NOTES ON NARRATING: ADVICE FOR FUTURE AUDIOBOOK READERS

The process of recording an audiobook can be divided into two categories: Speaking and thinking. Plus research.

SPEAKING

1. Don't try to match the author's voice. Shy and pallid people write books that are funny and tough. Maybe they do so because they really aren't funny and tough in person. Match the voice of the character you find in the text. An author told me I'm not sure I sound like me. Probably true.

2. With fiction, you have to give the characters individual voices. Otherwise, just being practical, dialog gets confusing. I associate characters with people I know. As a character speaks, I keep a picture of my friend in my mind. My pal Janet who has an unusual voice,  has no idea how many appearances she's made. It is a big help if you are, like me, truly terrible at impersonations. 

Avoid stereotypes. Not all old people sound old. My father on his 90th birthday launched into his funny old guy impersonation. Yes, a 90-year-old man was playing a geezer and they sounded nothing alike. 

Some writers identify with a particular character. And sometimes they love more than one. It can get complicated when two characters in conflict speak with equal authority. Richard Russo writes separate characters who seem to be different sides of the same person. Cut one, the other bleeds. But that's something the very greatest writers do. It's their mission: They inhabit all their characters and make us see virtue in each one. Readers have to let each one speak.

THINKING

I had good teachers who taught us to respect the text as a unique thing, not as something typical of a genre or period or even of its own author. We were taught to go mano a mano with texts.

Figure out what the writer means to say. Know when the author is staying on message and when he or she is straying. Don't try to repair the text. Forgive the error and continue with conviction. 

Find what most interests an author. Or what they can't help but see. John Irving and Jack Vance are showmen, they're running circuses. Anne Tyler and Russo like figuring out how people deal with problems we meet in daily life: a loss, a disappointment, an accident, getting old. But what really interests a writer may be not people but words or scenery or ethical issues. Many readers don't like Updike's characters and the nasty things they do. But nobody denies that he is an amazing observer of small-town American life who writes like an angel.

RESEARCH

Foreign names and phrases: Go to the author or translator. Historians, though, often don't know how to speak a name, they've only had to spell it until you ask. For contemporary figures I go to NPR. (Which, by the way, covers conservative thinkers as well as they do liberals.) Check native speakers, local librarians. You may not find the ultimate authority. 

Once in Chinatown I asked the cashier for a correct pronunciation of some names. He called a waiter who in turn called a cook and they couldn't agree. (The three came from different part of Hong Kong.)  Persist. Another time I needed the pronunciation of a major English pacifist of a century ago. Charlotte Despard. Turns out there was a street named after her and a pub located on the street and a guy at the pub wrote back to say, yes indeed you do pronounce the final D.

It can be work. But you're getting paid to read great books before your friends see them. 

New Reviews for Global Tilt and Vampires in the Lemon Grove!

GLOBAL TILT -- Leading Your Business Through the Great Economic Power Shift

Ram Charan, Read by Arthur Morey 

"A leading business writer says that economic power is shifting away from traditional economic centers to fast-developing countries south of the 31st parallel--such as India, Brazil, and others that have energetic work forces and nimble corporate and public institutions. This creates mega-opportunities for leaders who can anticipate these changes and seize opportunities. Charan says that capitalizing on this tilt requires not just imagination but also a lot of courage--to decentralize decision making, respect unfamiliar cultures, and make painful human resource decisions. The "great thinker" tone in Arthur Morey's flawless performance is perfect for this visionary book. He sounds urbane, pedagogical, and thoughtful. It's clear he understands every concept and nuance in the text. Yet he holds his listeners securely and comfortably, without ever sounding pedantic."

-- T.W. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine APRIL 2013]

Earphones Award for:

Vampires in the Lemon Grove

Karen Russell, 

Read by Arthur Morey, Joy Osmanski, Kaleo Griffith, Mark Bramhall, Michael Bybee, Romy Rosemont, Robbie Daymond • Unabridged • FEBRUARY 2013

Random House Audio • Trade Ed.

Books on Tape • Library Ed.

