think thats how you spell it has free audio books. I want audio books narrated by morgan freeman or anthony hopkins they would be awesome. The skill in narrating a story is varied and you will notice it pretty quickly.

a reply to: denybedoomed

I really enjoyed Jeremy Iron's rendition of "Lolita" by Nabakov, though it is perhaps something you don't want to be caught listening to around a school.

Sample:

a reply to: denybedoomed

The Mist In 3-D Sound by Stephen King.

There are actors and sound effects-I highly recommend it.

(make sure it is the 3-D sound version)

Lol I know how the op feels sometimes your setting while listening to the audio book isnt the best environment. I was driving through Oklahoma at night when a tornado warning was issued the rain was coming down so hard the windshield wipers on my car didn't really help and i was listening to HP lovecraft the color out of space.

Sorry double post

a reply to: denybedoomed

I listen to audiobooks a lot while programming, mostly horror though. These are some good non-horror ones, subjectively, of course:

Ready Player One.
The unabridged version of A Clockwork Orange. There's an extra chapter at the end that wasn't in the movie.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Breakfast of Champions and Slaughterhouse V by Kurt Vonnegut.
The Dune series.
Diane - The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper.
Candide by Voltaire.
1984.

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Try KahnAcademy™ there is a lot of info there.

If You're at the brink of boredom try "binary beats" or similar from YouTube™ and if You find the correct range/pitch You can do that work at a brisker pace, fly right through it, but You have to also wear glitter...

a reply to: Noncents

Ohhh man Vonnegut is my jam. And I hadnt even thought about the Diane tapes.

This is great. I can get away with "reading" while at my mind numbing job.

Thanks for all the input so far guys. Just heading to work now, so another night of horror clowns and blood filled balloons await. I probably shouldn't have told my co-worker about this because I have a feeling they'll try to prank me. What with all these clown sightings. Might have to do the outside rooms first!

a reply to: denybedoomed

Never did (yet) an audio book, just can't imagine it would be the same, audio in my head instead of my own imagination. I might try the King one in 3D to see if i change my mind

Love reading though

I'm a book worm, but I love listening to good audio books. I "borrow" them from my local library and listen to them while I do yard or house work. I can either download them to a pc or other device from the library website, or I can listen to them on my browser. You may want to see if your library has something called OverDrive. It's great and it's free. All you need is a library card

Their are a couple of good books on YT but they get taken down pretty quickly. The best audio book I have ever listened to is World War Z. So freaking good. Each character is voiced by a different actor. Mark Hamill is one of them and I think it's his best performance by far. Starship Troopers by Heinlein is also very very good.

Assuming that you are a guy, I would recommend Donald Westlake's humorous novels about John Dortmunder, the crook who is "jinxed" so that something goes wrong with almost every caper he tries to pull.

The Hot Rock.
Bank Shot.
Jimmy the Kid.
Nobody's Perfect.
Why Me?
Good Behavior.
Drowned Hopes.
Don't Ask.
What's the Worst That Could Happen?
Bad News.
The Road to Ruin.
Watch Your Back!
What's So Funny?
Get Real.

Also- free audio novels here---> www.loyalbooks.com

Sal

reply to: denybedoomed

a reply to: denybedoomed

The thing with them is you can drive, walk, go to sleep without using your eyes or hands. You can absorb so much MORE than with a book. You work say 8 hrs, and drive 1/2 hr to and from work? You can be getting a book into your head for 9 hours without stopping to drive, stopping your work....etc.

It also great for learning a new language...

a reply to: mysterioustranger

It's pretty rad. Luckily I have an sd card for my phone so I could fit the whole book on. I get probably a solid 6 hours of listening time before my headphones start to die.

But this book is getting intense and I'm about to go do the outside rooms.

And I have this damned vivid imagination . . .