Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert is a film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and hosts a syndicated movie review show with Richard Roeper.
A great audio-book reader enhances the work with voices, accents, drama. These are my six favorite performances.
Perfume (Random House, out of print) by Patrick Suskind. The grotesque story of a medieval dwarf with a hideously advanced sense of smell-and no body odor of his own. Sean Barrett’s reading evokes smell through diabolical snufflings and exhalations, and is profoundly creepy.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Diary of Samuel Pepys (HighBridge Company, $24) by Samuel Pepys. Kenneth Branagh doesn’t read so much as confide. You can almost sense Pepys, the genial busybody about town, leaning closer as he confides his sins. Stark portraits of the Black Plague and the Great Fire.
The God of Small Things (Harper Audio, $25) by Arundhati Roy. Read by Sarita Choudhury in an accent that adds a pinch of masala to the story, evoking the characters with the richness of their voices, not neglecting the humor in the midst of sadness.
Porterhouse Blue (Atlantic Inc., $29.95) by Tom Sharpe. The gatekeeper of a shabby Cambridge college broods and plots and nurses resentment. Bawdy, outrageous; the gas-filled condoms alone are worth the price of admission. Griff Rhys Jones’ accents are venomously hilarious.
A Dance to the Music of Time (Books on Tape Inc., $88) by Anthony Powell. Everyone means to read Anthony Powell’s 12-volume masterwork, but how many do? Simon Callow does an inspired job of providing voices to Powell’s enormous gallery of characters, in a work spanning decades; his voice for Widmerpool nails the man’s shameless yet pathetic buffoonery. Abridged, yes, but nevertheless occupying 24 cassettes.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Hearts in Atlantis (Simon & Schuster, $48) by Stephen King. Not my favorite writer in print, but King reveals a powerful narrative strength on audio books. He reads a lot of his own work, including the second part here, but the first part is the one to listen to, for William Hurt’s way of massaging each ominous word before letting it insinuate its way into the story.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Best non-alcoholic spirits for summer cocktails
The Week Recommends As hard liquor takes a backseat for many, the ingredients for the perfect mocktail are dryly delicious
By Ellie O'Mahoney, The Week UK Published
-
Maternity wards in crisis: the 'shocking' birth trauma report
Talking Point Parliamentary inquiry shines a light on 'scarcely believable scandal'
By The Week UK Published
-
Will Biden's tariffs hinder China's EV dominance?
Today's Big Question Climate change goals and American jobs in tension
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Cynthia Carr's 6 favorite books that explore social issues
Feature The former culture writer recommends works by Ling Ma, Olga Tokarczuk, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Tom Crewe's 6 favorite works that challenge societal norms
Feature The novelist recommends works by Margaret Oliphant, Patrick White, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Daniel Wallace's 5 favorite books that should not be forgotten
Feature The author recommends works by Italo Calvino, Evan S. Connell, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Sarah Langan recommends 6 women-centric horror books
Feature The horror novelist recommends works by Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Amanda Montell's 6 favorite books that will expand your knowledge
Feature The linguist recommends works by Mary Roach, Alice Carrière, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rowan Beaird recommends 6 compelling books from the 1950s
Feature The author recommends works by Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Stephen Graham Jones' 6 scary books with deeper meanings
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Stephen King, Sara Gran, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Keith O'Brien's 6 must-read books about significant moments in sports history
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Laura Hillenbrand, Jonathan Eig and more
By The Week US Published