"Eerie, arresting, chilling, inventive . . . all are apt descriptions of Karen Russell's collection of engaging short stories. Each of the eight macabre tales transports the listener into a realm of fantasy horror, communicated so subtly and with such prosaic pacing that when the shocking truths become apparent, the listener is already lulled into acceptance. Each performer conveys a warm precision and firm grasp of the author's dark vision. Russell's bold, imaginative creations include captive Japanese girls who transmute into human silkworms, aging vampires who revel in the delectable Italian lemons that slake their thirst for blood, and 11 horses who wake up to find they're reincarnated as past U.S. presidents. The adept full cast eases the listener into the magic of each starkly divergent landscape."

--A.W. Winner of AudioFileEarphones Award © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

The 2013 Audie Awards in New York City

Arthur Morey is Nominated for the 2013 Audie Awards in the History category for David Talbot's Season of the Witch!

Here is the review:


SEASON OF THE WITCH:
Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance In the City of Love
David Talbot, Brilliance Audio

"Be warned, this audio is very hard to turn off! Talbot tackles the over-the-top history of San Francisco with love and respect, but as he himself says, this is a bloody valentine. Arthur Morey infuses every juicy detail of murder, corruption, and disaster, along with the world's largest mass suicide, with an eager, almost breathless quality that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats. Yet he swings easily into the giddy lilt of glamour, wealth, and sexual abandon that came with the high times. He handles the down-in-the-depths era of homeless, drug-addicted vets and the killing scythe that was the AIDS epidemic with a quiet sensitivity that portrays the plight of the hopeless without ever losing respect for their humanity."

--D.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award

The Reluctant Spy

A few days ago the New York Times published a sympathetic article about The Reluctant Spy author John Kiriakou.

You can read the full article HERE.

Please enjoy the Audible.com review for my recording of the book below:

"Fans of Arthur Morey will not be disappointed as they listen to The Reluctant Spy. The autobiography is the story of John Kiriakou's tenure as both an analyst and covert operator at the nation’s spy shop.

Morey has much to draw from in The Reluctant Spy. Kiriakou writes of his Greek immigrant family and tells of an interest in the larger world that began when he was a boy. Morey leads listeners through the exploits of college student (and political junkie) Kiriakou as he tries to sneak his way into Capitol Hill functions to the author’s recruitment into the C.I.A., beginning not as a covert operator, but as an analyst of unstable countries and their suspect leaders. Through Morey we can imagine Kiriakou’s transition to a savvy operative whose fluency in Arabic and Greek make him highly sought after for duty in the Middle East and Pakistan.

Anxiety builds in Morey’s voice as Kiriakou identifies his targets and moves in for either the recruiting of informants or the capture of international terrorists. There is also unabashed anger to be heard as Kiriakou writes of essential evidence destroyed, mishandled, or — even worse — not investigated at all by the supposed partners of the C.I.A. in other government agencies.

You can also hear Kiriakou’s steely professionalism in Morey’s reading of the C.I.A. assignments, so painstakingly planned and meticulously executed. However, Morey also captures the anguish of a man caught between his job — so much of which he could not share with friends or family — and his increasingly problematic personal life. Fury even arises as Morey reads the author’s words describing how badly an acrimonious separation can destroy a father’s long-awaited visit with his children.

Listeners truly get a sense of the author’s expertise in his covert assignments, as well as his innate inability to suffer fools gladly. Several chapters of the book deal with Kiriakou’s take on torture (he’s not for it) and the C.I.A.’s bureaucratic ways. Morey perfects a sarcastic tone that allows you to grasp unequivocally the author’s exasperation with Standard Operating Procedures.

From feature film-like moments and bureaucratic tedium to the personal toll a life’s work takes on an individual, The Reluctant Spy is another exciting experience as the inner workings of a CIA professional’s career are brought to life by Arthur Morey. John Kiriakou is not afraid to share honestly his experiences, from the admirable to the not-so-much, providing a full palette for the talent of Morey." —Carole Chouinard

A Special Interview on Literate Housewife

Click HERE and scroll down to enjoy some of my thoughts and observations about the Holidays!