MARCH 2015
AUDIO BOOK REVIEWS
by Jonathan Lowe
|
|
Grover Gardner is
one of the pioneers of spoken word audio, and also
one of the most prolific. He's a finalist this year
in the Audie Awards (the audiobook industry's Oscar
equivalent) with HOUNDED, an amusing
mystery by David Rosenfelt, who has
penned an entire series of dog related detective novels
featuring Andy Carpenter. If it wins in Best Mystery
category, it wouldn't be the first time for the Rosenfelt/Gardner
duo. This time we have a courtroom drama featuring
drugs, the setup of a friend for murder, and a twist
ending, all delivered with wit and charm. It's a cosy
mystery narrated with the unerring authority and believability
of experience that will appeal to both men and women,
while A TOUCH OF STARDUST by Kate Alcott will
enthrall historical fiction lovers, as the protagonist
is employed as publicist for Carole Lombard during
her romance with Clark Gable on the filming of Gone
with the Wind. Actress Cassandra Campbell
narrates this intriguing tale of old Hollywood,
and brings her considerable talents at creating believable
characters to the task.
|
|
One of the myopic concepts discussed
in the new book THIS IDEA MUST DIE (edited
by John Brockman and read by David
Colacci and Susan Ericksen) is the notion
of simplistic answers to complex problems. We (as
humans) tend to want the external world outside our
own conscious ego to conform to this need to categorize
everything as right or wrong, good or evil, black
or white. Star Wars type movies and video games and
ball games all require myopic simplicity to work on
the level of mindless sensory engagement (US vs THEM.)
The real world is not so simple. We do not even know
our place in it, and so gravitate toward our baser
instincts to dominate or defeat those outside our
more understandable clan or family or team. In order
for progress to work efficiently we need to retire
many such fallacies, and this audiobook discussion
of why we are stuck in a violent, incomprehensible
world explores and debates the issues posed by dozens
of scientists at the frontiers of knowledge. |
|
|
Read by an always neutral
yet engaging and sympathically curious Sean
Runnette, AT THE EDGE OF UNCERTAINTY
by Micheal Brooks is an examination of the
latest discoveries in science that may go against what
was previously believed. Life is complex, not just on
the social level, but also on the molecular level. This
is a broad view of the sciences, but with surprising
in-depth focus. So it walks the balance beam between
the limited knowledge of pop audiences and the fact
based erudition of geeks, with entertaining flips along
the way likely to be appreciated by both. Subjects include
the quantum link in understanding smell (and scents
perception, as in perfumes); the finding that women
experience pain differently than men; why we unconsciously
judge what people say by what they are wearing (something
politicians exploit); the fallacy of positive thinking
in affecting outcomes or overcoming disease (with the
caveat of stress and depression); the nature of reality:
(holographic, string theory?); why studying vision in
how birds navigate may usher in artificially intelligent
computers (coverIng one eye in birds takes away their
ability, but not the other!); cosmology and inflation
theory; time as illusion; human consciousness (cognition,
deception); genes and DNA: are we special? The Nazis
experimented on creating chimeras, or human/ape hybrids.
It didn't work, but could it? The answer is a shocking
"maybe." Stem cell research is but one of
the "11 Discoveries Taking Science by Surprise,"
the subtitle of this fascinating book, written by a
journalist with a PH.D in physics. (Note on the narrator:
while some readers tend to add drama to non-fiction,
as they are used to doing with fiction, Runnette is
one of the best because he disappears behind the narrative
in the same way that a good dramatic reader does in
creating character in novels. This is not an easy task,
since one wants naturally to emphasize or dramatize
certain revelations. Runnette sticks to goal, which
is to create awe in the listener, allowing them to experience
that awe by stepping aside, in essence pointing with
skillful pacing and pauses.) |
|
|
Finally, it should be obvious why audiobooks
cost more than ebooks, and are equivalent or more in
price than hardcovers: because they cost more to produce.
A professional voice actor must interpret the characters
in studio, spending on average three to five days to
record a book. Editing and engineering hours are added
to this cost, and that's just for downloaded titles.
Production of CDs for packaging employ others and add
materials costs. Ebooks can be produced at lower cost,
and while you pay extra for "name brands,"
the generics can be just as effective, and might surprise
you. The ebook bundle THE THRILLER ZONE, for
example, is 20 novels for $2.99, and would cost $70
if you bought each of the books individually. But if
they were purchased on audio it would be double to triple
that price. Which is not to say there are no bargains
on audio. The thing you may not have considered about
cost is that audiobooks free YOU to do something OTHER
than to sit in a chair and read. Audiobooks don't involve
eye strain, and you can drive, walk, cook, clean, or
exercise while listening. How much is that worth to
you? How many more books could you enjoy if someone
did the reading for you? |
|