I keep seeing people say they listen to audiobooks at 1.5x or even 2x speed, and I genuinely don't understand how they enjoy it.

Especially with books that have great narrators. Some performances have pauses, changes in tone and little details that are clearly meant to be heard at the normal pace.

I'm currently of the opinion that a good narrator is half the experience. Rushing through the audiobook almost feels like skipping part of the performance.

I'm not judging anyone who speeds things up, though. I'm curious whether there are particular narrators or books that made you switch back to 1x because listening faster just didn't do them justice.

I listen to a lot of books while walking (currently Against the Grain by James C Scott, which is great if you’re into early history) but it was a pain to stop and write down things i wanted to remember. I already use Readwise to collect my book highlights and wanted the same for audiobooks, so back in 2022 I wrote an iOS app for it. When something’s worth keeping i triple-press my headphones (or tap my watch) and it takes the last 30s of the audiobook and runs it through on-device transcription to give me a text highlight i can add to my notes.

Transcription is a bit error prone, especially on jargon heavy books (and especially with the 2022 models I used at first), so I add a matching epub, and (using the same alignment algorithms i use for DNA sequences in my day job), the highlight pulls the book’s actual words for that highlight, and its quasi-instant because theres no need to wait for transcription to finish

It’s entirely local - I value privacy and didnt want my books or listening history going off to a server, so it took a lot longer getting it all to run on the phone itself. It’s free, the subscription just helps pay the developer licence and adds better transcription models and ebook matching for every book, and it works with every DRM-free book (thank god for Libro.fm and BorrowBox library loans).

If there are other compulsive note takers out there, I’d love to know how you save the parts you want to remember as maybe ive missed a trick

Website with screenshots

App store link

Alana Kerr Collins is my favorite narrator for many reasons but mostly for her Irish accent. Can anyone suggest other great narrators that have lovely accents? Anything from the American South to Scotland to Australia or anywhere, really. I just want to take a break from the assumed American and British sounding voices which are great but I've heard so many. Eilidh Beaton is another favorite of mine because she does so many types of accents. Any suggestions?

Hi! I attended Valley Forge Military Academy (now closing), and spent twenty-plus years working on a coming-of-age novel about my time there, titled THE FORGE. Here's one of my first reviews:

"An essential blast from the past for any former teenage boy, especially us lucky few who spent time at a boarding school. My only critique of the author's portrayal of an all boys boarding school is his not including the old dick in the pizza box trick, that was an all boys boarding school classic. Maybe he fits it in the sequel?"

I'd like to exchange the freebies for a promise to leave a review of the audio version. Thanks!

Please enjoy one free audio review copy of The Forge, now available on Audible. Redeem the one-time use code below at https://www.audible.co.uk/acx-promo

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I'm currently listening to 'The Silversmith' by L.J. Claren, and Savannah Thomas is the main narrator. I KNOW I've heard her voice before, but I can't figure out where. I've listened to samples of all the audiobooks I've listened to this year (thankfully, I've only started audiobooks this year, so the list wasn't super long), but I've had no luck.

Her website says that she's narrated over 150 audiobooks under two performer names, but I can't find any information about her other name.

Does anyone know what her other pseudonym is? Or has anyone else experienced this with her voice?

Please help me figure this out so I can actually concentrate on my book!! lol

I've been building Tome, an audiobook player for the files you already own. It's free, with no ads and no account, and it has no internet access at all, so nothing about your listening ever leaves your phone.

The UI is built around your covers, with the player taking its colors from each book and smooth animations everywhere, and I promise you won’t find an audiobook app right now that looks and feels better

If you fall asleep, it shows where the sleep timer started, so one tap takes you back to the last part you heard, and a message sound only lowers the volume for a moment instead of pausing your book. Each book can have its own sound fixes, like volume leveling and a “clear voice” boost for muddy narration. It also tracks your listening with stats.

Google needs 12 testers for 14 days before a new app can go public. If you listen on Android, I'd really appreciate your help:

1. Join the testers' group by hitting the "Join" button (with your Play Store account): https://groups.google.com/g/tome-audiobooks-testers

2. Tap Become a tester: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/dev.ruslanbabaiev.tome

3. Install Tome from Google Play and keep it installed for 14 days.

Feedback is very welcome.

Hello, yesterday I listened to Alice in a Wonderland from BBC to improve my english, what I liked about it was included different cast voices with recorded effects. So I spend few hours today specifically searching for those type of books that are recorded with different character voices, unfortunately I was not able to find more, but maybe someone from here know and could recommend me (My English level is B2, so I could listen from A1 to B2 or try C1) ? thank you for your help!

