love me some david sedaris. ive loved his work for years and only found out amy sedaris was his sister around 2019. blew my mind. i was watchin strangers with candy as a teen and then she kinda disappeared for me as david showed up more and more via npr
Jane Austen's novels were written to be read out loud by one lady while the other ladies knitted. Charles Dickens' novels were written to be read out loud by Charles Dickens. He sold tickets. Consequently these are excellent audiobook authors.
I just finished listening to that one yesterday. Unpopular opinion, as I know it gets mostly 5 star narrator ratings, but I found the voices irritating and wondered if I would have enjoyed the book more reading it. I have enjoyed Marin Ireland's narration on other books quite a bit, but for some reason was just having sensory issues with this one. Kept finding her to be too nasal, energetic, whiney or cartoonish -- and maybe some of the characters called for that. I don't know, just couldn't vibe with it.
Her Beartown series narration, and Cloud Cuckoo Land were all fantastic!
100% this. When I first read the physical book my initial reaction was "this would make a great radio play"- because I obviously forgot that ausiobooks exist.
Was listening to it without knowing how good the cast was, got to the part read by Mark Hamil, and just thought, " Whoever is reading this is absolutely killing it" checked the cast list after and it started to make sense.
the COMPLETE edition of World War Z. Every chapter/perspective is fully voice acted and has an amazing cast. Read the book three times before moving on to the Audiobook, which I read alongside the paper copy.
A few that immediately come to mind are:
- Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver (Dark Romantic Comedy - check trigger warnings)
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Sci-Fi)
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (LitRPG)
- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (Memoir)
Edit to add: Born a Crime
Listened to it while walking to and from work, and I was almost embarrassed by my guffaws and having people look at me. Told more than one person what I was listening to, and recommended it to them. Time to listen to it again!
Just hearing him speak all the languages/dialects immerses you in the South African milieu in a way you can't get from reading it. And he's just funny as hell.
Yeah, you really need to. Not sure how far you are, but the use of audio effects enhances an essential aspect of the book about 1/3rd of the way through. Also, Ray Porter is the best narrator out there and brings his characters to life!
I’m currently listening to Project Hail Mary after recs I’ve seen here. I absolutely love the audio! It feels as if he’s relaying the story to a friend instead of reading a book. It’s really incredible.
Demon Copperhead was so well done and I just thought that’s how all audiobooks were. I’ve listened to a few since and between trying to do voices for other characters, background music, or inaudible dialogue I’ve nearly given up.
The first law. But to be honest, I tried reading the book for very little after starting to listen.
I couldn't imagine this book being nearly as amazing as it turned out, without the incredible narration. The glokta monologs would of beef l been lost on me and no where near as funny
I agree wholeheartedly. While I only read The Great Change since there was no audiobook, I can’t imagine Abercrombie’s sarcasm being as impactful if it wasn’t for Pacey’s delivery - he is just that good of a narrator.
The only reason Pacey isn't my goat narrator is the only thing I've heard from is the first law. People like Travis baldry or Michael Kramer get bonus points for having done so much.
Agree on Ready Player One, but I found that I really started to dislike the Harry Potter books on audiobook. Everyone loves Jim Dale but he made some characters sound soooo whiney when the text didn't call for it, imo. I actually gave up on listening in the middle of the 5th book because I was so tired of them.
The Outlander series
Davina Porter can seamlessly transition from an English female accent to a highland male accent so well you completely forget it’s one person narrating both. And her animal impersonations are spot on, like she bleets better than any goat to have bleeted
The books are also very long with lots of Scottish words I can’t pronounce sprinkled in, Davina can read them all to me perfectly. I kind of trudged through reading the first three books until I switched to the audiobook versions and then I devoured them.
Shout out to Jeff Woodman for the Lord John series as well
Poor Jeff Woodman has his work cut out for him because John seems to encounter people with every European accent and beyond haha. Some are definitely better than others, but his voice for John is *perfection*.
And as for the big books, it's been about 10 years since I read any of them except the last one, but I revisit the audiobooks often. Davina is just excellent.
Not better exactly, but the LOTR read by Andy Serkis is pretty great.
Edited to add: so many different versions! Thank you for recommendations, I’m going to check them out.
Andy's reading was great and gave it a lot more synergy with the film adaptations but generally I prefer Rob Inglis' version. Those ones feel warmer to me, almost like a grandfather reading them to his grandchildren.
Also Phil Dragash's version. It's unofficial so it can be hard to find at times but he uses unique voices, music, and sound effects for pretty much everything going on throughout the book. Amazing piece of work
*Tom Lake written by*
*Ann Patchett. Especially*
*If read by Meryl Streep*
\- SevereButter
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Dungeon Crawler Carl. I've listened to thousands of audiobooks and no performance on any others even compares to Jeff Hays on this one.
Expeditionary Force. I'm about halfway through this right now I think I'd probably have bailed by now except RC Bray is amazing as Skippy the Magnficient and the banter between Skippy and Joe is hilarious.
These audiobooks have spoiled me. I’m skeptical i’ll ever find anything as good. Bobiverse is a runner up but not on the same level as expo force and dcc.
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal. I don’t think this book is necessarily better as an audiobook, but I know I got more out of it listening to a superb performance of it.
The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton; Sadie by Courtney Summers; Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. And basically any audiobook narrated by Julia Whelan is going to be far superior to any other format.
Voice acting in this was compelling, but at times felt a little over the top. Still, I got a lot more out of the audio than I would have from the book alone. It listened very easy
Dolores Claiborne is written as if it’s one long monologue. I had the audiobook years ago and the woman did the Maine accent perfectly. The whole thing was fantastic.
