Armchair Audies Best Female Narration ~~~And the Winner Is….

Armchair Audies Best Female Narration ~~~And the Winner Is….

The Armchair Audies is a group of listeners who get together every year, pick a category, listen to all the nominated titles and predict who they think will be the winner. I have been involved for a couple years and have really enjoyed listening to all these books. Female Narration is always a favorite category because the narrations are always great this one was a tough choice this year but I did decide on a winner. (see the end of the post.)

All the Stars in Heaven by, Adriana Trigiani narrated by, Blair Brown

I enjoyed this book; however I couldn’t help comparing this story to the book A Touch of Stardust which I also enjoyed. I am a fan of classic movies so to hear these stories was fun and I fell in love with David Niven all over again.

The Narration—Blair Brown did a nice job at the narration of this one, I was glad she didn’t try to imitate the way some of these real people talked, I thought she did well at characterizations and male and female voices.

The Boston Girl by, Anita Diamant narrated by, Linda Lavin

I’m so sorry but this book was boring, I kept waiting for something exciting to happen and it never did.

The Narration— Linda Lavin of Alice fame narrates this book and I’m just not sure if I liked it or not it almost sounded like a caricature of a Jewish woman from Boston, maybe they really sound like that I could be totally wrong here but for me it was over the top.  

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray, read by January LaVoy

I went back and listened to the 1^st book and went right into this one and really wish book 3 was out. I really enjoyed this book and the narration just added to that.

The Narration—January LaVoy’s narration is spot on her characters are great, everyone has their own voice and you knew who was talking all the time, I also thought her male voices were really well done.

The Lost Landscape: A Writer's Coming of Age by, Joyce Carol Oates narrated by, Cassandra Campbell

I was confused is this a memoir about a person or a chicken? I will admit that I only listened to 3 hours of this book it just wasn’t for me I haven’t read anything from this author so I wasn’t invested in knowing about her life.

The Narration— Cassandra Campbell is a favorite and always does a superb job and this book was no exception, however this was kind of a straight read because it is a memoir.

The Nightingale By, Kristin Hannah narrated by, Polly Stone

This was a very powerful book and well written and I am left thinking of these sisters days after I have finished this book. I highly recommend it.

The Narration— Polly Stone’s narration took a little getting used to but I ended up really liking her, the accents and male and female voices were well done and I would listen to this narrator again.

Wild Rover No More: Being the Last Recorded Account of the Life & Times of Jacky Faber by L.A. Meyer narrated by, Katherine Kellgren

I don’t want to spoil this book for those of you that have read the entire series, so I will just say I enjoyed this book more than Boston Jacky and it was an excellent end to a fabulous series that will forever be a go-to book for me and I know I will listen to this series again and again. Well Played Mr. Meyer you made me laugh, you made me cry and gave Jacky the sendoff she deserved!

The Narration— Great narration by Katherine Kellgren, as always, but this time she had to do a Russian accent and sing in that accent, you are an amazing talent Ms. Kellgren!

This one was a harder choice than the YA category, the ladies are always hard to judge because they are all so great but I have to go with my gut.

So the winner is ….

January LaVoy’s narration of Lair of Dreams I loved everything about this narration every character had their own voice, all the voices were so well done and enjoyed the book.