Top Ten Tuesday: All About Audio Freebie

Top Ten Tuesday is an original and weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

~~ All About Audio ~~

This week for Top Ten Tuesday, the topic is broad, but straight forward.  And in my lame attempt to fulfill at least one TTT this month, I'm just going to throw a whole bunch of things together, without any conscious rhyme or reason... sort of.  There's always a method to my madness.  I'm just the only one who understands it.


Some Narrators I Like

• Simon Vance -- I first encountered Simon Vance as one of several voices in the full-cast production of Dracula.  He did amazingly wonderful things for the voice of Jonathan Harker's Journal, and I found myself immediately wondering what other works he narrated and proceeded to look him up.  Apparently, he's got a pretty good list under his name.
• Listened to/currently listening:  A Christmas Carol, The Complete Sherlock Holmes
• Interested:  Dune (full-cast production), Temeraire series
• Kaleo Griffith -- Kaleo Griffith narrates one of my favorite romantic suspense series, and actually does a pretty fabulous job of it as well, especially with different accents.  At first I had a bit of an awkward adjustment with his female voices, but after a while, you get used to it and they're actually not so bad.  He keeps all of his characters' voices so unique that it's extremely easy to pick out when he switches from one person to another.  And he also does really sexy men voices...
• Listened to:  I-Team series, Gamble Brothers trilogy
• Plan to listen to:  SEAL's Honor, Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales
• Karen White -- Really, I liked listened to Karen White by association with on of my more favorite contemporary romance series, FBI/US Attorney.  But after a while, I became accustomed with her voice and started loving how she portrayed each character.  I'm curious to see what other series she's narrated and may consider listening to them as well.
• Interested:  Animal Magnetism series, Cedar Ridge series, Heartbreaker Bay series
• Neil Patrick Harris -- I have only listened to one of his narrated works, his own autobiography called Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography.  It's a wonderfully outlined book, excellently told by the man himself.  NPH has lots of charm and I wouldn't be opposed to listening to anything else he's narrated.
• Alan Cumming -- Again, this is one narrator whom I've only listened to one work narrated as he was part of the full-cast production of Dracula alongside Simon Vance and others.  But I loved his portrayal of Dr. Seward and found his voice charming and soothing at the same time.  Again, I wouldn't be opposed to listening to other works and actually already own Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld and will most likely move on to finish listening to the rest of the trilogy if I like the first book.
• Alfred Molina -- Molina is the first narrator I super-duper loved after experiencing the plethora of voices and accents he's able to maintain in a crime thriller with international characters, created by Jeffery Deaver as a collaboration between 20+ different authors.

Voices I Like In General

• Colin Firth -- Colin Firth is one of my favorite actors due mostly in part of his stoic charm and sexy voice.  When I stumbled upon one single book narrated by him, I actually spent a good deal of time conflicted over whether or not to buy said audio book just because I would readily sit and listen to Colin Firth narrate anything even if the book wasn't something I'd ever read.  If anyone is wondering, he narrates Graham Green's The End of the Affair.
• James McAvoy -- I just really like this guy.  Encountered as the voice of Richard in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere in the BBC radio drama adaptation.

Audio Books I Love with Full Cast of Narrators

• Dracula by Bram Stoker -- And outstanding performance by many of a timeless classic!
• Cast includes: Simon Vance, Alan Cumming, Katherine Kellgren, Tim Curry, and others.
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman -- I just finished listening to this one and it is superb!
• Cast includes: Derek Jacobi, Robert Madge, Julian Rhind-Tutt, and others.
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman -- This book is fun, though not the best.  But having a full-cast of voices DOES help.
• Cast includes: James McAvoy, Natalie Dormer, Christopher Lee, and others.
• Fairest by Gail Carson Levine -- One of the first audio books I ever listened to, borrowed from the library, with lots of wonderfully talented voices and great music effects.  This particular version of the Fairest audio book, with Sarah Naughton narrating the part of Aza, is no longer available for purchase from Full Cast Audio, which is disappointing, because I like it better than the Audible version currently available, narrated by Soneela Nankani from Recorded Books.
• Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale -- Another great production from Full Cast Audio of one of my favorite books of all time!
• The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale -- I loved this one too!  Also from Full Cast Audio.

Audio Books I Love with Single Narrator

• Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris -- An excellent autobiography written and narrated by an excellent talent!
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens -- Narrated by Simon Vance.  That says all.