Audiobooks discussion

Julie wrote: "UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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Truly exciting - one of my favorite narrators.

Wow. Just ... Wow. I can't wait.

One of my favorite narrators :)

I've read quite a few books just because Simon Vance narrated them. I'm looking forward to this discussion!

And he's really cute too! lol

I LOVE Simon Vance! I'm thoroughly enjoying his reading of Our Mutual Friend right this minute!

Awesome!

I agree he's amazing! Definitely my favorite male narrator.

I'm almost finished with his narration of The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers. His accents are beautiful and I'm so sad it's almost over.

When I first started listening to audiobooks I began with the classics, lots of classics. It didn't take long before my top two--by a wide margin--narrators were Simon Vance and Robert Witfield. They were both so great and made the classics really come to life. I loved them equally and always smiled when either was listed as the narrator.

How stupid do you think I felt when after many many audiobooks it finally dawned on me I only had one favorite narrator--Robert Witfield IS Simon Vance! Even so, I still get a smile when I hear that Robert Witfield will be the narrator of one of my favorite classics. :)

I wonder why narrators use two names?

He'll be here on my Birthday!! YaY!!! He was fabulous in Dracula and I've enjoyed his voice on many occasions.

I'm currently listing to one of is books right now as well, and also one of my favorite narrators. Looking forward to the discussion later this week.

So happy!!! Simon Vance is my favorite narrator.

Jeanie wrote: "So happy!!! Simon Vance is my favorite narrator."

Me too! Simon Vance is the best.

Looking forward to this, Simon Vance is absolutely one of my favorite narrators!

Jeanie wrote: "So happy!!! Simon Vance is my favorite narrator."

How cool, we share a name and enjoyment of Simon Vance!

I guess Jeanie's have good taste!

I'm not a Jeannie..I was quoting you, Jeannie.

woops sorry..spelling..Jeanie

Mona wrote: "woops sorry..spelling..Jeanie"

That's ok. Mona's have good taste too!!!! :)

lol...oh I see the source of my confusion. There ARE 2 Jeanies on this thread...who knew? Anyway we all love Simon Vance..

Mona wrote: "lol...oh I see the source of my confusion. There ARE 2 Jeanies on this thread...who knew? Anyway we all love Simon Vance.."

Yep, we all have good taste.

Cool!! I really enjoy his narration.

Great! I just finished a book, think I'll go find something narrated by Simon Vance... not hard to do, and it always turns out to be a great listen. <><

I love Simon's narration of Trollope's Barsetshire series :)

Hi Simon,

Lucky for you that you can't actually be deafened by a squea here on the boards! You know you're a rock star in our world... I'm a BIG fan--don't worry, Julie, panties are firmly in place. ;)

Do you mind gushing from fans? I want to gush... but I'll actually ask a question or two...

Was their one book or series that you feel put you on the map, so to speak? The Milennium Trilogy seemed to be a breakout as far as lots more people recognized your name thereafter. I loved the books and adored your narration of it... you made every section come to life for me.

How did you come to narrate that series?

How much work did it take to be able to speak the names and places without stumbling? Oh, and thanks tons for that!

Did you have any reluctance to read the fourth book in that series given that another author had to step in to continue it?

How was the experience doing that one different from the previous three?

I'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much for joining us!

Jeanie

Hello again, Simon... look at me, I'm already on a first name basis with a legend!

You've narrated so many great books--your Audible catalog is nearing 600! If I am not mistaken though, you have an uncredited participation in the audio of, imo, the greatest book ever written… The Lordd of the Rings. Robert Ingliss may do all the text, characters, and singing, but you did the first book’s introduction and read the summaries beginning each of the next two books.

Did it give you chills to read, “One ring to rule them all…”?

How did you get that gig?

Were you already a fan before doing that or was it new to you at the time?

If I'm mistaken, take credit for it anyway... that opening gave me chills!

Julie wrote: "Yes he is easy on the eyes.
Wait til he reads all these comments !
Funny !"

I'm just reading them now (blush)

Powder River Rose wrote: "He'll be here on my Birthday!! YaY!!! He was fabulous in Dracula and I've enjoyed his voice on many occasions."

Happy Birthday, Rose!

Hi Simon,

I just wanted to say that I have listened to quite a few of your recordings and that the two that I enjoyed the most were Man's Search for Meaning and People Who Eat Darkness: The Fate of Lucie Blackman (coincidentally, two audiobooks that contain very dark subject matter). The latter was one of the first audiobooks that I listened to, and your voice and how well the subject matter was researched and handled propelled it to one of my all time favorite true crime books.

As you have narrated such a variety of books, have you found a particular genre that you enjoy narrating more than others? What sort of books do you read in your spare time?

Julie wrote: "Simon,

I'd like to start by thanking you for taking time to be in the Narrator's seat . As you can see, you sure have a lot of fans in here .

