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View Full Version : 2,000 mile car trip-audio book recommendations


Galaril
05-16-2008, 01:03 PM
I know this is a broad topic area but thinking about listening to some kind of audiobook on cd for the relocation trip I taking next weekend from Boston to our new home outside of Denver. Anything like fantasy, sci-fi, maybe historical fiction or other book possible science related would be welcomed.

Kodos
05-16-2008, 01:06 PM
I've heard World War Z is a good audiobook. The book was good. :)

MacroGuru
05-16-2008, 01:07 PM
Audible.com I have about 20 books on my MP3 player from here. Enders Game is well done, as is Enders Shadow...I have most of the Jordan Collection and Eddings as well.

Noop
05-16-2008, 01:09 PM
Path of the Assassin by Brad Thor was good.

KWhit
05-16-2008, 01:28 PM
I've heard World War Z is a good audiobook. The book was good. :)

Outstanding audiobook with a lot of big name actors providing the voices. It's not very long, though, for a 2000 mile trip (just 6-7 hours, I think).

PurdueBrad
05-16-2008, 01:30 PM
Path of the Assassin by Brad Thor was good.

I'm a big fan of Brad Thor's books, he was a pleasant surprise. I would second this or any of the others by him.

KWhit
05-16-2008, 01:35 PM
I also really enjoyed the Harry Potter series, and the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.

sabotai
05-16-2008, 02:02 PM
or other book possible science related would be welcomed.

The Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I finished listening to this not too long ago and can not recommend it enough. One of the best audiobooks (not that I've listened to all that many) I have listened to. Bryson does a great job of narrating.

DaddyTorgo
05-16-2008, 03:43 PM
A Song of Ice & Fire by George R.R. Martin (wait i'm 99.99% sure you're the fanatic who named his dog Aegon so I'm kidding)

Lord of the Rings?

edit: okay, no wait: H_B is the one with the dog with the rad name. Just leaving that in there for posterity's sake and not editing it out.

Buccaneer
05-16-2008, 06:44 PM
Absolutely. Get A Short History of Nearly Everything. My brother said it was one of the best.

Right now, I am doing BBC's dramazatization of Lord of the Rings (not the crappy NPR ones). I also just finished copying the 9-tape Killer Angels audiobook into iTunes.

Farrah Whitworth-Rahn
05-16-2008, 07:07 PM
The Harry Potter audio books are well done too. I enjoyed those a great deal.

QuikSand
05-16-2008, 07:38 PM
I would recommend Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Nonfiction, but it's interesting stuff, and his reading is very compelling.

Logan
05-16-2008, 08:43 PM
I would recommend Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Nonfiction, but it's interesting stuff, and his reading is very compelling.

Almost done with this book, definitely very interesting.

Toddzilla
05-16-2008, 08:48 PM
You could get 1/2 through the Baroque Cycle - maybe

digamma
05-17-2008, 08:30 AM
I second Blink.

Other Audiobooks I've enjoyed: John Adams, Charlie Wilson's War, Rigged (by the same guy who wrote Bringing Down the House) and The Perfect Mile.

Galaril
05-17-2008, 08:12 PM
Alot of great suggestions in there. I am leaning to one of the Harry Potter books since I have already read all the Fire and Ice stuff by Martin and have listened to the Tolkien Hobbit and LOTR in CD. Also, I am traveling with my mom and 5 year old though she will be listening to DVDs in the back so not a factor. I will check that History of science book to see what it is about. Thanks everyone.

Buccaneer
05-17-2008, 08:59 PM
I also have the HP books on my iPod and while I have only listened to parts of them, it is a good choice, if you can tolerate a very pronounced British accent and some weird voice acting (like with Luna).

terpkristin
05-18-2008, 11:21 AM
If you're going to go for a Harry Potter book, you might go for one of the longer ones. I have the first 6 of them on my iPod, and the first few are shorter by far:
HP 1: 8 hours, 17 minutes, 38 seconds
HP 2: 9 hours, 2 minutes, 7 seconds
HP 3: 11 hours, 48 minutes, 19 seconds
HP 4: 20 hours, 36 minutes, 23 seconds
HP 5: 1 day, 2 hours, 29 minutes, 51 seconds
HP 6: 18 hours, 33 minutes, 24 seconds

Other books I'd recommend from my Audible collection (for this or just generally):
*George R. R. Martin's ASOIAF series
*Robert Jordan's WoT series
*Ender's Game (the narrartor, Stefan Rudnicki, is pretty good)
*Ender's Shadow
*The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (narrated by Stephen Fry, I love his narraration; I would like to get the UK versions of the Harry Potter audiobooks because he reads them and I like him much more than Jim Dale, the US narrarator)
*America the Audiobook (it's just funny, though short)
*The Curse of Chalion (by Lois McMaster Bujold...the sequel, Paladin of Souls, was pretty good, though I didn't care for the 3rd in the series, The Hallowed Hunt)
*The Golden Compass (the first in the His Dark Materials trilogy...it's got a cast doing all the different voices...the entire trilogy is a good listen)
*Confessions of an Economic Hitman (by John Perkins...it's non-fiction and political, but it's an intriguing listen)
*The Chronicles of Narnia (each book is between about 3 and 5 hours long if I remember correctly)

I've listened to a lot more, those are the ones I'd recommend without reservations. There is one other I'd recommend, though I'll confess that I got bored with it, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I recommend it because it's a good recording, and from what I've heard, I'm in the minority of getting bored with the story.

/tk

mrsimperless
05-18-2008, 11:52 AM
The Teaching Company

hxxp://www.teach12.com

Galaril
05-19-2008, 11:54 PM
Can anyone recommend a online store or site I can buy and EASILY download audiobooks and one that has a good selection. The car I am driving only has cd played=r and no mp3 capability so I need to burn the books to cd. I tried to sign up for the audible.com free book offer but two things I didn't like first you have to have nero software just to burn a cd and when I went through the sign up and pay process I picked The Short History of Nearly Everything but after I paid I got a messga ethat said the selction was not able to be sold in my place of residence (massachusetts)? And to make matters worse I didn't get to pick antoher free book. So that company losta sale due a fucked web app UI.

thesloppy
05-20-2008, 12:00 AM
I'm disappointed that nobody's even mentioned 'Risk Management' up until this point.

Galaril
05-20-2008, 12:02 AM
I'm disappointed that nobody's even mentioned 'Risk Management' up until this point.

Being that is the way I pend my days conducting RA for computer security I am hoping you are joking.;)

sabotai
05-20-2008, 12:28 AM
Can anyone recommend a online store or site I can buy and EASILY download audiobooks and one that has a good selection. The car I am driving only has cd played=r and no mp3 capability so I need to burn the books to cd. I tried to sign up for the audible.com free book offer but two things I didn't like first you have to have nero software just to burn a cd and when I went through the sign up and pay process I picked The Short History of Nearly Everything but after I paid I got a messga ethat said the selction was not able to be sold in my place of residence (massachusetts)? And to make matters worse I didn't get to pick antoher free book. So that company losta sale due a fucked web app UI.

iTunes. They have a pretty good Audiobook section (much of it supplied by Audible.com). You can burn to a CD from their software, so you don't need Nero. The biggest problem with iTunes, though, is that it's a pain to browse. If you know what you want, you can search for it easily, but if you just want to browse what they have, it's a major pain.

They also have short stories on there, if you are a fan of short stories. I've bought a few Edgar Allen Poe stories (for $0.95 each), the ones narrated by B.J.Henderson. He does a great job. They have a lot of other authors and their short stories too that you can buy individually for 1 or 2 bucks.