Features | 6 Audiobook Recommendations

Wednesday, 27 November 2019

Features | 6 Audiobook Recommendations

Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash

2019 has been the year that I've really embraced audiobooks thanks to Borrow Box; at the time of writing this post I've listened to no less than 21 titles since I first got the app back in March! With that in mind I thought it might be fun to share a few of my favourites...

1. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Read by Alex Reid, Ari Fliakos, Arthur Bishop, Benjamin Bratt, Brendan Wayne, Fred Berman, Henry Leyva, Holter Graham, January LaVoy, Jennifer Beals, Jonathan Davis, Judy Greer, Julia Whelan, Nancy Wu, Oliver Wyman, P.J. Ochlan, Pablo Schreiber, Peter Larkin, Robert Petkoff, Robinne Lee and Sara Arrington

Kicking off the list is one of my favourite reads of the year, which I enjoyed in both ebook and audiobooks formats back in August. As the story is told entirely through interviews, the audiobook was the perfect format to allow the characters to come to life. If you love interview style podcasts you'll love this one.

2. They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

Read by Bahni Turpin, Michael Crouch and Robbie Daymond 

A more recent listen, and another book looking very likely to make it onto my top 5 list for 2019, is this YA title from Adam Silvera which follows two teens on their End Day. Listening to the story rather than reading it seemed to make the characters feel really realistic and made the ending even more heartbreaking.

3. Genesis by Bernard Beckett

Read by Becky Wright 

I first read Genesis back in 2014 and really enjoyed it, so when I noticed my library had the audiobook version I thought it would be the perfect way to re-read the book. At just short of four hours I got through my re-read over the course of one day and loved revisiting the story.

4. Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding

Read by Imogen Church 

As mentioned in this post I shared a few months back, I thought Imogen Church did a great job bringing the character of Bridget to life through this audiobook. Similarly to the interview format in Daisy Jones, I think the diary format worked really well as an audiobook and would definitely recommend this one if you're a fan of the Bridget Jones movie adaptations.

5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Read by Stephen Fry 

How could I share this list and not include Harry Potter? This one was my Netflix replacement back in October whilst on holiday in an internet-free cottage and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm now in the library queue for books 2-4 and can't wait to continue with the series in this format.

6. The Rest Of The Story by Sarah Dessen

Read by Rebecca Soler

My final recommendation is The Rest Of The Story, a YA Contemporary set by a lake. It may be cold here in the UK right now but I think this one would be perfect for your summer 2020 TBR.

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The Hobbit | J.R.R. Tolkien | BBC Radio 4 | Dramatised Audiobook | Review

Friday, 19 April 2019

The Hobbit | J.R.R. Tolkien | BBC Radio 4 | Dramatised Audiobook | Review

Listening to dramatised audiobooks seems to be becoming a habit.

This is the third BBC Radio 4 dramatised production* of an audiobook I've 'read' now, and, much like the others, it didn't cease to entertain.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is one of my favourite books; I remember being read it as a child of probably 8 or 9, going on to re-read it for myself, then having it as an English book one year in high school (I got all high marks for my assignments because I both loved the book and knew it so well already). Since the high school reading, I've probably read it once more, but have been meaning to re-read it for the past few years. When I spotted this BBC Radio 4 dramatised version of the audiobook at the library, I thought it would be a fun way of 'reading' it once more.

This audiobook was a joy to listen to; while there aren't as many voices as there are characters (there are 13 dwarves for goodness sake! That would be a huge cast!), it's done in such a way that you don't really notice it at all. There's a narrator, of sorts, and Bilbo does all his thinking out loud for the benefit for the listeners. Dramatised versions, if you're not familiar, also include things like sound effects and music to fill in some of the scenes when written descriptions or visual aid would normally be used. This means it's basically like watching a movie version, just without the visual aspects.

There were some parts which were a bit odd to me - like some of the pronunciation of names - and some voices which didn't seem quite right, however, on the whole it was a very enjoyable production, once again, from the BBC Radio 4 team.

The dramatised version is abridged, so it's shorter than the 'normal' audiobook, coming in at just 3hours 42minutes, so you can easily get through it in a day.

You can actually listen to the full production for free online, or check out your local library to see if they have a copy on CD or Overdrive.

Have you listened to The Hobbit? 

*Check out Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, and also Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. 

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Norse Mythology | Neil Gaiman | BBC Radio 4 | Dramatised Audiobook | Review

Friday, 25 January 2019

Norse Mythology | Neil Gaiman | BBC Radio 4 | Dramatised Audiobook | Review

Image from BBC

“Of course it was Loki. It's always Loki.” 

I've seen enough Marvel films to know at least a little about Norse mythology, and I managed to briefly have a look at it in my high school and university years. But I have yet to read a book about the myths of Scandinavia, despite having ancestors from Norway. I've been meaning to pick up Norse Mythology the book ever since it came out, but alas, so many books to read, it just hasn't happened yet.

This past week I was scrolling through Twitter, as one does, and I saw a tweet from Neil Gaiman about a BBC Radio 4 Dramatised version of Norse Mythology which was available online until today (you could follow up with that and see if it's still available...). I saw it was only 1.5 hours long, and thought it was the perfect way to use up some time. While the buffering was infuriating (probably my internet, and not the BBC website), I really did enjoyed this dramatised version.

The story of the Norse gods are told throughout the 1.5 hours by a woman who comes to the bedside of Magnus, a 7-year-old boy in hospital. She tells him the stories of Odin, Thor, Loki, Freya, the giants, the fairies, the 9 realms, and when she stops narrating, the characters themselves take over (hence 'dramatised') and really make it a joy to listen to. The stories are short and snappy, and I suspect they're much more drawn out in the book version. They give you a real snap-shot of what I'm sure are a brilliant retelling of Norse mythology.

