Do audio book readers usually make up voices for each of the characters? Do you

M

Marlin

New member
enjoy that? I just started listening to audiobooks. The couple readers I've heard so far all have wonderful reading voices, and I love listening to them do the narrative. However, they also all "perform" the dialogue, making up a new voice for each character.

Two questions to any long time audiobook listeners out there:

Is this the usual thing for professionally done audiobooks, or do many just have the reader use their natural voice throughout, dialogue and all?

Do you prefer it when a reader just uses their natural voice or do you enjoy them preforming the dialogue in different character voices?

Thanks.
 
I haven't listened to many. One was read by Meryl Streep, and two others by actor Michael Beck (both John Grisham novels). Each of them acted a little in voicing dialogue, but no more than an enthusiastic reader should. They raised or lowered their voices' pitches, and Beck added a thickened accent or a coarse manner of speech as the character demanded. Essentially, they did what I do in my head when I read dialogue. That's fine by me.
 
I haven't listened to many. One was read by Meryl Streep, and two others by actor Michael Beck (both John Grisham novels). Each of them acted a little in voicing dialogue, but no more than an enthusiastic reader should. They raised or lowered their voices' pitches, and Beck added a thickened accent or a coarse manner of speech as the character demanded. Essentially, they did what I do in my head when I read dialogue. That's fine by me.
 
Most audiobooks are done like that. I've encountered a couple where it was just the reader's natural voice but it's not very common.

I like it when they "perform" the dialogue. There's nothing like a monotone reader who never varies anything. It's like listening to Ben Stein. Boring. Besides, sometimes you get a good laugh when a male reader attempts a female voice (the Left Behind reader doing Cloe's voice, especially when she's being all mushy with Buck lol!).

I don't like the audiobooks where it's actually performed. Like, they acted it out in a play and they just took a tape recorder to the show. I have a really hard time following what's going on. Sound effects and everything. Distracting and I can't tell who's talking, especially in a crowd scene when it's important to know who's doing the speaking. I prefer the ones where the reader actually says every word on the page as it's written.
 
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