Book World Live

Audio Books

"All across the nation, car doors are slamming and sliding shut and the great American summer rite, the family car trip, begins. With its legendary rigors and traumas, it makes up a distinct strand of our cultural heritage, from Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" to "National Lampoon's Vacation." For most people with children, however, escaped convicts and dead grannies are less of a problem than the boredom and belligerence that car trips breed in the young." "The solution is audio books, and with some care it is possible to find ones that, though written for children, are nonetheless appealing to adults. " -- Bringing That Reign of Peace to the Family Car (Book World, July 31)

Powers, Book World's audio books reviewer, was online Tuesday, Aug. 2, at 3 p.m. ET to share her picks for the summer travel season.

Join Book World Live each Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET for a discussion based on a story or review in each Sunday's Book World section.

A transcript follows.

____________________

Katherine Powers: Good afternoon and welcome to this on-line affair, the first I have ever conducted. The subject is audio books and one for which I have an ungovernable enthusiasm. I am a book reviewer and write a freelance column on reading (real reading) for the Boston Sunday Globe. I listened to my first audio book some fifteen years ago (one of Ruth Rendell's mysteries) and I knew that I had found the answer to life's central problem: how to redeem time from the curse of duty. Or put another way, how to read a book while driving a car, washing the kitchen floor, jogging or performing the mindless drudgery of which all our lives are so full. There is no question that having an actual book in one's hand-being able to reread or skim ahead as one desires-is the ideal way of reading. It will never be surpassed and some books defy other ways of being taken in. Books with maps or with a cast of Russian characters, each sporting at least three names-such books are, in my experience, dead losses as audio books. On the other hand, I cannot see spending true reading time on most mysteries and thrillers or, indeed, on most books, fiction or nonfiction, that are published today-but I am still interested in them and, often enough, entertained and informed too. Moreover, I do like to listen to novels I have already read-especially the books in my personal canon: from Austen, Dickens, and Trollope, to Evelyn Waugh, Patrick O'Brian, and Charles Portis. A little later I'll give you a list of books that I think have made terrific audio books, but in the meantime what about you?

_______________________

Vienna, Va.: Audio books save our sanity on car trips! We live in Fairfax County, and the public library has a marvelous selection of titles for children. The mail-order rentals are also a great option for hard-to-find titles.

We are listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at present, read by the incomparable Jim Dale, and both adults and children are enthralled.

Katherine Powers: Libraries are definitely the way to go for most people who listen to a lot of audio books because of their formidable expense. I know that librarians are in quite a tizzy these days because the technology of audio books keeps changing, going from cassettes to CDs to MP3 to downloads from Audible (and elsewhere perhaps). Whither next? And what is a librarian to do? If there is a format you really care about and for specific reasons, be sure to let your librarian know--because at some point something is going to disappear. As for Harry Potter--yes, Jim Dale makes those books for me. I could not IMAGINE reading that tome, "H.P. and the Goblet of Fire" with my actual eyes and on my "own" time. Anyway, Jim Dale is terrific.

_______________________

Arlington, Va: I'm just wondering: What happens when you get an audio cd or tape of a book you've wanted to read, and the voice or narrator or reader is so bad -- bad accents, poor reading, seems to accentuate the wrong ideas, whatever -- that he or she ruins it for you. Do you stop listening?

Katherine Powers: This is the question of questions really. In the first place, although it is almost impossible for me to believe it, some people actually LIKE readers whom I cannot bear and others despise those I love. To take the last astonishing fact first, I adore David Case (aka Frederick Davidson) as do many, many other people, but when I have praised him I have received what might be called "heartfelt" negative responses. He is British, by the way-and I am not exactly a fan of his "American" accent which sounds like the product of Novocain-but the most frequent criticism is that he sounds snooty and that his Continental accents all sound the same-sort of Austro-Hungarian. That's true, I suppose, but I actually like his whole manner, snoot and all. As for readers who ruin things for me: There is one reader in particular, and a very prolific fellow he is, whom I practically cannot listen to, though I know he has many fans and has SOMEHOW been made a "Golden Voice" by Audiofile magazine. I will not mention his name unless someone asks, but his voice is airless. He adds pumped-up emotion, sort of a histrionic quaver, seemingly at random, in other words, to such unfraught moments as shutting a door or putting on a jacket. He doesn't seem to be taking in what he's reading at all-and he certainly isn't conveying it. And he is a great one for the rising inflection which so pollutes the way people speak now. No, he is not for me and with one exception I have not been able to spend more than 3.5 minutes with anything he's read. Cruel words, yes, but a real pity and an insoluble problem.