I'll get my comment/question in early this morning ,..."

I have no idea what Mr.Troost's plans might be or whether I'll be asked to narrate future books. I too loved reading them - but as you can see through these books he's had a rough time of it himself being very honest about his addiction. I certainly hope he writes more as he clearly has a wonderful talent.

I did arrange a meeting somewhere around the second book when he was living relatively locally (in Monterey). Went with my sons and met him over lunch (and a beer, which probably didn't help). Very nice fellow.

First, let me say that I've really enjoyed hearing your reading of many books. I probably listen to 30-50 books a year and having a good narrator makes all the difference. I've said in reviews that I'd listen to you read the phone book...

How are narrators chosen for audiobooks?

At this point, now that you are so well known, do you have the ability to pick and choose from different books?

Julie wrote: "Simon,

I'd like to start by thanking you for taking time to be in the Narrator's seat . As you can see, you sure have a lot of fans in here .

I'll get my comment/question in early this morning ,..."

Can't think, off the top of my head of other similar travel books I've narrated - I've done a couple of fiction novels that involved travel in that part of the world (South Pacific) but the only one that comes to mind is The Last Bookaneer - that was fascinating.

Simon, it is such a pleasure to have you in the Narrator's Corner. I admit to doing a happy dance upon learning that you were joining us.

I'm a huge fan of your narration of Lawrence Anthony's books, and want to read more titles set in Africa.

Have you narrated a favorite series or book that holds a special place in your heart?

Jeanie wrote: "Hi Simon,

Lucky for you that you can't actually be deafened by a squea here on the boards! You know you're a rock star in our world... I'm a BIG fan--don't worry, Julie, panties are firmly in pla..."

Hi Jeanie,

Yes, The Millennium Trilogy was the big one, but I became aware of gaining something of a following around the time of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. I started getting emails of appreciation from around the world and they were so unexpected (and encouraging) that I remember pinning the first few to the wall above my desk... but I ran out of space :) - Sadly those books are in the process of being withdrawn from circulation for at least the next seven years because Blackstone Audio lost the rights battle with Recorded Books (who publish the Patrick Tull recordings) and unless the O'Brian Estate has a change of heart at the next negotiation the only way to get hold of mine will be in libraries.

That's a bit of a blow I must say as I still get letters about it and it was one of my favorite experiences.

Back to Larsson - That one crept up on me and I remember the trepidation with which I began recording the third in the series knowing how many people were eagerly awaiting it. I enjoyed it tremendously.

There's a long story behind the recording of this fourth in the series. As is usual in book publishing the audiobook side of things tends to get ignored by the actual book publisher until the last minute and with all the revisions that were taking place between the UK and US versions there were many delays in getting a readable script. Eventually I was told to start with what I had and had recorded 11 hours of it before the 'official' US version dropped... and I had to go back to the beginning and record the whole thing again.

Was it different? Yes. But to me it was, in a way, just another book and I didn't find myself critiquing it as I went along - that wouldn't have helped me in telling the story. I enjoyed it very much and although I can sense it wasn't where Larsson would have gone I felt it was a good book and I look forward to more (I hope).

Okay - I'll take a break now as I thought I'd jump in first thing (actually, second, just went for a run first) and I still have to have breakfast and a shower... back soon! BTW my typing sucks so I'm always having to go back and correct... have patience with me :)

Welcome Simon! Like Kdbrand above, I too loved your narration of Anthony's books. The Elephant Whisperer was one of my first audios books I listened to and it holds a dear place in my heart. I will admit that every time I listen to a book narrated by you it takes me back to Africa.

Welcome to the boards! You mentioned you read from a script ... do you read it first before you record? Do you make notes or color code items to let you know about what emotions to portray or which character's voice you need to use?

Simon wrote: "Powder River Rose wrote: "He'll be here on my Birthday!! YaY!!! He was fabulous in Dracula and I've enjoyed his voice on many occasions."

Happy Birthday, Rose!"

*blushing** Thank you very much. It will be a wonderful day and new year.

We appreciate you joining us here at Audiobooks on Goodreads. These lovely people will keep you questions over the next few days so you'll get a chance to hone your typing skills :-)

Welcome and enjoy.

My assumption above made me think of another question... has anyone ever “recognized” your voice and then complimented you on a book you didn’t read? What did you do. Just say, “Yes, I enjoyed reading all those Harry Potter books.”?

This post went astray so I'm re-posting it on behalf of Julie.

Simon
Can you tell us if you stay on a strict routine while recording , or can you choose how many and what hours you work each day ?

You mentioned you are pursuing an acting career. Have you gotten parts in any shows or movies ? Are you trying for a specific type of show ?

Just dropping in to say "Hello!"
Great to have you here. Hope you have a wonderful year!

I'd love to read your responses :)

I'm also interested in the 'pick and choose' question. If you are asked to read something that doesn't resonate, do you turn it down?

