Essential audiobooks

Abstract

[...]because top fiction authors often have many bestselling titles, votes were split among those titles. [...]there was less consensus about which title to include in the case of an author deemed essential. Essential Fiction The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans, read by Peter Coyote, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47478-6) The Iliad by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, read by Derek Jacobi, Penguin Audiobooks (ISBN 0-45300774-0) The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, read by Derek Jacobi, Penguin Audiobooks (ISBN 0-14086430-X) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, read by Roses Prichard, Audio Partners (ISBN 1-572-70036-X) Runaway Jury by John Grisham, abridged read by Michael Beck, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47282-8) and unabridged read by Frank Muller, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-502069) The Partner by John Grisham, abridged read by Michael Beck, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47283-6) and unabridged read by Frank Muller, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-50207-7) The Street Lawyer by John Grisham, abridged read by Michael Beck, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47918-0) and unabridged read by Frank Muller, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-50212-3) Gone but Not Forgotten by Phillip M. Margolin, read by Michael Russotto, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47218-6) Day After Tomorrow by Alan Folsom, read by Edward Herrmann, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47231-3) Vertical Run by Joseph Garber, read by Stephen Lang, BDD Audio (ISBN 0553-47407-3) Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, read by Jeremy Irons, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-45786-0) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, read by Joanna David, Penguin Audiobooks (ISBN 0-14-086060-6), and BBC Radio dramatization, with a cast led by Patricia Hodge, BDD Audio (ISBN 0553-47396-4) Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, read by Edward Herrmann, HighBridge (ISBN 1-565-11127-3) The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield, read by Jesse Corti, Time Warner AudioBooks (ISBN 1-570-42104-8) A Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton, read by Judy Kaye, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0394-57977-1) and "the latest Sue Grafton title" (as many respondents put it). The Green Mile boxed set by Stephen King, read by Frank Muller, Penguin Audiobooks (ISBN 0-14-771135-5) Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, read by F. Murray Abraham, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-67944764-4) and The Vampire Chronicles boxed set, consisting of Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned, read by various readers, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-41050-3) The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, BBC Radio multi-cast dramatization, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47107-4) and multi-cast dramatization, Soundelux Audio Publishing (ISBN 0-881-42269X) Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, read by George Hearn, Audio Partners (ISBN 1-572-70058-0) The Complete Star Wars Trilogy, radio dramatization, HighBridge (ISBN 1565-11173-7) Sula by Toni Morrison, read by the author, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-46072-1) Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, abridged read by Dylan Baker, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-67946069-1), and unabridged read by the author, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-375-40292-6) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, read by Geraldine James, BDD Audio (ISBN 0553-47329-8) A Certain Justice by P.D. James, read by Michael Jayston, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-46085-3) Penguin English Verse collection, read by Jill Balcon, Sean Barrett and Alan Cumming, Penguin Audiobooks (ISBN 0-140-86136-X) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, read by Patrick Stewart, Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN 0-671-76932-4 or CD ISBN 0-671-79382-9) Essential Nonfiction The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, read by the author, abridged Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN 0-671-68796-4) or unabridged Covey Leadership Center (ISBN 1-883219-02-7) Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, read by the author, Simon & Schuster Audio, abridged (ISBN 0-671-576089) or unabridged (ISBN 0671-58037-X) Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray, read by the author, HarperAudio (ISBN 1-55994-878-7) Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, read by the author, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-55347867-2) Truman by David McCullough, read by the author, Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN 0-671-79887-1) Charles Kuralt's America by Charles Kuralt, read by the author, Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN 0-671-79745-X) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, abridged read by Anthony Heald, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-43802-5); unabridged, read by Jeff Woodman, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0679-46080-2) Personal History by Katharine Graham, read by the author, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-45818-2) Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins, read by the author, Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN 0-671-75018-X) A Reporter's Life by Walter Cronkite, read by the author, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-45814-X) Don't Know Much About History by Kenneth Davis, read by the author, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47103-1) News from Lake Wobegon series by Garrison Keillor, read by the author, HighBridge (various ISBNs) or Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor, read by the author, HighBridge (ISBN 0-942-11008-0) All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot, read by Christopher Timothy, Audio Renaissance (ISBN 1-55927399-2 ) or All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot, read by Christopher Timothy, Audio Renaissance (ISBN 1-559-27401-8) The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, read by Stanley Tucci, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-46035-7) Ageless Body, Timeless Mind by Deepak Chopra, read by the author, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-67942431-8) How to Meditate by Lawrence Leshan, read by the author, Audio Renaissance (ISBN 0-940-68704-6) Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, read by Joe Slattery, Audio Forum (ISBN 0-940-68700-3) To this list, PW would add one more title:

