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Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Sepherothic posted:

Has anyone else experimented with turning ebooks into audiobooks?

I've done it twice now with mixed success. I've been using textAloud3 and neoSpeeches bridget as the voice pack.
http://www.neospeech.com/ has a sample.

It works alright and it nice to get access to a whole new wealth of books not available on stuff like audible. You kind of forget about the robot voice after a minute or two, but it still takes more attention to listen.

Tried the demo. That Bridget is pretty good, and the Julie one isn't bad either.

[Sneakers] "My voice is my passport. Verify me." [/Sneakers] :lol:

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 10:57 on Jan 28, 2012

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Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
Ender in Exile lists Cassandra Campbell, Emily Janice Card, and Gabrielle de Cuir.

Card's daughter sounds young.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 09:15 on Feb 1, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
What books besides G.R.R.M.'s are two credits?

His, and Cryptonomicon are the only ones I've noticed so far.

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

The General posted:

!10 hours of it is just nature sounds to simulate walking through the woods.

The Blair Witch Project audiobook. :downsrim:

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
I'd say it depends on the author and narrator.

If Card had a fifty hour book, read by his usual crew, I'd buy it.

Hell, if you go through a book series back to back (Dune, Tolkien, GRRM, etc.), it's basically the same thing as one long one.

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
The "Modern Scholar" series is pretty good for that kind of stuff too.

A food science book that just came out, that I'm listening to right now:

What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained

Bad title in my opinion, given that he was a physicist and mathemetician, and not a chemist.
I think it should have name dropped Alton Brown. :3:

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 04:11 on Feb 17, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Roydrowsy posted:

Does anybody else have favorite "readers?"

I generally don't pay much attention to who the reader is, and outside of books in the same series, aside from Guidell, I don't think i've stumbled across anybody who read two unrelated books.


Judging by my library, I like Scott Brick, Joe Barett, Michael Kramer, Coleen Marlo, Paul Boehmer, and James Marsters. Marsters and Kramer are known for their series work on the Dresden Files and Wheel of Time/Mistborn books respectively, while the others on my list do all sorts of work. (in addition to Orson Scott Card's books, Stefan Rudnicki does erotica :ssh: ) I've used narrators as a search parameter, to find new books. In fact, you can click right on a narrator's name in Audible to bring up a list. Like any good teacher, having a good narrator makes me want to hear more of their work.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 16:37 on Feb 28, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
He's got some good Michael Pollan books too.

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
Enders Shadow - If you only buy one other book in Scott Card's "Enderverse", make it this one.
It runs concurrently with Ender's Game, but from Bean's perspective.
I've read all of his books in the series, but I just really like Game, and Shadow the most.
Yes, I'm biased towards any book he writes. Fucks given? None.

A considerable number of Feynman's actual lectures are available for purchase, but I couldn't get into them.
I'll have to give them another listen at some point, I have his first three from some past deal or another.

More Information Than You Require - the sequel to Areas of My Expertise, and it's written post 2008, so it may be more topical.
Also try Bill Maher's books.

If you like Dune, stay away from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I've read the next two books, but I never finished the series.
If you like Science Fiction, and the Dune universe (and you don't care about canon), try Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's spinoff books.
My "far future" experience is rather limited, sadly, but try Niven's Ringworld series, or the Mass Effect books (no, really) if you want some aliens in the mix.
I read Primary Inversion a long time ago, and it's apparently a modest series of books now.

I can't help you with the rest. I've only read one book each of King's & Stephenson's, and neither are remotely related.
Well, maybe Cryptonomicon, but it's really, REALLY loving long.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Feb 29, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

The General posted:

At least other companies have the decency to just not show what you're missing.

Actually, Audible already does this.
For example, only two of Michael Pollan's five books are even viewable, for purchase from the U.K. site.

Let's face it; when has an american company done any favours for Australia?
(Or anyone else in the Commonwealth, for that matter)

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Mar 3, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
Audible's doing a $4.95 sale, with a couple hundred titles, and I have to ask after seeing this one:

http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B0045ZXFO4

Is this guy, like a political troll?
How the gently caress did he get money to make a book?

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Ice Phisherman posted:

I just read Hunger Games and I feel like I'm reading Battle Royale again (hint: I probably am, it's the same poo poo and quite possibly plagiarized) but the book was extremely well written and decently voiced. I do suggest getting the audiobook or the book and then going back to the distant past of 1999 (when BR was written) and read Battle Royale on some manga reader website and then curse the author for a well written but obviously plagiarized work.

