[Publib] RE: importance of narrators in audio books

[Beth Nicholson]

Geneva said:
  The narrator is almost the most important element of an audiobook, and I base my purchasing very heavily on the quality of the narrator.  Some that I consider outstanding:

  Tony Britton (Dick Francis books)

  It's a delight to discover new narrators who make a book come alive - not like you're being read to, but like you're listening to real conversations. Adam Grupper in Wambaugh's Hollywood Station comes to mind.

  I do know that tastes vary widely. I loved Inkheart with Barbara Rosenblatt, but another listener disliked her voice and didn't finish it.

  I absolutely agree with her about the narrator being so important, but what is ironic, and I responded privately to Mary K earlier about this, is that I have not listened to the last 2 Dick Francis books because they are not read by Simon Prebble. It does show how different narrators affect people differently.

  Recorded Books usually does an excellent job of matching narrators with books and maintaining consistency in a series. One company will change narrators for almost every book by an author and we seldom buy from them.

  The other thing I've noticed from buying and listening for 20 years and how some books I like to read--Kaminsky's Russian detective, for example--put me to sleep trying to listen to. I thought is was the narrator until I heard him doing a James Lee Burke.

  I still think Frank Muller is one of the best, if not the best, and we lost a great narrator with his accident. The late Anna Fields is another one--I would listen to things I would never read just because she was narrating.

  Beth

  Beth Nicholson, Director
  Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library
  404 W. Pike St.
  Clarksburg, WV  26301
  304-627-2236  FAX 304-627-2427
  nicholsb at clark.lib.wv.us
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