This is a long road with nothing to listen to
July 22, 2016 3:37 PM Subscribe
Asking for a friend, who's doing the Portland<>LA trip next month. She's looking for some plot driven audiobooks (i.e. without much purpleness). In particular, she's looking for CDs so she can keep her phone away and is trending towards some noir-ish, detective-y books. She's read Sherlock and I was considering recommending The Monster of Florence as you all seem to like that a bit.
Besides, detective fiction, she has a wide range of genres she's interested in. Some fantasy, for instance. I was going to recommend some Hammett or Chandler and, perhaps, Eco or Calvino but they may run afoul of her emphasis on a driving plot. What have you had luck with that we may not be thinking of?
Also, browsing Amazon they're really pushing their Audible audiobooks and not CD. Is it practical to, say, use Amazon's Audible service and record those to CD? For that matter, where should we be looking for digital audiobooks?
Besides, detective fiction, she has a wide range of genres she's interested in. Some fantasy, for instance. I was going to recommend some Hammett or Chandler and, perhaps, Eco or Calvino but they may run afoul of her emphasis on a driving plot. What have you had luck with that we may not be thinking of?
Also, browsing Amazon they're really pushing their Audible audiobooks and not CD. Is it practical to, say, use Amazon's Audible service and record those to CD? For that matter, where should we be looking for digital audiobooks?
I really enjoyed Foucault's Pendulum (written by Umberto Eco and read by Tim Curry) as an audio book. I see Tim Curry has also recorded Ruth Rendell's Portobello and her books are great.
posted by crush-onastick at 3:48 PM on July 22, 2016
posted by crush-onastick at 3:48 PM on July 22, 2016
You can buy audiobooks on iTunes.
The Martian is a great audiobook. The guy who recorded it won an "Audie" award. I just love the way he reads it! It's very plot-driven (in fact, there is not much character development).
posted by radioamy at 4:29 PM on July 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
The Martian is a great audiobook. The guy who recorded it won an "Audie" award. I just love the way he reads it! It's very plot-driven (in fact, there is not much character development).
posted by radioamy at 4:29 PM on July 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
Does she have a library card? The library definitely has books on CD!
posted by bookworm4125 at 4:44 PM on July 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by bookworm4125 at 4:44 PM on July 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
You know, I wasn't that crazy about the Monster of Florence, and I don't think it would be so great as an audiobook. YMMV
I'm linking to audible because that's how I get my audiobooks.
I LOVED Louise Doughty's Apple Tree Yard, read by Juliet Stevenson. It's interesting and suspenseful and so well read!
If she liked the tv show Lost, she would almost certainly like 14, by Peter Clines.
If she's never read Presumed Innocent, it's fantastic and 15+ hours, AND it's read by Edward Hermann!
posted by janey47 at 4:55 PM on July 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm linking to audible because that's how I get my audiobooks.
I LOVED Louise Doughty's Apple Tree Yard, read by Juliet Stevenson. It's interesting and suspenseful and so well read!
If she liked the tv show Lost, she would almost certainly like 14, by Peter Clines.
If she's never read Presumed Innocent, it's fantastic and 15+ hours, AND it's read by Edward Hermann!
posted by janey47 at 4:55 PM on July 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
* Burn season one of SERIAL to CD.
* If they're a Game of Thrones fan, HARDCORE GAME OF THRONES from Howl.fm -- though there I think you can't download and have to use the phone.
posted by gerryblog at 4:55 PM on July 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
* If they're a Game of Thrones fan, HARDCORE GAME OF THRONES from Howl.fm -- though there I think you can't download and have to use the phone.
posted by gerryblog at 4:55 PM on July 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'd say go with Raymond Chandler. I re-read the Marlowe novels every couple of years and they are paced so well that even knowing the story inside out, they really don't get old. In this case you also get the added bonus of them being set in/around LA. The Big Sleep is usually what I see recommended as an intro but I personally prefer The Long Goodbye.
posted by feloniousmonk at 5:29 PM on July 22, 2016
posted by feloniousmonk at 5:29 PM on July 22, 2016
Best answer: Oh yeah Season 1 of Serial would be great for road trips!
