<p>I am looking at a couple of long drives in the near future and am thinking about trying an audiobook. (Yes, I have never listened to an audiobook before.) Are there particular rules about what kinds of books lend themselves to good audiobooks?</p>
<p>You can download them from your library to your ipod, works great, though I have library cards from the last 4 places we have lived and some libraries have a much bigger library than others.</p>
<p>You can also check out CD books from the library to give it a try. I find I like scary/suspenseful books, but Clan of the Cave Bear was great when I was recovering from surgery. Big huge complex books would be tough if you had not read them previously, like COTCB and we listened to a big James Clavell book last drive. About every half hour I had to stop it and make sure my husband was following all the ins & outs.</p>
<p>Most libraries let you take out 5 at a time, but will have wait lists for many. You download them, not to itunes, but a WMA program, then transfer them to your ipod, they never go in itunes. After the checkout time (7-14-21 days) they are deleted from your WMA program.</p>
<p>You are in for a treat! By all means go the library route. A bit of browsing (in person or on line) will surely uncover a number of titles you might try. Whatever genre you like in book form is likely fine in audio. If you like nonfiction or have something you might want to learn more about, look for The Teaching Company lectures (although my library system is mostly buying DVD’s now, which don’t lend themselves to driving, exercising, and the like. Have fun!</p>
<p>I like mystery audiobooks with characters that the reader can read with a different voice. Amelia Peabody mysteries (by Elizabeth Peters) and Hamish MacBeth mysteries (by MC Beaton) work really well. </p>
<p>Audiobooks really make the time fly!</p>
<p>I recommend Moby Dick. Years and years ago I remember reading the book. It seemed excessively long. Somehow all the details seem a lot more interesting when you just listen. </p>
<p>Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, especially some of Twain’s shorter works, are very good on audio.</p>
<p>I am amazed at the different voices for the various characters, sometimes I find myself not thinking about the story, but pondering how the reader can keep all the voices straight</p>
<p>An excellent audiobook is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. [Amazon.com:</a> Outlander (9780788712982): Diana Gabaldon, Davina Porter: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Outlander-Diana-Gabaldon/dp/0788712985/ref=tmm_abk_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1295878443&sr=8-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Outlander-Diana-Gabaldon/dp/0788712985/ref=tmm_abk_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1295878443&sr=8-1) The reader is just wonderful. This is a series with 7 books. I did the first one as an audiobook on a 7 hour drive to my son’s college. I got home and immediately checked out part 2 and then the book as well. I found myself sticking the CD in for the 10 minute ride to and from work and then reading the book at home. There is more sex then I like to hear about but the story is well done, great character development, dialogue and descriptions. Wonderful winter series.</p>
<p>I would only go to a library for audiobooks. They are way too expensive to buy for a one-time listen. See if you can get an extended check-out. My library (I work there) does a vacation loan where the renewal is built into the original check out and you can therefore get a 6 week check out.</p>
<p>Another important audio book tip - ALWAYS get at least two books. If the first one is a dud, then you are stuck with nothing. I would highly suggest that if you choose Moby Dick. ;)</p>
<p>somemom, you might be interested in this video interview with Davina Porter who reads the Outlander series who kathiep recommended, as well as many many other books. She describes how she prepares, how she keeps the many voices straight, and other aspects of being a audio book reader. It’s very fascinating. The video is two parts, and you can find it on youtube under these titles:</p>
<p>Ageless TV interviews Davina & Gus Porter 1 of 2
Davina & Gus Porter 2 of 2</p>
<p>Thanks, those were interesting viewing.</p>
<p>I never had an ipod until this summer and now I keep mine stocked with audiobooks. One thing I learned is that I cannot always recall which order I downloaded the books, I do use multiple sites depending on availability. When the WMA dashboard forces a delete, you can still finish it on your ipod before deleting.</p>
<p>Love audio books. I tend to listen to books that I want to revisit. I either check the cd’s out from the library or download directly from the library.</p>
<p>Recommendations:</p>
<p>To Kill a Mockingbird - read by Sissy Spacek (I listened to the cds on a long drive. Truly hated to stop the car.)</p>
<p>I downloaded the following directly to my iPod.</p>
<p>Little Women - I forgot how long Little Women is. I need to download this one again for a long drive. Listening while walking didn’t work out for me. </p>
<p>Anne of Green Gables - Thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this classic. No wonder I loved it growing up.</p>
<p>Sherlock Holmes’ selections - Perfect for listening and completing in shorter times of frame.</p>
<p>The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Another trip down memory lane that I enjoyed.</p>
<p>Just started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - It has multiple readers and I think I’m going to love listening to this one. From Publishers Weekly:</p>
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<p>More recommendations:
The Gates of Fire, by Pressfield, read by Derek Jacobi
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke (very long)
The No. 1 Ladies’ Dectective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith–particularly well read.
