Feature
Vacation Listening
You've planned where to go and what to do, but have you picked your audiobooks yet? Here's AudioFile's list for three types of personalities.
Type A: Active Travelers' Entertainment
Are you a Type A who keeps busy all the time with sightseeing excursions, mountain hikes, and other active adventures? Type As are great multitaskers, even on vacation, and they take along books that teach as well as entertain--bestselling biographies, intellectually-stimulating fiction, maybe a self-improvement title or two.
AMERICA (THE AUDIOBOOK):
A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction
Jon Stewart, et al., read by Jon Stewart, et al.
(Time Warner AudioBooks)
A canny examination of the theater of contemporary political discourse from the crack (and cracked) "Daily Show" team. AP History it's not--but it is profane, snarky, and hilarious.
Read Review
BLINK
Malcolm Gladwell, read by Malcolm Gladwell
(Time Warner AudioBooks)
Have you ever wondered why love at first sight, so seemingly ill-advised, sometimes works out for the long-term? In his impassioned defense of the snap judgment, Gladwell asks us to step back from overly analytical decision making and trust our instincts and experience.
Read Review
BROKEN PREY
John Sandford, read by Richard Ferrone
(Penguin Audio)
John Sandford's latest edge-of-your-seat thriller has investigator Lucas Davenport chasing a monstrous murderer. But rest easy: Richard Ferrone carries listeners through the many plot twists, never losing his way.
Read Review
COLLAPSE
Jared Diamond, read by Christopher Murney
(Penguin Audio)
In everyday language, Professor Diamond writes of the ecological collapse and subsequent decline of past societies. Informative, entertaining, stimulating--and a vital lesson for the future.
Read Review
MY LIFE SO FAR
Jane Fonda, read by Jane Fonda
(Random House Audio)
In her no-holds-barred self-exposé, Jane Fonda explores the many lives and many voices of an "ever-evolving" woman with sometimes brutal honesty. Intriguing, instructive, inspirational personal exploration is enriched by a flawless performance.
Read Review
VAULT OF THE HEAVENS: Exploring the Solar System's Place in the Universe
James B. Kaler, read by James B. Kaler
(Barnes & Noble Audio/Portable Professor)
Fourteen exciting lectures explain sunspots, black holes, quasars, neutron stars, and more. The cosmos is approached in everyday terms with awe and reverence that will captivate even the most cynical listener.
Read Review
Type B: "Beach-brain" Comfort Food
Or are you a Type B, whose idea of heaven is kicking back in some gorgeous setting--with no agenda whatsoever? Type Bs are relaxed and easygoing, more concerned with the quality of life than with its pace. Audiobooks that are exciting, fantastical, escapist fun are like comfort food to "B"s on vacation.
DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN CORDUROY AND DENIM
David Sedaris, read by David Sedaris
(Time Warner AudioBooks)
Sedaris's deadpan delivery makes these stories of awkward childhood, awkward adolescence, and awkward adulthood that much more eminently relatable. Laugh out loud while realizing that your own family might not be as bad as you thought.
Read Review
THE FULL CUPBOARD OF LIFE
Alexander McCall Smith, read by Lisette Lecat
(Recorded Books)
Lisette Lecat adopts a confidential storytelling tone to deliver these vignettes about Botswana village life, and it's like checking in with old friends, with a little judicious snooping thrown in on the part of Mma Ramotswe. Listeners new to the series should start with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
Read Review
GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES
Ruth Reichl, read by Ruth Reichl
(Random House Audio)
Foodies rejoice! Reichl gives the inside scoop on world-famous restaurants and once-in-a-lifetime meals--all while relating her own very personal story. Don't listen on an empty stomach!
Read Review
GUARDIAN OF THE HORIZON
Elizabeth Peters, read by Barbara Rosenblat
(Harper Audio/Recorded Books)
Kidnapping, murder, political intrigues, and damsels in distress make up this 16th episode in the Peabody Chronicles. Barbara Rosenblat's performance offers full immersion--those new to the series will become instant fans, and devotees will be delighted.
Read Review
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO
THE GALAXY
Douglas Adams, read by Stephen Fry
(Random House Audio/Books on Tape)
Stephen Fry's priceless performance as interstellar travelers tumbling from one near-disaster to another gives inspired new life to Douglas Adams's cult classic. Fry injects just the right touches of irony into Adams's cheeky, always hilarious, social satire. True escapism!
Read Review
SNOBS
Julian Fellowes, read by Julian Fellowes
(Audio Renaissance)
Indulge in this story of consummately snobbish high-society Londoners airing their petty complaints and dirty laundry. Even better than Fellowes's wicked wit, entertaining plot, and superb characters is his dead-on reading of his own sharp and comic work.
Read Review
Type C: Listening with Children
And then there are Type Cs, those who are most content when everyone's happy. "C"s do well on family travel oriented toward activities with children, and they always look for titles they will enjoy as much as the kids. Whichever type you lean toward, these titles are guaranteed to put you in vacation mode.
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES I
Arthur Conan Doyle, read by David Timson
(Naxos AudioBooks)
David Timson's reading intensifies the drama and humor of these four classic Holmes mysteries, including the favorite "The Adventure of the Speckled Band."
Read Review
BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE
Kate DiCamillo, read by Cherry Jones
(Listening Library) Ages 8+
India Opal Buloni walks into the Winn-Dixie grocery store in her new hometown and comes out with a dog--a mangy, homeless, smiling dog. And her life changes forever. Cherry Jones delivers a superb first-person narration that brings this charming story to life. Everyone in the car--including the family dog--can enjoy it.
Read Review
ERAGON
Christopher Paolini, read by Gerard Doyle
(Listening Library) Ages 10+
As narrated by Gerard Doyle, this story of a beautiful blue dragon and her rider fills the ears with vivid characters, witty dialogue, and nail-biting battle scenes. Young fantasy fans will love the magical world, while grown-ups will pick up on the obvious nods to Tolkien. The sequel, Eldest, comes out in August.
Read Review
HARRY POTTER SERIES
J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale
(Listening Library) Ages 8+
Whether you lined up at midnight to get your copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince or the story of the boy wizard is (gasp!) new to your family, the series of six audiobooks, incomparably performed by Jim Dale, will provide miles and miles of family entertainment.
Read Review
HOOT
Carl Hiaasen, read by Chad Lowe
(Listening Library) Ages 10+
Roy Eberhardt, new kid in town, makes it his mission to save some protected miniature owls. Hiaasen has crafted a delicious screwball comedy for all ages--and Chad Lowe's performance is a hoot.
Read Review
THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS
Ann Brashares, read by Angela Goethals
(Listening Library) Ages 10+
Four friends for life and the pair of jeans they share over the course of a summer form the center of this story, joyfully narrated by Angela Goethals. Perfect for 'tweens and teens--and anyone trying to understand them. Follow up with The Second Summer of the Sisterhood and Girls in Pants.
Read Review
Illustration © 2005 Bud Peen.
[To read more about Vacation Listening, see the August/September issue of AudioFile. Subscribe Now! ]
August/September 2005
(c)2005 AudioFile Publications, Inc.