_______________________

Herndon, Va.: Audio books have become a summer tradition for me and my daughter (now 15) since I am in charge of chauffeuring her back and forth to day camp. This summer, we are listening to Phillip Pullman's Tiger in the Well, which we are both enjoying. Past favorites include: The Joey Pigza trilogy (she had ADD and could identify), all of the Joan Bauer books (especially Squashed), Crispin : The Cross of Lead by Avi, Bud, Not Buddy, and more.

Katherine Powers: Thank you for those recommendations. It's a little hard to STOP listening after you've dropped your daughter off, isn't it. I bet you sometimes go on ahead. I used to and got into terrible trouble with my sons because I couldn't return the tape (as it was then) to EXACTLY the place we left off.

_______________________

Washington, DC: Have you listened to many audios tapes or cds with ensemble casts? I ask this because one of my favorite listening experiences was Philip Pullman's trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass), in part because it was all of these different wonderful voices -- as if you were listening to a play with all of the actors. Pullman himself was the narrator on the one I listened to, as I recall. Do you have any other recommendations for good books read by a group of readers?

Katherine Powers: I tend not to go for full casts because they often get out of hand, get away from the book as a book. This is true of a full-cast production of some Bertie Wooster novel I listened to-can't remember what, but I DO remember Wodehouse's limber language being simply drowned in thespianism. On the other hand, I agree completely with you on the full-cast production of Pullman's trilogy (Listening Library). It is the best I've ever heard-completely entrancing, and all the more miraculously so for me because I loath those books, or rather, I am impatient with their vulgar anti-Christian aspect and lame-brained New Age take on existence. Still, I would give them 1st prize for full-cast and I always recommend them highly. As for other full-cast productions, I just listened to Nick Hornby's "A Long Way Down" narrated by Simon Vance, Kate Reading and Scott Brick (Penguin) which was really excellent-and all the more so, I thought, because it's the first time I ever managed to listened to Scott Brick without having a mental breakdown. He provides the voice of a self-absorbed American, a character that makes one tired-and he gets it just right.

_______________________

Washington D.C.: re the company Books on Tape, they no longer rent to customers, do you have any idea why this happened? I just discovered they deal only with libraries now. I have found only one other book tape rental place, are there any others with lots of choices?

Katherine Powers: Books on Tape, the great granddaddy of audio books-and the reason we call them "audio books" rather than "books on tape" (to preserve the proprietary name)-was sold to Random House some years ago and many things began to change, the last and perhaps most melancholy change being the termination of rentals. I call it a great pity. Recorded Books still rent their books-and they have a tremendous selection (www.recordedbooks.com). Audible.com sells downloads at pretty reasonable prices. And I believe that there are a number of rent-by-mail outfits, but I have never used one so don't want to say more about it except: This is a matter for 1) Google and 2) the knowledgeable people reading this right now. Well, anyone? How to rent from a fertile source?

_______________________

Rentals?: Is there an audiobooks analog to netflix where you can rent books via the mail? I've exhausted the library supply.

Katherine Powers: Let's hope someone knows the answer and that it is good.

_______________________

Hartford, Conn.: Blackstone Audio still rents and they have a wonderful literary selection.

Katherine Powers: YES! You are right. I don't know how that slipped my mind. They are very good.

_______________________

Rockville, Md.: I love audio books and use them for my daily commute. I recently found www.audible.com where I have a $14.95 subscription that gives me one book and one periodical each month. They can be downloaded on my iPod, or my Palm, or I can just burn them on to a CD.

Katherine Powers: Yes, they're great. You have to know what you're doing--i.e. be a little more adept in the download department than I am, but most people are. Give them a shot.

