Washington Post: “The Best Audiobook Narrators are True Artists. Let’s Celebrate Them”

From The Washington Post:

 It is wonderful to see voice actors, who are often snubbed at the Grammys in favor of celebrities, recognized for their work. As audiobooks have evolved, narrating them has demanded more and more creativity and skill. Transforming the pages of a book into a listening experience goes beyond simply reading aloud, and some people are better at it than others.

Audiobooks began their reign in 1975, the brainchild of former Olympic champion rower Duvall Hecht, founder of Books on Tape. He was specific in his requirements: no abridgments, no emoting, just straight, traditional reading aloud — which still has, for me, an old-fashioned appeal. Soon enough, other companies and products entered the field for better (Recorded Books) or worse (abridgments). Thanks to CDs, and especially streaming, abridgments are now comparatively rare. But the most momentous development has been narrators’ increased engagement with the text, especially fiction, moving from simply reading aloud to an active rendering, akin to interpretation.

Learn More, Read the Complete Article (about 1030 words)

See Also: Journal Article: “Why Do We Listen to Audiobooks? The Role of Narrator Performance, BGM, Telepresence, and Emotional Connectedness” (via Sage Open)

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