Audiobook Gift Help Needed
Monday, December 1, 2008
Francesca writes in and says:
It's for a visually disabled person, so it will have to be an
audiobook. Problem is, I've never listened to, let alone bought, an
audiobook. Also, it will have to be in Italian, as he doesn't speak
any other language, so I can't ask you for title suggestions. But I'd
appreciate if someone could give me some basic directions on how to
choose: a book with a lot of dialogue or not? a lot of descriptions?
one narrator (are there any with different actors for the different
voices?)? Any idea?
Any guidance?
Posted byAmy at 3:02 PM
Tags: Help Needed
7 comments:
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I listen to audiobooks almost exclusively because my neurological disorder makes it difficult to read.
My favorites are ones where the reader takes on the persona of the character or radio versions where several actors are used.
Any best seller on audio should be fabulous.
Good luck!
Connie
Just pick his favorite genre. For a first audio, I suggest a single reader. But that's my own taste. I listen to almost 100 audios a year. I'm not familiar with the Italian books, I don't speak the language.
Avoid abridgments. Pick only unabridged.
I love audiobooks and listen to them often. I assume you will choose an audio version of a book you already know and like. Here are some tips:
1) Avoid books with an ironic tone. Whether this comes across on audio depends too entirely on the talent of the reader. A bad reader can ruin a good book. For example, I love Susan Isaacs' books read by Stockard Channing, but hate them read by anyone else.
2)Avoid multiple readers, unless it's actually a play. Multiple readers for a novel gets confusing.
3)Male readers who use falsetto voices for female characters are very, very annoying.
I don't know what resources there are for Italian, but you can listen to books for free on Librivox. Also sometimes as podcasts on iTunes.
Audiobooks are fantastic. I love those books in the thriller/suspense section with a single narrator. James Patterson novels are well read and action-packed.
However, Christopher Moore's dark humor really comes across with the narrators of his books as well.
I would also check out some non-fiction books on topics your friend is interested in as well.
I find a single narrator less distracting, but really its the topics and genre that the book is in that make for a great audiobook.
I agree about abridgements. Pick an unabridged book. The multi-reader books function more like a movie or old time radio theatre for the listeners. The single reader audiobooks are more like literally reading the book.
I listen to a lot of audio books and I like the single reader ones best (though both are good.) Some of the multi-reader ones are sort of over-acted with background music at the scary parts, etc.
This doesn't work for gifts, but if he's visually disabled, you could try pointing him towards his local Braille and Talking Book Library for books on cassette. Depending on your state they may or may not have books in Italian.
For the original question though, I agree with the previous posters mostly. Get unabridged definitely, and one narrator is preferable. Good luck!
Hey all,
thank you for all your comments, which I'm treasuring for future occasions as well. Mostly, it seems, you agree on the single reader option. I've gone through available catalogues and finally settled for a collection of Christmas-themed short story classics, each story read by a different voice. (Unfortunately, I don't know enough of his reading likes and dislikes to choose a specific genre -- and here in Italy audiobooks catalogues are still somehow limited.) I'll let you know how he likes them...
Francesca