Have you seen all the excitement over at Devourer of Books? Jen has organized an entire week dedicated to celebrating audiobooks – reviews, giveaways, and – my favorite – discussion posts. Check out the topics she’s covering this week – why do you listen to audiobooks? do they ‘count’ as reading? what are some tips and tricks for writing an audiobook review (when you don’t have print edition for reference of quotes, easy verification of names, etc.)?
In fact, Jen and other bloggers brainstormed so many discussion topics relating to audiobooks that there were more ideas than she could write about during Audiobook Week. She put the other topics up for grabs, and I selected “Do sound effects and music enhance the audiobook experience?”
My short answer is “no.” I prefer a straight reading of the book. Yes, with expression and emphasis, but without sound effects or mood music. If the author writes “a bell chimed,” I want the narrator to read “a bell chimed,” hearing the bell only in my imagination, not through my iPod earbuds. Similarly, I don’t need background music to set the mood.
As I write this I’m thinking of the doot-doo-doot-doo-DOO-doo, doot-doo-doot-doo-DOO-doo that plays in The Wizard of Oz film as Mrs. Gulch approaches; perfect for film, but an author must be able to carry that sense of urgency by the words he writes, not by relying on music.
I enjoy when a reader changes his/her voice slightly to indicate which character is speaking, but I generally prefer one narrator over a cast of narrators. At some point, more than one reader, like the addition of sound effects and music, makes the audiobook more of a performance than a reading.
Over the years we’ve purchased many children’s picture book / audio recording combinations from the Scholastic Book Clubs via preschool and kindergarten (dare I admit that many of these audio recording are, um, cassettes?!). Some of these offer a straight reading on one track (or Side 1 of the archaic cassette), with an enhanced reading on another track. I still prefer the straight reading; it’s much more similar to the way I read aloud with my children – pace changing when appropriate and a slight change of voice for different characters, but no music or sound effects that weren’t placed in the book by the author. My kids prefer the more dramatic (enhanced) readings – go figure!
What’s your opinion? Do your standards change, depending on the audience (enhanced is OK for kids, true-to-the-author’s-words for adults)? Do music and sound effects (and a cast of readers) add to your listening pleasure, making it a deeper experience, or do they detract from the author’s words?
Let us know what you think … I won’t send Mrs. Gulch after you if we disagree!
I am with you! I don’t remember a single audiobook that was actually enhanced by music or sound effects. Ugh. I don’t like dramatizations either. Just read to me, please (with feeling and different voices, but don’t go over the top).
Multiple narrators sometimes works very nicely — but I don’t seek out full cast audios.
I’ve only listened to one audio book with sound effects, and I didn’t like it – I found them startling. They took me out of the story rather than taking me deeper into it. I can’t think of any that I’ve listened to that had multiple narrators.
I totally agree with you on this. I think audiobooks with sound effects are a bit cheesy. I would rather imagine the sounds in the narrative. I also would prefer one reader over several. Too many narrators make things distracting for me, and I need all the help I can get to avoid distraction when I am listening to audiobooks! Great topic, Dawn!
I tend to be of two minds on this issue. Sound effects can be jarring in certain books, but in others they can work really well.
I often find that straight reading is boring if the narrator has no inflection in their speech. But dramatizations without the sound effects are generally my favorites…because I feel like I can visualize the differences better.
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I would agree that most of the time music and sound effects don’t do anything for me in an audiobook. However, I did really enjoy them in the audio I reviewed today, “So Cold The River.” The protagonist was hearing things that nobody else was – wind and music – and when he heard those things, the sound did play on the audiobook. I think it helped me feel like I was in his head.
Beth F – I’m willing to listen to an audiobook that a reader/listener says an an exception to my broad statement!
Bermudaonion – IrishEyz77 said the same thing this morning on Twitter – that the music/effects took her out of the story.
zibilee – cheesy! You are much braver than I, to use that word (and I’m a big fan of cheese
)
Serena – I agree that a narrator needs to have inflection. Especially in dialogue. A friend used to read books and magazines for a service for the blind in Toronto, and because they were reference books, the policy was to be flat and unemotional in the reading. Interesting, isn’t it?
