Tag Archives: simon vance

Starred Review Roundup: August 2012

Adam Boretz -- September 10th, 2012
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It’s time once again for our Monthly Starred Review Roundup — a new feature we’ve been doing here at Listen Up to highlight those audiobooks that recently received Starred Reviews from PW.

For the month of August, we present you with the following:

Nonfiction

Thomas McNamee, read by Dick Hill. Tantor Media, unabridged, 11 CDs, 13 hrs., $39.99 ISBN 978-1-4526-0812-9
Adam Carolla with Mike Lynch, read by Adam Carolla. Random House Audio, abridged, seven CDs, 8 hrs., $35 ISBN 978-0-307-93977-7
Joan Rivers, read by the author. Penguin Audio, unabridged, four CDs, 5 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 978-1-61176-065-1

YA Fiction

Gary Paulsen, read by Nick Podehl. Brilliance Audio, unabridged, two CDs, 1.5 hrs., $14.99 ISBN 978-1-4558-0823-6

Fiction

Anne Holt, read by Kate Reading. Blackstone Audio, unabridged, nine CDs, 11.5 hrs., $32.95 ISBN 978-1-4551-6030-3
William Shakespeare, read by Alan Cumming. Simon & Schuster Audio, unabridged, 2 CDs, 2 hrs., $14.99 ISBN 978-1-4423-5593-4
Gail Tsukiyama, read by Simon Vance. MacMillan Audio, unabridged, six CDs, 7 hrs., $29.99 ISBN 978-1-4272-2249-7
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Audio Reviews Spotlight: Bring Up the Bodies

Adam Boretz -- July 3rd, 2012
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Today in Audio Reviews Spotlight, we take a gander at the fiction side and Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies. The audiobook is narrated by Simon Vance and available from Macmillan Audio.

Here’s our Starred Review — and don’t forget to check out THIS LINK for an audio excerpt and THIS LINK for all the latest audio reviews from PW.

Bring Up the Bodies
Hilary Mantel, read by Simon Vance. Macmillan Audio, 14.5 hrs., $39.99 ISBN 978-1-4272-2582-5

In Mandel’s taut sequel to Wolf Hall, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn have been married for more than two years, but unable to produce a male heir. Boleyn’s position becomes tenuous—especially with Thomas Cromwell and young lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour working against her. Narrator Simon Vance shines in his portrayal of the characters, creating a range of distinct voices—including the increasingly tense Anne Boleyn and the earnest Gregory, Cromwell’s mild-mannered young son who is eager to prove himself. Best of all, however, are the measured tones Vance employs for the conniving Cromwell. The narrator captures the soul of this complex character, a man of innate pragmatism and confidence who is also quietly haunted by regrets. Vance also nails the bone-dry wit of the character. In all, this is an exemplary audiobook. A Henry Holt hardcover. (May)

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Now Hear This: June Is Audiobook Month!

Adam Boretz -- June 11th, 2012
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June is Audiobook Month is in full swing — with everyone getting in on the act with giveaways, interviews, awards, tributes, deals, and much, much more.

Maybe you’ve seen this #JIAM2012 post from Emily’s Reading Room. Or this Ode to the Audiobook. Or this interview on Home Cooked Books with our pal Michele Cobb about The Audiobook as a Shared Experience and all the great #JIAM2012 deals at Tantor Media.

And, of course, there’s the Daily #JIAM2012 Video, from StudioRFM featuring Robert Fass and the likes of Johnny Heller, Simon Vance, Dion Graham, Simon Prebble — just to name a few.

Here’s Video Number 1 to get you started — you’re going to want to watch them all!

What are you doing for #JIAM2012? Let us know is our Comments Section.

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Audie Awards Fever!

Adam Boretz -- June 5th, 2012
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With the Audie Awards kicking off in a few short hours, we thought it would be the perfect time to bring you the results of our Informal Audie Awards Polls.

As you dust off your tux or gown and prepare for tonight’s festivities, take a peek at the titles and narrators YOU voted for — and who knows, maybe your predictions will be correct. We’ll find out tonight.

In the Narration by the Author/Authors Category, Tina Fey — with 70 percent of the votes –was the clear winner for her narration of Bossypants. Fey’s closest competitor was Libba Bray for Beauty Queens; she received 13 percent of votes cast.

