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Returning to a topic I think about a lot - how our experience of #audiobooks are influenced by the voice / narrator, whether there are one or many (cast), and the expression and emotions they put into the work. It’s a whole lens (or another better audio and not visual related word) that impacts how we perceive things. (1/?) #bookstodon
For example, books that use the same voice. I listen to books read by Wil Wheaton all the time and each time it takes a little time to adjust to - oh - this is a different story / reader. Sometimes my brain assumes it’s the same character because it’s the same voice. Does that happen to any of you? #audiobooks #Bookstodon (2/?)
Also - single reader versus full cast, and unabridged versus more like a radio show. I strongly prefer unabridged versions, even if a full cast is sometimes appealing. If it’s a full cast, I still want all the other context that comes with the unabridged text. It’s not that I don’t like radio plays, it’s that for an #audiobook experience I want THE BOOK TEXT. #Bookstodon (3/?)
Gender matters - eg when the author doesn’t specify gender or gender is indeterminate. The choice of narrator voice impacts how we receive the material. Even as we become a society more accustomed to flex/multi/agender, most of us still associate specific voices leaning to a particular gender or type of person. It’s so hard to avoid and colors the reading so much (4/?). #audiobooks #Bookstodon
Now digging into a few examples - Lock In by @scalzi mentioned by @epicdemiologist is amazing in that you can listen to it read by two different voices and really see how your expectations / impressions change when you hear the story told with such a simple change. Very worth doing, IMO. (Thanks @scalzi I assume you helped set up) #audiobooks #Bookstodon (5/?)
The unabridged version of Murderbot diaries versus the dramatized - I’m less bothered by the dramatization than i am by the differences in how the primary voice comes through between the two. I listened to unabridged first and now I’m completely put off by how… much less bot-like or perhaps just differently expressive... the dramatized Murderbot sounds. #audiobooks #Bookstodon (6/?)
I would love to hear Murderbot diaries read by a less male-presenting voice in any case. And to have ART potentially voiced by a more male-presenting voice. Think about how many of your expectations would be challenged if you heard it that way. Expectations that are completely invalid since both Murderbot and ART are explicitly “It” and gender-free. #audiobooks #bookstodon (7/?)
Just a quick mention of the Potter series - I listened to both the Stephen Fry and the Jim Dale versions and even with same gender, the different pronunciations, stylistic choices, and approaches made the books sound totally different to me. Also, I couldn’t stop feeling like “Malfoy” is pronounced “wrongly” by Stephen Fry. Maybe because I heard it second. Or after the movies. #audiobooks #bookstodon (8/?)
This concludes today’s mini-rant about audiobooks and the interpretative layer the voice of the narrator adds to our experiences. Thank you for coming to my #MastodonTalk #audiobooks #Bookstodon (9/9)
@consumablejoy I strongly dislike the "dramatasized adaptations" or whatever they're calling them. Where they do like a radio show version. Hard pass.
I don't mind different readers for different chapters from various PoV, but I've also not minded a single reader thru the whole thing.
@consumablejoy I would LOVE to hear Erika Ishii read for the Murderbot (and wish they'd cast them in the role for the show).
Erika is a gender-fluid gremlin king, lol.
@consumablejoy I’ve avoided the audiobooks for that series for exactly this reason. I was honestly very surprised that they went in this direction with the narrator.
@kimu Actually I find the main audiobook narrator to be quite pleasing. That notwithstanding, I’d still like to hear the opposite.
@consumablejoy This really came into focus for me when I heard two different readers do the same audiobook, in quick succession (John Scalzi's Lock In).
@epicdemiologist Right??? This goes to one of my next topics in the thread… GENDER