Jen – I’m going to see if my library has SO COLD THE RIVER on audio. I’d like a well-done music/sound effects audiobook in my stash! Thanks for the recommendation.
Generally, I prefer no sound effects or music in my audiobooks as they serve as a distraction, taking the listener out of the story; but I am always open to considering exceptions. In my iPod queue (to be listened to later this summer,) I have FLUKE (by Christopher Moore; narrated by Bill Irwin) simply because a friend told me they thought the whale songs on the audio were pretty cool *and appropriate.* On the other hand, I recently listened to BEAT THE REAPER (by Josh Bazell; narrated by Robert Petkoff) and the sound effects drove me crazy!
Every once in a while I wish there were some music in an audiobook I’m listening to (audiobooks about music or musicians) as I think it would be helpful and appropriate; but alas music rights are cost prohibitive in audiobook production. I don’t mind the music at the intro and exit tags, but I don’t like it when the music isn’t well segued into the narrative.
As for single vs multiple narrators, if the story is told from one point of view, even if it’s omniscient third person, then one narrator. If the book has two or more points of view, I’m willing to listen to multiple narrators, each reading a section (e.g. THE QUICKENING (by Michelle Hoover; narrated by Carrington McDuffie and Bernadette Dunne,) but NOT having the text broken down into dialogue scenes like a drama. There are some old school listeners out there who still prefer one narrator regardless (THE SECRET SCRIPTURE (by Sebastian Barry) is narrated by Wanda McCaddon even though there are two POVs in the book, Roseanne and the Doctor.)
Radio/Audio dramas are different (e.g. THE MALTESE FALCON (by Dashiell Hammett; narrated by a full cast)) because the audience expectation is different. Audio Drama fans want actors performing a play and the foley.
I totally agree about not having any sound effects. They take me out of the book completely. I do think it might be different for children’s books though.
I listen to primarily romances, and my biggest complaint is usually the female reader trying to do a male voice. Sometimes a reader does it great, but most of the time I’m wishing there was a female and male reader for the hero/heroine.
I’m not a fan of added sound effects–they feel like an intrusion. When I’ve listened to a book while my children are around, they are always amused by the music and think it’s weird.
I definitely feel the same way about background music and sound effects – I would prefer that the audiobook be a narration of the text itself. I like it when the narrator infuses some sense of emotional connection to the story, like changing tone and such to match what is being said, but I definitely prefer the audiobook to otherwise stay completely true to the printed version.
I’ve only listened to two audiobooks so far. In the first one, there were two narrators (the author and an actress). With the voice inflection that they both used, I found myself trying to distinguish which of them was talking. This could become a distraction if I’m not completely immersed in the story. In the second book, only the actress narrated. I’ve been thinking about whether there needs to be a male narrator for male voices and a female narrator for female voices. But I guess not. It was just strange picturing Ruby Dee talking like an old farmer named, “Jody” — even though I wasn’t supposed to be picturing her since she’s not an actual character in the story. I guess that’s one of the aspects of “learning to listen” to audiobooks. Another thing going on with the second book is introductory music. I don’t hear any background sounds during the actual reading. It’s only at the beginning and end of the CDs — I guess to prepare the listener for what’s to come.
The Skulduggery Pleasant novels use a variety of effects that I believe enhance the production of the audio book, but I’m not sure I’d call them sound effects in the old tradition of radio drama. There is very awesome into and exit music and while it isn’t dramatize in the sense of full cast they do use various voice effects that I quite like.
I don’t like them very much either. They tend to draw me out of the story, which I’m pretty sure isn’t the intent! The ONLY time I can think it didn’t bother me was in The Graveyard Book. It was very slight, creepy music, that helped set the tone better than any other book I can think of.
I’m currently listening to the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis and it is a dramatization produced by Focus on the Family. And in this case the sound effects/music really enhance the story. I haven’t really listened enough to generalize whether I like music/effects but in this audiobook’s case I think it really works.
I’m with Sabrina on the h/h readings in romances. I’ve only tried listening to one romance and the woman reading the male character’s parts didn’t work at all for me. I may try a different romance audiobook but I’m not sure how I’ll do with hearing all the sexy bits aloud…
I can’t stand audiobooks with music or sound effects. Old fashioned radio shows used to do this, but they were a different format entirely–not a book. The story should stand on its own and a good narrator can easily distinguish one character from another by changing inflection and tone.