In the Audio Drama Category, The Mark of Zorro (featuring none other than Val Kilmer) came out on top with 52 percent of the votes. In a tie for second place were The Graduate and I, Claudius — each with 15 percent of all ballots cast.

In the Multi-Voiced Performance Category, The Watch that Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic lead the way with 69 percent of the vote, while The Graduate again came in second — this time with 17 percent of votes cast.

In the Solo Narration – Male Category, Simon Vance garnered 49 percent of ballots cast for his reading of The King’s Speech. In second place was Bronson Pinchot — 17 percent of the vote — for Hard Magic.

In the Solo Narration – Female Category, Lorelei King received 46 percent of all votes for her performance of First Grave on the Right, while Rosalyn Landor finished in second place with 25 percent of the ballots for The Winter Sea.

In the prestigious Distinguished Achievement in Production Category, The Mark of Zorro won again — it received 62 percent of all votes — while The Watch that Ends he Night: Voices from the Titanic landed in the number two spot with 24 percent of the vote.

And, finally, in the all-important Audiobook of the Year Category, Bossypants and Tina Fey once again came out on top — this time with 63 percent of the vote — while Neil Gaiman’s American Gods placed second with 20 percent of all votes cast.

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Audie Awards 2012: And The Winner Is… Part I

Adam Boretz -- May 21st, 2012
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With the Audie Awards fast approaching, we thought it might be fun to highlight some of the great nominees with an Informal Audie Awards Poll — voted on by you, the readers of Listen Up and PW.

To kick things off, we’ll take a look at two very competitive categories: Solo Narration – Male and Solo Narration – Female.

For Solo Narration – Male, the nominees are:

  • Simon Vance for The King’s Speech (Tantor Media)
  • Dion Graham for Going to Meet the Man (AudioGO)
  • Charlton Griffin for The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes: Volume III (Audio Connoisseur)
  • Kenneth Branagh for Heart of Darkness (Audible)
  • Bronson Pinchot for Hard Magic: Grimnoir Chronicles, Book 1 (Audible)

And for Solo Narration – Female, the nominees are:

  • Sissy Spacek for Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter (Random House Audio)
  • Katherine Kellgren for Ashes (Audible/Brilliance Audio)
  • Katherine Kellgren for The Wake of the Lorelei Lee (Listen & Live Audio)
  • Lorelei King for First Grave on the Right (Macmillan Audio)
  • Rosalyn Landor for The Winter Sea (Audible)

Who do YOU think will win?  The polls are NOW OPEN:

 

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Audio Reviews Spotlight: The Tao of Pooh

Adam Boretz -- April 2nd, 2012
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This month, we start off by shining our reviews spotlight on the nonfiction side and audio edition of Benjamin Hoff’s classic The Tao of Pooh.

The audiobook is narrated by the incomparable Simon Vance and available from Tantor Media.

Check out PW’s Starred Review below and all of this month’s audio reviews RIGHT HERE.

The Tao of Pooh
Benjamin Hoff, read by Simon Vance. Tantor Media, unabridged, three CDs, 3 hrs., $19.99 ISBN 978-1-4526-0617-0 

Hoff’s classic introduction to religion places A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh characters in fictional scenarios to explore the ideas behind Taoism, bringing Western familiarity to an Eastern philosophy that might seem, at a cursory glance, a bit difficult to grasp. Hoff draws clear parallels between Milne’s characters and the central tenants of Taoism. For instance, he describes how “the Eeyore attitude gets in the way of wisdom and happiness and prevents any sort of real accomplishment in life.” Narrator Simon Vance demonstrates his great range, shifting easily from didactic sections of the book to fictional narrative and imbuing Milne’s characters with distinct voices. His Pooh captures the essence of the famous bear, and Vance deftly juggles multiple characters and dialogue with ease. This audio edition, due in large part to Vance’s performance, is surprisingly engaging and accessible. (Jan.)
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The 2011 Listen-Up Awards

Adam Boretz -- January 2nd, 2012
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We at Listen Up are happy to announce that the votes are in, the decisions made, the judgments rendered, and the hardware handed out. So, without further ado, here’s a peek at the 2011 Listen-Up Awards.

