I discovered the joy of audiobooking this year, read a ton already during my daily commute. The best were a series of books by Will Durant on history, such as "Heroes of History" and "Lessons of History", as well as Bill Bryson famous "Short History of nearly everything". Oh and the Jon Stewart America: The Audiobook is very well done and funny What good non-self-help audiobooks have you "read", fiction or non-fiction, serious or humorous?
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman (By Richard Feynman) Really is something worth reading/listening to.
Great idea for a thread. Audio books make a big difference for my commute as well. Joseph Ellis' Founding Brothers, narrated by Nelson Runger was really good. Franklin and Winston, by Jon Meacham and narrated by Len Cariou was also good (little bit lesser book but better reading). I listened to Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods and really enjoyed it once I got over my negative reaction to his voice, which is phlegmy, carries a half-hearted English accent, and (worst of all) pronounces the suffix "-ing" as "-een", which drives me apeshit (yes I know this is picking nits). The guy is funny as hell and writes beautifully. If you listen to fiction, Will Patton does a great job of reading James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux detective stories. Alfred Molina narrates the Berrybender Chronicles (Sin Killer, etc.) by Larry McMurtry very well, although for obvious reasons his rendering of English voices is better than that of American voices, plus he should have taken the time to find out that you don't pronounce the final s in Arkansas.
I recently listened to Seamus Heaney's "Beowulf" translation. His Irish brogue is perfect for it. Also, a new tranlation of "Gilgamesh" (I can't remember who did it) is fantastic. The epics were meant to be listened to, not read.
You'd have to order it from the UK, but I'd highly recommend: It is some seriously funny crap. Gorman is kind of a "stunt-humorist/comedian." He sets these ludicrous challenges for himself (that typically is the result of a drunken bet) that usually involves tons of travel for an incredibly unimportant achievement. here's the link from amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...8577/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_11_4/026-8793592-9202840 "book" description: If someone called you a "googlewhack" what would you do? Would you end up playing table tennis with a nine-year-old boy in Boston? Would you find yourself in Los Angeles wrangling snakes, or would you go to China to be licked by a performance artist? If your name is Dave Gorman, then all of these things could be true... Fuelled by a lust for life and a desperate desire to do anything except what he’s supposed to be doing (writing that novel and growing up), Dave falls under the spell of an obscure Internet word game--Googlewhacking. Addicted to the game, and gripped by obsession, Dave travels three times round the world, visiting four continents and the unlikeliest cast of real-life eccentrics you’ll ever meet in what becomes an epic challenge, a life-changing, globe-trotting Googlewhack adventure. A hostage to the vagaries of a search engine, Dave Gorman has become a 21st-century Dice Man throwing his fortune to the fates. The only difference is that the dice Dave rolls has three billion faces...
Any ideas on where to get them? I checked out WH Smith's last night and they have a very limited collection and although I haven't tried this medium, it has immense attraction to my bone-idle nature
Most of the big chain bookstores (Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books A Million) have audio book sections. You might have to ask where it is as the section is kind of small.
I agree they should be heard or, if you don't have someone else to reaed with, they should be reasd out loud.
I'm now reading Will Durant's "History of Philosophy: From Kant to American Pragmatists". While it does have the heavy moments you'd expect from a book on philosophy, it's actually very well written, easy to understand overall, and a very enlightening read!
Jeez, don't you have a good public library near you? Our system is chock full of these things. And they're sooo overpriced at stores. I'd never buy one. Anyway, great idea for a thread. I've been listening to them on commutes and road trips for years. Some of my favorites: A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn (read by Matt Damon) America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction Daily Show writers The Golden Ocean by Patrick O'Brien (read by a guy with a great brogue--O'Brien's first sea-faring novel) 1984 Just a great book and a great listen. Jazz by Toni Morrison, whose voice is just amazing to listen to. How the Irish Saved Civilization Thomas Cahill (interesting historical stuff)