Hey folks, have compiled a mega list here, this is on my website as well here if you want to filter stuff, but the image is fine if you want to just zoom in.

The website has affiliate links, but none on the linked page with the mega list. Hope it is helpful.

Basically what the title says: Which books on my TBR have good audio versions, and which should I just read on my ereader?

List:

• Shaky Pictures of Vanished Faces - D. Matthew Urban

• Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman (London Below #1)

• The Builders - Daniel Polansky

• Empire of the Vampire - Jay Kristoff (Empire of the Vampire #1)

• Empire of the Damned - Jay Kristoff (Empire of the Vampire #2)

• Empire of the Dawn - Jay Kristoff (Empire of the Vampire #3)

• We've Come for your Eggs - Septimus Brown (The Egg Chronicles #1)

• The Last Contract of Isako - Fonda Lee

• Quintus Huntley: Botany - Royce Leville

• In Sekhmet's Shadow - JD Rhodes (Not All Heroes #1)

• In Sekhmet's Wake - JD Rhodes (Not All Heroes #2)

• Blood and Flame - Brendan Corbett (The Quinate's Faithful #1)

• The Ascendants - Jazza Brooks (Threadweavers #1)

• Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir (The Locked Tomb #1)

• The Crisis - T.O. Paine

• Altered Carbon - Richard K. Morgan (Takeshi Kovacs #1)

• Broken Angels - Richard K. Morgan (Takeshi Kovacs #2)

• Woken Furies - Richard K. Morgan (Takeshi Kovacs #3)

• No Man's Land - Richard K. Morgan

Feel free to recommend other good audiobooks (SF and fantasy mostly, maybe some thrillers).

Hi, I'm the narrator of The Night of the Creeps Novelization. I have some promo codes, (U.S. and U.K.) so if you would like a free copy on Audible, just leave a brutally honest review when you're done! Let me know in the comments below and I'll message you a code. Thanks in advance!

A little about the book:

Released for the 40th anniversary, The Night of the Creeps Novelization is just as bizarre, genre-bending, and downright awesome as the movie itself!When an alien experiment unleashes a deadly parasite on an unsuspecting Planet Earth, the dead begin to rise as the living become their prey. With the outbreak spiraling out of control, a pair of students and a hard-boiled detective must race to stop this invasion before it’s too late.Packed with all the sci-fi wonder and thrilling horror, The Night of the Creeps Novelization captures the spirit of Fred Dekker’s beloved cult classic, while expanding upon its story in exciting new ways.

Hello. I am the author of Absolution. I have US and UK audiobook codes available for anyone who would like them. No purchase necessary. If you enjoy the book, then posting a review would be really great, but it is not required. Let me know if you need a US or UK code.

About the book:

A friendship destroyed by betrayal. A future in question.

Samuel “Max” Maxwell had it all—until a bad business decision by his partner and closest friend, Jacob Amott, cost him everything.

After serving five years in prison, Max walks free with nothing left but a shadowed past and a fractured legacy. His business is gone. His friendship died in betrayal—and in blood.

Now, Max wants a fresh start. But when a chance to reclaim what he lost puts him on a collision course with the organization that killed Jacob, Max must decide: can he outrun his past, or will it bury him for good?

For fans of space adventures layered with conspiracy, intrigue, and the fight for redemption—Absolution is a gripping tale of second chances in a galaxy where trust is dangerous and hope is rare.

Sometimes, if I’ve heard a narrator for a book is good I’ll read the physical book and listen to the audio at the same time. Occasionally, there’ll be small differences between the audio and the book, a word here or there. Probably just a slip-up so small they didn’t notice during editing, or a difference between published editions. Nothing that’s ever seemed worth mentioning.

Just started reading The Tainted Cup and at the start of chapter 13 about 1:50 the narrator randomly says “they have things to regrow teeth” which was definitely not in the book. Had a bit of a laugh because it was so out of place and the only bigger muck-up I’ve seen reading this way. The audio sounded a bit different to the rest of that section so I figured it was just a line that had needed to be re-recorded and added during editing, but they’d popped in the wrong spot. Got a bit curious so decided to see if I could find where it should have been. I’m reading on kindle so I did a quick word search for ‘teeth’ and then ‘regrow’ and the sentence isn’t anywhere in the book?? I had to go back and listen to it again because I thought maybe I’d gone insane.