That said, it is an excellent read and I wholeheartedly suggest getting it.

Battle Royale also came out in novel form. The General has a copy of it, and it's pretty thick.

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Snowy posted:

Do you guys have any suggestions for good sleepytime audiobooks? Monotonous readers with gentle voices preferred, and if they don't act out the characters' voices, all the better.

Sir Winston Churchill's history of World War Two Volumes 1-4

Narrated by Christian Rodska. Not monotonous, but a very even speaker, with that great, relaxing british accent north americans love, and we all call "Yorkshire" (regardless of where the actor/speaker is from).

They're also really good.

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Tithin Melias posted:

Purely as an fyi if you're like me and get the "not available in your region" thing a lot with audible. When your new credits come in, change the billing address on your card to the US, then go get the books you want. When you're done, switch back to your real billing address. Problem solved. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got books five through thirteen of the dresden files to download.

I was scrolling through my library to update some Facebook likes this week, and when I got to:
From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbour
I saw this:

quote:

We're sorry. Due to publishing rights restrictions, we are not authorized to sell this item in the country where you live.

But, but you were able to sell it to me (and did) less than a year ago... :tinfoil:
I know Canada has bullshit media licensing laws, but what the gently caress?

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 10:11 on Jun 9, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
I dunno, it convinced me to buy the ebooks of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow- even though I already own the paperbacks; just so I can read and listen at the same time, on my Kindle.

I wanna do it with Dune too, but the ebook isn't available in my country, due to some :canada: bullshit, or another.

It's helped me save a shitton of cash, given current hardcover non-fiction prices though, that's for sure.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 11:03 on Jun 18, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Thesaurus posted:

Can you recommend any books that deal with my specific hangup? It involves being turned off by listening to extended graphic descriptions of a mishappen dwarf having sex with a prostitute, read by an old man impersonating a woman's voice.

Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy.

It's a gently caress of a lot less boring than GRRM's long-winded, neurotic crap, and the narrator is excellent, rather than sounding like a crummy Hagrid knock-off.
Seriously, Dotrice is terrible, and emotional scenes just sound tired and forced.
Steven Pacey speaks with so much real emotion, you'd think he wrote Abercrombie's books himself.
It also has a widely diverse class of characters from all walks of life, rather than just focussing on the loving ruling class, too.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 10:40 on Aug 23, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
Not my fault that he's so boring, he makes Tolkien's and Frank Herbert's last two or three books sound fast paced, and energetic by comparison.

GRRM's series is the Star Trek: The Motion Picture of fantasy novels. :colbert:

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 10:43 on Aug 23, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

coyo7e posted:

How do you feel about Zelazny's Amber? Honestly curious. Also the audio books' narrator's quality, if you have heard them?

I just started them this month, and I am digging his sort of noirish narrator prose, and clipped dialogue.

I read the first three GRRMs before I got the audio, but holyshit are they looooooooong to listen to! :(

Never read/listened to his books, or the narrator Alessandro Juliani before. In fact, I'm not big on fantasy in the first place. (D&D really made me jaded as gently caress) Wil Wheaton is alright though. I've listened to him in METAtropolis: Cascadia, and War of the Worlds (dramatised). Both were narrated by various Star Trek cast members. Been tempted to grab Redshirts. I dunno... I'm sitting on two credits right now. Maybe.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Sep 3, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
Until September 18, Audible is having a $4.95 sale for members which includes, among other books, the entire Dresden Files collection.
Read (almost entirely) by James Marsters (Spike) of Buffy/Angel fame.

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
Scott Brick (Salt, Moneyball, No One Would Listen)
Christian Rodska (Churchill's history of WWII/English Speaking Peoples)
John Kricher (Modern Scholar: Behold the Mighty Dinosaur)
Joe Barret (various political/financial history books)
Paul Boehmer (The Price of Inequality, Soon I Will be Invincible)
Sean Runnette (Engines of Change, A History of the World in 6 Glasses)
Charlton Griffin (Various most Roman/Greek classics- very dry speaker)
Coleen Marlo (The Poisoner's Handbook, Wicked Plants, Wicked Bugs)

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Sep 8, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
My bad, I skimmed through the list. It's 5-12, + Side Jobs.

Sorry, eh? :canada:

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
Hunh. Yahtzee (Zero Punctuation) wrote and narrated a book:

Mogworld

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Tortilla Maker posted:

I've read mixed reviews of Dune Messiah. Anyone strongly recommend continuing?

