I touched in this on Tuesday’s post, but it’s like I can’t stop myself.
First off, I love listening to audiobooks.

• In the car (not with the kids - I do talk to them instead).
• While exercising.
• If a book is good enough, I’ll even listen while cleaning.

Audiobooks are fantastic. The readers have to be some of the most talented people I know, and being able to read a book while doing something else is such a great use of time.
But I’ve come to the conclusion I need to stop listening to series on audiobooks. I actually came to this conclusion many series ago, but I can’t seem to stop myself. Here’s how it generally goes.

First book - I love it. It’s brilliant. The narrator gives such life to the characters.

Second book - Small flaws begin to stick out. Adverbs scream out at me. Characters repeat some dialogue which was used in book one. I notice it, and it starts to tickle my brain somewhere.

Third book - Every time the main character does something stupid, I cuss at her/him. They do the dumbest things in every situation, really, they shouldn’t be because they’ve had two books before this to learn from their mistakes. Have they learned nothing? And every time they talk, I want to scream. By now dialogue repeats enough to drive anyone nuts.

BUT…

I really want to point out this is strictly an audiobook thing. The books are really great. And I guarantee that 90% of the time, if I were reading the same books, I’d never notice any of these annoyances. But having someone read it to me makes everything stand out.
(Sidenote: I see things “planted” by the writer - do you?)

So why do I keep listening to series on audiobooks?
I guess secretly I keep hoping I’ll find a series where this won’t happen. I actually managed to get through about eight Janet Evanovich audiobooks and loved each and every one. Then I finally hit my limit. Her dialogue is exceptional, however, which might account for how I got through so many. I also listened to probably 10 Terry Pratchett books before they changed the narrator. I couldn’t go with the change; I loved the old narrator, and had to give up the new books.

So my question - Do you listen to audiobooks, and what’s the best series you’ve listened to?

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Ted Genoways, editor of Virginia Quarterly Review, writes to say, “We’re gathering tributes and memorials for George Garrett at the VQR website. Many of George’s friends and colleagues have already weighed in, but we would love to hear from anyone who was touched by him as a writer, teacher, or mentor.”

The Awakening of Europe by M. B. Synge is the third book in the series, Story of the World. Included in this history is a myriad of interesting men, women, and events that shaped Europe during the years 1520-1745. (Summary by Laura Caldwell)

• Mainlesson e-text
• LibriVox’s The Awakening of Europe Internet Archive page
• Zip file of the entire book - 173.6MB

Een allegorisch verhaal als commentaar op de toestand van de Nederlandse samenleving anno 1841, in de ogen van E.J. Potgieter. Jan en Jannetje (die staan voor de oorspronkelijke Nederlandse bevolking vanaf ongeveer 1500) vieren Oudejaarsavond 1841 met hun kinderen, waaronder zoons Janmaat (zeevaart), Jan Contant en Jan Crediet (handel), Jan Compagnie (kolonien), en Jan Cordaat (leger). Het blijkt slecht te gaan met het gezin (dus met Nederland) in de 19e eeuw - en dat ligt aan de jongste zoon, Jan Salie (geest van lamlendigheid die volgens Potgieter heerst in de 19e eeuw). Wat moeten ze met Jan Salie beginnen? (Samenvatting door Anna Simon)

Read in Dutch.

• e-text
• Wikipedia - E.J. Potgieter
• LibriVox’s Jan, Jannetje en hun jongste kind Internet Archive page
• Zip file of the entire book (28 MB)

Schiller (1759 - 1805), einer der Weimarer Klassiker, bekannt als Dichter und Dramatiker, studierte zunächst Medizin, wirkte auch als Philosoph und Historiker. Seine in meisterhaftem Deutsch geschriebene Geschichte des dreißigjährigen Kriegs gibt tiefe Einblicke in diesen und seine weitreichenden Folgen. (Summary by redaer)

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854 - 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. Known for his barbed wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day.

In Wilde’s classic play The Importance of Being Earnest, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff discover the perils of love, assumed identities, and telling the truth. (Summary by Toby Paradis and Wikipedia)

LibriVox cast:

John Worthing, J.P. - Hans-Stefan Ducharme
Algernon Moncrieff - Simon Ferland
Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D. - Toby Paradis
Merriman, Butler - Toby Paradis
Lane, Manservant - Toby Paradis
Lady Bracknell - Sarah Farnham
Hon, Gwendolen Fairfax - Nyssa Gatcombe
Cecily Cardew - Rebecca Bailey
Miss Prism, Governess - Eileen Nadeau

• Gutenberg e-text
• Wikipedia - Oscar Wilde
• Wikipedia - The Importance of Being Earnest
• LibriVox’s The Importance of Being Earnest Internet Archive page
• Zip file of the entire book (51.7MB)

Shakespeare’s sequence of 154 sonnets deals with such themes as love, time, death, immortality, lust, and sex. The poems follow but also depart from the Petrarchan tradition of sonnets written by a frustrated male lover to an unattainable idealized female beloved. Shakespeare’s sonnets are addressed to both male and female lovers: the androgynous ‘young man’ and the alluring yet dangerously sexual ‘dark lady.’ (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)

• Gutenberg e-text
• Wikipedia - William Shakespeare
• Wikipedia - Shakespeare’s Sonnets
• LibriVox’s The Sonnets Internet Archive page
• Zip file of the entire book 71MB

Fêtes galantes est un recueil de poèmes de Paul Verlaine, publié en 1869.

(English translation): Fêtes galantes is a collection of poetry by Paul Verlaine, published in 1869. (Summary by Jc)

• Gutenberg e-text 15112
• Wikipedia - Paul Verlaine
• LibriVox’s Fêtes galantes Internet Archive page
• Zip file of the entire book 14.2MB

This excellent book contains many great stories from the various mythologies of man throughout the ages.

• Gutenberg e-text 20740
• LibriVox’s Myths and Legends of All Nations Internet Archive page
• Zip file of the entire book 242.9 MB

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