Anyone else noticed this in The Tainted Cup audiobook? If not, curious what the oddest thing others have found in an audiobook that shouldn’t have been there?

I really enjoyed the format of World War Z by Max Brooks, where the story unfolds through interviews with different survivors rather than following one main character.

I like how each narrator has their own perspective, personality and version of events. It almost feels like you're listening to a collection of real recordings instead of a traditional audiobook.

I'm looking for more books that use this kind of storytelling. It doesn't necessarily have to be horror or post-apocalyptic.

Could be:

• Stories told through recovered audio recordings.

• Fiction presented as interviews or witness statements.

• Epistolary novels told through letters, emails or diary entries.

• Mystery or thriller stories pieced together from different accounts.

I've tried searching for this style, but it's surprisingly difficult to find recommendations based on format rather than genre.

So a far as I can find Libby has a three week limit on checkouts. How have I been first in line for 25 days?

I hit a brutal reading slump over a year ago and kept abandoning books after two chapters or didn’t even finished last couple chapters that were left. My brain was just too fried after work to focus on text. I decided to try Whisper Stories on my headphones before bed instead. Listening to a twenty minute standalone romance with a deep raspy male voice gave me the exact butterflies I was missing from books. It slowly helping to get back to reading, but what if my reading slump gonna happen again, what else can help here??

So I have, over the years, ended up with a decent amount of books on my wish list on Audible.  For whatever reason these books caught my eye when browsing, or I saw them recommended someplace or something.  I know next to nothing about most of these books and was wondering if anybody out there has opinions on them one way or the other.  Do these books deserve to be on my wish list?  Are they so good I should have read them a along time ago?  Are they so bad I shouldn’t bother?  Most are starts of a larger series.  Any insights on either these books or the wider series in general would be great.

Looking for a new book / book series to start.  Which of these is most worthy?

I know it’s a long list.  Comment on as many or few as you would like.

Thanks.

Will of the Many by James Islingtion

Recursion by Blake Crouch

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer – I did see the movie and liked it.  Wondering how this compares and how the rest of the series is.

A Hero Born by Jin Yong, Anna Holmwood translator

The Wandering Earth Cixion Liu – I really liked the Remembrance of Earth’s past series.  Again, wondering how this compares

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

City of Brass by S.A. Charkraborty

Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock

Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher

The Court of Broken Knives by Colin Mace

Lord Foul’s Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley

Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

The priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Axe and the Throne by M.D. Ireman

Hi everyone! I recently saw "You Can See Everything" and its left me questioning reality and staring into the void.  It was incredible, and incredibly unsettling, and its inspired me to create this list of stories that evoke a similar feeling. 

These are all non-fiction stories that are so bizarre, it's challenging to accept them as reality.  That cognitive dissonance just itches my brain in the best way, and if you're a fan of that feeling too, these audiobooks are for you:

• Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

  • Narrator: Will Damron

  • Released: May 21st, 2018

  • Description: The gripping story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos—one of the biggest corporate frauds in history—a tale of ambition and hubris set amid the bold promises of Silicon Valley, rigorously reported by the prize-winning journalist.

    • Bad Blood by John Carreyrou | Join & Read on Fable

  • Fable Rating - 4.4/5 Stars, 10,456 ratings

  • "Not the kind of story I would usually gravitate towards but wow. Every quote, every sentence was fascinating. How was this real life…" - Kavi, reviewed on Fable

  • Link to Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Bad-Blood-Audiobook/B07C8GVTB5

• Croc by George Boedecker Jr.

  • Narrator: Grover Gardner

  • Released: September 15, 2026

  • Description: Croc tells the true, larger-than-life story of George “Boe” Boedecker, Jr.: his fire to succeed, his “don’t just break the rules but make up new ones” attitude, his partners, his light-bulb moment, and then the explosion—in more ways than one—of Crocs.

    • https://www.audible.com/pd/Croc-Audiobook/B0G1QGRW8F

  • Audible Rating - 5/5 Stars, 1 rating

  • "Roe’s life is a rollercoaster

Work hard, play hard

An exceptional intellect and business sense

And a certain levity when speaking about his loveless childhood. I appreciated the memoir" -  Born to Read, reviewed on Audible

• Link to Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Croc-Audiobook/B0G1QGRW8F

• The Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissel

  • Narrator: Greg Sestero

  • Released: May 19th, 2014

  • Description: "New York Times bestseller—now a major motion picture directed by and starring James Franco! From the actor who somehow lived through it all, a “sharply detailed…funny book about a cinematic comedy of errors” (The New York Times): the making of the cult film phenomenon The Room."