I've bought up to God Emperor. The first three books are the best.
The next three are a... product of their time. ( :lsd: )
I just can't get through them.

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
Schwarzenegger finally released an autobiography.
Great stuff.

Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Wade Wilson posted:

Putting this on my wish list so when I get my credit next month I can get it for $8 instead of $15.

The fact that this is narrated by both Stephen Lang and Arnold is going to make this really fun to listen to, isn't it?

Arnold only does the beginning and the end.
After reading listening to his book, you realize just how busy the guy is all the time.

He's got the bodybuilding business, mail-order, fan-service, movies, real estate, stocks & bonds, fundraisers, charity events, lectures, and more besides- to look after.

It's in three parts:
1.) Life in Austria and body building career + moving to California
2.) Movies and his family life with Maria
3.) Political career, more movies, and his affair + epilogue

His political views are quite interesting.
Arnold tends to be more progressive than the Democrats in some ways (and way more than his preferred party).
Almost like a Canadian conservative.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Oct 8, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

wildmamboqueen posted:

Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way: Very entertaining insider's look at the making of a film. Bruce is a good narrator, and the anecdotes are pretty funny.

In terms of content, I much preferred his previous book, Confessions of a B Movie Actor myself.

Audible's offering a free Neil Gaiman (written and narrated) short story for Halloween:
Click-Clack the Rattlebag.

And for any of you who tried and liked Of Rice and Men, there's a similar, contemporary novel; Fobbit (soldiers stationed in Forward Operating Base Triumph).
It's set during the second war in Iraq, pre-Saddam trial, if I recall correctly.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Oct 27, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Ice Phisherman posted:

Just so you know a few dozen books are being released on the 27th. This is the big release date before Christmas in order to get some serious promotion time going.

It looks like Jim Butcher's Cold Days is being released soon, and it's being done by James Marsters again this time instead of whatsisface.

If you're big into sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy, etc, go and check out audible on Tuesday. There's a decent chance that things have been updated.

Pre-order here!

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Ulio posted:

Is the subscription for audible worth it? If I am getting maybe one or two audiobooks a month?

Totally worth it.

In Canada, $10-$13 is the pre-tax price for a brand new paperback novel. On Audible, that's the cost of any* book I care to buy; fiction or non-fiction, long or short. And if after calculating the member discount and/or a sale, an audiobook is cheaper than a credit, I'll buy it outright. Also, after you use your credits, they'll supply banner ads and emails with more incentives to buy (three more credits for ~$33, $5 sales, additional _% off, etc.). Finally, the free subscription to the WSJ/NYT is a nice way to keep abreast of American news topics.
I've acquired 115 books in two years (Sept. 2010-present), and in that time, I've been exposed to authours and narrators I might never have considered giving a chance. Also, I've never averaged that high a rate of book purchases even in hardcopy... and I love reading.

*Some exceptions may apply. Certain titles may not be available for purchase in your region.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 05:00 on Dec 1, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Roydrowsy posted:

I ususally put them into a playlist. If you play them in numerical order, that is how they arrange in the playlist.

Not necessarily. On (Windows) iTunes, playlists will play in the order of whichever sorting column is being used, whether Track Number, Release Date (good for podcasts), Song Name, etc.

For example, I sort podcasts by release date. If I switch it from ascending to descending, it'll play the newest one first (which is annoying for multi-part podcasts). In a playlist, It'll play according to how it's sorted, top to bottom. If you manually switch the songs around, it will play them in the order you leave them.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Dec 1, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
Here's a small sample of narrators I like:

Scott Brick - Michael Pollan, Mark Kurlanski, Orson Scott Card, Dune franchise, various baseball/finance/other books
Stefan Rudnicki - Orson Scott Card, erotica, a poo poo-ton of other books
James Marsters ("Spike" from Buffy) - Dresden Files novels
Steven Pacey - Joe Abercrombie books (this guy is loving incredible)
Christian Rodska - Churchill's histories of WWII/English Speaking Peoples
Michael Kramer - Brandon Sanderson novels

More:
Sean Runnette, Jesse Boggs, Coleen Marlo, Stephen Hoye, John H. Mayer, Kirby Heyborn, Paul Boehmer, Paul Thornley, Joe Barrett.

