Favorite audio book series

I love to listen to audio books.  I usually listen to them on my commute to work and when I clean the house and occasionally in my office.  A good audio book narrator can do wonders for a book and bring it to life.  Sometimes I can listen to a book and know that I never would have made it through it reading it, but because a great narrator, I can finish it on audio.

1. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling- read by Jim Dale. 
Jim Dale is an amazing narrator and I could listen to him all day. 

2. The Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo - first five read by Simon Russell Beale, subsequent books read by Simon Jones. 
At first I wasn't happy about the narrator change.  I hate that.  But Simon Jones is a great reader and so I didn't mind.

3. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket - read by Timy Curry.
This is another series that had a narrator change.  Books 3-5 are read by the author Daniel Handler took over narrator duties.  While he is just alright, Tim Curry is the better narrator.  He has the perfect voice for this gothic, dark-humored series.  And that leads to ...

4. The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix - read by Tim Curry. 
Garth Nix is one of my favorite authors and so far I have had good luck with his books.  Tim Curry is once again the perfect narrator for this dark series filled with zombies, magic, and supernatural creatures.  His voice for the cat Mogget is dead on.

5. The Key to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix - read by Allan Corduner. 
I really love this whole series even if it gets a bit formulaic in the middle.  Allan Corduner does a great job of bringing Arthur and the denizens of the House to life.

6. The Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud - read by Simon Jones. 
Jones is the absolute best voice for Bartimaeus.  I could not imagine a better voice.  In much the same way that Jim Dale is cemented in my mind as the voice of Harry Potter, Simon Jones is Bartimaeus.  He does a great job with the djinni's sarcastic voice and footnotes.

7. The Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer - read by Katherine Kellgren.
Admittedly I have not gotten very far in this series (I'm only on book 2) but I am loving Kellgren's voice for Mary "Bloody" Jack Faber.  Kellgren also does a fine job on The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series.

8. The Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene - read by Laura Linney (the first 7) and various other narrators  . 
I spent all of last reading all 56 original Nancy Drew books and I tried to listen to all the audios.  All the narrators do a great job.  My favorite is Laura Linney.  She does a very nice job of brining Nancy to life and striking the right tone.  The music is great and really adds to the overly dramatic tone of the story.

9. The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Shiefvator - read by Jenna Lamia, David Ledoux (Shiver); Jenna Lamia, Dan Bittner, Pierce Cravens, Emma Glavin (Linger)  . 
With the increase of POVs in the book, the amount of narrators increases.  I find that (Grace) has the slowest voice and sometimes it can be grating but overall they are beautiful books and the narrators do a great job.  This is one series that I can honestly say that I don't know if I would have made it reading it, but the audio is just that great.

10.  The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich - read by Lorelei King.
Stephanie Plum is one of the best book characters and I love all the books.  King does a great voice for her.  This is another series that changed narrators and I liked C.J. Critt (she narrated the first set of books) too.  I've notice lately that most of Janet Evanovich books are read by one or the other of these narrators.  I guess they just fit her books.

From the Library 8/12

From the Library is my new Saturday feature of what I checked out from the library this week including books, audiobooks, and movies.  This week was DVD heavy.


Books: 

The Messenger (audio) - written by Lois Lowry, read by David Morse

For the past six years, Matty has lived in Village and flourished under the guidance of Seer, a blind man, known for his special sight. Village was a place that welcomed newcomers, but something sinister has seeped into Village and the people have voted to close it to outsiders. Matty has been invaluable as a messenger. Now he must make one last journey through the treacherous forest with his only weapon, a power he unexpectedly discovers within himself.



The Taming of the Shrew (audio) - written by William Shakespare, read by full cast

The main plot depicts the courtship of Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, and Katherina, the headstrong, obdurate, and eponymous shrew. Initially, Katherina is an unwilling participant in the relationship, but Petruchio tempers her with various psychological torments - the "taming" - until she is an obedient bride. The sub-plot features a competition between the suitors of Katherina's less intractable sister, Bianca.

Just catching up

I had an idea of what to write about and now I forgot. I have actually been doing well at work and working and not goofing off but today I kind of backslid a little. Ah me.
Anyway, Christmas was good. Bub got lots of toys and I got some good stuff too. I got this Fleur de Lis pendent and My Sims Kingdom for Wii (which I am now addicted to) and a cute little camera for my purse. We went to Oklahoma for New Year's and to see my cousin's house (which is really pretty). BT didn't get to go b/c he had to work a lot (which apparently also means he doesn't have to pick up the house any or do laundry but I digress).
I have been listening to the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. I just finished The Golem's Eye and have now started Ptolemy's Gate. This is the third time I've read/listened to these books and they are so awesome. I love Bartimaeus. He is so awesome. I've heard they are making The Amulet of Samarkand into a movie. I hope it is a good one and they don't ruin it. I haven't been able to find much about it.
Oh, and I also have starting watching Pushing Daisies, just as it is canceled, of course, It is really good and I regret not watching it. I hope they move networks or something b/c it is really clever. But I liked Dead like Me a lot too and I can't wait for the new movie. I miss that show.
Anyway, that's all I got now.

A Series of Unfortunate Events Audio Books

The little man and I are listening to A Series of Unfortunate Events for the commute right now. Do you know how depressing this series is back to back? When I was reading them and there was time off between books it was okay, but those kids go through some bizarre and horrible stuff and listening to it makes you a little like what?. I also noticed that Olaf is almost always immediately recognizable to the Beaudelaires, but his associates are very rarely recognized by the children. I think this might be on purpose because Olaf doesn't care if the children know who he is since the adults will never believe them and if the 0rphans don't recognize the associate who is helping him then it technically would be easier to kidnap them. Case in point, in The Reptile Room, the hook-handed man is posing as the doctor so no matter in whose car the Beaudelaires ended up in they would have been in Olaf's clutches. Fortunately for the children, Olaf always underestimates him (you would think he would learn) and they get away. Currently, I am on The Hostile Hospital. The abuse these poor children put up with is incredible. In one of the early books, one of the adult characters remarks that another adult character had a terrible childhood and Violet says she thinks she is having one too. This is an extreme understandment but then again she doesn't know what else is coming up. Therapy city for these kids!

I like having audio books playing in the car because I can't stand the radio and I am hoping that it helps LM with language development. Tim Curry does an excellent job with these books and I can't think of anyone who would do better. Daniel Handler narrates books 3-5 and is okay but I much prefer Tim Curry. He is an excellent actor and puts matterisms into the characters.