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Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves ThemApril 16, 2009We have a customer who’s an audiobook addict. She comes in every couple of weeks to perk up frequent road trips with something new, and I’m always delighted to leap around the counter and chat with her, because we tend to love (and, sadly, loathe) the same kinds of books, and – equally important with audiobooks – the same narrators. Handselling is always key in indie bookstores; we estimate that about 80-85% of what we sell is directly recommended by one of our staff, either in person or via our newsletter or staff picks. When it comes to audiobooks, that number jumps to about 99%. Since most bookstores don’t have listening stations, it’s really helpful to have heard an audiobook yourself so you know if the narrator is going to make you want to jump out of the car window or not. But there's quality as well as beauty there; the British men have it all. They just make everything sound wonderful, don’t they? And fascinating. If Philip Pullman, Simon Jones, Stephen Fry, Anton Lesser, Simon Prebble, and Derek Jacobi (narrators of The Golden Compass, The Amulet of Samarkand, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Ruby in the Smoke, The Daydreamer [OP, more's the pity], and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, respectively), ran waste management seminars, I would absolutely sign up for Sewage 101. 
Neil Gaiman, who has a sort of Alan Rickman-esque voice, is one of those rare authors, like Pullman, who actually does justice to his own work. Try The Graveyard Book or Neverwhere. And yet he gives over the reins when another narrator can do better: his 2006 YALSA ALEX Award-winning adult novel, Anansi Boys, is performed by the fantastic British actor Lenny Henry, whose Jamaican parentage gives him a richness in the various And do I even need to mention Jim Dale, whose vocal wizardry (har har, get it? wizardry?) with the Harry Potter audiobooks led him to become the first inductee into the Audio Publishers Association’s “Golden Voices” Hall of Fame. See The Audies for more info, as well as terrific lists of award-winning audiobooks and samples for your listening enjoyment.
I promise to give equal time in future posts to the wonderful women of audiobooks, and to the American men. But for now, I'm happy with this British wave, and I'll be surfing it for a long, long time. What are the audiobooks you’ve loved so much you’d listen to them again? Narrators you’ll listen to even if the book is on crab-fishing and you’re a mysteries-only kind of reader? Which audiobooks have you found that turned reluctant readers into avid book lovers? We'd love to hear. Posted by Elizabeth Bluemle on April 16, 2009 | Comments (29)
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Kim commented: When I first heard that "Inkspell" was narrated by Brendan Fraser, I was disappointed. Afterall, "Inkheart" was narrated by none other than Lynn Redgrave. Well . . . I just finished listening to "Inkspell" and I am eating crow. It was wonderful! Mr. Fraser immediately took me into the Inkworld and even after 19 hours I wanted more. Give it a try.
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Christine McKay commented: One of the vendor support offices I had to call to troubleshoot problems staffed a British guy. You're right about them making everything sound wonderful. He could tell us that all our data was lost and we had a week's worth of work and we'd just sigh and wish he'd keep talking :-)
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Margaret commented: Let me add kudos for Stephen Briggs's FABULOUS readings of Terry Pratchett.
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them ERIN MURPHY commented: My two most recent favorites are Terry Pratchett's NATION and the Bloody Jack books--outstanding. I think my all-time favorites are the Sally Lockhart books and the Abhorsen books--Tim Curry doing Moggett is priceless! Right now I'm listening to the gravelly-voiced narrator of THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE--that's a good match of material and voice, and not British, which is unusual for me, too.
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them MW commented: The Artemis Fowl audio books are wonderfully read, also by someone with a British accent, but I don't remember who. My entire family enjoyed listening to those on our long car trips.
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Carol Chittenden commented: Stephen Briggs IS Terry Pratchett as far as I'm concerned. And I'm not sure if it's Simon Vance or John Lee who reads the Patrick O'Brian books, but they're also hugely enjoyable.
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Inderjit Deogun commented: Jim Dale gets my vote. His performance, for the Harry Potter series, is amazing.
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Connie Rockman commented: That's Nathaniel Parker narrating the Artemis Fowl books, at least the first 5 in the series - and I second the vote, he is truly marvelous. Many laugh-out-loud moments, just because of his wonderful inflections and character voices.
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Laura Scott commented: Elizabeth,
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Lyndsey commented: James Marsters (who played british bad boy Spike on "Buffy" and "Angel") does a wonderful job on the audiobook versions of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. He captures the tone of the novels wonderfully, and has a real talent for voices.
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Jennifer commented: Frank McCourt does an incredible job with all his books- My kids loved listening to Teacher Man.
