Best audiobooks
As if your summer reading list was not long enough, here are some audio book award-winners and others that caught the attention of the editors at People magazine. The winners of the 2008 Audie Awards, honoring spoken word entertainment and presented by the Audio Publishers Association, are:Audio book of the Year: The Chopin Manuscript: A Serial Thriller by various authors and narrated by Alfred Molina. Former war crimes investigator Harold Middleton possesses a previously unknown score by Frederic Chopin. But he is unaware that locked within its handwritten notes lies a secret that now threatens the lives of thousands of Americans. Jeffery Deaver conceived the characters and set the plot in motion, and 14 other authors each wrote a chapter. Deaver then completed the story.
Fiction book of the year: Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas, narrated by Lorelei King. During World War II, a family finds life turned upside down when the government opens a Japanese internment camp in their small Colorado town. After a young girl is murdered, all eyes turn to the strangers.
Literary Fiction: Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson, narrated by Will Patton. The story of Skip Sands, a spy in training engaged in psychological operations against the Vietcong and the disasters that befall him due to his uncle, a war hero in the intelligence community. Meanwhile, the Houston brothers, Bill and James, drift into a war in which the line between disinformation and delusion has blurred.
Mystery: Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke, narrated by Will Patton. In the waning days of summer, 2005, a storm with greater impact than the atomic bomb peels back the face of southern Louisiana and, for Detective Dave Robicheaux, New Orleans is reduced to a medieval society.
Thriller/Suspense: Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, narrated by Stephen Lang. Judas Coyne is a collector of the bizarre: a cookbook for cannibals, a used hangman's noose. When a ghost is for sale on the internet, he decides he must have it. He should have thought twice. This spirit is determined to chase him to the edge of sanity.
Romance: Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, narrated by Anna Fields. Chicago Stars quarterback Dean Robillard's life in the spotlight is starting to fade, and he sets off on a trip to figure out what's gone wrong. When he spies a young woman dressed in a beaver suit, his life changes in unexpected ways.
Science Fiction: Dune by Frank Herbert, narrated by Scott Brick, Simon Vance and a full cast. The beginning of what is perhaps the grandest epic in science fiction.
Inspirational/ Faith-based fiction: River Rising by Athol Dickson, narrated by Dion Graham. It is Pilotville, La., 1927, and Hale Poser arrives in this isolated Mississippi River village to find his roots. What he finds instead is an evil that only a miracle can stop.
People recommends these selections for your summer listening pleasure. (The magazine's comments are included.)
The Cure for the Modern Life by Lisa Tucker: "Read with effective restraint by actor Scott Brick, this tale of warring exes, medical ethics and Big Pharma is a smart page-turner." (Funny. Using the phrase "page-turner" about an audio book!)
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris, read by Deanna Hurst. "A novel about an office when you're on vacation from the office? Trust us -- it's that good."
The Opposite of Love, by Julia Buxbaum, read by Ariadne Meyers. "A young lawyer struggles with work, a breakup and her mom's heath. Chick lit with heft, expertly read."
Mystery: Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke, narrated by Will Patton. In the waning days of summer, 2005, a storm with greater impact than the atomic bomb peels back the face of southern Louisiana and, for Detective Dave Robicheaux, New Orleans is reduced to a medieval society.
Thriller/Suspense: Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, narrated by Stephen Lang. Judas Coyne is a collector of the bizarre: a cookbook for cannibals, a used hangman's noose. When a ghost is for sale on the internet, he decides he must have it. He should have thought twice. This spirit is determined to chase him to the edge of sanity.
Romance: Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, narrated by Anna Fields. Chicago Stars quarterback Dean Robillard's life in the spotlight is starting to fade, and he sets off on a trip to figure out what's gone wrong. When he spies a young woman dressed in a beaver suit, his life changes in unexpected ways.
Science Fiction: Dune by Frank Herbert, narrated by Scott Brick, Simon Vance and a full cast. The beginning of what is perhaps the grandest epic in science fiction.
Inspirational/ Faith-based fiction: River Rising by Athol Dickson, narrated by Dion Graham. It is Pilotville, La., 1927, and Hale Poser arrives in this isolated Mississippi River village to find his roots. What he finds instead is an evil that only a miracle can stop.
People recommends these selections for your summer listening pleasure. (The magazine's comments are included.)
The Cure for the Modern Life by Lisa Tucker: "Read with effective restraint by actor Scott Brick, this tale of warring exes, medical ethics and Big Pharma is a smart page-turner." (Funny. Using the phrase "page-turner" about an audio book!)
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris, read by Deanna Hurst. "A novel about an office when you're on vacation from the office? Trust us -- it's that good."
The Opposite of Love, by Julia Buxbaum, read by Ariadne Meyers. "A young lawyer struggles with work, a breakup and her mom's heath. Chick lit with heft, expertly read."
Comments
This just in. Barnes & Noble has posted its own list of summer audio must-listens. Check out this link to see their favorites and participate in their poll about where you listen to your audio books. (Me? In the car.)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/bn-studio/videos-podcasts/index.asp?
Posted by: Susan | June 17, 2008 10:34 AM