SleuthSayers: Audiobooks Revisited

I like audiobooks.

Jim Winter’s May 5^th column “Listen” about audiobooks took me back to my audiobook column of May 24, 2019, so I’ve updated it.

I used to listen to audiobooks primarily during my commute to and from work. Since retiring, I listen to more audiobooks – novels primarily but some non-fiction books. It gives my eyes a rest after writing on my computer and reading short stories in magazines and anthologies. Now that I think of it, I’ve listened to some short stories as audiobooks in collections and anthologies.

There are many audiobook mysteries from Hammett to Chandler, Elmore Leonard, James M. Cain, Cornell Woolrich Donald E. Westlake, Dorothy Sayers, Maria Muller, Bill Pronzini, and many others, including nearly all the works of Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes tales.

Most of the audiobooks I read come from my local library and from audible. Both allow me to expand my reading/listening as I also read a lot of historical fiction as well as science-fiction and young adult fiction.

Audible and amazon have a platform called ACX, which provides an outstanding way for writers to produce audiobooks, especially indie writers like me who own and control the audiobook rights to our books. I’ve 15 audiobooks available through ACX, a 16th in production.

I have recently binge-listened to an outstanding historical fiction series, the Norsemen Saga of Viking Books by James L. Nelson:

1. Fin Gall
2. Dubh-linn
3. Lord of Vik-Lo
4. Glendalough Fair
5. Night Wolf
6. Raider’s Wake
7. Loch Garman
8. A Vengeful Wind
9. Kings and Pawns
10. The Midgard Serpent

Stumbled on another delightful series, the Temeraire Books by Naomi Novik, about dragons during the Napoleonic Wars. Yep, historical fantasy books.

1. His Majesty’s Dragon
2. Throne of Jade
3. Black Powder War
4. Empire of Ivory
5. Victory of Eagles
6. Tongue of Serpents
7. Crucible of Gold
8. Blood of Tyrants
9. League of Dragons

I will repeat my praise of the books of Adriana Trigiani, Ken Follett Kristen Hannah, and Edward Rutherfurd, as well as other great books like Isaac Asimov’s brilliant Foundation trilogy – FOUNDATION, FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE, SECOND FOUNDATION. I listened to Harlan Ellison narrating his own stories – I HAVE NO MOUTH AND I MUST SCREAM, JEFFTY IS FIVE, DEATHBIRD STORIES which includes his Edgar Award winning THE WHIMPER OF WHIPPED DOGS.

Mystery gems like John D. Macdonald’s A BULLET FOR CINDERELLA, and James M. Cain’s THE COCKTAIL WAITRESS, and Cornell Woolrich’s NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES are available as audiobooks.

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