|
Post by AlliG on Feb 22, 2022 19:20:41 GMT
Stumbled on this free site, not tried it yet but the titles seemobscure and wayyyyyy out of copyright. librivox.org/I have used librivox a few times. The biggest issue is the quality of the narrators. A lot of them are "ordinary" members of the public and some could give Dario Gradizzzzzzzzzzzz a run for his money in how to be extremely dull and boring. There were a few computer generated versions. They managed to make even fairly decent old novels unlistenable. Your local library is still probably the best place to download free audiobooks with "proper" narrators. In the years since I retired, I have "borrowed" over 200 audiobooks from the library without leaving the comfort of my armchair.
|
|
|
Post by westlandstokie on Feb 23, 2022 10:29:04 GMT
With using my ipod and phone a lot for music its getting a bit boring so have looked into the audible books. Amazon do a monthly subscription thats 8 pound a month with a book credit but being a lord of the rings fan i was gonna use my next credit for that but they have split it into 8 books, and don't fancy paying for all of them. Is there any sites that you can get them for free? PS got Inferno by Dan Brown and has been excellent thus far. This is an interesting thread. I’ve never been I big reader although my wife could read for England. I’ve just finished 1984 and to be honest I found it hard work. I’m now looking for something to read whilst on my sun-lounger in Turkey in July. It’s our first holiday without the kids so I won’t be on and off the slides all day and will have plenty of time to relax. I will be looking at some of the recommendations mentioned.
|
|
|
Post by Squeekster on Feb 23, 2022 11:22:28 GMT
With using my ipod and phone a lot for music its getting a bit boring so have looked into the audible books. Amazon do a monthly subscription thats 8 pound a month with a book credit but being a lord of the rings fan i was gonna use my next credit for that but they have split it into 8 books, and don't fancy paying for all of them. Is there any sites that you can get them for free? PS got Inferno by Dan Brown and has been excellent thus far. This is an interesting thread. I’ve never been I big reader although my wife could read for England. I’ve just finished 1984 and to be honest I found it hard work. I’m now looking for something to read whilst on my sun-lounger in Turkey in July. It’s our first holiday without the kids so I won’t be on and off the slides all day and will have plenty of time to relax. I will be looking at some of the recommendations mentioned. Depends what you like, the early Jack Reacher books are excellent, done them all and was disappointed with the last one, The shelock Holmes short stories read by Stephen Fry are excellent, I find myself buying books that are very long as I still do a lot of walking and it offers value for money, The count of Monte Christo is a great read but takes a while, if your looking for something more light hearted the Thursday murder club by Richard Osman is very good, just on the second installment now.
|
|
|
Post by LL Cool Dave on Feb 23, 2022 22:51:36 GMT
Alan Partridge - From the Oasthouse is up there with some of the funniest things he's ever done.
|
|
|
Post by FbrgVaStkFan on Feb 27, 2022 15:50:34 GMT
Stumbled on this free site, not tried it yet but the titles seemobscure and wayyyyyy out of copyright. librivox.org/I have used librivox a few times. The biggest issue is the quality of the narrators. A lot of them are "ordinary" members of the public and some could give Dario Gradizzzzzzzzzzzz a run for his money in how to be extremely dull and boring. There were a few computer generated versions. They managed to make even fairly decent old novels unlistenable. Your local library is still probably the best place to download free audiobooks with "proper" narrators. In the years since I retired, I have "borrowed" over 200 audiobooks from the library without leaving the comfort of my armchair. Yeah, some real stinkers in LibriVox, but it is rounded out with some good ones as well -- it is free though, so hard to complain. Bad narration isn't limited to the non-professionals--there are some commercial Clive Cussler audiobooks I've tried where the narration is complete garbage. The best narrator I've heard is George Guidall. I bought the "Dune" CD audiobooks back in the 90's, his narration is amazing. I still listen to it every few years. There's a section with Baron Harkonnen that still makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck when I hear it. Anthony Bourdain's self-read "Kitchen Confidential" is also excellent.
|
|
|
Post by AlliG on Feb 28, 2022 18:00:27 GMT
I have used librivox a few times. The biggest issue is the quality of the narrators. A lot of them are "ordinary" members of the public and some could give Dario Gradizzzzzzzzzzzz a run for his money in how to be extremely dull and boring. There were a few computer generated versions. They managed to make even fairly decent old novels unlistenable. Your local library is still probably the best place to download free audiobooks with "proper" narrators. In the years since I retired, I have "borrowed" over 200 audiobooks from the library without leaving the comfort of my armchair. Yeah, some real stinkers in LibriVox, but it is rounded out with some good ones as well -- it is free though, so hard to complain. Bad narration isn't limited to the non-professionals--there are some commercial Clive Cussler audiobooks I've tried where the narration is complete garbage. The best narrator I've heard is George Guidall. I bought the "Dune" CD audiobooks back in the 90's, his narration is amazing. I still listen to it every few years. There's a section with Baron Harkonnen that still makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck when I hear it. Anthony Bourdain's self-read "Kitchen Confidential" is also excellent. I understand where you are coming from. I have a collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories off Librivox where the narration varies in quality enormously. Fortunately, as each story is only 45-60 minutes long, even the most dull and monotonous narration is not too off-putting. You are right that there is a great variety in quality of narration on professional audiobooks. Over the years I have listened to just about every John LeCarre novel. My favourite narrator is Michael Jayston (Peter Gwillam in the original BBC Tinker Tailor series). It may just be that his voice is already familiar as a LeCarre character but he really nails them. Conversely, the worst narrator is LeCarre himself. He had a surprisingly high pitched voice with little expression, which just didn't fit the tension and drama of the books he read. My personal favourite narrator is probably Saul Reichlin (Girl with Dragon Tattoo series; Tony Hill/Carol Jordan; David Hewson books and others). I listen to a lot of crime/thrillers on my morning walks and his slightly rough, gravelly voice really adds to the narrative. If I see he is the narrator of a book I download from the library, I tend to feel more confident that it will be a good listen. Different narrators do fit different styles of book. Rob Inglis is great on the Lord of the Rings. He sounds like he is as old as Gandalf and gives a gravitas to passages that could sound a bit trite. I thought Roy Dotrice's narration on the Game of Thrones books was exceptional. A lot of the Rebus books by Ian Rankin are narrated by James MacPherson (DS Jardine in the original Taggart TV series). Again, his voice is familiar as a "Scottish" cop, even if it is Glasgow rather than Edinburgh, but I guess having worked alongside Mark McManus, until his death, he knows a bit about "grumpy old Scot".
|
|
|
Post by partickpotter on May 12, 2022 8:50:27 GMT
Just finished listening to The Greatest: My Own Story, Muhammad Ali’s autobiography narrated by Dion Graham.
I cannot recommend this highly enough.
The story is incredible enough, but the narration adds even more to the story.
Although this a book about boxing (obviously), it is mostly about the man - how his experiences formed the man. It’s incredibly entertaining and informative. And shocking in part.
|
|