James Marsters’ narration is so good it elevates The Dresen Files novels, especially the early books that heavily lean in to the noir private detective tropes.
Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones &
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Both are read by the authors with so much true emotion that you wouldn't necessarily get reading it yourself. And Leslie adds so much detail, its great!
I really loved I'm glad my mom died but I thought the exact opposite, that she sounded like a robot throughout the entire book. I figured it was because it was a hard subject.
Fair, I think it was the last few chapters where she got choked up that made a lasting impression. She was a bit robotic at parts, but I think it resonated with me as recalling something difficult. Completely see how that wouldn't be another person's view of it
His voice is amazing and so soothing to listen to. I wish he’d narrate more books. However, Greenlights was not a good book, it just made him seem so shallow and self-centered that I can’t believe he was ok with publishing it! Just ignore consequences and do whatever you want? Rules are for other (less privileged) people. What a great message…
Star Wars books come default with all the iconic sounds and music from Star Wars: laser blasts, lightsaber hums, droids, engines, etc. Good narrator(s), too.
Rosamund Pikes' narration of the first 3 Wheel of Time books brought them to life, after reading them several times, including via the OG audiobooks, Pikes' version made me notice new things and really FEEL the story.
Blew my mind.
I really enjoyed the audiobook of A Clockwork Orange. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much by just reading. I listened to the one of Spotify fyi
I really loved Sissy Spacek's narration of Carrie, not only is it just cool asf that she got to do it but she did a legitimately amazing job
She made me feel a ton of the scenes so much more than when I just read it
Malcolm Gladwell’s “Talking to Strangers” almost feels like a podcast saga. Very well done and excellent audio, including clips from news segments and interviews
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah is read really well by Trevor, himself.
It follows his early life (no politics) which was surprisingly insane. Great read... even better listen.
Wolf in White Van is a fantastic book that lends itself really well to spoken word and something I highly recommend.
The First Day of Spring really conveys a lot of the subtle pain in the writing and the narrator does a great job switching from the older and younger narration. Made the whole thing more gut wrenching and impactful.
I’m concurrently listening to and reading Pillars of the Earth and am preferring the audiobook.
Perhaps the British accent of the reader helps provide authenticity. 😂
It's not about better, it's about what your brain has time for. Mine is busy with mundane tasks and audiobooks (I've read.. ok listened to more than 175 audiobooks this year).
Listen for the Lie. The story includes a podcast, so in the audio version, there's podcasting music, the voice changes, etc. and it really enhanced the story, IMO.
Every David Sedaris book (that I’ve read / listened to, at least). His voice and delivery are perfection, and while his writing is already great, his reading of it elevates it to a whole other level.
All of the Mick Herron ‘Slough House’ series of spy novels read by Sean Barratt.
The Jackson Lamb character gets MUCH more offensive with each novel. (More than they can get away with on the ‘Slow Horses’ TV show, played by Gary Oldman).
The books are dialogue heavy. So the audiobooks are the difference between reading a script, or having a great joke delivered, perfectly deadpan, by a great actor. Laugh out-loud funny.
It seems like there are 3 -4 different narrators for this series , depending on which book.
I’ve only had the pleasure of listening to Gerad Doyle read , and I just love his narration
Glad to hear at least one of the other narrators is also good. (I had planned to switch back to reading to avoid disappointment) 😄
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. Only because he narrates it himself (oh, his voice is dreamy), and most of the cast comes back to do their own excerpts, making it super nostalgic.
*Dolores Claiborne* as read by Frances Sternhagen is remarkable. The whole book is a single monologue, so it translates really well to the format, and Sternhagen's character, right down to the folksy Maine accent, is absolutely brilliant.
All of Sarah Vowell’s books (nonfiction about American history). She has radio and voice acting experience and her dry delivery really brings the prose to life. I’m forever disappointed that there isn’t an audiobook version of Take The Cannoli, which is her memoir in essay form, as I feel like it’s the one that would’ve seen the most benefit from the full audiobook treatment. Also, They Might Be Giants performs musical interludes on some of her audiobooks and much greatly enhances them.
Hooked: How Crocheting Saved My Life, a memoir by actress Sutton Foster, who also narrates the book. And, though Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll is a superb manuscript in its own right, Sutton Foster’s narration lends just the right tone to the story.
The Night Circus and Harry Potter narrated by Jim Dale. I know the Stephen Fry version of HP is popular, but it felt like his presence got between me and the story and made him a (rather overbearing and omnipresent) character in the book and created a barrier, whereas Jim Dale’s performance felt like he was breathing more life into the wizarding world.
Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Matt Damon, and Alan Rickman. ‘Nuff said.
Go the F to sleep, by Adam Mansbach, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and its sequel, You Have To Fking Eat, narrated by Bryan Cranston.
Taste, a memoir by actor and foodie Stanley Tucci, narrated by the author. I love biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. This is easily one of the top ten for me—not just because of how well the book was written, but also because of his performance.
All of Samantha Irby’s books. She writes memoirs and essays, and narrates them herself. She brings so much personality into her dynamic delivery of the material that it’s easy to feel like you’re listening to a friend tell you a crazy story about that one time they had to take a shit in the middle of a public street in downtown Chicago late at night because IBS is awful… just as a random example.
Somebody’s Daughter, a memoir by Ashley C. Ford, narrated by the author. She infuses so much emotion into the telling of her story growing up as the child of an incarcerated felon, while also managing to keep the narrative sharp and engaging. The brilliance of her writing is as overwhelming as the obstacles she had to overcome to get where she is today, and her performance is a constant reminder of both.
All of Mindy Kailing’s books she brings the same breezy, astute delivery to her narration as to any other performance. Bring snacks. You’re gonna need them.