_______________________

Lakeridge, Va.: I have a LONG commute due solely to traffic congestion. In order to keep my sanity, I like to "read" audio books. Do you have any suggestions? I prefer books written by women and love mysteries. I think Martha Grimes earlier work is compelling but the later stuff boarders on yucky. Is there another author who also has a combination of wit and intrigue?

Katherine Powers: I love Ruth Rendell and P. D. James (for the most part), but neither has an especially light touch. I am drawing a blank here-and the reason MAY have to do with listening to books rather than reading them. I know I've listened to great (and witty) mysteries-but because the author's name is not in front of my nose all the time, it evaporates, adding itself to the great cloud of unknowing.

_______________________

Reading (haha), PA: Hi, probably a universal question: why are audio books so expensive? And the few I've tried were a disappointment (Brad Pitt reading The Crossing...?) It's not a hard thing to do well and with all these book groups, etc., I bet you could get volunteers to put books on CD. thanks

Katherine Powers: They're expensive because they involve hiring an actor (which most readers are) and all sorts of production personnel-just to start with. I don't know why CDs are more expensive than tapes because they are cheaper to produce than cassettes (or so I my reading informs me). Just gouging, I guess, on that score. As for being disappointed. Well, let's start with Brad Pitt--and "The Crossing" for that matter. I shall recommend top-flight audio books and readers a little later. Please try one.

_______________________

Tysons Corner, Va.: First, this is a GREAT idea for a chat. I'm usually left to ask Michael Dirda my audiobook-related questions, and although he frequently posts my questions, he rarely has listened to the books I have specific questions about. So thanks for stopping by, Katherine.

Here are three titles that I found tremendously rewarding in the audio format. First, Tom Wolfe's "I Am Charlotte Simmons," written/performed by Dylan Baker, is spectacular. I doubt I would've enjoyed the printed book more than I did Baker's reading.

Second, Kazuo Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go" is one of the most profound books I've ever read, and the numerous "cliff-hanger" chapter endings are well handled by the female reader.

Last, Ian McEwan's "Saturday." I'm not sure of the reader's name, but there's a section of the book devoted to the psychology of the sport of squash, and it's read with precision and just the right sense of rhythm.

And now a question. I have two audio titles to choose from for an upcoming beach trip. Between the two, which do you recommend: Christopher Buckley's "No Way to Treat a First Lady"; or "Driveby Comedy," a collection of humor pieces from various comedic writers?

Katherine Powers: I absolutely agree about the excellence of the reading of "I am Charlotte Simmons." I, personally, could not stand the book and so bailed out after about 1000 hours. I felt sorry for the reader who didn't have that luxury. I've not listened to the other two you mention-though have read McEwan's with my eyes. As for your beach junket. I thoroughly enjoyed "No Way to Treat a First Lady" and don't especially like audio books of little pieces, so I say go with Buckley.

_______________________

Bethesda, Md.: I second the recommendation of Jim Dale and the Harry Potter books--we once drove from Bethesda to Niagra Falls, Canada, in 6hrs 30 min with only a brief stop to use the restroom because no one wanted to stop listening to Goblet of Fire.

I also recommend the "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" books on tape, which I believe are superior to the written versions. The reader, who is a South African actress, is wonderful!

Katherine Powers: They ARE superior. I could not stand the books, which I thought were...never mind, I just couldn't. The reading was wonderful, though. This is true of a number of books--no good on the page, a pleasure to the ear. Can't think of any right now.

_______________________

Hartford, Conn.: Is there a good independent review forum for audio books? I listen while I am driving, running and taking a bus (great for people who get motion sickness from reading in a bus or car). I've been happy with most of my selections but some are really terrific and I'd like to hear from others which ones meet that magic combo of great book, great reader.

