I usually don't like listening to an author narrate their own work. In my opinion, they are too close to it and someone else is better able to bring the story to life in a way that the author never could. Or, sometimes authors don't have the right voice for audio, and the story ends up being something I just don't like listening to. Even if the reviews of a Stephen King-narrated book are over the moon about it, I still pick something else; I'll be honest that I was never fair about this assumption.

But recently I listened to On Writing and Stephen King surprised me with how honest his voice was, carrying his work to my ears in a way I wasn't expecting. It held my attention and I enjoyed the time I spent listening. So when I realized I downloaded Bag of Bones, I wasn't as apprehensive as I thought I would be.

This story seemed so close and personal (it's also mentioned frequently in On Writing, mostly because it was written/published at the same time). This is a true ghost story from Stephen King and there are elements that will linger with you and just might make you look a few times over your shoulder late at night. Writer Mike Noonan loses his wife suddenly and in his resulting sense of loss, he uncovers she was working on something much more mysterious than his best-selling novels. When he dives into her unfinished investigation, Mike is drawn into something quite unforgivable and disturbing, and, as only good husband-wife teams go, he has to finish what she started. A generational secret is exposed in a quiet town through a web of characters that are never boring and the life of a child is at stake. Readers sometimes complain with some of Stephen King's longer novels that, "it really could have been shorter," or, "too much!" But with this one, it met the mark on every level for me and wasn't too long, too short, or too wordy. It was a story that needed to be told, something that would be worth your time. Typical King has you walking through a story that is full of characters with essential and wild back stories that are all connected, and Bag of Bones is no different. It's a wild ride of creepiness, villains of the most disturbing kind, racism, music, and the noble urge to do something incredibly right after such a tragic wrong. This is good stuff. Stephen King knocks it out of the park and I will never worry about grabbing an author-narrated book again if it's him.

Did you know Pierce Brosnan starred in a two part mini-series? It's on Netflix. I'll have to watch that soon.

FTC Disclosure: I purchased this audiobook through my Audible.com membership. Click here to listen to the sample.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Release Date: 05/23/00

Audio Time: 21 hours, 21 minutes

Narrator: Stephen King

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty novels, including The Stand, The Dark Tower, It, The Shining, oh...what more can be written that one doesn't already know? So here you go, click here to visit this cool author's official website.

People. If there is only one scary audio book that you get this year, make it this one, narrated by Campbell Scott. This actor knocked it outta the park.

Everyone knows the overall story, so I'll give you a quick synopsis. Jack is a failed teacher after a startling incident; struggling with alcoholism and regrets, he agrees to take a winter job overseeing a magnificent and sprawling mountain resort in Colorado to get himself back on track. With his wife and young son in tow, Jack resolves to write a book that will get him back in with society and wipe away his past mistakes. What he doesn't realize is that spending the winter at the hotel might release his own demons amidst the haunting of the Overlook Hotel and with his son Danny still wrestling with his telepathic gifts and near catatonic states, the family faces a catastrophe that is eerily similar to the past caretakers of the hotel.

The thing about Stephen King's books and their subsequent adaptations to film, is that a lot of times it never works out well. There's been a lot of debate about Stanley Kubrick's version (which Stephen King did not like) and the TV miniseries from 1997 that Stephen King wrote (which fans did not like). I've seen both versions and while I get why Stephen King didn't like Stanley Kubrick's version, I do like it a little bit better than the miniseries. I do think Rebecca De Mornay from the miniseries was a better choice for Wendy than Shelly Duvall was, though.

Selecting this story in audio was a little worrisome for me, and not because it's scary. I don't mind that part at all. What I was worried about was whether it would be any good in audio, but I shouldn't have feared it one bit. In Campbell Scott's easy and laid-back voice, the creepy story of Stephen King's The Shining takes shape and is riveting. I was spellbound by the many voices that Campbell Scott easily elicited (especially Jack's inner thoughts) and I soon found myself making every excuse to run, do errands, so I could listen to it, even listening to it while I took a shower. Without question, I would highly recommend this frightening story, but I'd almost feel more confident to suggest this in audio versus printed simply because Campbell Scott was THAT good. Just make sure you either keep the lights on or have a buddy around when you listen. Guaranteed to scare ya.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Release Date: 8/12/05

Audio Time: 15 hours, 54 minutes

Narrator: Campbell Scott

Audio Notes: As I mentioned above, Campbell Scott rocked this. Click here to listen to the Audible.com sample and click here for all the books this talented actor has narrated.

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty novels, including The Stand, The Dark Tower series, It, The Shining, oh...what more can be written that one doesn't already know. So here you go, click here to visit this wicked cool author's official website.

The Stephen King Project. My education (and others') continues! The Shining is another selection for the challenge Kathleen and I are hosting. The site can be found (with other participants' reviews) here.

Settling down one night, Arthur Kipps is pressured to share a ghost story with his young family. Amidst the crackling of the fire and the quiet cold of the night, Arthur refuses, as his imagination cannot conjure up anything that would be more frightening than his own experience, and for that, he will not share that story with his children. But it's one that still haunts him and he decides to record it to hopefully lift the burden of the most terrifying experience of his life.

Susan Hill's gothic ghost story is beautifully told and, to be honest, eerily fun. As Arthur writes his story of a time when he was a new lawyer trying to get his feet wet and impress his boss, he is assigned the task of closing up the estate of a woman who has just passed away in the mysterious and quiet town of Crythin Gifford. The house sits alone and hidden within the marshes and fog, and Arthur stays on at the house, reviewing papers and documents and discarding anything that is unnecessary to maintain. It's the haunting and recurring visitations of children and a woman in black that frighten him beyond anything he's ever imagined. When he realizes that even the town is aware of these fearful presences, he begins to question everything around him.

A delightfully creepy story that satisfied all around and I'm eager for more from Susan Hill. My only complaint was that I wish I had waited until this year's RIP Challenge to listen to it so I could benefit from the full ghost story experience. The cooler months around Halloween provide a much more suitable atmosphere for me, and I feel the fear of these stories even more so. But, that's not a complaint against the story at all, just on my own lack of timing!

Audio Notes: At just a little over four hours, Paul Andsell delivered a solid performance that kept me fixed and attentive. His voice was extremely effective to narrate the emotional and frightening roller coaster ride that the character was experiencing, and I'll certainly be eager to listen to more from him in future audio books.

Others said:
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Publisher: Long Barn Books, Blackstone Audio
Release Date: 10/31/2006
Audio Time: 4 hours, 36 minutes
Narrator: Paul Andsell

About the Author

Susan Hill is an English author of fiction and non-fiction books. Her novels include The Woman in Black, The Mist in the Mirror, and I'm the King of the Castle, for which she received the Somerset Maugham Award in 1971.

Follow the author:

• On her website
• On Twitter

This is another selection for the 2012 Audio Book Challenge hosted by Teresa.











FTC Disclosure: I purchased this book on Audible.com