It was another great year for audiobooks. In 2011, we saw close to a 10% increase in unit sales (per the Audio Publishers Association 2011 Sales Survey) and many outstanding performances that are likely to remain with us well into the New Year. Who could forget Tina Fey’s hilarious reading of her memoir, Bossypants? Or Samuel L. Jackson’s now famous narration of Adam Mansbach’s Go the F**K to Sleep? Who could forget that in 2011 Frank Skinner—once again—took us inside the mind of Ozzy Osbourne with Trust Me, I’m Dr. Ozzy? Or that Jim Dale took us to a place called The Night Circus? Of the hundreds of audiobooks PW reviewed this year, here are the best of the best.

FICTION

★ Untouchable by Scott O’Connor, read by Bronson Pinchot (Blackstone Audio)

PW said: “Pinchot—with a soft, easy delivery—lovingly brings this melancholy story and its diverse characters to life. His narration is smooth and compelling, while the voices he lends Whitley and his father fully realize their sadness and despair. But Pinchot also manages to infuse each scene with a sense of hope. The result is heartfelt performance of a rich and deeply moving story.”

11/22/63 by Stephen King, read by Craig Wasson (Simon & Schuster Audio)

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, read by Heather Corrigan (HighBridge Audio)

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan, read by Ilyana Kadushin and Matthew Brown (Macmillan Audio)

This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman, read by Hillary Huber (Blackstone Audio)

Plugged by Eoin Colfer, read by John Keating (AudioGO)

40 Love by Madeleine Wickham, read by Katherine Kellgren (Macmillan Audio)

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø, read by Robin Sachs (Random House Audio)

Mayday by Nelson DeMille and Thomas Block, read by Scott Brick (Hachette Audio)

Borkmann’s Point by Håkan Nesser, read by Simon Vance (HighBridge Audio)

I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson, read by Sian Thomas (Random House Audio)

For the rest of the 2011 Listen-Up Awards, CLICK HERE.

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Classic Literature Audio Pick of the Week

Adam Boretz -- November 15th, 2011
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This week’s Classic Literature Audio pick is Tantor’s Audie Award-Winning, AudioFile Earphones Award-Winning production of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations.

The audiobook is narrated by the great Simon Vance and includes a companion ebook. Here’s what AudioFile had to say about Vance’s performance: “Simon Vance brings a whole new dimension to the story as he imbues each character with a unique voice, and with exquisite diction provides listeners with a totally new experience.”

Check out THIS LINK for an audio excerpt and get your copy today!

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Audio Alert: New Simon Vance Video Blog!

Adam Boretz -- September 12th, 2011
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Audiobook narrator extraordinaire Simon Vance has a new video blog up — this one’s filmed filmed in Paris and brings us up to speed on Vance’s  favorite parts of the city and what he’s working on next. Let’s go to the videotape:

Paris Vlog 2011 from Simon Vance on Vimeo.

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Audio Review Spotlight: Borkmann’s Point

Adam Boretz -- August 16th, 2011
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As we here at Listen Up HQ prepare our next batch of audio reviews — and believe me, there are some great titles and great reviews coming down the pike — we thought it was time to highlight one of the Starred Reviews from last month: Borkmann’s Point, written by Håkan Nesser, read by Simon Vance, and available from HighBridge Audio.

Take a look below for the review and don’t forget to check out all the latest audio reviews from PW.

Borkmann’s Point: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery
Håkan Nesser, read by Simon Vance. HighBridge Audio, unabridged, six CDs, 7.5 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 978-1-61174-271-8

Simon Vance, who narrated Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, is currently the go-to reader for Scandinavian crime novels — and with good reason. His audio version of Nesser’s well-crafted whodunit is nothing short of stellar. Along with Vance’s mastery of Swedish accents, excellent pacing, and ability to capture a book’s mood, his voice has the timber and confidence of a natural storyteller. The vacation of Stockholm’s chief inspector Van Veeteren is interrupted by a series of ax murders in a nearby village. When a new victim turns up and the town’s smartest policewoman goes missing, the seemingly remote but oddly fascinating detective takes over the case from an agreeable local police chief who’s only days from retirement. The characters have depth and the plot has all the necessary ingredients — including a race against time — to satisfy even the most selective mystery fan. Vance’s winning narration is the perfect icing on a very tasty cake. A Vintage paperback. (June)
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