Tuesday, June 26, 2012

So you want to review audiobooks....

Day 2 in Devourer of Books Audiobook Week. Today's topic is:
Discuss the essentials of audiobook reviewing. What do you make sure to include? What do you want to see when you read other people’s reviews?

In audiobook reviews, I try to cover the same things I'd address in a normal book review- what I liked and didn't like about the book. But since it is an audiobook, I also make sure I address the performance. I'll mention what worked for me, and what didn't. I also try address if the I think the performance may have influenced the rating I give, and if I think the print edition might be a better route to go.

When I read other peoples' reviews of audiobooks, I look for similar thing. What they thought of the story and what they thought of the narrator. Both of these elements are need for audiobook reviews. Just like an actor can have a great performance in a bad movie, or a great screenplay can be performed by badly cast actors, the same is true with audiobooks. You don't really want to listen to some actress who sounds like she's 12 narrating an adult romance novel, do you? That's the kind of thing a reviewer can cover, which might not be quite so obvious in a library or Audible sample of an audiobook.

Is there anything you like to see in an audiobook review?

7 comments:

Lucy said...

The narrator can make or break the book, and I agree that the narrator needs to sound age appropriate. That's one of my pet peeves for sure. You're right that sometimes the book format is the way to go and it's important to include that advice in the review. Thanks for sharing your tips!

DevourerofBooks said...

This sounds perfect to me!

Kristin T. said...

I haven't really been consistent in my audio reviews. I always list who read the book, but I don't always address how the narrator does or how the production turned out. I'm trying to be more conscious of that now.

Kim Ukura said...

I don't review many audiobooks, but this sounds like about what I try to do -- the book, and then the performance. The narrator is so important!

Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com said...

Voice age doesn't bother me that much. But I feel ya. I can definitely see how it would affect a person.

Sarah Williams said...

For Shiver, it bothered me a lot. The female narrator sounded 12-13 to me, and the male narrator sounded mid 20s. And since they were supposed to be boyfriend and girlfriend, not a good mental picture for me. It seems more of a problem for me in the YA books.

Juju at TalesofWhimys.com said...

O good point. I haven't tried Shiver but I've been considering it. I could definitly see where that would be weird.