Katherine Powers: This is a problem--just as it is in the world of real reviews. Tastes differ, of course, but so many reviewers don't like to be straight An audio book gets fewer reviews (if any) than a "real" book and so the problem is compounded. There is a good deal of Boosterism in the audio-book world--more even, if you can believe it, than in the world of real books. Two places to look for reviews are Audiofile Magazine and The Audio Cafe. I would give you web site addresses, but I am afraid I might blast myself off the page if I started poking around in my other files. Google--that's what you want.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: I used to have a long commute and book on tape or CDs were my life saver. The library I went to had a huge collection. But has anyone else had the problem of scratched CDs or ruined tapes? I mean I can't afford to buy a bunch of audio books, just like regular books I rely on my local library, but I hate it when I'm getting to the good part and the CD starts skipping.

Katherine Powers: This is an exceedingly ANNOYING problem and I think you should have a "little talk" with your librarian. Libraries have services-vendors of some sort-who provide missing or damaged tapes and CDs. Perhaps your librarian doesn't know about all these damaged tapes etc. Let him or her know whenever you come across one and get the joint cleaned up.

_______________________

McLean, Va: i am a relative newcomer to audio books. On the topic of readers one especially enjoys. Do you know of a way to search for audio books based on the reader?

Katherine Powers: Most places: Books on Tape, Blackstone, Recorded Books, Audible.com (I think) and no doubt more, have search tools that you can use to look for readers. Go to their sites and see. You can also LISTEN to samples.

_______________________

Herndon, Va.: You wrote: "It's a little hard to STOP listening after you've dropped your daughter off, isn't it."

Ha! My daughter usually exits the car in the morning by admonishing me, "Don't listen to any more of the tape until you come get me."

She knows me too well!

Katherine Powers: I thought as much. You are lost to honor!

_______________________

Vienna, Va.: For "lighter" books, I enthusiastically recommend Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax books. This is a series and I recommend trying to read them in order. The Dick Francis mysteries are also wonderful in recordings, and I have heard several very good narrators.

A personal favorite is "Crocodile on the Sandbank" by local star Elizabeth Peters. It's a historical/archaeological mystery.

Katherine Powers: All good, yes. Simon Prebble is my favorite Dick Francis narrator. he really gets across those despicable upper-class bullies.

_______________________

East Brunswick, NJ: If I can make a few suggestions, I think Jonathan Safran Foer's audiobooks are excellent. Furthermore, I am reading Dai Sijie's Balzac and The Little Seamstress read by BD Wong which is also very good.

Katherine Powers: I've not read--whoops--listened to the first, but enjoyed the second. Excellent reader.

_______________________

Elon, N.C.: Audio books are just the best! I visit the library once every two weeks and stock up. One of the best I've heard/read was E. L. Doctorow's Waterworks read by Sam Watterson. Also Anita Shreve's books read by Blair Brown. Fantastic! Reading while driving to and from work saves me from getting upset by the news, war, politics- everything!

Katherine Powers: Blair Brown has a wonderful, low, seductive voice. She is one of my absolute favorites.