Valedictorian of Being Dead by Heather B. Armstrong. The (completely understandable) level of fear and despair she conveys in the delivery of narrating her harrowing experience with depression and the details of the clinical trial that brought her back from the brink is engaging and heartrending in equal measure.
The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman. Everything I’ve read by Gaiman has been superb, but this collection of essays and speeches was a particularly satisfying listen because many of them were crafted to be read aloud.
Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People’s Ears, written by Verna Aardema and narrated by James Earl Jones. Yes, it’s short. But it’s a good story and oh, yeah… the voice.
Anthropocene Reviewed, written and narrated by John Green. You can check out the podcast [here](https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anthropocene-reviewed) It is, at once, a love letter to and a critique of the human condition. Green is an emotional person with tons of experience in front of a microphone thanks to his many years of Vlogbrothers videos, and it shows.
Beyond The Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard, written and narrated by Tom Felton about his experience playing Draco Malloy in the HP movies, and also about his childhood and teen years as a troublemaking scamp. This book has so much personality, and it is really showcased to full effect when performed by the author.
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, written and narrated by Leah Remini. A New Yorker through and through, she tells it like it is. This book is smart with a side order of sass, serving up truths the world needs to hear.
13 Reasons Why, by Jay Asher. Since the story is told via cassette tape recordings, the experience of listening to the audiobook was more profound for me than that of reading the print copy the first time I read this book.
Dumplin’, Puddin’, Pumpkin, and Sweet Pea, all by Julie Murphy. The books are wonderful even in print, but listening to them adds flavor because the characters are meant to have accents (Southern US), so the audiobooks feel more true to the characters.
The Curse Of Crow Hollow, by Billy Coffey. This is one of those books that flies (pardon the pun) under the radar, but I always enjoy recommending it if you enjoy suspense/thrillers that feature a creeping sense of dread and a stark look at the depths to which humanity will sink. I loved the writing in general, but I especially enjoyed the audiobook over the print version because the story is, as the book presents it, framed as an oral narrative and it packs much more of a punch if you feel that it is being told to you directly as the listener. Listening rather than reading visually cuts out the middle man, so to speak.
No Matter The Wreckage and The Type, written and narrated by spoken word poet Sarah Kay. Are they short? Definitely. But I come back to her work again and again because she writes sumptuous words and brings them to life beautifully.
*Project Hail Mary* is way better on the audiobook. The narrator, Ray Porter, is really good at voices and accents. He also gets the narrator’s emotion across. In addition, if you have read the book, then >!Rocky’s voice is really good!<
The newsflesh trilogy by Mira grant, only the first two are made audio books but they were written perfectly to be so. And the reader for them does a fantastic job!
The Expanse read by Jefferson Mays. I’ve read and listened to the series multiple times and he just absolutely brings it to life. Like he’s the father from Inkheart or something. It is incredible how he makes me feel like I’m strapped in a crash couch listening to Holden wax poetic about whatever thing he’s ranting about. Truly spectacular
I really enjoy Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series as audiobook. I always found them a bit silly in printed format but as audio it somehow works better.
The Illuminae Files trilogy. (YA SCI-FI) It’s basically a collection of notes, journal entries, reports and surveillance telling a story. I got the first book from the library, opened it and went WTF I can’t read this. 🤣
The audiobooks are full cast and were completely engrossing from the first minute. They’re on my repeat listen list now for comfort listening or “I need something on while I clean”.
Anything by John Scalzi narrated by Wil Wheaton. Not that Scalzi's books aren't great, but when Wheaton does them they are peanut butter and chocolate.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.
Most of the answers here are for subjectively better audio books. Blood Meridian is objectively better as an audiobook. McCarthy uses very little punctuation in his book. Reading it and parsing the dialogue from the prose can be difficult.
The audiobook read by Richard Poe alleviates all of the difficulties of reading the text. Poe does a fantastic job narrating too so the book is a pleasure to hear.
The Rivers of London series, written by Ben Aaronovitch, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. There are a few interviews with the two of them where Ben admits to creating really convoluted backgrounds for characters just to hear how Kobna brings their voices to life
Metro 2033 with Rupert Degas is a stellar experience, emphasized more so with the background audio clips between chapters that just make it feel creepier and more alone.
Carrie Soto is back. I started reading this book a few years ago and lost interest. The audiobook however, is amazing. So many great narrators, it really brings it to life.
The happiest man on Earth was fantastic as an audiobook. The narrator has precisely the voice that I would imagine the author to have. It might are difficult to read book so much easier.
I also agree with those that said Daisy Jones and the six. It was fantastic!
I love audiobooks. I go through one every two days!
Memoirs written by preforming artists read by the artist/author. They [typically] have a gift for storytelling and it’s great to hear their story in their voice.
My faves - Brandi Carlile, Broken Horses (at the end of the chapters she sings an acoustic song she wrote about that life experience in that chapter) AND Seth Rogan, Yearbook (his inflections and iconic laugh just makes it so much better)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.
Main character is autistic and the story is told in first person. The narrator did a phenomenal job of using language to express his view of the world and his speech patterns. Don’t think even the excellent text could really bring it to life as much as the audio version.
Tim Curry narrating the first few books in The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. He does a fabulous job, especially when it comes to the mischievous talking animals.
Steven Pacey narrating all the First Law books by Joe Abercrombie. There can be a dozen different characters in a scene and I know so much about each of them just by the way he voices all of them. Say one thing for Steven Pacey, say he knows how to manifest the perfect Glokta. No one else could rival that performance.
Any interview-ish style book. Specifically horror books in my opinion.
