Once Upon a Time is NOW

                            

Shocking. Compelling. Intriguing. These and other adjectives could be used to describe the impressive rise in popularity of audiobooks, especially among those with “little time to kill.” Now a multi-billion dollar industry growing at a rate faster than print books, audiobooks combine the appeal of skillful storytelling with the freedom to do other things while listening to bestsellers. Things like walking the Swamp Rabbit trail, gardening, cooking, and driving. In any car or truck, there is the radio, of course, with Top 40 tunes and golden oldies playing endlessly amid all those annoying high pressure commercials. But at some point boredom sets in, the mind goes numb, and as the saying goes, a traffic jam is a terrible thing to waste.

     Many more people these days have tried audiobooks than, say, a decade ago, when Audible was newer. It’s now a billion dollar industry with top voice actors making up to $500 per finished hour. Here are some questions to ask. . .

WILL I ENJOY SOMEONE ELSE READING FOR ME?

You will, if you choose carefully or are willing to try new things. You could start with narrators who proved themselves over multiple decades, from the late Frank Muller to Barbara Rosenblat, George Guidall, Grover Gardner, Susan Toren, and Will Patton.

WHERE DO I FIND GOOD READERS?

Reviews are one option, but go to pro reviewers, not disaffected Amazon customers, who often review based on emotions unrelated to the text. The more you listen, the better you’ll appreciate what a voice actor can do to make a story come alive. Some turn it into an audio movie, with multiple readers, sound effects, and occasional transition mood music.

CAN I TRUST MAJOR BESTSELLER LISTS TO FIND A BOOK I’LL LIKE?

Yes and no. If you follow series and have preferred authors, you’ll likely get more of the same. But if you’re adventurous and seek out hidden gems like a good reviewer does, you’ll make discoveries and gain new satisfaction and insight.

WHAT ARE YOUR OWN HIDDEN GEMS?

There are many. If you like mystery, try James Lee Burke as read by Will Patton. Called the best living novelist by critics, Burke doesn’t do cliches. “He squealed like a stuck pig” would never occur to him. You’ll be squealing in delight and awe if he hear Purple Cane Road or Sunset Limited read by the perfect New Orleans accent. Or try Ross MacDonald. His “Sleeping Beauty” includes a full cast, with the likes of Harris Yulin, Ed Asher, and Stacy Keach. It has nothing to do with the fairy tale, other than a dream gone wrong. Rosenblat reads the Elizabeth Peters historical Egyptian mysteries. Actor Richard Poe reads Steinbeck, Cormac McCarthy, and Dan Brown. Emily Rankin reads “Before We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate, set in Aiken, SC. Eckhart Tolle reads The Power of Now, which inspired my own recent “The Final Plot of Valerie Lott.” Alice Blanchard’s tornado suspense “The Breathtaker,” as read by actor Peter Coyote, will take your own breath away for originality! These are just a few of the classic audiobooks you’ve probably yet to discover.

Here’s a couple new releases:

SHUTTER by Ramona Emerson is read by Charley Flyte. It’s an odd novel, well written but more of a literary title than a thriller. It’s about a Navajo photographer named Rita who works for the Albuquerque NM police department. She sees some of the victims, and hopes to take their pictures but can’t. She doesn’t believe in God, but she believes in ghosts. The writing is superb, but can sidestep into personal matters since it’s written in the first person. She was discriminated against as a child, and learned to take photographs as an escape. Each chapter title is another brand of camera. She says at one point that she remembered upsetting her parents by never crying, just laying there staring upward, so they never knew when she was asleep or might be dead. She has an affinity to the dead, and one in particular is with her from beginning to end. Will it all be resolved in a followup novel? We shall see. Or rather hear. Charley Flyte is an excellent narrator, who captures the wordy images with a snap for each shot. 

Never thought I’d hear a book about aging that revealed so many things others hadn’t.  Not only do you learn which vitamins and supplements work and which don’t, but the interactions and reasons behind the confusion. Drug and hormone and stem cell research therapies aid the overall understanding needed to negotiate the sea of products and opinions out there, dazzling and blinding at the same time. What do you really need? A cogent, deciplined approach to the subject of aging survival geared to outsmart diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and dementia. Narrated by the always engaging LJ Ganser, CHEATING DEATH by Dr. Rand McClain is a must hear for everyone over fifty looking to beat the odds stacked against us all. Diet, exercise, and prevention, plus modern science testing and monitoring plus treatments add up to little if you don’t comprehend the big picture. Here is that moving picture. Rated GPG, meaning Grand Parents Guidance. 

