Does anyone else have this issue with audiobooks?

[gingersmom]

I just finished reading Wild and wanted to listen to it in the car. I was hoping the author read the book but she didn't.

 

I hated the narrators voice. It just was so boring.

 

Does anyone else have this issue? Am I being too picky?

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yes I have this issue.  With many books there is more than one reader.  So you can sometimes listen to various samples and pick the voice you like.

 

I just listened to Frankenstein.  I loved that guys voice.  Then I bought Catch 22 (only one version) and I was so bummed out by the voice I am just reading it now. 

[Joules]

Definitely!  Audible.com has samples that you can listen to and often it is the same narrator even if you buy the recording elsewhere (or on CD).  They also have a separate rating for the book itself and the narrator, so the ratings are helpful.  I sometimes find new books by looking to see what else my favorite narrator recorded.

[vonfirmath]

I just finished reading Wild and wanted to listen to it in the car. I was hoping the author read the book but she didn't.

 

I hated the narrators voice. It just was so boring.

 

Does anyone else have this issue? Am I being too picky?

 

I don't know who my narrator was. But, I listened to that book and was enthralled.  (haven't actually read the book)

 

[marbel]

Sure.  I've had to reject books because I couldn't stand the narrator's voice.

 

We've had similar experiences with Great Courses lectures. My daughter is particularly affected by voices.  But unlike most audio books, those lectures are not for entertainment so we have to deal with it. :-)

[Forget-Me-Not]

Yes. I love that audible and Amazon have samples you can hear first. I recently listened to a book read by the author, who had no business narrating a book. The subject matter was interesting enough that I worked through it, but I was mildly irritated all the way through.

[Lizzie in Ma]

Nope, no matter how much I love a book, if I hate the narrator, I won't listen to it.  I am extremely fussy.

[lailasmum]

I always listen to sample first in Audible. I've definitely rejected audio books because of the reader. Occasionally someone I don't initially like will improve. One audio book it sounded like the narrator was reading to toddlers and it put me off but after a few minutes she relaxed into it and improved.

[gingersmom]

Update:

 

I decided being I loved the book I was going to give it a try. She read the prologue very dryly but has definitely improved. Plus I am so into the book I decided I don't care how she sounds!

[bolt.]

I find that I get used to narrators -- even if they are very bad -- and eventually just enjoy the content. My brain forms some kind of filter.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Yes! I need the reader to move along at a good pace and " do voices". I guess I want it to be a little like a play. When I find a reader I like I'll search for them and not just the author.

[Seeking Squirrels]

I have a hard time listening if I don't like the narrator. I don't think I'm too picky, but I've found a few I don't like. One series we pushed through and ended up getting used to him even though I still don't care for him. Now I'm stuck because I listened to book 1 of a series and absolutely loved the narrator and the story. So I went to get the second and it's a different narrator. Even if he's good, I'm going to have a hard time since I have their voices in my head from the last guy. I don't want to come at it too biased and dislike him just because he isn't the first guy. So I'm making myself at least wait a little while to start it. A narrator can make or break a story. 

[alisoncooks]

We read Harry Potter at home and wanted to listen to the audiobook on a long car trip.  The narrator was awful!  All of the "voices" sounded the same (big no-no for us)!  And it would jump from whispery-quiet to too-loud a lot, which required a lot of fiddling with volume knobs.  We abandoned the audiobook after just a few minutes.

 

We have definitely enjoyed some narrators more than others!

[PrairieSong]

I could not listen to a boring narrator, or one whose voice grates on me for some reason. I like to listen to samples before purchasing. If I can't find a sample, sometimes I can find a sample of that narrator reading a different book. BTW, I read Emma earlier this year and part of the time I listened to the audio while doing something else. Juliet Stevenson was a wonderful narrator of that book!

[bolt.]

There are two narrations of Harry Potter (and quite a polarized fan base). I liked Jim Dale, but some hate him.

[PrairieSong]

We read Harry Potter at home and wanted to listen to the audiobook on a long car trip. The narrator was awful! All of the "voices" sounded the same (big no-no for us)! And it would jump from whispery-quiet to too-loud a lot, which required a lot of fiddling with volume knobs. We abandoned the audiobook after just a few minutes.

 

We have definitely enjoyed some narrators more than others!

Was it Jim Dale or someone else? We really love the audio versions read by Jim Dale. I listened to Order of the Phoenix while scraping off layers of very stubborn wallpaper. It made a tedious job more bearable.

[PrairieSong]

There is a VERY popular narrator in the homeschooling world whose voice I can't take. I can't listen to him.

Do tell!

[jen3kids]

We cannot stand Jim Dale's voice. It is melacholy, whiny, and the voices are too alike. We much prefer Stephen Fry's narration of the Hary Potter series.

 

Unfortunately Jim Dale also narrated another series, Peter and the Starcatchers, and it was ruined for us. We had listened to it before Harry Potter and didn't mind him too much, but once we heard him in the HP books, we were done:(

 

One of our favourite narrators is Gerard Doyle who we discovered while listening to The Sea of Trolls series. But now we cannot listen to anything else by him because we think of the same characters who don't belong in the other books 🙄 He also narrated the Eragon and Septimus Heap series.

