Top Ten Audiobooks
I’m so excited for this week’s freebie Top Ten Tuesday, guys. I LOVE listening to audiobooks, mostly because it means that I can read while I drive to and from work so it’s BONUS READING TIME. I’ve been listening to audiobooks now for a few years, but I was hesitant at first to start listening to them because I had some meh experiences with full cast audiobooks. Once I discovered single-narrator audiobooks, however, I was ALL OVER IT and have had the good fortune of experiencing some of my favorite books by listening to them. These are ten of my favorites–not just because I love the books themselves, but because the narrators are top-notch.
The Kingkiller Chronicle series | Narrated by: Nick Podehl
Guys. Nick Podehl is an AMAZING audiobook narrator. His voice is his like honeyed smoke; it has a great timbre. I could listen to him narrate almost anything. (I say “almost” because I did listen to one book he narrated, but it was boring. Not his fault.) I’ve never actually read Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle in print, and that’s thanks to the stellar narration of Nick Podehl. He’s been the only voice of Kvothe that I’ve ever known, and I hope you all know how much I heart Kvothe.
THE NIGHT CIRCUS | Narrated by: Jim Dale
Sooo…Jim Dale is probably best known for narrating the Harry Potter audiobooks. Which I have never listened to. I know, I know. It’s a THING that I really want to do soon. But I ESPECIALLY want to do it now because of the magical, mysterious vibe he brought the the audiobook of THE NIGHT CIRCUS. He made the Cirque du Reves real to me, and made it sound like a fairy tale.
THE SCORPIO RACES | Narrated by: Steve West and Fiona Hardingham
I’m not sure if people know this, but THE SCORPIO RACES is probably one of my favorite books. I don’t really talk about it. *sarcasm* I’d already read this book a few times in print before some friends told me that the audiobook was FANTASTIC and so I checked it out. They were soooo right. Steve West has maybe the best voice I’ve ever heard, and Fiona Hardingham is a great Puck. They make this amazing book even better, which is hard to do as far as I’m concerned.
The Raven Cycle series | Narrated by: Will Patton
Maggie Stiefvater gets the good narrators, guys! I know that not everyone likes Will Patton’s narration of this series, but I dig it. Henrietta is such an atmospheric place, and the creepy country vibe goes perfectly with Will Patton’s rough drawl. I’m a big fan.
Mistborn series | Narrated by: Michael Kramer
I’ve got one book left in this original trilogy, but I’m not slacking because of any fault in the audiobook. I’m surprised at how many books on this list are books that I’ve never read in print because I always had this impression that the bulk of my audiobooking was for rereads, but this series is yet another that I’ve only ever listened to. Michael Kramer has this really deep, powerful voice. It’s really perfect in tone for this series. Strong, clipped, epic.
Leviathan series | Narrated by: Alan Cumming
OMG Alan Cumming is one of my favorite narrators. FAVORITE. His narration of this series is AMAZING. The voices he does are wonderful, his inflections are wonderful, EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL. I was hesitant to dive into this series because sometimes me + steampunk does not equal love. But Alan Cumming hooked me in from the very beginning, and now this series is one of my favorites. Can’t recommend this one enough.
HEIR OF FIRE | Narrated by: Elizabeth Evans
I’m listening to this right now, and the only reason that I don’t have the whole series listed here is because I’m listening out of order and haven’t heard books 1 and 2 yet. But they’re all narrated by Elizabeth Evans, who’s got a great, clear voice. Her accents are sometimes a joke, but she’s eminently listenable. I’m going to enjoy listening to the other books in this series.
ELEANOR & PARK | Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra
SIGH. These two do such an outstanding job narrating the voices of Eleanor and Park. They’re completely captivating and intense. This story is so, so special and so starkly lovely, and Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra bring all of that to their narration. It’s excellent.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone series | Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
This is one of my favorite series, and an example of my reread via audio trend. Khristine Hvam has a clear voice that isn’t too–excuse, because this is going to sound SO GROSS–wet (VOM), which is really important to me. Because, like I said, IT’S GROSS. I’ll take Karou and Akiva in any format I can get them, and the audiobook is fantastic. I especially love her Zuzanna. GREAT accent.
The Bone Season series | Narrated by: Alana Kerr
This series was a little daunting to me, so I held off on reading it for a while, but I’m glad that I went with the audiobook. I really like Alana Kerr. I like her accent; it’s Irish, just like Paige Mahoney’s would be. She just has a really captivating voice.
Gentlemen Bastards series | Narrated by: Michael Page
I LOVE Michael Page’s narration of this series. The humor in these books is one of my favorite things, and whenever Locke and Jean swear vibrantly at one another, Michael Page really conveys the joy these characters find in being vulgar. I just really love the way he narrates the dialogue and brings Locke and Jean in particular to life.
You know, I’ve never been a big fan of audio books, but after reading this blogpost I might have to try them. 🙂
Haha. I did a favorite audiobooks post today too. And it was SOOO difficult to narrow it down. I actually really enjoy Full Cast Audio productions. Oh and I SOOO agree about The Scorpio Races!!!! Steve West’s voice is AMAZING.
Bronson Pinchot. Seriously. He is amazing.
Great list! I’m a big fan of the Kingkiller Chonicles, the Mistborn trilogy, and the Leviathan trilogy. I like Elizabeth Evans narration the Throne of Glass series. I know a few people don’t like how she makes them seem too conceited. But my all-time favorites are the Reckoners trilogy which is narrated by MacLeod Andrews who is amazing and Ready Player One which is narrated by Wil Wheaton. Also The Martian is really good. ALL THE AUDIO ALL THE TIME!
I love audiobooks and will have to add a few of the ones you’ve listed to my ever growing wishlist!!
OMG I didn’t know that Jim Dale narrated The Night Circus!!! I’ve been so tempted to listen to the audio for this book and now I’m sold.
I’m not a fan of audiobooks – I get too distracted – but my husband loves them! About the only way I can get him to finish a book lol My TTT
Great TTT!! I have tried two audiobooks and I just, ugh idk, I have a hard enough time with podcasts sometimes LOL but I definitely would love to try E&P’s audiobook! That sounds good and i do really love that book a lot…that might help 🙂
Also your graphic of the headphones over the cover art is gorgeous!! the tie-dye is really cool! love it
The only audiobooks I’ve ever listened to are the ones for the Throne of Glass series (all 4 that are out!). I really enjoyed them, as I think Elizabeth Evans captures Celaena perfectly 🙂 But I spy a few on here that I’ve been meaning to try (and they’d all be rereads) – The Scorpio Races, The Raven Boys + Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Thanks for putting together such an awesome list of suggestions, Amy!
I’ve been hearing so many great things about the audio for Mistborn that if I ever reread it I guess I’ll have to do it with audio! Great post. 🙂