Headnote

The "must-have" titles all stores should carry

BECAUSE AUDIOBOOK Month aims to introduce new customers to audiobooks and win new fans to the medium, PW set out to create a "core" list of audios-the titles that no retailer's audiobook section should be without. We asked audiobook retailers and audiobook reviewers the following question: "If someone was about to open a new audio-only store and asked you to name five fiction and five nonfiction titles that they should definitely carry, what would you suggest?" The choices could be perennially popular, bestselling titles; titles that the respondent deemed of exceptionally high quality (the cream of the audiobook crop, so to speak); titles that could turn a skeptical customer into an audio fan; or a mixture of these. Twenty-four respondents answered the call: seven audioonly retailers, three buyers for major bookstore chains, one buyer for a major distributor, four independent bookstores with strong audio sections and nine audio reviewers.

Agreement about nonfiction titles was much stronger than about fiction titles. The top-ranked nonfiction title, Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, was named by 14 respondents, while the top fiction title, The Horse Whisperer, was named by only five.

There are two reasons for this. First, top nonfiction titles like Seven Habits tend to stay on PW's audio bestseller lists an exceptionally long time-several years, in some cases. Top fiction titles generally stay on the list a shorter time, to be replaced by the author's next novel. Second, because top fiction authors often have many bestselling titles, votes were split among those titles. Therefore, there was less consensus about which title to include in the case of an author deemed essential. For example, John Grisham was by far the most-named author suggested by the respondents. But because the votes were split among his many titles, the top spot was not taken by a Grisham title.

Some respondents could not decide among individual titles, and instead simply recommended authors-saying, for example, "anything by Grisham, anything by Clancy." These are good suggestions for audio stores, but they made it tricky to tally the votes. So, in the interest of accuracy, we put those votes into a separate category, "Essential Authors."

In the case of titles available in both abridged and unabridged formats, most respondents recommended carrying both versions.

This list represents the titles most often named as "must-have" audios, based on the sampling of 24 audio retailers and reviewers. It includes both top bestsellers and top-quality, highly recommended (but possibly lesser-selling) titles. We hope that it will prove useful to the audio industry-or at least, spark lively debate!

Our deepest thanks to those who contributed to this article: Rebecca Bowers of Crown Books; Paul Rush of Earful of Books; Frank Johnson of Audio Diversions; Bob Heller of Heller Audiobooks; Richard Simtob of Talking Book World; Amy Bell of Albert's Audiobooks; Patrick Malone of Bookears; Michelle Sulka of Joseph Beth Booksellers; Greg Valentine of Barnes & Noble; Dan Mayer of Waldenbooks; Susan Yeager of Borders; Adam Brooks of Davis-Kidd; Barbara Harover of Ingram; Helen Downs of the Tattered Cover; Karen Wallace of Dutton's; Ric Berg of Talking Book World; Deirdre Donahue of USA Today; John Zinsser of PW; Sukey Howard of Bookpage; Ben Harte of People; Robin Whitten of AudioFile; Rochelle O'Gorman Flynn of the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe and New York Post; Carolyn Alessio of the Chicago Tribune; and Bennet Pomerantz of AudioWorld.

For a list of essential children's audiobooks, see the accompanying article by Shannon Maughan.

Essential Fiction

The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans, read by Peter Coyote, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47478-6)

The Iliad by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, read by Derek Jacobi, Penguin Audiobooks (ISBN 0-45300774-0)

The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, read by Derek Jacobi, Penguin Audiobooks (ISBN 0-14086430-X)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, read by Roses Prichard, Audio Partners (ISBN 1-572-70036-X)

Runaway Jury by John Grisham, abridged read by Michael Beck, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47282-8) and unabridged read by Frank Muller, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-502069)

The Partner by John Grisham, abridged read by Michael Beck, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47283-6) and unabridged read by Frank Muller, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-50207-7)

The Street Lawyer by John Grisham, abridged read by Michael Beck, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47918-0) and unabridged read by Frank Muller, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-50212-3)

