Story Bytes

Wil Wheaton has just announced on his blog the audio book version of his geek manifesto, 'Just a geek'.
I'm a regular reader of Wil's blog(temporarily here, normally here). He's an incredibly funny guy and quite a superb writer.

I've read 'Just a Geek' in book form but I'll hold-off and review the audio book once I've had a chance to listen. I've heard Wil speak in person and if that is any indicator, then this will be a must-own audio selection.

You can get it yourself from 10quicksteps.com in either MP3 or CDformat.

As a reader/listener to paper and audio books, I tend to like those that come in series. By the time I reach the end of a book, I inevitably find myself so attached to the characters that I don't want to let them go. Series novels allow you to continue enjoying the characters for just a bit longer.

This brings me to my point. I get rather disappointed when audio book publishers change readers half-way through a series. By that time I associate each character with the unique voice brought to life by the narrator. Changing readers is like having your favorite band switch lead singers. They are the same songs but something isn't right.

Take George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series. The first three books were narrated by Roy Dotrice, he did a fantastic job with the characters and setting the overall tone of the series. Unfortunately he did not return to read the fourth book which was narrated by John Lee. As a stand-alone performance, John Lee did a very good job narrating such a challenging book; however, in the context of the series it was quite disappointing for the drastic change in the characters voices.

Imagine if the makers of the Harry Potter movies decided to drop Daniel Radcliffe and use a different actor to play Harry? Not a pretty picture. Wouldn't it be nice for audio book publishers to contract narrators to read an entire series?

By: Audrey Niffenegger

Even though this book features time-travel as a core component of the story, it really is an incredibly touching love story. The main characters Henry and Clare pull you effortlessly into their lives, you can't help but care for them.

Henry suffers from a strange condition that causes him to spontaneously travel through time. Through his time travel, Henry and Clare meet at many different points in their lives, providing a wonderful backdrop to learn about these characters. For example, an old Henry travels back in time and meets Clare as a child. On the flip side when Henry meets Clare for the first time, she has already been visited by an older version of him many times.

This may sound complex but the author weaves the tale in a way that is easy to understand and flows perfectly.

The narrators, William Hope and Laurel Lefkow, performed a fantastic reading. The male/femaile duo was a perfect choice as the perspective of the story switches back and forth between Henry and Clare.

I highly recommend this book, even to those who (like me) wouldn't normally read a love story.