Top Ten Audio Books I've Listened To

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. There is a new subject each week and this week's topic is a freebie so I chose Top Ten Audio Books I've Listened To.

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Read by Jim Dale

I think Jim Dale sets the bar really high with the quality of his reading and his ability to capture the voices of the characters. These are the first audio books I loved and still my favorite of all time. I have listened to the series many times since I first started with the audio books in 2004-2005.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett 
Read by Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer and Cassandra Campbell

The ensemble cast for this audio book really shines. I love that Octavia Spencer (who played Minny in the film) is the voice of Minny in the audio book. Really all of the narrators do a fantastic job.

Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn (and its sequels)
Read by Marc Thompson

Marc Thomas has a gift for sounding like the characters from the film (except for Princess Leia). The sound effects also make this audio book a lot of fun to listen to.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
Read by Jenna Lamia

I liked Jenna Lamia's narration for CeeCee and the southern ladies of Savannah. After listening to a number of audio books narrated by her I found that I really like her voice and audio book reading. This would be a great audio book to listen to in the lazy warm days of summer.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Read by Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra

I thought the narrators did a really good job of voicing Eleanor and Park. The audio book version made me cry while I listened to it. Not a good thing when you're driving!

Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Read by Joshua Swanson

I thought Joshua Swanson's voices for the many characters in this series were very good. Unfortunately he only narrates the first three books in the series and the drop in quality shows with the last two books (narrated by Nick Chamian). Still the series makes for entertaining listening and some laugh out loud moments.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Read by Kate Rudd

I loved this book and listening to it in audio made me really feel the characters' emotions more. Kate Rudd did a good job with both Hazel and Augustus's voice. I'm kind of picky when female readers take on male voices but I think her take on Augustus was pretty good.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
Read by Grayce Wey

I think Grayce Wey perfectly captured Kimberley's voice both as a young girl and a teenager. This is another audio book that made me cry.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Read by Jim Broadbent

British actor Jim Broadbent did such a good job with the narration of this book. I think if there is a movie made, he needs to play Harold! 

The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
Read by Philip Battley

I loved this book when I read the print version but listening to the audio book (while enjoyable) made me not like the main character at first. For some reason when I listened, I picked up on how annoying and stubborn Iolanthe is in the beginning but I think that is because I knew what would happen since I'd read it before. Philip Battley does a great job with both Iolanthe and Titus's voices and I definitely plan to listen to the second book as well.