Bronwyn Jameson on Audiobooks

Before heading off to the RWA conference in San Francisco, I was preparing my on-plane reading material. I’d deliberately saved a couple of must-reads and intended purchasing and downloading them as eBooks. Then a friend casually mentioned that she likes audiobooks for those long flights. (We’re in Australia, so 14+ hours each way.) You can rest your eyes while still enjoying the story, a powerful argument. Coincidentally, I’d just received one of those “rejoin for half the regular membership” offers from audible books and that sealed the deal.

I joined, downloaded the two books to my (son’s) iPod and I was set.  Even started listening to the first on my short domestic flight to Sydney where I would connect with the international flight.  Except I couldn’t get into the story. My mind kept wandering off to other things while the narrator’s voice droned on, and then I’d snap back to attention and realise I’d missed a scene or a crucial dialogue exchange.

It was even worse on the long (night) flight when I’d doze off and miss whole chapters. These were both authors I enjoy very much and books I’d looked forward to reading — they deserved a better audience. So I put away the iPod for a better time. On the return flight I scored an upgrade to business class (no, I’m not that lucky, I used Frequent Flyer points to secure the upgrade!) and after a lovely meal and a real horizontal sleep I picked up the iPod, turned back a few chapters, and this time I was able to get into the story. Much better, except….

Does it bother anyone else when the narrator performs rather than reads the book? I have tried and enjoyed audiobooks before but looking back I realise that these were first-person. The audio version worked very well because there was only one viewpoint, only one voice.  This time I had a narrator whose voice switched to a gruff (and off-putting) baritone to deliver the hero’s lines.  Even more irritating was the whiney child’s voice she adopted for those parts.  And don’t get me started on the singing.

I don’t know about you, but when I read I don’t hear the voices of the characters. I see them through the author’s descriptions and add my own embellishments and interpretations. But I don’t hear them as sounding a certain way and I really found the audible book jarring in many places because of this.  I couldn’t fall in love with the hero at all due to the horrid voicing and there were times when the narrator’s interpretation of emotion — iow, the inflection she put into her voice to reflect anger or disillusionment or pain or lust — that was at odds with my interpretation. This really affected my enjoyment of the book. I know it’s one I would have loved if I’d read it. 

This hasn’t put me off listening to books — closing my eyes and sinking into the story world for a couple of flying hours is a lovely experience — but next time I think I might choose books told from a single, strong, female viewpoint.