Other recommended titles for first timers:

ANGELS FLIGHT by Michael Connelly, read by Burt Reynolds. Follow detective Harry Bosch through the seedy side of L.A. as he investigates a racially motivated murder.

HEARTWOOD by James Lee Burke, read by Will Patton. All of Burke’s books are masterpieces, including Sunset Limited, Cimarron Rose, Dixie City Jam, Heaven’s Prisoners, and Cadillac Jukebox. Best of all, narrator Patton is the perfect choice to read the series, capturing both the southern Louisiana accent and the very persona of detective-turned-bait-store-operator Dave Robicheaux to perfection.

VERTICAL RUN by Joseph Garber, read by Stephen Lang. Similar to the plot of the movie Diehard, the suspense never stops.

CARPOOL by Mary Cahill is a witty suburban housewife mystery.  In it, Jenny Meade comes across a corpse swinging from a tree during her hectic driving schedule. . . and gets a chance to fly again after being chased by criminals to the airport.  Read by Barbara Rosenblat and John R. Jones.  Another Recorded Books title you might rent is DRIVING FORCE by Dick Francis, read by Simon Prebble.  It’s a trucking company tale with plenty of action and intrigue. 

24 HOURS by Greg Iles is read by Dick Hill. When a young girl is kidnapped, her parents can’t go to the police. Hill deserves every accolade for his performance of a terrified child alone in the woods with a cell phone. If you have kids of your own, this is a story you’ll be thanking me and cursing me at the same time for steering you to. . . because all your fingernails will be gone by the end.  

Winner of an Audie for best unabridged fiction, THE BREAKER by Kit Denton will remind you of the movie Breaker Morant, and tells the story of Harry Morant, a tragic but charismatic adventurer who was executed in 1902 for the purported murder of civilians in the Boer War.  Flawlessly performed by Terence Donovan, every nuance and dialect is captured in this sweeping, compelling audiobook which takes the listener to Australia, South Africa, and beyond.  

Another Audie winner, and also titled THE BREAKER, is a mystery by Minette Walters, read by Robert Powell, about the investigation of a woman’s rape and murder.  You should know that this title beat out more popular titles by the likes of Grisham and company for the honor. Why? Because “popular” rarely means “best” anymore. Another title to look for at Chivers is A STAB IN THE DARK by Lawrence Block, superbly read by William Roberts. 

Michael Somers has returned to the Pacific Northwest to uncover secrets from his past.  No one trusts him because of a night of violence perpetrated by him years ago.  Then he rescues a wounded falcon, and while nursing it to health, befriends a lonely boy who hasn’t spoken a word since witnessing his father’s death in a hunting accident.  Now they face a hunter again, as they prepare to release the falcon back into the wild.  A first novel by Stuart Harrison, THE SNOW FALCON is about redemption and healing, and takes its lesson from nature itself.  Another excellent read by talented Dick Hill.

A romance with adventure in the mix by the author of Rebecca, here is the story of a pirate who wins the heart of Lady St. Columb in 17th Century England.  Read by a masterful English actor, John Castle, FRENCHMAN'S CREEK by Daphne du Maurier will be of particular interest to women tired of the empty soap operas seen on television.

ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac, read by Alexander Adams. This beatnik novel is a classic travelogue about self discovery. Alexander Adams is the pseudonym of the incredible Grover Gardner.

THE ENDURANCE by Caroline Alexander is read by Michael Tezler and Martin Ruben, and in it Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic expedition is chroniclized.  An Audie Award winner as well, this true story has the feel of an epic. Also from Highbridge is THE KILLER ANGELS by Michael Shaara, read by George Hearn. The definitive Civil War novel, true to history, and grand in scale. 

GOD IS MY BROKER by Christopher Buckley, read by Mark Linn Baker.  A funny comic novel about a Wall Street broker who becomes a monk. 

{Jonathan Lowe has been a reviewer and author interviewer for 30 years. From Greenville and Tucsoo, he is author of the new title “CAT ON A COLD TIN ROOF,” read by Geoff Sturtevant.}