The Accent, its the accent. Audio books keeping me sane (Bookswagger Stop)

Posted by Marcia in Bookswagger on

My New Year’s Resolution is to continue working on my ever growing commuting issues, you see it started like this. I used to love getting in my car cranking up my music and hitting the road…cut to seven years later and my commute is working my last frayed nerve (yes frayed) so I have been using audio books to help me get through the horror and help me be the good non bird throwing person I know I am.

My top three Audio Books for 2013 are re-reads, that does not sound right, but they are books I have read over and over in print and bought the audio version for in 2013. The highlanders…burr, I love the bur.

Saving, Grace1. Saving Grace, Julie Garwood (narrated by Rosalyn Landor)

The Bride, Julie2. The Bride, Julie Garwood (narrated by Rosalyn Landor)

An English Bride in Scotland3. An English Bride in Scotland, Lynsay Sands (narrated by Mary Jane Wells)

You have probably caught on to my theme, I could tell you what each one of these books are about but you can guess right, feisty heroine meets unruly Highlander changes his and his Clans life! I tell you HEA guaranteed.

73 thoughts on “The Accent, its the accent. Audio books keeping me sane (Bookswagger Stop)”

  1. ki pha

    LOL Heck YES to Accents!!!! I too have found myself addicted to Audible!! I can’t believe I haven’t tried it earlier? I absolutely love it~ And those accents. Even if the hot gents are read by a Lady, it’s still amazing to hear the accent like how we always thought about it in our heads. ;D

    1. bookswagger

      Yes, even if it is a old book it so many parts is like getting it for the first time, I know I find myself saying oh I did not know that is how they say that a lot! Makes it new all over again. Thanks for stopping by to see me.

  2. belindaegreen

    You asked : Accents yay or nay?

    Sure if it’s germane to the story and characters. For example, I wouldn’t want to hear a French accent attempting a southern drawl or vice versa. The jury is still out for me on woman vs man or vice versa when the role is the opposite of either..

    I’m still trying to get over the sticker shock for an audible! I’m from the old school of books on tape…LOL. Yes, I do understand the cost involved but….

    Anyway, thanks for sharing. Happy New Year!

    Belinda G

    1. bookswagger

      You know Belinda that is a good point, I am late to audio books so I only know current costs I am afraid to find out what they use to be because I will probably not want to buy them any longer cause as my friends like to joke I am tight.

      As for the accents you are correct it has to fit, case in point I wanted to buy an audible but after the preview I could not go through with it because the narrator was to far from what I expected the heroine to sound like. She sounded twelve and the heroine was a thirty plus year old African American woman, it was just not something I could get lost in and books are to be lost in.

      I still have not decided on man vs woman either, but if the woman is a character I expect to have a deeper voice it does not bother me but if she is like 18 in a historical romance it does not fit for me, but us readers are fickle like that sometimes, lol.

      I love talking to you, you always give me another perspective and take me there! I hope we get to met one day Belinda.

      Thanks for stopping by.

  3. baychriz

    Depends on the accent – not too strong please, I still need to understand what is being said. I haven’t had too much experience with them yet. I just got my first Highlander book that I am very excited about – THE HIGHLANDER’s REWARD 🙂 Just Reading for Fun

    1. bookswagger

      Yes, if you can not understand it then there is no fun in that. I hope you post a review on your blog about it, I would love to know what you think about your first higlander audio experience.
      Thanks for stopping by.

    1. bookswagger

      Yes, she does seem to fit the historical highland romances well, I am curious about what else she does now. Thanks for stopping by and this hop was a great idea, you’ll organization is off the chain, love it.

  5. Brenda

    I too am a lover of accents when listening to audiobooks. Robert Petkoff doesn’t miss a beat with the variety of them found in Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark Series. And Julie Garwood is a favorite author of mine as well. 🙂

    1. bookswagger

      I was just saying I am going to have to check out Kresley Cole and if I did it would be her adult series Immortals so I am glad you liked it in audio. Thanks for stopping by.

  7. Carmel @ Rabid Reads

    Depends. I’m not a huge fan of British accents but I love Lauren Fortgang and Allison McLemore’s Souther twangs. Plus, Luke Daniels is the man at accents. Thanks for the chance, happy New Year!

    1. bookswagger

      It is all in the eye of the beholder but being from the south I have found that southern accents done wrong can really bring me out of a book and now when I think British I just think Sleepy Hollow (my new fav show).

      I cannot think of one book I have listened to with a British accent but you have me curious, I might have to search out a regency to see if I will still like the accent.

  10. Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun

    I’m not familiar with any of your narrators or books, but I love highlanders, so I am going to have to check them out at least. As for accents, if they’re done well I love them. But an evenly slightly wrong accent ruins the entire book – I’d rather it not have an accent at all than a bad one.

    1. bookswagger

      I agree a bad narrator will kill an audio book, the whole point is to get lost in the story not be irritated by the person telling the tale. Its an art. The good ones truly have a gift.

    1. bookswagger

      Aww, that sucks. I know my first audio book was a bad one took me a while to try again. It has to match the character country at least sheesh.
      Thanks for stopping by.

  12. Oddiophile

    Books with accents always seem so much better to me in audio format than in text. Well… when the narrator gets the accent right, that is. For me, French in particular is far better when someone else pronounces the words instead of my internal reader because I can’t even manage French pronunciations in my head, let alone aloud.

    1. bookswagger

      I know when you read it then hear it in audio its almost like, dag that’s what they were saying. Unless its your native tongue you are going to miss some things, so it is cool to hear it.

