Friday, January 31, 2014

Audio Readers - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

There are certain audio readers that are really, really outstanding, so not-so-much-so.

Adams, Lee - The Gooney Bird Collection (Lowry)
Ankoh, Adjoa - The White Giraffe (St. John)
Auberjonois, Rene - Two Graves (Preston & Child) read flawlessly, but pretentiously
Bean, Joyce - Once Upon a Day (Tucker) beautifully read
........................The White Mary (Salak)
........................The Art of Mending (Berg)
.........................Shiver (Jackson) some major southern accents goin' on here
.........................Cape Perdido  (Muller) She read two parts and shared the reading with Dick Hill
Berkrot, Peter - The Accident (Barclay) excellent reader
Bramhall, Mark - The Widower's Tale (Glass)
Breck, SusieBloody Mary (Konrath) one of two readers
.........................Whiskey Sour (Konrath) one of two readers-
Bresnahan, Alyssa - The Lace Reader (Barry) great reader
Brick, Scott - The Book of Lies (Meltzer)  Six Years (Coben) don't like the intonations he uses - at all
Burr, Sandra - Sullivan's Law (Rosenberg) did not enjoy this reader (more info in review)
Cabezas, Maria - Maya's Notebook (Allende) loved it - found her voice mesmerizing
........................Half a Chance (Lord) Lovely!
Campbell, Cassandra - The Beach House (Green)
Cariou, Len - Lost Light (Harry Bosch #9) Connelly - very good for this part
.......................The Narrows (Harry Bosch #10)
.......................The Closers (Harry Bosch #11)
Chamberlain, Mike - Spanking Shakespeare (Wizner)
Chandler, DavidBoundary Waters  (Krueger) great reader, wonderful voices and accents
Conger, Eric - Mad River (Sandford) he has definitely become the voice of Virgil Flowers!
....................Rough Country (Sandford)
....................Heat Lightning (Sandford)
....................Bad Blood (Sandford)
....................Dark of the Moon (Sandford)
....................Shock Wave (Sandford)
Corbett, Clare - The Night Ferry (Robotham) enjoyable, lilting British accent
Critt, C. J. - Bean Trees (Kingsolver) okay
Dakin, Kymberly - Wildwater Walking Club (Cook) didn't care for this reader (see review)
Daniels, James The Watchman (Crais) Chasing Darkness (Crais) Thumbs Up! (I like the way he sort of whispers when Joe Pike speaks)
Daniels, Luke - Taken (Crais) Really good reader - but he makes Pike whisper a little too much
Davis, Jonathan - Chasing the Dime (Connelly)
....................The Cutting (Hayman) very decent job
Delaine, Christina - The Night Season (Cain)
....................Kill You Twice (Cain) excellent
....................Let Me Go (Cain) very good
Dillon, Wendy - City of Ember (DuPrau)
Dolan, Amanda Red Queen (Aveyard) splendid!
Early, Kathleen - Criminal (Slaughter) read beautifully
Emond, Linda - Another Thing to Fall (Lippman) excellent reading
..........................Life Sentences (Lippman) excellent reading
Fernandez, Peter J. - City of Bones (Connelly) great reader (musical accompaniment stunk)
Ferrone, Richard - Dead Watch (Sandford) a very good reader, but his voice seemed a little too old and gravelly for this protagonist
Flanagan, Laura - Burned (Hopkins) high marks
Flosnick, Anne - Little Bee (Cleave) incredibly read with three different spot-on accents
.......................The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, The (O'Farrell) beautifully read with Scottish/English accent
Ganim, Peter - The Intercept (Wolf)
Ganser, L. J. - Forced Out (Frey)
Gigante, Phil - Deadly Harvest (Graham) didn't like his Mass. accent (too southern) and the way he depicted women's voices.  Nice voice.
Glenister, Robert - The Cuckoo's Calling (Galbraith) British
Goe, Holly B.Girls' Night Out (Flora) nice job
Goethals, AngelaThe Time Between (White) one of three voices
................................Sisterhood Everlasting (Brashares) excellently read
Graham, Dion - The Circle (Eggers)
...........................The Cut (Pelecanos) read really nicely
Graybill, Christopher - The Book of Names (Gregory & Tintori)
Greenberg, Mitchell - Gun Games (Kellerman) - great reader
Guidall, George - Mercedes Coffin (Kellerman) great reader, wonderful job
..............................Burnt House (Kellerman)
..............................Ser(pent Gate (McGarrity)
Gurley, NanTwisted Innocence okay reader, I could swear I've listened to her before....
