Best audiobooks of the year
Recorded Books, publisher of unabridged audiobooks, has received 11 nominations for the 2009 Audies in both adult and children’s categories. Each year the Audio Publishers Association recognizes the highest quality audiobook and spoken word entertainment in the United States, awarding the best performances with the Audie distinction. Winners will be announced at the Audies gala on May 29. The nominations, followed by narrator and category:Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. Narrated by Danielle Ferland, Jim Frangione, Jennifer Ikeda, Stafford Clarke-Price, and Nicole Poole (Fiction).
Gandhi and Churchill by Arthur Herman. Narrated by John Curless (History)
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. Narrated by Richard Poe (Solo Narration—Male)
The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie. Narrated by Firdous Bamji (Literary Fiction)
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. Narrated by Joey Collins, Peter Jay Fernandez, Kate Forbes, Ezra Knight, Brenday Pressley, and Tom Stechschulte (Multi-Voiced Performance)
YOU: Staying Young by Michael F. Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet C. Oz, M.D. Narrated by Johnny Heller (Personal Development).
Fire Me Up by Katie MacAlister. Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (Romance)
The Sisterhood of Blackberry Corner by Andrea Smith. Narrated by Lizan Mitchell (Inspirational/Faith-Based Fiction)
De cómo las muchachas García perdierno el acento by Julia Alvarez. Narrated by Adriana Sananes, Rossmery Almonte, Silvia Sierra, Laura Gomez, and Rosie Berrido (Spanish Language)
The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon. Narrated by Christopher Evan Welch (Teens)
The Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Narrated by Suzanne Toren (Teens)
While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, 
Comments
Hmm, I wonder the the criteria for this list are ...
I'm currently listening to CHANGE OF HEART for my book club, and I'm not all that impressed. The narration is fine, it is the story and the writing that are bothering me. But even so, the narration isn't the best I've heard this year (although I guess it COULD be the best PRODUCED this year, if there isn't much to compare it to).
Posted by: Heather J. | February 16, 2009 12:30 PM
I've just started listening to audio books and especially enjoy them for a trip in the car - they help the time go by. I'm going to make a note of a few of these.
Posted by: Kathy | February 16, 2009 8:23 PM
I suppose this award is for the best sounding audio book as opposed to best sounding audio book including plot of the audio book (like Heather, I point out the pretty terrible "Change of Heart"). Otherwise, I'm baffled.
I personally have never listened to an audio book. I can't concentrate on the point of the story that way and I find that it often limits how I see the book.
Posted by: Biblibio | February 17, 2009 3:23 AM