The dramatised version has a great cast of actors in it, too, including Diana Rigg, Derek Jacobi, Natalie Dormer, Colin Morgan and Nathaniel Martello-White.

If you're into your mythology, love a bit of god-related drama, or want to learn a little more about where your favourite Marvel characters fit in the greater Norse mythology world, have a listen (I've found you can get it on Amazon) and let me know what you think!

If you're read the book, did you enjoy it? 

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The Secrets We Keep | Trisha Leaver | Unabridged Audiobook | Reviewed by Anjali

Friday, 22 May 2015

The Secrets We Keep | Trisha Leaver | Unabridged Audiobook | Reviewed by Anjali

If you cast your mind back to October last year, you may recall a post about the BBC's dramatised audio-book of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. In that post I mentioned that I had started listening to audiobooks during mindless tasks at work, and I've really been enjoying them. Another audiobook adventure that I've had in the last month or so was The Secrets We Keep, by Trisha Leaver. I had seen it on Good Reads, and loved the cover, so I thought I'd give it a ago. For the most part, I really enjoyed it.

Maddie and Ella are twin sisters, but they couldn't be more different. Maddie is one of the most popular girls at school; Ella has a friend or two. Maddie wears make up and is always styled just-so; Ella loves her jeans and t-shirts, and throwing her hair up into a pony tail. Maddie goes to raging parties; Ella stays home to sketch. One night, after a heated argument after Ella goes to pick Maddie up from a party, they have a car accident...and only one of them survives.

When Ella wakes up in the hospital, she doesn't know where she is or who she is. People keep calling her Maddie, and while it seems familiar, it doesn't seem quite right. It's only when she sees her sister's dead body that she realises the truth: she is Ella, not Maddie, like everyone thinks. In a split-decision, Ella decides that what is best for everyone around her, what's best for Maddie's memory, is to pretend that she is really Maddie. Ella would be no longer, but Maddie would live the life she deserved. But Maddie wasn't who Ella thought she was, and she is thrown into a world of boyfriends, of parties, of catty 'friends', of deep secrets. Caught in a web of lies and deceit, Ella has to decide whether to continue living as Maddie, sacrificing her own goals, dreams and friends to keep her sister alive, or to come clean and tell the truth.

I quite enjoyed this book. Even after hearing the entire story, and seeing into Ella's mind, I still don't understand why anyone would ever do what Ella did - I don't think it would ever cross my mind to do that - but I did like Ella as a character. She's torn between living her own life, knowing that she was to blame for her sister's death, or giving up her dreams of art school, and having a life with Josh, her best friend, for her sister to have a chance at life. She thinks that everyone would rather have Maddie than Ella, so that's what she gives them. It's a story of family, friends, secrets and lies, of discovering who she is without her sister, of realising that people love her for her.

While it was a great story, I found there were moments in about the second quarter where it dragged a little, and the ending was a little predictable, and the secrets that Maddie was hiding. However, it was a great YA fiction story, and definitely pick it up sometime. If you're interested in the audiobook version, I got mine from Audible, and it was just over 7hours long.

Tomorrow on Blogger's Bookshelf we'll be talking all things audiobooks, so make sure you head on back here if you want to know what we think about them!

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Neverwhere | Neil Gaiman | BBC Radio 4 | Dramatised Audiobook | Reviewed by Anjali

Friday, 24 October 2014

Neverwhere | Neil Gaiman | BBC Radio 4 | Dramatised Audiobook | Reviewed by Anjali

A few weeks ago, while I was doing a mindless task at work, listening to my iPod, it dawned on me that I could be ‘reading’ while I was working. Of course, I don’t mean reading reading, but listening to audiobooks. While scrolling through some of the options on the Audible website, I came across Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman. It was one of the BBC Radio 4’s dramatisation series, and it was a book that I have been meaning to read.

One of the main things that caught my eye when picking this book to add to my ever growing audio-book collection was the cast. The main character, Richard, is voiced by James McAvoy, and the other characters are voiced by Natalie Dormer, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Head, and Christopher Lee, to name just a few. All those awesome people (and more!) in one radio series? Ah, yes please! It was so much fun, listening to these actor’s without seeing their faces. I know that sounds weird, but it’s amazing how you can recognise someone (even without knowing it’s them) without seeing their faces. Voices like Christopher Lee and, of course, Benedict Cumberbatch are so easily recognised.

Although I didn't know the story (I’m still going to read the book one day), it was so easy to follow along, and though you couldn't see anything, the sound effects were brilliant, and such that the scenes were easily brought to life in the mind’s eye. Because it was an adaptation, I’m not sure if all the book and it’s events/scenes were in the radio series (I’m assuming not), so it’ll be interesting to read Neverwhere and compare the two.

It was a great way to a) pass the time at work while doing jobs that don’t use any brain power, and b) be ‘reading’ while working. I don’t think that these dramatized versions of books will count towards my Good Reads goal in the year, but I think if I listened to a book that was simply being read, word for word (as opposed to actors being the characters, and it being an adaptation of a book), then I think that that would count. I wonder if there are Good Reads Challenge rules…

Anyway! If you’re not into audiobooks, but want to get into them (they’d be great for commuting to work in the car, or on the bus, or train etc), then I suggest starting with a dramatised version. It’s a bit more exciting that just one person reading the book aloud. Neverwhere was only 3 hours and 48 minutes long, but that included about half an hour of extra features at the end (bloopers and alternative scenes). Because this one was a radio series, it’s broken up into 6 parts. The first is an hour long, the rest are half hours. Definitely have a listen!


This review was written by regular reviewer Anjali, get to know her here. 
Image from here. 

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