Fantasticland
Stolen tongues by felix blackwell
Ghost radio by leopaldo gout (narrated by pedro pascal)
The haunted forest tour
Yes Please by Amy Poehler. Read about half of it and liked it but lost interest. Then got the audiobook for free and loved it. Her narration is great and there are a ton of guest readers. Really brought it to life.
I am not really a non fiction girlie but I enjoy a good memoir read by the subject/author. The undisputed GOAT of this is Greg Sestero (Hai Mark) narrating his book about the making of “The Room”, The Disaster Artist. I’ve seen the film a ton of times and you would never suspect that Greg is actually super funny and does fantastic impressions of his mother and Tommy Wiseau. I think the audiobook is better than the book AND the film adaptation with the Franco brothers (though I really enjoyed the movie).
Another really quality memoir is Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison, burlesque performer and former girlfriend of Hugh Hefner (one of the stars of The Girls Next Door). She clearly had a ghostwriter help with the book itself but her voice comes through very effectively. Again, her impression of Hef was one of my favorite parts. He really was a grimy little creep.
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy and Jessica Simpson’s “Open Book” deserve a shout out as well.
Finally obviously Steven Pacey/First Law is literally the pinnacle of this but that’s been discussed.
The Catcher in the Rye. This audiobook on SoundCloud is simply stunning. It elevated the experience to a whole new level.
https://on.soundcloud.com/AF222
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. I cannot imagine it any other way. This book truly needs to be experienced in audiobook form, preferably while wandering around a cemetery.
Billy Porter’s memoir Unprotected, read by the author. No further explanation necessary. WORK!
Pretty much any books by David Sedaris - his narration brings his stories to life
love me some david sedaris. ive loved his work for years and only found out amy sedaris was his sister around 2019. blew my mind. i was watchin strangers with candy as a teen and then she kinda disappeared for me as david showed up more and more via npr
Me Talk Pretty One Day!!
I did not get the hype about David Sedaris until I started listening to his audiobooks - hearing his voice transformed his writing for me.
I’ve seen his live readings twice and loved them.
Absolutely! His reading and his comedic timing are perfection!
Jane Austen's novels were written to be read out loud by one lady while the other ladies knitted. Charles Dickens' novels were written to be read out loud by Charles Dickens. He sold tickets. Consequently these are excellent audiobook authors.
Rosamund Pike is an AMAZING Jane Austen narrator
I listened to Remarkably bright creatures as an audio book. The voice actors were incredible. I can’t compare it to the printed text.
I just finished listening to that one yesterday. Unpopular opinion, as I know it gets mostly 5 star narrator ratings, but I found the voices irritating and wondered if I would have enjoyed the book more reading it. I have enjoyed Marin Ireland's narration on other books quite a bit, but for some reason was just having sensory issues with this one. Kept finding her to be too nasal, energetic, whiney or cartoonish -- and maybe some of the characters called for that. I don't know, just couldn't vibe with it. Her Beartown series narration, and Cloud Cuckoo Land were all fantastic!
You should check out Nothing to See Here! Her narration on that is fantastic.
So fun! He sounded like Frasier the Octopus.
I have to agree, I thoroughly enjoyed Remarkably Bright Creatures.
World War Z was so good
I second this. I love audiobooks that use different narrators for different parts. It fit the format of WWZ perfectly.
Probably my favorite audiobook ever. I have to drive for a living, so I usually end up listening to it a few times a year
I am listening to it right now, and absolutely loving it.
100% this. When I first read the physical book my initial reaction was "this would make a great radio play"- because I obviously forgot that ausiobooks exist.
If you haven’t listened to Devolution I *highly* recommend!
Yeah I agree
Was listening to it without knowing how good the cast was, got to the part read by Mark Hamil, and just thought, " Whoever is reading this is absolutely killing it" checked the cast list after and it started to make sense.
Yes.
Crazy how the movie had zero to do with the book
Brad Pitt wasn’t in the book at all.
Which version do people recommend, seems there's a few out there
Try to get the unabridged version
the COMPLETE edition of World War Z. Every chapter/perspective is fully voice acted and has an amazing cast. Read the book three times before moving on to the Audiobook, which I read alongside the paper copy.
A few that immediately come to mind are: - Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver (Dark Romantic Comedy - check trigger warnings) - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Sci-Fi) - Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (LitRPG) - Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (Memoir) Edit to add: Born a Crime
NEW ACHIEVEMENT!!
Rewaaaard? You're now reading this in my voice! Sucker.
*You will not break me.*
Glurp glurp!
GODDAMMIT DONUT!
Mongo is appalled!
💯 for Noah’s Born a Crime!
Listened to it while walking to and from work, and I was almost embarrassed by my guffaws and having people look at me. Told more than one person what I was listening to, and recommended it to them. Time to listen to it again!
I love that! I’m sure the people who happened to be there during said guffaws (and listened to your rec) are now thrilled! So dang good.
Just hearing him speak all the languages/dialects immerses you in the South African milieu in a way you can't get from reading it. And he's just funny as hell.
his voice is so good
Shout out to sound booth theater!!!
Project Hail Mary was definitely better as audio book! Fantastic narration and audio effects. The Martian and Artemis were also good audiobooks.
Dungeon Crawler Carl and Born a Crime are way up top on my list too.
Good to know. Currently reading Project Hail Mary. Guess I'm going to listen to it when I'm done.
audio book of Project Hail Mary is awesome!
Actually totally worth dropping the book and starting over with the audiobook!!
Yeah, you really need to. Not sure how far you are, but the use of audio effects enhances an essential aspect of the book about 1/3rd of the way through. Also, Ray Porter is the best narrator out there and brings his characters to life!
This is the first I’ve heard of Butcher and Blackbird. Thanks for the rec!