Tanya – I’m glad to hear that about FLUKE – a neighbor just suggested it at our ‘summer salon’ for independent reading … I may look for the audio. And, so funny, we have opposite opinions on BEAT THE REAPER! That was one that I did like the extra sounds – it was such a quirky, exaggerated book, I didn’t mind adding to that craziness. I think I’m back-pedaling from my original essay, I’ve got several recs for audiobooks that music/sounds DO work in … maybe it depends on the book!
Sabrina – when I listened to Anita Shreve’s A CHANGE IN ALTITUDE I thought “this ‘male’ is not at all convincing”. It’s usually pretty seamless in the books I listen to (male/female char shifts), but a romance could be tricky!
Shelley – out of the mouths of babes …
Carina – I almost feel like there should be a 3rd designation: abridged, unabridged, and enhanced.
Donna – you bring up a good point, that listening to an audiobook is a shift, and we do need to ‘learn’ a rhythm to it. yes, intro/ending music (maybe to alert you that it’s nearing the end of the CD) isn’t as jarring as ‘mood’ music.
Anna Marie – ‘awesome’ intro music?!? I’m going to have to seek these out, with an endorsement like that!
Heather – I haven’t yet read THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, so maybe I’ll look for that on audio.
Mollie – I agree that a dramatization is a whole different category (and I think they’re marked as such, aren’t they? not marketed as “audiobooks” per se, but as “dramatizations”?). Yes, I might have a hard time listening to narration of a hot/heavy romance!
Amber – I thought that was my conclusion, but there have been several suggestions of audiobooks that ‘fit’ with music and sound effects. I may listen to a few more before I set my opinion so solidly. (readers comments have me waffling)
I’m reading to let my imagination do the work. If I want help, I’ll watch a movie.
I don’t like music on audios at all. I find it really distracting and have stopped listening to certain books because of it. I can’t read when the TV is on either, so I guess it boils down to the fact that I have no attention span.
Guernsey’s audio has a full cast of characters, and it’s amazing! I can still hear some of them in my head.
While I loved this one, I don’t usually search them out though.
I don’t like music on audiobooks, which is funny, because I always thought it would be cool to write a book and include a soundtrack. Now I feel differently. I listened to Lift by Kelly Corrigan, narrated by the author, and it was great, but she included a lot of music that I just didn’t want to listen to. It wasn’t bad music, but I wanted to read a book, not listen to music. So no music. Sound effects? Not so much. But I loved Beat the Reaper, despite sound effects. What a fun book! I think the His Dark Materials series are the only books I’ve listened to with a full cast. I kind of liked it, but generally prefer one reader if the reader does a credible job of masculine and feminine voices. The Time Traveler’s Wife read by male and female narrators was really well done, since the story switched points of view.
nonononono.. no
no sound effects. no music, just read the book.
i do not mind if they have the 30 second disc intro/outro audio, but more than that bother me.
i want to hear the book as it was written, if i want a radio play, i will find a radio play to listen to.. there are thousands to choose from.
I like the sound effects and music. If i wanted to read a book I would just read it. Audiobook is just being lazy, unless you are vision impared, imo.
I would listen to an audio drama over an audiobook any day. I really prefer the drama than someone just reading.
I’m fairly new to the audiobook game, tho I’ve been reading for ever. I’m mainly into sci-fi. I’m also a working musician and when I first came across the idea of an audiobook with sound effects/soundtrack I was very excited. I’m going to be adding sound effects/tracks to one of my fav audio books just for fun. Sounds like a blast to do. I’ve looked around a bit on the internet and heard a few, and a lot of them strike me as amateurish, hopefully I can do better! Good topic!
I totally agree with the 3^^ above me. If I’m listening to an audiobook, there might as well be some sound effects to get me more involved with what im listening to.. I never am in a quiet environment when I am listening to one, so i like to hear something time to time to keep me engaged in the story.
I’ve been listening to We’re Alive podcast, which is really loud at times but very exciting. Also I’ve listened to Star Wars : Death Troopers and Star Wars: Fall of the Old Republic. Both we’re great!
If anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated
funny