About audio books

[Marthe48]

Do you prefer listening to a man or a woman narrate? If the reader assumes characters, which do you think is more authentic: a man imitating a woman's voice, or a woman imitating a man's voice?

Just curious. I like listening to British men the most, but I'm listening to a woman with an Irish accent right now. I like mid-century radio shows featuring a cast with solid NYC accents. Really takes me back!

[surrealAmerican]

1. Gender doesn't matter much to me for narration.

I prefer that the reader does not try to voice the characters, and that they have an accent I don't have to work to understand.

[LogDog75]

2. I finished listening to the Cross and Sampson audiobook last week

The actor doing the voices of Cross and Sampson did a good job but was kind of weak on the female characters. He upped the pitch on the female voices and made them sound a little weaker in the way he sounded.

I tend not to listen to audiobooks because I like reading the tone of the writing rather than listening to it.

[True Dough]

3. I just hope

narration isn't taken over by AI anytime soon!

[Marthe48]

4. Too late

I've listened to several books this year that I'm pretty sure were AI narrated. I'm thinking of classic detective novels I found on YouTube. Some of the word pronunciation are so bad. I can remember that someone bowed in greeting, but it was pronounced like a decorative ribbon. Over and over.

[True Dough]

5. Disappointing to hear.

But inevitable, I guess. I'm sure the publishers are looking at AI as an "investment" that will be cheaper than paying humans over the long haul. That's the world we live in now, unfortunately.

[Emile]

6. It is difficult to pick the best narrators. The ones who can bring a book to life

can be either male or female. Myself I like the ones who can change their voice for different characters.

My sixth grade teacher Mr. Norris was good at that. He would sit on a stool in front of the class and read. His voice would change for different characters, and his facial expressions had the whole class attention.

[Marthe48]

7. It's a gift

My sixth grade teacher would read to us after lunch for 15 minutes. The books stretched out over a week or 2. I offered a book for her to read. The Magic of Oz, by L. Frank Baum. She thought it was too long, but said she'd read a little. The whole class loved it and she read the whole thing. She read other books over the year, too. Another one I remember is about a young black girl going to a newly integrated elementary school. I don't remember the title, but the story was unforgettable.