A Few Good Voices

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Audio books have really become the rage in the book world these days, and I am all on board with that. William Kent Krueger, for instance, has a novella coming out in March, THE LEVEE, as an Audible exclusive, and will be here to tell us about it!

Humans have been listening to stories, after all, much longer than we've been reading them, and I think the act of listening satisfies on some basic subconscious level. Some of our readers, however, have expressed reluctance to embrace audio books, and I will confess that it has been a sort of slow blossoming for me, but now I listen as much, if not more, than I read print. If you're just dipping your toes into audio books, you might start with listening to something well-loved, so that you can settle into the rhythm, enjoy the characters, and not feel impatient to get on with the plot. Jim Dale's wonderful narration of the Harry Potter books is a great introduction.

Also, if you're reluctant to add the regular Audible subscription to your monthly expenses, there are other sources that don't require it, including libraries and Chirp, which has great deals daily. 

And then there's the matter of choosing narrators. This is so subjective! A voice that is honey to one person's ears may be vinegar to another's! Good voice acting requires a huge amount of skill. It's not just getting the tone and accents right. For me, one of the biggest factors is whether the narrator can make characters of the other gender sound believable, and some narrators are masters at this. I always listen to the sample before I buy an audio book.

Here are a few narrators that I think are outstanding:

I have to begin with my lovely Gerard Doyle, who reads my books (also as Michael Deehy, so don't be confused) as well as Mick Herron's Slow Horses series and Adrian McKinty's books, among others. Gerard won an Audie (the audio book version of the Oscar) for his reading of my novel IN A DARK HOUSE.

Then there's Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who reads Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London books. I am in love with this man's voice, it's that simple. I could listen to him all day, and often let him read me to sleep. He's a very talented stage and screen actor--you may have seen him most recently as the angel Balthamos in the His Dark Materials series.

James Langton, who reads Charles Finch's Charles Lennox books, as well as Elly Griffith's Midnight Men series (except for the most recent one) is so good.

I've been listening to more female narrators recently, so here are a few I've really liked. 

You cannot beat Julia Whelan, oh my goodness, she is amazing, and her narration of her own novel, THANK YOU FOR LISTENING, was one of the highlights of the year for me.

Elizabeth Jasicki, Evie Dunmore's narrator, is terrific.

Davina Porter reads the Outlander series, brilliant.

Ditto Jennifer Ikeda who reads Deborah Harkness's books.

Victoria Fox is great, too, and I love her narration of Julie Caplin's books.

And at the moment I'm listening to January LaVoy reading Alix E. Harrow's THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY and she is excellent. She reads Nora Roberts' THE HIDEAWAY (among other Nora Roberts books,) which is about an audiobook narrator and I'm going to have to indulge in that even though I've read the book.

And now I'm turning you over to our wonderful back-blogger Judy Singer, who is just as big an audio nut as I am! 

JUDY: I always listen to the sample before I buy the book. Some voices may be music to someone else’s ears, but I am careful to listen first and decide for myself.

Talented Narrators:

Men:

Shane East: British accent, sexiest voice ever, reads lots of romances especially Louise Bay

Gerard Doyle: Versatile British accents, reads Deborah Crombie’s series

Titus Welliver: American actor in Bosch series, reads a few of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch books

Jim Dale: British accent, reads Harry Potter; just a pleasure to listen to him read those books

Scott Brick: American, reads Janet Evanovich-Lee Goldberg Fox and O’Hare

Zachary Webber: American, great voice, reads lots of romances

Andrew Eiden: American, reads Wait for It by Jenn McKinlay. Really good voice!

Jason Clarke: American, great voice

Sebastian York: American, great voice

James Langton: British accent, reads Elly Griffiths’ Brighton Mysteries.

 

Women:

Andi Arndt: American, reads lots of romances, girl next door voice

Angele Masters: Versatile British accents, great with male voices and distinct voices for different characters, reads Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell

Elizabeth Jasicki: reads Evie Dunmore’s series, outstanding voice!

Amanda Ronconi: American accents, New York, New Jersey reads E. J. Copperman’s ghosts series

Barrie Kreinik: American, excels in European and British accents, good male voices; read Rhys’s The Venice Sketchbook.

Allyson Ryan: American, lots of good accents, versatile, reads Jenn’s Library Lovers and her Bluff Point series.

These are just a few of the terrific narrators I have encountered. I am very fussy about an accent if it is one I would recognize, like New York versus Boston. Please don’t mix them up! But generally, I couldn’t tell the difference between the Southern American states’ accents or any of the English accents so that is something you will have to decide for yourselves. If you expect to hear New Orleans and it is Alabama and that bothers you…

DEBS: So many great suggestions, Judy! Readers, do you have any favorite narrators to share? We'd love to expand the listening community!