During a recent hospital stay, I found myself struggling to enjoy reading. Now, this may not seem too big a deal to many, but as a complete book addict it was almost as painful as the reason for the hospital visit.
I was languishing on a trolley in A&E for eight days and was surrounded by constant movement, harsh overhead lighting and was getting little or no sleep. In a curtained area, with no online access, no TV or radio and listening to the sounds of pain and despair from fellow patients, I called in the big guns; the audiobooks.
I had a library of audio titles, saved on my phone, and had barely made a dent in the titles. There had been no need, in my mind. I had physical copies and rarely went anywhere without one. Choosing Sebastian Barry’s Days Without End, I plugged in the earphones, closed my eyes and lay back. Within minutes I found myself lost in the world of two young men travelling across America on horseback and I was hooked. The monotony of my day was broken and I began to resent the interruptions from kindly nurses and offhand doctors.
I went through four audiobooks in quick succession and even mastered the skills of speeding up narration, using sleep timers and scanning back recently “read” lines. I was in an awful situation, but was less stressed and back in the magical world of words. When I was discharged to the comfort of my own home, I was too weak to hold a book for long periods of time so downloaded more titles via the audible app. Pretty soon I began to realise what I had been missing out on. Audiobooks are convenient, mobile and can become part of your daily routine. So why were they not on my radar before now? It seems I am at the right age. There is a bit of pattern when it comes to audiobooks, one that I was not even aware of.
Looking at the most popular rented audiobooks on borrowbox in Ireland there is not a huge difference to the traditional bestseller lists. The top 10 borrowed adult books of 2016 included five thrillers, three female fiction and two literary titles. (Three of the top 10 are from Irish authors). According to an article published in the Bookseller, crime fiction is dominating the audio charts. There is a trend with children's audiobooks, with JK Rowling, David Walliams and Jaqueline Wilson leading the way. There are also plenty of sales of fantasy fiction aimed at the Young Adult market. There is a huge demand for children's audiobooks in the 7-12 age range, with Harry Potter being the main crossover title. Then there is a gap. The thrillers take the baton and remain the most rented titles, with female fiction and non-fiction chasing their tails. I would hazard a guess and say that between late teens and mid-thirties, people just do not have the time to read for pleasure. School exams; college; work and family life take over.
So, why do we now find ourselves attracted to the audio option? In my case it was originally my inability to concentrate on the words on a page and the physical aspect of holding a book for long periods of time. Sunday Times bestselling author Angela Clarke had a similar experience. “I have EDS III and dislocated my neck (due to complications caused by my condition) and was bed bound for months. As I got better and stronger my physio advised no tilting of my head: so no looking at a screen, or a phone, or a book: audio books was my only way to cope.”
Now she finds herself listening to books on a daily basis. “I listen to two to three books a week, sped up (three times the speed), while I’m walking to and from the station, unloading the dishwasher, putting away clothes, cooking etc. I’ve even got waterproof headphones and a protective case so I can listen while I’m in the pool.”
Costa Book Award 2016 shortlisted novelist Kit de Waal is a fellow audiobook fan. “I became addicted myself and because I do so much driving I can get through a book a week when I would struggle to find the time to sit down with one. For adults too that struggle with literacy, audiobooks can be great and can bridge that gap between people’s aspirations to read and be connected to the world of books and their abilities.”
This brings up a whole other aspect to the audiobook surge. Children can struggle with reading, some more than others, and this is a perfect way to keep them entertained without it seeming a chore. De Waal says that audiobooks were the perfect solution for her son, who has dyslexia.
“We used to have a 25-minute drive to his school and as soon as we got into the car on went the audiobook and we would be enraptured until we pulled up in the car park often staying in the car for another few minutes because we couldn’t bear to turn it off. And the same on the way home. For children like Luke, audiobooks have opened up the world of literature. It enables them keep up with their peers, keep up with the school work and keeps them on a level footing when their friends are discussing books. I don’t know what I would have done without them.”
When you have listened to audiobooks for a while, you begin to notice the different narrators, some of whom are regulars. The voice becomes part of the enjoyment and sites even add the option of choosing titles by their narrator. The right voice can take a title to a whole new level. Author Kate Beaufoy explains that it is harder work than you would think.
“As a former actress and experienced voiceover artist I found even reading my own books really, really tough. It demands total concentration, and you can’t sustain it for more than six hours. It would take four to five days working flat out to read one of my novels (I used to record them in the UK when I was writing as Kate Thompson). That’s why I didn’t record either of my Kate Beaufoy books, and specifically requested Niamh Cusack for Another Heartbeat in the House, because she is so very good.
“Many actors specialise in audiobook recordings; it isn’t hugely lucrative, but you can corner the market in a certain genre and be used again and again. There is no margin for misreading, ever: some people listen to the recording and read the book simultaneously, so if there is any discrepancy – no matter how small – they write letters of complaint à la ‘disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’. Also, reading my sex scenes aloud in the presence of a (male) producer and (male) sound engineer was completely mortifying. Luckily, they weren’t easily fazed.”
Self-published author Denise Deegan agrees. “One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was narrate my audiobook, Checkout Girl. The challenge was to sound like I was telling the story, not reading it – as I was reading it! It also took a very long time. The experience has opened my eyes to the effort and expertise that goes into making audiobooks. They really are works of art.”
Memoirs are also enjoying their place in the sun right now, with titles narrated by their authors being the most popular. Maybe this is down to the fact that they have lived the life that they are talking about. There is a genuine feeling that comes across in the finished product.
Stephen Fry is a permanent fixture on audible’s bestsellers list and is one of the most popular narrators in the business, with almost a hundred titles under his belt. Having a narrator who can switch between genres is a huge bonus for an author, especially if they are self-publishing. Robert Bryndza, author of the No 1 international bestseller The Girl in the Ice, has been lucky to work with the same narrator for both his romantic comedy audiobook and his more recent thrillers.
“My first audiobook produced was for my romantic comedy Miss Wrong and Mr Right. I produced this myself through Amazon’s self-publishing platform ACX. It was a bit of a risk because until then I didn’t have any books in audio, but I thought it was something another way for readers who have poor eyesight of don’t enjoy reading to connect with my books. I was looking for a female narrator who could be funny, do some bizarre accents (a Hungarian Gran, a Texan best friend etc) and introduce a sense of drama where needed.
“The ACX platform allows you to post an extract of the book, and registered narrators can audition. I had some wonderful narrators post auditions, but went with Jan Cramer who was warm and funny and ‘got’ what my book was about. We had a couple of Skype meetings and then she started recording, sending me every hour of audio so I could go through it and make any suggestions. It was such a wonderful process and incredible to hear my book come to life.
“It was published in audio last year and sales were slow at first but have gathered pace and I now have a whole new audience for my books. When I came to publish my first crime novels it was a happy coincidence that Jan was working for my publisher Bookouture and they decided to have her narrate my Erika Foster series. She can switch between comedy and drama with ease, so I am very happy with the result.”
The world of audiobooks is one of subtlety. However, behind the scenes there are so many aspects to be taken into consideration when producing them. The book itself is almost pushed to the side in favour of voices, styles, audiences and even the following of its narrator. Unlike traditional formats, the audio version does not need the intense marketing push that its original format required. This has already been done. The price is not as big of an issue as it used to be, as now there are monthly subscriptions to audio download sites. For the reader/listener, it is a case of sitting back, relaxing and letting someone else do all the work for you. It may not be for everyone, but I am all for experiencing as many books as I can, in whatever shape or form they are in.
Margaret Madden blogs about books at bleachhouselibrary.ie
