"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Monday, April 24, 2023

TTT: Favorite audiobook narrators


Top Ten Tuesday:  Favorite audiobook narrators. This is a reprise from 2019 when I selected this topic for a TTT Freebie week. (If you don't like listening to audiobooks, give these readers a try and see if they help change your mind.)

1. Tom Hanks. I've listened twice to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, read by Hanks. His narration mades the listening experience wonderful. Here is a list of books and samples of his narration on audiobooks. 

2. Stephen Fry. A humorous reader. Fry is a perfect narrators for funny books.  One of my favorites is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Here is a list and samples of his books.

3. Bill Bryson. Bryson writes nonfiction. If he narrates his own audiobooks expect to be entertained. He has comedic timing which makes the experience quite humorous. Note the books on the list that are narrated by Bryson. My favorites: In a Sunburned Country; A Walk in the Woods; Shakespeare; A Short History of Nearly Everything.

4. Jayne Entwistle. Entwistle has a unique voice, though she is an adult her voice makes her sound younger so she is a perfect narrator for teen characters. I first heard her reading the Flavia Du Luce series by Alan Bradley. I also enjoyed her narration of The Lovely War. Here is a list of her body of work.

5. Tim Curry. I fell in love with Tim Curry when he acted in Rocky Horror Picture Show but that love was renewed when I heard him read the Abhorsen/Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. He was too ill to read the last book in that series and I missed his narration a lot. Here is his a list of his body of work.

6. Jim Dale. The award-winning narrator of The Harry Potter series. Another favorite narrated by Dale is The Night Circus. His work is mesmerizing. Here is a list of his other works.

7. Bahni Turpin. Ms. Turpin has recently become one of my favorite narrators after I listened to The Underground Railroad by Whitehead; Children of the Blood and Bone by Adeyemi; and The Hate U Give by Thomas. Turpin is very versatile. Check out her list of narrations.

8. Will Patton. Will Patton is perhaps by favorite of all favorites. His voice is so deep and growl-y. He has a large catalog of works but my favorite of these is his narration on The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. Be sure to listen to a sample here. 

9. Julia Whelan. Whelan has recently come to my attention through her work on Educated; Far From the Tree; and The Great AloneShe has a large body of work to choose from.

10. Adjoa Andoh. I first became aware of her through her narration of The Girl with the Louding Voice. Here is a sample.

11. Bill Homewood. Homewood narrated the 52+ hours of the audiobook of  The Count of Monte Cristo. His mastery of French made the experience so realistic. Here is a short sample.

12. Edward Herrman. He narrated two of my favorite nonfiction books: Unbroken and The Boys in the Boat. Sadly he is no longer with us so he will no longer be able to thrill us with hew material. (See more here.)

Bonus. Narrators who clearly have mastery of English and one or many world languages: Morven Christie (Burial Rites, Icelandic); Bahni Turpin (The Children of Blood and Bone, Nigerian accent); Zach Appelman (All the Light We Cannot See, German and French); and Ilyana Kadushin (Disappearing Earth, Russian).




21 comments:

  1. Ooh I didn't know Tom Hanks had narrated books. I bet that would be fun.

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  2. This is an awesome topic! I'm bookmarking this post for later because these all sound intriguing, but also I have...a lot of thoughts.

    -Julia Whelan is an especially great suggestion because just from a couple of pages, she apparently narrates a TON of books I've had at least a passing interest in.

    -SOMEDAY I will treat my ears to the fabled Jim Dale Harry Potter, something people were talking up long before I ever considered listening to any other audiobook.

    -It particularly tickles me when actors I like do audiobooks (ideally beyond their own memoirs), so I see the appeal of the Tom Hanks suggestion. I'm presently working my way through a number of children's books I would not otherwise have picked up, because David Tennant.

    -Finally: I have limited audiobook experience, but I did really enjoy one read by Cassandra Campbell (Barbara Delinsky's Escape) and one by Emma Galvin (Edan Lepucki's California)

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    1. I considered adding Cassandra Campbell but decided that her narrations always remind me of another book she has narrated.

      I'm glad this list is helpful for you.

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  3. This an awesome topic. I really love Agatha Christie's audiobooks because most of them are narrotored by an actor who plays one of her characters in the tv series based on Hercule Poriot her most detective. I also love Saskia Maarleveld.

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    1. Not sure if I am familiar with Saskia Maarleveld. Looking her up right now....

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  4. I usually don't pay attention to the narrator, which I'm sure is a weakness on my part. I did recognize Bahni Turpin when I was listening to The Underground Railroad. It sounded familiar, and then I realized she did On the Come Up.

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    1. I don't often pay attention to the narrators names until I think about how much I enjoyed their reading. It will usually take me more than one book before I stop and take a look for their name.

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  5. Nice topic! I've never listened to an audio book, but I bet Tom Hanks would be a great narrator. Here is my Top Ten Tuesday.

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    1. I loved listening to Tom Hanks read the Dutch House. What a treat.

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  6. This is such a great post. I know almost nothing about audiobooks, so this seems like a good place to start.

    My TTT.

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    1. Thanks. I am a big fan of audiobooks but admit that the narrator can make or break the experience.

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  7. I don't do audio books, but I'm fascinated with how they match narrators to the works.

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  8. Lot of great narrators on this list! I listen to mostly romance or memoirs. Some of my favorites are Andi Arndt, Sebastian York, and a couple others that are slipping my mind right now!

    My TTT.

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  9. This is such an awesome freebie topic idea!

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  10. Cool post idea! I listen to audiobooks, but I don’t pay much attention to who is narrating. Maybe I should.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  11. I thought Tom Hanks did a good job as Danny with the audiobook of The Dutch House, & always like Bill Bryson's narration too. I also would recommend Marin Ireland's narration of Kevin Wilson's novel "Nothing to See Here" which is a fun listen. Enjoy.

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  12. I don't listen to enough audiobooks to have favorites, but I do love Elizabeth Acevedo's narration of both her novels.

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  13. This is a great list! I didn't know Tom Hanks had done audiobooks but I would love to hear that. Jim Dale and Bahni Turpin are both so great, too!

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  14. Yes, Bahni Turpin is amazing! One of my other favorites is January LaVoy. :)

    Lauren @ Always Me

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  15. I never listen to audio books as a general rule, but those I have heard, I couldn't tell you their names. Glad you have some favorites, and fun to know Tom Hanks narrates some, too. :) Thanks for the visit to Finding Wonderland last week.

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