I do really like The Secret being read by the author Rhonda Byrnes though. I thought she did a wonderful job and the other people inside just added that extra flair to keep everything flowing right along.

Overall, if the actor is truely a talented voice, I would prefer to listen to an actor. Especially if the actor can do multiple voices of the different characters. An example is Jonathan Davis narrating the Star Wars Audio Books. He is fascinating with his array of characters which he brings to life.

So ultimately whoever the narrator is, if they are blessed with great talent, they will be entertaining to listen to and make the audiobook a wonderful read.
http://www.audio-books-for-everyone.com

If you look at my List of 30, you’ll see Peter Jackson (for those who don’t know: director of LOTR) on there. That man is a genius and I don’t mind saying so.

Caveat: I exempt LotR (the movies). Probably the only time in my 60 years that I’ve found books have been translated into movies where I mostly validate the translation. And these are books I read once a year and have done since 1966…. ALL of them - even the obscure titles.

The Junie B. Jones series, has 2 different actresses that narrate the audiobooks. Lana Quintal is the perfect narrator for a funny read for 5 - 7 year olds. I can’t listen to the tape by the other actress.

The audiobook of Ella Enchanted narrated by Eden Riegel is very entertaining…the actress uses different voices for various characters and there’s even music to add drama.

The audiobooks of The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe with Michael York and The Series of Unfortunate Events/Lemony Snickett narrated by Tim Curry are other audiobooks I’ve really enjoyed.

Especially hot Romances -

“Valerian woke with four nekked women in his bed,” said Connery. “Ahem. For the record, I woke with FIVE.”

Patrick, high five on the James Earl Jones thing. I wish every company in the world would pay him to record their “thank you for holding” and other messages.

Heather, I’m with you on the bio stuff, generally, but I did hear this great version of Patrick Conroy’s memoir My Losing Season that was read by an actor who was fantastic. Just riveting. At the end of the book there was a long interview with Conroy himself, and even though it’s not like he had squeaky voice syndrome or some other defect, I really did prefer the actor.

Laura, you crack me up with that comment about returning the grocery cart. I feel TOTALLY guilty if I don’t do it. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one like that. And I agree with you that some readers are so good you’ll keep listening even if the book itself is only so-so. This is why we love actors.