My recommendation is to start with books you like, then checking what else the authour/narrator has done, in a "Six Degrees of Seperation" kind of thing. And being able to mouse-over a title to check book blurbs is a God-send. Way faster than just browsing at a B&M. The wish list also makes a good "check back later/maybe column" when scrolling through entire genres just to see what exists. I don't recommend that unless you're terminally bored at your monitor, though. Thankfully, Audible has a lot of filters, be it price levels, abridged/unabridged, languages, length, sub-genre, etc.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 07:04 on Dec 2, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Ulio posted:

Thanks Macys, I'll see if they do a book I want to read.
I know some authors do narration themselves, are those any good or is it better to just go with pros?

I'd listen to the samples, but Gaiman, Scott Card, Colbert, Michael Pollan are alright.
I don't have many though. The authours are typically too busy.

Other ones I have:
Schwarzenegger (Prologue & Epilogue only)
John Hofmeister (ex-pres of Shell)
Yahtzee Croshaw (don't get the audible book. unlike his Escapist vids, he's near lifeless. The stories themselves are quite good, in an A. Lee Martinez way)
Jeremy Wade (River Monsters tv series)
Richard P. Feynman

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Dec 2, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
I'd say it depends on the book.
Dune is a great sci-fi story, but I don't think even Morgan Freeman can make it sound as good as it reads.

If you want Brick at his dramatic best, try "Ender's Shadow", and Harry Markopolos' book "No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller" on the Madoff scam/SEC's incompetence.
I also like "Emperors and Idiots: The Hundred Year Rivalry Between the Yankees and The Red Sox", though that may be due to the expert pacing and building of tension.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Dec 3, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Kojiro posted:

Can anyone recommend me something to listen to on Audible that's anything like Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch or similar? After something easy enough to listen to while I'm getting some work done, preferably with a bit of humour. I'm piling through the Dresden Files for the second time, but I'll be out of that soon and I'm not sure where to go next!

Hmm...

Try A. Lee Martinez (Sci-Fi & Fantasy). He's got the humour, but not the depth (or profanity) of Abercrombie.
All of his novels are stand-alone. More of an American Terry Pratchett, except he doesn't just write about Discworld.

I believe I've got eight out of his nine (ten next year) novels: three in audio, four on my Kindle, and one hardcover on clearance.

Also, I've had this on my wish list for a while now.
In RPG terms, it sounds like Rifts meets Cyberpunk, minus Rifts' complete societal apocalypse.
I'm still not sure if I want to try it or not.
And then there's this.
Haven't tried it either.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 16:30 on Dec 11, 2012

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

XyrlocShammypants posted:

Bought Ready Player One tonight but good lord Wil Wheaton is a bad reader.. he has this weird speaking pattern.. just.. ugh.

After listening to him in Masters of DooM, Red Shirts, and Metatropolis: Cascadia, I really like him.
Pretty sure it would help to have never watched Star Trek: The Next Generation though.
That show (and DS9) made me forever hate the concept of children in science-fiction television, and Wil in particular.

His accent is weird as Hell though.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Feb 4, 2013

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

SnowDog posted:

I just finished Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card. I love the narrator set they had for this book, great stuff.

I went to borrow the next one from the library and no dice, not available (yet?). Maybe this will be the book that pushes me over the edge to get Audible...

You should. The second one came out on Audible, October 30th. Only $12.25 for members. About the price of a physical paperback here. :canada:
All it does is raise more questions. :tinfoil:

It's one of my favourite traits of Scott Card novels.
His books all deal with the themes of secrets, personal agendas, control of information, and the manipulation of others- for good or ill.
One can never be sure of the intentions of others, yet many are the times and people one has to take a chance on, and trust. Sometimes it works, and other times, well...

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 10:42 on Apr 13, 2013

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
It's digital download with barely any overhead, so any additional sale is high-margin profit.
Same strategy with combo meals. Sure, you're saving money over buying a burger, fries, and drink separately... but you're still spending more money in total than if you'd only bought the burger.

The Audible subscription is totally worth it. Two books for ~$12 each every month, and 30% off everything.
Then you've got $4.99 deals, Half-Off promotions, 2/3-for-1 deals, the free NYT/WSJ subscription, free short stories...

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Apr 15, 2013

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:

Meme Emulator posted:

I haven't been able to scope out too many non-fiction audiobook reccomendations, does anyone know of anything good? Im mostly interested in ancient history, colonial africa, and pop science.

