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Recommendations for short, dialogue-heavy/description-light audiobooks with lively narrators? (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago by Lowbird@beehaw.org to c/books@lemmy.ml

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I have a lot of time to fill with audio, but audiobooks are challenging for me because I have trouble paying attention consistently enough and processing physical descriptions fast enough to keep up with the narrator. I end up losing my place or having to rewind a lot. Slowing down playback doesn't help/introduces other problems.

I'm also easily put off by narrators that have repetitive quirks (e.g. ending every sentence like it's a question, or doing goofy voices) or that read in such a flat and consistent way that it becomes droning. So my preference, by far, is for narrators who basically act the book like they're in an audio drama or a movie. This seems more often the case for first person books.

On a similar note, audiodramas with full casts and music or sound effects are especially welcome.

I'm looking for something short because that makes it much more likely I'll finish. Long series are fine though if each book ends well, not on cliffhangers.

YA and even middle-grade are fine.

I'll also take "so bad it's good" suggestions.

Scifi and fantasy are my usual go-to's, but I'll take any genre, especially since adult fantasy and scifi usually has too much description for my audiobook tastes.

Horror would be good. Or maybe a comedy? Something gripping. Page-turners.

Basically I just really need something entertaining but snappy and very easy to follow, with a narrator who sounds like they're acting instead of like they're reading a script.

I'm already aware of actual play d&d podcasts - those are sometimes great, but I can get tired od them after a while and I'd like to find more variety/options with this post.

Thank you for any suggestions!

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[–] johnrimbauer@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 year ago

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir if you like sci-fi. D list supervillain by Jim Bernheimer, narrated by Jeffrey Kafer had me riveted which I didn't expect. Max Brooks World War Z unabridged read by the ensemble cast is a solid one as well.

[–] calculuschild@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

If you haven't already, look up Graphic Audio. They make a lot of popular books into audio dramas. It felt a bit cheesy to me the first time but it's grown on me. I find them often on Hoopla or at my library.

"We're Alive" was a pretty fun audio drama that I think started as a podcast, but they edited into more seamless "books". Available as a freebie if you have Audible.

"Impact Winter" is another Audible freebie I think, about Vampires.

Alternatively, you may be interested in the Magnus Archives. It's a podcast with a short horror story in each episode, but all tied together by the researcher who narrates it. Eventually some connections form between the stories but each one is pretty short so you don't need to be super dedicated to the whole podcast if you just want a few stories.

[–] Sharpiemarker@feddit.de 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The Iron Druid Series by Kevin Hearne. The narrator is great, imo.

If you like audiobooks with sound effects, like old television shows, Star Wars the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn is fantastic.

There's also a fan-read version of The Hobbit out there that you can download for free, if you know where to look. And it's great as well.

[–] Lowbird@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hey, I realize this is aaaages after you replied (sorry), but I did eventually dig up that fan-read The Hobbit version and holy crap is it ever something. I'm blown away by it. Thank you!

I'm going to give the Thrawn trilogy a go soon via audiobook, too. :)

[–] Sharpiemarker@feddit.de 1 points 1 year ago

Oh awesome! Glad to hear you're enjoying it 😊. I was impressed as well! If you find any other audiobooks you enjoy, send them my way.

[–] PointsGeek@programming.dev 2 points 1 year ago

The Bobiverse series by Dennis E Taylor. “We are legion, we are Bob” as the first one in the series. Sci-Fi, entertaining, great narration, totally worth a shot. Starts on with one narrator voice, eventually you have a whole cast which while one narrator, are all also different. (Part of the story, believe me, it makes sense to all be the same guy) Think there are 5 books in the series, Ray Porter is the narrator. Does a fantastic job in my opinion anyway.

[–] learnbyexample@programming.dev 2 points 1 year ago

Cradle by Will Wight is a page-turner. 12 book completed series and audio is great based on gushing reviews I've come across.