_______________________

Katherine Powers: Here are some of my favorite readers and some of my favorite audio books: Chris King reading Lloyd Alexander's "The Book of Three" for Listening Library comes as close as the perfect children's audio book as I can think of-age 6 or 7 and up (I'd say). It stars a boy, an assistant pig keeper, who goes off on a quest with a bossy young princess and a few other rum types. It is exciting and funny and will be listened to again and again. Christopher Timothy reading James Herriot's "All Things Bright and Beautiful" and "All Things Wise and Wonderful" for Audio Renaissance. These stories are heart-warming as all get out-even a little corny; but they are funny and poignant and have, of course, lots of animals in them and as such are ideal for family listening. Anna Fields reading Joanna Burger's "The Parrot Who Owned Me" for Books on Tape. This true account is one of the best animal books I've ever read or listened to. I have lent it to who-knows how many people and each has been smitten by it. Kate Reading reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice for Books on Tape. Kevin Free reading Edward P. Jones's "The Known World" for Recorded Books. This tremendous novel about slavery in all its terrible and poisonous complexity is decidedly not for children. Free's narration is simply astounding, a triumph of vocal depiction of the book's countless characters. Grover Gardner (AKA Alexander Adams), the great civic-voiced narrator reading Robert Caro's "The Path to Power," (the first volume of LBJ's biography) for Books on Tape. John Lee reading Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series of naval adventures set in the early 19th century for Books on Tape. Lee, whose voice has a faint Celtic torque, is simply the goods. His narrations of the novels, of which he's done 6 or 7, are replacing those of Richard Brown for this company. I don't really know why the books are being done over, except that Brown does sound like an old-fashioned, authoritarian, possibly cane-wielding English school master-which I rather like, but suppose others don't. I wish Books on Tape would keep both versions-the books, especially the first dozen or so, are worth infinite re-reading and re-listening to. David Case (AKA Frederick Davidson) reading Bernard Cornwell's trilogy of novels about King Arthur beginning with "The Winter King" for Books on Tape. These are some of the best historical novels ever written. There is a good deal of violence in them-in case you care-but my teenaged sons were transfixed, as was I-as has been everyone I have lent them to. Brian Emerson (AKA Barrett Whitener) reading Charles Portis's "Masters of Atlantis" for Blackstone Audio Books. All six of Portis's novels are gems, but the best read of them all is this. Emerson's quizzical tone is spot on and the book is one of the funniest you'll ever listen to. Gerard Doyle reading Stephen Clark's "A Year in the Merde" for Audio Renaissance. This is a fairly new book and not of eternal worth, perhaps, and is abridged-which I don't approve of all. But Doyle conveys such an air of aggrieved Englishness and engaging haplessness that it makes the book a complete delight. I laughed while listening to it on my daily jog-or slog-and that is high, high praise.

_______________________

Columbia, SC: Katherine -- Love and agree with all your comments so far, especially about the problems with processing classic literature by ear. There are exceptions, though. There is a wonderful -- I think he's wonderful anyway -- reader named Frank Muller, and he does a superb, even (dare I say it) riveting job with "Moby-Dick." He reads it as a dramatic monologue -- which it is, among other things.

As for Blackstone Audio. The company advances a certain philosophy of reading aloud that I think they take too far; that is, they don't want the reader to get too into it. They want the reader to be faceless and a little dull; they don't want the reader to interpret what they're reading, because that is presumably left up to the listener. I listened to Blackstone's "The Education of Henry Adams" and believe me, unless you love the book, it will bore you right into a coma. My daughter still kids me about that tape: "The Edu-cayyyy-shun of Henry...Adams. By. (long pause lasting a decade) Henry (pause) Adams."

Katherine Powers: Yes, Frank M. is great. he was seriously injured in a motor-cycle accident a few years ago and is making a slow, but I think steady recovery. About Blackstone's lack of affect, as it were. That was the original idea for audio books--but we have moved on to more EMOTIONAL times. I like both--in the right hands.

_______________________

Winston-Salem, NC: I've enjoyed John LeCarre's readings of his own books, mostly abridgements. Are there any other authors who read their own material you would sugest?

thanks

Katherine Powers: Le Carre wins hands down. he has no equal as a reader of his own work. Always abridged, alas. Stephen King is an awful reader. I will just leave you with that.

_______________________

Hartford, Conn: My first audio book, and still one of my top ten, was Call of the Wild. I suggest Clive Cussler for cross-country drives and McCullough's Johnstown Flood for driving the PA Turnpike. The reader for the Secret Life of Bees was spot-on (Dakota Fanning has a tough act to follow). I am not a huge John Irving fan but the reading of Widow for One Year was really compelling and I enjoyed it very much. Mansfield Park is perfect for listening. I really enjoyed Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto -- it reads like a novel. And audible.com is really easy. You really can't beat an iPod for travel. I just downloaded HC Andersen's Fairy Tales and Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on your suggestion. One is never too old for this stuff.

Katherine Powers: Thanks for suggestions. I envy you your downloading prowess.

_______________________

Elon, N.C.: I think this should be a weekly session!

Katherine Powers: Well, I won't disagree.

_______________________

Columbia, SC: My favorite audiobook: Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." The reading by Jonathan Oliver reminds you of how very gracefully written the book is, and how it has such an easy grasp on thorny philosophical ideas.

Katherine Powers: I have not listened to that, but am interested. Thanks.

_______________________

Katherine Powers: Thank you everyone!

_______________________

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.