April 16, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Elisabeth commented: When the 4th book in Suzanne Collins' Underland Chronicles, narrated by Paul Boehmer, came out - I found that I had missed his voice since the last one! As a regular audiobook listener, it actually surprised me that I had such an immediate and strong reaction to his voice. I think I might have a voice crush. :)
April 17, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Carol Bates commented: Simon Jones, reader of Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy, is the best reader I have ever heard. His snarky, wicked tone is a perfect match for the writing, and really fun to listen to. After reading the previous comment, though, I am going to go check out the Gregor audiobooks!
April 17, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them shelftalker elizabeth commented: Love all these recommendations. I'm thinking of compiling a go-to list of all these suggestions. When I do, I'll post it somewhere and tell everyone where to download it. Keep 'em coming!
April 17, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Tara commented: Graeme Malcolm does a great job as Hamish Macbeth for us at BBC Audiobooks America. Also David Suchet is an excellent Poirot. And the BBC Radio dramatizations always have at least one of those greats you mention (Prebble, Fry, Jacobi, Ian McKellen, Alan Bennett) in the cast.
April 17, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Kenny Brechner commented: Jonathan Cecil, Who does the Jeeves Cycle. These are great favorites of many bright youngsters. Cecil is absolutely brilliant as both Bertie and Jeeves.
April 17, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them elizabeth O. Dulemba commented: Gotta give another call out for Stephen Briggs. Listen to the three books in the "Wee Free Men" series by Terry Pratchett and be sure not to be drinking any carbonated beverages while you do - lest it come up your nose (very uncomfortable). Mr. Briggs switches between accents with blinding speed and is laugh out loud hilarious. I'd enjoy that man reading the phone book - he's fantastic! :) e
April 17, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Terri commented: You haven't lived until you hear Sean Bean read "King Arthur." It's a YA version, but 5 minutes in, you'll be so hooked you won't notice.
April 17, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them children''s librarian commented: I'm giving a shout-out for the Artemis Fowl series read by Nathaniel Parker. (Well except the most recent book because whoever was in charge of making the audiobook decision on that book took a crazy pill and went with a different narrator...). If Jim Dale is my king of audiobook narrators-- which he is-- then Nathaniel Parker is one of his princes. Foaley with an Australian accent? Brilliant. Root as a New Jersey cop? Priceless. You must listen to these!
April 17, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them SueC commented: Gotta agree those Brit guys make melt, especially Gaiman. But I also especially loved the audio of the McCall-Smith Ladies No.1 Detective Agency series. The woman narrator has a native-sounding Botsawan accent (which maybe for real...) and this really lends an authenticity to the story. Also gives the unique speech patterns, and expressions a delicious richness.
April 18, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them EWR04976 commented: Sorry, for Terry Pratchett on audio, the award goes to Nigel Planer. Beats Stephen Briggs hands down.
April 18, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them P.J. LaBerge commented: What about Christopher Timothy reading the books by James Herriot (All Creatures Great and Small). Not only does his voice turn me to goo (Yes,I admit it!) but he adds a whole new layer of humor. I had to pull my car over more than once because I was laughing so hard!
April 18, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them muppetlibrarian commented: Listen to Three Men in a Boat, narrated by Hugh Laurie. It's great!
April 22, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Sondy commented: I'm a HUGE fan of male British narrators, too. Rupert Degas does a great job with Skulduggery Pleasant. (Irish?) A female narrator who nails the French accent of a character is Cassandra Campbell reading The Higher Power of Lucky. I had to check the cover to make sure there was really only one narrator. I'm going to listen to Lucky Breaks on audiobook just to enjoy her narration again. (I already read the book -- excellent!)
April 22, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Kellie Olsen commented: I agree that Graeme Malcolm does an amazing job narrating The Tale of Despereaux. I especially love his presentation of Despereaux's mother!
April 25, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Rachel commented: When I first did not immediately see you mention Jim Dale I almost screamed out loud.
April 25, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Rachel commented: "BLOW!"
April 26, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them Amber commented: Alex Jennings is marvelous. Speaking of children's books, he does the Chronicles of Narnia and the Dark is Rising series. The Brothers Karamazov, Oliver Twist, the Odyssey, tons and tons more...
September 29, 2009
In response to: Let's Hear It for the (British) Boys: Male Audiobook Narrators and the Bookseller Who Loves Them annopsshootte commented: Hello! Base klooper notwithstanding my english jer, buti danged nice re say gJ$)Kd!!!.
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I like to recommend audiobooks as an accompaniment to the printed book for kids who struggle with reading. When I was a school librarian in New York City, I discovered how effective it was to have kids listen while they read; it seemed to help them make the connection between written and spoken forms of words, and lifted them out of the struggle enough for them to enjoy the experience of reading. This was a huge relief and delight for them, and once parents get past the idea that it’s “cheating,” it's helpful for them, as well.