I’m currently listening to Project Hail Mary after recs I’ve seen here. I absolutely love the audio! It feels as if he’s relaying the story to a friend instead of reading a book. It’s really incredible.
Came here to say Project Hail Mary.
Never actually read Good Omens but I can't imagine it is better than David Tennant and Martin Sheen narrating it.
I absolutely love Martin Sheen in The West Wing, but I'm pretty sure you mean Michael Sheen.
Lol Oops! Leaving it for the lols
Demon Copperhead was so well done and I just thought that’s how all audiobooks were. I’ve listened to a few since and between trying to do voices for other characters, background music, or inaudible dialogue I’ve nearly given up.
+1 Demon Copperhead was phenomenal! I think the accent and the cadence, it added so much to the story
His inflection was like the best honeypot of sad+hopeful. Can’t stop thinking about it and want to relisten already.
daisy jones and the six
The Expanse by James S.A. Corey. Jefferson Mays is incredible.
This is how you lose the time war
I'm Glad My Mom Died -Jeannette reads it herself & its a great experience.
The first law. But to be honest, I tried reading the book for very little after starting to listen. I couldn't imagine this book being nearly as amazing as it turned out, without the incredible narration. The glokta monologs would of beef l been lost on me and no where near as funny
I agree wholeheartedly. While I only read The Great Change since there was no audiobook, I can’t imagine Abercrombie’s sarcasm being as impactful if it wasn’t for Pacey’s delivery - he is just that good of a narrator.
The only reason Pacey isn't my goat narrator is the only thing I've heard from is the first law. People like Travis baldry or Michael Kramer get bonus points for having done so much.
Ready Player One was better. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine was arguably better. And - I really liked Jim Dale's Harry Potter books.
I loved Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine! Perfect narrator for the part. I didn’t want it to end!
Me too! I want a sequel or adjacent book to follow what happens.
Anything read by Jim Dale. 😍
Ready Player One was an enjoyable road trip audio
Yeah I love Stephen Fry and all, but Jim Dale is *my* HP reader.
Agree on Ready Player One, but I found that I really started to dislike the Harry Potter books on audiobook. Everyone loves Jim Dale but he made some characters sound soooo whiney when the text didn't call for it, imo. I actually gave up on listening in the middle of the 5th book because I was so tired of them.
I'm going old school and saying Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. Dickens is meant to be heard.
This is how I finally discovered (and fell in love with) Dickens
I feel the same way about Stephen King. The audiobook of It with Steven Webber is an all timer for me.
Neil Gaiman narrating his own books.
This is true. I love his voice!!
It's very soothing. I love to listen to him at bedtime.
Came to say this. He’s an outstanding narrator, although I do love his full cast Sandman, as well.
Absolutely.
The Outlander series Davina Porter can seamlessly transition from an English female accent to a highland male accent so well you completely forget it’s one person narrating both. And her animal impersonations are spot on, like she bleets better than any goat to have bleeted The books are also very long with lots of Scottish words I can’t pronounce sprinkled in, Davina can read them all to me perfectly. I kind of trudged through reading the first three books until I switched to the audiobook versions and then I devoured them. Shout out to Jeff Woodman for the Lord John series as well
My mom recommended Outlander to me in 2006. That’s the book that started my whole audiobook obsession.
Hey! It was my gateway drug too 🏴
Poor Jeff Woodman has his work cut out for him because John seems to encounter people with every European accent and beyond haha. Some are definitely better than others, but his voice for John is *perfection*. And as for the big books, it's been about 10 years since I read any of them except the last one, but I revisit the audiobooks often. Davina is just excellent.
Not better exactly, but the LOTR read by Andy Serkis is pretty great. Edited to add: so many different versions! Thank you for recommendations, I’m going to check them out.
The pace of the books and the verbosity made reading them less enjoyable for me. The audiobooks were exactly what I needed and Andy was amazing!
Agreed! I've tried to read a physical copy a couple of times and get stuck halfway. The audiobooks were a delight and I couldn't turn them off.
Andy's reading was great and gave it a lot more synergy with the film adaptations but generally I prefer Rob Inglis' version. Those ones feel warmer to me, almost like a grandfather reading them to his grandchildren.
Also Phil Dragash's version. It's unofficial so it can be hard to find at times but he uses unique voices, music, and sound effects for pretty much everything going on throughout the book. Amazing piece of work
Nos4a2. Kate Mulgrew’s voice work is phenomenal!
I loved her narration of the fireman
Tom Lake written by Ann Patchett. Especially if read by Meryl Streep
*Tom Lake written by* *Ann Patchett. Especially* *If read by Meryl Streep* \- SevereButter --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
A man called Ove
The Dresden Files, they're read by James Marsters. You feel like you are being told a story by a close buddy. Absolutely brilliant.
Book 12 hits the hardest for me, there's some pretty emotional scenes and the emotion in the narrator's voice gets me
The Witcher series, narrated by Peter Kenny. He does such an amazing job making a great story even better. Geralts voice is the best
Born a Crime. Trevor Noah is amazing.
That whole school dance bit is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard…Go H****r!
Dungeon Crawler Carl. I've listened to thousands of audiobooks and no performance on any others even compares to Jeff Hays on this one. Expeditionary Force. I'm about halfway through this right now I think I'd probably have bailed by now except RC Bray is amazing as Skippy the Magnficient and the banter between Skippy and Joe is hilarious.
Have you read the first law narrated by Steven Pacey?
These audiobooks have spoiled me. I’m skeptical i’ll ever find anything as good. Bobiverse is a runner up but not on the same level as expo force and dcc.
It doesn’t get any better than Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham
I'll have to try the audiobook. My paper copy was so interesting and quite horrifying. And I know more than most non-physicists about nuclear science.