Heyborne, KirbyGone Girl (Flynn)
Hicks, Denise - The Island (Hildebrand)
Hill, DickSmall Wars (Child)
....................The Killing Floor (Child)
....................Second Son (Child)
................... Never Go Back (Child)
....................61 Hours (Child)
...................The Affair (Child)
...................The Hard Way (Child)
...................Hawkes Harbor (Hinton) great reading - lots more comments on review
...................Bloody Mary (Konrath) one of two readers
...................Chill of Fear (Hooper)
...................Bad Luck and Trouble (Child)
...................Nothing to Lose (Child)
...................Whiskey Sour (Konrath) one of two readers
....................Blood Work (Connelly)
....................Angels Flight (Connelly)
....................Trunk Music (Connelly)
....................Last Coyote (Connelly)
....................Cape Perdido  (Muller)
....................Dead Time (White)
Hirner, Lara - Opposite of Invisible (Gallagher)
Hoffman, Dominic - Home of the Brave (Applegate) wonderfully read
Hoppe, LincolnSay Goodbye (Gardner) one of two voices
Houck, Linde - Carpe Diem (Cornwell) didn't do great with voices
Hoye, Stephen - The Book of Air and Shadows (Gruber)
..........................Crime of Privilege (Walker) He puts so much of his own personality/reading style into it that it's off putting...he does a fine job, but I don't think I like to listen to him....
Ikeda, Jennifer - The Time Between (White) one of three voices
.............................Leap (Zalben) one of two readers
Jackson, Joshilyn - Between, Georgia (Jackson) she wrote this book and she read it PERFECTLY
............................A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty (Jackson) just fabulous - I LOVE her 'voice'
...........................Girl Who Stopped Swimming, The (Jackson) WOW
...........................Shine Shine Shine (Netzer)- This is a book that she did not write, and I loved her reading!
................................Breaking Dawn (Meyer) Two readers
Kaplan, Neil - The Power of Six (Lore) Reads a sold male voice but has a difficult time reading any other sort of voice - made the other characters sound sillly....
Kaye, Judy - U is for Undertow (Grafton)
.......................T  is for Trespass (Grafton)
.......................S is for Silence (Grafton)
Kellgren, Katherine - Austenland (Hale) mediocre
King, Kevin - Saint (Dekker) Hated the book, enjoyed the reader
King, Lorelei - Finger-Lickin' Fifteen (Evanovich)
.......................Fearless Fourteen (Evanovich)
.......................Lean Mean Thirteen (Evanovich)
.......................Twelve Sharp (Evanovich)
Kingsolver, Barbara - Flight Behavior - read by the author BEAUTIFULLY (love her voice)
Landor, RosalynWeek in Winter, A (Binchy) - lovely Irish accent, changing to others when needed, a great reading which added to the charm of the book
Lane, Christopher - Killer View (Pearson)
Lee, Ann Marie - Say Goodbye (Gardner) one of two voices
Leigh, Madisun - Chains (Anderson)
Leo, Melissa - Dark Tide (Gross)
Lind, Heather - One Kick (Cain) Excellent
Light, Judith Museum of Extraordinary Things, The (Hoffman) one of three voices, definitely a pro
Linari, Nancy - Fragile (Unger)
MacDuffie, Carrington - Buddha in the Attic (Otsuka)
Mantagna, Joe Robert B. Parker's Lullaby (Atkins) (he's become the voice of Spenser/Parker for me)
.............................Bad Business (Parker)
.............................Painted Ladies (Parker)
.............................School Days (Parker)
.............................Rough Weather (Parker)
.............................The Professional (Parker)
Marosz, Jonathan - Drop Shot (Coben) Don't like the way he reads that part of Win
Mazur, Kathe - Last Witness (Hoffman)
McClain, JonathanRunning Blind  (Child) He did a fine job, I'm sure, but it's not the Reacher voice I'm used to (Dick Hill), though given a chance I might enjoy his reading and voice more than Hill's...
McCormick, Carolyn - Evil at Heart (Cain)
....................................Sweetheart (Cain)
....................................Heartsick (Cain)
McDowell, Jane - The Crossing Places (Griffiths) ah, those British pronunciations!  Lovely.
McFadden, Amy - Sanctum (Fine) a really good reader!
McInerney, Kathleen After the Storm  (Castillo)
Merlington, Laural - Unlucky in Law (O'Shaughnessy)
Miles, Robin - The Garden of Burning Sand - great job, nailed a multitude of accents
Miller, Sue - Lake Shore Limited - read by the author
Moore, Natalie - Front and Center (Murdock) (perfect high school girl - love her reading!)