  16. Debra Kay Neiman

    Accents are the spice of audio books, if done well. Happy New Year from Oklahoma, USA. crystalbluern at onlineok dot com

  17. Judy-Ree

    I have recently started a job with an hour & 1/2 commute one way again after many , many, many, many years of nearby jobs. *bangs head on the desk* What was I THINKING?!?! Oh yes, better pay and benefits. *sigh* Needless to say, I too have dived right into the world of the audio book to save myself from road rage. I went with Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series. All I can say is, Loving the Accents! Scottish and Irish FTW!!!

    1. bookswagger

      I have been hearing good things about this series on this hop, I am going to try this one. Because the Irish and Scottish mix plus action has got to be hot…I feel your pain on the commute. I really do the things we do just to live right.

  18. Denise Z

    I don’t know about the accents, if it is done well they are a joy to listen to and on the other hand when wrong it can ruin a really good story by becoming annoying 😉 You have one of my favorite all time books listed above – Saving Grace by Julie Garwood, I have never listened to it, but have read it over and over in times when I needed that little smile in a historical. Thank you for participating in the fun.

    1. bookswagger

      Yes, I love that one. I read it over and over to that is why I thought it would be safe to try in audio…And it was the narrator did the whole cast beautifully even Auggie and his balls. Lol. Thanks for stopping by.

  19. January

    I haven’t listened to any audiobooks with accents yet. I do enjoy them in real life and movies though! Thanks for the giveaway! 😀

  20. ladybren

    Accents all the time works for me.
    I recently heard the newest Bridget Jones: Mad about the boy and while the narrator read in her wonderful accent I’ll admit to hearing the stars’ voices when Bridget, Mark or Daniel spoke
    Love the crown!!

    1. bookswagger

      I bet, I love your crown as well. It just adds something special when you get to actually hear the correct pronunciation of a word you have no hope of ever getting right.

      Thanks for stopping by milady! lol.

  22. Stephanie Huff

    I enjoy accents, but I’m always skeptical when I have a favorite series with a key character with an accent and I then go to listen to it on audio. I’m always worried they won’t do it right.

    1. bookswagger

      That is understandable because when done wrong it can be way wrong and really pull you out of the world you are trying to get loss in.

      Thanks for stopping by Stephanie.

  23. Marcela (@BookaholicCat)

    I love the burr too. Highlander books are my “guilty pleasure”. I loooove them!
    Last year I read Saving Grace and The Bride, and I really don’t know why I didn’t add Saving Grace to my Top Reads because it’s one of my all time HR favorites.
    I haven’t read/listened to An English Bride in Scotland, but I promise you I’ll be doing it soon.

    1. bookswagger

      I know I wish Julie Garwood would push out another historical romance, she is my fav. She just does something with them no one else does. Whenever I need a instant refresh, clear my mind from something I read and maybe did not like usually a NF or political book (why I torture myself I do not know), I can count on Saving Grace and The Bride! Thanks for stopping by.

      1. bookaholiccat

        I just finished An English Bride in Scotland. Loved it. It was sweet, cute and just perfect. Thank you 🙂

  24. BookAttict

    I LOVE accents. Susan Ericksen does Roarke (with his sexy Irish brogue) in J.D. Robb’s In Death series.

    Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
    elizabeth @ bookattict . com

  25. Christina T

    I love accents especially Simon Vance who narrates the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Oh I love 18th Century British Sea Captain! 🙂 Also ANY thing narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch ;D

    1. bookswagger

      Lol, British Sea Captain luv it. I have to look up the Temeraire series I have not heard of that one yet so def have to check it out. Thanks for stopping by Christina.

  27. lupdilup

    Thank you so much for being part of the hop!
    One the great things about your picks, it’s that I already have 2 of them on my audio library 🙂 I just have to moved them to the top of my TBL. I bought them when one of my friends that reviews for the blog listened to them, and she LOVED them!
    I have to check out Linsay Sands’ book too, I love a good historical romance.
    Thank you!
    Happy New Year 🙂

    1. bookswagger

      Yes, I had a few bad listens and I did not want to give up on audio so I went with some authors I love and I was so glad I liked them. It was like reading the book for the first time, I found myself sitting in my car just to hear the rest of a part. I hope you like them and Lynsay is one of my fav historical romance authors she is just funny. Thanks for stopping by and hosting the hop, you’ll are very organized!

  28. GR Hovorka

    Accent are very much a Yay! But I am pretty new to audio books, and have never had the joy of an audio book accent. Until now I have had to do it in my head but now I am excited to hear a real one!! Eeek!

  29. Midnyte Reader

    I looove audio books. I don’t have a bad commute, but I still love to listen to books while driving. It’s a real good way for a slow reader like me to enjoy more books.

    1. bookswagger

      Lol, I know and with the way everything can sync across devices it is so easy to pick it up on a phone or reading device. I am so late to audio but I am enjoying it now. My TBR pile is def growing now that I also like to do audio books.

  31. Terri Poindexter

    I started listening to recordings of classes I was taking. Otherwise it was news, traffic reports, and music. I bought my Mom books on cassettes, she had a subscription from the library for handicapped and home bound patrons. That is when I started listening to books for any drive. Now I won’t leave the house without an audio book.

  32. Niki G

    yay on accents but they have to be a VERY good narrator to pull it off sometimes i want to rip their toungues out over some of the butcher jobs i hear in my ears!! lol

    1. bookswagger

      Oh I have not done Italian yet! I need a wishlist, all accent based. Would be interesting to see which book/narrator has the best story/narrator/accent combo.

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