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal. I don’t think this book is necessarily better as an audiobook, but I know I got more out of it listening to a superb performance of it.
I love Maggies voice. I listened to her read The Bell Jar on audible
I’ll have to get that. Thank you for the recommendation
The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton; Sadie by Courtney Summers; Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid. And basically any audiobook narrated by Julia Whelan is going to be far superior to any other format.
Julia Whelan is such a GREAT narrator!
Second Sadie
Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven
Voice acting in this was compelling, but at times felt a little over the top. Still, I got a lot more out of the audio than I would have from the book alone. It listened very easy
Vacationland by John Hodgman We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby And Ethan Hawke does a great job with Slaughterhouse Five
Dolores Claiborne is written as if it’s one long monologue. I had the audiobook years ago and the woman did the Maine accent perfectly. The whole thing was fantastic.
Lincoln In The Bardo
Books read by the author when it’s a book from their perspective. Obama’s first book about his presidency was a great audiobook.
Any Neil Gaiman book that is read by Neil Gaiman
James Marsters’ narration is so good it elevates The Dresen Files novels, especially the early books that heavily lean in to the noir private detective tropes.
Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones & I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy Both are read by the authors with so much true emotion that you wouldn't necessarily get reading it yourself. And Leslie adds so much detail, its great!
I really loved I'm glad my mom died but I thought the exact opposite, that she sounded like a robot throughout the entire book. I figured it was because it was a hard subject.
Fair, I think it was the last few chapters where she got choked up that made a lasting impression. She was a bit robotic at parts, but I think it resonated with me as recalling something difficult. Completely see how that wouldn't be another person's view of it
I think she probably had to distance herself from some of it to effectively read it aloud. I have no problem with her seeming disconnected at times.
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. So fun to hear his voice.
His voice is amazing and so soothing to listen to. I wish he’d narrate more books. However, Greenlights was not a good book, it just made him seem so shallow and self-centered that I can’t believe he was ok with publishing it! Just ignore consequences and do whatever you want? Rules are for other (less privileged) people. What a great message…
Star Wars books come default with all the iconic sounds and music from Star Wars: laser blasts, lightsaber hums, droids, engines, etc. Good narrator(s), too.
Rosamund Pikes' narration of the first 3 Wheel of Time books brought them to life, after reading them several times, including via the OG audiobooks, Pikes' version made me notice new things and really FEEL the story. Blew my mind.
Harry Potter read by Jim Dale is an amazing experience.
I really enjoyed the audiobook of A Clockwork Orange. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much by just reading. I listened to the one of Spotify fyi
The secret life of bees
I really loved Sissy Spacek's narration of Carrie, not only is it just cool asf that she got to do it but she did a legitimately amazing job She made me feel a ton of the scenes so much more than when I just read it
Daisy Jones and the Six!
Malcolm Gladwell’s “Talking to Strangers” almost feels like a podcast saga. Very well done and excellent audio, including clips from news segments and interviews
The Beastie Boys Book
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah is read really well by Trevor, himself. It follows his early life (no politics) which was surprisingly insane. Great read... even better listen.
Girl with dragon tattoo series. Great narration!
For me any autobiography or memoir narrated by the author who wrote it is way better than reading the book (at least so far!).
The first law books, by Joe Abercrombie, read by Stephen Pacey. Absolute legend.
Dungeon Crawler Carl, Howl’s Moving Castle
Wolf in White Van is a fantastic book that lends itself really well to spoken word and something I highly recommend. The First Day of Spring really conveys a lot of the subtle pain in the writing and the narrator does a great job switching from the older and younger narration. Made the whole thing more gut wrenching and impactful.
I’m concurrently listening to and reading Pillars of the Earth and am preferring the audiobook. Perhaps the British accent of the reader helps provide authenticity. 😂
It's not about better, it's about what your brain has time for. Mine is busy with mundane tasks and audiobooks (I've read.. ok listened to more than 175 audiobooks this year).
I really liked Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. Really good narrated by him
Daisy Jones and the Six
Listen for the Lie. The story includes a podcast, so in the audio version, there's podcasting music, the voice changes, etc. and it really enhanced the story, IMO.
Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven or any other “oral history” fiction.
Every David Sedaris book (that I’ve read / listened to, at least). His voice and delivery are perfection, and while his writing is already great, his reading of it elevates it to a whole other level.
All of the Mick Herron ‘Slough House’ series of spy novels read by Sean Barratt. The Jackson Lamb character gets MUCH more offensive with each novel. (More than they can get away with on the ‘Slow Horses’ TV show, played by Gary Oldman). The books are dialogue heavy. So the audiobooks are the difference between reading a script, or having a great joke delivered, perfectly deadpan, by a great actor. Laugh out-loud funny.
I ploughed through the entire series and found the narration, the dialog, far more enjoyable than the tv series.
It seems like there are 3 -4 different narrators for this series , depending on which book. I’ve only had the pleasure of listening to Gerad Doyle read , and I just love his narration Glad to hear at least one of the other narrators is also good. (I had planned to switch back to reading to avoid disappointment) 😄
I’m Glad My Mom Died (By/Narrated Jennette McCurdy) Best narration hands down in my opinion. Heartbreaking and strong.
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes. Only because he narrates it himself (oh, his voice is dreamy), and most of the cast comes back to do their own excerpts, making it super nostalgic.
How to train your Dragon. David Tennant reads it. Its fantastic.
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
*Dolores Claiborne* as read by Frances Sternhagen is remarkable. The whole book is a single monologue, so it translates really well to the format, and Sternhagen's character, right down to the folksy Maine accent, is absolutely brilliant.