....................Off Season (Murdock) brilliant!
....................Dairy Queen (Murdock) beautifully read
Morris, Cassandra - Eggs (Spinelli) two readers
Morton, Elizabeth - The Testing (Charbonneau) she read the female protagonist nicely, but didn't do as well with the male characters.
Mover, Richard - The Night Stalker (Swain) great job
Musser, Rebecca - The Witness Wore Red (Musser)  read by the author - she has a nice voice but made awkward pauses between words where pauses should not have been
Naughton, James - Stranger in Paradise (Parker)
Nobbs, Keith - The Map Trap  (Clements) excellent!
Osmanski, Joy - The Program (Young) super
Parks, Tom - Anything But Typical (Baskin) beautifully read
Postel, Donna - The Shop (Black) she is a good reader, but she had a weirdish way of saying her s's that sor t of bugged me....
Potter, Kirsten - The Weird Sisters (Brown) great reader, Station Eleven  (Mandel) excellent
Quan, Samantha - Buddha in the Attic (Otsuka)
Paris, Andy Mr. Cooper is Super! (Gutman)  Does a great kid voice as the voice of AJ
Peters, Donada - Sepulchre (Mosse) British accent, French accent so real it's hard to understand the words!
Pittu, David - Maze of Bones; 39 Clues #1 (Riordan) didn't really enjoy this reader
Ramirez, Marisol - The Power of Six (Lore) reads a young teenager's voice perfectly
Raudman, Renee - Sister of Mine (O'Dell)
Reed, Maggi-Meg - Prayers for Sale (Dallas)
Roberts, Tony - Hot Mahogany (Woods) ihh
Rogers, Elizabeth S. - Dark of Day (Parker) beautifully read
Rosenblat, BarbaraJudy Moody, Mood Martian (McDonald)
...............................The Time Between (White) one of three voices
...............................Killer Smile (Scottoline)
Ross, Jonathan Todd Leap (Zalben) one of two readers
Ross, NatalieWhere There's Smoke (Brown) just fine
Rowatt, GrahamBlood Ties (Guild) really nice reading job
Rubinate, Amy - The One (Cass) just fine
Rubenstein, JohnVictims  (Kellerman) excellent, especially with the lead detective/almost-protagonist's voice
...........................Deception (Kellerman) yup, totally enjoy his reading of this
Scott, Campbell - The Abstinence Teacher (Perrotta) terrific
Shockley, Anaka - The Loud Silence of Francine Green (Cushman) wonderful
Siegfried, Mandy - A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life (Reinhardt) she was great
Sklar, Alan - The Sins of the Fathers (Block) really disliked the intonation he put into the way some of the people spoke - added personality traits that didn't work for me.
Snell, Staci - Eleven - (Giff) excellent reading
Soler, Rebecca -   Cress (Meyer)  I am more and more impressed by the inflections and nuances she gives to the voice of each character.  It really adds to their personality. Terrific reading.
............................Cinder (Meyer) good
............................Scarlet (Meyer) great voice to make the protagonist sound young, but does great voices for others as well.  Very nice
Steele, Diana - Wonder (Polacio) she did the speaking for 10-year old Auggie...part of me liked it a lot, but part of me balked at occasional "femalenesss"- but to be fair, she did an amazing job
Stone, Polly - Sarah's Key (deRosnay) beautiful job with the French accents
Stuart, David - Indigo Slam (Crais)
Taber, Catherine - Gods in Alabama (Jackson) the reader's soft, lovely southern accent was perfect for this!
Toren, Suzanne - Eggs (Spinelli) two readers, enjoyable
...........................-Through the Evil Days (Spencer--Fleming) didn't like the way she read the male voices
Travis, Nancy - The Ice Queen (Hoffman) exceptional reader
...........................The Third Angel (Hoffman) magnificent
Walls, Jeannette - The Silver Star read by the author - and I wasn't the greatest fan of her reading
Walters, MattBreaking Dawn (Meyer) Two readers
Weber, Jake - Night Film (Pessl)
Wheaton, WilReady Player One (Cline) super
Whelan, Julia - Gone Girl (Flynn)
Wilbanks, Denise - Where I'd Like to Be (Dowell) great southern accent
Winningham, Mare - Skylight Confessions (Hoffman) beautiful
Wu, Nancy - The Year of the Dog (Lin) nicely done
Ziemba, Karen - Hand of Evil (Jance)
............................Web of Evil (Jance) well read

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