Audiobook Break with AudioFile Magazine

I love this podcast! Naxos is usually a safe bet when it comes to classic literature; their audiobooks are always an enjoyable listen and sometimes downright inspired. AudioFile picked two of the stars in the Naxos firmament to kick off their new podcast: David Copperfield, read by Nicholas Boulton, and The Iliad, read by Anton Lesser. (All of the Dickens titles in the Naxos collection — and they’ve done all of his novels — are superb. And Lesser is brilliant at reading poetry as well as playing Qyburn in Game of Thrones. — oh, and he’s done a couple of those Dickens novels for Naxos himself.) I had listened to both of these previously, in fact within weeks of their original publication. Getting the readings in chapter-sized chunks has helped me slow down and appreciate the nuances of both readings more effectively than on my first listen: my tendency is to binge-listen, and that’s not always the best way to appreciate a classic. Lesser’s reading of The Iliad has the added pleasure of using the relatively recent verse translation by Ian Johnston, which manages to convey earthiness and accessibility with eloquence and power. It was practically made for reading aloud. It preserves Homer’s formulaic epithets and repetitions to a remarkable degree, and yet somehow it never sounds stilted or old-fashioned: it races forward like a thriller. If you’ve always wanted to read the classics but could never seem to find the time, this is the podcast for you. Given AudioFile’s first two picks, I trust their judgment for future choices.

Listening to Season Seven (love Lupin), but where are the other six seasons? Now, if they would just do Fantomas.

A brilliant way to connect listeners (new and old alike) to this art form. Thank you AudioFile!

I couldn't stop listening! I intended to spend a few minutes and come back to it later in the day but I couldn't turn it off. I'll go back and listen to the first chapter again before moving on to chapter 2. Highly recommended.