I just picked up The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, The Crying of Lot 49, Watership Down (a weird, gaping hole in my history), and a Robertson Davies, because I love him and haven't read him in years. Yay, books. I still have The Three Body Problem, and so far, so good.

I think the rest will take a while to come in. I hope.

Ooh, good choices.

I’m reading Asunder by Kerstin Hall, I’m not sure why I picked it up but I think it’s up for a Hugo. I’m 75% through it and it’s very good so far

I just looked it up -- intriguing!

It reminds me a little of the Penric stories conceptualy, but a very different world and characters and everything. It was reminding me of something else yesterday, but I have already forgotten what...

Finished Asunder. And found out it's the Nebula it's up for, not a Hugo. Not that I know the difference. Anyway, the ending is not a bad ending but is not the ending I wanted and has me hoping there is a sequel where certain things can be fixed. Not to dissuade anyone from reading it but there is some emotional risk in getting involved with these characters.

Back to Christopher Moore with Secondhand Souls. Not very far into it but it is reinforcing my dislike of Fisher Stevens as a narrator (I like when the credits say "performed by" but turning that into a noun just doesn't work in my head). Unfortunate as he's done some of my favorite books of Moore's and lately I prefer audiobooks to any other kind. Not that he's bad to the point of ruining the book but I do get distracted by wishing he made different choices for his performance.

I hear you on that, boy howdy. I love audio books, but I have many preferences that I didn't really know I had until I started listening to them. I tend to prefer straight up narration that is acting-adjacent rather than Acting the Story. Generally. I did just listen to a couple with an actual actor who did a phenomenal job. I... can't remember who it was off the top of my head.

I tend not to love the multi-actor as characters ones unless I put myself in the mind frame of listening to, like, a radio play, but not all books work well in that format.

Yeah, I have really loved some actual radio plays but I generally prefer one good narrator to a full cast audiobook. Not sure if that is inherent to the form or just the particular ones I have listened to, it's not a huge sample. That said, I have just now developed the theory that with a cast there are more opportunities to make decisions I don't like - the casting, the direction, the individual performances. And I'm gonna guess the full cast versions are more likely to be abridged, though once again that could just be what I've listened to

Yeah, I got really annoyed when I couldn't find the audiobook version of the last Murderbot novel, and had to settle for a dramatization. It wasn't as good, IMO.

Currently reading Lev Grossman's The Bright Sword, and I cannot quite figure out what he's doing. It's kind of a mashup of le Morte d'Arthur and The Once and Future King but it's set after Arthur dies, and ... I dunno. It's not really working for me but i want to give it a chance. But it's also longer than I want.

I really wanted to like the Murderbot dramatizations and I really did not. Made me extra anxious about the TV show, but that seems to be groundless. Love the audiobooks best, so far

I have become a huge fan of audiobooks, and only wish I could listen while doing other things, but I can't seem to multi-task and listen, except when driving. I will sit in the car to finish a section.

I prefer one narrator, but some work with multiple, The Lost Bookshop as an example. The three narrators helped with the different timelines. One of the best single narrator audiobooks I listened to was Demon Copperhead because my ears were convinced he was the character. The only dramatized adaptation I can recall offhand was Fourth Wing, and I found the sound effects and acting more distracting than helpful.

Bottom line, a single, talented narrator works best for me.

I have to decide what novels we are going to listen to on my drive to NY. About 30 hours in the car so I am looking for a nice long saga. We'll alternate with some music and news on the road, but long stretches of narration will be good. Right now, Dean Koontz's False Memory is winning with over 21 hours of narration. Reviews are all over the place, so I still haven't made a decision.

FWIW, my very first audiobooks consumed were Harry Potter. I listened to 7 novels in my car on FL/NY/FL trips! I had tried to read them without success previously but loved listening to them all.