Audiobooks while you work out?

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Kennkaru
Kennkaru Posts: 210 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Since music is more or less my career, and I spend most of my day listening to or participating in music, I really enjoy a good audiobook while I'm working out. I absolutely adore reading and try to do as much as I can, but we all know there aren't enough hours in the day for everything we WANT to do.

What are some great audiobooks that you guys have "read"? I'm not just asking about the quality of the literature, but also the performance of the reading. Great books can be turned into a painful experience with a bad reading.

I'm currently working on Stephen King's "11/22/63" and it makes for an excellent walking, running, or lifting distraction. I'm impressed by the reader's ability to create different distinct voices for each character- and his Russian accent is pretty good!

Listening to a story while I work out really takes my mind off of the activity, and it seems to go by so much faster.

Now...someone just needs to invent a way for me to watch baseball while I run outside and my life will be complete.
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Replies

  • mrstilly515
    mrstilly515 Posts: 4
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    I am a huge audibook fan! I have an hour commute each day and listen to audiobooks while I drive. I started listening to them while I run, since I'm not a huge music fan. They are great to keep my mind working and help me keep from focusing on the distance/pace.

    I love Jodi Picoult. She has a ton of books out, and most have a pretty active plot. I've also read the Hunger Games, Harry Potter and Twilight series on audiobook. They also keep me pretty interested (although there is one Harry Potter book that is a little slow). I like John Grisham and Nicholas Sparks as well.
  • charlottelouise12345
    charlottelouise12345 Posts: 16 Member
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    I haven't actually listened to them yet, but one of my favourite authors (Tamora Pierce, young adult author though so not everyone's cup of tea :p) had a lot of her audio books done by a company who uses full cast, so each character and the narriator actually has their own voice actor. She even wrote one book specifically to be relieased in full cast audio. Quite excited for when I fiiiiiinally get around to buying them! :)
  • sarah_7626
    sarah_7626 Posts: 31 Member
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    I'm definitely guilty of listening to harry potter on the treadmill...
  • dragonnldy77
    dragonnldy77 Posts: 1
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    I love audiobooks! It's mostly all I listen to in the car since I dont have a lot of time to read. Lately I ahve been listening to Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. His reader's are great and they are just silly - laughing gets me through the workout! The right reader's make all the difference.
  • FoamyRiver
    FoamyRiver Posts: 276 Member
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    I love the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich--the ones read by CJ Critt. The ones read by Lorelei King aren't nearly as entertaining. I also like listening to anything read by Scott Brick. He does most of the Nelson Demille books. Jim Dale also does an amazing job on the Harry Potter series.
  • aaaaaamy
    aaaaaamy Posts: 24
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    Harry Potter, but the one read by Stephen Fry, not the American one. Amazing.
  • EmeliaFoo
    EmeliaFoo Posts: 186 Member
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    The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society -Funny title I know, but the audiobook is wonderfully done. It's being adapted to film now with Kate Winslet set to star.

    Here is the description from Amazon:

    “ I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

    As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

    Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

    Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
  • CatseyeHardcast
    CatseyeHardcast Posts: 224 Member
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    Stephen Fry doing Harry Potter is very well done
  • Teapotdomescam
    Teapotdomescam Posts: 163
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    Hmmm never thought about it, but come to think of it, it's a really great idea!
  • MisterDubs303
    MisterDubs303 Posts: 1,216 Member
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    Anna Karenina kept me company on the treadmill... until she jumped off.

    I'm too cheap to be a snob. Librovox on my iTouch. Multiple readers. Some good, some bad.
  • maru84
    maru84 Posts: 128
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    Anything by Michael Palmer- they're medical dramas and will keep your heart rate up!
  • jworb
    jworb Posts: 146 Member
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    The Help is a FANTASTIC audiobook.... very theatrically performed, and keeps things interesting even though it is long.

    also the whole Hunger Games trilogy, I listened to them all in about a week and a half.

    if you like nonfiction/comedy at all, Bossypants by Tina Fey is hilarious and intelligent
  • elfo
    elfo Posts: 353 Member
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    Tony Robbins!
  • gehlerc
    gehlerc Posts: 651 Member
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    Bump -- great topic!
  • kmozymoz
    kmozymoz Posts: 187
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    If you want something non-fiction, I've heard Tina Fey's "Bossypants" is a hilarious audiobook.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,835 Member
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    barney stinson's Bro Code :smile:
  • mbw2586
    mbw2586 Posts: 88
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    I LOVE audiobooks! I'm not sure I can go back to working (as in, my job) without them! I'm currently listening to The Hunger Games series. The narrator is pretty decent with the voicing and pulling me into the book.

    One book that I listened to not long ago was called The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen and it was so good. I really enjoyed it and thought the narrator did a great job, considering there were accents involved. I wish they would make this a movie!
  • mbw2586
    mbw2586 Posts: 88
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    If you want something non-fiction, I've heard Tina Fey's "Bossypants" is a hilarious audiobook.

    OMG, YES. I listened to this at work and probably snorted no less than 10 times. Thanks for reminding me, I think I'm going to re-listen!
  • thekarens
    thekarens Posts: 254 Member
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    I'm an Audible member and I also get audiobooks to download from my library. Joe Abercrombie First Blade series was excellent! It's a dark fantasy novel, which isn't my normal cup of tea, but the reader was so good!

    I'm currently listening to the Alexia Tarabotti Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger. Excellent, if you like Victorian era fantasy.

    I also agree about 11/22/63. I loved that one.
  • u2fergus
    u2fergus Posts: 422 Member
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    Anna Karenina kept me company on the treadmill... until she jumped off.

    I'm too cheap to be a snob. Librovox on my iTouch. Multiple readers. Some good, some bad.

    Yes!!! Librivox is excellent. If you can find anything read by Nicholas Clifford or Simon Evers on there, it will be very good. There are lots of other good readers, too, though.

    Harry Potter is very well done on audiobook and is my all-time favorite to listen to again and again. I like Stephen Fry, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with Jim Dale's reading of it, either.

    As far as professional audiobook readers I especially like, I recommend Flo Gibson, Timothy West, and Margaret Hilton. This is obviously very subjective, though, so maybe listen to a sample first to see if their voices suit your taste.

    I am DEFINITELY an audiobook exerciser... it's about the only time I have to read real books these days. :(

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