January always prompts me to look back. This year I reviewed my reviews and came up with my top favorite audios from 2005 based on intriguing plots, unique characters, and stellar readings!
Cornelia Funke's sequel Inkspell (Listening Library, $60.00, unabridged 16 CDs, 18 hours, 50 minutes) follow Dustfinger, one of the most intriguing characters in her first book Inkheart, into a book world where good and evil clash and familiar characters are joined by a new and wonderful cast. Brendan Fraser doesn't disappoint. His range of characterizations is broad, his narrator's voice is rich and calmingly, and he translates the drama elegantly.
Alice Hoffman's gift for magical realism shines in The Ice Queen (TimeWarnerAudioBooks, $31.98, unabridged, five CDs, six hours). The nameless narrator has miserable success with wishing true as she loses her mother, grandmother and then is struck by lightening. Nancy Travis matches the literary voice with a passion-filled reading to help listeners experience shocking insights and incredible imagery.
Alexander McCall Smith always promises an involving listen and once again he deliveres in his sixth Mma Ramotswe In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (Recorded Books, $29.99, unabridged, seven cassettes, nine and a half hours). Mma Ramotswe is settling into married life with J.L.B Matekoni when her first husband turns up. Can this paragon honesty be a bigamist? South African Lisette Lecat's reading shows her familiarity and fondness for the country, culture and heroine.
Joan Didion writes of marriage and loss after her husband's sudden death in The Year of Magical Thinking (Highbridge Audio, unabridged, $26.95, four CDs, 51/4 hr.). Barbara Caruso follows the lyrical, shocking rhythms of Didion's life and words, giving an eloquent reading that the elegant writing deserves.
Morton Spurlock, the writer, producer and star of Super Size Me, proves as successful with writing and reading this audio as he was on screen in Don't Eat This Book (Penguin Audio, $29.95, unabridged, seven CDS, eight hours). Jam-packed with shocking facts and startling images, this audio makes an astonishing link between America's weight and marketing gains.
Geraldine Brooks' research and ability to write a compelling story unite in March (Penguin Audio, $39.95, unabridged, nine CDs, approximately 10 hours). Her hero, the shadowy John March of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, is an idealistic minister whose passion for Truth and Justice are sometimes clouded by the horrors of war and love for his wife, family and a beautiful, bright house slave he met in his youth. Richard Easton's precise and careful British elocution further both setting and Brook's potent writing.
Reseach and drama abound in Philippa Gregory's The Queen's Fool (Recorded Books, $62.95, unabridged, 14 cassettes, 20.5 hours). Hannah Green's mother has been killed by the Spanish Inquisition and she hides her Jewish background and gender in England until Robert Dudley discovers her prophetic gift. Suddenly swept into a world of hidden secrets, she serves two vying courts. Bianca Amato's even storytelling voice turns into performance when she portrays cocky Robert Dudley, playful Elizabeth, and devout Mary.
Enjoy the guilty pleasure of Diane Gabaldone's sixth Outlander book, A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Random House Audio, $39.95, abridged, 13 CDs, 15 hours). Claire Fraser, a time traveler from the 20th century and her 18th century Scottish Highlander spouse, Jamie Fraser, find themselves on the brink of the Revolutionary War and their death date if an article read in the future is correct. The fast-paced story is enhanced by Geraldine James' excellent lyrical reading.