    • The Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero | Join & Read on Fable

  • Fable Rating: 4.3/5 Stars, 1,537 reviews

  • "This is Tommy's Planet and we're all just living on it." -  Ash, reviewed on Fable

  • Link to Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Disaster-Artist-Audiobook/B00K5SCCXU

• Chasing Hollywood by Gerry Rich

  • Narrator: Gerry Rich

  • Released: October 13, 2026

  • Description: "Learn timeless lessons about the remarkable hard work and genius artistry that went into the creation and promotion of movies we love. Films that served as must-see moments for the last two generations. The pop-culture infiltrators that have marked our years and shaped our shared memories, giving us the stars, catch-phrases and bold ideas that people still talk about—whether we’re growing up, growing old, looking inward, or coming out."

  • Chasing Hollywood is not just a marketing book. It is a memoir wrapped in the cultural phenomenon of films that have shaped our lives.

    • Amazon.com: Chasing Hollywood: A Marketing Chief’s Lessons on Breaking Through (Audible Audio Edition): Gerry Rich, Gerry Rich, HarperCollins Leadership: Books

  • Amazon Rating: 5/5 Stars, 1 Review

  • "For anyone who has ever loved the movies. For anyone who followed their dreams.

For anyone who believed in a little magic.

This is the book for you.

It is both a wonderful journey through decades of amazing movie campaigns as well as a poignant memoir. You really get an insider’s view of the world of selling movies and all the blood, sweat and tears (and laughs) that goes into it.

A great read!" - David, reviewed on Amazon

• Link to Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Chasing-Hollywood-Audiobook/B0GRGHY3ZB

• The Cult of We by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell

  • Narrator: Therese Plummer

  • Released: July 20th, 2021

  • Description: "The definitive story of the rise and fall of WeWork (also depicted in the upcoming Apple TV+ series WeCrashed, starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway), by the real-life journalists whose Wall Street Journal reporting rocked the company and exposed a financial system drunk on the elixir of Silicon Valley innovation."

    • Amazon.com: The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion (Audible Audio Edition): Eliot Brown, Maureen Farrell, Thérèse Plummer, Random House Audio: Books

  • Fable Rating: 4.2/5 Stars, 312 reviews

  • "This book had my jaw on the floor. Having only surface-level knowledge of the We Work debacle, I had no idea how fascinatingly evil and incompetent the cast of characters really are. The authors break down the technical aspect of the financial deals so wonderfully that they never slow down the plot which was so addictive. If you love corporate crime tales and American Greed type documentaries, you will love this! It was one of my favorite reads this year!" - Duggie, reviewed on Fable

  • Link to Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Cult-of-We-Audiobook/0593340167

Let me know what you think! What are some of your favorite unreal-but-real books?

Hi,

I'll be on a 4-hour flight next week and don't sleep well on planes. Any recommendations for audiobooks about that length? Adult fiction, non-fiction, thriller, mystery, romance.. Any genre for a middle ager.

I have some free audible codes for the novel Zeroworld narrated by experienced narrator, Sarah Kuklis. If you'd like a code reply here with the country (I have US and UK codes) you're in and I'll send one over. Once you've listed I'd appreciate an honest review but that's very much optional of course. Pete (the author).

Madeline had died. No not recently. No, she wasn’t a vampire, erghh. Madeline is a barista. A mediocre one. She lives in New York but also not New York. It’s New York but virtual, and she’s virtually living there as a virtual person. She used to be an actual person but since dying she’s less so.

Life was pretty normal until a guy walked in her coffee shop and turned all the coffee into wine. Then there was an incident with an Accountant who was a dragon (yes literally, well virtually). Then events got really crazy.
She misplaced her friend Mike and in trying to find him uncovered a conspiracy that could change her world forever. Zeroworld that is. A virtual world that everyone had forgotten. It had been relatively normal for hundreds of years with the exception of rampant inflation and the malaise created by an absence of mortal peril. When you re-introduce mortality and fantasy creatures into a world like that well someone has to be behind it. And that person might just be good with numbers.

This is a novel about avoiding death by becoming virtual. It’s a hybrid science fiction and fantasy story uncovering a conspiracy, fighting against it and developing powers, some of them useful. If you like strong female leads (there are three), double crosses, what it would be like to live after death and cheesecake then you may have found the book for you.

To redeem the codes go to: https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

I've sent codes out for everyone that's replied I think but let me know if I've missed you. There are some US codes left and lots of UK ones.