...and among many other books I've had the pleasure of hearing you narrate, Bring Up the Bodies was a flat out brilliant performance. Thanks for that!

Jeanie wrote: "Hi Simon,

Lucky for you that you can't actually be deafened by a squea here on the boards! You know you're a rock star in our world... I'm a BIG fan--don't worry, Julie, panties are firmly in pla..."

Two parts of your post i didn't get to: I got the series in the same way I was asked to narrate any other book. At the time of the first book I was pretty well known by Books on Tape and I guess I came to mind when this books crossed Dan's (my guy at BoT) desk. He called me to see if I was available and I took it on - I don't think either of us knew where it was going.

As far as the names and words... Back when I was about 19/20 I wanted to be able to talk to all the foreign students that invaded Brighton (my home town) every summe - so I took up Swedish (and then Finnish... and I went to Finland the next year). Meeting females may have had something to do with that! ...Is this too much information...? Anyway, I didn't get very far but I know enough to be comfortable with the shape of the vowels and how to make them understandable.

The more observant of you may have noticed a change in the pronunciation of a few names and places between the first three and the fourth... Back then I adapted the pronunciations to make them more comfortable for an English speaking audience. But the desire these days is for close to absolute authenticity in foreign pronunciation (and that's a whole other argument). So for this I was asked to be more accurate and I think because there was a different author I felt it was a reasonable request and I went along with it.

Jeanie wrote: "Hello again, Simon... look at me, I'm already on a first name basis with a legend!

You've narrated so many great books--your Audible catalog is nearing 600! If I am not mistaken though, you have a..."

I think you're mistaken! I wouldn't want to take credit for someone else's work even though that would have been a wonderful thing to have on my credits... sorry!

Yes - if you include my other early names I actually have well over 600 books on Audible... and so many more that have vanished into the ether for one reason or another... I find that sad (though maybe one or two are better left out in the cold).

Jessica wrote: "Hi Simon,

I just wanted to say that I have listened to quite a few of your recordings and that the two that I enjoyed the most were Man's Search for Meaning and [book:People Who Eat Da..."
Two very interesting books - the first was one of the earlier recordings that still seems very popular and I'll put that down to the material itself rather than anything I did with it. The latter... well... disturbing, but true.

On the subject of what I tend to record - I'm lucky in that I came into the industry when a narrator got to do absolutely everything - I have never felt myself pigeon-holed. New narrators are told to try to find a genre or niche where they can make a mark just to get a foothold in the industry - but it's then hard to break out of that. It may be that certain publishers will have some idea of what I might be best suited to but I'm not aware of that, I still get asked to do a wonderful array of styles and genres.

As to whether there's one I like more than others? Not really. I simply want a well written book in whatever style or genre or category it comes in. The joy of narrating is in the well turned phrase, and the sense of discovery with each new paragraph.

Hi, Simon--I listen to a LOT of audiobooks and you are my favorite narrator! I'll read the thread and your responses before posing a question (I have a few, but you may have already answered them).

Welcome! It's really a pleasure to hear from you!

Joanna wrote: "First, let me say that I've really enjoyed hearing your reading of many books. I probably listen to 30-50 books a year and having a good narrator makes all the difference. I've said in reviews that..."
That's something I can't really answer I can only guess at. Someone like my friend Grover Gardner, who works both sides of the microphone, would have more insights than me.

Sometimes I wish I could pick and choose, but no. I can turn things down for whatever reason I choose, but I can't create work out of nowhere. Being a freelance is like living in a state of 'feast or famine'... and occasionally a few weeks/months of 'just enough'. Generally I'll say yes to everything I'm offered. I work with the best publishers and I can usually rely on the quality of what I'm being offered. Very occasionally I have to start turning things down, but it's usually because they want it quickly and I've already committed my time to other projects... I hate having to do that and have missed some good titles because of it but there's only one of me :)

Kdbrand wrote: "Simon, it is such a pleasure to have you in the Narrator's Corner. I admit to doing a happy dance upon learning that you were joining us.

I'm a huge fan of your narration of Lawrence Anthony's bo..."

Always good to do a Happy Dance... for whatever reason you like!!

I've mentioned earlier that I loved doing the Aubrey/Maturin series of books by Patrick O'Brian (also explained above why they're becoing unavailable on Audible). Other series? I'm really enjoying Brent Weeks' Lightbringer fantasy. I've enjoyed the Medicus series by Ruth Downie. More fantasy with Brain Stavely (about to start the third part which looks to be about 30 hours long! The Last Mortal Bond). There are probably several I'm forgetting...

Jan wrote: "Welcome Simon! Like Kdbrand above, I too loved your narration of Anthony's books. The Elephant Whisperer was one of my first audios books I listened to and it holds a dear place in m..."

Yes, I have a great fondness for those books.