mind_the_umlaut

mind_the_umlaut t1_ja5u7bu wrote

Reply to Does this mean audiobooks aren't for me? by IAmNotAFetish

There are some narrators whose voices or style you just don't click with. I was very lucky, early on (cassettes fed into the car radio, be sad for me) to come across Patrick Stewart reading A Christmas Carol, completely mesmerizing; and Ron Moody reading Oliver Twist. Moody played Fagin on Broadway, and performed all the voices in his full-length narration. Stunningly awesome. Of course, I approached these with lowered expectations, Dickens, you know, a yawn, dutifully making up for what I failed to read in school... And THEN, these audiobooks and subsequent ones were so good that I'd had to pull over (NYC traffic) when I couldn't concentrate on the road. Feel free to try and discard different narrators; maybe even start with a story you like and know. Look at your interface, Hoopla and Libby allow you to slow the reading speed; I had to do that for Picture of Dorian Gray.

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mind_the_umlaut t1_j9b2tpc wrote

Reply to I hated reading “Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine”. by [deleted]

I found that the focus of the book was more on her coping behaviors (for self-preservation) and thoughts she developed over time in order to survive traumatic events in her childhood. We begin the book with as little insight as she has into why she's judgemental and solitary, as well as fantasy-driven with the musician. But the clues are revealed to us readers, and I found myself thinking... 'ohhh, this must mean that she experienced...' and more of her past is revealed. The supporting characters are also charming. I listened to the audiobook, and the Scottish accents were marvelous.

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mind_the_umlaut t1_j6jdlcz wrote

Reply to comment by ohboop in The 10 Inalienable Rights of the Reader by swedish_librarian

My reading friends and I agree that there is a 'statute of limitations' on spoilers. I still insist on secrecy for books 100 years old or younger, but many of them are much more relaxed about it. After all, isn't the point of the story HOW they get to the crucial moments? And how their lives are affected afterward?

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mind_the_umlaut t1_j26hw0g wrote

Reply to We need to talk about We Need To Talk About Kevin by ApprehensiveStatus17

I read this around the same time I read A Mother's Reckoning by Sue Klebold, mother of the second shooter at Columbine Hish School. It sounds very much like the fictional Kevin. I am creeped out by both mothers. Eva in Kevin is a cold narcissist, distant, unable to unbend or be warm to her own child. She has her own agenda, she's enthralled with her own elitism, taste, intellect. Look at the real life mother, Sue Klebold. I think she has her own agenda, too, combining appeasing Dylan with furthering her own religious standards, whether artificial or just irrational, plus, looking like the perfect family. But is there anything you can do to forcibly treat someone who doesn't appear to be "that bad"?

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mind_the_umlaut t1_j22erka wrote

Reply to Audiobook performers have set the bar too high. by Thatoneguy0311

Listen to Patrick Stewart reading A Christmas Carol, and Ron Moody reading Oliver Twist. Stephen Fry is superb at reading the Harry Potter series. And I hear you, sometimes narrators have a quirk... I just listened to The Three Body Problem, and the narrator (Luke Daniels) was okay, but pronounces 'calm' as cllllllmm. My regional accent drops the L entirely (cahhmm) , but his dwells on the L. Funny what sticks out, and I think the word calm appears in Three Body Problem about a thousand times. I've heard that Project Hail Mary has a great narration, too.

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