The Harry Potter books, read by Jim Dale.
I also agree that the Teaching Company lectures are good. The music lectures are particularly good. Lectures from the competitor, The Modern Scholar, are also good.</p>
<p>I can download audio books from my local library and do so when I’m going on a long car trip. I usually try and get books that I have on my reading list. I also started to listen to classics that I’d read long ago. I found that many of the classics I didn’t care for earlier caught my interest when I heard someone read them. For example, I remember that I hated Hemmingway’s The Sun Also Rises. Listened to an audio version (read by William Hurt) and I completely changed my view. I went on and listened to almost all of Hemmingway’s works. My book group choice a few years ago was Reading Lolita in Tehran. I just couldn’t get into the book–got an audio version and found that it was much easier to listen to it than to read it. I also listen to NPR podcasts of This American Life and a few other programs–they’re short and you don’t end up sitting in the car because you want to hear more of the book!</p>
<p>I listen to probably 2 a month in the car. I suggest picking something relatively fast-paced, and without very complex language which is sometimes hard to follow. Generally I listen a little “lighter” than I read. My favorites from last year: The Help and Cutting for Stone.</p>
<p>Love audio books. I have a long commute and coupled with driving the kids around, I listen to a lot of them. If you read HP with your kids (I assume you are a parent) and liked it, try the HP audio version. Jim Dale does a great job. If you like chick lit try Tara Road by Maeve Binchy. If you are into scifi, The Harry Dresden series is good. Someone mentioned Outlander, be prepared to get sucked in! </p>
<p>You might want to borrow a couple different books in case you don’t like the first. Let us know what you get and how you like it.</p>
<p>If you like old time radio dramas and mysteries, get on iTunes, go to podcasts, and look up Old Time Radio. You can download lots of these, all for free, but you have to listen to a commercial at the beginning, read by the show host. They are short, and light. You could listen to one on the way to work, or a short drive.</p>
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<p>Especially nice so that you can get the pronunciations of the names and places down!</p>
<p>I use the library, audible.com, and podcasts at the itunes store…lots of great discussions, courses, newspapers and the like! Once you start your hooked.</p>
<p>I am heavily into audio books quite by chance after renting a car that had XM radio enabled and I started getting daily fixes during my commute. My suggestion to you is to check out your library and get multiple books in different genres. The most popular on radio seem to be mysteries such as by Tess Gerritsen (liked the Bone Garden) or Lee Child, but I was surprised by the variety - such as one that discussed the back-room maneuverings of the Apollo astronauts who were jockeying to be the first one out. What I’ve discovered that I don’t like are the abridged 4 CD versions rather than the 9-10 CD full novels. Also you may want to base your selection on the ages of the others in the car. Some, such as the Robert B Parker books have generous adult language and content.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the suggestions. One logistical question, though: How do you play downloaded audiobooks in the car?</p>
<p>I play stuff in my car by using a cable to my iPod–not all cars have a jack, but there are other ways, such as a little FM transmitter that connects to your iPod (which works, but not as well).</p>