Blogger Confession: I love Audiobooks! I will wait while you die of shock :) I don’t see anyone gasping or even looking surprised. Ok, so it isn’t much of a confession to say that I love audiobooks. I am happy to report that they seem to be getting more popular. I am on board with that! With that in mind, I thought I would share my 10 favorite Audiobook Narrators. This list will be in no particular order but I encourage you to check them out!
- Lorelei King: She has a great voice for snarky, fun, and quick-witted characters!
Narration known for: The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich
My favorite Narration: The Charley Daniels series by Darynda Jones
Authors worked with: Debbie Macomber, Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson series), Ann Rule, Sandra Dallas, Margaret Atwood, Jeffrey Archer, and many more!
- Amanda Ronconi: She has a great voice for Snark!
Narration known for: Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent
My favorite Narration: Jane Jameson series by Molly Harper
Authors worked with: Christina Dodd, Lucy March, Michelle Rowen, Maria V Snyder, Lori Foster
- Lauren Fortgang: She has a great voice for strong female characters with a bit of attitude!
Narration known for: Elemental Assassin Series by Jennifer Estep
My favorite Narration: The Kowalski Family by Shannon Stacey
Authors worked with: Lori Foster, David Webber, Eric Flint, Suzanne Brockmann, Jennifer Armintrout, Julie Kenner, Linda Lael Miller, Victoria Dahl, and tons more!
- Luke Daniels: Has a great voice for accents!
Narration known for: The Iron Druid Series by Kevin Hearne
My favorite Narration: The Krewe of Hunters Series by Heather Graham
Authors worked with: J.A. Konrath, Robert Crais, David Ellis, Rachel Aaron, Kenneth Opel, Blake Crouch, Craig Lancaster, Aric Davis, and many more!
Narration known for: The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
My favorite Narration: Dune by Frank Herbert
Authors worked with: David Baldacci, Kathleen Grissom, Emily Griffin, Adriana Trigiani, Jacqueline Winspear, Scott Turow, Beth Harbison, and others!
- Holter Graham: Has a voice that will catch you by surprise and make you glad that you listened!
Narration known for: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
My favorite Narration: The Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs
Authors worked with: Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark Hunters, Belador, Chronicles of Nick), Richard Ford, Nicholas Sparks, Stephen King, Joseph Finder, and a billion others!
- Khristine Hvam: She is the go-to voice for YA! I almost always require her to be the narrator for that genre.
Narration known for: Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
My favorite Narration: The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead
Authors worked with: Faith Hunter, Michelle Sagara, David Webber, Amanda Stevens, Jack McDevitt, L.J. Smith, Jeri Smith-Ready, and more
- George Guidall: Has a voice made for gritty characters and stories!
Narration known for: The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
My favorite Narration: The Walt Longmire Series by Craig Johnson
Authors worked with:Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Jodi Picoult, Daniel Silva, Neil Gaiman, Tess Gerritsen, Robin Cook, Jeffrey Deaver, and tons more.
- Jennifer Ikeda: Has a great voice for very layered characters. I have heard is also good in YA but I haven’t ever listened to any of the YA series that she has narrated.
Narration known for: Darkness Rising series by Kelley Armstrong
My favorite Narration: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
Authors worked with: Rae Carson, Jodi Picoult, Marisa de los Santos, Sarah Dessen, Amanda Ashley, Erin Kelley, and more.
- Ray Porter: Has a great voice for characters that aren’t quite human!
Narration known for: The Runelords series by David Farland
My favorite Narration: The Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry
Authors worked with: Jay Anson, Matthew Quick, Brian M Liftin, Frank Brady, Scott Strapp, Jack Kerouac, and many more!
Key points to enjoying audiobooks if you have not listened to one before:
- Start with a book you already love! It helps if you already know the story but I would shy away from one that you already have ideas for the “voices”
- Start with a trusted narrator! Ask a friend, librarian, or do some research. The best ones will have done several books with many authors. You could also start with a narrator that you know: Will Wheaton, James Marsters, Bronson Pinchot are just a few of the narrators whose name/faces you would recognize.
- In the beginning, try it in your car while driving so you aren’t distracted by phones, kids, housework, ect.
After your first few books you might be able to multi-task during listening ( I listen while at work) but you will have to work up to that. I think audiobooks are a great way to experience some books and they can make the story richer!
© 2012, Geeky Bloggers Book Blog.
Love this list! I’m going to seek out those I haven’t tried. I’m not a fan of Lorelei King though. Something about the raspy/smokiness.
The most lovely voice out of these 10 narrators is of Lauren Fortgang, she has a great voice for strong female characters with a bit of attitude!
Lauren does have a great voice for characters with attitude. I really do enjoy her audiobooks :)
I’m just starting to slip into audiobooks and I have to say that I haven’t had the pleasure of listening to anybody on your list yet. :( I guess I’ll just have to fix that!
You will accidentally run into them as you get more into audiobooks. Some of the ones listed above actually do several series :)
Love your list!!! Im listening to more audibles these days so always on the look out for great ones…:) I think my favorite is Nick Podehl, Julia Whalen and Macleod Andrews.
I will have to look up those 3 to see if I have listened to any of them :)
I just listened to the first Alpha & Omega book with Holter Graham…I LOVE his narration…he has an amazing array of voices and inflections! Great list!
Holter is AWESOME! I was unsure how I was going to like a guy narrating that series but it works so darn well!
This is a good go-by. I just started listening since I heard you talk about it at book club, and I have been having trouble with some of the narrators I’ve listened to. One thing I have learned about myself, I can NOT listen to historical.
I am not great with straight up historical romances on audio unless they are done extremely well. I can listen to historical mysteries without any issues.
Your list rocks. You’ve got me all excited to tackle some of those series in audio. I totally agree to start the series in book form then it is easy to keep up worlds and characters. I have had a few annoying voices ruin love for a book.
Annoying voices (or mismatched) can ruin a book. I have turned books off in the middle and switched to the paper form. I always have to wait a little bit before doing that and start the book over. I don’t want a good story to be ruined by a bad voice (or not my choice for voice).
I really need to try and audio..the length always scares me..since i can read a book in three hours.
I can read MUCH faster than I can listen. I guess the reason I love them so much is I can listen while I am at work. I unfortunately can’t read while I am there LOL. Plus every time I have been in a reading funk, audiobooks have helped to get me out :)
You will always be the go to girl for me to ask about narrators. Love this list!
These are just the first 10. I actually made a list of 25 originally but wp ate the post so it was 10 when I had to recreate it.
I wish I loved audio books but they just take so long to listen to
They aren’t for everyone!
I love Luke Daniels! His voice makes me melt! *le sigh*
Great list here. I agree!
You would love Holter too :)
I completely agree with you about Khristine Hvam and Jennifer Ikeda. I also love Kirby Heyborne. Also Johanna Parker did a great job with Dead Until Dark.
I will have to look up Kirby and Johanna! Thanks for heads up on them :)
FABulous list. Thank you so much for linking us to them on Audible! Smart cookie!
Yep! I wanted everyone to check them out plus most of them did not have their own websites. They should (I think) but it might be to much work
Though I’m sad not to make it on your list ;) I have to admit you have great taste!
You made my 25 list but the original post got ate :) I was to tired to redo the whole thing !
Oh, that’s good to know (though sad you lost the original post!). Thanks for your support of narrators and audiobooks overall!