Also yeah, I didn't like Monster of Florence that much either. On the noir front, I bet The Thin Man would be a great audiobook.
Also if she likes humor, David Sedaris's audiobooks are soooo funny. He reads them really well.
Definitely see what the library has, that's a great idea!
posted by radioamy at 6:04 PM on July 22, 2016
Also yeah, I didn't like Monster of Florence that much either. On the noir front, I bet The Thin Man would be a great audiobook.
Also if she likes humor, David Sedaris's audiobooks are soooo funny. He reads them really well.
Definitely see what the library has, that's a great idea!
posted by radioamy at 6:04 PM on July 22, 2016
A couple fantasy-sorry-not-detective suggestions...
The Harry Potter books are light-ish enough to not be too distracting, and the narrator, Jim Dale, is stupendously great. I'd recommend them even if she's read them in the past, as I think she'll find listening to them a whole different experience.
Many of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are available on audio, and they too have a wonderful narrator. My only hesitation in suggesting them is that I'm not sure how well laughing and driving would mix.
Most decent-sized libraries should have a good selection of these on CD.
posted by ClingClang at 8:38 PM on July 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
The Harry Potter books are light-ish enough to not be too distracting, and the narrator, Jim Dale, is stupendously great. I'd recommend them even if she's read them in the past, as I think she'll find listening to them a whole different experience.
Many of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are available on audio, and they too have a wonderful narrator. My only hesitation in suggesting them is that I'm not sure how well laughing and driving would mix.
Most decent-sized libraries should have a good selection of these on CD.
posted by ClingClang at 8:38 PM on July 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
I listened to most of The Goldfinch on my last trip with a car.
posted by brujita at 8:38 PM on July 22, 2016
posted by brujita at 8:38 PM on July 22, 2016
Seconding The Goldfinch--I found it compelling. The narrator of the audiobook is very good, too.
Also--The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell.
And The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:40 PM on July 22, 2016
Also--The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell.
And The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:40 PM on July 22, 2016
Response by poster: D'oh! The library, a-doy. Thank you everyone for your suggestions.
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 11:00 PM on July 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 11:00 PM on July 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I recently listened to "The Long Goodbye" while driving cross-country. Chandler was a great narrative for a road trip, highly recommended.
"The Man Who Was Thursday" by G.K. Chesterton is an excellent detective mystery, with philosophy and politics between the plot twists.
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith is good, and the writing is really straightforward, making it easy to follow if the driving is distracting.
Unless Audible has changed recently, their material is all DRM'd, making it difficult to burn to cd.
The library is my first choice, and other's have also mentioned the itunes store.
For other non-DRM options, Downpour, Tantor Audiobooks, and Telltale Weekly all offer DRM-free options, though I haven't used them personally. Librivox offers all non-DRM all free classics in public domain, thought the quality of narration varies as the readers are all volunteer.
posted by ethical_caligula at 7:08 AM on July 23, 2016
"The Man Who Was Thursday" by G.K. Chesterton is an excellent detective mystery, with philosophy and politics between the plot twists.
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith is good, and the writing is really straightforward, making it easy to follow if the driving is distracting.
Unless Audible has changed recently, their material is all DRM'd, making it difficult to burn to cd.
The library is my first choice, and other's have also mentioned the itunes store.
For other non-DRM options, Downpour, Tantor Audiobooks, and Telltale Weekly all offer DRM-free options, though I haven't used them personally. Librivox offers all non-DRM all free classics in public domain, thought the quality of narration varies as the readers are all volunteer.
posted by ethical_caligula at 7:08 AM on July 23, 2016
Definitely your library. If they don't have what your friend wants, they can get it on interlibrary loan, usually in a few days if it's available locally. And don't be afraid of a too-short lending period. Your friend can ask for a "vacation loan" and the library will extend their normal lending time.
posted by Joleta at 4:24 PM on July 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Joleta at 4:24 PM on July 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
John LeCarre's The Mission Song gripped me like a pliers. It's narrated by David Oyelowo, who does an outstanding job of embodying the many characters and accents without getting in the way of the story.
posted by Jesse the K at 1:55 PM on July 24, 2016
posted by Jesse the K at 1:55 PM on July 24, 2016
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