In which I call out bad accents and gender essentialism... I am a huge fan of audiobooks, which is why I care. lithub.com/can-we-pleas... - ThreadSky

maris.bsky.social • 380 days ago

In which I call out bad accents and gender essentialism...
I am a huge fan of audiobooks, which is why I care. https://lithub.com/can-we-please-put-an-end-to-overperformed-audibooks/

Comments

heymandy.bsky.social•380 days ago

Yes! I have become an almost exclusive audiobook listener after having to transition to using eye gaze technology, and I DESPERATELY wish narrators of adult books would stop doing voices. Unnecessary, and more often than not it negatively impacts their vocal clarity!

hanoumatoi.bsky.social•379 days ago

I am curious what you think of Katherine Kellgren, because she does a lot of what you criticize, and I don’t have the context to know if she is better/good enough at it that it works, or I just don’t notice the problems. (I listen to audiobooks because my kid loves them, not my own so less exposure)

wormhole42.bsky.social•379 days ago

I've been thinking of getting into some kind of voiceover work but am not sure where to start. I do love audiobooks though.

megateer.bsky.social•380 days ago

I, too, have been listening to more audiobooks, and this is spot on. Thank you.

rappap0rt.bsky.social•380 days ago

Yes! I wish more audio books just felt like being read to. Perhaps aptly, I had to give up on some Murakami stories bc the way the guy performed female voices made my toes curl.
One for the good pile: Kristen Sieh's reading of Patricia Lockwood's 'No One is Talking About This'. It's wonderful.

awkwardleftycj.bsky.social•379 days ago

One of my favorite novels, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, was narrated by Simon Prebble. I would have preferred a female narrator since the author is a woman and the narrator's voice is distinctly feminine as well, but damn if he doesn't do a great job. +

awkwardleftycj.bsky.social•379 days ago

He does actually attempt and (in my opinion as a Yank but one who does listen to a lot of voices from the British isles) pull off a variety of accents, from London to Yorkshire to Scottish to RP to one he had to essentially make up based on the description in the book.

sebadee.bsky.social•379 days ago

I loved Miranda Raison's reading of Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Although English, her American accent worked for me. I particularly liked how each voice seemed imprinted with the character being interpreted. Also, her reading voice evolved along with the character.

scottsemegran.com•379 days ago

Great article. And I agree.

waybackgen.bsky.social•379 days ago

On the nonfiction side, this article from an author who narrated his own audiobook is delightful and totally nails your point about how reading is a skill that is distinct from acting or other kinds of voiceover work.
https://justingregg.substack.com/p/whats-it-like-to-record-an-audiobook

quick13.bsky.social•379 days ago

I do think there are some actors who are also good narrators, but I also do not like the "voices" in audiobooks. I've quit books a few times because of it.

marawilson.bsky.social•379 days ago

I am super flattered to be mentioned in this article, especially because I absolutely adore that book, too!

As for accents, I’ve only done about 30 audiobooks, but one thing I’ve learned is that the accent and pitch are much less important than the actual acting. That said…

piinkberri.bsky.social•379 days ago

What was your favorite audiobook to narrate so far, if I may ask?

marawilson.bsky.social•378 days ago

Honestly, most of them have been really fun! I’ve been lucky. I can’t pick just one.

piinkberri.bsky.social•378 days ago

That's a great problem to have 😊

untidymusic.com•379 days ago

There's a Clive Barker audiobook out there that has an awful scouse accent that put me right off and took me out of the book. Shame really because the rest really worked.

marawilson.bsky.social•379 days ago

Often we do accents because it’s explicitly said that the character has an accent, or we get hired BECAUSE they find out that we can do an accent!

I do think these are also rookie mistakes, often made by people who haven’t done many, or any, books before. I cringe listening to my older books now.

marawilson.bsky.social•379 days ago

And again, I’m very much a novice in this field, but there’s a difference between doing book and having only done one or two or three. And I’m sure if I get to 300, I’ll cringe listening to what I did at 30.

ghostingdani.bsky.social•379 days ago

'ullo guv'nor, mind your apples and pairs

yellslikegoats.bsky.social•380 days ago

I mostly want there to be fewer celeb-read audiobooks unless they’re reading their own memoirs. Sometimes you something great like Sissy Spacek reading Loretta Lynn but usually you get a familiar celeb voice doing a less good job than audiobook professionals/veterans.

maris.bsky.social•380 days ago

💯

cacasey.bsky.social•380 days ago

Tom Hiddleston reading James Bond novels is amazeballs and perfect, however.

maris.bsky.social•380 days ago

Ooh

yellslikegoats.bsky.social•380 days ago

I haven’t read those but he read High Rise by JG Ballard and obviously took it very seriously/professionally.

cacasey.bsky.social•380 days ago

that one is also very good. I love a plummy accent.

nilbog3000.bsky.social•379 days ago

The Werner Herzog memoir could only have been read by Werner Herzog (it’s great, by the way)

magmidd.bsky.social•380 days ago

Yes to all this. I had to stop listening to The Goldfinch because of all the *accents*. And listening to Catch and Kill was soooo cringey.

limeyemily.bsky.social•380 days ago

Narrators doing that breathy high pitched “female”voice kill me! But nothing took me out like the narrator doing a HUGE Texan accent for a character in Vikas Swarup’s Six Suspects.

yellslikegoats.bsky.social•380 days ago

There’s an opposite version of all the men in a book having a Rolf the Dog gruff voice too. I listened to a 50+ hour audiobook where I could hear every intake of breath from the reader so I think I could get through anything now.

nilbog3000.bsky.social•379 days ago

A biography of Faraday and Maxwell narrated by an American entirely in an American accent suddenly broke into a Fat Bastard level Scottish brogue the first time he read a quote from Maxwell and I jumped like a giant wasp had landed on my face

limeyemily.bsky.social•379 days ago

In a biography?!

nilbog3000.bsky.social•379 days ago

Yes. I’m still amazed and horrified

limeyemily.bsky.social•379 days ago

That is pretty hilarious tbh

nilbog3000.bsky.social•379 days ago

Did he record it himself and no one listened to the whole thing before publishing it? How did no one step in and tell him no?!

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