Gone but Not Forgotten by Phillip M. Margolin, read by Michael Russotto, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47218-6)

Day After Tomorrow by Alan Folsom, read by Edward Herrmann, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47231-3)

Vertical Run by Joseph Garber, read by Stephen Lang, BDD Audio (ISBN 0553-47407-3)

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, read by Jeremy Irons, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-45786-0)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, read by Joanna David, Penguin Audiobooks (ISBN 0-14-086060-6), and BBC Radio dramatization, with a cast led by Patricia Hodge, BDD Audio (ISBN 0553-47396-4)

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, read by Edward Herrmann, HighBridge (ISBN 1-565-11127-3)

The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield, read by Jesse Corti, Time Warner AudioBooks (ISBN 1-570-42104-8)

A Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton, read by Judy Kaye, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0394-57977-1) and "the latest Sue Grafton title" (as many respondents put it).

The Green Mile boxed set by Stephen King, read by Frank Muller, Penguin Audiobooks (ISBN 0-14-771135-5)

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, read by F. Murray Abraham, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-67944764-4) and The Vampire Chronicles boxed set, consisting of Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned, read by various readers, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-41050-3)

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, BBC Radio multi-cast dramatization, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47107-4) and multi-cast dramatization, Soundelux Audio Publishing (ISBN 0-881-42269X)

Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, read by George Hearn, Audio Partners (ISBN 1-572-70058-0)

The Complete Star Wars Trilogy, radio dramatization, HighBridge (ISBN 1565-11173-7)

Sula by Toni Morrison, read by the author, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-46072-1)

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, abridged read by Dylan Baker, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-67946069-1), and unabridged read by the author, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-375-40292-6)

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, read by Geraldine James, BDD Audio (ISBN 0553-47329-8)

A Certain Justice by P.D. James, read by Michael Jayston, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-46085-3)

Penguin English Verse collection, read by Jill Balcon, Sean Barrett and Alan Cumming, Penguin Audiobooks (ISBN 0-140-86136-X)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, read by Patrick Stewart, Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN 0-671-76932-4 or CD ISBN 0-671-79382-9)

Essential Nonfiction

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, read by the author, abridged Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN 0-671-68796-4) or unabridged Covey Leadership Center (ISBN 1-883219-02-7)

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, read by the author, Simon & Schuster Audio, abridged (ISBN 0-671-576089) or unabridged (ISBN 0671-58037-X)

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray, read by the author, HarperAudio (ISBN 1-55994-878-7)

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, read by the author, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-55347867-2)

Truman by David McCullough, read by the author, Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN 0-671-79887-1)

Charles Kuralt's America by Charles Kuralt, read by the author, Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN 0-671-79745-X)

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, abridged read by Anthony Heald, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-43802-5); unabridged, read by Jeff Woodman, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0679-46080-2)

Personal History by Katharine Graham, read by the author, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-45818-2)

Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins, read by the author, Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN 0-671-75018-X)

A Reporter's Life by Walter Cronkite, read by the author, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-45814-X)

Don't Know Much About History by Kenneth Davis, read by the author, BDD Audio (ISBN 0-553-47103-1)

News from Lake Wobegon series by Garrison Keillor, read by the author, HighBridge (various ISBNs) or Lake

Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor, read by the author, HighBridge (ISBN 0-942-11008-0)

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot, read by Christopher Timothy, Audio Renaissance (ISBN 1-55927399-2 ) or All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot, read by Christopher Timothy, Audio Renaissance (ISBN 1-559-27401-8)

The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, read by Stanley Tucci, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-679-46035-7)

Ageless Body, Timeless Mind by Deepak Chopra, read by the author, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-67942431-8)

How to Meditate by Lawrence Leshan, read by the author, Audio Renaissance (ISBN 0-940-68704-6)

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, read by Joe Slattery, Audio Forum (ISBN 0-940-68700-3)

To this list, PW would add one more title: Still Me by Christopher Reeve, read by the author, Random House Audiobooks (ISBN 0-375-40281-0). This brand-new title had not yet been released when we conducted our survey, but it is worthy of being considered a "must-have."

Essential Authors

John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Sue Grafton, Mary Higgins Clark, Patricia Cornwell, Anne Rice, Dean Koontz, Sara Paretsky and Frederick Forsyth.