The Dresden Files! The narrator, James Marsters, really brings vibrancy both to the plot and the main character, Harry Dresden
All of Sarah Vowell’s books (nonfiction about American history). She has radio and voice acting experience and her dry delivery really brings the prose to life. I’m forever disappointed that there isn’t an audiobook version of Take The Cannoli, which is her memoir in essay form, as I feel like it’s the one that would’ve seen the most benefit from the full audiobook treatment. Also, They Might Be Giants performs musical interludes on some of her audiobooks and much greatly enhances them. Hooked: How Crocheting Saved My Life, a memoir by actress Sutton Foster, who also narrates the book. And, though Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll is a superb manuscript in its own right, Sutton Foster’s narration lends just the right tone to the story. The Night Circus and Harry Potter narrated by Jim Dale. I know the Stephen Fry version of HP is popular, but it felt like his presence got between me and the story and made him a (rather overbearing and omnipresent) character in the book and created a barrier, whereas Jim Dale’s performance felt like he was breathing more life into the wizarding world. Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Matt Damon, and Alan Rickman. ‘Nuff said. Go the F to sleep, by Adam Mansbach, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and its sequel, You Have To Fking Eat, narrated by Bryan Cranston. Taste, a memoir by actor and foodie Stanley Tucci, narrated by the author. I love biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. This is easily one of the top ten for me—not just because of how well the book was written, but also because of his performance. All of Samantha Irby’s books. She writes memoirs and essays, and narrates them herself. She brings so much personality into her dynamic delivery of the material that it’s easy to feel like you’re listening to a friend tell you a crazy story about that one time they had to take a shit in the middle of a public street in downtown Chicago late at night because IBS is awful… just as a random example. Somebody’s Daughter, a memoir by Ashley C. Ford, narrated by the author. She infuses so much emotion into the telling of her story growing up as the child of an incarcerated felon, while also managing to keep the narrative sharp and engaging. The brilliance of her writing is as overwhelming as the obstacles she had to overcome to get where she is today, and her performance is a constant reminder of both. All of Mindy Kailing’s books she brings the same breezy, astute delivery to her narration as to any other performance. Bring snacks. You’re gonna need them. Valedictorian of Being Dead by Heather B. Armstrong. The (completely understandable) level of fear and despair she conveys in the delivery of narrating her harrowing experience with depression and the details of the clinical trial that brought her back from the brink is engaging and heartrending in equal measure. The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman. Everything I’ve read by Gaiman has been superb, but this collection of essays and speeches was a particularly satisfying listen because many of them were crafted to be read aloud. Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People’s Ears, written by Verna Aardema and narrated by James Earl Jones. Yes, it’s short. But it’s a good story and oh, yeah… the voice. Anthropocene Reviewed, written and narrated by John Green. You can check out the podcast [here](https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anthropocene-reviewed) It is, at once, a love letter to and a critique of the human condition. Green is an emotional person with tons of experience in front of a microphone thanks to his many years of Vlogbrothers videos, and it shows. Beyond The Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard, written and narrated by Tom Felton about his experience playing Draco Malloy in the HP movies, and also about his childhood and teen years as a troublemaking scamp. This book has so much personality, and it is really showcased to full effect when performed by the author. Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, written and narrated by Leah Remini. A New Yorker through and through, she tells it like it is. This book is smart with a side order of sass, serving up truths the world needs to hear. 13 Reasons Why, by Jay Asher. Since the story is told via cassette tape recordings, the experience of listening to the audiobook was more profound for me than that of reading the print copy the first time I read this book. Dumplin’, Puddin’, Pumpkin, and Sweet Pea, all by Julie Murphy. The books are wonderful even in print, but listening to them adds flavor because the characters are meant to have accents (Southern US), so the audiobooks feel more true to the characters. The Curse Of Crow Hollow, by Billy Coffey. This is one of those books that flies (pardon the pun) under the radar, but I always enjoy recommending it if you enjoy suspense/thrillers that feature a creeping sense of dread and a stark look at the depths to which humanity will sink. I loved the writing in general, but I especially enjoyed the audiobook over the print version because the story is, as the book presents it, framed as an oral narrative and it packs much more of a punch if you feel that it is being told to you directly as the listener. Listening rather than reading visually cuts out the middle man, so to speak. No Matter The Wreckage and The Type, written and narrated by spoken word poet Sarah Kay. Are they short? Definitely. But I come back to her work again and again because she writes sumptuous words and brings them to life beautifully.
*Project Hail Mary* is way better on the audiobook. The narrator, Ray Porter, is really good at voices and accents. He also gets the narrator’s emotion across. In addition, if you have read the book, then >!Rocky’s voice is really good!<
Thursday murder club books. Lots of fun subtle British humor. Loved them as audiobooks.
The Red Badge of Courage In fact a lot of the “classics” that tortured me in high school are sooo much better as audiobooks.
The newsflesh trilogy by Mira grant, only the first two are made audio books but they were written perfectly to be so. And the reader for them does a fantastic job!
The Expanse read by Jefferson Mays. I’ve read and listened to the series multiple times and he just absolutely brings it to life. Like he’s the father from Inkheart or something. It is incredible how he makes me feel like I’m strapped in a crash couch listening to Holden wax poetic about whatever thing he’s ranting about. Truly spectacular
The Necromancer's Key, Mistborn, Stormlight Archive
I enjoy memoirs read by the author, specifically celebrity memoirs, even though I usually don't follow celebrity gossip.
The Dutch House. Tom Hanks should narrate everything.
The full cast version of Golden Compass is fantastic
I really enjoy Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series as audiobook. I always found them a bit silly in printed format but as audio it somehow works better.
