Khoji
New member
There are a few repeats here but that just increases the number of votes for those ones... Note that iLounge's demented filter considers the names of one of the greatest English novelists to be obscene and replaces it with ####. You should be able to guess who he is...
- Anything by Haruki Murakami. At the moment two of his books are visible to me on Audible, Kafka on the Shore and Norwegian Wood. Of the two Kafka is better but Norwegian Wood is also streets ahead of the tripe produced by most "modern" novelists. Murakami is one of those writers who could make a description of paint drying riveting. And he draws you into his bizarre and always astounding plots so logically and in such small steps that you never even have to consider suspending belief. As an added bonus he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of history and classical music. Kafka is also a brilliant audio production with outstanding readers, once you have gotten used to the replacement of Japanese with British accents.
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman. A truly stupendous work of speculative fiction, cannot be compared with anything else, made even better by a perfect narration George Guidall. Riveting from the first page to the last, with credible, three-dimensional characters and a totally unpredictable story. Wonderful prose combined with superlative world-building. (No longer available in Audible's international list.)
- Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry. If you liked A Bend in the River you'll love this. I lived in India for several years and Mistry captures it more brilliantly than any author I have ever read. This is Nobel prize material, quite simply a consummate work of fiction. Pure simplicity, and yet you know and care so much about the characters that it is almost physically painful. And the narration is nothing short of perfect. (No longer available in Audible's international list.)
- The Memory of Running by and narrated by Ron McLarty. Another brilliant work, perhaps not good if you're in a depressed mood, but still truly outstanding. It was released first as an audio book and then published (McLarty was a professional narrator before becoming an author) and Steven King called it "The best book you won't read this year." I have mixed feelings about Steven King -- I feel he is wasting a great talent -- but he is absolutely right here.
- A Tale of Two Cities by ####ens, narrated by Frank Muller. The book is a masterpiece and the narration is wonderful. It is always a pleasure to hear ####ens' prose and remember what the English language can be when used properly.
- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. Run, don't walk, to get this book. At 800 pages and 32 hours it is still far, far too short. And that was my only criticism of it -- I simply did not want to leave its world and it was awful that it was over. It is an alternative reality book set at the beginning of the 1800s and based on a very simple premise: There has always been a tradition of magic in Britain. Everything else is the same. As a first novel simply incredible, with character building and a quality of prose rivalling ####ens and the Bronte sisters, but also with a very special quality all of its own. Riveting from start to finish. The narration by Simon Prebble is also a masterpiece in its own right.
- The Piano Tuner by Danial Mason. Again, another novel for people who enjoy things like Bend in the River or Family Matters. Set in the 19th century, it is the story of a piano tuner called into the Burmese jungle to tune the piano of a maverick officer living at the outer reaches of the empire among warring Burmese tribes. Highly recommended.
- The Alienist by Caleb Carr. Wonderful serial murder mystery set in the 19th century, with a 19th century profiler and detective as the protagonist.
- Blonde by Joyce Carole Oates. Surprisingly good fictional biography of Marilyn Monroe, very well read.
- Transmission, by Hari Kunzru. Enjoyable romp about an Indian programmer who relocates to Silcon Valley. Shallow but observant and fun.
- Accidental Playboy, by Leif Ueland. True story of a writer hired by Playboy to ride the Millennium Playmate Search bus across America and write a blog (before they were invented) about the experience. Funny, insightful, entertaining.
- Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters. Indomitable British lady archaeologist turned detective in Egypt. Great fun with a stellar narration by Barbara Rosenblat. As deep as the sheet of onionskin paper but wonderfully entertaining.
- Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen. Great comedy, also well read.
- Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. One of the definitive scifi books and a great audio production. Falls apart towards the end -- Heinlein's vision doesn't age so well as he develops it -- but the first two thirds are still worth the ride.
- In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. Non-fiction -- hilarious travel report on Australia by the world's most entertaining travel writer. Narrated by Bryson himself. An absolute must.