I buy a poo poo-ton of non-fiction to listen to while at work.
Here's what I recommend out of what I bought. I left out stuff I thought was either too boring, or better explained in another book:

- The Modern Scholar: Unseen Diversity: The World of Bacteria
- Stuffed: An Insider's Look at Who's (Really) Making America Fat and How the Food Industry Can Fix It
- Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us (read that one ^^^ first) :btroll:
- Dr. Joe & What You Didn't Know: 177 Fascinating Questions About the Chemistry of Everyday Life
- The Fly in the Ointment: 70 Fascinating Commentaries on the Science of Everyday Life
- The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail - but Some Don't
- The Big Lebowski and Philosophy: Keeping Your Mind Limber with Abiding Wisdom
- Physics for Future Presidents :science:
- The Modern Scholar: Brewmaster's Art :nattyburn:
- Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms
- Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil
- Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities
- Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon’s Army and Other Diabolical Insects
- The Modern Scholar: Astronomy I: Earth, Sky and Planets
- The Modern Scholar: Astronomy II: Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe
- Salt: A World History
- The Secret Life of Dust: From the Cosmos to the Kitchen Counter, the Consequences of Little Things
- In Defense of Food
- The Omnivore's Dilemma
- The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce, and Obsession
- Pity the Billionaire: The Unexpected Resurgence of the American Right :freep:
- Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture :pcgaming:
- Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness :argh:
- Caveat Emptor: The Secret Life of an American Art Forger
- Engines of Change: A History of the American Dream in Fifteen Cars
- Glock: The Rise of America's Gun
- The Top Gear Story :rice:
- River Monsters: True Stories of the Ones That Didn’t Get Away :allears:
- No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller :smith:
- 23 Things They Don't Tell You about Capitalism
- This is Your Country on Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America :drugnerd:
- The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History
- Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry's Road from Glory to Disaster :iiaca:
- Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit :cry:
- From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbour
- I Am the Market: How to Smuggle Cocaine by the Ton and Live Happily
- The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
- Emperors and Idiots: The Hundred-Year Rivalry Between the Yankees and the Red Sox
- The Modern Scholar: Heaven or Heresy: A History of the Inquisition
- The Modern Scholar: Citadels of Power: Castles in History and Archaeology
- The Modern Scholar: Behold the Mighty Dinosaur
- Empire of Blue Water :yarr:
- The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

The "Modern Scholar" series has a bunch of good stuff.
My preferences are food, science, the 2008 financial crisis, and ancient (Mediterranean) history.
I've listened to all of these at least twice, and some of them considerably more than that.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 08:50 on Apr 23, 2013

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
The Governator also does the epilogue, too.

UltimoDragonQuest posted:

All of these are good.
Pity the Billionaire is the weakest book but the narration is really good.
Drift is the best of the group and probably still enjoyable even if you aren't a commie.

I love listening to Pity the Billionaire, because as a Canadian, we're rather less exposed to highly polarized cognitive dissonance, what with our multi-party system (3.5 + nobodies), and lower overall party loyalty.
It's utterly fascinating to me that The Right™ can believe what they're saying, and not be trolling, in light of history and, you know... facts.
Also, as someone who heretofore never knew the details of Beck & co., the Koch bros, or Atlas Shrugged, it's simultaneously comedic and horribly disturbing.

And yeah, Thomas Frank is an excellent narrator.

I do buy fiction too, but I'd bet it's a quarter or less of my total, unless I throw in Kindle purchases I know to be on Audible.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Apr 23, 2013

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
(cross-postin') Just Finished:
The Human Division #1: The B-Team - John Scalzi
Center of Gravity: Star Carrier: Book Two - Ian Douglas

Ian Douglas' Star Carrier books are beginning to bother the poo poo out of me.
I keep getting unsubtle "American Exceptionalism" and "the streetwise American (pilot) is the best of us" vibes from them, which is sad, because I rather like them, otherwise.
And this is coming from an unapologetic Scott Card fan; who can't see any undertones in his books beyond humanity's capacity for secrets, manipulation, and control of information. (though maybe it's because I'm an atheist, and never bothered reading the Mormon bible- the Old Testament is the only one worth reading, anyways :black101: )

Human Division is an episodic sci-fi series that I'm gonna listen to more of.
I thought Red Shirts was pretty good, and Audible gave out the first ep for free, so I thought, why not, and I like it.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 10:43 on Apr 25, 2013

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Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
I picked up The Human Division, by John Scalzi.
It's all of the serialized stories compiled into one, nearly 15 hour book.

I'm halfway through, and it's just absolutely refreshing to hear a science fiction novel that deals with the diplomats, rather than the soldiers for once.
And it avoids the dreary "Grim and Dark Grim Darkness 100% totally realistic and serious hard sci-fi you guys", going instead for humour in the face of adversity.

Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 04:49 on Jun 8, 2013

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