[plansrme]

There is a VERY popular narrator in the homeschooling world whose voice I can't take. I can't listen to him.

 

Ditto.  Probably the same one.

 

I just listened to an audio book I picked up from the library, and it was read by Linda Lavin, from the old TV show Alice (and other things as well, of course, but that's what I remember).  I hadn't heard her voice in probably 20 years, but I recognized it instantly.  She did a really nice job.  I love hearing voices from the past show up on an audio book.  Such a good use of one's acting talents!

[bolt.]

I find I don't like it when narrators reveal that the 'voices' I associate with certain characters in a certian series are (in fact) just a voice they frequently use for a certian type-cast all the time.

 

On the other hand, it's both more irritating and kind of enlightening, when you hear multiple series' from the same author with the same narrator... And notice via the voicing that the characters actually *are* identical. I wouldn't have been that astute in print.

 

I love good narration with distinctive-and-creative (but not overblown) voicing. One narrator gave a character a Newfie accent that was just so character-perfect and memorable. I keep looking for more by him. (And, really, that's dedication to learn to do Newfoundland -- a tiny Canadian province -- and to actually know what kind of stereotype it implies.)

Edited May 9, 2016 by bolt.

[gingersmom]

There are two narrations of Harry Potter (and quite a polarized fan base). I liked Jim Dale, but some hate him.

I just put the Harry Potter on reserve at library (first book). Off to see who the narrator is.

[prairiewindmomma]

David Tennant reads for various audiobooks.   :thumbup1:

[bolt.]

David Tennant reads for various audiobooks. :thumbup1:

Yes. Yes he does. 😻

[Farrar]

In general, I think the author shouldn't read their own book... most author narrations aren't as good, I find. One exception for us was Neil Gaiman, who should definitely do the narration for all his books.

 

I do like Jim Dale, though I loathe his Hermione and that often ruins it for me a bit. I like some of his other books better.

 

Sometimes the narration grows on us as the book goes on. I can't think of any books we've given up only because the narration was bad.

[Entropymama]

In general, I think the author shouldn't read their own book... most author narrations aren't as good, I find. One exception for us was Neil Gaiman, who should definitely do the narration for all his books.

 

I do like Jim Dale, though I loathe his Hermione and that often ruins it for me a bit. I like some of his other books better.

 

Sometimes the narration grows on us as the book goes on. I can't think of any books we've given up only because the narration was bad.

 

 

I'll have to see who read the HPs we just finished. We loved him, and his voices were spot on, except for Hermione. She was dreadful. 

[Outdoorsy Type]

We read Harry Potter at home and wanted to listen to the audiobook on a long car trip. The narrator was awful! All of the "voices" sounded the same (big no-no for us)! And it would jump from whispery-quiet to too-loud a lot, which required a lot of fiddling with volume knobs. We abandoned the audiobook after just a few minutes.

 

We have definitely enjoyed some narrators more than others!

 

That is my favorite narrator, and my current car audio book. It's really funny how different everyone's tastes are. 🙂

[callapidder]

Yes! This has absolutely happened to me. There have been some narrators' voices that are just SO annoying / unbearable. I have found that some are "mildly annoying" and if I stick with it, the overall experience can outweigh the voice, but there are other times when no amount of trying works for me. I just can't continue the book.

[alisoncooks]

We read Harry Potter at home and wanted to listen to the audiobook on a long car trip.  The narrator was awful!  All of the "voices" sounded the same (big no-no for us)!  And it would jump from whispery-quiet to too-loud a lot, which required a lot of fiddling with volume knobs.  We abandoned the audiobook after just a few minutes.

 

We have definitely enjoyed some narrators more than others!

 

Quoting myself, since quite a few seem to have opinions about the HP audiobooks, LOL.

I went back and looked at our library's online catalog; it was Jim Dale that we did not like.  Even our children's librarian said she didn't care for that reading, but that there was another narrator "out there" that did it better. :p :D

[Lakeside]

In general, I think the author shouldn't read their own book... most author narrations aren't as good, I find. One exception for us was Neil Gaiman, who should definitely do the narration for all his books.

 

I do like Jim Dale, though I loathe his Hermione and that often ruins it for me a bit. I like some of his other books better.

 

Sometimes the narration grows on us as the book goes on. I can't think of any books we've given up only because the narration was bad.

Interesting.  I don't listen to a lot of audio books (in part because I'm annoyed by certain voices), but one of the first that I ever remember not being annoyed by was E. B. White reading Charlotte's Web.  Trumpet of the Swan was great too.

 

On the other hand, someone had recommended the audio versions of Bill Bryson's books that he narrated himself.  I listened to the sample and was not a fan. 

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

There is a VERY popular narrator in the homeschooling world whose voice I can't take. I can't listen to him.

I suspect it's the same one I don't enjoy.

 

My kids like his voice just fine.

[kewb]

I am very voice picky. I rarely listen to audio books because of it.

[Guest]

When DS was little, we would get the Beatrix Potter books in audiobook from the library. Oh, how I adored that narrator! The British accent, the use of words like "presently," and "naughty."