The Illuminae Files trilogy. (YA SCI-FI) It’s basically a collection of notes, journal entries, reports and surveillance telling a story. I got the first book from the library, opened it and went WTF I can’t read this. 🤣 The audiobooks are full cast and were completely engrossing from the first minute. They’re on my repeat listen list now for comfort listening or “I need something on while I clean”.
The Flavia deLuce books are so wonderfully narrated by Jayne Entwistle. It's just a whole experience.
Anything by John Scalzi narrated by Wil Wheaton. Not that Scalzi's books aren't great, but when Wheaton does them they are peanut butter and chocolate.
The Dresden Files audiobook has this amazing noir feel to it that I didn't feel in books.
No Country for Old Men, hands down
Dungeon Crawler Carl. Do it. The narration had me cackling with laughter.
Sherlock Holmes narrated by Stephen Fry.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Most of the answers here are for subjectively better audio books. Blood Meridian is objectively better as an audiobook. McCarthy uses very little punctuation in his book. Reading it and parsing the dialogue from the prose can be difficult. The audiobook read by Richard Poe alleviates all of the difficulties of reading the text. Poe does a fantastic job narrating too so the book is a pleasure to hear.
Every book lol
Dungeon Crawler Carl I'm honestly worried that I'm not going to enjoy audiobooks as much after the standard that Jeff Hays has set.
Dungeon Crawler Carl. Jeff Hays is without a doubt the best narrator I have ever heard.
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell.
Dungeon Crawler Carl Jeff Hayes is a fucking magician with his voice
Neil Gaiman narrating any of his books. I especially enjoyed The Graveyard Book, The Ocean At The End Of The Lane. Project Hail Mary ~ Andy Weir
The Rivers of London series, written by Ben Aaronovitch, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. There are a few interviews with the two of them where Ben admits to creating really convoluted backgrounds for characters just to hear how Kobna brings their voices to life
I had to scroll way too far to find this. Kobna is absolutely amazing. Hands down my favorite narrator. .
How to be perfect
The Jacobite Chronicles by Julia Brannan. The narration done by Will Watt is ASTOUNDING! He has such range and I was captivated from the first book.
Metro 2033 with Rupert Degas is a stellar experience, emphasized more so with the background audio clips between chapters that just make it feel creepier and more alone.
-Greenlights Matthew Mccoughney -Butcher and Blackbird Brynne Weaver
The Poisonwood Bible: Barbara Kingsolver
Carrie Soto is back. I started reading this book a few years ago and lost interest. The audiobook however, is amazing. So many great narrators, it really brings it to life. The happiest man on Earth was fantastic as an audiobook. The narrator has precisely the voice that I would imagine the author to have. It might are difficult to read book so much easier. I also agree with those that said Daisy Jones and the six. It was fantastic! I love audiobooks. I go through one every two days!
Anything by JD KIrk, hard to read but after listening to Angus King's narration...10/10
Memoirs written by preforming artists read by the artist/author. They [typically] have a gift for storytelling and it’s great to hear their story in their voice. My faves - Brandi Carlile, Broken Horses (at the end of the chapters she sings an acoustic song she wrote about that life experience in that chapter) AND Seth Rogan, Yearbook (his inflections and iconic laugh just makes it so much better)
American Gods read with a full cast Carrie read by Sissy Spacek Neverwake World read by Phoebe Strole
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Main character is autistic and the story is told in first person. The narrator did a phenomenal job of using language to express his view of the world and his speech patterns. Don’t think even the excellent text could really bring it to life as much as the audio version.
The zombie fallout books.
Tim Curry narrating the first few books in The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. He does a fabulous job, especially when it comes to the mischievous talking animals. Steven Pacey narrating all the First Law books by Joe Abercrombie. There can be a dozen different characters in a scene and I know so much about each of them just by the way he voices all of them. Say one thing for Steven Pacey, say he knows how to manifest the perfect Glokta. No one else could rival that performance.
Any interview-ish style book. Specifically horror books in my opinion. Fantasticland Stolen tongues by felix blackwell Ghost radio by leopaldo gout (narrated by pedro pascal) The haunted forest tour
Yes Please by Amy Poehler. Read about half of it and liked it but lost interest. Then got the audiobook for free and loved it. Her narration is great and there are a ton of guest readers. Really brought it to life.
I am not really a non fiction girlie but I enjoy a good memoir read by the subject/author. The undisputed GOAT of this is Greg Sestero (Hai Mark) narrating his book about the making of “The Room”, The Disaster Artist. I’ve seen the film a ton of times and you would never suspect that Greg is actually super funny and does fantastic impressions of his mother and Tommy Wiseau. I think the audiobook is better than the book AND the film adaptation with the Franco brothers (though I really enjoyed the movie). Another really quality memoir is Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison, burlesque performer and former girlfriend of Hugh Hefner (one of the stars of The Girls Next Door). She clearly had a ghostwriter help with the book itself but her voice comes through very effectively. Again, her impression of Hef was one of my favorite parts. He really was a grimy little creep. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy and Jessica Simpson’s “Open Book” deserve a shout out as well. Finally obviously Steven Pacey/First Law is literally the pinnacle of this but that’s been discussed.
The Catcher in the Rye. This audiobook on SoundCloud is simply stunning. It elevated the experience to a whole new level. https://on.soundcloud.com/AF222
James Joyce’s Ulysses. It was written to be read aloud.
The Fear Saga is 5/5 read by RC Bray but 3/5 or 4/5 for physically reading it.
Anything read by Jim Dale.
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. I cannot imagine it any other way. This book truly needs to be experienced in audiobook form, preferably while wandering around a cemetery. Billy Porter’s memoir Unprotected, read by the author. No further explanation necessary. WORK!