With the arrival of the English school holidays book writers’ thoughts turn to advising you what to read while trying to manage the activities and expectations of children or grandchildren.
At AUK we are no different, but experience has taught us that picking up and putting down an actual book is tricky in these circumstances, so we’re taking another line and looking at Audiobooks that you can press pause on while dealing with the latest domestic crisis.
The number of UK audiobook downloads increased by 17% between 2022 and 2023, according to The Guardian, and the number of places you can find them has grown in proportion. Most of the music streaming sites now offer a range of Audiobooks. Although the market is dominated by the Amazon-owned Audible there are enough places where you can listen to the audiobook of your choice without enhancing the unfeasible fortunes of the likes of Mr Bezos. So here are a few recommendations for books that will hopefully enrich your summer.
Bob Dylan: “The Philosophy of Modern Song”
This is a set of 60 essays about songs from Hank Williams to Elvis Costello by way of Stephen Foster and Nina Simone. Narrated by “an all-star cast” including Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Oscar Isaac, Helen Mirren, Sissy Spacek, and Renée Zellweger, with Dylan chiming in with some “quirky viewpoints regarding the songs and what they mean to him.” The format of fairly brief commentaries (the book comes in at not quite 7 hours) means you don’t dive too deeply into the songs, but you do learn a lot about how Dylan views songwriting and the world.
It’s also well narrated, vital for a good audiobook, Suze Rotolo’s memoir of Greenwich Village doesn’t feature here because of her lifeless narration full of frustrating pauses that have nothing to do with the book’s punctuation.
Jeff Tweedy: “World Within a Song Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music”
In a similar vein Wilco’s Tweedy has taken the same basic format as Dylan and done something very different with it. He asks the questions “What makes us fall in love with a song? What makes us want to write our own songs? Do songs help? Do songs help us live better lives? And do the lives we live help us write better songs?” This was his third book, and they are all worth reading. This is the one to do as an audiobook though. His narration style has improved dramatically and the personal voice he brings to reading it is compelling.
Steve Turner: “The Man Called Cash The Life, Love, and Faith of an American Legend”
While I’m not the biggest fan of Cash’s music he was a fascinating character, and this book is the best of the many biographies out there. Authorised biographies tend to sugar coat their subject, this doesn’t seem to. Narration from Rex Linn and especially Kris Kristofferson whose remembers Cash’s help in giving him his start in song writing. At 9 hours it’s long enough to fill out the story without getting bogged down in the detail, often a problem with music bios where the “we made an album, went on tour, made another record” treadmill can become repetitious.
Richard Morton Jack: “Nick Drake The Life”
The only biography of Drake to be written with the blessing and involvement of his sister and Estate. Exhaustive at 19 hours on audio, but authoritative and instructional. Having loved Drake’s music for a long time I’ve read most of the books about him, but this is the only one that has sent me back to the records. Gabrielle Drake reads the foreword and Morton Jack reads the rest. If you have even the slightest interest in the folk and related music of the 70s then listen to this.
Chris Hillman: “Time Between. My Life as a Byrd, Burrito Brother, and Beyond”
Some books transcend slightly iffy narration, and Chris Hillman’s autobiography is one of those. His slightly husky delivery adds an air of authenticity to his story. It does become a little wearing after a couple of hours, so maybe an audiobook to take in small slices. The subject matter on the other hand puts a new slant a well-known tale. Compared with Johnny Rogan’s “Timeless Flight Revisited” or “Long Time Gone: the autobiography of David Crosby,” neither available on audio, you get a more considered view of some of the big characters Hillman has worked with over the decades.
Many of the books we have reviewed at AUK are also available as audiobooks. Re-read our reviews and give them a try.
Brian Fairbanks “Willie, Waylon, And The Boys: How Nashville Outsiders Changed Country Music Forever” with a suitably gravelly country narration from Tyler Darby. Our Paul Kerr called it a rollicking good read.”
Woody Guthrie “Bound for Glory” Arlo Guthrie’s narration of what Gordon Sharpe described as “an important and very readable classic that has passed into the folk mythology of America” is excellent. Reread Gordon’s insightful essay on the book and you will certainly want to read or listen to the book.
Richard Thompson “Beeswing.” Thompson reads his own book, which Rick Bayles called “a quietly reflective memoir from the Dawn of Folk-Rock.”
Robin Hitchcock: “1967 How I Got There and Why I Never Left” The man himself reads what, for me, is a hot favourite for best book of the year. Our reviewer, Paul Kerr, called it a “delightful read,” and it’s as good a listen.
