Thursday, June 9, 2011

Best of the Best: Audio Books to Get You Hooked

So many more to note, but if you start here, you won't stop!

Children's (but so enchanting for adults as well)
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, performed by Cherry Jones
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, performed by Graeme Malcolm
(Why two Kate DiCamillo's?  They're both quite different but equally perfect for audio: beautifully turned phrases and sheer joy in the sound of language abounds.)

Middle Readers/Young Adults
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, performed by Jim Dale
Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin, performed by Tom Parks
The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons, read by Kaye Gibbons
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, performed by Joel Johntone and Debra Wiseman

Short Stories
All the Selected Shorts collections from NPR.  Special mentions: Alec Baldwin reading Tim O'Brien's "Speaking of Courage", Joel Grey reading Ha Jin's "Saboteur", and Jane Curtin reading Gail Godwin's "St. George".
Go get any of these from the library and seek your own favorites: They are truly stellar.

Novels
Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie, performed by Aasif Mandvi
Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie, performed by Sherman Alexie
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, performed by Sissie Spacek
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, performed by Jeff Woodman, Barbara Caruso, and Richard Ferrone

Non-Fiction
Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath, performed by Charles Kahlenberg
The Millionaire Messenger by Brendon Burchard, performed by Brendon Burchard

MFB, and happy listening!
L

p.s. Now hop on over to Devourer of Books for excellent tips on getting started with audio books!

5 comments:

Nise' said...

You gave some great recommendations. TKAM read by Sissy Spacek was fantastic.

Jen - devourer of books said...

Oh, I so, so agree with Jim Dale reading Harry Potter!

Anonymous said...

I have always been a bit intimidated by Salman Rushdie. I tried to read The Satanic Verses in college, but just couldn't make it through. Maybe with audio I can get that Rushdie chip off my shoulder.

Good recommendations.

Laurie said...

N - Gotta love Sissy Spacek plus Harper Lee: What's not to like?
J - Anything else on the list that caught your eye?
TGEL - I couldn't get through The Satanic Verses either, back-in-the-day. But now I think I know enough about the history of the region and the religions involved to get a whole lot more out of it. I'd be happy to form a mini-book-group to get through it together, if anybody's interested...
Other Rushdie also pretty good on CD: Fury, Haroun & The Sea of Stories, and The Moor's Last Sigh.

FloeticFlo said...

I didn't think I'd like 13 Reasons Why the book...then I picked up the audiobook on a whim and LOVED it! The dual narrators absolutely made it for me!

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