One thing to keep in mind when picking an audio version is the production quality – e.g. I have encountered a few versions of Dune books I simply could not finish due to a monotonous or uninformed narrator.

Here is my top 10 list of books that do have great audio versions (some even with multiple narrators and music), along with corresponding links on Audible.

1. Frank Herbert: Dune Classic Series (6 books)

This original series containing Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune is perhaps one of the most profound and well written works of science fiction I have ever encountered.

Strong elements of philosophy and religion – combined with great writing. Where other writers tell the story, Frank Herbert shows it.

2. Dan Simmons: Hyperion Cantos (4 books)

Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, The Rise of Endymion. As profound and memorable as Dune, the writing again near to perfect. Where Dune uses Near-Eastern inspired philosophy as a building block, Simmons pulls the reader/listener into a masterful transformation of the romanticist John Keats’ poetic legacy.

Very relevant references for present-day questions regarding the transformation and consumption of media as well as the interdependence of man and machine.

3. Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Game (4 books)

Ender’s Game, Speaker of the Dead, Xenocide, Ender’s Shadow

Very popular, contemporary, again emotionally very engaging and well written. For me, especially books 2 and 3 were very powerful.

4. Neal Stephenson: Cryptonomicon

View Cryptonomicon on Audible

Not really science fiction, but a must-listen for computer scientists. A great novel interweaving stories in WW2 and the present day, with emphasis on cryptology and wide-spread hacker appeal.

5. Neal Stephenson: Snow Crash

View Snow Crash on Audible

A great cyberpunk novel introducing the metaverse (inspired Second Life). Often surprising and funny, but also profound.

6. Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood’s End

View Childhood’s End on Audible

An early Clarke novel, perhaps foolishly aspiring in trying to introduce one too many paradigm shifts in a few hours, but nonetheless thought provoking and a must-listen.

7. Neal Stephenson: Diamond Age

View Diamond Age on Audible

A novel about a young lady’s illustrated primer – contains a lot of visionary technological ideas and loads of good Stephenson writing.

8. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle: The Mote in God’s Eye

View the Mote on Audible

Where Niven is good at dangling the carrot, Pournelle adds some excellent plotting in this very classical sci-fi novel. Hard sci-fi.

9. Larry Niven: Ringworld (2 books)

Ringworld, Ringworld’s Children

As with Mote, Niven’s novels are a bit blunt and straight-forward when compared to more profound masterpieces such Dune and Hyperion (at least in my opinion). But he definitely makes up with story-telling and just pure hard sci-fi.

10. Neal Stephenson: Anathem

Anathem on Audible – the link does not seem to work in Europe at the moment

At number 10 just because I have not managed to get through it. The premise has drawn me since before its release, so I will perhaps have to revisit this list once I am through.

That’s it – my top 10 sci-fi list for 2010.

I have been a fan of classic science fiction far longer than I have been listening to audio books, so I knew most of these books before getting an audio version.

A lot of people I know told me that they are not able to draw equal enjoyment from an audio book, especially not with fiction.

For me, the experience is very equal and I will often switch from audio to text and back in the middle of a single book, based solely on convenience (e.g. if I am traveling, enjoying the sun on a beach or jogging).

What is your top 10 sci-fi list? Am I missing a must-read/listen?

Image via Wikipedia

How many books do you read per month nowadays?

Two? One? Half a book?

If you’re a busy professional, perhaps not even that?

I’ve always found reading to be an essential part of personal development. Not blogs – I mean the normal, in-depth, catch every word – not just the headlines – reading .

Over the past couple of years, I’ve noticed how my shelves started getting full of books I had no idea when I’d come around to read. Business books, fiction, language books, you name it …

Looming over me like a very pronounced shadow of outdated aspirations.

But why do I read less?

I suppose partly due to the standard reasons that we all face – apart from the apparent busyness, it’s ever-shifting interests and professional pressures that are making it increasingly hard to sit down and dive into one of the classics that you’ve always felt bad about not having read.

Like War And Peace, or Crime and Punishment, Bhagavad Gita, the Qu’ran, or even Cryptonomicon.

Another undisputable factor is the change in the way we read. This article captures it well.

We’re far less experiencing but rather processing written content – one of the tools our minds use to help us survive the information overdose.

But let’s back to the initial problem – sitting down, opening a book, focusing and doing nothing else for about 10 hours.

Quite rare in my current life.

So – about 2 years ago, I switched to audio books. I got one of those subscriptions at Audible and since then, not one month has passed without an epic story, historical drama, marketing advice or similar.

I run about every other day for 20-40 minutes, which makes a bit less than 8 hours per month, and I’m in the car at least 8 hours per month.

About a thousand hours per year that could potentially be wasted.

The dramatized version of War And Peace is about 9 hours long (the unabridged version is 65 hours ), so this is just about right for 1 audio book per month without any significant change to my daily routine.

This means min. 1 book in the busiest months and about 2-3 on average – not perfect but more than satisfactory for the current pace of life.

What about recommendations?

I’ve recommended business books before, so here are two magnificent works of fiction, both about young girls in dire circumstances.

A Thousand Splendid Suns – a stunningly tragic and epic account of a young girl’s life in Afghanistan during the recent wars

The Diamond Age – Neal Stephenson’s epic sci-fi drama about a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer – a great read or listen, almost as good as Snow Crash